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her-satanic-wiles · 8 months

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Masterlist ⛧ Lost in Translation Masterlist ⛧ Ao3

Words: 10.8k

Reading Time: 43 min

Warnings: angry sex, begging, biting, corruption kink, creampie, cum eating, cunnilingus, dry humping, fear kink?, groping, feelings of claustrophobia, hair pulling, low self-esteem, mentions of grooming (non-sexual), multiple orgasms, nipple play, pain kink, penetrative sex, PIV sex, possessive Copia, primal kink?, praise kink, pussy slapping, rough sex, semi-public sex, this is objectively filthy, unprotected sex (sash the dick to smash the slick, lads), vaginal sex

Taglist: @zombiesnips-blog @da-rulah @teenage-birt-dag @ellenokumura @thew0man @sodoswitchimage @the-real-eggplany @deathmimedream @love-is-all-you-need-13 @kadedoesthings @rosyerato @xshadyladyx @popiaswife @perpetratorwithaquill @punkiy50 @onlyhereforghost @kaijukimchi @copiaspet622 @jaymechaos @akayuki56

As the newly appointed Cardinal Copia struggles with the weight of a looming prophecy, a resilient scholar challenges the narrative, uncovering a conspiracy that reaches beyond the walls of the Ministry. The emergence of a forbidden love ignites a rebellion against a power-hungry Sister, whose thirst for control threatens to reshape the very foundations of the Church. Will the revelation of those schemes lead to liberation or plunge the Ministry into chaos?

Previous Part ⛧ Next Part

🔞 MDNI 🔞

Your conversation with Copia left you feeling perturbed at best. Something didn’t sit right with you. As the Ministry’s librarian and main archivist, you knew most of the prophecies that circled the Church - none of them mentioned the antichrist’s Prime Mover, not that you could remember, anyway. That prophecy ate away at you, gnawing its way into your brain like a worm fig fly burrowing into an unripe fig.

Arriving back at the library, you were bombarded by Aisha and Riley, both of whom had seen Copia talking to you when he should have blessed you. Both had their concerns, of course, worried that you’d fall back into some kind of relationship with him and wind up with your heart broken again, but when they heard what you’d learned, they were just as stumped as you.

“It’s entirely possible that you’re wrong about this, ___.” Aisha said, her tone hesitant but still as honest as usual. “I don’t understand why someone would base their whole lives around a prophecy that wasn’t accurate… or real.”

“That’s what I’m saying,” you replied, animated in your actions, “no one in their right mind would. I feel like I need to put on a tin-foil hat right now and go to my cork board, but I have read damn near every inch of this library. I’ve digested almost every single Satanic, religious text I can get my hands on. I’ve read all the prophecies we know of thus far - I just don’t remember this one specific one.”

“But,” Riley interjected, their tone just as measured as Aisha’s, “there are thousands of prophecies after all. You can’t expect to remember each one.”

“No, but I do expect to be reminded of them as I hear them. Of course, I couldn’t remember every single one in great detail, but I’d remember the gist at the very least.”

Aisha, “Well, there’s only one way to find out, I guess.”

Riley, “What can we do?”

“We? Bitch, I know you’re not dragging me into this stupid charade.”

“Look at it this way, the faster she figures out what the prophecy is, the faster she can move on and we can all forget this debacle.”

Aisha looked at you and clapped her hands. “Where do we begin?”

Well, that was the question. In a library filled with thousand-year-old texts, each with its own historical relevance and prophecies given by each author who just wanted attention or fame, where would one begin? When every book in that room carried mystical contents, it was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. So, you all chose a large, mahogany table and set that up as your base, comandeering each seat and preventing anyone else from using it or interrupting you. Then, you all searched for and grabbed any historical text in reference to prophesies or the antichrist and dumped them all on the table. How many books were there in the end? How many stacks had piled up so high that you’d created yourselves a small prison? 300. 300 ancient, scholarly texts that had mention to the antichrist and relevant prophecies.

Aisha and Riley took it in turns to manage front desk for you, but both of them took a stack of books and a notepad with them so that they could continue the research in their down time. You, on the other hand, remained at the desk, allowing your other work to fall behind so you could figure this out. It was like your brain could only focus on one important task at a time, and when you discovered that this was important, it ended up taking top priority.

Daytime became nighttime, and nighttime became hazy cycles of reading relics and skimming over pages full of prophecies that blended into one another like a jumble of misplaced words. As the light from the lamp flickered across the tattered covers of the volumes, the library filled with the smell of old paper.

There were open books all around you, their yellowed pages teeming with historical descriptions of apocalyptic visions, and mysterious symbols. The prophecy’s complex language mingled with the deep religious debate, creating a maze of material that seemed designed to confuse rather than educate.

You carefully noted every detail that even slightly referred to the prophecy in question, cross-referenced sections, and compared the subtle differences between translations. Notes strewn all over the pages, a disorganised collage of your efforts to put the jigsaw together.

You kept getting the feeling that you were chasing shadows as you dug deeper into the texts, reaching for something that was evasive and eluded you every time you believed you had a lead. There were creases on your cheeks from exhaustion and the weight of the old books pressing down on your shoulders.

You worked side by side with Aisha and Riley, who translated texts, brought you food, and consoled you when you felt that you could no longer take the frustration any longer. The three of you formed an unofficial partnership to take on the mystery surrounding the prophecy.

Nights became days, and you couldn’t tell which day it was. Every page you turned echoed the murmur of countless seekers who had gone before you, the moments merging into an invisible blur.

And then, in the midst of the seemingly endless search, a faint glimmer of recognition sparked in your mind. A passage, hidden within the dense verses, bore a semblance to the prophecy in question. The revelation struck like lightning, awakening a surge of determination within you.

“No!” You said, much louder than you’d anticipated.

Riley and Aisha snapped their heads to your direction (as did the rest of the library goers who were startled by your outburst.) “What?” Riley asked, standing from their seat and leaning over the desk at you.

“The prophecy Copia and Sister Imperator believes just doesn’t exist. It’s like it’s been conflated from an old antichrist theory from centuries ago. Listen to this, “‘the antichrist will be born on the sixth day of the sixth month of the sixth year. Only then can he come forth and do Satan’s bidding, bring about the end times and raze a new Hell upon this Earth.’ This prophecy was taken from an old Catholic text and whoever deciphered it left footnotes and opinions.

“The translator doesn’t believe that the antichrist would bring about the end times, not in the way Catholics believe. Armageddon won’t pass as a rain of fire from the sky and the destruction of the planet, but more like a sociological shift that will destroy the Catholic church and bring education to those indoctrinated by Yhwh’s Bible.

“What I’m getting at is that there’s no mention at all of a wife for the antichrist, or if the antichrist will even produce an offspring at all. In fact, the author seems to believe that this sociological shift will become the antichrist’s final act - ‘the antichrist will die at the hands of the non-believers, messiah’d in the same way as their saviour, for only death can bring the motivation of the masses to call for a change of the system’.”

“So why does Sister Imperator place so much emphasis on the ‘wife-with-three-sixes-in-their-birth-date’ theory?” Aisha asked, putting her book down and looking at you.

You shrugged. “Maybe she’s mistaken?”

Riley shook their head. “No. Sister Imperator doesn’t make mistakes - she bends the Ministry to her will to benefit her. She’s far too smart to make mistakes as big as this.”

“You think this is more sinister?”

Riley nodded. “Surely she must have said something to you the last time you saw her?”

You began to shake your head, eyebrows furrowing at how hard you were thinking back to your conversation with her. “She told me to never let them see what they’ve done to me.”

“That was after you saw Copia fucking another person. I’m talking about before, when you felt like you had to go see him in the first place.”

You tried to remember everything that happened during that conversation, but it had become so long ago that the details had become a little fuzzy. “She did say something a bit strange now that I’m thinking about it. She said something like, ‘we didn’t work this hard for the Cardinal’s career for it to fail’ but the ‘we’ was an ‘I’ until she corrected herself.”

“See?”

Aisha, “So you think that Sister Imperator has organised this whole thing? Nah, I’m not buying it. If she organised this then why didn’t she make herself Mama and be done with it?”

“Because,” Riley rummaged through one of their piles of books and flicked to a page, “according to the Emeritus lore… mythology… whatever… the Satanic Church runs as a democratic type of monarchy - we can have a say on who we want to run the Church, but they have to come from the Emeritus bloodline given that they are, supposedly, direct descendants of Lord Lucifer Himself.

“Now, up until he became head of the Church, no one knew for sure who Cardinal Copia’s parents were. The amount of interest Sister Imperator showed on the kid made everyone believe Imperator was his mum, but no one could be certain if Papa Nihil was the Cardinal’s father. Just because the Cardinal has the typical Heterochromia doesn’t mean it’s real. Remember how people whispered about the idea that Imperator made the Cardinal wear contacts every day? It wasn’t until he became Head of the Church that people started accepting the Cardinal’s lineage, because only an Emeritus can lead the Church. Sister Imperator is not an Emeritus. She can’t directly lead the congregation. But her son can.”

“This sounds unbelievable.” Aisha claimed. “If the Cardinal was an Emeritus, then why is he still Cardinal? Why isn’t he Papa?”

Riley thought for a minute. “Maybe because Papa Nihil is still alive.”

“Then surely Papa Nihil would be Head of the Church right now, since Papa Terzo passed?”

“After last time?” You asked. “Nah, he wouldn’t take up that position again. Why do you think Papa Primo took over while Papa Nihil was still alive? Even if Papa Nihil wants to be the Head again, I don’t think the Clergy would let him.”

“Maybe that’s why the Cardinal is still Cardinal,” Riley added, “the Clergy won’t let another son ascend to Papalcy as long as a Papa is alive.”

“Which is why Papas Primo, Secondo and Terzo died.” You said quietly. “She said, ‘we didn’t work this hard for the Cardinal’s career for it to fail’, and we know the previous Papas didn’t die of natural causes…”

“They had to die because they would have fought back against Sister Imperator and her wishes!” Riley exclaimed closing their book and dropping it to the table. “My head is spinning.”

“But she said ‘we’,” Aisha thought aloud, “who’s ‘we’? She couldn’t have done all of this alone.”

“Aisha’s right,” you said, “this had to have been a group coup, there’s no way one woman could pull off three murders and an ascension all by herself.”

Aisha, “Well, Papa Nihil is still alive, so we know he must have been involved somehow.”

Riley, “Who stood to gain from the Cardinal’s ascension? Who did gain from the ascension? Who’s new to the Upper Clergy?”

You, “Cardinal García’s new, he wasn’t around before Papa Terzo.”

“Cardinal Dubois and Cardinal Li.”

“Archbishop Müller was bragging about his payrise in the bar not three weeks after Papa Terzo’s removal back in Sweden.”

“Now Cardinal Al-Farsi was removed from his position in the Upper Clergy, and we know it was because he was actively against the removal of Papa Terzo.” Riley looked at Aisha, now standing wide eyed and frozen in her spot. “Aisha?”

“Sister Evelyn Chandler.”

“Who?” You asked.

“She’s due to be the Cardinal’s Prime Mover in all of this, apparently she has three sixes in her birth date as well. No one benefits as much as she does.”

Your world came crashing down around you once again, your brain ticking into overdrive as you remembered catching Copia rocking against the other woman in his office months ago. During the first and only Mass you’d attended since then, you remembered seeing her wandering into the Basilica behind Papa Nihil and Sister Imperator as a third, important member of the family, but your mind was hyper-focussed on seeing Copia for the first time in so long, you almost didn’t register her. Almost.

