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y2ashlee · 1 year ago

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Leona Kingscholar x Female! Reader SMUT

WARNINGS: Sex, bad writing, of character Leona but what fan written Leona isn’t.

Inspiration:

That weird hormone perfume I saw advertised on TikTok.

Author notes:

As we know from the manga, Leona sleeps without a shirt on.

Are they dating? Yes. Is this the couples first time having sex with each other. Also yes.

I looked up mating rituals of lions so that was interesting. Like I knew the female lion was the boss in that case but it’s still pretty interesting. Anyway male lions with stroke or lick the female on their necks, shoulders or backs to initiate the males also bite the female to basically remain in control and it helps with ovulation apparently which sounds bullshit but I guess it works?. Anyway I’ll probs look up stuff for the other non human members of the cast. Though with the fae ones I’ll probably only use part of the animal that they’re associated with since dragons aren’t real and pretty sure Azul’s dick isn’t removable nor is it one of his tentacles.

Anyway also use protection.

~~~

The Prefect of ramshackle dorm had recently gotten herself a bottle of perfume from the school store that smelt lovely, and was on sale. But what she didn’t know was that it was enchanted to make whomever harvest strong romantic feelings towards the Wearer to act upon those feelings in someway Handholding, kisses, hugs etc whenever they smelled it. And unfortunately for a certain lion beast man, these feelings were tripled as his sense of smell was so much better than any humans. She had been wearing the perfume for about a month, still unknowing about the enchantment, but every time the two would cross paths he would get a huge whiff of her intoxicating scent, and when she was in the same room as him for a long period of time, or standing close to him, every time, it got stronger, this particular time she was taking a joint class with his class and surprisingly he showed up to class, but as soon as the bell rang, he quickly got up to leave to get away from her scent. He was stopped by deuce as he wanted to ask him something and she was standing next to him he sighed. “..what..” he said, gritting his teeth. “Sorry I just wanted to ask-..” Deuce said. “Ask, Ruggie.” Is all he said before moving past them to leave. “Are you alright? You look flushed and you’re sweating.” The Prefect asked reaching towards him pressing the back of her hand to his forehead. “My god. You feel hot!” She said surprised. “Do you need to go to the nu-“ He ducked away from her hand a sneer on his face. “I’m fine.” He said turning and walking out of the classroom. “A-alright then..” she said watching him walk away. He practically speed walked to the bathroom walking over to the sink and turning the water on splashing water on his face to calm himself as he let out a loud exaggerated sigh.

Leona retreating or running away continued for the next few days as the Prefect would try to talk to him and ask to hang out with him and whatnot yet he’d avoid any form of physical contact even after she had stopped wearing the perfume. But it was too late the enchantment was already in effect. While she was contemplating and over thinking that he didn’t want to be with her anymore he was trying to overcome all the sexual thoughts and not wanting to hurt her in his aroused and angered state. The smallest whiff of her scent put him in a foul mood because he couldn’t be near her until the enchantment wore off as he didn’t trust himself. But as he watched her from afar all those days he could see how much him avoiding her physically was weighing on her. He let out a yawn as he laid in bed staring at the ceiling trying to sleep fall asleep but finding it hard to do so he sighed grabbed his phone from the desk next to his bed and quickly send her a message.

Leona: Hey, Sorry I’ve been avoiding you.

He sent the first message unsure what to write next. He sighed a growl flowing from his lips as he rolled over onto his side burying his face into his pillow before feeling his phone vibrate before it rang. He looked at the screen seeing that it was her who was calling. He took a deep breath before answering. “..yeah.” He said already filled with guilt. “So, why have you been avoiding me?” She asked her voice soft and low like she was about to cry. He gulped before replying. “You know that perfume you’ve been wearing?” He stated. “Oh, was it too overpowering?” She asked. “Not exactly, it was enchanted..” Is all he said unsure how to phrase what he needed to say. “Basically, it makes me want to…” his voice drifted off. Thoughts of her roaming his mind. “…do stuff….to you..” he said softly his tail swishing slightly. His face flushed. “O-oh, OH!” She said her face also flushing. “Do you not want to do stuff with me..” she said biting her lip. He let out a groan like sigh. “Of course I do, I just-ugggh, I don’t wanna..hurt you..” he said biting his lip burying his face in his pillow once more. “..ok I see..” she said her face more flushed then before. “..are you in your room right now..” she asked. “Yeah..” he replied. “Stay where you are.” She said hanging up and putting her phone in her pocket. His eyes widened realising what she was intending to do. He sighed and put his phone on the desk before pulling the blankets over his head hiding from the cool moonlit night breeze.

The door opened with a small thud. “Sorry.” She winched at the sound before shutting the door slowly. She took a deep breath trying to compose herself before walking over to the bed. “Are you gonna hide from me now.” She said to the lump under the blanket. His tail flicked and swayed as it was free from the blanket which told her that he was happy she was there or annoyed she was unsure. She sighed and sat down on the bed. “It’s okay if you want to do stuff with me especially that kind of stuff but..at least tell me and..let me set the pace..” she said her face flushed as one hand gripped the blanket the other covering her mouth her eyes downcast as she bit her lip. He rolled over and sat up the blanket falling from his face showing his flushed face. “..are you sure?..” his voice low as his piercing green eyes stared at her. Her scent filling his nostrils engulfing him. “Y-yes.” She said removing her hand from her mouth and turning to look up at him with a nod. His eyes widened slightly his thoughts shattering as he lent forward his lips crashing against hers in a sloppy but passionate kiss his tongue pressing into her mouth roaming around like it hasn’t been there in years. He wrapped his arm around her gently pushing her to the bed his other hand caressing her head. He pulls away from her pressing his forehead to her’s as they both pant for breath he sighs breathing in her scent. “Sorry..” he mumbled in his gruff voice as he rubbed his cheek against hers before leaning down and rubbing his head against her neck and collarbone trying to get his scent on her and hers on him. His teeth grazed against her neck before licking it gently.

She let out a gasp at the roughness of his tongue on her neck. He sighed sniffing her once more. “Leona?” She said softly. His eyes widened his face flushing once more in embarrassment as he buried his face in the crook of her neck. “You smell good..” he said trying to shove his embarrassment away. “Is this a beastman thing? To sniff, lick and rub against each other?” She asked. “We also bite.” He said his mood turning sour his teeth grazing her collarbone as his piercing gaze stared at her neck. She smiled softly a small chuckle leaving her throat before she placed her hands on his head her thumbs gently rubbing his ears while her fingers massaged his head. He closed his eyes loving the feeling of her touch he’ll never admit it though. “So what kind of things did you think about doing.” She asked continuing her movements. “As long as I’m comfortable doing it then it’s ok.” She said. He stared at her for a moment before exhaling and sitting up pulling away from her. He stared down at her hands rested on her chest as she looked up at him her face flushed. His thoughts were scattered as he looked down at her pinned beneath him.

She placed her hands on he’s cheeks. “Leona?” She said softly. He blinked slowly bringing his face down to her neck giving it a long lick before biting down on it. Not hard enough to break skin but still leaving a mark. She let out a moan like gasp. “Ah! Leona, that hurt!!” She said pushing him away quickly before covering the bite mark with her hand. He scoffed with a chuckle as he rubbed the mark with his thumb. “..I wanted to pin you down mark you as mine and fill you with me..” he said his voice low as his hands gripped the bed beneath them. “O-oh my…” she said her face so flushed that it reached her ears as she covered her face with her hands taking a few deep breaths before replying. “T-then fill me with you. J-just slowly please.” She said her gaze meeting his as she placed her hands on his cheeks. He smirked before leaning down and capturing her lips once more biting her lip before slipping his tongue in his hands moving to her hips lifting her shirt his ruff palms moving against her skin as they traveled upward his thumbs slipping under her bra before pushing it up before cupping her breasts his thumbs flicking her nipples slightly earning a muffled gasp from her as she pulls away from him as they both breathe heavily. “Leona..” she says softly kicking off her shoes before pulling him into an embrace her arms wrapping around him as she kissed him. He smirked against her lips and pulled away from her as he slides his hands down to her leggings slipping them off along with her underwear. She presses her thighs together feeling the coolness of the night hit her exposed parts. He kneels on the floor and parts her legs kissing her thighs gently his canines grazing her skin slightly until he reached her slit leaving a long slow lick up to her exposed bud. She gasped and sat up at the unexpected feeling. All he did was smirk and pushed her down bring her exposed slit closer and licking it once more his fingers gently rubbing her opening before prodding it his finger sliding inside while his tongue licks her exposed bud. She quivers slightly squeezing her thighs together as they rest against his head. He continues to lick while he caresses her insides his motions becoming fast. She covered her mouth with a hand letting out a moan. He pulled away with a smirk as he slid in another finger thrusting them faster as he kissed her thigh before leaving another bite. His tongue licking it as she let out a moan her walls clenching around his fingers. He pulls out his fingers purposely dragging his fingers slowly as he wipes them on his pants before putting her thighs down on the bed. She

With her breathing slightly ragged she watches as he moves away from her and leaning over the bed and rummaged through one of the draws before coming back to her and leaning down and whispering in her ear. “Roll over.” He said in a gruff voice just above a whisper before he kissed her once more. She blinked a few times before nodding and rolling over onto her stomach moving so she was on her knees. Let leant down and spoke softly into her ear. “This is your last chance to back out.” He said a hand resting on her hip. She looked back at him with a soft smile. “Just…be gentle..” she says softly her hands gripping the bed covers. He lets out a scoff as he pulls back ripping a condom packet with his teeth mumbling a reply. “I’ll try.” He said letting out a groan as slid the cool condom over his length shuddering slightly at the feeling. He let out a shakily breath as he pressed his length against her wet outer walls. She looked away from him as she felt his tip prod her entrance obviously a lot more girth then his to fingers. He slid inside her wet walls letting out a grunt at the feeling of her heat around him. She bit her lip her walls clenching around him as she let out a sound she was unsure she could make. He grunted as he started to move keeping his pace slow his hands resting on her hips. She gripped the covers more every time he moved letting out soft almost unheard sounds. His ears twitched at those soft sounds as he continued his movements his tail swishing slightly as he leant over her his chest pressed against her back his thrusts speeding up as he wrapped his arms around her one hand groping one of her breasts the other caressing her stomach. She lets out a louder moan his ears twitching at her muffled moans as she hides her face in the bed covers her eyes clenching shut. He scoffs once more as he rubs his cheek against her head and leaving a lick on her neck before biting it once more. Her back arched as she let out a strangled sound before burying her face in the covers again. His thrusts only became more aggressive after that. Her walls clenching around his as he hit all different parts of her insides. His teeth stayed against her skin as his hips slapped into hers his movements rough as his breathing was rugged. She let out a loud low muffled moan her walls clenching around him as she shivered hitting her climax her eyes watering at the feeling of him inside of her. He continued his thrusts his movements staggering slightly as he shuddered as muffled growl like moan reverberating against her skin as he came. His movements stopped as leant against her his body weight enveloping her slightly his ragged breathing against her neck his teeth still pressed into her skin his length still inside of her warm wet walls his tail flicking.

“L-Leona?” She asked trying to turn to look at him the best she could but she could only see his hair. His piercing green gaze unmoving as he stared at nothing in particular. She reached up to try to shake his shoulder but all she could reach was his ear as her fingertips brushing against. “Leona!” She said slightly louder once more trying to get his attention. His eyes shifted around before he realised what he was doing and pulled away from her his eyes landing on the bite mark noticing that it wasn’t bleeding. He gave it a lick before pulling away removing himself from her completely. “Sorry.” He said in his gruff voice as he fixed himself discarding the used condom in the bin. “Get up.” He said she nodded and slowly got up staggering slightly. He pulled her to him before pulling the bed covers down and helping her into the bed before following her pulling them over the two of them. He lets out a huff and wrapped his arms around her and sniffing her content that she smells like him. He relaxes before falling asleep. She sighs but cuddles up next to him knowing that there’s not way she would be able to leave.

~~~

Jesus Christ what the hell did I just write… anyway hope you enjoyed this garbage and requests are always open. Next up is Ruggie hopefully it won’t take me as long to write it but who knows.

#twisted wonderland mc #twistedwonderland #twisted wonderland smut #twisted wonderland leona #twst #twst leona #twst mc #twistedwonderlandxfemalereader #twistedwonderlandxreader #twistedwonderlandxreader smut #smut #twst x reader #twst leona x reader

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hermitessun · 10 months ago

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Punarvasu in relations to Maleficent

While watching the movie and observing its themes of bitterness and redemption, I couldn’t help but remember Claire Nakti’s essay on Punarvasu.

So of course, I checked the producer’s vedic chart and come to find out he’s a Punarvasu sun, Robert Stromberg. he wasn’t so sneaky with that Punarvasu energy, it was so apparent in the movie.

Both Maleficent and the Beast in Beauty and the Beast embody the transformative, cyclical energy of the Punarvasu nakshatra and comparing their journeys highlights how this nakshatra's themes of renewal, redemption, and the nurturing power of love play out in different ways in each story.

Maleficent starts off as a loving, innocent character who, after she is brutally betrayed (her strong wings were cut off), falls into a deep period of violence, darkness and bitter blues, she grew vengeful. It was because of this that she cursed baby aurora, her betrayer’s daughter.

However, through her relationship with Aurora, Maleficent experiences a rebirth, finding love, forgiveness, and ultimately redemption. This journey from darkness to light mirrors the core symbolism of Punarvasu, which emphasizes cycles of transformation and rebirth after hardship.

In connection with Punarvasu's ruler Jupiter, Maleficent could be seen as embodying a wisdom that transcends simple good and evil.

by the way, Maleficent is imbued with immense magical abilities, which can represent the vastness of Jupiter's energy. However, instead of using this power for guidance, protection, or wisdom (positive Jupiter traits), she initially uses it for destruction.

The burden of her vast power causes her isolation, mirroring how unchecked Jupiterian expansion can lead to loneliness and alienation. Her vastness becomes too much to bear, resulting in a disconnect from others, as she initially thrives in solitude and vengeance.

Claire touched upon this exact point in her punarvasu essay. the spirit of the vast and how punarvasu natives as well as punarvasu infused stories involve a character who is stripped from some privilege they had like beauty, strength or, in this case, powerful wings. they undergo a period of seclusion from the rest of the world, usually in a boundless castle or even kingdom with countless treasures, they are unable to share, as they were stripped of what made them beautiful (ex.: maleficent and her wings). through this reclusive era they are bound to redeem themselves and operate from a space of love and light, in order to forever let go of their bitterness.

Similarly, the Beast is cursed and trapped in a monstrous form due to his previous arrogance and cruelty. His transformation begins only when Belle enters his life and teaches him the value of love, compassion, and selflessness. The same way Aurora softened Maleficent’s harsh heart.

Both Maleficent and the Beast illustrate Punarvasu's core themes of renewal, redemption, and the nurturing power of love. In both stories, we see characters who undergo personal destruction and emerge transformed, better versions of themselves.

