#are they more than human in a bad or good way? or are they simply humans with great powers sometimes trying to be responsible with them

[lay-z]

barbed-wire kisses | 1

Synopsis: Soap, the SAS and 141's most prized explosives detection hybrid and demolitions expert, gets a new handler.

Pairing: hybrid!John ‘Soap’ MacTavish x fem!handler!Reader Warnings/Info: 18+ | Soap is a purebred German Shepherd hybrid. Despite ears, tails, and their adopted nature/instincts/personalities, hybrids have human features. | enemies strangers to lovers; forbidden love; angst; hurt/comfort; heavy smut; eventual romance; canon-typical violence; military inaccuracies; dom/sub elements; forced submission; cussing; humour (Please mind the warnings for each chapter!)

Based on this idea 🩶

Big thanks to my bestie @bloodytalefeathers for helping me handling our boy Soap 🐶

It’s always a rather impersonal affair as a hybrid serving in the military–getting a new handler assigned and vice versa.

John sniffs you out, of course, before Captain Price even has the chance to properly introduce you. When the Sergeant is given your file along with the handlership documents on a random Wednesday in February–the ones you’ve already signed a few weeks prior–he gets one deep whiff of your musk still lingering on the paper and starts prowling the base on the lookout for his new target.

Despite the many familiar, surrounding scents among the different smells announcing the beginning of spring, it doesn’t take too long for a specimen like him to pick up on and find you on the large military base, letting the winds do most of the work for him.

He's just way too good at his job, and his little self-imposed challenge leaves his chest puffing with pride and the blood in his veins buzzing with an odd eagerness to meet you once he finally spots you among the large crowd of soldiers on the training grounds.

John decides to skip his lunchbreak and watch you instead. He takes a seat on a well-positioned bench with a good view of the field where you’re currently going through drills with a platoon that you’re serving as their temporary CO. His tail swishes lazily against the wooden planks of the bench, pushing off some dry leaves that gathered there.

He’s read about you, knows that you’ve just come back from a five-month overseas deployment in Al Mazrah–supporting their local forces with the training of the serving hybrids, among other duties.

John can see it in the tension you carry in your neck and shoulders, in the way you keep checking your surroundings while you give orders to your soldiers, and with the dark circles under your eyes–all of it speaks volumes of how well you’ve adjusted to living on base again so far, and, boy, does it look bad.

On top of that, you’ve just been transferred to Hereford from your previous base and task force–after getting your new orders while you were still deployed–so you must be twice as stressed and thrice as vexed about this whole new arrangement you’re finding yourself in right now, thanks to the brass. He also knows that you’ve already moved and settled into your new place close to the barracks. Close to where he lives, too.

Fucking brilliant, John thinks, and his large furry ears twitch as he grins wickedly. It’ll be more than easy to get rid of you if you’re already feeling this worn out; perhaps even easier than it went with the previous handlers he’s had since boot camp.

None of them ever made it past the six-month mark before they were transferred again due to their incompetence, though none of the higher-ups has ever admitted fault and called it what it is.

No, it’s always just been ‘Soap being a bloody handful’, slippery and clever as he simply happens to be, and yet the brass still keeps refusing him that exceptional permission which would finally grand him freedom–the freedom to operate without a handler on, and to a certain degree, off duty.

He is a canine hybrid, yes, and his nature might make him extraordinary, aye, but he’s not a fucking toddler in need of assistance and guidance 24/7. It’s bad enough that his rank as Sergeant can easily be outranked by a human subordinate simply because he happens to be a hybrid.

His thought process is disturbed by the crunching of boots on the gravelly road leading up to his makeshift recon spot, when a group of soldiers walks up the rolling hill to have a smoke break.

Scrunching up his sensitive nose at the stench of cigarettes despite being used to the smell, John gives up his seat for the group, straightening his shoulders with a curt nod at them before he makes his way back to HQ.

There’s a meeting he needs to prepare for after all.

A few hours later, the briefing room clears again when everyone claims to not have any questions left to simply get it over with.

“Right,” Price utters roughly. “I’ll leave you two to it then. Lieutenant,” he gives you a curt nod and John has to suppress a smirk when the Captain shoots him a glare as soon as his back is turned towards you. “Soap.” And John can hear the stern warning underlying Price’s voice before the latter leaves the briefing room and shuts the door behind him with finality and a raging ball of concern lodged in his guts.

And even though Price has left, and took his commanding aura right with him, the room feels even smaller and stuffy now with only you and John, standing across from each other like it’s a Mexican Standoff.

While John lets his eyes roam freely, assessing you thoroughly and searching for weaknesses, you simply keep your sharp eyes trained on his with a kind of effortlessness that is slowly making the fur on his tail bristle–up, up, up his spine until it tickles his neck and makes his ears twitch involuntarily.

Your hands are firmly clasped behind your back, your stance relaxed as your hip leans against the table behind you; keeping your whole front exposed and vulnerable while you’re oozing nonchalance and confidence with no trace left of all that tension and fatigue he’d noticed earlier when he was watching you train with your platoon.

You almost look… bored now that you’re finally alone with him, and John doesn’t quite know what to make of this reaction.

His thick brows furrow and he caves, despising the tense silence already. “Ye not gonna say nothin’, lass?”

Suddenly, your lips twitch into a humourless half-smile. “That’s still ‘Lieutenant’ to you, Sergeant,” you reply coolly. “We’re no friends yet.”

“Right,” he half-snorts, half-huffs in response. “Well, ‘am lookin’ forward ta workin’ with ye, ma’am.” If you’re just a wee bit clever, you could easily pick up on the sarcasm in his words, and judging by the way your eyebrow twitches, you can. His tail swishes proudly in response, and then John mirrors your stance; clasping his hands behind his back before rolling his broad shoulders and straightening up to his full height.

“Oh, are you now?” It’s a rhetorical question, and John finds the way you tilt your head to the side like a wee pup utterly adorable, along with the fact that he’s taller than you, forcing you to crane your neck if you want to maintain eye-contact with him despite the thick-soled combat boots you’re wearing.

“Well, in that case–” You bring your arms forward suddenly, clutching a black collar in your hand; brand new and personalized, the scent of its full-grain leather still fresh and thick in the air. His eyes zero in on your name and rank stitched into it, along with your emergency contact and military ID number. “May I?”

John’s tail stills, bright eyes widening imperceptibly as he stares at the collar and processes the implication behind your words. He doesn’t get collared like this, no; usually grabs the damn mandatory thing and puts it on himself to get it over with.

“Ye insistin’ to put it on me, la–Lieutenant?”

You simply stare up at him with those unimpressed, gorgeous eyes – eyes that have seen as much, perhaps even more, horrific crap he has in combat–and his heart starts jumping in his chest in return. “You tell me, Sergeant. You wanna be a difficult pup?”

He swallows hard, clenching his teeth and wrinkling his nose at the raw condescension in your voice. Aye, he wants to make this difficult, wants to get rid of you already and let everyone know that he doesn’t need a handler–doesn’t need you–and yet he can only shake his head slowly while you stand before him so confidently, triggering his natural urge to please, to submit to a leader.

None of your predecessors ever made him feel quite like–this–so effortlessly. They always tried to force it yet never succeeded.

Almost subconsciously, John steps forward, towering over you though you still don’t move a muscle before he leans down, bracing his palms on the table you’re leaning against, now practically bracketing you in. “Go ahead, then,” he hums roughly, lowering his gaze to hide the way his pupils are dilating while his skin begins to prickle at the sudden close proximity to you.

As you unclasp the collar to bring it up to his neck, he gets a real whiff of your scent and nearly groans; an all-natural concoction of female pheromones, sweat and skin hidden underneath a layer of artificial peach-scented body wash and deodorant. His mouth starts salivating and he gulps it down harshly, fingers twitching against the table as you fasten the collar around his neck.

“Atta boy,” you mutter and your warm breath puffs against his rapidly flushing skin, making his pulse jump in his neck. His dog ears twitch as he leans in closer until his nose nearly brushes against your shoulder and he exhales a shuddering breath as the collar finally wraps around his throat.

“Need it a wee bit tighter, ma’am,” he rumbles and his breath hitches as you oblige; he swallows thickly, barely able to, while the leather creaks and tightens, pressing against his Adam’s apple snugly. You fasten it with nimble fingers, leaving goosebumps in their wake and his pulse sky-rockets at once. “Aye… perfect,” he breathes, almost panting now, his voice strained while another tingle runs down his spine that has warmth pooling between his thighs, and his cock chuffing in his boxers with interest.

An unexpected chuckle makes his eyes flicker up to meet yours again. “I see how it is, Sergeant,” you muse, a hint of a smile playing on your lips that makes him smirk boyishly in return.

Then, your index finger hooks through the metal loop for his leash, and another gentle tug makes his heart flutter and his chest rumble with a playful growl.

“Well then, let’s get to fucking work, MacTavish.”

And it’s the firmness in your words or the pure determination twinkling in your eyes that leaves John’s tail wagging.

Perhaps both.

[blissfulbluee]

457 theory

gi-hun and in-ho have very different views of each other. gi-hun simply sees in-ho as an alliance, and a potential friend, if he isn’t one already.

with in-ho, things are way more complex. i’ll point out the obvious first; he’s obsessed with gi-hun. this obsession is mainly rooted in jealousy, confusion, and hurt. “why does he still have hope for society, and faith in humanity?” is a question he’s ruminated more than once. it’s painful to see someone endure the same trauma and become a better person because of it when you can’t do the same.

in-ho is drawn to gi-hun out of a desire to put an internal conflict to rest. he knows gi-hun’s mere existence represents the fact truly good people exist, and always have, and always will. he’s been aware of this since before gi-hun was a player. in his eyes, however, those people are either weak and taken advantage of, or there aren’t enough of them to make real change. he felt this was confirmed when the strategy he used in the games led him to victory- one i imagine was similar to sang-woo’s.

seeing someone with a different approach win made him wonder if his callousness was in vain. he justified his actions by telling himself gi-hun got lucky, and hoped he’d build a future around that luck. now, years later, he’s back to play the hero? he feels bad that his attempt is in vain, but at least he’ll learn his lesson; the system and those who play by its rules prevail.

a part of him hopes gi-hun will prove him wrong. he sees his past self in him; a man without his current philosophy. anyway, it’s definitely possible that there’s a homoerotic element to this fixation, as many people fall in love with people who remind them of themselves, but it will never be reciprocated after what he’s done. sad because in another universe they’d be a cute couple 😔

Hi! Thanks for the ask. Sorry for the delayed response. I think this is a good way to look at the ship, and is closer to canon than other things I have seen about them.

Yes, I agree that Gi-hun sees in-ho as a friend when he is Young-il.

I like how you bring up the jealousy and everything being the cause of the obsession (which is undeniable to me. he is absolutely obsessed with him in canon just not in the shipping way) I haven't thought a lot about how envious it would be for him to see how different they turned out.

I do also agree that In ho sees Gi-hun as weak for his morals. I think he wants to essentially teach him his ways, to maybe get him to be like him so that all of that envy goes away. he just has some very cruel and very homosexual methods. LMAO

I SO wish we could somehow get a universe where Gi-hun and past In-ho interact. That way we can have old man yaoi without the toxic nature for a change, even though that is what makes them so interesting.

People clown on shippers for shipping such a toxic ship that is essentially one sided as you mention, but thats the beauty of it. We don't necessarily find it pretty if they end up together. Sometimes we enjoy the one sided things because that's different from a typical romance. AND you can still enjoy it without getting as toxic/dark as possible.

You're right about everything anon. I wish I could say more but I am currently being hit with random exhaustion and you're really saying everything I am thinking lol.

[my-jokes-are-my-armour]

So here I am again with my gray review/analysis of The Sirens of the Deep. As always, I don't give netflix adaptations of the witcher all the praises, but I can't go without explanations either. I won't put empty critics to light up the fires of already convinced people that this is just crap. Maybe I am a hopeless soul but this is how it works for me 🤷🏽‍♀️.

So here is my short review first and the whole detailed thing under the cut as always.

I enjoyed it more than I thought I would because I rapidly switched my mindset, leaving the straight adaptation behind and embrassing more of the Geralt and Jaskier on an adventure vibe.

So yeah this movie doesn't have the emotional impact of the short story, especially because of the way it ends in A little Sacrifice and because the movie focused on other things than the romance, but for me, it fills some places that needed substance in S1 and gives another layer to Geralt's feelings that was lacking in the main. It also gives me some things to think about Jaskier in a way I didn't anticipate from the series perspective.

So if I take it simply as a rendition of A Little Sacrifice, it is not satisfying as such. But inside S1, it works well and it really pleased me.

Now for some quick sharp critics : Jaskier's songs are far too short. I need Joey Batey's voice in IV 😩. The animation is ok, but I don't like some aspects of low frame rate animations. The movie has inconsistencies in some aspects, and, weirdly, has some noticeable visual continuity issues. It changes a lot of characters and some dynamics which can feel weird, with the book story in head.

But. It explores a part that was only suggested in the og, giving the merpeople a visibility and a place in the story. So the POV about the conflict is not one sided. Merpeople and humans share their part of responsibility, keeping the tradition of grey stories.

Yennefer is barely here but her presence gives a part of what was missing in the series to really feel and understand Geralt's love for her in S1.

The story has changed quite a lot for Essi and Jaskier but it gives some interesting things to think about, if you place it in relation to the main series and not the book. Then - and this is more like in the book here - things reflects on Geralt with a mirroring effect, which I found well done overall.