In all the time since you caught them together, your mind had been all over the place. If the whole Ministry was talking about Sister Evelyn and the Cardinal, then how could you have missed it? The short answer was that you just weren’t listening. As a way to distract yourself from what had happened between you and Copia, once you’d left your home and re-entered society, you had holed yourself away in your office to work on the translations. Seeing her for the first time (truly seeing her, not just as a lump on Copia’s lap) during Mass, it didn’t register that she was the person grinding into Copia’s crotch, and that she had become important enough to be paraded to the entire congregation.

She never interacted with you, never acknowledged your presence, never looked at you, not that you’d noticed anyway. It was so easy to just not see her. But now it was all flooding into your brain, the idea that she and Sister Imperator could have orchestrated this whole thing behind Copia’s back.

Was Copia in on this?

No, he couldn’t possibly be. He seemed genuinely angry at the “prophecy” and how he’d have no part in it if he was given the option. Besides, no one advocated for Papa Terzo harder than Copia. Copia publicly looked up to Papa Terzo, worshipped him almost similarly to his worship of Satan. He wouldn’t be happy with the death of his half brother, not when he idolised him so much. Watching him from afar for as long as you did, meant you were able to see him in multiple different moods, and he mourned Papa Terzo. He mourned his half-brother for months, almost the whole year he’d been Head of the Church and leader of the Ghost Project. He definitely wouldn’t have gone through with it… right?

“So where do we go from here?” Aisha asked both you and Riley, pulling you out of your miniature crisis.

“Well,” Riley began, “I’m not entirely sure. We have all this circumstantial evidence, but there’s no proof of anything. Like I said, Sister Imperator’s smart, she’d hardly leave any physical proof of her crimes.”

Aisha turned to look at you. “You said you wanted to figure this out and now you have. All you have to do is present all of,” she gestured vaguely to the table, “this to the Cardinal and then you can move on.”

“What if he’s in on it?” You queried, your voice quiet and scared.

Riley shook their head. “Nah. The Cardinal’s a lot of things - ‘dumbass’ would be a word I’d use for him - but he’s not the kind of person to usurp the Satanic throne for his own personal or political gain. I mean, look at the man; he spent all his fifty years trying to be invisible. If it makes you feel any better, I think he’s a naïve and gullible idiot who’s so desperate for his mother’s love and approval, he’d do anything to appease her. You said yourself he doesn’t believe he’s the antichrist, right?”

“Right.”

“Well then, there you go. There’s your answer. He thinks he’s in this position because it’s the right and prophesied thing to do. Not because he’s a puppet in his mother’s games.”

Aisha’s tone was lighthearted. “Honestly, fair play to her. A bad bitch who knows what she wants. I admire that.” Both you and Riley looked at her with a mixture of disappointment and disbelief. “What?” She stood from her seat. “I support women’s rights and women’s wrongs.” She turned to walk away and raised her fist in the air. “Go live your best life, Queen!”

Riley sighed. “I hate her sometimes.”

“Mmm,” you agreed. “You gonna help me put these back?”

Riley sucked in air through their teeth and began to back away from the desk. “You know, I would, but Sister Kowalski said she needed help finding books about rituals and, you know, can’t let Sister Kowalski down.” They gestured to the table. “But you got this, right?”

You shot a middle finger at them.

“Atta girl!”

Setting the books back was a lonely task thanks to Riley’s disappearance and Aisha ‘working at the front desk so she can’t leave’. But it gave you chance to think about the situation at hand.

There was a crushing feeling of helplessness that descended over you as you carefully returned those old books to their shelves. With every book you placed back, the magnitude of the problem became more apparent and the weight of the knowledge you acquired felt like a burden. You felt exposed and helpless when you realised you were trapped in a web of deception and surrounded by people who had ulterior motives. The Ghouls and Sisters around you went about their business, oblivious to the storm building within you. You were more aware of your inner struggle in the library’s profound silence.

The sensation that you were just a pawn in a much bigger game lingered as you pushed a hefty volume back into its proper position. Your sanity was being tormented by doubts regarding Copia’s role, Sister Imperator’s actual motivations, and the possibility of Upper Clergy influence. Your impression of being trapped was echoed by the library’s walls, which seemed to be closing in on you.

Copia’s POV

With every passing hour, Copia was more and more convinced that he’d never see or hear from you again - at least in the way that he wanted to. He paced the floor of his office when he was alone inside of it, mind raging at the prospect of living his life without you. He was so convinced that you were running from him - and who could blame you? He felt like a sham, a joker with the hat of a Cardinal and all the responsibility of a Papa. Out of all of it, all the attention and the duties, he only wanted you. And he was tormenting himself as punishment for doing stupid things that could lose you in the end.

A knock on the door interrupted Copia’s thoughts as he paced his office, gripped by the agony of possible loss. Startled, he turned to face the entryway, a glimmer of anticipation replacing the dread etched on his features. “Come in,” he called out, his voice a mix of apprehension and hope.

The door creaked open, and a Sibling stepped into the room. Copia thought he recognised this person, but being the head of the Church and living in the Ministry alongside thousands of other clergy members, everyone’s face was familiar to him. “Good afternoon, Your Dark Eminence,” they greeted cautiously, closing the door behind them. “Mind if I have a word?”

Copia, his expression a blend of curiosity and anxiety, gestured for Riley to proceed. “Of course, Sibling… uh…”

“Sibling Riley Martinez, Your Dark Eminence. I work with Sister ___ in the library.”

At the mention of your name, Copia’s stomach flipped. He was excited to know that you’d sent one of your friends to talk to him, but nervous at that exact fact. What did you not want to say? Or rather, why didn’t you want to convey your message yourself? Why did you send your friend as he would a Ghoul? “Ah, yes. Sibling Martinez, what brings you here? Is everything okay?”

“Well, Your Dark Eminence, no. May I?” Sibling Martinez gestured to the sofa in front of Copia’s desk. Copia nodded, and invited Sibling Martinez to sit.

They cleared their throat and began to tell Copia exactly what they and their friends had discovered. Copia listened carefully as Sibling Martinez revealed the information, each word hitting the weak spot in his heart like a hammer. The information weighed heavily on him, and a hint of resentment started to peek through the gaps in his calm demeanour. Fury couldn’t even begin to cover how Copia felt. His wrath simmered beneath the surface as the truth came to light. His hands balled into fists as he tried to control the flood of feelings that were about to explode; not that Sibling Martinez would know, from the outside Copia looked calm and collected, as if he was just listening to any old story. But on the inside, he was seething…

Sibling Martinez continued to share the discoveries, detailing the inconsistencies in the supposed prophecy and connecting the dots to Sister Imperator’s potential involvement in a larger, more sinister plan. Copia’s jaw tightened, his frustration morphing into a potent mixture of anger and betrayal. “So, she’s been playing me all along,” he muttered, more to himself than to Sibling Martinez. The realisation was a bitter pill to swallow, and the taste of deceit lingered in his mouth.

“Sister ___ also suspects that Sister Evelyn Chandler is a key player in all of this. The three sixes in her birth date, the sudden rise in her status—”

The anger within Copia surged to the forefront. He slammed his hand against the desk, the impact resonating through the room. “Maledizione!” he exclaimed, his frustration breaking through. “I trusted them. I trusted Sister Imperator. And I thought Evelyn was just a pawn, but they’ve been orchestrating this entire thing.”

Sibling Martinez nodded, acknowledging the weight of the revelation. “It seems that way, Your Dark Eminence. Sister ___ would have wanted you to know. She’s trying to make sense of it all, just like you are. She doesn’t know what to do about any of this, though.”

Copia paced the room, the fire of betrayal burning within him. “And you? What do you think of all this?” he asked, his gaze piercing into Sibling Martinez’s eyes.

Sibling Martinez hesitated for a moment before responding, “It’s a lot to take in, Your Dark Eminence. But if there’s a plot against you, we want to help expose it.”

Copia continued to pace the room, his mind brimming and full with fresh rage. The cogs in his brain were ticking over and over. Something about Sister Evelyn’s involvement didn’t quite add up, though. If the plot was based around a flimsy, untrue prophecy, then Sister Evelyn would know that it wasn’t real - yet, she, like Copia, was fully immersed in the whole farce. But what was the answer.

He stopped pacing and turned back to his guest. “Who did you say benefited from my ascension?” Sibling Martinez listed the known members of the Clergy and Copia clicked his fingers together. “You’re missing one. I’ve just discovered Sister Chandler’s involvement.”

“Your Dark Eminence?”

“Of course she benefits - of course she does. She becomes Prime Mover. But, she was unaware of this whole plot, I’m convinced.”

“So how is she involved?”

“It’s not her. It’s her father - Saltarian.”

“Cardinal Saltarian? I don’t know him, I’m sorry.”

Copia shook his head. “Not Cardinal, just Mr. He has no title. Mr. Saltarian has been in my life for almost thirty years at this point, a very good friend of my mother’s. There’s not much that he doesn’t know, to be truthful. He’s a spy to everyone - not a man to be trusted. He may not be a member of the Church per se, but I doubt my brother’s deaths didn’t line his back pockets in some capacity. Not to mention his daughter becoming my Prime Mover. That would give him a power that he wouldn’t have as a mere Cardinal.”

“So what are we going to do about this, Your Dark Eminence?”

Copia stopped and thought for a moment, weighing all of his options. “You do nothing.” Sibling Martinez went to protest but Copia continued. “For now at least. I appreciate you coming to me with this information, Sibling. And please thank Sister ___ for starting this whole investigation. After everything I’ve done to her, I don’t deserve it.”

“Well, she doesn’t want you suffering. What will you do?”

“I’m not sure.”

The truth was, Copia was sure, he just didn’t want word getting back to you. Not yet anyway. The way Copia was feeling, he was more than ready to burst into Sister Imperator’s office and confront her about all of this. It wasn’t until Sibling Martinez had left that Copia was able to straighten himself up and storm to his scheming mother’s office, and unfortunately for her, she was there.

He didn’t knock - he didn’t see the need. He was too angry for pleasantries and kindnesses. Sister Imperator didn’t have a guest, so he could get right to the point without disturbing another person. “Ah, Cardinal.” She said, an amiable smile on her face. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Three sixes in her birth date, hm, Sister? That’s why Sister Evelyn is to be my Prime Mover?” Copia’s attitude was foul, completely out of character for him.

“So the prophecy says.”

“So it is to do with the prophecy and nothing to do with Mr. Saltarian’s involvement in raising me to power?”

She was silent for a moment, just a brief second too long, but that was all the confirmation Copia needed.

“You are despicable.”

Sister Imperator’s expression remained stoic, her eyes meeting Copia’s with unwavering confidence. “Everything was done for the Church, for our cause. The emergence of the antichrist is a crucial moment in our history, and we can’t afford to let it slip away.”

Copia scoffed, the bitterness in his tone cutting through the air. “For the Church? Or for your own gain? Mr. Saltarian’s involvement, the manipulation of prophecies, the orchestration of all three of my brother’s deaths - all to secure power for yourself.”

Sister Imperator leaned back in her chair, a sly smile playing on her lips. “Power is a means to an end, Cardinal. Our mission is to bring about the reign of Satan on Earth. Sacrifices must be made, alliances forged, and obstacles removed.”