#astrology observations #astrology #astro observations #vedic astro notes #vedic astro observations #vedic astrology #punarvasu #maleficent #Jupiter

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utilitycaster · 2 years ago

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In honor of that poll, which has apparently been answered by a bunch of loser rogue-fuckers, and was also written by someone who doesn't even have the update that gives you twelve poll options, please have a good ranking of sexiest D&D 5e classes, from me.

This only has the 13 officially published 5e classes so do not ask me about classes that are not that. Also, the existence of a handful of sexy or unsexy characters of that class does not a sexy or unsexy class overall make. I'm sure these two statements will not shut down all annoying people but by god I hope they shut down some.

Paladin. Self-explanatory: if you don't agree, you better explain yourself, unless you think they are outranked by...

Wizard. As Liam O'Brien said, what's sexier than wizards? And I said "paladins, but no one else." I'm also going to fuck up an Octavia Butler quote and say that her journal did not explicitly state that single-minded devotion is sexy but it is, and that's why wizards and paladins are, undisputably, the top two.

Warlock. Would be higher than wizards on the basis of sheer raw charisma but some warlock classes (archfey, hexblade) are extremely sexy and some are...pots in need of very unique lids, shall we say.

Bard. This is for competency and knowledge of mythology and musical instruments. If you're into some kind of memeriffic 20 CHA 7 INT Roll To Seduce bro shit, get the fuck out of here.

Ranger. Their combat abilities are not as great as they could be but this is also without a doubt the class that will invite you over and make a delicious foraged mushroom risotto and have lit candles they made themself. They are good with animals and can identify constellations. Entire package.

Barbarian and Fighter are tied. Do you prefer a flow state and passion or do you prefer dedication and persistence? Axe or sword? Raw power or precision? Equally valid; it's a matter of personal taste.

Cleric. One of the gods thinks they're special; it's hard not to be drawn in by that. Also, healing is the sexiest magical ability. Points off for the possibility of sanctimonious behavior.

Druid. This is just personal taste but I would find it weird if my partner was sometimes a giant scorpion, and I feel rangers are just the far sexier nature-loving option. People for whom druids are #1, I see you, I respect you, I disagree with you, but I do think you're valid.

Monk. Here's the problem. Yes flexible; everything else is kind of a solid "eh" for me. Honestly I think it's because D&D separates out dexterity and strength even though monks technically need both, and so the low-strength monk archetype really doesn't do it for me. It's not unsexy but it never wows me, and honestly in real life martial arts is usually more an aesthetic joy than a sexy one for me.

Sorcerer. Often physically attractive but I do not love a nepo baby, and absolutely the class least able to make you breakfast. Class most likely to attempt to make you breakfast and manage to fuck up scrambled eggs.

Artificer. Love the class but unfortunately I can only think of Belle's father in Beauty and the Beast (1991) when I think of what an artificer looks like. Wizards claimed the hot nerd spot; artificers never had a chance.

Rogue. Anyone can wear black leather. Anyone can twirl a butterfly knife and the ranger is going to be better at using it. You know what rogues are best at? Leaving through the window without waking you up. That's it. Bards have the same skills and then some and they're hotter by design. There are other classes with superior physical skills. Burst damage is already not actually that useful in 5e combat and even less so in the bedroom.

#people will be into rogues for the aesthetic and forget that studded leather armor is widely available #tentatively making rebloggable again but artificerfuckers you're on the THINNEST of ice and it's cracking.#maybe use your technological knowledge to make your own post? just a thought.

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cherrybloosomgirl29 · 10 months ago

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Wade and Logan Full House AU

Summary: Jubilee’s new family calms her nerves before her first day at the Xavier Institute

A/N: Sorry if this is short I want the first part to introduce the characters and their dynamic.

Here is the AO3 Link

Jubilee stares at herself in the mirror. She carefully arranges her pixie cut so all the pieces lay down perfectly.

She was nervous. She knew how prestigious the Xavier Institute was. She knew she would be surrounded by classmates with awesome powers and much more training and experience than her.

She had only been living with her new foster fathers, Wade and Logan, for a month. The first couple weeks were meant for her to adjust to things after being attacked by sentinels. She was saved by Logan and the rest of the team and brought quickly to the med center where she was helped by Jean Grey and Beast.

Jubilee heads downstairs sliding down the banister to get down fast. In the living room Rogue and Kitty are packing their lunches, Jubilee looks at the other girls slightly nervous. Rogue, is a cool girl with the power to steal others’ powers, energy, and even life with the slightest touch made; and she still manages to carry herself with a southern charm.

“Good Mornin’ Sugah,” Rogue says as Jubilee steps into the room still trying to shake off her nerves. “Look, my first day at the institute was nerve wrackin.’ It’ll be alright you have us hun.”

Jubilee smiles at Rogue, even though she was intimidating Jubilee knew Rogue was looking out for her always.

Suddenly, Wade and Logan come inside from their morning workouts, Laura with them. Because she has the similar powers and abilities to her father, Laura always trained with him during his workout sessions. Although she was the youngest of the four girls, she was the one who intimidated Jubilee the most. With her quick temper, razor sharp adamantium claws, and withering scowl, she was like a smaller scarier Logan in many ways.

Logan approaches Jubilee with the closest he can get to a smile and says “you got everythin’ you need?”

“yea I think so…” she says a bit nervously, what do you bring to mutant school anyway? Would there even be normal classes there? She hopes not, she’d rather be playing video games.

“Hey kid, It’s gonna be alright. It may seem a bit scary but the institute was made to help people like us okay?” Like us. For the first time Jubilee truly realizes she is around people that understand her. She takes a deep breath, Logan’s words reassure her and she knows that at least she won’t be casted out because of her mutant powers.

Wade hands Jubilee her lunch; he picked out a unicorn themed lunch bag for her. “Don’t tell Logan but I put mostly sweats in there,” Wade said.

“Thanks,” Jubilee lets a small smile slide past her nervous demeanor as she takes the bag. Jubilee finishes packing her school bag then lets out a small sigh as she waits at the door for her three foster sisters to finish getting ready for the day. Kitty, Rogue, and Laura walk to the front door at the same time, their differences apparent immediately.

Kitty is wearing jeans, a slightly cropped teal shirt, a high ponytail, and a pendant necklace, she exuded casual coolness.

Rogue, wearing a black crop top, black doc martins, and a black miniskirt looking all the southern goth she is.

Finally Laura walks over wearing her pink sunglasses, sweatpants, and her unicorn shirt (Wade is rubbing off on her).

Jubilee looks at the three girls shocked they were able to get along.

Jubilee is about to head out the door when she feels Logan’s rough hand softly grab her hand. “I’m walkin’ you girls to school, okay? Just for a little while you lot are still young and you're still healin’ from your attack.”

Jubilee nods; her former foster parents never gave her this much care in her entire life. “We are fine Logan, they got me protectin’ them,” Rogue says in her southern belle accent.

“Yeah if your worried about Jubilee she’s got us, plus nobody's ever gonna get past Laura,” Kitty chimes in. Jubilee smiles, she’s never had people she just met be this nice to her before.

Logan smiles “It seems like you girls are already ready to protect your new sister; but I’m gonna walk you lot to school anyway.”

Wade hands Logan his morning coffee, “I’m coming too,” he says smiling at his husband and the girls.

“Just maybe I’ll have a real family this time,” Jubilee thinks before taking Logan’s hand and waking to her first day at the Xavier Institute. Her new family by her side

tags: @logictoinsanity @mxtokko @it-s-tickety-booh @bondilluns @rheedeservedbetter @badassturtle13 @king-kage124 @chika-the-terrible @star-lights-up @leezeokami @roryshitposts @lurplemelon @jp6963 @mavratt @brainrotonpoint @random-fandom-stuff @jen-with-a-pen @amym30 @iamonlypartlymajestic @lendario01 @california-boys-and-sun @lammergier13 @colorfulroadzipperturkey @swaggingblones @ashthebonehead @ghosts-can-draw @incorrectateezforatiny @nanosorcerer

#deadpool movie #deadpool and wolverine #logan movie #poolverine #deadpool x wolverine #jubilee #rogue #gambit #kitty pryde #x-23 #wade Wilson x logan #wade and Logan full house AU #@logictoinsanity

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itsythebitsyspider · 5 months ago

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Let’s see how this does. First time writing something like this in a while, hope you like it

Belle had finally gotten the beast to warm up to her after a long few weeks of trying to make this arrangement comfortable. From small moments in the library, to outings in the garden, and even cooking dinner together instead of letting the furniture do all the work. Granted, the beast wasn't a good cook and tended to burn everything he made, somehow including jello, but Belle was patient. No matter how many times she had to make a run for the fire extinguisher, she'd be there for him. Apparently, he felt the same for her. But differently. Very, differently.

Recently Belle had attempted to teach Beast how to bake a cake. He had done his best to copy what she did, but ultimately his cake just couldn't hold up to the test of the oven that held a certain hatred for him. To calm the Beast, Belle let him decorate the cake. The beast did his best... but let's just say, the cake looked like it had hyperpigmentation.

Regardless, they were out of eggs. And flour. And basically everything it took to make a cake. So Beast had allowed Belle to go into town and buy some more. Of course, only if he accompanied her. Belle didn't know how a man-- or a beast-- that large would be able to hide. But seeing as how no one has noticed the large cloaked figure walking around, it seemed like it wasn't that hard.

She stood at the small market, picking up two large bags of flower before a sharp whistle pierced the air. She turned around to investigate and was met with an eye full of a bright red button up. At first she thought it was Gaston, but the moment she looked up she was met with a man with only half as sharp a jawline as the previously mentioned man. His hair was touseled, a stark contrast to the clean and tidy image Gaston presented. But enough about that chauvinist.

"Hello, sweet thing. Are you just passing through?" The man asked, tilting his head as he looked down at her.

"Just here for some shopping." She said warily, eyeing him up and down. She couldn't yet tell his intentions, so it was best to keep things civil for now.

"Oh really? Find what you're looking for?" He grinned at her and she couldn't help but notice the crooked teeth in his smile.

"Yes, I have." She glanced around to see if anyone was watching. Unfortunately, the people choose this one moment out of the day to mind their own business.

"I think you missed something."

"And what might that me?"

"Me."

And there it was. She felt the ick creep up the back of her neck, the polite smile faltering the instant she recognized his intentions.

"Ha, you're funny." She said, forcing another smile as she moved over to the side to grab the flour and put it in her bag. Unfortunately the man reached out and picked up the flower. "How about I carry these for you?" He offered.

She all but growled in frustration. She could sense the headache she’d get trying to gently let him down so he didn’t burst into flames at her rejection.

Just as she was about to respond, a friendly shape appeared behind the man. "She can carry her own things." The voice growled.

Belle felt another shiver run down her spine, but this time it wasn’t all that unpleasant.

“And who are you to decide that?” The man scoffed, turning to face the figure shrouded in a purple cloak. The beast tilted his head up for the light to catch his features.

The man instantly paled at the sight of such a creature. Belle knew the feeling from the first moment she met the beast. A dark, furry creature. With teeth as sharp as the tusk of the wild boar that hung above the Boar’s Tavern back at home, and eyes angry enough to match the harshest of storms.

The flour dropped to the ground, scattering everywhere. The shopkeeper, choosing now to look at them was justifiably angry. “Hey! You clutz, that was a large! You gonna pay for that?” The elderly woman yelled at the man. The man’s head snapped towards the woman, glancing back and forth between her and the beast.

“Go on.” The beast growled. “Pay. And apologize.”

The man scrambled for his wallet, dropping down a few coins without too much thought, murmuring a quick apology to Belle, and dashing off into the crowd.

“Mm. Are you… alright?” He asked Belle, trying to show a little more care than he was used to showing.

“I’m fine. Just annoyed.” She shrugged, picking up a new bag and paying the shopkeeper with an apologetic smile,

“He didn’t touch you, did he?” The beast asked, a undertone to his words. Belle didn’t even have to look to know that he was ready to get angry if she gave him an answer he didnt like. Deciding that she didn’t want anyone’s blood on her hands, she kept it short and honest.

“No, he didn’t. He just tried to flirt.”

The beast nodded. She watched as the tension slowly left his body. She had never seen him so angry. Not since that day she had tried to touch the glittery rose in the west wing. He’d grown to possessive over the rose that he had snarled at her. Actually snarled like a beast. She’d learned her lesson the hard way that day, stay away from the west wing.

Maybe she should get the eggs now and leave before any more uncomfortable situations took place. She paid for the eggs and quickly picked out a few good ones and quickly hurried on. She didn’t want the beast to be in an even more foul mood. She could practically smell the anger radiating off him.

“Alright, let’s go.” Belle readjusted the basket on her arm and walked back to the horse just in the outskirts of town. The beast, who had been silent the entire time, only let out a grunt before climbing on behind her. His hands were low on her hips, his grip tight. Belle didn’t mention how she could feel his claws poking her through the corset of her dress, instead choosing to snap the reigns of the horse and take off back to the castle.

In the kitchen, Belle was putting away the food with the servants when the unmistakable footsteps of the beast sounded. The quiet puff of his paw pads accompanied by the click of his sharp nails on the tile floor was a sound she’d grown accustomed to. The servants quickly ran off, leaving them alone in the kitchen.

The footsteps didn’t stop until they were right behind her. She could feel the anger radiating off of him like a heat wave. Belle took a stilling breath and turned to face him.

“Beast. Are you hungry? I can fix you up a snack if—“

“What did he say to you.”

“I’m sorry?”

“What. Did he say to you.” He repeated.

She didn’t even have to ask to know that he was referring to the man at the market today. “He just asked if I found what I was looking for. He meant himself. It was nothing special, just another—“

“Is that really all he said? Nothing else?”

“Well nothing that mattered-“

The beast pressed her up against the counter. “That’s not what I asked.” He growled, leaning in.

Belle took a nervous breath, her heart pounding. “That’s really all he said. That I’d forgotten him, and then he offered to carry my things.”

The beasts eyes stared into hers as if trying to read her mind through them. “And what did you think of his advances?”

“What?”

“Did you like the attention he was giving you?”

“No. I didn’t.”

“Good.”

The ice in the room seemed to melt. The beast however, didn’t move from where he had her pressed into the counter.

“I bought a dress for you.”

“Really? When?”

“At the market. I’d like you to try it on.” He stepped back. She nodded. “I can go do that now.”

Belle started walking up to her room, glancing back to see the beast following her. She faced forward, thoughts racing. She entered her room and didn’t close it, knowing the beast would just invite himself in anyway.

Just as she predicted, he stepped inside and closed the door.

She let out a quiet sigh until her eye caught the soft blue dress he’d gotten her. A sun dress with a white collar and a pretty flower pattern towards the bottom. She stepped closer and pinched the fabric between her fingers. Thin and stretchy. Perfect for a sunny day in the garden.