And the most satisfying thing for me was basically Geralt and Jaskier together, giving something in between to book and the series. The geraskier being actual bros is present in a lot of little things, but didn't play it as intimate as in the book - maybe they were too afraid to slide on a weird angle 😅 - but man at the end 😳, I took a geraskier shower by proxy and I was not ready for that 🤣.

That said. I will give Sirens of the Deep a 7.5/10. It is a good filler to the series and I had a good time. For a pure adaptation of the book point of view, I will give more of a 6/10 as it deviates a lot and misses the emotional part.

Now, I will detail everything and spoil a lot, under the cut. You've been warned.

First thing first.

Everyone is entitled to appreciate a product or not, to have some knowledge of the source material or not, to prefer the games to the books to the series etc. I have read mild to bad receptions to the movie with valid rejections. I have no problem with that.

As always, that's the blind and simply hateful comments I am against. I read things like they dumbed down every female characters so Yennefer would be superior or the opposite classical like Geralt isn't even in the center of this feminist horrible product. I read things like this is stupid that the story was mixed with A Little Mermaid. Or they didn't read the story. They didn't respect the source material and then say the fights were the best part.

To be fair, for Sirens of the Deep, that last statement can be very true considering the angle with which they approached the story ! (You didn't anticipate me saying that right lool). But if you think they didn't respect the source material I wonder how the fights were the best to you 😅.

Anyway, yes they did read and there is still a lot from the story in it. The problem is that this story is attached to strong emotional elements to which most of us have responded reading it. And memory is selective. We kept mostly that and not the rest.

So when the adaptation picks a lot more of the other things, changes what was not very nice, and build something over the little pieces we don't remember that instead of giving us what we hoped, there is deception at the end of the road.

What I want to do here is to be a little bit more objective. Because I did enjoy the movie, but I realise that this is just because my mind switched perspective very early on while I was watching.

Let's begin with the obvious.

Adaptation of an adaptation :

In my opinion : Is this movie the perfect adaptation of A Little Sacrifice ? Hell no. That story broke my heart so bad and I can't forget that. We are not near that with this adaptation. But if you consider it taking place in S1 and having for setup that story, it has its qualities. So of course liberties have been taken. Of course it doesn't reflect all that made A little Sacrifice so good. But at the same time it goes in interesting places and adds some layers that were lacking on Geralt from the series. And that is what I enjoyed a lot.

I have some issues with the critic about the injection of A Little Mermaid in the story, because : A Little Sacrifice IS already an adaptation of The Little Mermaid tale.

It also has elements of the Ys legend attached to it.

This is a melting pot made into a total new story to satisfy the growth of Geralt's character concerning his feelings.

So can we really be mad that the adaptation of the adaptation takes the same references and reinjected them in their own way ? We can but I am not.

As a reminder, The Little Mermaid is a Danish fairy tale and Ys is a french one based on celtic myths. Those two stories have many adaptations through the centuries. And every one of them takes what they want from it and uses the myths like they want. This is for the 100% slavik ref argument...

I am pretty sure everyone that read the short story can make the link with The Little Mermaid. I mean. There is a mermaid. There is a love story. She ends up with legs. But did you remember things about Ys ?

Here is one ref to Ys from the book : “Because they are steps,” Dandelion whispered in awe. “Ooo, they’re steps leading to an underwater city. To the legendary Ys, which was swallowed up by the sea. Have you heard the legend of the city of the chasm, about Ys-Beneath-The-Waves? I shall write such a ballad the competition won’t know what’s hit them. I have to see it up close… Look, there’s some kind of mosaic, something is engraved or carved there… Some kind of writing? Move away, Geralt.”

And here is a direct ref from the movie : The sirens Queen's name is Dahut, who is the main character around this legend. And the place of the royal mermaids in the movie is like a sunken city.

For me, the movie created the merpeople civilisation based on several references like the first one I gave. The short story doesn't show much of the merpeople, except Sh’eenaz and some fishmen. But they clearly took things from the dialogues mostly. Geralt and Jaskier exploring and talking about those creatures and their possible civilisation. They took also from The Little Mermaid, the Disney version, but a slightly more darker tone but not enough. I understand that THIS can feel bad.

But then, I invite you to revisit the Andersen tale. Sure Disney is all sugar and ice caking compare to the og 😅, but, look at the A Little Sacrifice's version and see that it is also not as dark as the original for the part it takes of : the mermaid and the Duke actually love each other and there is a "happy" ending to that part of the story. But you will see also how drastically different this adaptation is from the two others. Because well... Adaptations, especially from old tales, are rarely the replica of the original. Because it depends a lot on the narrator.

Then ask yourself what one wants to tell when they adapt a story ? What are the thematics explored ? Where and when does it fit ? What is the focus and the purpose ?

For me, here, the focus was to make it blend into the series universe, while adapting the mermaid part in a nicer way. Because let's be honest. Buying the fact that Sh’eenaz is actually loving Agloval so she accepts the sacrifice is quite a stretch of imagination lol. To me, the Duke feels more like a zoophile in the end ^^'.

Smoothing Agloval :

This is one of the change that I liked the most in the movie. Because they didn't make him perfect. He is genuine about his feeling but he is selfish too. The og duke is more deported on his father in an actually good way.

Just for a reminder. This is Agloval. “An intelligent race,” Agloval repeated pensively, resting an elbow on the armrest, and his fist on his chin. “An underwater civilisation. Fishlike people living on the seabed. Steps leading to the depths. Geralt, you take me for a bloody gullible duke.” Zelest proposal to kill all the creatures [...]"From what the Witcher says, they are some kind of sea drowners or other sea monsters. There are ways of dealing with drowners. I heard tell that one sorcerer gave some drowners short shrift in Lake Mokva. He poured a small barrel of magical philtre into the water and did for the fuckers. Didn’t leave a trace.’’[...] And Agloval's response to that "Thank you for that excellent suggestion, Zelest. Do you have any more?" And later... "You are mistaken, Miss Daven,” Agloval said calmly. ‘We shall learn whither lead those steps. Further, we shall descend those steps. We shall find out what is on that side of the ocean, if there is anything there at all. And we shall draw from the ocean everything we can. And if not we, then our grandsons will do it, or our grandsons’ grandsons. It is just a matter of time.[...]”

And just after that, when Agloval promises to exploit the sea till nothing is left, Sh’eenaz appears and she has made the sacrifice to bring peace and consume her relation with the Duke.

To him, the "love of his life" isn't even from an intelligent race, and he promised to go where he should not, destroy their habitat for profit because he is upset. (All similarity with anything is unintentional of course 🙄)

In the movie, they moved the centre of the dark part on something else. There is some racist undertone but less present. The merpeople and the humans know each others well and have a status quo situation going on. The start of the conflict for the merpeople is that the humans takes too much from the sea, just for the pearls economy. So the status quo is in balance because they are beginning to starve. So there is the greedy aspect of course from the humans, but the catalyser of the conflict is because the King don't accept the romance between his son and Sh'eenaz. He wants the succession of his lineage assured and this romance goes against it.

He goes great length to break that union, even making an alliance with Melusina who has her own motives to break to merpeople royal family.

The obstacles that Agloval and Sh'eenaz have to overcome makes their relationship truer.

One major change is that the movie reversed the sacrifice. Agloval proves his love and counters his father's actions against the merpeople, becoming the link between the land and sea, changing into a mermaid. The peace is very fragile but the love part is somehow more coherent.

The real problem maybe is that all of that takes almost all the light from the love story that was in the centre of A Little Sacrifice : Geralt and Essi. But I feel that a part of what was only about that in conversations, inner dialogs etc has been used in mirroring narrations.

"Just because you and your accursed lover only have two modes doesn't mean everyone else does"

Essi isn't the only mirror for Geralt's feelings toward Yennefer in this movie. I don't feel this is a bad thing on a strict narration point of view, but from an adaptation eye with this being one of the focal point of people love for the short story, this is a bad faux pas, because it made this part feel more generic.

So here are my analysis of the mirroring things.

They chose to illustrate several iteration of love stories. Each one reflecting on others and mostly Geralt's situation with Yennefer in the end. This is highlight several little things from the main series, like blood family vs chosen/found family and heritage. It also gives something back in between episode 5 and 6 of the main series : how Geralt feels about love in regard of his own situation.

The king and his two "loves"

Agloval is the legitimate heir of the King who tells him that he loved his mother from true love. Zelest is the illegitimate son but he has strangely a strong position in the court. Usually "bastard" are hidden if not killed. We can suppose that he lied, because he lies on a lot of things just to get what he wants.

He tries to convince his son that true love is not enough. And in the end even tell Zelest that he is an error he always wanted to erase.

The King put the interest before the sentiments, and even before the life of his own people. He doesn't care if people dies if he can stop the union of his son with the mermaid.

Melusina and the injustice

The relation of the King of Bremervoord with love is reflected on Melusina with whom he plots. And the sea witch is similar to Yennefer in several aspect. Even Jaskier is jokingly comparing them.

She is powerful, quite angry. She is sterile. Her colour is violet. 😏

She lost her true love against the need of the royal family to have an heir. Things are not really sure about the real love of the mer-king. He seems quite embarrassed. But Melusina wants her true love back even if she has to kill every one for that.

S1 Yennefer is in this kind of destructive path to get what she wants. She doesn't care much if she hurts people in her quest. Even Geralt. They share the passion and the she goes.

Agloval and Sh’eenaz

They have a major issue on communication (well that's no well played with the issues with the use of the merspeak). They are ok when there is only sex between them. But the manipulation of the people they trust renforce the problem to a breakup. In the end this is the action that proves the sincerity of the feelings.

And this reflects on Geralt love relations. He has a hard time communicate with those he loves in general. He doesn't understand why Yennefer keeps abandoning him. There is sex and passion but the rest is silent. And we have Jaskier that hates the sorceress and tries to force him out of this relation because he thinks she is not made for him. I think I have never seen Jaskier slaging off Yennefer as much than in this movie lool

And then when the spark appears between Geralt and Essi, he tries to push for that relation to blossom. The communication in the end is what resolve everything for them.

Which leads to.

Geralt's feelings and Essi

in the books, Geralt's struggles with his place in the world and his feelings are the biggest underlying subject in the short stories.

Geralt has a complexe toward his capacity to feel emotions and be entitled to love or being loved. He thinks of himself as a monster and not deserving those things. And we have a Jaskier in counter telling him he should not depreciate himself and go for it.

Here the approach to those things feels less miserable but he always tries to justify that he is different and not worth it. He acknowledge he has feelings though. His main excuse is : I am a witcher. Aka a killing machine making money hunting monsters and I never knew love in my life.

He has an intense relation with Yennefer but full of turmoils. He doesn't feel enough for her (a shard of ice) and in the series there the accent is more on understanding her and her needs.

When he meets Essi and have this love at first sight experience, he is troubled. Geralt is not feeling good enough to match the complexity of her feelings. And the whole discovery of her personality, the differences in the feelings he experiences for her and Yennefer, leads to touching moments, even emotional ones. We have some good conversations with Jaskier also.

But there is a little something that might have slide off you mind... 🚩

Description of Essi The woman could not have been older than eighteen, and was very slim. Her long, luxuriant hair was the colour of dark gold. They entered as the girl finished the song and thanked the audience for the thunderous applause with a nod of her head, which shook her hair gently.

Yes. Even if this looks like less than 18 but maybe isn't, Essi is way younger than Geralt and there is the possibility that she is not even an full adult. So yeah, there is a innocence and a freshness in her that makes the romance special. But in reality this is kind of creepy. Especially when we have Jaskier being pissed of by their mannerisms and the way they turn around each other without going anywhere who suggests that they fuck to settle it for good.

So...

They decided to age Essi. She is now a mature woman, around the age of Jaskier (as they know each other since childhood in the new headcanon). So she is something like 35/40, placing the story just before The Moutain.

And I say yes ! Thank you ! This is a nice change ! Geralt isn't fucking a teenager. Jaskier isn't pushing for his friend to have sex with a teenager either !

And Essi still got a softness to her, some strong temper too. She is still romantic. She is still infatuated with Geralt.

And those who claim that she is like the women Marie Sues all power that need no men ever, this is not true. Essi is stronger than Jaskier as a child, she is self assured, but Geralt is still her hero here. He saves her life twice. Same thing with Sh’eenaz. She needs others help. This is not because a woman can be brave that she is a Marie Sue or that she eclipses men's valor.

Like in the short story, this love story doesn't work. The reasons are not exactly the same though. Here, Geralt's life and heart are too hard for her and she wants a more normal life : have a family, peace and security.

Note that in S2, this is basically the dream of Yennefer too. Parallels. Parallels...

And note again that Essi tells to Geralt that Jaskier will do what she cannot ! The subtext sent me howling in geraskier there loool.

I was satisfied with their relationship even if we didn't have all the subtleties of Geralt's struggles. But we had more than we had in S1.

What we don't have is the strong emotional connection and the punch in the guts that is the real ending. I don't feel like this was necessary in this movie, it would probably have fallen flat in the circumstances. But I wish that somehow this tragedy is adressed in a way or another. Whump the bard lool.

Geralt and Jaskier

This was the most rewarding thing of the whole show for me. Just having Geralt actually caring for Jaskier and showing it was everything. Just the two of them being buddies, I could have that forever.

Jaskier is a little bit too buffoon because he is used 90% as the comic relief, but he lands right in the middle in his charactisation between the books and the series.