Copia’s anger intensified, a storm brewing within him. “You manipulated me, used me as a pawn in your game. And for what? To satisfy your thirst for control?”

“Control is essential in guiding the destiny of the Church. Your ascension was necessary, Cardinal. You were groomed for this role, and now, you stand at the precipice of a new era. To serve as the antichrist just as the prophecies have told!”

Copia shook his head, his disbelief transforming into a fiery resolve. “I won’t be a puppet in your schemes any longer. I won’t let you exploit the Church - and me - for your personal agenda.”

Sister Imperator chuckled, a low, menacing sound. “You’re still learning, my dear Cardinal. The puppeteer does not relinquish control so easily. The Church needs a leader, and you were chosen for a reason.”

Copia’s resolve saw through the complex web of deceit, and his eyes hardened. “I won’t play your games any longer. I’ll expose the truth to the congregation. They deserve to know the extent of your manipulation.”

“Expose me, my dear boy, and the entire congregation will work to overthrow you.”

“So be it. I never wanted this role - this was your dream.”

“You wouldn’t. Now, enough with this idiocy, Cardinal. You have duties to attend to and a ritual to prepare for.”

“I’m going to put a stop to this.”

“Mhmm. Of course you will.” Sister Imperator went back to fiddling with papers on her desk, making herself look busy in order to get Copia to leave.

With a blazing determination in his eyes, Copia left Sister Imperator’s words trailing behind him. The seriousness of the situation weighed on him, but he couldn’t turn his gaze away from the betrayal that had occurred. He wondered where to go next as he made his way more into the Ministry.

There was an unsettling silence in the hallways, and shadows played on the walls. Copia’s mind whirled with ideas about how the congregation would respond, potential partners he might discover, and the impending threat of Sister Imperator’s power. He knew he needed help, and he needed someone he could rely on.

Copia entered the library in search of comfort, the smell of ancient volumes and parchment reassuring him, and guiding him to a familiar room. He discovered you absorbed in your task, a serene determination on your face. The agony and turmoil of the past had given way to a steely resolution, a testament to your resilience.

You looked up as Copia entered, a mix of surprise and apprehension in your eyes. “Your Dark Eminence,” you greeted respectfully standing from your seat with your voice betraying no emotion. Your eyes were just as wide and doe-like as they were the last time he saw this expression on your face, except that time you wore his bedsheets as a dress. That time he ravished you on his dining room table and showed you absolutely no mercy. The mood he was in again, he didn’t want to show you any mercy again; he wanted you beneath him on that desk, screaming his name and taking everything he was willing to give, everything he felt like he had to give.

Was he wrong for feeling this way? Absolutely. After everything he put you through and after promising to wait for your answer, he should be doing that. He should be waiting for you to contact him. He should be giving you the space and time that you needed to work through this. But there was too much anger coursing through his veins, too much adrenaline working through his body with nowhere to go.

There was a look in his eyes that you’d never seen before - an anger that had never been present in all the time you’d observed him from afar, or spent directly in his presence. It terrified you - but had your core tightening in knots and aching for relief you’d not had in weeks. You wondered if you’d let him touch you like that again, if you’d give in to his urges in order to quell your own.

Copia opened his mouth as if to speak then closed it again. Despite his anger, he was still hesitating to get the words out. But he stepped closer to you, slowly, tentatively, as though moving would scare you off like the doe your eyes portrayed you to be. “You need to stop me if you don’t want this, amore.” He told you, his voice dangerously low and rumbling as he spoke. “Any word from you and I’ll walk away.”

Your heart pounded in your chest, breasts rising and falling with the heaviness of your breaths. Each step he took closer to you made you more and more breathless, your hairs standing on edge and your body tingling in anticipation.

He was right in front of you, a gloved hand reaching up to the back of your head and pulling at your hair from the roots, lifting your face to look directly into his and expose your neck. “If you don’t stop me, I’m going to bend you over this desk and take what belongs to me. Will you let me, amore? Will you let me inside you again?”

You whimpered, unable to trust your voice to convey your thoughts accurately. Your mouth was drier than it had ever been, saliva refusing to flood your mouth and whet your lips. Your whimper was the only response you could muster, and it clearly displeased the Cardinal.

He tugged harder on your hair, lifting your head a little further back. “Words, amore. Use them.”

“Y-yes, Cardinal. I-I… want you inside me.”

Though your words were barely a stuttered whisper, Copia still counted them. His lips smashed against yours, teeth banging against teeth as he encapsulated your lips in a rough kiss. The hand that wasn’t tangled in your hair moved to your waist, pulling you closer to his body while he pushed you back against the desk, trapping you between him and the wood just as he did the first time he had you back in London. His tongue entered your mouth, tasting you again for the first time in so long, and groaning at the sensation. He missed this - he missed you. There was a part of him that wanted to be gentle with you, but the rest of him was too tightly wound; he couldn’t bring himself to handle you with care.

He broke the kiss and stepped away from you just long enough for him to grip your hips with both of his hands and turn you around, before he pressed you back up against the desk. His hard cock tented beneath his jeans and cassock, bulging against your ass cheek and reminding you just how much he desired you, how much he craved and needed you.

Your palms were flat to the lacquered wood, leaning against the desk for some support while Copia had his way with you. His hips gently rocked against your body, desperately rubbing himself against you as his lips attached themselves to your neck, kissing and licking at the exposed skin there. In frustration, he pulled your habit off your head and threw it to the ground, before placing his hands back at your hips. But those hands wandered as they loved to do, grabbing and squeezing at your body roughly, getting their fill of you after weeks of being deprived. He gripped onto your love handles, your stomach, moving his way up and groping at your breasts, squeezing and rubbing them beneath his gloves and your clothes. He caught hold of your nipples between his thumb and finger, while his teeth captured your ear and bit down gently.

“Copia!” You breathed, your hands moving to sit on top of his as they tweaked and pulled at your clothed nipples. Small moans escaped your lips as he toyed with your body, your pussy dripping and screaming for some attention.

Copia chuckled and released your ear. “Is she needy, hm? Needy for her Cardinal’s cock?”

“Please.”

“Sathanas - you have no idea how much I missed hearing you beg for me, amore.” He let go of your right nipple and ran his hand down your body, stopping at your crotch. He covered your cunt with his hand and gripped it. “Are you wet enough for my cock, I wonder? Are you ready for a good,” he slapped your cunt, “rough,” another slap, “fucking, hm?”

“Yes, Copia! Please!”

He lifted your habit and dipped his fingers into the waistband of your panties, hooking them against the elastic. “Tell me, amore. Tell me how much you want me to bend you over this desk and pound this cunt.” He pulled them down just enough to completely expose your bare pussy to him, a string of your wetness snapping when the fabric was pulled too far down your thighs.

“I w-want you so deep inside me. I’m so desperate for your c-cock, Copia. Please… please give it to me.” As you spoke, you felt him reach beneath his cassock and fumble with his clothes to free himself. “Fuck me, please!”

His hand came up to your shoulder blades and pushed you down flat against the desk. The other fisted his cock, stroking a few times before lining himself up with your dripping wet entrance.

“I won’t be gentle with you, amore.” His warning was delivered more like a threat, but it had your walls clenching nonetheless.

“Make it hurt.” You whispered.

He pushed in all the way to the hilt, not bothering to take it slow. He let your words go to his head and set a relentless pace inside of you, hitting your cervix deliciously and making you scream out with each thrust. Your cunt opened up for him just as easily as it always did, further proof that you were made for him. His hips snapped slowly, but roughly, making your entire body jiggle with the force of each one, and the heavy desk to slide across the floor.

Sliding into you felt like sliding home. After all the time he was away from you, he couldn’t have you, and hold you in his arms, there was a massive bout of relief that washed over him. This felt good, it felt right. It was everything he needed after all this time. And you felt the same way. You didn’t realise just how much you needed him and missed him until that moment.

Copia’s grunts as he rammed his cock inside you filled the room alongside the loud squelch of your cunt swallowing him whole. His hands were now attached to your hips, gripping onto them as tightly as he could, leaving red marks and bruises in his wake. Copia was so long and thick that he stretched you out so nicely, and he always made you feel so good inside. By the time he was finished with you, you were usually a sore, shaky pile on the bed, with little ability to move or even think. You could feel your knees weakening as Copia rearranged your insides, your whole body turning to mush at his hard mercy - a mercy he wasn’t willing to show you as he picked up his speed but maintained his roughness.

There was a dull ache that came with the head of his cock slamming into you as hard as he did, but you worshipped the feeling. After going so long without feeling him stretch and fuck you, you needed to feel him, no matter how much burning came with it.

Your ass jiggled more than normal as you moved your hips to meet his thrusts and arched your back as far as you could for him. He let loose a torrent of profanities in Italian, each one telling you how you felt incredible for him, wrapped around him and squeezing him so fucking tightly he could hardly breathe.

“Made to take this cock, eh?” He huffed, his Cardinal paints dripping from his face with the exertion of his movements. “Built for me to fuck whenever I wanted to. Cazzo! I didn’t take you as much as I should have. Should have had you hanging off my dick every fucking day. Closest to fucking Heaven I’ll ever get. Fuck!”

“Right th-there! Oh, fuck, Copia! Right there!” You moved your hand down to your clit and began to rub at it, furiously stroking your bundle of nerves and tightening around him, causing him to let out a groan so deep and gutteral, it had you whining for him.

“Always so tight for me, amore.” He breathed as he watched the cream from your pussy gather at the base of his cock. “Always so wet and pliant, taking everything I give you like a good fucking girl.”

He started thrusting more rapidly and erratically. The fingers that had been gripping your hips clenched even more tightly than before, as if he was afraid you may vanish at any moment and leave him without an orgasm.

“Copia! You - fuck! - You’re gonna make me cu-cum!” You could feel your toes curling in your shoes, your brain turning to mush at the feeling of him rearranging your insides like he hadn’t done before.

“Tell me, please, amore! Tell me how much you love this cock.”

“Copia, n-nobody could… compare! Nobody could ever… make me cum… like you. Fuck, Copia, I’m so close. Please!” You continued to work yourself into a frenzy, rubbing quickly over your clit and applying more pressure, your other hand gripping onto the edge of the desk so tightly your knuckles were turning white.

Your cunt cinched tighter around him, making him feel almost choked. As you reached your peak, it became extremely hard for him to move inside of you. Copia felt his knees turn to jelly from the force of his body, forcing him to thrust within you one last time before spilling his load into your twitching hole, a strangled groan falling from his throat as he bent at the waist, sweaty forehead resting on your back while he was emptying himself into you.

But he wasn’t done with you yet.

He pulled out of you, ignoring your whine at the loss of connection. You turned your body as much as you could to watch Copia fall to his knees behind you, groping your ass cheeks and pushing them upwards, in turn spreading your labia apart and watching as his cum spilled from you like honey from a wand. “So fucking filthy for me, amore. What a gift for me, eh? I was blessed by the Dark One, no?” With his hands still pulling your body apart, he dove into your cunt, licking the dripping cum from your hole first before playing with your sensitive clit when he’d deemed your labia clean enough.

His tongue came down on your hole again causing you to cry out in sensitivity as he dipped his tongue inside you, scooping out his seed and swallowing everything he’d gathered. The one hand that played with your clit was now tangled in his salt and pepper hair, pushing him deeper into your pussy as it screamed for a second release.