Belle was lost in her thoughts until an impatient sigh reminded her of what she was meant to be doing. With a nervous shake in her hands, she began to undo her dress. She reached behind her back to unzip the dress, and then untie the strings. She held the front of the dress before slowly letting it pool around her ankle. Belle pushed the dress aside with her foot and began reaching for the new dress when the Beast stopped her.

“Without anything underneath.” He said gruffly. “The woman at the shop said it is meant to be worn without a corset or crinoline.”

Belle glanced down at the layers she wore before nodding. “Alright then.” She reached for the brace behind her, starting to unhook all the clamps. The moment she had the bust off, she felt like she could breathe again. She didn’t dare look look back at the beast while her hands moved to take off the crioline and the skirt. She stood in just her shorts, waiting for the beast to say something, but nothing came. Belle reached for the dress and tugged it on, feeling the soft fabric on her skin.

The familiar sound of the beasts footsteps approached, and she felt two large hands trace her spine.

“...you look good in this dress..” He said quietly. His voice so close to her ear sent a shiver down her spine.

“You have good taste.” She replied, trying to keep her cool. The beast let out a chuckle. “I was looking at a green one before the shop keeper came to help me.”

“Green? I wouldn’t have minded green.”

“Lime green.”

“Oh god.” She couldn’t help it, she laughed. For someone who dressed in suits every other day, he didn’t have the best taste when it came to dresses.

“I’ll have to accompany you whenever you go shopping, lest I end up looking like some kind of fruit.”

There was a sudden warmth on her neck, and she realized the beast had kissed her. “Tomorrow then. We can go into that town, and you can pick out a new dress.” His hand dipped between the open backing and caressed her side. “Is that… something you’d like?”

“I would enjoy that, yes.” She leaned back into him.

“Good, good.” He nipped at the crook of her neck and she gasped. The beast licked at the small mark, kissing it before moving closer to her neck and doing it again. His hands moved up to slip the dress of her shoulders, letting it fall to her ankles. He slowly brought his hands around her waist and up, stopping at her ribcage.

“Is this alright?” He asked her.

Belle paused and took a few calming breaths to regather her thoughts. After a moment, she nodded. “Don’t stop.”

His hands moved up to gently cup her chest, gently squeezing them. She let out a breathless sigh and closed her eyes, letting him feel her up. She liked the way his warm hands felt, wrapping around her waist and gently gliding across her skin. She liked the way he would nip at her, only to lick and kiss at the small mark. But what she liked the most, is when he couldn’t hold himself back anymore, and brought her over to the bed.

The beast, conscious of his massive size, was careful to not crush her. He was on his hands and knees, practically shaking with the effort it took to be gentle. Belle reached up and took his face in her hands.

“I won’t break.” She whispered to him. “You don’t have to be so careful.”

He stared at her, looking for any sign of deceit before sighing. “Alright. Just… stop me if I hurt you.”

“I will.”

Belle and beast made quick work of their clothes, leaving her a little nervous once she saw the size of the beast. He was fairly large, which shouldn’t have surprised her. He was massive compared to her.

“We don’t have to do this.” He whispered to her, once he saw the hesitation written on her face.

“No. No. I’d like to.” She said firmly.

The beast let out a sigh, “Alright. But we’re doing this my way.”

Before she could ask, he’d grabbed her by her legs and brought her closer. He moved her legs apart before positioning himself between them. He then closed her legs, groaning as he felt her soft flesh around his aching cock.

The beast slowly started to move his hips back and forth and she watched as his face seemed to contort in pleasure. She couldn’t help but feel the excitement bubbling up in her chest as he seemed to get more and more desperate.

Moments later he was moving her to lay on her stomach while he hovered above her. He growled into her ear, hands holding her hips still while he continued to thrust between her thighs.

“You’re mine.” He growled, his grip tightening around her hips. She let out a moan, grabbing onto the sheets, desperate for something to hold onto. Her eyelids fluttered and she pressed her face into the pillow to try and quiet herself. The beast didn’t like that, grabbing a fist full of hair and yanking it back, causing her to let out another moan.

“There’s no hiding from me, darling.” He rumbled. Deciding that it wasn’t enough, he pulled out from between her thighs and moved her onto her back.

“I need to be inside you.” He said, before pausing. Belle realized he was silently asking for permission, and she nodded. “Yes, please.” She whispered. The beast nodded and moved down until his face was between her legs.

“I’ve made such a mess. Allow me to clean it up.” His hands gently held her legs open while he began to lick up the remnants of his mess off of her inner thighs. Belle let out a quivering moan. He was so close. So close to where she wanted him, it was driving her mad. His long tongue made quick work of the mess, His teeth would occasionally come out to rake across her skin, leaving her tight with goosebumps.

“Beast, please.” She whined, reaching out to grab onto his head, her hand instead wrapping around his horn. She glanced down and reached her other hand out, firmly gripping his horns and bringing him to her dripping mound.

The moment his tongue moved out to lap at her, she let out a loud moan, her grip on his horns faltering. Belle swore she could almost feel him grinning.

“Beast-” She whined, tightening her grip as he started to lap at her with a sudden hunger. His tongue was large, covering her with one long stripe. And when he moved his tongue inside, she felt like she was on fire.

Just as she was starting to get used to the sensation, she felt something start to poke and prod at her entrance. Looking down, she saw his finger, teasing her before slipping in. She groaned, adjusting to thew size of his large finger. Not long after, he inserted a second. This time he waited, giving her more time to adjust before he slowly started to move his fingers in and out, doing his best to be gentle as he didn’t want to scratch her with his claws. She felt her heart pounding in her chest, her body trembling with every new sensation. Once he started to gently scissor her open, she felt herself start to relax into the motions.

His fingers stretched her, then slowly pumped back inside her. Then he’d stretch her, and pump into her. The motions grew relaxing, even when he inserted a third finger.

“Is the third really necessary?” She asked, not realizing how needy she was beginning to sound. Her face was red and flushed, lips swollen from stolen kisses and her biting down to keep quiet. She was already fallen apart, and the beast was nowhere near done with her.

"Impatient, are we?" The beast smiled, but humored her request, pulling his fingers out and rising up to his knees to show her his size. She swallowed nervously.

"Nervous?" He asked her.

"A little."

"I'll be gentle." The beast said as he moved above her, capturing her lips in a gentle kiss. Belle smiled into the kiss, leaning back on the bed and wrapping her arms around his neck, barely managing to lace her fingers together behind his large frame.

She felt him at her enterance, feeling immensely grateful that he had taken the time to properly stretch her once she felt the size of the tip. She took a deep breath as he pushed his cock in. She let out a groan, feeling the stretch of her walls. The beast paused, waiting for her go ahead before pushing in all the way.

Tears brimmed Belle's eyes, and she held him tight, waiting for the pain to fade away. He was massive, stretching her beyond any toy she'd ever used on herself before.

"Okay...Okay. You can move." She mumbled.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

The beast let out a sigh and slowly started moving, watching her face with the intensity of a thousand suns. She's grimace every now and then, but soon the pain gave way to pleasure and she found herself digging her nails into the beast's furry back.

The beast picked up the speed, swallowing her moans with a kiss. Belle eagerly kissed back, pulling him as close as she could.

Her entire body was brimming with pleasure, she hardly registered the rough thrusts that would more than likely bruise her cervix. She could barely even register the murmuered words of beast, begging her to let him breed her, begging to fill her up until she was overflowing.

Any words she wanted to say were ripped from her throat as he suddenly pounded into her, pinning her shoulders down to the bed with his hands.

"You feel so damn good," He growled. "Split open on my cock."

She could only moan in response, nails scratching the expanse of his back as she struggled to stabilize herself.

"I'm going to fill you up, and if you spill anything I'm going to make you clean it up."

The beast's thrusts grew sloppy and just when she thought she couldn't take it anymore, he came inside her. Her insides were filled with a hot fluid, coating every inch of her before spilling out.

"Don't pull out." She whispered, pulling him down to lay on top of her. "Just... stay."

He nodded absentmindedly, carefully adjusting his weight so he wasn't crushing her.

"Mm... we can go to the market tomorrow afternoon." He said, feeling like he wanted to take a nap and not wake up until late the next day.

"I can't exactly feel my legs."

"...ah. That could pose a problem."

"Maybe the day after?"

"I'm free all week."

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12pt-times-new-roman · 1 year ago

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c3e89

Rashina gives the Bells Hells a task so they can prove themselves valuable to the Volition. They are in the midst of plotting to topple the Weave-mind and free the people of Ruidus from the Emperium; they are willing to give anything and everything for the future of Ruidus.

Rashina is slow to trust -- her father was a very trusting man, "and all it took was to trust the wrong person once." But the Volition is running out of time. She brings them to a war room-like area with a central table, and one of the people in here -- Gaztomo -- has some small, fungus-like creatures (mycits) as pets.

There are hundreds of thousands of mycits that work throughout the city -- they have no political leanings, but they're useful, like giant fungal isopods.

The reiloran variants were once a singular people, but over time, the Weave-mind genetically engineered or selectively bred the telepathic abilities out of many reilorans -- they have fundamentally altered the evolution of the entire species to their ends. Their forms are withered, taxed beyond even their stretched lifespans, and the same five have been in power for over five centuries. They can psychically project their minds all over the moon, and can inhabit the minds of reilorans who have been marked with a device at the back of their necks. Every civilian of Kreviris is marked, and a potential extension of the Weave-mind. They have extremely powerful wills, but although they can look at anyone and everyone, there are still only five of them -- and the Volition, which was apparently established by Rashina's father, ensures that their members have their marks carved out.

Reiloran children are brought to the Arks Crionum (the citadel) shortly after birth to be marked. The marks are biologically-engineered, organic implants.

Ruidian society has been "reset" by the Weave-mind at least four times, Kreviris has been rebuilt at least twice and the central pillar has been the only constant thing.

Exandrian gods have no reach on Ruidus. There are no miracles here. All that they have is each other, the promises of the Weave-mind, and the occasional whisper, the promise of belonging, from below. The Weave-mind is the interpreter of Predathos' whisperings; but Predathos does not speak directly to Ruidians because Exandrians are ultimately more useful to its plan of escape.

Before the Weave-mind, there was a collective of societies across Ruidus; the Emperium rose among them, and there was an event called the Crush nearly three centuries ago that destroyed them and allowed the Emperium to rise to ultimate power. This corresponds directly to the fall of Molaesmyr.

Within the citadel, the Weave-mind has a massive collection of bio-engineered tools and weapons, and those are what allowed them to come to power.

In addition to the flares, Ruidus also experiences quakes; they're rare, happening once every few years, but like the flares they have also been increasing in frequency. The Crush was a series of quakes so strong that it destroyed the majority of Ruidian society, reducing nearly everything to ruins.

The Dominion of Kruth -- Kreviris' military branch -- is headed by Oko Kruth, whose bloodline has a particular psychic connection to the beasts of the land. "If you see them, run -- or end things real quick."

The Tectis are Kreviris' upper echelons, politicians, police chiefs, enforcers. nobles -- they're an eclectic bunch, paranoid, and while most are in the pocket of the Weave-mind, some of them are aligned with the Volition. (I'm really trying to ignore Matt's Bioshock reference with the "ace in the hole" thing here.)

Ludinus has been running a deep excavation underneath the "prime pillar" of Kreviris, and shuttling strange artifacts there from the bridge. (I'm also trying very hard to ignore the way that Rashina's inflections mirror Essek's.)

To many Ruidians, Predathos is the closest thing they have to religious faith. What Rashina knows is that since the Vanguard has arrived, the Emperium has been ushering in an air of excitement among the populace with the promise of relocation to Exandria. There have been celebrations across the city, demonstrations in the streets. She doesn't know what it means for Ruidus; but she believes the intent is for those who are loyal to the Weave-mind to go to Exandria. "The only reason we know our life is so hard here is because we compare it to what we see in your dreams... we see feasts, holidays, miracles and... here, there is dust and survival. There is joy to be found here; but it's one thing to not know otherwise, but most nights, the basis of comparison is put in our faces." The Weave-mind is responsible for those dreams.

The Weave-mind also, when they came to power, destroyed every historical text and record they could get their hands on, and the Volition has nothing left of it.

They begin talking about their plans for the morning.

First, a detonation at Ludinus' excavation beneath the pillar that would let the Volition recover some prisoners. Sorrowlord Zathuda is overseeing the excavation at the moment. One among their number is already helming this move: as she gestures to him, Ira Wendigoth emerges from the shadows.

Secondly, an infiltration mission: one of their spies, Everoa -- a bormodo scientist tangential to Ludinus' experiments with Aeorian technology -- has gone missing, and needs to be recovered. She was working in the Coloquium of Candescence at the base of the citadel. Last the Volition heard, she was working on a device or weapon for Ludinus.

Thirdly, there is a rescue option: numerous Volition members and Exandrians who opposed the Emperium were taken hostage about a week ago. Rashina gestures to a green dragonborn in the shadows, who's leading the expedition: Bizoden Amari, who is a champion of Bane, the Strife Emperor (another one of the lawful-evil Betrayer Gods) and came here on behalf of him. She looks at FCG: "you smell of a broken road... Freedom brings all to ruin in time."

And lastly, the secret fourth option, led by Gaz himself: a mission to assassinate Liliana Temult.

They are given the night to sleep on the decision.

Imogen expresses similar feelings toward the prospect of killing her mother as before: it would take a lot to redeem her, with nearly 30 years of working for the Emperium under her belt. She's worried that she'll try to stop it. At the same time, she recognizes that she never really knew her mother, and her situation is very similar to Fearne's, whose estranged father is running the excavation.

Laudna also points out that they're going on one of these missions to gain the trust of the Volition, so to go on one of them for their own personal gain instead could jeopardize that if it fails; while Orym points out that if they succeed in killing Liliana, this mission is her last chance to talk to her.

I'm already partial to going to find the scientist because they might encounter more Aeorian technology, but it's also interesting that no one has mentioned that doing that one could also yield more info about FCG.

FCG uses the coin to ask the Changebringer whether or not Imogen's mother is redeemable. When the coin flips, it usually has this ring to it, but here it's silent, and it lands squarely on its side -- "unsure."

Gaz comes back, and Imogen convinces him to tell them about the assassination. They recently discovered that she's been held up in the Woven Music Grand Hall, gathering a lot of Exandrian ruidusborn there. Imogen learns that there are certain devices that can interrupt thought-eaters and some psychic abilities. I need someone to insight check her, please

"You're working on a lot of assumptions that your mother is redeemable... an estranged parent is just a stranger who can make you believe any bullshit." Ashton is completely right -- every time they've encountered Liliana it's been "this one last chance," over and over again. If Imogen tries to reach out to her, there is the incredible risk that she will expose them and the Volition -- and on only Imogen's word, they sacrifice the trust the Volition has given them, they take the risk that Imogen will be pulled in to Predathos, they take the risk that Liliana will pinpoint her location, and they ensure that Ashton has disadvantage on basically everything during whatever excursion they go on. (Imogen constantly gets her way with this party, and someone really needs to call her on the bullshit she's pulling before it gets them all killed.)