The geraskier subtext is running wild in my mind. Geralt is like "you annoying little shit" but then his reaction to Zelest is so "you touch him I kill you". Jaskier seems less infatuated but then you have some parallels with Essi's feelings that are just too straight : "your bard loves you and he is the one you need".

I won't say much more here or I will just enumerate very frame they share on screen because I loved them together being friends !!

The big character changes and other additions

i have already mentioned a lot of changes so i won't repeat too much here. This is more so comments I aant to make on the changes from the short story.

Agloval, Jaskier and Essi are those who have changed the most from the og and new connections have been made to change the dynamics with other secondary characters that have been changed also or added. I understand this could feel odd with the short story in head.

I spoke already a lot about Agloval and the vhanges around him, but i want to point another change that is linked to him and Jaskier now.

Zelest.

He was the supervisor of the pearl fishing. Here he is the king's illegitimate son, military counsellor and Jaskier's bully from the past. He's got a bit of a Faramir in some aspects here, searching for the approval of his father. He is also trying to be a better son than the legitimate one. He has a need to belong. He was channeling his of antipathic and violent persona for a while and I like the nuances it added to some characters.

Zelest leads to Jaskier and his new headcanon - which is strangely plausible, in the series verse and for some part compatible with the book character. Not for everything but still. So I was : ok I am listening here.

He leads also to a little bit of bi Jaskier. I mean you can't convince me that if he wasn't killed by the Kraken they wouldn't have made up in the end loool.

But his change of heart doesn't feel right. It just had drama to the situation of the kingdom in the end as the kind lost his two sons. But there are not much of an emotional impact.

Melusina and Sh’eenaz

Melusina is clearly a disney character here. She is half Ursula and Scar and she even has a muscial number like in the Disney adaptation (which is both weird and nice). Weird because this isn't the kind of things you can think of in a witcher rendition. The music isn't used as a number, it has a reality in the world. But honestly I like the song lol. So I put that in my little category of, I keep that to the side.

Her character as the grand villain why not. But the use of the kraken is both wrong to the short story and feels to much like Disney. Basically it is mentioned in the story but this isn't what caused the deaths of the fisher in their conclusion.

“And the monster that killed the pearl divers? You have no idea what it was?” “A kraken, perhaps?” “No. A kraken would have wrecked the boat, but it was intact. And, as they said, totally full of blood,” Little Eye swallowed and visibly paled. “Don’t think I’m being a know-all. I grew up by the sea, and I’ve seen a few things.”

Sh’eenaz has a lot more characteristics that in the book. She is can use magic apparently and her mother too. Well considering auty Melusina is a witch, why not. This this for me participates more to the massive fight at the end than to a real improvement of the character. I appreciated that we learn a bit about the merpeople through her though.

The political and economical situation :

They developed that part beyond the witcher story, giving the merpeople an existence. What differs the most here is that the humans are well aware of the existence of a sea civilization and that there are already some links between them with a status quo that is falling apart.

In the original story we just understand that the pearl divers are going too far and perturbs the merpeople. And Agloval is willing to destroy the environment out of anger and greed. Sh’eenaz makes the sacrifice that stabilises the situation but we don't have much of what is happening under the sea. So with all the addition in the movie, we have a grayer plot. Sure we have the real monsters are the humans. But here we also have a monster monster. And both monsters plotted together. Which is an interesting twist.

Merspeak :

One thing that was not well handled in the relation between the merpeople and land people was the merspeak. This is one of the least coherent things of the whole story.

In the book, Agloval needs Geralt and Geralt is helped by Essi at some to communicate with Sh’eenaz. And Sh’eenaz doesn't seem to understand common human language too. Everything is handled in English (or whatever language you read the story in). But here they actually created the language. The ideas are not bad but this is delivered very badly.

It falls apart in several moments.

First, as the sea and the land have a status quo, it is implied that both species communicate. We have a Vodnik speaking common language with Geralt and we have Agloval and Sh’eenaz arguing in their own language but apparently understanding each other. So yeah, nothing is coherent there and it is a big miss.

The war :

This is the part of the story that isn't featured at all in the book. This is a menace. But here they went full on it. This is one of the aspects that I wasn't really on board with. It has some cool elements but here if you want weird deviations on the source material, there are plenty.

First and this is not the worst to me because they didn't go too far with it and it was fun : Jaskier with a sword. This makes no sense and even he says basically wtf am I supposed to do ? But he mostly blocks the attacks and lets someone else kill the monsters. So ok, why not. Let the bard have some moments of fun.

One canon thing though: Jaskier headbutt 😅.

Now my main problem with the fights concerns Geralt.

I have switched off my brain to enjoy it because this was too much 🤣. Geralt is a mutant with more strength than a human and high speed reflexes but he doesn't fly or do flips like an olympic gymnast - even game geralt isn't that flexible 😅 - or break metal chains by flexing lol. I had circus music in my head during all the fights hehehe.

But more importantly what the fuck was that with the magic signs and the potions. The potions were badly used and the signs were like full magic.

If you loved the fights, good on you, but don't come to tell me they were canon 😅.

But you know what ? They went full gear for the spectacular, so let's enjoy it for what it is. No more no less.

One last thing I want to talk about and that I found well done, because it links book Jaskier to the series one and it highlights one big things about the witcher books in general.

Jaskier lies - The unreliable narrator

This is one big thing of the books. The story is given to us through the lens of several unreliable narrator and we discover in the later books that Jaskier could be the main for the Continent history.

In the books it is stated that Jaskier lies a lot especially in his art. Series Jaskier is set up also like that but this is not really a big deal.

In this movie, they threw Jaskier right in the center of the unreliable narrator.

From Essi and Geralt conversation on the balcony at the party, we have a right in the middle book and series Jaskier vibe. He exaggerated Geralt achievements, changed the events, but we understand the truth beneath.

But we learn that our boy lied about his past and built himself a story to feat his persona. And we know Jaskier lies and embellishes things a lot. In this story, they emphasise on that : he lied about his past. He lies in his songs. And the next thing he does : He sings about erasing things he doesn't like. (My story).

We have a glimpse of him being bullied, but we also have Essi saying to Geralt that he went through a lot. Jaskier wanted to erase the pain is a strong feature. This could be a strong way to end in S5, for his character (and Ciri's too).

The ending of A Little Sacrifice is him muting forever the fact that Essi died and the story attached to her. Jaskier is very vocal and noisy, but he is silent when he is in real pain.

And there is actually one thing in A little Sacrifice that can concur with the fact that he could be not an Oxenfurt academy's elite member as he claims : the fact that he mocks Yennefer's explanation of the tides, while he is supposed to have mastered Astronomy too (one of the 7 liberal arts).

“I think you’re a fool. Yennefer once told me that the moon causes the tides.”

Dandelion cackled.

“What bloody rubbish! What does the moon have to do with the sea? Only dogs howl at the moon. She was having you on, Geralt, that little liar of yours, she put one over on you. Not for the first time either, I’d say.”

I am not fully on board on the new headcanon but I like the narrator aspect.

Conclusion

What was missing (or not) :

The pearl for Essi. The tragic ending. Because these were iconic. But in this version I am not sure this was really necessary to have that. I wish that at some point we have a mention of Essi's death and how it affects Jaskier…

The og geraskier moments. But… I mean… if we had them as they were written, the fandom would have explode in rainbows 😅. Let's take only Geralt and Jaskier sharing a bed, talking about love 🤭. But if you read between the lines, in the end, you have your full geraskier in the feels loool.

What I liked :

For me that was the strong point from all the characterisations especially Geralt. This version of Geralt felt more Geralt to me that before in the series. From his self loathing that is finally highlighted, even if it is by proxy, to his fragility towards his feelings. I needed that part of Geralt. We also have the illustration of his moral code, sense of justice and need to protect. All in one go. And it feels right.

His relationship with Jaskier feels more normal also. I was dying to have a buddies on the road feeling from them. I mean we finally had that in S3 but in this movie it feels like a salve healing S1 relationship between them.

Having Geralt being awkward at flirting is also efreshing. I like that he expresses his feelings a bit more, says how different he thinks he is and his views on humans. Love was surviving. In his experience he found it hard to trust humans. He doesn't want to fall in love with short span living humans. He feels he needs somebody more like him. Hence Yennefer.

Note for some of the angry reviews :

Geralt and Jaskier's deal for money. Geralt and Essi knowing the merspeak. Jaskier pushing for Geralt to be with Essi and drop Yennefer. Essi and Geralt having sex. If that was too predictable for some or easy trick, well I am sorry for you, this was in the short story 😅.

So yeah this Geralt is just at the junction of series Geralt and book Geralt, and that is something I greatly appreciated to most I think.

Then the absence of oversexualisation of the mermaid and overall the less pervert eye, if I can say that like that. Maybe this is not something that translate to men as much, but as much as I love A Little Sacrifice - this is my favorite short story - this is quite uncomfortable to read as a woman sometimes. Well Geralt's gaze on women is often incomfortable to be fair lool. So yeah, having less of that and more connection was a plus for me.

The changes on Agloval character and the mermaid. Their love story feels right.

Essi and Jaskier singing together, even though the set up is not the same. But it was too short 🥲. But I guess this is because I miss Joey a lot.

What I didn't like :

The fights. I won't repeat what I already said. The physicality was way over the top. But at least it was fun to watch.

Less fights and maybe we could have more of emotional build up for Essi and Geralt. A part of me believes this is the response to “the witcher is about the path and killing monster discours that runs a lot” that pushed the story in that direction. Who knows ? But if that's so, just ���.

The chaos with the use of the merspeak. This was really confusing and narratively weird.

So :

If you take this as an pure adaptation of the short story, there are some miss points that are hard to get over. It didn't have most of the iconic moments and vibe. Nor the emotional impact.

If you take this like a filler in S1. This is really enjoyable. It connects a lot of things and gives more layers to both Geralt and Jaskier.

[saberamane]

I've been thinking of some lore regarding this lately.

A major one being: werewolves and lycans are NOT the same.

Lycans:

Born fully human and made into a lycan from a lycan bite.

Forced to transform during full moons, can transform freely otherwise.

Have 2 forms, human and wolf. (Wolf form often called 'feral' and are of similar size to actual wolves.)

Deathly allergic to silver.

Healing factor, but limited.

Senses above humans, but lower than werewolves or other 'supernaturals'.

Retain limited control during full moons.

Human lifespans. (So some may live to 100 or more, but not typical.)

Lycan's are basically 'shapeshifter's' except for full moon nights.

Werewolves:

Can only be born, not 'made' like Lycans. (Are typically born as wolves and shift to 'human' a few months after birth.)

Has 3 forms, human, wolf (feral), wolf (bipedal).

Feral forms are much larger than actual wolves. Bipedal form is typically 6 inches to a foot taller than human form.

Silver is poisonous and completely stops healing until removed.

Quick healing factor, most injuries heal in hours, more crippling, life-threatening injuries may take a few days. Werewolves heal from most things that don't outright kill them.

Full control of shifts at all times, even during the full moon.

Full moons cause rapid healing, and are the center of most werewolf customs. (like holiday's, marriages, festivals, etc)

Silver can stop a shift, or keep a werewolf trapped in 1 form.

Long lifespans. Age 'human' speed until mid-teens, mid-teens to early twenties is a slower aging, and from early twenties on aging slows even more. Werewolves in perfect living conditions can live for about 450-500 years.

Elevated senses in all forms, scent above all others.

Lycan's are very common and are commonly also called 'werewolves', as actual werewolves are not well known, even among the 'supernatural', due to their reclusive natures.

Lycan's have a bad relationship with Vampire's, often fighting over 'territory'. Werewolves stay out of conflicts simply by not being 'known', or disappearing should their pack be discovered.

However, werewolves are very good fighters, even given their often 'pacifist' ways. Werewolves often choose not to fight due to past outcomes. Having drawn too much attention to themselves before, werewolf numbers are drastically low.

Werewolves (a bit like rhino's) live quite a long time, but they're only able to breed for a very limited time. This includes both males and females. (For example, despite the 'limit' of their life span being 450-500 years, werewolves would only be able to breed between their 15th year and their 60th year, despite at 60 still looking to be early to mid-twenties.)

A bit of a tease for something I've been working on off and on...

[edwinisms]

I know how it sounds at first, but I really gotta feel bad for the boys that sacrificed edwin; I mean even the term “sacrificed edwin” paints them in a more sinister light than they really deserve– considering that wasn’t really, actually their intention.

they were bullies, they were homophobic (and/or were self loathing gay boys themselves taking it out on edwin, or were equally likely peer pressured into acting a certain way), they planned something stupid and mean to do to an innocent, anxious boy with the goal of scaring the shit out of him, all because he was effeminate and an easy target. but they didn’t know or expect any of the ritual stuff to be real. they were all laughing and joking during the ritual because it was just that to them– a joke. a cruel joke, but a joke.

teenagers can be mean and stupid and they usually regret it as adults and grow out of it / grow from it. they were stifled the chance to grow out of it, at least while alive. none of those boys deserved to be instakilled and sent to hell; they’re really not that much less deserving than edwin himself. they were all just kids, after all.