“Amore, does my tongue feel that good?” He tormented you with his remarks, stroking over your clit with his gloved fingers in place of his mouth for a little while. “It’s that good that I could make you cry like that? Merda! Listen to yourself.” To prove his point, he started to suck on your clit more forcefully, making the squelch of your heat louder with each rough move.

Following his actions you tried again to stifle your cries by biting your lower lip, but it didn’t work. Instead, your cum leaked out of your body onto his face, soaking his moustache as you came a second time. He was moaning at your taste, and you could hear him slurping everything up, like he was sipping from a water fountain. It wasn’t until you physically pushed him away, your body exhausted and shaking that he finally stopped tormenting you with his tongue, and backed up.

Like an old man usually would, he groaned as he stood up from his knees, gripping onto the desk to help him stand as his own body wasn’t responding as it should. You chuckled at him, a lazy laugh spilling from your lips as you watched him rest against the desk, tucking his soft cock back beneath his clothes. His breathing was heavy and ragged, and his chin still glistened with your release, his hands not wiping him clean yet for reasons unbeknownst to you. So, you fought with your own weakness to stand in front of him, and kissed him, your tongue popping out from behind your lips and licking up your juices from his lips. Once you pulled away, you rubbed your thumb over his chin and wiped up the excess of your cum, sucking it into your mouth.

“You shouldn’t do things like that,” he complained, “I’m too tired to fuck you again. Give me a few minutes.”

You laughed. “Rest and recover, old man.” You said, tapping his chest with your hand. You began to pull your panties back up and make yourself presentable. “What brought all that on?”

Copia explained his reasoning for coming to find you, that he didn’t intend on fucking you within an inch of your life, but he saw you and he had too much energy, too much adrenaline, he just couldn’t help himself. You listened intently, affectionately holding onto his arm and pressing soft kisses there every now and then. It wasn’t until he’d been silent for a few seconds that you realised tears were beginning to fall from his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he blubbed upon noticing you’d seen him, “I’m so sorry.”

Copia’s sudden apology caught you off guard. You reached up, gently wiping away the tears from his eyes. Concern crept into your voice as you asked, “What’s wrong, Copia? Why are you sorry?”

He took a deep breath, trying to compose himself. “I… I just can’t believe how much I’ve hurt you. I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but I want it so badly.”

Your heart ached at the vulnerability in his eyes. You sat beside him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. “We can work through this, okay? We can figure things out together.”

He nodded, appreciating your understanding. “I love you, ___,” he confessed, his voice laced with sincerity. “I’ve never felt this way before, and I don’t want to lose you.”

You smiled, leaning in to kiss his forehead. “I love you too, Copia. But…”

He cried a little harder. “No, please, no ‘but’. Anything but that…”

“Sister Evelyn’s still going to be your Prime Mover. And I don’t want to be your mistress and share you with other people. Not like that, anyway.”

He wiped a tear from his cheek and rubbed his nose with his glove, taking a sniff before he spoke again. “I never wanted her in the first place. And I don’t intend on going through the ritual with her. I didn’t to begin with, and I definitely don’t now. Please don’t walk away from me.” He pulled you into a tight embrace, holding onto you as if afraid you might slip away. In that moment, you both clung to the hope that love could conquer the challenges you faced, no matter how complicated they seemed.

You could feel a storm approaching as the weight of Copia’s remarks hung in the air. Even after his sincere admission and your mutual hug, an overwhelming feeling of doubt clouded your relationship. You could not deny the truth of Sister Evelyn’s existence in Copia’s life as he clung to you.

“I can’t promise everything will be okay, Copia,” you whispered, your voice barely audible over the silence that followed. “I want to believe in us, but it’s hard when there’s someone else in the picture. And with Sister Imperator pushing for this, I don’t see how we can get passed this.”

Copia’s grip tightened, a mix of desperation and fear painted across his features. “I know I messed up, and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make things right. Please, don’t leave me.”

Your heart ached at his plea, torn between the love you felt for him and the reality of the situation. “Copia, I need time. I need time to process everything and figure out what’s best for both of us.”

He pulled away slightly, his eyes searching yours for any sign of certainty. “Time,” he repeated, his voice carrying the weight of the unknown.

You nodded, tears welling up in your own eyes. “I don’t want to lose you, Copia. But I can’t be with you if it means sharing you with someone else. It’s just too much.”

A pained expression crossed Copia’s face, his emotions on full display. “What if… listen, the full moon and the ritual is in two days. Once the ritual is completed, nothing can change it. No Sister Imperator, no Sister Evelyn, no one. What if I performed it with you?”

Copia’s idea lingered in the air, an intriguing yet unsettling proposition. The weight of his words fell on the room, and you couldn’t help but feel a mixture of unease and want. The prospect of sharing such an intimate ritual with Copia sparked hope, but the history of grief and betrayal threw a shadow over the decision.

Your glance met his, looking for genuineness in his eyes. “The rite, Copia, is a sacred and binding ceremony. This isn’t something to take lightly. Are you sure that this is what you want? And can we honestly move on from what has happened?”

He nodded, a determined expression on his face. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. A life with you matters more to me than anything else.”

Despite your concerns, the honesty in Copia’s voice touched your heart. The thought of rewriting the story and starting again seemed appealing. However, the scars of the past warned of caution.“I want to believe in us, Copia,” you said, lowering your tone. “I’m scared. Is it possible for us to move passed everything that happened between us?”

Copia’s hand gently caressed your cheek. “I know it’s not going to be easy. It’s too late to undo the harm I caused you. But I’m willing to go to any length to get back what we had.”

His vulnerability mirrored yours, and for a brief time, you sensed a real yearning for redemption. The thought of standing at Copia’s side during the ceremony, rewriting the tale together, gave you a sense of hope. “One day, Copia. One day to think about it,” you said, your eyes locked with his. “If we’re going to do this, we need to be certain. No more secrets, no more pain.”

He nodded, understanding the weight of your words. “I’ll give you the time you need, ___.”

He kissed your hand and left the room, butterflies forming once more in his stomach. Copia couldn’t ignore the feelings of nervousness and optimism that swirled in his gut as he left your office. The weight of the coming ritual, the decision hanging in the balance, and the frailty of your connection all played out in his head like a symphony of doubts.

Copia returned to his office and slammed the door behind him, providing a brief respite from the turmoil outside. The room felt both familiar and foreign, reflecting his emotional rollercoaster ride. He took a deep breath, hoping to calm himself. His heart was warmed by the hope that lingered from your conversation. The thought of starting again and correcting the past with you by his side was a light in the shadows. Copia slumped on his desk, his thoughts racing with possibilities, worries, and a desire for a better future. For the first time in a long time, he felt a flicker of hope. The notion of sharing the sacred ceremony with you held out the potential of a new beginning. His ambition was fueled by a real desire to repair what had been broken.

As the night of the ceremony approached, the mood in the Ministry became electrified with excitement. The corridors were alive with whispered talks, and the air was thick with the weight of approaching events. The faithful assembled, dressed in ceremonial attire, and made their way to the Basilica di Lilith for the long-awaited ritual between Copia and Sister Evelyn.

You could feel the tension in the air like a physical force among the wave of followers. After careful consideration and talks with Riley and Aisha, the choice to carry out the rite alongside Copia was made. While the uncertainty persisted, a calm resolve grew within you. This was your night, the first night of many where you would be beside the man you loved - provided all went according to plan, of course.

Copia’s Ghouls had split, and the one half had made their way to a secret, smaller chapel in the Papa’s quarters: the Cappella di Venus, named after another woman who had been demonised by the Catholic Church, based from mistranslations, as usual. Catholics mistaking Venus rising before the Sun, bringing light to the world before the Sun had woken and drowned Her out, they had taken this to be a metaphor for the Devil challenging God, and in turn destroying everything She had, just as they had done for countless women throughout time; Hypatia, Jezebel, Lilith, Eve, Delilah. The list went on.

The Cappella di Venus, located in the heart of the Papal Quarters, radiated a sense of intimacy and secret that contrasted dramatically with the grandiosity of the Basilica di Lilith. Despite its modest size, the chapel was opulent and splendorous, providing a more private sanctuary for the Upper Clergy’s private rites.

The chapel’s entryway was embellished with beautifully carved wooden doors containing occult symbols. When these doors swung wide, they revealed an area that glistened with an otherworldly brilliance. The chapel was bathed in a warm and intimate brilliance from soft lights emanating from exquisite candelabras carefully positioned along the walls.

The architecture of the church reflected a bygone era, with vaulted ceilings covered in brilliantly coloured murals depicting scenes of celestial beauty. Every surface was embellished with gold highlights and intricate filigree, catching and reflecting the dancing candlelight. The air was fragrant with incense, producing an unearthly atmosphere that seemed to transcend the terrestrial realm.

The chapel’s centrepiece was a magnificent altar made of polished marble veined with deep crimson and ivory tones. A tapestry portraying the Emeritus bloodline’s symbol hung behind the altar, a quiet homage to the sacred lineage that ruled the ministry.

A life-sized statue of Venus, the venerated figure of love and beauty, presided over the chapel’s focal point. The statue was meticulously carved from marble and showed Venus with a calm look, carrying symbols of love and grace. Candlelight threw subtle shadows on the statue, giving the impression of movement within the stone.

The chapel’s velvet-cushioned pews formed a semicircle around the altar, creating an intimate atmosphere for the limited few who had access to this secret sanctuary. The chapel’s walls were embellished with stained glass windows representing images of historical significance to the Church, and tales from Venus’ mythology, transforming the ambient light into a kaleidoscope of colours that danced across the polished surfaces.

As you and the Ghouls took your places in the dimly lit chapel, the excitement in the air was obvious. Aisha and Riley stood by your side, bringing a mix of comfort and shared concern. The flowing shadows formed by the flickering candlelight created an atmosphere imbued with both mystery and holiness.

The atmosphere in the chapel appeared to increase in tensity as the minutes passed. The gentle rustle of velvet as Aisha shifted alongside you, as well as the occasional exchanged looks with Riley, expressed the shared fear. You cast sidelong looks towards the entryway, the carved wooden doors closed, separating you from the imminent ritual.

The Ghouls lined the chapel with solemn looks, dressed in their ceremonial attire. Their veiled features betrayed no emotion, adding to the seriousness of the situation. It was a dramatic contrast to the turmoil you were experiencing.

You couldn’t shake the feeling that Copia wouldn’t arrive on time, that circumstances beyond anyone’s control would derail the meticulously prepared arrangements. The weight of the impending rite pressed in on you, increasing the anxiety with each passing second.

Everyone’s attention was drawn to the sound of footsteps echoing in the corridor outside the chapel. The oak doors creaked open gently, exposing Copia standing there in his scarlet cardinal robes, the remainder of his Ghouls following behind him. As you caught his gaze, a rush of relief washed over you, but it was quickly replaced by a surge of anxiety. His eyes were a mix of tenacity and vulnerability, expressing the turmoil of his emotions.

Copia entered the chapel with measured steps, the doors closing behind him with a soft thud. The Ghouls separated to make way for him as he approached. The mood shifted, the coming ritual’s heaviness settling over the chapel like a heavy shield.

He took your hands into his as Aisha took her spot between the two of you, and placed a kiss on the back of them. “Sorry I’m late,” he said, “I had to dodge a few Sibling latecomers.”