Imogen decides to reach out to Liliana. In the dream, it's just color and warmth; then, a light, and Liliana appears curled up in a ball, hovering in the air.

Liliana explains that she thinks she's opposing Ludinus, she's pulled him back from the edge -- and she is saving people, there are Ruidisborn children here who she's protecting. But she's still convinced in his mission, that setting Predathos free will free them all, that killing the gods is an overall good thing. She wants Imogen to believe that she loves her, but she's never shown it; doesn't deny that she would kill Imogen if she had to. She thinks that she can guide Ludinus' plan down the right path, but still believes in the end goal -- she thinks she can do it safely.

"If we do this right, maybe we can all go home. [No, mama. You're lying to yourself. They're lying to you. Ludinus is an evil, evil man, and he's gotten into your head.] History is full of evil men. Few have the courage to stand up and try to stop them. I don't think we're on the opposing side like you think we are, we just have opposing methods, that's all. Please see it in yourself to understand why I've given up all of this. [Maybe it's your turn to run.]"

They decide that it's not a good idea for any of them to go on the assassination mission -- Imogen because she couldn't handle it (which is perfectly understandable, my god), and everyone else because she wouldn't forgive them if they had a hand in it.

There are a lot of good things coming out of this -- FCG acknowledging that the gods are gray, Imogen recognizing that her mother isn't going to flip sides, Laudna not instinctively taking Liliana's side against the gods.

Chetney gets at something they really don't have an answer to: sure, you might think the gods are tyrants, but why? What's the underlying motive there? There needs to be one. I personally think that Ludinus wants to make a massive power vacuum so he himself can fill it, but it could be something else.

"Sure, I can see the tyrant in the gods, but I can see the tyrant in the man too." "We're not all that different, gods and mortals."

Luckily, the Bells Hells do know some basics about the Divine Gate and its purpose to keep divinity separate from Exandria, and Orym knows that it wasn't that long ago that Vecna got banished behind it. They are of the general consensus that releasing Predathos would be bad if its true intent is to destroy the gods; but where they're unsure is what will happen to Predathos, and more importantly Ruidus itself, if Predathos is not released.

Also, I was wrong, Ashton only gets disadvantage on ability checks, not attacks. Which is better, sure, but that means disadvantage on stealth, and all of the available missions are at least partially stealth-based.

As they wake up, the Volition base is buzzing with energy.

Fearne goes to find Ira as he's making some bombs. His plan is to cloak his team in illusions, sneak into one of the more recently-constructed tunnels, plant the bombs on the drilling devices there, and explode them. Also, Ira did previously know that Zathuda was Fearne's father, which really complicates Ira's relationship with the Calloways -- but his ire with Zathuda is because he's had bad dealings with the Unseelie. Ludinus stole his designs and is trying to change the course of history without giving him credit.

Ira also has a theory regarding Fearne's birth: "In my mind, it seems that Ludinus and the Vanguard's interest involved creating as many Ruidisborn as possible, in the hopes that the few odd children might be born special (read: exaltant). You were halfway there."

Fearne does want to see Zathuda, but it's not the same as the situation with Liliana because Zathuda isn't very likely to actually die during that mission -- he might not even be there.

Imogen and Laudna talk about Liliana. "As someone who loves you, I can't imagine abandoning you." "But you have another power pulling at you, don't you? I thought we got rid of Delilah, we beat her, but as soon as we split up, you fanned that ember back into a flame and now it's bigger than ever... but I can hate Delilah, and love you." Imogen doesn't know if she'll ever be free of Ruidus, and Laudna doesn't know if she'll ever be free of Delilah, but "if getting rid of Delilah means getting rid of you, I don't think that's worth it... I just wish I knew why you gave her power again." "I didn't mean to -- it wasn't a choice. She never fully left." "Are you telling me the truth? You wouldn't lie to me again, right Laudna?" OUGH--

They kiss. "I will never let you go. And if you need her, then that's my answer." "But what if by holding on to you, I'm holding you down? You are destined for greatness. We can all pretend that we're special, unique maybe -- but not the kind of special that you are. Everything is being set up, is being staged, for you to be the savior of Exandria." (oh I hate this narrative but I love how illustrative it is of the dysfunction they need to address--) "Laudna, if you weren't holding me down, I wouldn't be saving anyone but Predathos. I would be gone."

It's so interesting how Laudna is interpreting the narrative surrounding Imogen as opposed to Imogen herself, and how she's superimposing that narrative over Imogen's own agency. It's an extension of her codependence, sure, but it's also a projection of the issues Laudna has with her own agency in relation to Delilah, and it's just so complicated and I want to SCREAM (/pos)

(The sasquatch-like creatures are Quinakkas.)

Ira has built a series of screech plumes, which disrupt and scramble both magic and psychic abilities. The Volition will use them in the assassination attempt. It is implied that the design of these were based on the Aeorian disruption devices the Bells Hells found earlier.

They enter the war room. Today is a day of action. They decide to split up: FCG, Ashton, and Fearne will go with Ira to the detonation site, while Chetney, Imogen, Orym, and Laudna will go to the citadel to retrieve the bormodo scientist. All told, these are pretty good group makeups -- and the addition of a reiloran caster to the infiltration group and Ira to the demolition group rounds out the party makeup. The only thing Team Infiltration is missing is a healer, but with Laudna's wither and bloom plus the fact that most of their stuff refreshes on a short rest, I think they'll be alright.

Just before they head out, FCG pops a greater restoration on Ashton to clear their last point of exhaustion. Also, the reiloran mystic casts both invisibility and see invisibility on the entire team. Meanwhile, Ira casts seeming on the demolition team, and they take on the guise of quanikkas, bormodos, and -- for FCG and Mister -- mycits. (Ira himself is a thought-eater reiloran.)

Thankfully, at the last minute, Team Infiltration -- which has no full healers -- takes a bunch of the health potions.

I'm very curious as to whether Matt is going to split the teams up and introduce guests, or if he's gonna switch off every half hour or so. I'm leaning toward splitting them up, but we'll see.

As they descend, they see a society -- children, little flying creatures, a weird faccimile of Exandrian architecture. Music -- there are musicians here. Towers that are filed-down or half-remembered elvish, nearly-dwarven buildings -- this is a society based in a mixture of disparate interpretation, and in being so, is wholly unique and uniquely beautiful. Only then do they notice the Dominion of Kruth, thick in the streets -- the sound of drills being run, the sight of war machines and armored juggernauts, training in what feels like preparation for a move to Exandria at some undesignated future time.

#critical role #note watches c3 #critical role spoilers #critical role campaign 3 #critical role c3 #critical role liveblog #long post #very long post

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aaal-iz-well · 1 year ago

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GUYS I NEED YOUR HELP!!!

so there's this part of my fic that I just cannot decide on, and it would be lovely if you'd be kind enough to share your thoughts on both pieces. PLEASE!!🙏🙏

Thank you, so I'm confused about which play to play in the fic, and here are pieces from both of them.

Beauty and the Beast. (I was not planning on this, but I got a suggestion and I cant stop thinking about it!

“We’re playing Beauty and the Beast,” he continued, “and you would’ve made an excellent Belle; dead somebody, vaguely tragic past, fell in love with a prince and inherited a castle.” He ended with a finger brushing hair behind my ear.

Ouch.

I swatted his hand away, narrowed my eyes. “Let me guess. You're the Beast.”

“It sounds bad when you put it like that. I prefer to think of myself as a fallen misunderstood prince turned Beast by a cruel temptress to bring out his heart of gold.” His voice got dreamier by the word.

“Of course you do,” I muttered.

“Great.” He clapped his hands. “Now that we’re on the same page on how I should be projected, we can come up with some great costume designs.”

Wait a minute. “We?”

“Yes.” He gestured between us. Duh. “You and me, we? Not as romantic as you’d like, but still.”

It took a monumental amount of will power, honed through years of ignoring insults, to focus on the problem at hand. “But I’m doing stage design, not the costumes.” I held up a finger. “Hold up a minute, there must’ve been a mistake, I’ll talk to the director.

And then there's this:

“So,” Jameson said with a grin, chin delicately poised over his knuckles, “shall we begin? I have other work to do, after all.”

“Of course, when do you not?” I sighed, like someone whose access had been revoked. There were more than a dozen people working on the stages, no one would notice if I slipped out, instead I was stuck being the personal curator of Jameson’s stupid beast costume.

“Hey, getting into character takes a lot of time.” He knocked my shoulder, and something in me snapped.

“Yes, Jameson, I got it,” I groaned. “It takes a lot of effort to huff and brood and roam around acting all stupid beasty.” My hands clenched halfway in front of me, giving up when realising there was no use of undue displays of anger. “Try getting stuck with something you don’t know the first thing about.”

His chair, teetering at the very edge of a head smashing fall, loudly slid back into place. There was nothing different about him per se, but when he spoke, his voice was not the silky, careless, you-had-to-lean-in-to-hear thingy I was used to. “You're saying that I don’t have to work or do anything, because, what,” he chuckled humourlessly. “I’m already all that?”

“I didn’t say that,” I said weakly, reeling my shoulders in.

His lip curled, but his voice was hurt. “You know, you might as well have. It’s apparent enough without you having to work for it.”

Then,

Pride and Prejudice.

“We’re playing Pride and Prejudice this year,” he continued, “and you would have made an excellent Elizabeth; small town girl, big dreamer, madly and irrevocably in love with a charmingly tight-lipped rich man. It’s very-” he hovered an appraising hand over me “-you.”

You're not tight lipped, are you, I thought.

I swatted his hand away, narrowed my eyes. “Let me guess. You're Wickham.”

He hit a fist against his chest. “Oh, how the lady wounds me,” he moaned. Suddenly, he straightened, and I realised just how tall he was when he wasn’t leaning or slouching or whatever. He crossed his legs and curtsied, then took my hand and brought it to his lips. “Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberly, Derbyshire,” he pronounced, words thick with a -rather impressive- posh accent.

I blinked, hand still in his, before remembering to snatch it away.

His serious face morphed into a smirk. He nudged me. “I had you for a moment, didn’t I?”

I managed a flat look. “Not even close. It’s just a sad lonely rich man.”

“It sounds bad when you put it like that. I prefer to think of myself as a misunderstood soul, lost in the complexities of high society, bogged down by the tremendous weight of position and responsibility, freed, in a sense, by love for an intelligent young woman.”

“Of course you do,” I muttered.

He clapped his hands. “Great. Now that we’re on the same page about the light I should be portrayed in, we can come up with some great costume designs.”

And its pretty much the same, bickering and what not.

So what did you guys think? Detailed and constructive criticism is VERY VERY welcome. Thank you!

#the inheritance games #jameson hawthorne #avery grambs #ao3 #averyjameson #tig fanfic #fanfic writing #reader's opinions #help please!!!#HYIALG #archive of our own #fanfiction

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blackbutlerfandomnerddomain · 11 months ago

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I watched Rise of red and have some complaints/thoughts:

Some of the songs were good, but the soundtrack wasn't as good as the others in my opinion.

LOVE the outfits, hints and the heart card skirt is fucking adorable!

Chloe and Red and fucking enemies to friends to lover lesbians I HOPE cause I will scream if Disney doesn't do that

I feel like the setting of the time travel is weird. Like, they go back in time when the adults are teens, but they're all in high school??? In a world I thought we at most confirmed to be mostly canon in animated movie timelines????? I mean, the villains who died in their movies are brought back to be banished with no magic on the Isle, so like...why???

Also, it adds a bit more levels of fucked up with the idea Belle and Beast are SOMEWHERE in the past and maybe grew up with everyone and then somewhere along the way when a new country/era was made with them being the rulers but basically shoved a lot of their old classmates onto a literal island with no magic cause "living with no magic is a fate worst than death".

All in all, it's a good movie. Did it have to been promoted in trailers and ads with Uma, implying she's a main focus, when they could've done either just the film as a fun in universe movie with the same plot of maybe a lil' book series that plays with the lore? I'm more upset with the fact we didn't get the original casts much and when we did it was very slim even though their faces were all over this project.

If I had to do a rating system of all the movies counting the Royal Wedding with ten being the highest and bestest film ever, I'll say:

Descendants - 8/10. Great story idea, soundtrack always slaps even if you were like me at the time and heard it like a million times if you live/work with children, and all the characters have changed a bit throughout the movie!

Descendants 2 - 9/10 Same for the first one, great plot. It's a good sequel. It gave me one of my favorite plot tropes of identity crisis and being comfortable in your own skin in Mal, the songs are so good to the point I still add What's My Name in my playlist, the costumes (minus Mal's wig but it gets a pass) are amazing as fuck, Uma and her crew are just *chef's kiss* Also this movie was just a lot of bi/pan energy and you can't convince me other wise! China was one of my earliest girl crushes and of course she's an amazing character, Harry Hook made me physically stop at my tracks when I first watched the movie, the kind of funny tension between any guy with Harry or any girl with Mal and of course THIS THING-

LIKE DISNEY, I SWEAR YOU DID A FIGHTING VERSION OF THIS IN RISE OF RED, IF YOU PULL THE "oh they're just good friends" LIE ON ME AGAIN I WILL BE PISSED!!

Descendants 3 - 6/10 It's not bad but it's just not as good as the others, ya know? Some of the costumes were weird, what was Doug's hair????, Jane and Carlos are just the fucking CUTESTS ever, while I was upset the songs didn't stick as hard, I do love Queen of Mean and Do What You Had To Do, the plot was sadly not a good one to follow even though there were so many things that were a good idea. Alas, so many good ideas yet so little time. But I think it has a higher ranking in my heart simply because this one was the main one that started my Disney Villain Recruiters Descendants AU that I still love so much

Speaking of which, I think since I wrote the one with Dalmatia not that long ago I'll try and see what I can do with the AU with all the movies, not just Rise of Red. I already have an idea of Jack Heart in this world since watching it, I still have drafts of certain events such as Apple seeing Snow again, I also think I need to cause I found out Harry and Audrey, a ship I grew to love over time since first watching it (Literally I was very into Harry and Uma and was at first annoyed when they baited and switched me in the end but I LOVE these two more!!!), are apparently not together in this! Now this is rumors I think but like I think someone confirmed she's engaged or married to a prince and Harry is sailing with his own crew.

DISNEY!!!

ANYWAYS!

I'll see what I'll be doing! I'm a little curious what they'll do from here is they do anything even if I personally didn't like it. Maybe we'll see the bad choices of the time traveling? I would like an idea of what if Red's mum wasn't evil then her and her dad may or not met, since in the original Disney Alice In Wonderland our lil king LOVES his wife even when she's scary! I personally think that would be a fun idea. And I seriously can't be the ONLY ONE who thought we were gonna have some big reveal that Cinderella was mean or ghosted to Bridget (love the pun name btw, good job Disney) in the past. Cause like her rage was a lot more than just they were friends when a prank happened and suddenly she's evil now. Like I was expecting a reveal like Cinderella went to the party and either knowingly knew but didn't stop the prank or unknowingly helped. Or maybe even had them be friends but she left Bridget alone/didn't stop the bullying in a kind of early Amity and Willow situation from Owl House with maybe Tremaine doing something to cause that to happen like a rumor Bridget is a bad influence, that could give her a edge as an adult of "you want mad, I'll give you mad" kind of scene.