[gurorori]

haha oh no im definitely not at all disturbed by the prevalence of leftists on all platforms who are loudly 'anti-genocide' when it comes to the palestinian cause (and a couple others at best :3c) yet the only time ukraine [ʊkrɐˈjinɐ] leaves their mouths is in critique, in stark comparison to the former or in complaint about their (american) government sending aid.

at first what i saw often was pointing out the differences in western media framing [ukraine vs palestine], and that's fair (until the words and the agenda of western journalists are used to paint, as a whole, ukrainians who have been actively going through genocide as some kind of white supremacists hogging the blanket of global attention when they kinda just want to live and have the rights to their own land, culture, names and families)

but no one is even caring to do that anymore, today bitches just invent metaphorical scenarios and people to get mad at and to throw an entire ethnos away because wahhhh i decided that you care for X but not for Y!!!.... all while doing the exact thing they are condemning. the exact absolute same and they don't even hide it but do lack the self-awareness to realise

[comas-are-for-sleeping]

i cant ever believe that humanity is inherently evil because then why do we have music

[amity-moonrise]

Your first point makes sense, though I should’ve clarified on what the ableist action is in the original post because it was too general. In my original post I meant ableism towards plurality and systemhood specifically, but yes, some anti endos can be ableist in ways unrelated to plurality and CDD stuff, though I never said that trauma can be used as an excuse, I stated it as an explanation, which is not the same as an excuse. People should be held accountable regardless of trauma or not, we only mentioned it because it’s something that most anti endos struggle with, especially when they also have trauma from endogenic systems. That kind of trauma is not easy to get rid of and it does leave negative consequences, but a good person would understand that and take responsibility for their actions.

Now for your second point, I understand that healthy plurality exists, but being plural in the first place is something that is typically not supposed to happen in the human brain. The only possible ways it could happen is either through childhood trauma while the brain is still developing, or (and this is purely just our educated theory based on what we know about genetics and evolution, so just take it from a hypothetical perspective), mutations that might make someone more likely to be plural regardless of trauma or not, like how theres genes that can determine if someones brain develops as a neurotypical brain or as an autistic brain (apologies for the wording if it sounds weird, its 6 in the morning and I am tired ;-;). Mutations happen all the time, but that doesn’t mean they are always good, and right now, there is no evidence of plurality being affected by genetics, which means that at the moment, it occurs from hinderance in development. When we talk about how plurality is not normal, we mean that the human brain, at the current moment with the research we have, is not meant to develop plurality and handle it in a healthy manner on its own, those are skills that you don’t typically develop because again, your brain usually doesn’t develop them, you develop healthy skills from therapists and professionals.

If your plurality isn’t bothering you and you’re able to live healthy lives without trauma then great, you got it a lot easier than a lot of us, but it doesn’t ignore the fact that plurality is just not really supposed to happen simply because the brain is not programmed to be one by default. If it happens then it happens, but there is a good chance that it is likely the result of hinderance in development, which is why it’s important to get it checked to make sure that it’s not affecting you negatively right now and that it won’t affect you negatively in the future. It’s always good to check for the bad and make sure that what you’re experiencing is actually healthy, so you can rule out disorders and illnesses.

All in all, we probably should have clarified a lot more for our first point on ableism, and as for the second point ad plurality in general, theres still a lot that we don’t know about. Heck I could be wrong about it completely and find out more about how plurality actually existed in history and throughout evolution and how the brain actually develops non traumagenic plurality. We’re open to explore the new science and research that pops up from time to time about plurality, but right now, this is what we know.

It’s just a shame that people aren’t willing to do the research as much due to how stigmatized the whole concept of plurality is in general and also how mental illnesses are typically not studied enough unless it’s disorders that are more known or “popular” in a sense (like BPD, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, etc)

(Also on your point on non traumagenic systems relating to CDD systems, if you relate to CDD systems but know that your plurality is fine, then great! We only suggest that you look into it especially if you relate to parts of the CDD systems experience that have nothing to do with alters at all, like dissociation, memory loss, or ptsd episodes, because there could be something else going on)

Ive seen non traumagenic systems online claim to have dealt with ableism regarding their plurality and calling anti endos ableist and sometimes it makes me wonder if they even realize what they’re saying.

Let me point out two very important things…

1, anti endos are not ableist, we’re literally trying to defend our disorder because it’s already stigmatized and demonized a lot by social media and having non traumagenic people associate themselves with us in any remote way makes it harder to convince people to take CDD systems seriously. Yes, some anti endos are rude, mean, and sometimes bullies, and thats not right because people shouldn’t be hurting each other, but you need to understand that the level of trauma systems have been through to even get a CDD is severe (in a subjective standpoint since everyone experiences and processes trauma differently), so when we see people who are like us without the bad parts, without the memory loss or the trauma, we see it as a mockery 90% of the time, as something that invalidates our experiences that we didn’t ask for. Not all traumagenic systems have gone through recovery, which means many will carry negative traits and habits that they picked up from their trauma, us included. We have not gone through any sort of recovery yet and we will make mistakes, it’s just how our disorder is at the moment, but it doesn’t excuse our actions and we should be held accountable if we make a mistake. If you are being harassed by anti endos, then walk away and block the person.

You can’t expect CDD systems to be nice to you, especially when a lot of us have dealt with ableism and trauma from non traumagenic systems. It’s the Internet, if you don’t like something, scroll.

2, if your non traumagenic plurality doesn’t hinder your life and make it difficult to live then it’s not a disability. If it’s something you willed into existence and quite literally asked for (talking about willowgenics and tulpas to some extent) then it’s not a disability. And if it does affect your life negatively then it’s something that you should actually get checked because chances are, you’re probably otherwise traumagenic or deal with something else with similar symptoms. There may not be enough research on CDDs and non traumagenic plurality but if it actually is making your life difficult then you need to seek help, because regardless of your origin, plurality is not normal. Humans are not supposed to have multiple parts/alters because our brains are not meant to handle separate parts that way without leaving negative consequences; at most we are supposed to have a 3 dimensional identity that is still one whole and can change and adapt over time, but also shouldn’t affect your memory, your mental health, or impact your life negatively.

Ableism is hate targeted towards disabled people, which can include autistic people, people with ADHD, people in wheelchairs, people who wear glasses or are legally blind, cane users, nonverbal people, people with personality disorders, people with schizophrenia, and of course, people with a CDD. Every single disabled person will tell you that they did not ask for this disability and would rather be normal instead, because like we said, disabilities impact peoples lives negatively.

If you’re someone who genuinely understands the struggles CDD systems face yet also deal with non traumagenic plurality, then you would know when to not overstep and push CDD systems at their limit. You would know to not misuse medical terms which are meant for CDD systems to use. You would know to look into your plurality and see if it is truly non traumagenic or if it’s an actual disorder or a CDD and get treatment, rather than taking no action on it. You would know to stay away from CDD spaces and not invade them.

Plurality is not studied enough, and theres a good chance that there might be an answer to what causes non traumagenic plurality or what it even is, but regardless of what it is, it is definitely not comparable to a CDD. If you relate more with CDD systems than non traumagenic systems, then you really should look into it.

[starry-eyer]

is it wrong that i live for genetic based magic

maybe???? but i can’t care 🙅‍♀️🙅‍♀️🙅‍♀️

i can’tttttt care cause it’s so devious

like… what does it mean for our magical POV characters who are so new to this shit? what does it mean for future societal development? and what did it mean for past societal development?

[patricia-taxxon]

So wait, let me just ask for clarity because I want to understand. Do you support AI art?

i support art made with spontaneous and hands-off processes, i support the creation of art tools that are more art than tool & allow people to "participate" in someone else's creation vicariously a-la picrew, i don't support the institution of "AI" as a consumer grade technology industry that promises impossible things and prioritizes appearances and marketability over usability, i believe that if "AI" allowed people to siphon images directly from their brain with no effort required then it would be a good thing but I believe this is fundamentally impossible until we figure out how to read minds and the focus on arguing for or against accessibility is missing the point, i believe AI art can only ever be a pale imitation of the process of commissioning an artist who can't ever ask questions and cannot be trusted with object permanence, I believe copyright law is a head on the hydra of capitalism and doesn't serve artists, i believe that AI art isn't necessarily art theft but it CAN overfit to its data and create illegal works without telling you, which constitutes criminal levels of negligence, I believe all art is derivative in some way and some of the most seminal art made in this era of history has been far more dubiously infringing than AI art ever can be because AI art does not steal in the way a human does, I think the focus on energy consumption is transparently just a post-hoc justification for hating the thing you all already hated under the guise of environmentalism because it is a problem far from unique to AI, I think the focus on environmentalism was a distraction at best during the NFT craze too, i don't think AI art takes artists out of a job any more than stock photos or clipart does, but the proliferation of consumer-grade tools DOES run the risk of engendering bad client practices similar to the rise of machine translation and asking translators to simply "fix" a machine translated run of text at a marked down price, but this is not the fault of the technology itself and is instead a result of the ideological push being made by the biggest actors in the industry, i think AI art is ugly as sin and carries the pervasive quality of looking normal at a glance but getting worse and worse the longer you look at it, which can be interesting but often isn't, i think ai art is shit google images and the controversy is overblown but I think machine learning is here to stay and it will inevitably decentralize again after the immense costs catch up to all the corpos relying on it to win the future.

so like, yes and no.

[screampied]

oh my godddd I need choso with a breeding kink

choso and his breeding kink ★

warnings. fem! reader, breeding kink, unprotected, p i v, praise, whiny pussydrunk choso, manhandling, mdni.

you let choso shoot into you raw once, just once and he becomes addicted immediately,

it drives him wild, the feeling of goopy amounts of viscous cum pouring into you every few seconds makes his mouth water tremendously with shaky hands glued to your hips, a sweetened mewl slides out of his lips. “ohh, ‘m c-cummin’ again,” and he dryly laughs to hide his whiny moan that were trying to escape from his compressing lips. despite his voice faltering on its own, he couldn’t keep his hands off you. you lay underneath him, an ankle of yours rubbing down his back. you felt his tense muscles and its warmth grazing against your skin. “mhm, ‘s good for me—more please,” he pleads, leaning in to suck against your neck. a few strands of his hair that was naturally down tickles against your cheek. speaking of strands, a few strands stick against his own forehead as he slows his pace. it’s so much dribbling into you before a little trail of his syrupy seed starts to run its way down your left thigh. “i- i’m gonna get you pregnant, baby. i jus’ wanna make a mess out of you. make a mess outta my pretty girl.”

“you love saying that, hm?” you stroke his cheek, panting breaths departing from your lips before you arch forward.

choso was infertile—being a half human half curse, you weren’t sure if he could actually even get you pregnant but he’s always dreamt of the idea. the thought of you walking around with a rounded, swollen tummy has him nearly drooling into your collarbone. baring a fang into the crook of your neck, his sucking intensifies—you’re so full. he only gives you a silent nod, nibbling his teeth into your skin as he’s still got you stuffed full of cock. “how many babies this time?”

“m- maybe um,” he breaks away to stare into your eyes once more.

choso was sweating, a nice glossing sheet of sweat paints against his flushed face before he gulps at your direct eye contact. prying your thighs open just a bit more to stare at the volumes of cum spilling out of your cunt and onto the sheets, he sighs. “wanna give you twins.”

“. . . oh,” you tease, feeling his warm weight press against your entire body. the heat of each body makes his cravings escalate further. he wants you so bad. choso knew you were teasing from your tone alone but still, he furrowed his darkened brows.

as his dick curls into your gummy, gripping walls that forevermore clung onto him tightly, he whines. “oh? oh— what? is that not enough?”

“i was thinking more like . . five, baby,” you whisper against his ear.

whilst you’re still laid flat against your back, feeling his smooth tempo pick up again, a moan almost drags out of your throat. choso always knew how to make you feel good, vice versa. your breaths were so quickened irregular, it’s as if you’d return from a midnight job. with the back of your foot playfully slides down his stiff back muscles, you cup his chin. “maybe six . . or seven, eight . . ”

“s-so basically, you want an entire family,” he whimpers, a mere smile forming onto his lips.

within a few positions, it was safe to say choso was already pussy-drunk. you had him right where you wanted, and once he saw your nod at his question, he only moans into your neck. “okay, i’ll try. gonna try my best for you,” and a flat palm of his circles against your bare stomach. “and this pretty tummy. ‘s gonna be so full when ‘m done.”

choso was a man who never went back on his word.

he says he’s gonna breed you and that’s exactly what he does—

there was simply no sugarcoating it. it’s been about a plethora of positions and as promised, you were filled to the utmost brim with his cum. choso loves more than anything to have you in missionary. he wants to hold your face as he’s fucking his cum back into you.

a pout spreads against his lips as he feels the slippery slope of his own seed pour its way out of your cunt. he wants you to savor it. it drives him mad—with your legs wrapping around his waist, the desire to give you more of him only increases.

“ugh, ‘s good. you’re gonna be so full. take more, pretty please. saved so much for you,” and he’s just babbling.

it’s cute—he’s whimpering sweet nothings against your skin as he’s languidly swinging his hips into your very core. it’s sloppy, yet it feels almost blissful—each time he finishes inside it literally takes his breath away. chills roam all through his spine as he’s dumping such velvety amounts of cum into you. choso bites his lip at the sudden waves of electricity coursing through his veins. he has a bit of a short circuit and it’s cute. with blow irises, he gasps before making a cute attempt to kiss you, but in reality he’s just sucking on your bottom lip. “take it, t- take it, gimme a baby.”

and his words were raspy, yet his tone was whiny. his head’s spinning but he wants more. choso’s so in love, in love with love, in love with you.