“You’re here now, that’s all that matters.” You said, a smile on your red lips.

Aisha sighed. “It won’t be long before Imperator figures out what’s going on, can we get started please?”

In secret, Aisha had taken a white candle and carved it on two sides, one with the symbol of Venus, the other with the symbol of Lucifer - together representing the freedom to love whomever one chooses. The candle was placed in a dish, similar in shape to a martini glass (but the bowl was rounder and the stem was a little shorter) and while you and Copia held it, Aisha lit the candle. “May the Father guide you on your future together,” Aisha said as the candle began to burn down, “and may the Lover bless your union in Her name.” The candle would continue burning after the ceremony had been completed, and once it had burned away, it was said that the remaining smoke would help to bless the couple, and banish negative spirits.

A special oil had been concocted the day before, too, this time by Riley. Using the same book that Aisha was reading from during the ceremony, Riley had crafted an oil known to enhance love and bring abundance, made from roses, patchouli and vanilla, as a symbolic gesture to boost passion, and create a magnetic energy that drew people together. After the candle had begun burning, Aisha took the condiment-sized bowl filled with the oil, and drew the Satanic Cross over yours and Copia’s forehead, right where your third eye would be. “May Lucifer protect you and your union from outside evil.”

Venus, personified in the statue that overlooking the event, cast an ethereal gaze upon it. The warm glimmer of candlelight reflected off the Goddess’s marble face, granting Her presence an unearthly atmosphere, while the light of the full moon bathed the chapel in the rainbow of colours, as if she was bearing witness alongside Venus as well as lending Her power to the ceremony.

You and Copia swapped rings as the rite neared its conclusion, a symbolic union that Satanism kept given its roots in ancient Roman weddings. The ring planned for Sister Evelyn was now on your finger, already blessed and ready for a life bound to an Emeritus.

As the rite came to a close, you and Copia kissed, confirming the tie formed in the sacred chamber of the Cappella di Venus. The bond felt profound, a joining of fates that resisted the tyranny of a false prophecy. The kiss embodied relief, an unconscious acknowledgment that, for that brief moment, the outside world and its difficulties had vanished.

You could feel a gentle presence lingering in the chapel after the rite, as if the ghosts of Venus, Lucifer, and Lilith Themselves were looking over the unhallowed site. The energy left behind was a harmonic blend of celestial elements, and the flickering candlelight seemed to dance with renewed life.

It was done - and no one was able to stop or break it.

Barely thirty minutes after the ritual had completed, chaos broke loose. The consequences of your secret ritual were sure to make an appearance that night, given the fact that Copia had jilted his initial Prime Mover at the altar, and ruined the ritual for another month, but that was before Sisters Imperator and Evelyn had discovered the ritual had already been completed with another woman. They both came charging into Copia’s home - now yours, too - unannounced, Sister Evelyn’s red dress flowing behind her like a hellish princess only to find you and Copia entangled in each other’s arms after enjoying one another’s bodies, the blessed ring nestled comfortably on your finger and an uncharacteristic, shit-eating grin on Copia’s face.

The air crackled with unspoken tension as Sister Imperator’s stern expression deepened.

“What is the meaning of this?” Sister Imperator’s voice cut through the room like a whip. “Copia, explain yourself.”

Copia remained where he was, uncaring who saw you wrapped in his arms. You were both covered by sheets, but even still he felt both exposed yet powerful. “Isn’t it obvious? I chose ___ as my Prime Mover. The ritual has been completed.”

Sister Evelyn’s eyes flickered with a mixture of fury and hurt. “You… you betrayed me, Copia?”

Copia’s grin faded slightly, almost guilty. “Betrayal implies there was trust to begin with. I never intended to go through that ritual with you, Eve, and you know that. I suppose your father will be pissed, though.”

“Of course, he wants the best for me.”

Copia flinched, a cockiness coming from somewhere he’d never used before. It was turning you on to see, if you were being honest with yourself. “Will you tell her, or do I have to? Not fair to keep her in the dark now, is it, Sister?”

Sister Evelyn’s expression shifted from hurt to simmering anger. Her eyes bore into Copia, a storm of conflicting emotions playing out on her face. The revelation of her father’s involvement added another layer of complexity to the unfolding drama.

“I will handle this,” Sister Imperator interjected, her tone firm and commanding. “Evelyn, leave us. I need to speak with Copia alone.”

“No,” Sister Evelyn demanded, “someone is going to tell me what’s going on before I lose my shit at all of you! I’ve been jilted, humiliated and betrayed and now I demand some fucking answers!”

Copia’s defiance wavered for a moment, but then he sighed. “The prophecy is a farce, Eve. It was all a huge lie to get me in power so she could do what she wanted with the Church and your father could get a bit of control.”

“Her dad?” You gasped from beside Copia, earning you a slight chuckle from him. “Oh shit, that explains it.”

While he spoke, he still held onto you, his fingers stroking up and down your bare back softly. “The three sixes in a prophecy is for the antichrist, not for you.”

Sister Evelyn’s anger intensified at the revelation, and she shot a venomous glare at Sister Imperator. “Is this true?” She demanded, her voice sharp and accusatory.

Sister Imperator, ever composed, met Sister Evelyn’s gaze without flinching. “The prophecy was a means to an end, Evelyn. The emergence of the antichrist is crucial for the Church’s future. Copia’s ascension was a necessary step.”

Evelyn’s eyes widened, her disbelief evident. “But I thought… I thought I was meant to be his Prime Mover.”

Copia’s grip on you tightened, a silent reassurance amidst the unfolding chaos. “You were a pawn in this, just like me. I never wanted the ‘Papa’ role, I’m certainly no antichrist, and I’m sorry your fate was tangled up in this so your father could gain some power. Go, be free. Enjoy a new life with fewer responsibilities.”

Sister Evelyn, caught between hurt and anger, took a step back. “I can’t believe I let myself be manipulated like this.” She looked directly at Sister Imperator. “Fuck you. For all of this!”

“Hey, Eve?” Copia said, his voice gentle but the same shit-eating grin appearing on it as before. “We’re looking for a new Cardinal to fill the role in the Upper Clergy - how about it? A bit unconventional but I think you could do well, no?”

Sister Evelyn smiled, eyes never leaving Sister Imperator’s. “I’ll take it.”

Sister Imperator’s nostrils flared, her displeasure evident. She turned back to Copia, angrier than ever. “This disobedience will not be tolerated. You will face the consequences.”

“How?” You said, finally joining in on the conversation to deliver the final blow. “Exposing him means exposing you, too. Would you really want to risk it, Sister?”

A tense silence filled the room as Sister Imperator assessed the situation, her steely gaze shifting between Copia, Sister Evelyn, and you. The balance of power teetered on the brink, and the impending clash of wills hung in the air like a storm about to break. She hated not having the upper hand, not being in control and dominating the underlings. She was, however, a smart woman, who knew when to cut her losses and concede. But if either of you thought this would end here, you’d be wrong. She’d be back with something else, some other way to exert her power and control. But for now she simply muttered, “This isn’t over!” And stormed out, like the world’s worst Scooby Doo villain.

Sister Evelyn, no… Cardinal Evelyn, now with a pep in her step bid the both of you goodbye with the promise of seeing Copia on Monday to make good on his word, leaving the both of you alone in your marital bed.

You climbed on top of Copia’s lap, the bedsheets falling from your body and exposing your nakedness to him in all your glory. “You know, that confidence was very hot of you, Cardinal.” You said, your voice teasing and suggestive.

Copia laughed. “Oh was it, now?”

“Mhmm.”

“How hot?”

“Let me show you.”

And with that, you leaned down and kissed him, a passionate kiss that had him growing hard beneath you again, refractory period now over and ready to take you one final time before you both slept.

Previous Part ⛧ Next Part

Hello, everyone! Mel here.

I just wanted to thank everyone for your continued support since I started posting Kinktober last year, but also now with Lost in Translation. It really means the world to me that you not only read my fics, but also leave comments and share it around, so thank you so, so much! Truly, you don't know how much this means to me.

I also want to thank @zombiesnips-blog for her commission, for her saintly patience, and for trusting me with her idea. This was an incredibly fun piece to work on and I cannot wait for the rest of you to see the next fic we have planned, which will be coming soon!

This is just a quick reminder that commissions are open and I have multiple membership options open, so if you are so kind as to support what I do, then I would be most appreciative. If not, I still am deeply thankful for your time and readership!

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opheliaorophile · 2 days

Text

The King's Gambit

You guys I just had a thought and I am disturbed.

NO DATV SPOILERS.

(*hands you tin foil hat)

Please just.... just put it on please.

In DA:I ;

If you side with the Chargers, and you carry Bull and Solas in your party, they will begin to ‘mental chess’ with each other (Solas says he is trying to help bull get over the loss of the Qun, helps him realize hes not tal-vashoth).

See this “fan-made” (seems pretty professional to me…) video

youtube

I also recommend you read this blog post:

(But only after you’re done with mine.)

In chess you have many pieces that all serve their own function. There's the King and Queen, the pawns, bishops, knights, etc.

In the video (and in DA:I), we learn that Solas calls chess pieces by a different name then what The Iron Bull does; a tribute to the pairs wildly different upbringing.

IT IS THE SAME GAME, THE SAME PIECES, BUT THEY CALL THEM SOMETHING DIFFERENT.

But because they know how the game is played, and the way each piece works, this minor infraction does not stop them from their mental battle.

Solas opened (started) their chess game with the name of a Netflix limited series that most will find familiar; The Kings Gambit.

From a Chess Website:

King's Gambit is an aggressive Chess opening that falls under the category of open games. It is characterized by White sacrificing a pawn on the second move to facilitate rapid development and initiate an attack against the opponent's king, specifically targeting the f7 square.

Ok I still don’t really understand what this means. Lets use Wikipedia.

From Wikipedia:

The King's Gambit is a chess opening that begins with the moves: 1. e4 e5 2. f4 King's Gambit is an aggressive Chess opening, that falls under the category of open games. It is characterized by White sacrificing a pawn on the second move to facilitate rapid development and initiate an attack against the opponent's king, specifically targeting the f7 square. White offers a pawn to divert the black e-pawn. If Black accepts the GAMBIT, White may play d4 and Bxf4, regaining the gambit pawn with central domination, or direct their forces against the weak square f7 with moves such as Nf3, Bc4, 0-0, and g3. A downside to the King's Gambit is that it weakens White's king's position, exposing it to the latent threat of ...Qh4+ (or ...Be7–h4+), which may force White to give up castling rights.

Sorry, lets read that again, from the lens of a not-chess player (which I am, so a millions apologies to the people smarter than me reading this who were like, girl ur dumb for just figuring this out).

White begins a game of chess. White offers up a pawn as a sacrifice to black. If black accepts this sacrifice, white’s central control of the board is vulnerable, BUT, they can aggressively attack black’s king.

SO what are the downsides of this move, then? Sounds like a winner for anyone who knows how to play chess (I do not).

Remember when I said:

In the video (and in DA:I), we learn that Solas calls pieces by a different name then what The Iron Bull does; a tribute to the pairs wildly different upbringing.

Bull and Solas call bishops weird things. They call knights weird things, but one of the pieces they agree on, is the tower (or as I call it, the Castle).

Which is weird. I mean, when I was a kid learning chess I called it the castle. It looks like a castle, (or a tower) why not call it a castle?