Also the timeline of the film is a little weird minus the whole high school thing. They did a throwaway line of Chad being in collage which made me pump the breaks a bit. I assumed first Descendants they're all 14-16 years old, Descendants 2 takes place a year or so later, and Descendants 3 taking place another year or two depending on how I viewed the timeline of the Wicked World show with everyone being graduated and doing their parts in society and helping the school cause more kids from the Isle are added in, ending the series with the cast being mostly 18-19 years old at least with maybe Carlos and Jane being 17 since they may be younger in the cast. Yet with this line implies to me Mal and Ben got married right after graduating from school, and while we don't know what was happening during the moment of the wedding and the other movies, Uma being in charge would be rushed and sudden for everyone even herself since she should be the same age as the two who got married not that long ago. Also adds a interesting question of when did Carlos die within the timeline? Cause now I'm scared we got that cute moment with him and Jane having their ship name necklace and just all that sappy sappy cuteness and just afterwards Carlos died off screen before Royal Wedding which I'm guessing takes places the same year at least since everyone's designs imply so with hair and wardrobe.

I literally just wrote a fic of Dalmatia grieving Carlos on the same night of the wedding and I wasn't thinking much on timeline until NOW!

Ideas I have before I leave:

Instead of going back in time in the time your parent(s) are in highschool, I would've liked if it was before the Isle was locked away, like starting off. We could have an excuse to see younger casts of the Villain Kids and maybe even get more hints of who the other parents are, maybe even reveal some kids from the books even if it's a cameo in the back.

Have Red be more conflicted of how she rules. Her being scared to be like her mum is great, and her being a rebel is amazing, maybe show her be a great ruler in the rebellion and have a scene afterwards of her complaining about being a ruler. I would write her with that fear with maybe her seeing throughout the story that maybe there's a reason her mum was a little mad.

Have Chloe's struggle of what to do and break out her shell a bit more and not rushed??

Maybe do a reveal of Bridget being the Queen of Hearts later if you want to do that. Like, have a character fans assume is her and then like a saying happens and we get that plot twist.

That's all for now, I'd like to hear other's thoughts and ideas tho!

#descendants #rise of red #descendants rise of red #movie review #???#also if anyone knows if that rumor is canon or not please do

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voidsdamned · 3 months ago

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Wicked Natures - The Ghoul/OC (Female Character) Chapter Twenty-Three

Summary: Bounty hunters are frequent customers at Mulholland's Saloon, and Rue's taken quite a shine to one gunslinger in particular: a cantankerous, old Ghoul in a tattered duster. Witness her unabashedly lust after him in all his irradiated glory (as we are all currently doing), as well as navigate the precarious relationship she unfortunately has with local law enforcement.

Minors, do not interact.

Content Warnings: Some sweetness. Flirting. Lots of swearing. Dirty talk. Bit of drinking.

Enjoy <3

Chapter Twenty-Three: Too Sappy

Dreams of hanging from a curtain rod and getting the business are shattered when said rod snaps. Which would be heartbreaking if it wasn’t so goddamn funny. But it really is. Rue spends far too long on the floor in a fit of cackle laughter, Cooper standing wide-eyed over her, surprised it happened. But he breaks with a, “Pft,” and he’s almost laughing as hard as she is as he gathers Rue up in his arms and takes her bed.

They make do, binding her wrists to headboard, and inevitably, her ankles to baseboard when she keeps trying to snake her legs around the Ghoul’s waist. And she gets an eye-spinning, tear-inducing pinch to her overly sensitive downstairs the second time she wriggles her left wrist free of her binds to reach out and stroke the lovely beast who makes her cry and shake and come undone in the most divine way possible.

His mouth is everywhere she could possibly want it, drawing her breath from her very lungs. Leaving her lips raw and the taste of copper on her tongue when he nips with fury. Peppering bites here and there and everywhere, a particularly brutal one on her hip because it apparently looks too delicious not to bite into. Same goes for those pretty titties that soon become too tender and too well loved it makes her ache when he so much as breathes on them. And how he feasts between her legs like a man starved, wringing two more orgasms from her before he takes to licking and sucking languid and lazy. No intention other than to tease something that sends jolts up her spine and has her fingers curling tight around the ropes cutting into her wrists.

But Coop kisses her tears away, and he smooths thumbs over ribcage and hips. Pressing in at her sides before gripping and groping with a need and appreciation. All the while, his voice is there, cooing praise or rasping filth. Eyes tender and scorching in turns.

Rue’s out of her mind by the time those ropes come undone; she’s jelly and shot nerves. Fuzzy and tinkling like bells when he turns her over, coming back alive when she feels the heat of him radiating through buzzing skin. Instead of taking her, he melts her. Makes a drooling, dazed expression become one of complete surprise when he rubs those rough, warm, encompassing hands up and down her spine. Kneading her shoulders, sides, and lower back with equal measures care and muscle-deep pressure.

Rue goes liquid, lip wobbling and eyes stinging. That’s all she ever wanted right there: someone soothing her hurt without her even having to ask. Words escape her, leaving her with nothing but soft, incidental ‘mmm’ noises.

“Bobcat got your tongue?”

“You’re beautiful,” Rue murmurs, a little misty. “Inside and out.”

“Don’t go gettin’ sappy on me,” the Ghoul chides soft, hands at her shoulders where they work wonders. “I’m gonna have you screamin’ ‘til your voice goes out in a minute.”

Rue buries her face in her still tingly arms. “I just been wantin’ someone to rub on my back for forever, and here ya are doin’ it so sweet and good. …Could ya, maybe, do it a bit higher? A lil’ to the left?”

Cooper complies with a small, teasing grumble of, “Givin’ me orders,” the heel of his hand rolling up and over, finding the spot. Rue’s eyes flutter, a low sound of pleasure scarcely leaving her throat. Louder when that third leg of his jumps. She’s tender between the legs, and just that slight motion of him has all her nerves prickling. Glancing. Slow-dissolving when he just keeps loving her with easing, attentive hands that undo in a brand-new way. That make her feel… still inside. Like she’s breathing deep and even and easy for the first time in years.

Rue is getting sappy, too sappy. She clears her throat and blinks her eyes, asking, “Lemme do for you?”

“No ma’am.” Hands smooth down her arms, the body above hers pressing into her spine. She tilts her face when she feels Cooper’s breath on her cheek. He kisses her slow, grinds slower. Nipping at her when she pants and gasps and lights up. “Ya just get to take it.”

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A satisfactory soreness is well settled in bone and tissue, and Rue babies herself through it with a long soak in a bath full of hot water. A rag over her heavy, groggy eyes as she fights off the sleep that she’d honestly rather return to (damn Stimpak has zapped all her energy now that it’s run its course), but she’s spent enough time fucking around and sleeping. She is on a mission: find Lara, kiss Lara’s cheeks, squeeze Lara to death, and then sheriff murdering.

Outside of the bathroom, a distant jingle-jangle has her perking, pulling the rag off her eyes, and a moment later, a door shuts soundly. The Ghoul breezes in, dressed and ready for at least two hours now while Rue has moved with the haste of a slug. He’s got her bag in hand, fingers pulling out fresh, creamy fabric.

“Found one that should fit….” His eyes come up, sweeping. Fixing. A smirk creeps on. “Don’tcha look so sorry, all tired-eyed and bruised up.”

“Mm.” Rue drags herself upright. “Ain’t I pretty all marked up and done in by ya?”

The Ghoul’s smirk spreads into a grin. “Get your ass outta that tub. They’re gonna try to pin us for another night if we ain’t out in an hour.”

Rue moves quick as she can, air drying as she tames her curls into a braid, wiggling into a new set of clothes, and packing away the ones that are very nearly dry. They’ve got fifteen minutes to spare –several of them lost to a quickie when Rue pops out of the bathroom to find Cooper reclined spread-legged in an old armchair and she can’t resist the urge to saddle up.

But after that, Rue’s serious; on the move and out the door, a previous discussion with Cooper revealing most every trading company has an office in the Hub’s downtown. And though she first sets off in the wrong direction, that’s quickly corrected with a tug at her wrist and a push in the right one. They keep close; the Ghoul mentioning in a low-pitched tone she’s already got tails.

Rue’s not particularly worried. Not with what the both of them bring to the table and the NCR’s way of doing things. But she is a little disappointed when they reach the squat, wood-and-brick building bearing the swooshing Crimson Caravan signage and the Ghoul says he’ll find ways to entertain himself while she plays catch-up with her friend. He’s not in the meeting folks mood.

“Ya gonna lurk?”

“Wouldn’t call it lurkin’.” Cooper’s already walking off. “I’m just gon’ keep eyes on the people keepin’ eyes on you.”

Rue sighs a dreamy, teasing, “My hero.”

His snort has her grinning as she pulls open the front door and steps into the moderately hectic office. Chit-chatter overpowers the fuzzy notes of Don’t Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes crackling from a radio that needs its antennas fiddled with, and all manners of folk move back and forth, posting up to wait in so many lines. Lines to trade. Lines to talk. Lines where a lady points for a fella to go stand in another line, and Rue's certain she's never seen a face quite so defeated before as said fella trudges off to do as told.

Line waiting seems a waste, a form of torture, but the Hub –the NCR– is a different beast. Bureaucratic, Cooper had told her as he twirled one of her curls ‘round his finger last night. Laws and lines and slow-moving as sap. So, Rue picks the shortest line and waits. A step forward a little bit at a time. Minutes that drag as she rocks back and forth on her heels and plays with her fingers until she stands face-to-face with a woman dressed so smartly in a pantsuit and little bowtie.

Rue smiles her best smile, holds out a hand all friendly, and compliments the bowtie even when the lady’s too-blue eyes tick up and down with derision. “Name’s Rue. I’m lookin’ for Lara Jiminez. She here?”

Another up-down accompanied by a small frown. A handshake ignored. “What do you want with Lara?”

“She’s my best friend.” Rue raps her scorned knuckles on the counter. “And she’d love to see me, and I sure would love to see her.”

“Uh-huh.” And the lady waddles off, disappearing through a door at the back of the room. Rue waits, watching the line build up behind her and telling one lady what a pretty shade of red her hair is.

“Rue!”

She whips around at her name just in time to see Lara sprinting from the back room, head on a swivel as she searches. She doesn’t need to hunt. Rue’s already coming for her, throwing herself over the counter to get at the honey-eyed brunette and answering Lara’s excited squeal with thrilled giggles. They wrap one another up, Rue spinning Lara around like the former courtesan is her great, lost love –decades having separated them instead of a few months– and blinking back tears that don’t have a goddamn reason to trickle out.

“I can’t believe you’re here!” And how watery Lara’s voice is, her laughter rough as Rue plants a smooch to each cheek just like she told herself she was going to do. “Don’t go smoochin’ me! Warner’s the jealous type, and all people do here is talk!”

“I’ll smooch him, too, for gettin’ ya here safe.” Rue squeezes and squeezes, her whole heart in the embrace. “Fuck, Lara, I’m so happy to see ya. See ya okay. I was gonna have a meltdown if ya weren’t here.”

A throat clears loudly. Rue and Lara pull themselves out of their little world where the bowtie-d lady has appeared and eyes them with the thinnest veiled of glares. Her chin jerks towards the door Lara had blown through. “We’re in a professional environment, ladies.”

A loud, disruptive, completely unprofessional fart sound almost leaves Rue's mouth, but Lara’s face is already flaming red, arms tightening as she drags Rue into the back. Down a hall. Through another door that spits them out in an alley the afternoon sun half cuts with gold. Only then do they release one another, and not even completely. Hands still rest on one another’s arms as they take each other in.

Rue’s always heard people can bloom or blossom, but she’d never seen it in real life until she takes a good, hard look at Lara. She’s always been so small, thin, but whatever time she’s spent in the Hub shows in a more filled-out figure. She’s got meat on her bones, a spark in her eyes. She’s tanned-up nicely, too. She looks healthy and happy. Like the Lara Dust was never going to let her be.

And apparently, to Lara, Rue looks like, “The Wastes’ve gnawed on you a bit, but you’re the most beautiful thing I’ve seen regardless. How’d ya get here? Why? You really came all this way to see me?”

“I told ya I would!” Rue chirps, thinking it’s more like a Ghoul gnawed on her but they can talk bed stuff later. “You’ve been one of the only things on my mind –even when the road was rough. I kept goin’ ‘cause I had to see ya.” And there’s such a weight off her chest. Her shoulders aren’t so heavy. That franticness and need to move just evaporate, and her goddamn eyes get watery again. She has to have another hug where her voice comes out tight in hair that smells sunny. “Lara, I’m so glad you’re okay. Deck put a fuckin’ hit out on ya for leavin’, and I was so scared you’d be dead.”

“I know,” Lara grumbles, fingers trailing along Rue’s braid. “Got ambushed at Many Ways –you pass through Many Ways?– but Warner’s deadly with that repeater. And that’s where I saw the poster, and I just knew what he’d done. Why. Men like him… they think they own everything and everyone. They don’t like it when ya show ‘em that’s a lie.” She shrugs. “And throwin’ his lil’ tantrum only hurt him. Caravan boss had taken a likin’ to me, and she’s already taken it up with her bosses. In a year, their contract with him expires and they won’t be renewin’. …It’s not the most fulfillin’ justice, but it’s somethin’. And I honestly don’t care to worry over it anymore. I’m safe enough here. I got a new life, and Dust is dead to me.”

I’ll get justice, Lara. I’ll find a camera so I can take pictures of it for ya.

“Fuck Dust.” Rue squeezes a last time before pulling away in full. “And fuck Deck.”

“Fuck ‘em.” Lara’s grin is new, wicked, and delighted, and she bounces on her heels. “Ya hate him now, too, yeah? I’ve been wantin’ to shit talk about that grimy sonofabitch for years, but I was tryin’ to be respectful ‘cause I know you two were frien-.”

“I hate him,” Rue professes, and it feels so good to say it aloud. Maybe not everything around it, what caused that hate, but just being able to say, “I hate Deck Craven,” to express the truth. To not pretend. It’s liberating, like loosing a breath long been held. “I been hatin’ him. I’m gonna hate him in my next life and forever, and we can shit talk him all goddamn day if ya want, but we gotta be havin’ fun while we’re doin’ it. We ain’t ever had the chance to be friends in the right way, and I wanna fix that.”

Honey eyes go glossy all over again, and Lara nods too much. Her voice a tight, hopeful breath as she asks, “Ya wanna go shoppin’ and try on things we can’t afford?”

Rue grasps her hands, nodding even more. Desperately, does she want that, and to, “And eat too much?”

Lara sniffs loud, wiping her face on the upper portion of her sleeve. “Yeah, ‘til we puke.”