“kiss me, ‘cho.” you mewl out breathlessly, moving a few strands out of his face. once he heard you said that, you didn’t have to tell him twice.

a thumb of yours massage against the bridge of his nose, tickling against the scar before you drag him into your lips. choso loudly moans into your mouth as his thrusts become more precise and slow. you glue against him so good that it’s just carnally lustful..

his hips twitch against your own as he’s shoving his own spilling cum right into your cunt. you’re sopping already, a few creamy droplets already start to rundown your thighs as you cling onto him tightly.

“mhm, i love you. i love you s’much, gonna be such a good mommy,” he whines, resuming to babble between kisses.

mwah after mwah . .

with hooded eyes, and a sheepish little grin, he gazes at your after glow. so pretty, saliva cobwebs string out of your mouth as he breaks away only to kiss you again. a hand still rubs against your tummy before it’s his turn to cup your chin. “p- princess,” he breathes in a raspy way. a tongue swipes its way against your bottom lip. his dick was still inside, idle and not moving—yet it’s just plugging feverish excess amounts of cum into you.

“yes baby.” you stare right back into his eyes, a thumb gliding against his flushed cheeks.

“i- i love you,” he whines, his heart melting from the softness of your touch. you bring a hand of his towards your mouth to kiss it. “i love you but- but ‘m not done. need to fill you some more,” and you gasp once he flips you over, making you get on all fours. “i wanna love you more, especially from behind, h-heh.”

[eulaties]

general thoughts about the 2025 小红书 boom

i feel like we're at a really interesting point in time right now, particularly in regards to the shift in american consciousness + changing world order, so i thought it would be fitting to document my thoughts about the xhs situation as a chinese american. however, please note this post is NOT speaking on behalf of any community, and i am only speaking to my own personal opinions.

the good

american propaganda is getting dismantled in real time. there's so much cross-cultural communication right now in relation to america's political issues, everyday life, and what china is really like

im already seeing people starting to learn the language, becoming interested in visiting china, etc. and i truly haven't seen this kind of mass interest in chinese culture in a long time

to be precise, the last time there was really "chinese soft power" in america was during the mid-to-late 2000s. notably this time period included the 2008 beijing olympics which was monumental for china on the global stage, as it showcased their prosperity, openness ("北京欢迎你"), and equal footing in the modern world. ive seen people compare the xhs phenomenon to this event and while both are drastically different, i do think this is an apt comparison (though obviously this xhs thing is on a muchhh smaller scale...)

so many new friendships and connections are being made!

the bad

to add on to what op said, theres definitely a difference between just generally understanding that as diaspora, most people around you will hold sinophobic views about china and chinese people VERSUS actually having empirical evidence that most normal people didn't see chinese people as human before. its jarring to say the least. like everyone is praising chinese people on xhs now, but just last week everyone was fearmongering about us?? really reminds you that in the eyes of the public, favor for any asian culture (and by extension, its people) is fleeting and will often change easily with the season

and yes, its definitely weird to see people talk about chinese people as if they've never seen a chinese person in america before. like obviously there's a HUGE difference between mainlanders and diaspora, but there's also international students that come to america to study so... ??

the memes are funny, and i like how the people on xhs are playing along with them, but something about the "chinese spy" memes rubs me the wrong way. tbh, most mainlanders actually have a positive view of westerners and america, and if they don't study abroad themselves or know anyone that went abroad, they will never truly understand what it's like to be discriminated against simply for being chinese (there's a difference between knowing and understanding ofc; not saying that they're ignorant & don't know anything lol). this is just the honest truth, just like how i'll never understand what it's like to live and grow up in mainland china since im diaspora. anyways, i kind of question if mainlanders are actually aware of the loaded context behind those words. while americans are using the "chinese spy" memes as jokes now in reference to why tiktok is getting banned, it doesn't change the fact that many other americans truly do believe that there is mass chinese surveilliance/planted chinese spies in america (i.e., see modern-day mccarthyism, like how chinese researchers are often stripped of their titles/reputations, interrogated, and then silently deported). like language and framing does matter, and it has actually affected chinese people in america, but now you guys are treating it like a joke?

anyways, even with all of the bad there's still overwhelming good that has come out of this, and i do feel like its better to be more positive than negative about these things in the long run! who knows where tomorrow will take us but at the very least i hope everyone actively continues pissing off the american government 💖 amen

[ghostfacd]

IN A WORLD FULL OF BOYS, HE’S A GENTLEMAN ! | TOM BLYTH

PAIRING. tom blyth x fem!actress!reader

SUMMARY. despite being in a world filled of childish boys, your boyfriend was definitely a gentleman, always putting you before him

AUTHORS NOTE. the third installment because we love tom blyth and yn avocot. I recommend reading part 1 and 2 for more context!

tomblyth “babe, do you think we’re together in every universe?” is that even a question?

tagged @/ynuser

view all comments

ynuser stoppp i didn’t know youd actually take the question seriously

user1 get you a man like tom blyth bc oh my god

user2 idk what yn did to manifest him but i need her ways

user3 ugh idk what he’s doing with her lol he could do so much better

➥ user4 well someone had to say it..

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

You didn’t understand how some people on the internet can be so . . . mean. Although there have been countless of fans cheering you and Tom on, it didn’t make it any less hurtful that there were still a ton who weren’t scared to be open about how much your boyfriend could do better.

It’s ironic; you think. They’re claiming they’re looking out for Tom, yet totally disregarding him and his girlfriend as human beings? Those weren’t real fans.

The reason for them hating you so much? Just for simply being with Tom. Everybody wanted him, that was your crime.

Everytime you got lost in your thoughts about this topic, Tom knew. Boyfriend instincts, he called them, but really, he was just a caring and observant person.

You tried not to break down over it, you really did, but a girl could only go on for so long before it all bursts out. Luckily, Tom pulls you right in, telling you to let it all out.

Although the world was filled with childish and hurtful beings, Tom Blyth was still who he was, a gentleman, attending to your every needs.

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

tomblyth really dgaf if you like my girlfriend or not cause i do and that’s all that matters

view all comments

user5 im cryinf the polaroid he has of her

user6 YES REAL MEN STAND UP FOR THEIR GFS

user7 ALL THE PICS HE HAS OF HER 🥹🥹

tomblythswife oh to be yn avocot and be loved by tom blyth

rachelzegler tell ‘em 🙊

user8 she doesn’t even comment on the posts he makes abt her, so self centered lol

➥ ynuser I’m right next to him rn?? cant say the same thing about you “lol”

➥ user9 OH SHE ATE YOU UP @/user8

tomblyth_daily here are some clips of tom talking about his relationship in his new interview! GET YOU A MAN THATS LIKE TOM BLYTH 🗣️🗣️🗣️

view all comments

user10 the way he’s so passionate when talking about her and being a good boyfriend, God I hate being single

user11 “they’re not even that cute” STFU AND GO WATCH THIS INTERVIEW CAUSE ??

user12 tom blyth said put aside your nonchalant attitudes, im looking at YOU MEN 🫵🫵

ilovetomblyth he’s so boyfriend it actually hurts

user13 yn must’ve saved a continent in her past life to be dating tom blyth omg

ynuser girls, before you have a meltdown over a boy: think of what balleona laurent would do. kiss and manipulate coriolanus!

view all comments

tomblyth you kiss and manipulate me too

➥ ynuser you’re gonna get me CANCELLED

user14 literal unbothered icon i love her

user15 if i were her id post a tiktok with that audio “he chose me he don’t want you”

iloveyn SHES SO FUNNY

lionsgate us when behind the scenes photo of balleona 😻

➥ user16 lmao stop who’s the admin of lionsgate

user17 balleona is such a bad person but oh is she hot

tomblyth she was like a shot of espresso

tagged @/ynuser

view all comments

ynuser i love u more than words can describe blyth

user18 ok who’s cutting onions

user19 GIRLS, GUYS, THEY THEMS, STOP SETTLING FOR BARE MINIMUM WHEN TOM BLYTH LITERALLY CALLED HIS GF A SHOT OF ESPRESSO, GIVES HER FLOWERS EVERYDAY, AND TALKS ABT HER ALL THE TIME IN HIS INTERVIEWS

➥ user20 YELL IT HARDER SISTER 👐👐👐

user21 this is so dark academica im inlove with u guys

user22 parentssss

rachelzegler my favorites

ynuser SNOW LANDS ON TOP LOSERS

view all comments

tomblyth yn, i love you but

➥ user23 LMFAOO when he doesn’t finish his sentence

user24 the second pic thank u yn

joshandresrivera on top of u maybe

➥ user25 IM DYING OML

user26 thank you to lionsgate for casting the most hottest villain couple ever

[the-case-book-of-fanfiction]

Burns Like Rum

Ship: Astarion x female!human!reader/Tav

Summary: Astarion's hunger worsens every day and you don't have any blood to spare—but that doesn't stop you from inadvertently tempting him at every turn. Luckily for both of you, you've both got the same idea to cure him of his hunger.

Word Count: 7,840 words

Warnings: sexual content (18+), menstruating reader, hungry Astarion, mutual pining, possibly OOC dialogue, vampire feeding, soft Astarion, no particular timeline but Astarion hasn't told you anything yet

18+ Warnings: period sex, fingering, oral (f receiving), hand job, bite kink, blood kink, aftercare, use of the words cunt & cock

Note: For my usual readers, more Stranger Things content is coming, I promise! But this bitey boy currently owns my heart so I'm gonna show him some love :)

☟ Continue below the fold ☟

Astarion was hungry, and it was entirely your fault, for more than one reason.

The first was that, almost a month ago now, you had let Astarion drink from you. He'd been starving, and it didn't help that the others had given him strict rules about feeding, so when he flashed those sad but gorgeous red eyes at you, complaining of hunger, you'd all but gifted him your neck.

He'd practically drained you that night. You had been weak for days. Of course, the others, namely Gale and Lae'zel, were furious with you for letting him drink from you, but the sated, content look on his face after feeding made it all worth it to you. He'd become more comfortable around you after that, too, and you'd considered that an improvement.

It hadn't been all that bad, really, for him to sink his teeth into you and drink until your grip on him had grown so weak that he'd let up to check on you. In fact, it had been...rather pleasant. He'd been gentle, careful, his bite sharp but considerate. You knew then that you'd risk becoming anemic for a week just to feel the pleasure of his hand cradling your neck and head, his mouth against your neck, his tongue soothing the bite he'd left when he'd had his fill.

But in the weeks that followed, his hunger gradually returned, and with a vengeance. It was as if he'd never fed from you at all, suffering hunger pangs he hid from the others—but you noticed, recognizing them from the night he'd begged you to let him drink from you.

You'd offered him more of your blood since then, but he'd refused you every time. He could smell your guilt, your need to make him feel better simply because you felt responsible for his current pain.

"I won't accept blood from someone who feels obligated to give it to me," he'd said, and his tone made it difficult to tell if he was being snide or kind.

Sometimes, you simply didn't understand that man.

And then three days ago, you'd been injured in a fight. It was nothing fatal, the gash in your midsection missing any major muscles and not deep enough to jeopardize your organs, but it was bloody. You'd limped your way back to camp, your head swimming, the world around you growing darker around the edges with every step.

You'd fainted in Astarion's arms—although collapsed was a better word for it, according to Karlach—drenched in blood, some of which was yours and some of which that wasn't.

"You should have seen his face!" Karlach had laughed when you'd woken up the next morning, woozy but fine thanks to Shadowheart. The blood loss kept you off your feet for the day to recover, and Karlach had taken the time to visit you.

"What do you mean?" you asked, although you already had a good idea what might have happened after you passed out.

"You put him in a right pickle, collapsing on him like that, all covered in blood and losing more of it quickly," she said. "He didn't know what to do with you. It was— It was like he didn't want to drop you, but he really did want to drop you, because all he wanted to do was drink from you. Can't say as I blame him—he's not fed in weeks and you turn up with his next meal draining out of you." You hid your face in your hands with a groan. "Why'd you beeline for him anyway? Shadowheart's tent was just a few paces away!"

You glared at her through your fingers. "You know why I went to him, Karlach!" She, of all people, would understand. She had been the first person to find out that, as much as you flirted with them all, Astarion was the one you wanted.

"Well, obviously," she said, "but it didn't occur to you that he might...have an adverse reaction?"

Rolling your eyes, you snarked, "No, Karlach, it didn't, I was bleeding out and suffering from head trauma. I just...saw someone I trusted to keep me safe and ran to him."

She cocked her head to the side. "That's sweet, but stupid."

You snorted. "Yeah, I know—Shadowheart won't stop yelling at me for it."

You hadn't seen Astarion until that night, when the group of you had gathered at the campfire. It hadn't meant to be like that; you'd seen him and had wanted to talk to him, at least apologize for throwing your bloody body at him, but Shadowheart followed you closely to keep you safe and soon the others had gathered.

It had been like a very strange family dinner, made awkward by everyone dancing around exactly why you'd gone to Astarion, knowing a hungry vampire and fresh blood were not a good mix.

The final reason you were making his hunger unbearable made itself known at the end of the night, when it was just you, Astarion, and Shadowheart at the dying fire.

She must have caught sight of the way you kept looking at Astarion out of the corner of your eye, embarrassedly looking away or pretending to gaze into the trees behind him every time he caught you looking. She tapped your shoulder and told you she needed to get rest. The "you should, too" was implied, hanging in the air along with her worry about your healing.

"I'm fine, Shadowheart, really," you insisted. "I won't rip myself open again, I promise."

"I'll keep an eye on her," Astarion promised. "Nothing too...strenuous for her just yet." Something in his voice made you shiver.

She left the two of you alone. You looked first at the fire, then down at your hands, folded in your lap. Anywhere than at him.