My cousin, who “taught” me chess, also made me call the pieces their correct names, even though I thought bishop was stupid, and knight even stupid-er. And he made me call my castle by its proper name;

ROOK.

What the fuck is a Kings Gambit again?

You sacrifice a pawn, to gain control of the board. You’re vulnerable, but you have high attack strength.

So WHAT is the downside of Kings Gambit?

From Wikipedia Again:

A downside to the King's Gambit is that it weakens White's king's position, exposing it to the latent threat of ...(mastermind chess moves), which may force White to give up castling* rights.

Castle?

You mean Rook?

*Castling is a move in chess. It consists of moving the king two squares toward a rook on the same rank and then moving the rook to the square that the king passed over. Castling is permitted only if neither the king nor the rook has previously moved; the squares between the king and the rook are vacant; and the king does not leave, cross over, or finish on a square attacked by an enemy piece. Castling is the only move in chess in which two pieces are moved at once.

Lets Re-cap:

Kings Gambit is an aggressive chess opening where white (the starting player) sacrifices a pawn (Solas after Inky: check).

Black accepts Whites sacrifice and takes pawn.

White can aggressively attack black, but they are vulnerable.

*Happy Solas Noises*

Rook is their ultimate safety blanket, their last minute escape route.

Rook is White's last resort.

Solas set up a Thedas version of the kings gambit.

But are we playing WITH him? Or AGAINST him?

Oh, and by the way…

THE KINGS GAMBIT IS ALSO CALLED THE IMMORTAL GAME

Can someone drink the cool-aid with me pleeeease.

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sofasoap · 1 year

Text

A quiet moment - Lastochka

Pairing : Nikolai x F!Reader ( OC/Mini MacTavish) + Taskforce 141 + König

Summary: Little Anya getting all the love from her family.

Part I , Part II, Interlude,Part III,Part IV,Part V,Epilogue, Night

WARNING: Mature theme, talk of pregnancy, swearing, slight hint of sexy time

Thanks to @homicidal-slvt for planting ideas into my brain. this whole series is all for you :)

My usual thanking @saltofmercury, mother of Mini, for lending me the character :) Please go and check out her fics!

“masterlist” for Mini MacTavish expanded verse.

Nikolai can hear you groaning over the headset, in discomfort. But he couldn’t see what was happening. They are flying over a danger zone, he can’t afford to lose his concentration nor tear his eyes off from the sky, no matter how much he wants to turn around, and check up on you physically. He has noticed you haven’t really been yourself in the last month or so. Often wake up groggy, exhausted all day, and losing appetite. He is seriously starting to worry there might be something wrong with you. You are currently bending over, head in your hand and legs curled up in your seat, trying everything to distract yourself from the nauseating feeling that hits you in waves every time there is a slight turbulence, shaking the helicopter.

“Um… Uh, You ok??” König asked, trying to pat you on the back clumsily. Letting out another groan, you threw your headset to the side, curling up even further into your seat, into a foetus position. Slightly panicking, König reached into one of his side pouches, where he brought out a little tin container. Opening it up, he took out a piece of candied lemon ginger from there and stuffed it into your hand. “Ah, have this, I , um, get motion sickness sometimes, and um, this usually helps.” he stammered as he explains, encouraging you to put the candy into your mouth, hoping to give you a bit of relief. Turning your head slightly with watery eyes, you nodded your head, and quickly putting the candy into your mouth. Getting slight relief from the tanginess of the lemon and spiciness of the ginger, you turn onto your side, leaning your head against the back of the pilot seat. “Give me comfort to have my wife as close to me as possible.” Nikolai said once when you question why he always insists on you sitting right behind him. Now you are glad you have something to lean against, other than trying to lean against König, which you are sure the giant soldier probably will get a panic attack if you do that. With a shaky hand, you pointed to the med kit on the other side of the helicopter, mumbling something. König leaned closer and asked you to repeat.

‘.... ondansetron…..med kit… pass it to me please…” you said weakly. You knew you should have taken it this morning before boarding the flight. But went against it because you didn’t want to fall asleep during the mission.

Quickly unbuckle his seat belt, passing other soldiers as he stride over to grab the medication you needed, and pass it onto you. Breaking the foil and putting it under your tongue, try to let your mind wander, and think of everything else other than the breakfast and bile that is threatening to come back up, at the same time praying the anti-nausea medication will kick in ASAP.

König took his headset off, leaning closer, trying to be discreet, “Not trying to be nosy but um, my wife.. She had similar symptoms when she was… you know.” motioning with his large hand, indicating a large stomach.

You feel like someone has dumped a bucketful of cold water over your head. Shit, you forgot that might be the possibility. But… you have a birth control implant. That’s when you realised, it has expired. For quite a while too. CRAP.

“I won’t tell anyone.” Fidgeting with his hand as he reassured you,you nodded your head with gratitude, thanking him for looking after you. He pressed the small tin box with the candy into your hand. “Here have this, just in case um, you need it again.” Opening your eyes wide, you shook your head, trying to decline.

‘It’s ok. I can make more.” “You, you made this?” Gosh, that was a surprise.

Twiddling his thumb, he confessed, “I .. I like baking. And um, carving.” Your eyes brightened up. Two of you spend the rest of the flight discussing recipes, and exchanging your famous chocolate biscuit recipe for his Oma’s mouth watering apple strudel recipe. It was a welcoming distraction until the helicopter came to land.

Nikolai found you lying down across the seat, lazily waving goodbye to the soldiers as they departed for their mission.

“Hey.” You greeted your husband with half closed eyes, the medication has finally kicked in, so has the side effect.

Frowning as he gently moves your head into his lap and caresses your face, “What’s going on little bird, I am seriously worrying about you lately.” “Nothing. Just getting a bit air sick.”Closing your eyes as you enjoy his loving touches, and trying to dismiss his concerns. Not wanting to fuss about you and letting him in on the news until you are a hundred percent sure. There is a chance maybe you ate something that doesn’t agree with you, or maybe you are getting a bit old, and motion sickness gets you easier now. But deep down, you are pretty certain the cause of the discomfort. “You never get motion sickness. At least not when I am piloting.” He puffed with pride. “I know how your brain works, little bird, tell me what is wrong.” He can always read your thoughts. When you are hiding something. When you are uncomfortable. When you pretend to be strong. “I really don’t know.” You are scared. Scared by his reaction to a possible new addition to the family? Or are you scared that after finally working your way back to active duty, you will be pushed back to sitting in the barrack again, that feeling of uselessness coming back to you again. Taking a deep breath and circling your arm around his waist, “Maybe it’s something I ate. I’ll get it checked out once we are back at the base.”

“Promise me you will?” He gave you a look of warning. He knows you too well. You will put things off until the last minute or until necessary.

“Yes love. I will.” burying your face into his abs, taking in his scent, giving you some comfort. Not yet. Just to keep it to yourself a little bit longer..

“Positive?????” “Positive. Congratulations.”

Chameleon passed you the pregnancy stick and blood test result. “Now you know what that means right?”

Your shoulders drop. Rubbing your forehead, you know you have to stop all active duty pretty much from now on. You are going to miss looking after the team from the frontline.

“How did you do it?” You asked after staring at the piece of paper in front of you. Signing off another few documents,she replied,“ Well,I guess my situation is slightly different, I rarely get sent out, so it was easier for me. But.” passing the prescriptions to you, “You know how much John fusses over things, he was texting every hour, if they weren’t going dark,asking how I was feeling.” She sighed.

You can just imagine the Captain hovering around his wife, nagging away like a mother hen. Letting out a snorting laugh, you took the documents from her.

“Anyway, go get some rest. I’ll file the reports to the HR tomorrow. But it’s up to you to break the news to the boys now.” She smiled. You gave her a big hug before you left the infirmary, back to your shared room. You don’t know how long you have sat there for, zoning out, thinking of ways to break the news to the team. Or to your husband first. Also trying to fully come to terms with the situation, another big twist to your life. The two of you have briefly talked about the possibility of starting a family when you first got married. You were quite reluctant to jump into it after trying to recover from your ordeal, and Nikolai never mentioned anything again, and you assumed either he wasn’t too keen to bring up the subject or he had given up on the idea. You heard the soft click of the door unlocking, before seeing Nikolai stepping into the room. Calling out to him with a wavering voice, lips trembling, trying hard to contain the tears that are threatening to drop from your eyes. Those damn hormones are already wrecking your emotions, you thought. Why are you even crying???? It’s a happy occasion isn’t it? That self doubt starts to appear again. What if he gets angry at you? What if he doesn’t want the child at all? On that thought you bursted out crying. Nikolai immediately closes the door, taking a few steps forward and kneeling in front of you. “What’s the matter Lastochka, was it bad news from the doctor? Please tell me?” He gently wraps his larger hands around yours, encouraging you to talk.

Trying very hard not to hyperventilate, you closed your eyes, taking a few deep breath before Letting out the news. “I .. I can’t be with you anymore….” you hiccuped. You feel his hand tighten around yours. Opening your eyes, you can see flashes of fear before staring at you with hardened eyes.

Realising your mistake, you quickly explain, “ No. nono, that came out totally wrong.” you quickly pull back his already retracting hands, guiding it towards your now slightly showing bump. “I can’t go on missions with you boys anymore. Lady Fortuna is officially off active duty now.” you let out a weak chuckle. “ and you.” Patting his hand and softening your gaze at him, “Have to start learning to be a Papa.” He was still staring at you, you couldn’t figure out his emotion at all. You chewed on your lip, waiting anxiously for his reaction. Pulling one of his hands away, his eyes dropped down to your stomach, slowly caressing it as he started mumbling words in Russian. Your eyes fill up with tears again as you see him showing tenderness towards the unborn baby.

“...Boy or girl?” he whispered. Shaking your head. “I am not sure yet. I am going for the scan in a few days.” “How far along?”

“I am guessing I am still in the first trimester….” You didn’t want to say, but you had a pretty good idea when this happened….

That night was the first time he showed his full possessiveness towards you. Filling you up again and again.“That Сука has tainted my beautiful Lastochka with their filthy hand…” “I have told you before, you will only crave for me, no one else.”

“My beautiful bird,sing for me again.. I know you can do it..”

Your face starts burning when you think back to the night. “From that covert mission?” he chuckled. “We were.. Quite busy that night.” standing up, he moved himself to sit beside you, and pull you into his lap.

“Thank you.” He whispered as he slowly and gently kisses you.

“For what?” you murmured.

“Carrying our child.” You chuckled. “Hey, you were part of the production as well.” you teased. “It’s only the start of the journey. We still have a long way to go.” Caressing your bump, he cooed, “Well, can’t wait to meet you, our little nestling.”

“COME ON Anya, come to uncle Gaz!!!” “Nonono Anya, come to your REAL uncle here!!”

“....... “ Ghost sits there, opening his arm, staring down at the baby without a word. “Ignore those .. What is the word, bampots? Come to Poppy Price.” Little Anya crawled forward, looking at each one of them, confused. She slowly moves towards Gaz, who is waving one of his latest crochet dolls at her, trying to lure the baby. Anya pouted a little, and looked at her Uncle Soap, currently flashing a brilliant smile at his niece. Anya hesitated, and eyed Ghost, and her eyes went wide with tears in her eyes, and started quickly crawling towards Price. “There there.. It’s ok.” Price cooed and patted the poor baby as she burst into tears, startled by Ghost’s balaclava. Ghost hung his head, shoulders down, feeling defeated. Gaz and Soap gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. “ Maybe lose the balaclava and just wear a face mask next time…” Gaz suggested. Stuffing one of the dolls into his hand, “Or maybe try this.”