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A “half-day of vacation” gets Lara out of work for the rest of the afternoon, and they kick off festivities by storming a “bakery.” Which is new. They don’t have one of those in Dust, and it’s a shame because they’re beautiful. Rue is bombarded with fresh, bready, sweet smells the second the little, silver bells tied ‘round door tinkle with their arrival, and a veritable feast is lain out in glass cases before her eyes. Colourful candies. Chocolate-drizzled everything. Powdered. Glazed. Cream-filled. Pies topped with mounds of whipped-something. New words galore on little placards tell her something is “toffee” or “coconut” or “peanut butter.”

Rue’s stands amidst it, overstimulated in five minutes. Probably less. She picks at the tips of her fingers and gets snapped at by a flour-dusted lady for pressing her nose to glass. But she ignores her and ends up doing it again, reading each name for each thing. She doesn’t know what to get. There are too many options, and she wants all of them. And then nothing because it’s too hard to pick, and she doesn’t want to not get the right thing.

Then she sees a little card that says the slices of cake behind it are chocolate-caramel, and Rue decides that’s it for her. She points and slaps caps on the counter with a, “Pretty please, that one,” and scuttles off to a little corner table where she and Lara share bites of chocolate-caramel cake so tasty Rue bites back a moan better suited for the bedroom and a many-layered pastry full of some kind of cream and strawberries (another new) that has her staring off into the distance because she can’t believe she’s gone her whole life without knowing the sheer decadence of such a thing. She doesn’t know how she’s to go on, but buying a small container of strawberries off the bakery lady (and another slice of chocolate-caramel cake) helps.

Afterwards, the two end up in a bustling street market where there is more food to sample, knick-knacks to ogle over, and pretty, handstitched garments to “ooh” at. Rue replaces her other ruined blouse and debates with herself on a pair of sturdy trousers. She stopped wearing britches years ago, not wanting any of the lechers at Mulholland’s to get even a hint at the shape of her, but things are different now. They’re practical.

But skirts are nice and breezy….

She buys them just in case, and then follows Lara to the boutiques –another new word– where clothing is supposedly fancier and worth more. And sure, some of it is devastatingly gorgeous and Rue feels like a princess when she puts on a silky, pale-green number with a thigh slit, but she can’t justify the cost. She doesn’t go anywhere fancy enough to deserve the outfits.

But it is fun to try them on and gasp and gag with Lara over the prices, to put shiny things in their hair and speak in mock, posh voices where Rue uses neither swears nor slang. She’s a prim and proper lady until she looks at the price tag of the wide-brimmed sunhat on her head, and her, “I think I would rather like to own this hat,” goes straight to, “Ya gotta be fuckin’ kiddin’ me. Fifty caps for this? I saw ‘em for ten out in that market.”

Nothing is bought from the boutique, and as daylight slips, Lara takes them to her apartment, wanting to give Rue a tour and offering a place to crash for the night. Rue turns down the offer of a bed, saying she has courier work taking her back East and she’s got to get on the road tonight.

“Ya travel at night?” Lara asks, rounding the corner of a butcher’s shop where there’s a wooden staircase leading up to a small deck and door. The brunette starts up them, fishing keys from her pocket, and Rue is right on her heels.

“Yeah. It ain’t hot, and I don’t have to break out my flashlight much ‘cause the moon’s so bright ‘til it’s new.”

“Huh.” Keys jingle-jangle, and Rue can’t help but glance over shoulder, Cooper on the brain. Maybe he’s close? She bets he’s getting tired of lurking, but he’ll have to do a little more. “That’s actually pretty smart.”

Maybe it’s debatable, but…, “I have good ideas sometimes.”

“You have the best ideas.” The door opens, and Lara flicks on the lights, beckoning for Rue to step into a quaint kitchen in shades of cornflower blue and cream. “You got me out of Dust. Knew how Adel would be about it. And ya always knew which colours worked for me. I think there’s a bit of genius in that. …I miss you dollin’ me up every day, to be honest.” The door shuts and locks behind them. Lara gestures wide at the space, the way the kitchen runs into the living room, separated by a small bar Rue can imagine Lara and Warner taking their meals at together. “Ain’t it cute?”

It is cute, the space feeling warm and homey. Piecemealed together. And Rue’s jealous of the inside tub that Lara reveals does, in fact, get hot water. She’s spoiled on having one most every day. “And,” in a softer, leading kind of way, “it’s just big enough for me and Warner to melt into. He’ll get in first and then I slide between his legs. It’s… real nice.”

“Ooh.” Rue wishes she’d have done that, pulled the Ghoul into the tub with her and had him settle between her legs so she could return the favour of the rub down he gave her. She cuts a devilish smile and waggling brows at the brunette who leans in the door smiling rather wicked herself. “Sounds like a good time.”

“It is,” Lara professes. “He is. I feel like the luckiest gal in the world, and I just wanna gab about him all day, but the ladies at the office are gettin’ sick to death of me. But I just think it’s ‘cause they ain’t happy with their husbands. Marjorie’s all the time talkin’ about how hers would rather sleep hunched over a bar.”

“She the one in the bowtie?” At Lara’s nod, Rue makes a fart sound with her mouth. “She can get fucked, and you can yap all ya want ‘bout him now. I need to hear he’s treatin’ ya right.”

Lara jumps at the opportunity –literally bouncing on her heels for a moment before she’s whisking Rue back to the living room where they melt into the couch, sip wine straight out of the bottle, and Lara brags on her beau.

He’s off to Shady Sands right now, and Lara wanted to go with him, but it was decided it maybe wasn’t the safest of things. Yes, they’re in NCR territory, but the swathes of Wastes in between settlements might as well be no-man’s land. If anyone still has her bounty on the brain, watches for her, that would be the time to try snatching her up. So, she’s got a job at the storefront. It pays decent. It helps pass the time between runs, and when Warner’s back, he spoils her with fancy meals and long, toe-curling nights where she’s left feeling like she’s living in a storybook.

Rue’s satisfied with that, secure in the knowledge Warner’s doing what he needs to do. Lara’s looked after, happy, and settling into her new life. All that’s left to do is make sure she can take to the road with her partner when she so desires.

A little tipsy, a little swaying left-to-right, Rue rises, takes a swig of sweet wine, and drops the bottle in Lara’s lap. “Aight, Lara, I gotta get.” She bends, pressing lips to brown hair. “Road’s callin’ my name, and I got shit to take care of. Imma send ya a letter, ‘kay? Be lookin’ for it.”

“I dunno that ya should go,” Lara, drowsily pulling from the wine bottle and netting her fingers in Rue’s skirt, mumbles, “Sleep it off.”

Rue bats that away. “Naw, I ain’t bad off, and-.”

Two knocks at the door interrupt them, and Rue and Lara share a look between them before both cautiously approach the door. Lara goes for peephole, but Rue’s already throwing it open wide and grinning at the serious-browed face she finds on the other side.

“It’s just my boyfriend, Lara,” she breathes, delighted and sticky in the chest at just the sight of him. “So sweet, pickin’ me up after my day out.”

“Don’t start,” Cooper warns, seriousness faltering for a heartbeat before he’s scrubbing away a grin of his own until he’s straight-faced and scowling. His arm snakes in to draw her out. “That reward on ya went up by five hundred caps, and maybe I made a few too many bodies for the law to ignore. We gotta go.”

“Boyfriend?!” Lara exclaims, gasps, scrambling around the door and out after. She runs straight into Rue’s back, and the smile Rue cuts over shoulder… the devil might be capable of something half as impish. And it’s something Lara just about matches as she settles in the doorframe to get her a good look. A good, long look. “Ooh. Nicely done. ...You don’t wanna come in for a drink, mister? Introductions? A little third degree?”

Cooper shakes his head, a brief bafflement passing over scars and ruin as his eyes tick between them. “You’re both a little fucked in the head, huh?”

Lara takes it in stride, dipping her head ever so slightly. “Kinda gotta be where we’re from.”

“Thought ya liked that ‘bout me?” Rue’s voice slips low and teasing, batting her eyes up at the Ghoul as she slides easy into his side.

His roll severely as he starts dragging her down the stairs. “Imma claim that reward for myself if ya keep this up.”

Rue only cackles, tossing another smile over shoulder and waving. “Bye Lara! Love ya!”

“Love you, too!” she calls back, grin still a wry, pleasured thing as she blows a kiss. “Have fun.”

“I will!” is her assurance before her attention fixes squarely on the grin-fighting Ghoul who mutters under his breath something she can’t quite catch. “I gotcha a piece of cake and some… some strawberries. Can I feed ‘em to ya all romantic-like?”

“Sure.” Sarcasm just drips from his lips. “We’ll have us a cozy, lil’ picnic in lock-up.”

“Ya can fuck me ‘tween the bars,” Rue offers, a provocative whisper. “Wouldn’t that be nice?”

Dark eyes flit her way, a gleam in the dark and yellow low-glow of streetlights. She can almost see the way his jaw works, hear that deeper timber of temptation when he admits, “Ain’t a bad idea.”

Rue smiles wide up at him before pulling out of his side to overtake his pace, to lead the way through a city she doesn’t know and out into the desert night. “I got all the good ones.”

#the ghoul #cooper howard #fallout #fallout the series #fallout 2024 #fallout tv series

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rjthirsty · 9 months ago

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Chapter Ten (Deceit and Decay)

Words: 3.5k

Tags: Dark fic, Manipulation, Referenced Violence, Implied Threats

A/N: You can read the previous chapters to Deceit and Decay by visiting my masterlist, or on my ao3 page. For a full list of tags, please visit ao3.

What if Belle didn't fall in love with the Conqueror Beast? What if his last hope abandoned him, simply because she didn't know he existed? Would his black heart break and crack, or grow as hard as stone? An AU where Chevalier is crowned for Rhodolite, Gilbert lost his last shred of humanity, and MC (Dahlia) is thrust into a nightmare world where deceit and decay are everyday occurrences.

When one grows up in a city that they’ve rarely traveled from, spending most of their time in books that tend to gloss over the boring or needless parts of a story, such as when the hero travels long distances to vanquish the villain, the sheer enormity of the world can be hard to comprehend.

For Dahlia, who grew up in Rhodolite, a very small country in comparison to the rest of the world - and even their neighboring counties - she was aware that Rhodolite was small. That was easy to understand. The maps showed the difference in their kingdom’s sizes. She could clearly see that Rhodolite is not much more than a tiny slice of a bigger nation, like Obsidian. The problem is that being able to understand that logically, and being able to put that into perspective in just how much smaller her kingdom was, relied on experience she hadn’t had.

It took a day’s worth of travel to reach the border of Rhodolite and Obsidian from Rhodolite’s capital. In order to reach Obsidian’s capital, it must be reasonably the same amount of time, in Dahlia’s mind.

It is not.

Not even close to reasonably the same.

Dahlia learned what a long journey it was from the outer reaches of Obsidian, to the heart of the country. The capital, that wasn’t even as far west as the kingdom extended, and much further north than she had previously imagined, was five days beyond the border. For five days, they traveled by carriage. For five days, they stopped at small, one-bedroom residences with accommodations for one. Prince Gilbert apparently had several of these homes across the country, or at least on the way to Rhodolite, and continued to choose them over a local inn that could sleep all three of them.

For five days, Dahlia shared a bed with the First Prince. And though it wasn’t truly uncomfortable, at times it was more than she thought her heart could take. He cuddled with her for warmth, hands never roaming, but securely holding her waist. His chill had seeped into her each night with her pulled flush against him. If Dahlia was looking forward to anything by finally reaching Obsidian Castle, it was not having her heart racing every time she tried to go to sleep, able to relax alone in her own bed.

The time in the coach had also been a conflicting tempest of experiences and emotions in the universe that was Prince Gilbert. He commanded his own world, and when that world was crammed into a small box with three people and only a few feet between them at any given time, it was a lot to take in and manage and not get swallowed up by. Dahlia felt exhausted every evening they stopped to rest, just trying to retain a bit of her sense of self.

For some reason, every conversation and interaction with Prince Gilbert felt like an opposition or a challenge even when it was as mundane as asking about the sort of weather Obsidian typically had during this time of year. He wasn’t confrontational– He wasn’t confrontational most of the time - there were some instances, of course. But despite his friendly tone, and amicable conversation, Dahlia felt mentally challenged as if she had participated in negotiations for hours on end. She felt uncommonly inferior socially, needing to carefully consider what it was Prince Gilbert had said, and what it was that he meant by it. There was an incongruence in his words and mannerisms that forced her to need to watch him intently whenever she interacted with him. Nothing with him was as it appeared.

Roderic rarely participated in conversation. He seemed more a shadow than a man with how he existed, he could be easily forgotten if not for the fact that Dahlia would spy him sitting quietly on the bench across from her. He had practically gone mute since the first day Prince Gilbert arrived, but it seemed a choice by Roderic rather than a command from Gilbert. The strangest part of it all was that he really didn’t feel like he was there despite being present. Dahlia had never met someone who barely existed in such a way. Even Lucien had personality and presence when he was within eyesight.

Prince Gilbert asked Dahlia nothing about herself, which she found odd at first, but soon reasoned it away as him not being interested in her specifically. Obsidian and Rhodolite had always been enemies, and she was sure her proximity to the princes was the reason for her kidnapping in the first place. It seemed it hadn’t turned out like Gilbert had anticipated since he claimed they had abandoned attempts to negotiate her back. A painful thought, but it was likely he was making unreasonable demands as well.

He was happy, however, to answer most any questions she had about Obsidian, something she found surprising. There were many questions that he would skirt around or outright say that the information was privileged, and Dahlia respected that. She wasn’t there to uncover secrets, but she could collect as much knowledge as possible to bring back to Rhodolite with her.

On the third day of travel, she was finally granted shoes. Her battered feet had healed enough that she could walk without issue, and so they had visited a cobbler and Prince Gilbert had gifted her a pair. It was a little uncomfortable having him put them on her, but he said she was either going to take his offer, or he was going to make her, and so she allowed him to fit her shoes on.

They had also picked up a few books before leaving the city, giving everyone something to do for the rest of the long trip. It seemed that everyone was a fan of reading, and so the carriage ride became quiet and much more enjoyable now that Dahlia could focus on a story rather than the battle of wits with Prince Gilbert.

He was a peculiar prince. Properly polite one minute, then incredibly inappropriate the next. She wasn’t entirely sure what to make of him, and now that she was forced to spend time with him in such a close proximity, she was finding her initial impression of Prince Gilbert to be constructed from the things she had been told about him rather than her own judgment of character. It was a little embarrassing to admit that she had allowed herself to be made so biased. He was much less of a villain than she had thought, but he did still frighten her, there was something dark that lurked inside him that she didn’t want to look too closely at.

It was late afternoon, bordering on early evening by the time they had reached Obsidian Castle. Their carriage passed under a heavy iron portcullis raised for Prince Gilbert, controlled by thick chains, and placed between even higher and thicker stone walls. The land outside of the castle was barren and rocky, setting the castle further apart from nature and beauty and unsettling Dahlia. It was so unlike Rhodolite with the way it intimidatingly grew out of the ground and boasted fortifications and weaponry as if it were built singularly for war.