You didn't even hear him move. You only knew he had when you felt him sit on the log beside you, one of his hands covering your own.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his voice soft. "I...am sorry I didn't visit you, it's just—"

"It's just that I threw myself at you when it looked like I'd taken a shower in blood and that made things a wee bit difficult?" you interrupted, the words spilling out before you had time to process that you were speaking. Embarrassed heat flushed through you instantly.

But Astarion only gave you that soft, slightly toothy smile. You drank it in, relishing his smile lines and the brief contentment on his face. "Something like that, yes," he said. "I was...worried I might hurt you if I saw you again and you still smelled so deliciously of your blood. I'm so hungry, darling, it's unbearable. All I wanted was to feast until there was nothing left of you, and I'd never forgive myself if I—"

"Stop." You held up your hand. "Please. I don't... Don't be so nice to me, it makes me feel like I'm on my deathbed."

Astarion laughed, throwing his head back. "I'd hardly call wanting to drain you nice, my love." Almost unconsciously, your gaze dipped to his exposed neck and you wondered idly what he would do if you were to bite him back.

Probably the strenuous activity Astarion had promised Shadowheart you wouldn't be doing.

He met your gaze, a sudden depth and seriousness in his crimson stare. "Stick with me, and you might soon be on your deathbed." Pointedly, he broke eye contact with you, letting his eyes drop first to your neck and then further down your body. You tingled, the feeling reminiscent of the anemia that had possessed your body in the hours and days after he'd drank from you.

You realized Astarion was waiting for a reaction from you, hoping for something more than your stunned silence. So you let your eyes drift across his body, resting on his mouth as you said, "Doesn't sound like a bad way to go out."

From the back of his throat came a sound that wasn't quite a growl or a groan, but somewhere in between, just as needy as either sound. "Don't tempt me, darling," he whispered. "I promised Shadowheart I'd keep you safe, and you certainly wouldn't be if I did everything I want."

Your heart skipped a beat. "Astarion..."

He closed his eyes, leaning toward you, releasing a tense breath. "Darling..."

"What if I want to tempt you?" You put your hand on his leg, sliding closer to him.

"Cheeky thing," he said, eyes opening in small slits. "But only when you're healed. I can still smell the blood on you." He sighed. "You have no idea how much restraint it takes not sink my teeth into that pretty neck of yours."

You frowned. "But I am healed," you said. "Just tender. Shadowheart wouldn't have let me leave her tent otherwise."

"I can't blame you for wanting me," Astarion teased, that familiar charm honeying his words, "but I've never been wrong." He cupped your cheek, his touch taking the bite out of his words. He offered you a small, sympathetic smile.

You put your hand to your abdomen, half-expecting to find that your wound had ripped open of its own accord. Your shirt and the bandage beneath it was dry—but a sudden twinge of pain, appearing only once it had been acknowledged, came from lower. You hissed.

Astarion sat up straighter. "What is it? Are you alright?"

"Shit. I think I've figured out why you still smell blood," you said through clenched teeth.

Astarion's eyes dipped to where your hand rested. "It's that time again already, is it?"

"It's early," you groaned. You stood slowly, regretting it instantly.

He tracked you as you moved, his gaze becoming dangerous and predatory. It was the look that had scared you when he drank from you, practically convincing you he wasn't going to stop. Still, his need for you burned through you like rum, its heat spreading through your belly.

"I didn't smell it before, not under all the blood you had on you," he said. His voice was deep, dark, dangerous. "But, oh, darling—I smell it now." He licked his lips and your stomach did flips that were neither pleasant or unpleasant. The hunger in his eyes was palpable

"I, ah, have to go. For your sake and mine. Um. So, uh, goodnight, Astarion. I...I'll see you when this is all over."

He stood up quickly. "Darling, do you need—" He cut himself off as you waved away his concern, crossing the camp to your own tent.

"No! Goodnight!" you called over your shoulder.

Astarion sighed. "...Night."

~❊~

You avoided Astarion like the plague. Well, perhaps not, because while you never wanted to see the disease, you were always on the lookout for your favorite vampire.

You caught glimpses of him through the open flaps of your tent, sauntering by with a swagger you found unfairly attractive. You saw him reading on his own when Shadowheart helped you changed your bandages, his handsome face fixed in concentration. A few hours later, you heard him arguing with Gale about the very same book, which had apparently gone missing, and you hated the flutter in your stomach at the growl in his angry voice.

"Stop that," Karlach said, glancing up at you as the pair of you cooked, Karlach helping you roast root vegetables evenly.

"Stop what?"

"Mooning over him," she said, jerking her head in Astarion's direction.

Your body flushed with heat. "I'm not—"

"You are, and we can all tell, and you should just get it over with, but only if you mean it."

You frowned, tearing your eyes away from the blessed sight that was Astarion basking in the sun. "Sorry, what?"

Karlach sighed. "If you sleep with him—" You spluttered. "—it had better be because you truly want him and not because you're bleeding."

You blinked at her. "Karlach, of course I want him, you've heard me talk about him before this!"

"I know, I know," she relented, "but I have a feeling there's more to our vampire than meets the eye." She glanced over at Astarion. "Just...be kind to him, dear. He's more fragile than he looks."

You followed her gaze over to him. He was stretching, his arms lifted high above his head, undoubtedly oblivious to the two of you watching him. Want and need bubbled up inside of you, both clamoring for Astarion, agreeing that he would fulfill them both. The deep-seated lust you'd had for him since he'd first put a knife to your neck burned even brighter as the breeze that had been kicking up dust all morning played with the silver hair curling around his ears.

His nostrils flared and you knew he'd smelled you. He looked over at you and Karlach and you froze. She waved cheerily, then frowned at you when you didn't move. You swallowed harshly and went back to removing the scales from the fish in your lap.

"He doesn't like not being around you either, you know," Karlach said, returning to the task at hand. "He's always looking at you when you're not looking. You're perfect for each other like that."

"I don't want to make this harder for him by being around him," you said, glancing back over at him. He was watching you as he poured himself a glass of wine. Had it been normal circumstances, when you weren't driving him insane simply by smelling like blood, you would have teased him for day-drinking. "He's already so hungry, I'd only make that worse. It was bad enough I threw myself at him covered in his favorite snack!"

Karlach snorted. The sound of a light laugh floated over to you and you looked up to find Astarion smirking into his goblet. He beckoned you over and your eyes grew wide.

"Excuse me for a moment, Karlach," you said, clearing your throat.

Karlach followed your gaze and giggled. "More than a moment, dear. I'll come back later to help you finish this." She left the log you'd been sharing and you waited until she was in her own tent again before you jumped to your feet and practically ran to Astarion.

"Hello, darling," he purred. "Care for a drink?"

"I could go for a little," you said.

Astarion smiled, that rakish charm summoning warmth that spread through your entire body. "I hope you like red," he said, and put his own goblet to your lips.

You held his gaze as you drank. You saw his nostrils flare, his pupils growing large. You knew he could hear how your heart was racing, could smell your arousal mixing with your blood.

He pulled the goblet away from your lips and took another swig. You licked the red wine off your lower lip and heard the breath catch in his chest.

"You're starving, aren't you?"

"You have no idea," he whispered.

"I might," you said. "Thought I'd say it's a hunger of a different kind."

Astarion's smirk was so wide you could see his fangs clearly. "Oh, really, darling?"

You nodded, taking a step closer to him. He breathed in deeply. "We could help each other, you know. Satiate our hungers."

His eyes grew dark, trained on yours. "Is that so?" He raised his hand, nearly brushing your cheek, but stopped himself just before he touched you. "You'd let me soothe your pain by..." His gaze dropped to your waistline. "...eating from you?"

A tremor passed through you at the sound of his voice, deeper than you'd ever heard it, laced with a danger and a seduction you were embarrassed to find attractive. Your body was tuned to it, his words seeming to drop like a stone from your ears to your core, spreading fire through your veins and melting your organs.

Astarion took a small step closer to you and took your chin in three gentle fingers, tilting your head up toward him. For a moment, you thought he might kiss you then and there. "I'm going to need an answer, darling."

"Yes." You couldn't get the word out fast enough. It came out breathy, nearly lost on the wind still swirling between you.

He chuckled. "Well, then. You asked for it." He dropped the hand on your chin back to his side. "Once everyone else is asleep, come find me. We'll find a quiet place and...have a little fun."

~❊~

Of all the nights, it had to be this one where everyone came to check on you before they went to sleep. Thanks to Astarion avoiding you like the plague when the two of you had become inseparable, your monthly bleed had become public knowledge. So practically everyone in camp came to you with solutions you declined, claiming to feel fine, even though your pain had worsened over the course of the day.

You watched Astarion slink off into the forest after the sun had gone down and waited until the others were sequestered in their tents, nearly an hour later, to pull your boots back on, stand on shaky feet, and follow the path you assumed he'd taken.

You had started to believe you'd taken a wrong turn somewhere when you heard his cool voice from behind you: "There you are. I've been waiting."

Astarion stepped out of the shadows. He ran his gaze over you, observing your slightly hunched stance, your hand on your lower abdomen. Your shoulders relaxed at the sight of him; he looked softer in the moonlight. The silver light fell across his curls and the statuesque panes of his face, somehow making that face that was so gaunt with hunger unbelievably beautiful.

He looked like a poet or a god, even in just the simple shirt he insisted on wearing around camp instead of the finer silks you knew he carried with him. Or perhaps it was the simplicity that made him so godly. You couldn't tell.

A frown graced his brow. "The pain is worse now, isn't it?"

You nodded. "Just a bit."

Astarion left the small hill he stood on and came closer to you. He offered you his hand. "Come on, dear, let me make you feel better."

You let him guide you away from the path you had taken and into a small clearing just a few feet away, conveniently hidden by thickets, trees, and tall grass. He stood aside, letting you take it in for a moment, as if waiting for your approval of the place. You looked down at the mossy ground and decided it would be soft enough.

"Well, this is nice," you said, seconds before you heard fabric rustling. You turned and blinked rapidly at what you saw: Astarion, his shirt now off and in his hands. You watched him lay it down where the ground was most level. Your breath caught horribly in your throat at the sight of the scar covering his back. You fought back the urge to ask, knowing it would only piss him off.

He turned back to you with a smile. "Your bed for the evening, my love," he said, gesturing to it.

"Oh, Astarion, I can't, I don't want to get blood on your shirt. What would the others—"

Astarion cupped your face in one hand. "The others will assume I hunted something and got messy," he said. "And I'll enjoy your scent while I have it."

Flutters in your stomach nearly brought you to your knees. You looked up at him, drawing in a tiny breath, and brought your hand up to hold the wrist that cradled your cheek.

"Please," you whispered, unsure of exactly what you were begging for but knowing what you wanted.

"Promise me you'll tell me if...I'm too much," Astarion said, and you got the sense he'd changed what he was going to say.

You nodded, whispering your promise, and wound your free hand into the hair at the nape of his neck, standing on your tiptoes to push your lips to his.

It was a messy first kiss. It was little more than teeth and spit, but it felt like heaven anyway, because his free arm was winding around your waist and pressing your bodies together, his leg sliding between yours. Bliss spread through you, starting at your core.

Astarion pulled away from you. "Someone's eager, isn't she?"

You whimpered and he stifled it with another kiss, softer than the first. He was gentle, more than you'd expected from a starving man. He cupped the back of your head and your hand dropped to his hip. You opened your mouth to him and reveled in the feeling of his tongue sliding against yours. He made a soft sound of satisfaction and pushed his leg up against your clothed core. You moaned loudly, your grip on him tightening. Need flooded you and your hips pushed down on his leg, finding relief in the pressure.

The two of you pressed your foreheads together, breathing heavily.

"Shh, darling, not too loud. You don't want the others to come investigate, do you?" His cheeky tone suggested he would love it if the others found the two of you like this—or, perhaps, further along.

You wrapped both arms around his neck and buried your head into his shoulder, heat burning through you, a mix of embarrassment and pleasure. You felt like there was a pendulum inside you, swinging constantly between wanting to slow down, afraid of coming off as too eager, and desperately needing him to get to it.

Astarion chuckled. "Don't hide, love." He smoothed his hand over your hair. "You do trust me, don't you?"

You kissed his shoulder and heard his breath catch. "With my life, Astarion."

"Are you ready?"

You nodded and he walked you over to his shirt and helped you to sit on it. He watched you lay down, his gaze falling your exposed neck. There was something more than hunger in his eyes; it made your breathing hitch.

Astarion crawled over you and placed his hand underneath your head before he kissed you. You draped your arm over his shoulders, holding him close to you, enjoying the soft touch of his lips against yours. It was chaste, as were the next few that followed it in quick succession, one after the other.

One hand slid down your body and stopped at the hem of your trousers. He tugged at the shirt tucked into them. "Darling? May I?"

"Please do," you said.

"Arms up."

He pulled the fabric over your head and tossed it to the side. He looked down at your torso from where he straddled your hips. His hands skimmed over you and he leaned down, pressing more gentle kisses to your neck and collarbones. Your body tingled with remembrance, practically yearning to feel his fangs sink into your neck, to feel your blood leave you with a burning that felt like intoxication.

"Astarion." His name was a breathy cry on your lips, and you saw how much he liked the sound of it when he looked up at you, a smile curving onto the lips still pressed to your skin.

"Yes, dear?"

You gently coaxed him back up to you with your hand on his chin. "Let me kiss you."