The four men were in quite a shock when you called them into Price’s office days after your discovery.

Sliding the ultrasound picture onto the desk. All four of them stared at it, looking up to you, and back to the photo, and seconds later, Ghost, Gaz and Soap erupted into an argument over who is going to be the godfather to the baby, while Price rubbing his temple, irritated at their antics.

You shifted yourself off base towards the end of the pregnancy, getting ready for the birth. Price helped you to find a place, close to the base, easy for you to go back and forth for work and visiting.

The soldiers at the base also have secretly named Ghost Gaz and Soap “Cerberus” as there is always one of the men walking around with you all the time like a guard dog whenever Nikolai isn’t around to look after you.

Little Anya was definitely spoiled by his godfathers and uncles even before she was born.

König and his wife sent a baby gift in a huge crate. You found all sorts of things there. Blankets and winter clothes his wife has made, wooden toys and baby mobiles with aeroplane and helicopter hanging off it made by König. Even a rocking horse. You were really touched by the thoughtfulness of the couple, especially his wife, who you never met before.

This fired up Gaz’s competitiveness when he discovered all the clothing and toys König had sent. He came over one day with a huge bag, inside was all the crocheted dolls of everyone.

Price with his signature boonie hat and little cigar in his mouth, Soap with his mohawk, Gaz with his Union Jack cap, Nikolai and his aviator and headset, and there is you too, in a little combat gear. Konig in his hood and gears. He even asked for photos of your parents crocheting new doll figures afterwards too.

“You made all these?????” Your jaws drop as he keeps bringing over new knitted items. Now you know where all your previous birthday and holiday gifts came from, you always wondered how everything fits you perfectly with all the unique patterns. Gaz has really surprised you with his unexpected handcraft skills. Soap and Ghost practically decorated the whole nursery full of stuff from the cot and changing tables and the dressers and any supplies you can name? They bought it all.

“.... Boys, you realise you have bought a half room full of nappies that I possibly wouldn’t ever finish using?”

“Hey, they did say newborns pop a lot, better to be ready than sorry.” Soap shrugged his shoulders. “And my niece deserves the best. Doesn’t she??” he bent down and started talking in a baby voice to your very ballooned up stomach. You can see Ghost nodding in agreement behind Soap.

Price and Chameleon, being experienced parents to two adult kids, provided you with tips and guidance when you needed the most. Especially Chameleon, she knew the hardship of being a soldier’s wife, looking after the children alone. She was there when your water broke, to calm you down when you were crying and worrying Nikolai and the men wouldn’t make it back in time to witness the birth of the baby.

Anya MacTavish ( Nikolai and you decided she would take on your surname, as it was dangerous for Nikolai’s true name and identity to be attached to the child ) was born a healthy baby, inheriting her father’s more calming nature, making minimal fuss when she landed in this world.

Nikolai tries to be there for the two of you as much as he can. Between assisting the SAS and running the mercenary group, he is a busy man. His heart often drops every time when he comes home, his daughter will clutch onto you, in fear and looking at him as if he is a stranger. It breaks his heart. He decided he needs to start pulling back, spreading his workload to his second in command and spending more time with his family.

Ghost looked down at the doll he was holding, thought hard for a second, before he went ahead and removed his balaclava. You have only seen once or twice in rare circumstances the real face of Simon, but you didn’t expect him to remove the face covering just for your daughter. Hiding her face in the crook of her Poppy Price’s neck, she turned her face slightly as Simon tried to call out to her, waving awkwardly the little doll of himself. She looks at him, eyes going wide again, trying to make sense of who this “ new person “ is, before reaching out for the doll, Price slowly passes Anya over to Simon, while she is distracted. She let out a little yawn as she fiddled around with the doll, eyes fluttering and fell asleep snuggling in Simon’s arm. Everyone smiled at the scene in front of them.

You can see mixed emotion in Simon’s eyes. Happy that both him and Anya are slowly getting comfortable with one another. Your brother-in-arms deserves every bit of happiness after all the trauma he went through with his life, and maybe his goddaughter will bring him that tiny bit of joy. You gave Nikolai a nudge, reminding him to guide Simon upstairs towards the nursery to put the baby down in the cot to sleep.

“Still sleeping?” Nikolai asked in a hushed voice, as he came up and checked his little princess after all the men had returned to the base. Peering over the cot, he can see she’s holding on tight to the Ghost doll in her arm, while sucking on her thumb as she sleeps.

“Sleeping like a log. Nothing is phasing her even if the ceiling collapses.” You are fortunate Anya has been a very easy baby, sleeping through the night most of the time. A very deep sleeper too. “Just like her mother.” “Hey, I do wake up when I sense danger.” You pouted, referring to the safe house incident where you didn’t even realise Soap and Gaz had entered the apartment.

Nikolai bent over and gave his little baby daughter a kiss on the cheek. Thinking back when he proposed to you. He thought he was lucky enough just to have you in his life, now he has a tiny little precious bird he will give all his life to protect her from all the evil of the world. Letting out a yawn. Exhausted from entertaining the guests you were ready to sleep. You let out a little yelp as Nikolai scoop you up into a bridal carry. “Time for bed for the big princess.” Kissing you lightly on your forehead, carrying you back towards the bedroom. Ideas pop up in his head. Maybe another baby wouldn’t be such a bad idea…

141 boys often volunteer for babysitting duty. They were a constant presence in their goddaughter’s life growing up. There is also the constant battle of “ who is Anya’s favourite” going on between the men.

When Anya got married, she insisted her Papa and all her uncles and Poppy walk her down the aisle.

Anya often changes which doll she is in favour of, one week might be Ghost, next week might be Gaz, or hugging both Price and Soap’s doll to sleep at same time. You tease Price and Chameleon if they are getting clucky again, or they are wishing for a grandkid, Price paled thinking about his little Grace being married so young. You tried out König’s recipe of Apple strudel. And it is heavenly delicious. It became one of Nikolai and Anya’s favourite desserts.

Yes, thanks to @siilvan , I am so inspired and might write another chapter in regard how Anya was produced *wink wink * what exactly happened the night of the covert mission (Let’s hope the muse of Smut will inspire me bit more this time )

taglist:

@homicidal-slvt,

@roosterr @preciouslittlecreature

@siilvan @floral-force @kaplerrr

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sn33z3s · 2 years

Text

in defense of “if you weren’t a fucking asshole”

(what better time to write “meta” than hours before a season premiere. after all, style is dead. or was it that it’s just boring? no, wait, it’s toxic??)

this doesn’t have a thesis, it’s just some leftover thoughts from last year - mostly pertaining The Church Scene, because of course - and featuring some hot stan marsh characterization takes i guess

let’s start with the gay glancing at your ex-childhood best friend

so, this framing is loaded because it's the narrative of their whole thing: kyle chasing stan. stan usually comes to kyle's rescue in absurd (but solvable) situations, whereas kyle often has to fight stan to provide emotional respite. they're thinking of each other here; it's distinct how stan looks back, rather than this shot cutting at kyle. stan's explosive reaction is still pretty presumptuous, but kyle was, even if unintentionally, asking for stan's attention - which is typical

in a sense, this scene is their wordless language; the kind you share with said ex-best friend but it’s gotten worn from overuse, and as a result, you’re both communicatively stunted, so now that you’ve reached out again after 40 years, the first step to any comfort or solace is [the scene above] and a homoerotic spectacle:

well, i don’t need to tell you what that public spectacle is; you already know

stan leads his paranoid outburst in the church by accusing kyle of knowing something which would be impossible for kyle to know; in You’re Getting Old/Assburgers kyle also reaches out to stan, who turns him down, yet still asks that kyle basically read his mind and comfort him

kyle is not a stranger to demanding unrealistic things from stan as well, but kyle calling stan “asshole” packs that punch since contemporarily the fandom usually assumes stan as more emotionally forward or in-touch with himself. however, in the church, kyle is pointing out that stan is clearly repressing his feelings, desires, traumas, etc. and kyle has used a similar approach before:

in my last meta, i wrote about how stan is pretty firm in not instantly accepting kyle's olive branches. of course, the thing is, kyle's olive branches are bent sometimes, let alone how he approaches asking for stan's forgiveness before the broship splits. kyle doesn't apologize: he just expects stan to move on

(also, i love the "divorced couple" coding before we even reach Post-COVID.) anyway, the show clearly acknowledges stan as "agreeing with kyle no matter what," and the first time stan and kyle fight in canon, it’s a big deal

i always return to how i don't see kyle or stan as at fault in most of, if not all, of their fights. this especially applies to YGO & Assburgers since it's one of their most significant “break-up” arcs. still... kyle's "if you weren't a fucking asshole" in the church scene is so satisfying. (and 100% excellent voice acting on matt stone's part; the punchy delivery at the end of that line is what makes me revisit it often.) when i put my tin foil hat on, it does sound like decades of resentment built up. if this post had to have a thesis, it’d be, “here’s why kyle had every right to call stan an asshole in that moment,” but the Stan Can Be an Asshole, Too meta is for another day. after all, my last meta also revolved around the trouble i have with framing stan as an exclusively passive character (rather than predominantly passive)

by “decades of resentment,” i mean simmering for kyle since, you guessed it, episodes such as You're Getting Old and Assburgers. i talk about YGO & Assburgers a lot, i'm sorry. but i was thinking about the church scene as i browsed the south park wiki on the official site: "Kyle can only deal with so much of Stan's negativity." (obviously, matt and trey themselves do not write or even moderate the Comedy Central studios wiki, so take all of it with a grain of salt.) i like that wording, though, and this other part of the blurb too: "Stan's ego can get in the way of their friendship [referencing Guitar Queer-o]"

kyle not being able to handle stan’s negativity these days is more often harshly critiqued than anything about stan’s ego. that detail does, in many forms, relate to the stan jock characterization discourse, but that’ll also have to wait for another meta. i can say a couple of things about it to tie up this post, though

yes, kyle fails to comfort stan in the YGO arc. at the same time, i don't think his positivity is always maligned. after all, the YGO arc isn't stan vs kyle, it's stan and kyle vs. growing up; this is their contemporary theme. and yes, for a kid, kyle can have that emotional maturity

Tegridy Farms and Post-COVID have cemented stan as south park’s protagonist – though, in my opinion, he always has been it, especially since Bigger, Longer, & Uncut – and protagonists are like, the character archetype that receives the most self-projection. yet this emotional angle is comparatively still a fairly new framing of stan’s character. now that this show is narrated in such a way that we see even more of the world of south park through stan’s eyes, fans watching may feel extra inclined to think of him as only ever depressed. but being sad is not all stan does and never has been

not only is this frequency fairly new to his character, i would go so far as to say that there’s a difference between the contemporary stan angst arcs and older episodes like Raisins, YGO, and Assburgers. being sad is not “natural” to stan (whatever that means), it is thrust upon him. most recently, this is randy’s fault. yes, we are meant to - and i hope that most do - sympathize or empathize with stan, but my point here is that he’s a little bit more belligerent and bullish than the fandom currently gives him credit for

#south park #sneeze writes #i've given up on consistent cropping

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wa-royal-tea · 2 years

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(Transcript & Translations under the cut & here - Click Pics for HQ Version!)