When the coach finally came to a stop in the courtyard, Roderic was the first to disembark, disappearing before Dahlia even made it out of the wagon. Prince Gilbert offered a hand to escort Dahlia, and though she considered refusing, she had learned that if he ever offered something, it was easier to just accept if it didn’t cause any sort of harm. There was no reason to argue about him offering a hand to help her outside, despite how it made her feel elevated entirely too high above her social standing.

Dahlia gave Gilbert a smile and a quiet ‘thank you’ as she alighted from the coach, glancing around at the palace grounds as soon as her feet touched the hard, rocky soil. Men wearing military uniforms were in every direction she looked, some with weapons she couldn’t identify, and others with the usual swords at their hips. The air felt brisk and stung her lungs. The castle loomed in front of her. Besides a lack of color or artistic design, something about Obsidian Palace caused a sense of dread in her. The atmosphere was oppressive, much like when Prince Gilbert stared so intently at her.

Gilbert watched Dahlia with his inscrutable smile. The Little Rabbit could feel the death here. The way her eyes trembled every time she so much as glanced at the castle gave away the fear she was trying to push down inside of her. At least she didn’t bother to hide her distaste for the palace as she looked around, taking in her new home, a frown pulling at the corners of her mouth. He hated the castle himself, but it was where the Imperial family ruled from, and it was all he ever knew as home.

Prince Gilbert offered his arm for Dahlia and she looked at it as she debated accepting it. Though she didn’t want to appear too friendly with the First Prince, the palace grounds had her feeling uneasy and as much as she didn’t want to admit it, Gilbert’s presence was a small comfort that she could draw strength from. However, she also didn’t want him to know how much she was fighting the trembling that her body had started without a reason she could identify. Finally, she wound her arm through his, attempting to keep a respectable distance between the two of them.

Gilbert, on the other hand, pulled her closer by tucking his elbow, forcing her to follow. He wanted to make a show of Dahlia being his guest. While he had cleaned out the palace many years ago, there was a lot of Obsidian that had yet to be purged. Nobility were hosted from time to time, and he couldn’t simply kill all of the guests, else no one would answer a summons from the Emperor any longer. Not to mention that there were still soldiers and other men who might forget who Dahlia belonged to.

“I should have expected you to be able to tell.” Gilbert mused aloud as they climbed the stone steps that led to a large landing outside one of the inner walls of the castle.

“What is it I’m supposed to have noticed?” Dahlia watched her footing, the stones were even and well placed, but she felt like she was walking on a tightrope above a precipice that had no bottom.

“You’re trembling. You may not realize it, but your heart can feel what this place is. I wonder if your eyes see it, too.” Gilbert stopped in the middle of the landing, his one red eye boring into Dahlia.

He seemed to be expecting something from her, and warily she let her gaze wander around the courtyard again. Her heart began to beat quicker, a warning that there was a danger she hadn’t yet processed. It wasn’t until she looked at the path they had just walked that she noticed the stones differing in color from the steps to where they stood now. The landing below her feet was discolored, but not in a way that it was made from a different material. It was stained dark in blotches that unevenly had spread across the rocks.

Dahlia shuffled her feet, trying to step back from the discoloration. The stain of death that had seeped into the porous stone. She edged another step backwards, her eyes finding the brown and black more easily now that she knew what she was looking for, but she felt herself locked at the elbow to a man that wasn’t moving at all. He held her still, tucked next to him, refusing to let her escape his side.

“You see it now, don’t you?” Gilbert smiled at her. Dahlia trembled visibly, her whole body shaking as it dawned on her what took place where they were.

“Prince Gilbert…” Dahlia’s eyes were big and beautiful and full of fear and pain. It almost pained him that she was frightened of his father, and father’s father, and not himself. He hadn’t performed many executions on these steps, unlike his relatives before him. “How many have died to stain the ground this dark?” She whispered the question.

“Oh, I couldn’t say. Hundreds, likely. The Supreme Emperor is a bloodthirsty man, disposing of people he deems worthless. The Imperial family has ruled Obsidian for generations, centuries even. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were thousands who were put to death right here.”

Gilbert gently took Dahlia’s hand from his arm and guided her closer to him. She hesitantly moved with his help, her limbs numb and clumsy. He wrapped an arm around her, setting his hand on her waist. He was cold. He was always cold. At least she could still feel that even as her heart was freezing over from the shock of the Emperor discounting so much loss of life as worthless.

“Everyone in this castle is at his mercy.” Gilbert murmured into Dahlia’s ear. The warning brought another icy shiver down her spine. “But if you keep close to me, Little Rabbit, I’ll make sure you’ll never see your end here.”

Dahlia nodded absently, her thoughts muddled as she tried to process what she had just learned. The Emperor was more terrifying than Prince Gilbert. He was the one responsible for Bloodstained Rose Day, and it seemed the evidence she was standing on was just as damning. How his people managed to survive under such a cruel person was beyond her.

She clung to Gilbert a little more tightly as he slowly moved her away from the courtyard, into the belly of the beast. The inner gate of the palace had a heavy wooden and iron door, reinforced to prevent an attempted siege. Beyond that, the stone path led to the shadowed entrance, the sun blotted out by the high towers that stretched like pointed spears into the sky. Inside, the palace was decorated in monochromatic colors that left Dahlia feeling cold and made the castle feel lifeless. It was like a fancy tomb, she thought. There was no happiness here. There was no warmth.

Prince Gilbert continued to guide her through the castle, offering brief explanations on the general layout, but Dahlia felt too overwhelmed to really pay attention. Up stairs and through hallways they traveled, Gilbert keeping his pace slow to match hers. The castle didn’t seem to be dead, as she had previously thought. From time to time she saw others walking around, going about their business, but all of them were dressed in military uniforms and Dahlia wondered if there were any normal people here. It wasn’t helping her think of Obsidian as anything other than a warmongering nation.

They made their way down a long corridor that was unusually more empty than any other place in the palace so far. A lone figure in a long, hooded cloak stood near the end, and though it could technically be anyone, Dahlia instantly thought of Roderic. Everyone else in the palace had worn a uniform, and Roderic was the only person she had seen so far that was in something so conspicuously inconspicuous. It made him stand out in her mind.

“And here is your room, Little Rabbit.” Gilbert announced as they approached the door Roderic was waiting by. It was the last door on the right side of the corridor, with one more door at the very end of the hallway taking up the space next to hers.

“We came pretty far into the palace, I’m not sure I’m going to be able to find my way back.” Dahlia sighed, attempting to untangle herself from Gilbert who refused to make it easy at all.

“Don’t worry, I’ll escort you around the castle, or Roderic will.” Gilbert stepped away from Dahlia and pushed open the door to her room. “You should have everything you need. If you find yourself lacking something, come let me know.”

“I couldn’t bother you, I’m sure you–” Dahlia started to protest but Gilbert cut her off.

“You will. I want you to come to me for anything. Besides, we’re the only ones in this wing.”

Dahlia gave a slow blink as she took in what he had just said. “You mean you and me?”

“That’s right.” Gilbert pointed with his cane towards the door at the end of the corridor, the one right next to her room. “Should you require me.”

Dahlia’s eyes slowly followed his cane, then she quickly glanced back at Prince Gilbert before averting her eyes as she curtsied. “Thank you for your hospitality. I think I might rest for a bit.”

Dahlia slipped into her room and shut the door behind her. She slumped against it, pulling in a deep breath of relief as the stress of being in Prince Gilbert's presence slowly melted away. At least they weren’t sharing a room or a bed any longer, she thought, happy to have a moment away from him for the first time in days. He was so intense at all times, it sent her nerves twanging and allowed no time for rest

There was some time before the evening meal would be served and Dahlia spent that time familiarizing herself with her temporary lodging. It was larger than the room she had in the Rhodolite palace, but just as richly furnished. As she ran her fingers over polished wood and opened expertly crafted cabinets, she was reminded all over again that the world of royalty was so far from her understanding of normal life as a commoner. It was almost too much to imagine that she was treated to so much excess in luxury, but it was probably an inconsequential amount to a prince.

A thought began to seep into her mind while she investigated everything that was deemed as ‘hers’: why was she being treated so well? She still couldn’t make sense of this whole ordeal. She had been kidnapped. There was no denying that. But that was the worst of her treatment. From the moment she awoke dressed in finery beyond her station, both Roderic and Prince Gilbert had handled her like she was precious and it niggled at the back of her mind with every smile, gift, and polite conversation she had with them.

She had originally thought they mistook her for someone else, for nobility, but once that was cleared up she had decided it was because they thought she was valuable to King Chevalier. It was a barely kept secret that she was his consort, so perhaps Obsidian had thought to ransom her back, but Prince Gilbert claimed they had abandoned her. She still didn’t believe that, but if that were the case, wouldn’t she be considered worthless to Obsidian? Wouldn’t her care deteriorate or be given up completely? She could have been dropped in the middle of nowhere, not worth dealing with any longer. And yet…

Prince Gilbert forced his continued care onto her. She felt his eye on her more than she would like to admit. He was gentle with his touches, even when holding her tight enough that she couldn’t free herself of him. Surely he didn’t believe she would try to run again. She had nowhere to go. But she also knew she had no value. So, what was it that he wanted?

#ikemen prince au #ikepri fanfic #ikepri gilbert #gilbert von obsidian #fanfic #repost from ao3 #ao3 #ikepri #ikemen prince #rjthirsty fanfic #rjthirsty deceit and decay #rjthirsty on ao3 #dark fic #long fic #chaptered

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wonder-worker · 2 years ago

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Elizabeth Woodville and Elizabeth of York: Queenship

"As an English queen consort, Elizabeth of York, like her mother, had a web of family connections that became the focus of her major patronage activities" — Michelle L. Beer "After the safe delivery of their eldest sons, both queens Elizabeth gave thanks by founding chapels. Elizabeth Woodville's was in fact eight years after the event and probably as much a thanksgiving to Westminster Abbey for sanctuary as to God for her son. The chapel was attached to the old Lady Chapel of the abbey and dedicated to St Erasmus, a saint invoked against birth pains as well as patron of sailors which made him an unusually apt dedicatee given the king's absence abroad at the time of Prince Edward's birth. Elizabeth of York's foundation was more immediately linked to the birth of Arthur at Winchester, a site chosen for her lying-in by Henry to associate his first-born with the legendary king after whom he was to be named. Here Elizabeth founded a chapel dedicated to Our Lady." — J.L. Laynesmith "In 1499 Elizabeth of York wrote to the prior of Christ Church, Canterbury, asking for a literal carte blanche of presentation to the highly desirable, centrally located living of All Hallows, Gracechurch Street, London, for which Elizabeth Woodville and her husband had also wanted preferment" — Derek Neal "Both queens were granted rights of presentation to canonries and prebends in the royal chapel of St. Stephen, Westminster." — Derek Neal. "Most of the border patterns (of The Fifteen Os, printed by William Caxton and co-sponsored by Elizabeth of York and Margaret Beaufort) are of stylized flowers, mythical beasts, and semi human creatures, quite possibly reused from other books, but one is of a vase of gillyflowers, the emblem of Elizabeth Woodville, whose family had been such important patrons of Caxton, and just over half-way up the margin these flowers lead into a rose branch, crowned with the emblem of her daughter's marriage, the Tudor rose, as if in reference to Elizabeth of York's adoption of her mother's patronage." — J.L. Laynesmith

"In 1480 she (Elizabeth Woodville) petitioned Pope Sixtus IV to allow her subjects to enjoy the indulgences attached to the newly re-established feast of the Visitation, even if the office was recited in private. She also expressed to the Pope her desire for the 'devotion of the faithful of the realm for the [Ave Maria] to be increased more and more'. The Pope obliged by attaching indulgences to the use of the Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary and to the recitation of the Ave Maria at each Angelus bell. He also dictated that copies of the letter granting these indulgences be exhibited across the country, thereby ensuring that everyone knew not only of the opportunities to gain indulgences but also of the queen's intercessory role in their spiritual welfare. … Elizabeth's daughter, who of course shared her name saint, was apparently inspired by her mother to develop the devotions still further. Following her petition in 1492, the Pope granted 300 days of pardon to anyone reciting the salutation three times at each tolling of the Angelus bell.” — J.L. Laynesmith

"Elizabeth Darcy, the lady mistress of the nursery for Elizabeth Woodville's children, was appointed to the same post for Elizabeth of York's children, probably as a result of the younger queen's childhood affection for Darcy." — J.L Laynesmith

A couple of reasons why this interests me:

- Elizabeth Woodville was the first English queen since Philippa of Hainault to raise royal daughters, with almost a century and five other queens in between them. I don't think there's ever been such a huge gap in that regard before, which means that Elizabeth would not really had any direct precedent or source of inspiration to follow beyond what was ideally, conventionally expected. Clearly, judging by the fact that her daughter was widely considered a successful queen and emulated several of her mother's own activities, Elizabeth did her job well.

- There's a strange, persistently recurring trend in historical fiction and general histories that tends to make the relationship between the two Elizabeths contentious and/or distant, or tends to emphasize their polarity in whatever capacity, or tends to prioritize Elizabeth of York's relationship with her uncle Richard III and his wife Anne Neville than her own mother (and her own father, tbh). This speaks volumes of the vilification and negative depictions of Elizabeth Woodville in contemporary media, but also the tendency to use Elizabeth of York as a cipher for historians' own thoughts about historical figures rather than a historical figure in her own right. This is particularly prevalent in Ricardian and Ricardian-leaning media, the latest shining example being Alison Weir's "The Last White Rose". On the other hand, a few sympathetic Tudor analyses tend to (understandably) focus on re-evaluating Elizabeth's relationship with Margaret Beaufort and debunking the irritating misconception that they didn't get along. But in the process, Elizabeth of York's relationship and inspiration from her own mother gets lost and forgotten in the mix, when it should in fact be highlighted the most. It's frustrating, because Elizabeth Woodville was evidently her daughter's most important role model: Elizabeth of York was regularly at her mother's side during her childhood, observed her successful queenship for 17 years, and, as we can see, directly mirrored several of her mother's activities during her own tenure as queen. Interestingly, as the 5th quote shows, even when she co-sponsored a book by William Caxton with Margaret, Caxton himself clearly associated Elizabeth of York's patronage to her mother's influence. It's a shame that only a few specific historians tend to focus on the connection between mother and daughter, as I think there's a wealth of analyses to be made on it.