He smiled, brighter than the moonlight falling around you, and you pressed your mouth to his. He hummed happily into your mouth, a pleasant sensation that made you reluctant to break the kiss. But you did, kissing along his jaw and down his neck instead. You nipped gently at his neck, pulling a surprised laugh from him.

"Really, darling? Biting the vampire?" Astarion's eyes were sparkling with amusement. His face had relaxed into an easy smile. It was a good look on him; you liked it.

You giggled and placed another kiss over the bite. The pair of you rolled onto your sides and you peppered his chest with kisses, your arm wrapped loosely around his waist. You went back up to his neck and sucked lightly.

"So much for the others not knowing," he teased.

You looked at him through your lashes. "What if I want them to know?"

"Cheeky little thing," he whispered, dragging a finger down the side of your face. "As much as I love this—and believe me, I do love this—I can't wait any longer. I'm starving, darling. Let me taste you. Please."

Slightly subdued, you rolled onto your back. "Alright," you whispered, your chest tightening in anticipation.

Astarion climbed on top of you again. He undid the laces at the front of your trousers and slipped his hand inside them, moving slowly and keeping his eyes locked on yours.

The moment two of his fingers slid between your wet folds, your eyes fluttered shut and a happy sigh slipped from your lips.

"There she is," he whispered, his eyes half-lidded, as he worked you gently and slowly. You felt the blood and arousal gather on his fingers as he grew closer to your entrance. He dragged them back up to your clit and rubbed in a slow circle. You gasped, arching into his touch. Astarion giggled. "Oh, you like that, don't you?"

You wriggled underneath him, trying everything in your power to get more of his touch. He smiled down at you, kissing your cheek and cooing softly at you. If he spoke words, you didn't hear them, too lost in the pleasure he easily, skillfully, brought to you.

Without warning, Astarion plunged both fingers into your entrance. You moaned, grabbing at his hair. He chuckled, curling his fingers inside you. Whimpers slipped past your lips; you couldn't have controlled them if you tried, but you were by no means trying. His smile grew with every sound you made, and you wanted nothing more than to see that smile.

Just as suddenly as he'd pushed his fingers in, he pulled them out. You whined instantly but he shushed you and removed his hand from your pants. A small streak of blood was left on the skin of your stomach as he raised his hand to his mouth. You watched raptly as he licked your blood from his fingers, never once breaking eye contact with you.

He wasn't even touching you and the fire in your belly grew at the sight.

Astarion moaned softly around his fingers. You watched his deft tongue catch every drop of blood, thinned by your arousal, from his hand. He whispered your name in a whine and you let go of a long breath.

Once he'd licked his fingers clean, he bent down and yanked your trousers off your legs. You spread them automatically and he put one leg between them. He pulled off your undergarments and sat back, admiring your naked body with a satisfied smirk.

"Look at you," he whispered.

The need for him to touch you won out over the desire for him to keep staring at you. "Astarion." His name was a loud whine, emphasized by your writhing hips.

He chucked. "Needy girl." His hand returned to your cunt, his palm applying pressure to your clit while his fingers toyed with your bloody folds. His eyes practically rolled into the back of his head, the smell of blood so heady even you could smell it.

He teased your entrance for a moment and pulled his fingers back up, the tips of them coated in thick blood that looked black in the night. He sucked it from his fingers with a toothy smile, his fangs peeking out over his bottom lip.

You pushed your hips up enough to catch his eye. "Please," you whimpered.

"Alright, love, alright," he said. He put his hand back and slipped his fingers back inside you. Relief curled through you—as did his fingers. "I'll starve myself a bit longer for your pleasure."

You cupped his neck and brought his face to yours and kissed him fiercely. He made a surprised but pleased sound into your mouth and quickened his pace. You gasped against his lips and he ducked his head to your neck, kissing you quickly with every curl of his fingers.

You twisted your fingers through his hair, rapidly kissing the top of his head, pushing your hips up into his hand. He chuckled, his breath ghosting over your skin and raising goosebumps. You shuddered in his arms.

"I've got you," he murmured, sucking a light mark into your neck. You felt his teeth prick you and saw the shudder that passed through his body at the tiny droplets of blood that appeared.

He pulled away from your neck and curled his fingers just so. You groaned.

"Astarion!" you cried, throwing your head back.

He grinned and quickened his pace. You sucked in a deep breath, fighting back tears of pleasure.

"Let go, darling," he whispered. "I've got you."

Astarion looked back down at your neck. He locked eyes with you as he pressed his tongue to your skin, slowly licking up the droplets as they began to run down your neck. The combination of his intense stare and the movement of his fingers was all you needed; with a loud cry, you came on his fingers, your walls clenching so hard around him he could hardly keep moving them.

He chuckled. "That's it, dear, that's it." He cooed softly, helping you through it with his voice, his soft touch, and gentle kisses to your lips.

You were breathing hard when he finally pulled his fingers out of you. You whimpered at the slight pain but realized your cramps had all but disappeared.

Judging by the state of his hand, you didn't want to know how bloody his shirt was. It looked as though he'd reached into someone's chest and ripped their heart out; his hand was drenched and rivulets of blood ran all the way down to his elbow.

Astarion giggled at the sight while you burned with embarrassment. "Well, well, well. Someone's happy, isn't she?"

"So are you," you said, nodding to the bulge in his pants.

He grinned. "Well, what did you expect? You were quite vocal, my needy little thing." His eyes drifted back down to your cunt, lust curling through his gaze. "Tight and wet and utterly desperate for me."

He licked a stripe up his hand, his eyes fluttering shut. "Oh, darling, you taste good." He sucked your blood off of every finger, pleasure sliding over his face.

You smiled. "There's more where that came from."

Astarion raised one perfect brow. "Can you handle another little death?" he teased.

You nodded. "I can take a few more."

He chuckled and groaned at the same time. "Oh, my love, don't make promises you can't keep."

You met his gaze as he finished cleaning off his hand. "Believe me, I can keep it."

The vampire grinned. "Very well, then. I'll eat good tonight."

He kissed you chastely as he put his hand between your legs again.

Astarion brought you pleasure unlike anything you'd ever felt before as his fingers slid over your blood-slick skin, teasing your folds and entrance with a smirk, often just barely inserting the tip of his finger before pulling it out again and tracing over your clit and smearing blood across your skin. He kissed and sucked on your breasts, leaving darkening bruises and tiny scratches from his teeth, licking up the tiny beads of blood that sprung from each nick. He kissed along the line of scarring and stitches you had gotten from your injury, fading fast but still a reminder of what had gotten you on your back for him in the first place. Now that he'd eaten a little, he was intently focused on bringing you to the edge and pulling you back, again and again and again.

He worked another orgasm out of you and was on his way to coaxing out the third when you stopped him.

"Is it too much?" he asked, frowning. His unbloodied hand moved to rest on your hip, his thumb smoothing over your skin. His eyes searched your face, looking for anything to tell him why you'd stopped him.

You shook your head. "I need more, Astarion," you gasped, slurring his name into Astari. The unintended nickname made him blush. "I need more of you. Please. Please."

The smile returned to his face, cockier than before. "Oh, darling. I need more of you, too," he said, looking into your cunt and licking his lips. "I could just eat you up."

You spread your legs wider. He settled between them. "Please do."

He breathed in deep and his eyes practically rolled back into his head. "You're going to be the death of me— Ah. Well, you would be, if I was alive."

You frowned. "Would this even be happening if you were alive?"

Astarion thought for a moment. "Let's not think about the logistics," he decided and licked the drying blood from his fingers off your abdomen. Your body trembled. He lifted your legs over his shoulders. You squeaked and smiled at him.

"Lay back," he whispered. You obliged him.

Wet warmth touched your skin just above your clit and you glanced down at him, watching him slowly lick the drying blood from your skin. He kissed your skin as he cleaned it, leaving you covered in slowly darkening bruises.

You stared at the stars as he pressed a soft first kiss to your clit. You let out a slow breath and he began to suck, his lips closing around it, his tongue licking light stripes.

You pushed your hips against his mouth. "Circles," you whispered.

"As you wish," he said, his breath fanning over your cunt and making you tremble. He went back to his feast, licking in circles this time, and you let out a soft whimper. You reached down and he reached up, lacing your fingers together and squeezing your hand. You squeezed back.

He moved further down until his nose bumped your clit and his lips found your entrance. He moaned, the sound deep and guttural, at the taste of your blood. He lapped at your entrance, his tongue sweeping up the blood as soon as it collected there. You shuddered, your breaths coming in heaves.

Astarion kissed your entrance once before he dove in, pushing his tongue into your cunt. You gasped and he laughed and buried his face in you.

Through the pleasure, you wondered dimly how he was breathing (did he, as a vampire, need to breathe?), but the thought was pushed away the moment his splayed fingers on your hip dug into your flesh and pulled you even closer to his mouth.

The sounds you were making were obscene: your moans were loud and coarse, and your cunt squelched lewdly as he drank your blood and arousal. You felt filthy, aware that the mix was running down your legs and buttocks but knowing the vampire eating you out was enjoying you too much to care.

Astarion himself was quite vocal, moaning into you and making you shiver. He whimpered, whined, groaned, and keened, growing louder with every swallow of blood. He alternated between watching you writhe and squeezing his eyes shut in pleasure.

You watched his hand slide from your hip to his bulge. He palmed himself through his trousers, hissing in pleasure, and the sight was enough to send you over the edge for a third time.

But Astarion didn't let up. He lapped at you, sucking so harshly your pleasure bordered pain, until your legs stopped shaking and your breathing evened out.

He lifted his head with a grin. "How do I look?"

You looked at him and started laughing. He was the smiliest you had ever seen him, his eyes practically glowing, and the lower half of his face was covered in your blood. His teeth were stained red and sticky blood dripped slowly from his fangs. It ran down his chin in rivulets and splatters dotted his lower cheeks like freckles. Some of it was even in his hair.

"You're ridiculous," you giggled. "And a messy eater."

He snorted. "Excuse you!"

"It's all over your face!"

He sat up with a grin, licking his lips. "You mean you are all over my face."

Satisfaction curled through you. "Yes," you said, reaching for him. He took your hand again. "Yes I am."

He wiped his face with his hand and licked it clean once again. You reached up and wiped some off on your thumb, then held it out to him. He took your thumb into his mouth and sucked. Your heart stopped beating.

"Feeling better?" he asked you, lightly placing his palm over your abdomen, applying a little pressure, and rubbing gentle circles.

"Much better," you said. "Thank you. But, ah..." Your gaze drifted from his beautiful, if slightly pink, face and down to his bulge. It was just as, if not more, prominent now that he'd gone down on you. "What about you?"

Astarion smirked. "I like your enthusiasm, but don't worry about me. Not tonight, darling."

You frowned. "Why not? What if I want you inside of me?" You walked two fingers up his leg and slowly covered his crotch with your palm. When he didn't protest and his eyes fluttered shut, you gave him a gentle squeeze. He let out a soft moan through closed lips and tilted his head back. You kissed the column of his neck and bit down gently. You sucked—hard—and a rumbling moan came from his chest.

"Because," he said finally, drawing in a ragged breath. "Because that would be a terrible waste of your precious blood." He looked at you with half-lidded eyes. "When this is over, I promise you, you can have as much of me as you want." He pushed his hips into your hand and you gave him another gentle squeeze. He gasped.

You nuzzled into him and his arm wrapped around your shoulders, holding you there. "And what if I want all of you?"

The question hung in the air. He looked at you for a long time and suddenly you saw the fragility Karlach had mentioned this afternoon, which felt like years ago instead of mere hours. You reached up to cup his cheek and, though you were stark naked, the sexual desire in the air seemed to have disappeared.

"I want all of you, Astari," you whispered. The nickname made his eyes grow wide. "All of you, in every way, for as long as possible. If you'll let me. If you want me, too."

He whimpered, and the sound was broken. You hated hearing that pain coming from him. "I want you, I do, I just..." He closed his eyes and you were suddenly very sure there was a darkness, a secret, he was trying to hide from you. You were certain it had to do with his vampiric master he'd so often complained about. "I'll try, my darling, I'll try for you."

You sat up on your knees and cupped his face in both hands and kissed him. You didn't break the kiss once as you pressed your body against his and held him tightly. You felt the scar on his back and wanted to ask but didn't, letting him keep his secrets for now.

His arms came around you, cradling your back and holding you tight to him. The kiss became a long-lasting hug, the both of you burying your heads in each other's shoulders until Astarion pulled away from you, a smile on his face. You returned that smile and sat back on your heels.

His eyes trailed over your body again. There was a note of nervousness in his voice as he asked, "Darling, would you mind...touching me again? I could use some relief."

You grinned. "Of course, my love. All you had to do was ask."

Relief crossed his face. He leaned back as you trailed your hand from his shoulder, down his chest, and back to his bulge. You tipped his head back with your free hand and kissed his neck while you rubbed him. He pushed his hips into your hand, sighing blissfully, and your hand was in his trousers in seconds. He grew loud, thrusting his cock into your hand with a power that surprised you.

"Take what you need," you told him, your voice hushed, your lips directly next to his ear. "Help me give you what you want."

He whimpered, your name a broken cry from his lips, and he cuddled into you as he came. He buried his head into your neck, hiding his eyes and barely holding back grunts. As his thrusts grew weaker and you slowed your hand on him, you felt hot tears on your neck and wondered what this poor man had been through that he hadn't yet told you.

You removed your hand from his pants and he immediately wrapped you in another hug, one strong enough to knock you down and knock the breath of you. You held him as tightly as he held you.

When Astarion at last pulled away from you, his tears had stopped but his eyes still shone with them. He kissed you softly.

"Thank you," he whispered. "I... Thank you."

You brushed some of his hair from his face. "What's wrong?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. You were... It's just that no one has cared about me during sex in a very long time and...you did. So...thank you."

You took his hand and squeezed it. "Oh, Astarion," you cooed. "I always care about you. Like this or otherwise. You could stop this right now—or before it even began—and I wouldn't have stopped caring about you."

He smiled. "Oh, darling. I love the sentiment, but I'm not done with you yet."

Astarion kissed down your body and laid between your legs again. He licked another stripe up your cunt and you saw the coating of blood on his tongue before he swallowed. "Shall we try for a fourth? Or perhaps even a fifth?" He raised his brow, leaving the decision up to you.

You laid back. "We'll try for as many as you'd like," you said.

He bared his teeth in a feral grin. "All night it is!"

~❊~

You woke up the next morning sore and alone and with very little sleep.

Astarion had been relentless and stopped only when you simply couldn't take it anymore and he was practically drunk on your blood—all without making you bloodless and woozy. When you had finished for the final time, he had cleaned you up, helped you back into your clothes, picked up his own shirt, and walked you back to camp. He was so gentle that you didn't even mind the teasing about how you limped.

Dawn hadn't been far off as you each went back to your tents after exchanging a final, solid kiss. So you woke to the sound of everyone else beginning their day just a few hours later.

You felt the soreness in your core before you even moved. Biting back a sigh and not regretting it one bit as you pictured Astarion's happy, bloody face, you rolled over and hoped your recent injury would be enough for the others to let you sleep in.

You were wrong.

Shadowheart opened your tent a few minutes later with a urgency that made you jump.

"What? What's wrong?" you asked, blinking blearily in the bright sunlight.

"Are you alright? You never sleep in, you're always up making breakfast!"

You groaned. "Is that it? Are you just hungry?"

She peered at you. "Are you hurt? Did your wound reopen?"

"What? No! I'm fine, I'm just tired, that's all! I have lost a lot of blood recently, in case you forgot."

She sighed. "Oh. Alright. Well, just know the others are worried, too—Astarion especially."

You remembered how he'd checked in on you last night and had asked if he'd hurt you at all when you'd returned to camp and wondered if you had worried him by sleeping in. Suddenly you were grateful the others could chalk it up to his not-so-secret crush on you.

You dressed and hid the light bruises on your neck and collarbones in a high-collared shirt. You only noticed you were walking with a slight limp still after you'd left your tent and made your way across camp.

Karlach called your name and was at your side immediately. "You're limping! Are you hurt? Do you need me to fetch Shadowheart?"

You blinked at her. "What? No. I'm fine!"

"You don't look fine," Gale said, a few feet away, looking up from the book he'd been engrossed in for days. "Did you hurt your leg the other day? Or have your stitches ripped?"

"My, my," said a suave voice behind you. You turned and found Astarion grinning like a cat. "You do have quite the limp, there, darling. Are you sure you're alright?"

You huffed at him, your body remembering his touch immediately, his ghostly hands sliding across your skin. "I'm fine, I promise. Now hush and someone help me make breakfast."

Both Karlach and Astarion sat with you, Astarion very close to you and giving you a smile you couldn't help but return. Karlach stared at Astarion like he'd grown two heads, her gaze flickering between the two of you. She gasped very suddenly.

"Not a word," you hissed at her, knowing she'd figured it out.

Astarion smirked.

"And nothing from you, either," you added. "You're the reason I'm walking like this, you bastard."

He smiled sweetly at you, catching the fondness in the words. "And I gladly will be again." He took your hand and lifted it to his mouth, kissing it. Your eyes grew wide.

Karlach squeaked.

"You know nothing," you told her. "At least for a little while."

"Yes," Astarion agreed. "At the very least, tell Shadowheart nothing—I broke my promise to her to keep our dear girl from doing any strenuous activity."

You turned red and Karlach groaned, "Not before breakfast, please!"

Astarion opened his mouth—undoubtedly to say something about how you were technically his breakfast, based on the hour you'd returned to camp—but you moved quicker than he could speak. You grabbed him by the collar and yanked him toward you, kissing him heartily to shut him up.

A heavy silence settled over camp. You cracked one eye open and found the rest of your companions staring at the pair of you, mouths agape and eyes wide.

"Oops," Astarion muttered, sounding rather pleased.

You cleared your throat. "I, ah, I've been meaning to tell you all. Honestly."

Gale heaved a sigh. "How much do I owe you, Wyll?"

Your jaw dropped open. "You placed bets?!"

"Alright, you bloodsucker," Wyll said, holding his hand out and waiting for his payment from Gale. "You win."

"Yes," Astarion said, and you expected him to be wearing a smirk infused with his charm, his triumphant eyes on the others. But when you turned to him, he was staring at you, a dopey smile fixed on his face. "Yes, I did."

☞ ❊ ☜

Baldur's Gate 3 // Astarion Acunin

part 2 (Sweet Like Wine) {here}!

Taglist: {comment and let me know if you'd like to be added to the Astarion taglist!}

[raynas-delivery-service]

It's truly astonishing how we're 3 movies deep, and there's still ZERO straight explanation for Robotnik and Stone's relationship.

Like yeah when 1 came out, it was good fun shipping them after the whole "pin yourself to the wall" thing and those of us who saw the potential would've stayed Stobotnik truthers regardless of what direction the following movies took. No one was expecting like... actual canon evidence tho??? In 2 Stone is shown to be visibly depressed when Ivo is gone, draws detailed latte art of their faces with tiny hearts, and has no desires other than to be in his presence once he's back (also the maid outfit lmao). Ivo, despite hating all of humanity, not only lets Stone stick around well after they've left the government, but is allowed to see him at his lowest, SHAVE HIS HEAD, and in general get closer to him than anyone else ever has in his life. (Slight S3 Spoilers but he also literally refers to Stone as "the only person he can trust" 😭, which I reacted totally normal to btw).

That's without even mentioning their natural chemistry (courtesy of Jim and Lee), or the way Stone is so down bad he looks at Ivo like he's hung the stars, or THAT PART in 3 that's basically all the confirmation I need. There's wayyy more here than an average toxic boss/henchman dynamic, and watching this all unfold in real time over the last (almost) 5 years had been such a chaotic delight. It's never not crazy to me how all of this started simply cause the filmmakers decided to give Jim Carrey someone to work off of 🤖🪨❤️

[carnalcrows]

JEALOUSY - SUHYEOK

pairing: lee suhyeok x bottom male reader

synopsis: Fighting zombies is one thing; fighting off your secret boyfriend’s jealousy while your friend crushes on you? Pure chaos.

content warnings: 18+, semi-public sex, anal, voyuerism (?), zombies.

word count: 1.2k

A/N: give me more AOUAD reqs yall!!

The classroom buzzed with a strange energy, an odd mix of fear and camaraderie. Despite the ever-present moans and thuds of the undead outside, the boys managed to find ways to distract themselves from the grim reality. The latest distraction? Wujin’s endless monologue.

"You know," Wujin began, leaning back against the wall with the confidence of someone who definitely thought they were the main character, "if we survive this apocalypse—and I mean if—I’m taking Y/N out for a fancy dinner. Like, steak, dessert, the whole deal."

The group burst into laughter. Dae-su nearly choked on his biscuit, while Cheong-san shook his head with a grin.

"Bro, you can’t even afford steak," Cheong-san teased. "Your wallet’s emptier than the cafeteria right now."

"First of all," Wujin retorted, holding up a finger, "rude. Second of all, Y/N is worth it. He’s got that whole ‘strong and silent’ vibe going on, you know? Like, the kind of guy who could carry you bridal style through a horde of zombies and still look cool doing it."

More laughter erupted, and even you—sitting across the room sorting through supplies—couldn’t help but crack a smile. Wujin was nothing if not persistent.

"You’ve got it bad, huh?" Dae-su said, nudging Wujin with his elbow.

Wujin sighed dramatically, clutching his chest like he’d been shot. "Of course I do! Have you seen him? He’s like... the human equivalent of a survival handbook. Practical, reliable, and ridiculously good-looking. If I had a chance, I wouldn’t just shoot my shot—I’d cannonball into it."

Suhyeok, who’d been leaning against the wall a few feet away, stayed silent. He twirled a metal pipe in his hands, his expression unreadable.

"Y/N’s great and all," Cheong-san said, throwing a glance in your direction. "But don’t you think you’re being a little dramatic?"

"Me? Dramatic?" Wujin gasped, mock-offended. "It’s not dramatic to acknowledge greatness when you see it. He’s a ten out of ten."

The group burst into laughter again, but Suhyeok barely reacted. He simply shrugged, his voice calm as he said, "Yeah, Y/N’s cool."

Wujin grinned, turning to him. "Right? I mean, come on, Suhyeok, even you’ve gotta admit he’s a catch."

Suhyeok gave a nonchalant hum, his tone light. "Sure. He’s a good guy." His fingers tightened on the pipe for just a moment before he set it down, his movements smooth.

The conversation drifted to other topics, but Suhyeok’s mind stayed stuck on Wujin’s words. The casual teasing and compliments shouldn’t have bothered him, but they did.

He glanced at you across the room, the corner of his mouth twitching up as you focused on organizing the supplies. You were completely oblivious to Wujin’s crush—and to Suhyeok’s growing jealousy.

Later that night, the group settled down, some asleep while others kept watch. You slipped away with Suhyeok under the guise of checking the rooftop, craving a moment of peace.

As you leaned against the railing, the cool night air brushing against your skin, you sighed. "You know, Wujin’s been talking about me all day. He’s funny, but man, he really doesn’t stop."

Suhyeok leaned beside you, his jaw tightening slightly. "Yeah, he’s got a lot to say."

You chuckled, completely missing the edge in his tone. "He’s harmless, though. Honestly, it’s kind of sweet. I think he—"

Before you could finish, Suhyeok turned and kissed you, cutting you off mid-sentence. The force of it pushed you back against the railing, his hands gripping your waist firmly. The kiss was intense, almost desperate, as if he’d been holding back all day and finally snapped.

You froze for a moment before kissing him back, your hands clutching at his jacket. When he finally pulled back, his lips red and slightly swollen, you were left breathless.

"What the hell was that for?" you asked, your voice low and shaky.

Suhyeok’s eyes locked onto yours, his expression unreadable. "You really don’t know, do you?"

"Know what?" you asked, genuinely confused.

He smirked, brushing his thumb along your jaw. "You’re mine, Y/N. I don’t care who else thinks they have a shot—you’re mine."

The words sent a shiver down your spine. "Wait… is this about Wujin? You’re jealous?"

Suhyeok didn’t answer. Instead, he kissed you again, rougher this time, his hands sliding up your back as he pulled you closer. The kiss grew sloppier, your breaths mingling as his lips moved down to your neck. You couldn’t help but let out a quiet gasp as he nipped at your skin, his grip on you tightening.

Your hands moved to his shoulders, as he trailed down to your pants, pulling them down with a firm tug, making you gasp with surprise.

“Here? What if someone–” he interrupted you with another searing kiss as he tugge your boxers down too, leaving your lower half bare.

Out of nowhere, he pulled out a small packet of lube (magician I tell you), and ripped it open with his teeth. You simply stared at him wide-eyed, wondering where the damn thing came from. Suhyeok merely smirked, and poured the cold liquid onto his fingers, watching it run down to his palms.

He gently turned you around and prodded one lubed finger against your ass, slowly inserting it, with you covering your mouth. He then added one after the other– and soon, three fingers were steadily pumping in and out of you.

Your back arched, pushing forward into the wall in front of you– hands digging into the paint, coming off with flecks in your nails.

Deeming you to be prepped enough, Suhyeok removed his fingers and replaced them with his erection, his pants hanging low at his ankles.

He pressed the tip in– followed by the rest of his length, until he fully bottomed out inside of you. He groaned at how your hole was clenching tightly around his cock– feeling every twitch and pulse.

“Gonna move now baby,” he uttered before pulling out all the way before slamming back in. You moaned at the feeling– almost forgetting that the zombies or your friends could hear you at any moment. 

Suhyeok turned you around to face him– having an almost death grip on your waist. One of your hands tightly clutched his shoulder, while the other covered your mouth so that you wouldn’t let out any noises.

He buried his face in the crook of your neck, groaning with almost every single thrust. You felt so fucking good around his cock.

"Suhyeok," you managed to say, your voice barely above a whisper. "Someone could walk in."

As if on cue, the rooftop door creaked open.

Both of you turned, startled, to see Wujin standing there, his face a mix of shock and horror.

"I—I was just—" Wujin stammered, his eyes darting between you and Suhyeok. "You know what? Nope. Didn’t see anything. Carry on."

Before either of you could say a word, Wujin spun around and bolted, the door slamming shut behind him.

You groaned, running a hand through your hair. "Great. This is exactly what I needed."

Suhyeok laughed softly, still thrusting gently inside of you, "Guess we don’t have to keep it a secret anymore."

"Yeah, and now I get to deal with Wujin thinking I’m a jerk."

"He’ll get over it," Suhyeok said, pulling you closer. "And if not, who cares? You’re mine, Y/N. That’s all that matters."

You sighed, leaning into him despite yourself. "You’re impossible, you know that?"

"And you love it," he teased, pressing a kiss to your temple, before pulling out and slamming back in again with full force– making you let out an almost pornographic moan in surprise.

It was going to be a long night.

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