- While both Elizabeths were English queens, with a web of family connections that they used to their and the crown's benefit, their situations were definitely not the same and should not be treated as such. Their different status prior to their marriage meant that their respective families and actions were always going to be viewed and treated differently, for one. More importantly, though, Elizabeth Woodville was the first Englishwoman to be crowned queen. Her English family's advancement and involvement in national and local politics was to be expected, but it's important to keep in mind that it was not precedented. It simply hadn't happened before, and it wasn't expected to happen again. Elizabeth Woodville was very much a novel queen in that regard; certain aspects of her queenship were very unique and unprecedented for that time, and she was the one who established the precedent of using her homeborn family as a network of politics and patronage that all later English consorts followed. In contrast, by the time Elizabeth of York became queen, this was a comparatively more established and familiar practice, followed by two former consorts, her mother and Anne Neville. So, even apart from their differing status and the propaganda against them, it makes sense that their activities were regarded differently, both by contemporary detractors and subsequent historians. There's also the fact that Elizabeth Woodville and her relatives had far more direct power and involvement with the Crown Prince's council, household and administration than Elizabeth of York and her relatives did, which we know massively contributed to the commentary and/or criticism the former received.

Sources:

Michelle L. Beer, Queenship at the Renaissance Courts of Britain: Catherine of Aragon and Margaret Tudor, 1503-1533

J.L. Laynesmith, The Medieval Queens: English Queenship 1445-1503

Derek Neal, The Queen's Grace: English Queenship 1464-1503

#historicwomendaily #elizabeth woodville #elizabeth of york #queenship tag #english history #15th century #tudors #queue #oh well #my post

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the-plot-blog-thing · 2 years ago

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For Fun: Here's My Favorite Disney Songs That Were Deleted/Changed In The Final Film (Part 1)

Hi, I'm The Plot MacGuffin. If you know me, you know I'm a massive fucking Disney nerd. And because I'm never satisfied, I often go searching for Disney rarities and behind the scenes stuff whenever I can. And fortunately, since Disney never throws anything away, sometimes demos or full recordings of deleted songs from their films slip through the cracks. (occasionally with visuals to accompany them). This list will take a look at some of my personal favorite songs, or just the ones I find interesting.

Of course, probably the first and most famous deleted song is the "Soup" sequence from Snow White. It had already been mostly animated before being deleted. They apparently still tried to find places to use it, even reuse it in another movie down the line, but then never did.

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The "Clair De Lune" sequence from Fantasia was fully animated and scored, but ended up being cut for time. The animation was reused for the "Blue Bayou" segment of the later film Make Mine Music. Eventually, it was restored to Fantasia in the 90s, but current versions just list it as an extra feature.

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Alice in Wonderland was in and out of development a bunch of times, and songs and plot points were introduced and cut like crazy. A more dedicated Jabberwocky sequence and a song for the Cheshire Cat were cut. They explore both in this short documentary below.

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The songs in The Jungle Book were originally meant to be written by Terry Gilkyson. However, he wanted it to be closer to the tone of the original novel, which Walt Disney wanted to move away from. The Sherman Brothers were then brought on to write the new songs for the movie, but the one song Gilkyson wrote that remains in the final film is funnily enough, "The Bare Necessities". Gilkyson's other songs were a bit of a slog, but that one obviously stood out. The original version below was certainly well...something. (Sung here in this demo by Thurl Ravenscroft of "Tony the Tiger" and "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" fame)

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"The Chimpanzoo" was meant for Mary Poppins. It tells an...interesting story, but was probably wisely cut. I think the Sherman Brothers may have tried to reuse it in Bedknobs and Broomsticks, but I could be wrong there.

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Onto the Disney Renaissance, Ursula's song was originally more of a tango. Composer Alan Menken released this demo for "Silence is Golden"

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Both "Fathoms Below" and "Poor Unfortunate Souls" also had whole lyrics cut from the final film that explain more of the characters and their relationships

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The most famous deleted song from Beauty and the Beast is "Human Again". The song shows Belle and the Beast's relationship progressing as the objects get excited to be saved from the curse. The song is sweet, but its original version was meant to be almost 9 minutes long. It just raised too many questions over how long Belle was in the castle, and where Maurice and Gaston were as it seemed a full year passed. It was replaced by the much more compact "Something There" in the final movie.

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However, the song was later reused in the Broadway version to help pad the show, and was later reanimated and voiced into the original movie (albeit abridged) for the IMAX special edition. Most current HD versions edit this out however. I like the song, but "Something There" basically covers the same info much more efficiently.

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To Be Continued In Part 2!

#disney #walt disney animation studios #disney songs #alan menken #howard ashman #the sherman brothers #snow white and the seven dwarves #fantasia #alice in wonderland #the jungle book #mary poppins #the little mermaid #beauty and the beast #Youtube #deleted songs #demos #disney movies #disney animation

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corvidous · 1 year ago

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"Field Journal, Captain Salt SB, May 1811, King's Border Rangers, Special Division

The missions have been going about as can be expected, fighting horrors and things unseen, as well as the French. Casualties have been high and it seems that men are killed with no regard for ability, broken with no regard for fortitude. Several weeks ago during a raid on an isolated village we were hunting some sort of strange malformed creature when, apparently on the track of the same beast, we came upon a towering woman who calls herself "Sister Henrietta." She carries an ornate mace and a crossbow of outlandish design, whose mechanism she can work with unbelievable dexterity and speed. She is without doubt the greatest hunter of horrors I have ever seen. She placed a bolt through the misshapen head of our quarry at three dozen paces, a shot few of my men could've equaled. Since that day she has traveled with us. She speaks English with an accent I cannot place, and she is certainly no Spaniard, nor of any holy order I have ever encountered, though we saw many strange and forgotten shrines and monasteries in those high lonely Spanish valleys. She speaks seldom, and her aspect is very grim, and sometimes when the battle is fierce she will laugh a terrible laugh, or cry like brazen bells in a language I do not know. I have seen hardened killers, men who sneer at the noose and laugh at the lash, turn aside from her gaze. Surely as long as she is willing to hunt with us we are greatly fortunate, and with her in our band I fear the less either Frenchman, bandit, or horror out of the darkness."

I finished painting up a Sister Novitiate Killteam and it occurred to me that I could definitely use the crossbow sister as a Veteran Hunter in Silver Bayonet. A musket can be reflavored as a "repeating crossbow" without any issues I think. I liked the idea so much I wrote up a little fiction, I hope y'all liked it.

#Silver Bayonet #writing #miniatures #The Silver Bayonet #Sisters of Battle #Sisters Novitiate #Killteam #miniatures agnostic wargaming

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not-a-haeschen · 9 months ago

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Rewriting Kingdom Hearts 1 has been both fun but also really troublesome. Since I'm approaching the game not just as a rewrite but also an isekai AND written focused on a character that's not the main character, I feel like I have a lot of liberties but also need to fill the holes in a way that fits and makes sense.

One set of characters that I want to give special love to are the Princesses of Heart with Kairi receiving the most love because she needs it. Anyways, while trying to figure out how to do that, I had to come up with a canon time line that I could try to mess up.

Here's my thought process to what was going on with the princesses in canon KH:

Sora meets three princess in the game: Alice, Jasmine and Kairi.

The other four, Maleficent somehow captures off screen. Snow white can be seen in the beginning of the game, if you don't go to Wonderland first. So that means Snow White is captured after the game starts.

The beast appears at the end of the game to find Belle, so we can assume Belle was captured off screen towards the end of the game.

Aurora was obviously captured first and put back to sleep by Maleficent

Now. That leaves Cinderella.

The game doesn't give any indication of when she might have been captured.

So what I'm thinking is:

Maleficent stole her out of the prince's castle long before the game starts.

When the world concludes in BBS, Cinderella had her happy end. Same as Snow White.

From other games, we know that time flows differently in different worlds, so it's difficult to say how long Cinderella has been missing from her world. What is sure is that it happened after the "Happily Ever After" and from Cinderella and Snow White's worlds appearing in 2.8, we know their worlds fell into darkness even though they DID have their Happy Ending (which is tragic, really).

Not to spoil things I might want to reveal in the fic over here but the only thing that makes sense is that Maleficent unleashed the Heartless into Cinderella’s world after the Wayfinder trio met its demise. BBS and KHI are 10 years apart, according to Destiny Island time. We could assume Maleficent takes some time to get the hang of traveling the worlds, controlling the heartless and of course figuring out who the princesses are.

But still, in my head Cinderella must have been with Maleficent for a while. Maleficent didn't have a keyblade wielder who could have extracted the heart for her, so I also assume Cinderella would have been awake in that time. Yes, she could have placed a sleep curse on the princesses and she had planned to in my fic, but I just feel like Cinderella genuinely is too experienced with messed up villainesses and keyblade business to just have a nap.

Anyways, taking these considerations into account, it becomes even more apparent just how well prepared Maleficent seems to be in KHI. In 10 years, she only managed to get two princesses. Sora canonically is unaware just how fast Maleficent is moving but getting 5 princesses in just 1 year is pretty insane in my opinion.

Time to mess up this time line ૮₍ • ˕ - ₎ა♡

#TITCV #KH #kingdom hearts #kh fanfiction

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meximango · 10 months ago

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Day 18 - Hackneyed - Vaile + Bobby - PG

Summary: Vaile has a short encounter with Cahsi’s retainer.

Part 1 of 2. Part 2 can be found here! --

Vaile had never been in this residential district–or any other than Ishgard’s, if he was being honest. The kind of work he had been so used to did not lead him to safe, well-lit, nice-smelling places like these. When meeting up with an acquaintance (the word ‘friend’ was still strange to him, and he avoided using it if he could), they always met up in a city or at a dungeon site or on the road if they happened to bump into each other.

The sight of all these houses made him feel like an intruder, even though he knew it was full of adventurer’s abodes, rather than normal civilians. Nobody was going to harass him or try to send him away unless he stepped over a line. Hells, Cahsi had told him plenty of people left their homes unlocked! Only a retainer to keep watch, with a book that visitors could sign to give their opinion on the owner’s interior decorating skills. Apparently, it was a form of relaxation for many, and a way for folks to show off their conquests (‘look at this great beast I slayed and mounted its wings on my wall! Gasp in awe!’) It felt like something from a children’s storybook, and he wasn’t sure if Cahsi was just fucking with him or if that was supposed to be considered normal. No way was he about to test if it was true by going into some stranger’s home and potentially getting caught in their homemade dungeon.

Which is why he had to be sure the house he was setting out to find was actually Cahsi’s.

This place was too quaint for the likes of someone like him, but he needed something from Cahsi, and she said she’d be at her home all weekend. So he’d bear through it. He was tough. He could handle wading through a domestic setting without his skin itching for a fight. Probably. (and if he thought about it too long, it’d bring him back to that brief year of happiness with Axel. The closest he ever got to a domestic life. No thanks, brain.)

Cahsi had sent him a letter to him via moogle mail with the most awful, nonsensical map known to man explaining how to find her home, which he’d never been to and hadn’t planned on. But she was ‘too lazy to bother traveling somewhere to meet up, even if it were at a major aetheryle. Please Vaile, I just want one lazy weekend where I don’t have to dress up and put on my weapon. You come to me, or you can wait.’

So here he was. Sort of. He was close? He was in the correct general area, as far as he could tell, but all these districts looked exactly the same, and ‘it’s a carbuncle themed house, you can’t miss it’, did not help when there were a surprising number of people with colorful homes themed after the same creature. Cahsi didn’t seem to be wearing her linkpearl right now, as she wasn’t picking up. He sighed. Not worth the trouble for what he needed, maybe, but he’d already traveled…

After another few minutes of aimless wandering and deliberation, he finally went to the nearest retainer bell and rang it until he could get someone to fetch Cahsi’s for him.

When the familiar, stout figure arrived at the plaza, Vaile wasted no time: “Hey, you! Retainer. Where is she?”

Upon noticing who it was asking, the retainer’s face went from a neutral expression to one of slight annoyance. “Oh, I couldn’t possibly know what you mean. Some manners would go a long way to start, boy.”

“Just tell me!”

“....”

The lalafell in front of him pretended to examine and remove a speck of dust from his outfit, completely ignoring the reaper that towered over him. Hard to be cowed by a punk with a short fuse when you were already dead, after all. Not much phased Bobby, though he certainly could phase through plenty. Having been around for numerous calamities and no signs of returning to the afterlife, Bobby had gotten exceedingly good at controlling his physicality. He could be solid when needed to do his job, but most of the time he was invisible or a blue-tinged, see-through mirage like right now.

It was a standoff Vaile wouldn’t win if he wanted an answer. “Fine. Hello. Nice weather we’re having, aren’t we. Now tell me where Cahsi is.”

“Mmm? And what do we say? A magic word, perhaps?”

“Oh for the love of–you insufferable mage. Please.” Vaile’s teeth were grit together so hard, he could nearly hear them creaking. His hand itched to reach for his weapon, useless as it’d be. Still, it could be fun to see a scythe swing through the man’s apparition. Would it flicker?

“There, now was that really so difficult? Was that painful for you?” His tone dripped with condescension.

“You are so lucky you’ve already left this plane, or I’d be breaking my promise of no bloodshed on the premises right about now–”

“Tsk tsk, the youths these days are so hotheaded. You’d best work on yourself, lad, or I won’t allow you to see miss Theia anymore. She doesn’t need to associate with ruffians.”

“And she doesn’t need a stuffy retainer like you choosing who she gets to see! Let her make her own decisions. She’s the one who invited me here.”

Something changed in Bobby’s expression, the tiniest hint of approval in his eyes. “Hmm. You’re right, I suppose. She’s handled far worse and prickly than you. Very well then.It’s the home right across from the pool, one block down to your left. You can’t miss it. You’ll find her in the library with some guests–friends. I believe you know them. I do hope you’ve packed a bag?”

“What? Why would I need a bag to talk to her?”

“Why, for the sleepover, of course!”

And with that, the retainer flickered into nothing, no doubt having had his fill of tomfoolery for the day.

Good riddance! A sentiment shared by both.

Vaile quickly reached his destination, the sign in front confirming it was hers. Cahsi’s door was unlocked, and there was note waiting for him, telling him she’d be downstairs. Must be where the library is.

As he approached the door leading to it, he heard muffles voices and laughter. Was he really about to intrude on a ‘sleepover’, and whatever that entailed? It was barely dinnertime!

Better to get this over with, Vaile. Sooner you get in there, the sooner you can leave.

As he opened the door, he heard a sentence that made him regret coming here and wishing Bobby had given him the wrong directions: “This has to be the most hackneyed sex pollen plot I’ve ever read, and don’t even get me started about the characterization!”

Was it too late to turn around and pretend he was never here? Unfortunately, three faces turned toward him and exclaimed in greeting.

“Vaile! You’re just in time. You have to join us!”

He nearly felt his adrenaline spike as though he were about to enter battle. What the hells was he getting himself into…?

- To Be Continued… ? - [next]

#I sure had a crazy idea of a plot for this one but didn't have time lol #so I hope to continue this in a part 2 if a good word pops up! Or maybe for a free day #it would just be all the OCs being very silly while Vaile suffers #ffxivwrite2024 #ffxivwrite #mango writes #ffxiv oc #the return of ghost bobby! The joke retainer I made that I kept around for the lols #2nd time writing him ever I think? he's like a protective grumpy grandpa sort of. A bit of a dick. I wanted even more bickering tbh #vaile drousaire

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