@thebrixtons

Symphony Manor, Holan (8:30am)

*alarm rings*

Alfie: Good morning, cutie.

Catalina: Mhm, morning.

Alfie: Go back to sleep, it’s still early.

Catalina: Nuh-uh. I’ve been sleeping a lot lately.

*light switch clicks*

Alfie: You should be resting a lot, Lina. You’re still recovering from your injuries.

Catalina: I’m fine. You’re overreacting.

Alfie: Am I though?

Catalina: Yes, you are. It’s been two weeks. I feel better now. I can walk too.

Catalina: And I can do more than walk. If you know what I mean.

Alfie: Tempting, but, I don’t want to take the risk of hurting you. So, I’ll keep my hands to myself until I’m sure you’re fine.

Catalina: Urgh, you suck.

Alfie: *chuckles* Stay in bed. I’ll bring breakfast to you.

Catalina: You’re treating me like a child again.

Alfie: This time, for a good reason. I don’t want you to tire yourself out. And the doctors said that it’s going to take a while before you can make a full recovery.

Alfie: Please listen to me, okay? I don’t want you to get hurt again.

Catalina: *groans* Fine.

Alfie: Good girl.

*door opens and closes*

Tweet 1: an INTRUDER AT THE PALACE ?? fr ?? they got into a whole fight with alfie and #trashlina

Reply to tweet 1: they prob tried to put her in her place💀the bitch deserves it

Reply to tweet 1′s reply: stfu stop being a hater

Tweet 2: I feel sorry for the guests that already arrived. Ppl are dying around the world and they wasted their money on a wedding only for it to be postponed.

Tweet 3: LMAOOO THEY CANCELED THEIR WEDDING !!!! move over #trashlina, its marie’s time to shine ✨

Tweet 4: wait? they postponed their wedding? why?

Reply to tweet 4: the palace hasnt said anything … pelik (weird)

Tweet 5: atp i’m anti-monarchy, because what the hell is even going on?

Tweet 6: idc what everyone else says, i’m standing by alfie and lina 😔 nobody deserves what they’re going through

Tweet 7: how much do u guys wanna bet that they’re lying about the intruder? 👁👁

Reply to tweet 7: i saw a tweet from a former staff and they said nothing even happened … let’s put our tin foil hats on 😬

Reply to tweet 7′s reply: korg ckp ni boleh pakai otak tak? (ppl, can we pls think with our heads for 2 seconds?) stop jumping to conclusions you guys annoy the hell out of me.

Tweet 8: The hate she’s getting rn is unfair. Why’d you guys assume the worse of her?

Reply to tweet 8: Are you fcking fr? Did you forget what she did the other day?

Tweet 8′s OP replies: The apology thingy? You’re mad at her for that? I didn’t realize the marie stans are brain dead when it comes to Lina. She was doing the right thing by apologizing for something she didn’t even do. I bet if it was your fav who did this, you’d be praising her to the skies. Be serious.

*door opens and closes*

Alfie: What are you doing?

Catalina: N-nothing.

Alfie: Are you reading tweets on twister again? Stop reading those. It’s full of shit.

Catalina: I can’t help it. Last week was supposed to be our wedding day but it got postponed because of me.

Alfie: You didn’t ask for this to happen. And those people don’t know what actually happened. They’re just talking out of their asses right now.

Catalina: *sighs* Whatever. It already happened. Did your mum said anything about the wedding date?

Alfie: She said the wedding has been postponed to next month. The latest it would be is in two.

Catalina: But what are we gonna do until then? Don’t tell me you expect me to be in bed everyday?

Alfie: Mum said she’ll give us a new schedule to make up for the tour. She wants us to do joint engagements to build your reputation again. Right now the people are divided in half when it comes to you.

Catalina: Not surprised.

Alfie: Don’t think too much about it. You have me and the others to support you. And this time, if you did mess up, I will tell you. No sugarcoating. But, I won’t be an asshole about it.

Catalina: I’m a bit scared to hear what you’re going to say but thanks for listening to me.

Alfie: It’s no big deal.

Catalina: Oh, I forgot to ask. Did your mum said anything about my assistant? Since, y’know, Rowena’s not really in the picture anymore?

Alfie: She’s considering Anna to be your permanent assistant. The accusations against her has been dropped because Rowena confessed that she lied.

Catalina: Thank god. I liked Anna. I knew she won’t do it.

Alfie: Yeah. I’m just glad Anna still want to work with us. I heard mum said that she was a student Auntie Athy sponsored back in Cordelia. So she’s trusted.

Catalina: Is she a spellcaster like Lucy too?

Alfie: Nope. She’s a normal human. Like us.

Catalina: Oh, that’s cool. But what happens to Rowena now?

Alfie: She’s still under investigation. Your mama thinks it’s impossible for her to work alone. There must be someone helping her out and they’re trying to pry the answers out from her.

Catalina: Hmm...

*phone rings*

Alfie (to the phone): Hello, mum? Yeah, I’m at home.

Alfie: What? Are you serious?

Alfie: I...I see. Okay, I’ll tell her later. Keep me updated. Bye. Take care too.

Catalina: What was it? Did something happen?

Alfie: It’s Rowena.

Catalina: What’s wrong with her?

Alfie: She’s...she’s dead.

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takabinaryy · 3 months

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Nap Time

My idea Caregiver- Charlie Little- Vaggie She's mentally five

Slightly fussy regressed vaggie because nap time is not as fun as playing with her toys. Then again cuddles are very important

"Butterfly honey it's nap time , you can play with your blocks after"

Charlie has been at this for 10 minutes now trying to get her regressed girlfriend to take a nap. So far it's not working , the little has been yawning the whole time while playing. And bad enough that earlier Val was here with Al for a playdate. And said pimp gave vaggie two damn cupcakes. So she was on a small sugar high. Hence why the princess wats to get the other to take a nap. Of course vaggie had thought otherwise.

" No , No Mama. I playings. I no nap"

" Yes nap little miss, now please pick up your blocks or I won't give cuddles tonight before bed time"

Said little miss looks at her mama like the woman is crazy! Mama can't take away cuddles! That's a crime!! Cuddles are the best part of the day! Her Mama can't do that, it's not fair!

" you can't do that!"

"Oh but I can if you don't pick up your blocks and come with me for nap time. You have two options here. You can either A. Be a good butterfly and do as i asked you. Or B. You can sit in time out for 10 minutes and go without cuddles tonight."

The blonde tells her , with her hands on her hips looking a tiny bit serious but still soft. The moth pouts and thinks about her choices. So yeah she chooses being good and indeed picking up her blocks, putting them away in the bag they come in. And once she's done , she looks up at Charlie while making grabby hands.

"ups please mama"

"thank you for making a good choice sweet butterfly"

The princess picked up her little one and carried her to their shared bedroom. And lays Vaggie down first before laying down next to the other. In the end Vaggie does get cuddles during nap time. A couple hours after Charlie left the room after cuddling her regressed girlfriend, she had gotten up and left the room. Leaving the door half opened before walking downstairs to get some cleaning done and start on dinner for them both. Since it was just the two of them in the place, angel being at the snake's place to be a babysitter for his regressed older brother. Alastor had of course already informed Charlie , he would be spreading the week with his husband val.(he already lives with Val but likes to stay at the hotel Incase he's needed or to help with the hotel) And that if he was needed to make sure to call him on his fancy old phone. And Husk and Nifty? On a well needed and deserved vacation, accompanied by velvet and Cherri.

After a bit light cleaning was done and the princess was in the kitchen trying to figure out dinner not sure if Vaggie was going to be waking up big or little. So garlic bread pizza seemed to be a good choice. Cutting up the Italian bread into semi-thick slices , spreading a good amount of garlic butter on all 12 slices.(incase they have company there would food for them) Putting them on a tin foil covered tray and in the oven they go , setting the timer on the little chicken timer, setting it on the counter. Now double checking the fridge seeing that they indeed had the right ingredients for tonight's dinner , pulling out the pizza sauce , pepperoni , mushrooms for Vags and of course shredded mozzarella. Charlie was just about put the toppings on the pizzas when something or well someone tugged on the back of her shirt , now turning around her eyes now seeing her little firefly with a slight pout on her lips. The blonde of the two sets the cheese down next to the other ingredients giving her girlfriend her full attention.

" yes my love?"

"..you weren't in bed when i woke up"

"And I'm sorry for that but someone had to make dinner"

"ohs"

"it's okay silly butterfly "

#agere chaggie #agere vaggie hazbin hotel #agere hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel age regression #hazbin hotel agere #fandom agere #littlespace fics #little vaggie #caregiver charlie moringstar #caregiver charlie #agere fanfiction

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yourfriendanniefish · 1 year

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ok since i actually did just watch all three episodes that amazon dropped of the wheel of time i might as well talk about it a little bit.

first off, it was stupid and dumb to hold this show off for an entire fucking year so we could waste time with the rings of power's fantastical blowing of a billion dollars. it does feel to me like they're low key trying to bury this show, lord knows why

(here, let's put on a tin foil hat: it's because it came out really gay, an actual genuine rainbow of a show that actually matters in this day and age, and we can't have something this gay available to people so let's bury it)

anyways, it's almost impossible for me, personally, to rate this show. i know what i'm looking for— i read all 14 books of this fucker. the game i have to play while watching it is almost annoying to me. that doesn't mean it's bad, or any of the vast changes being made to the story aren't good ones— i'd rather see a condensed and different version of the series anyways. but there's still that string in the back of my head, that says, for example, "hey, mat and min never hung out, did they?" and like, no i don't think they did, but also, that's a heck of a way to write yourself out of the "we had to think fast when we lost an actor after season one's long covid break" hole! these two have big chemistry and i'm all in (new mat is great. he seems to have this slight touch more confidence than mat 1 did, but we'll see what happens when (/if) he links back up with the main crew (if the show goes the same route as the books, where the main cast splits up after book 2/3 and never really links back up again)).

but the changes here are mostly good— giving moiraine more of an arc than just "i am mysterious, ooooo" is great. having ran be more of a confident guy so he can fuck lanfear like a stud is hot and funny and the right kind of fucked up. like i said last post, killing that one beloved character was good because that character kinda sucked maybe and also there are too many characters. giving liandrin wayyyy more to do is great because the show clearly understands what it has with kate fleetwood.

maybe that's worth underlining more— the show really understands that it has a bangin' cast and it wants to use them well. everyone gets time to shine here, which is impressive given the size of the cast (the jumping around characters never felt disorienting, it's handled better than even the books, where the "main character" would disappear for a literal thousand pages at a time).

i want to know what happens next, and my only bad feeling is that i wish i didn't have to untangle that feeling from "i want to see how they get there," like, everything is too connected to the books to me, and i feel like the show is good and cool enough to warrant me forgetting minute plot points. they fantasy-curb-stomped ***, nothing is impossible, here.

idk,

it's a good show, and i hope people actually watch it.

#the wheel of time #it's good #sorry

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thewickedkat · 1 year

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i have been tagged

@vcaudley tagged me and i am just now getting round to this, apologies!

A scent you love: - sandalwood. i could be in the saltiest, shittiest, most tin-foil-chewing mood and upon smelling this, i would relax from grievous homicide to involuntary manslaughter. which is a very tortured metaphor but it's a weird day for me. suffice to say i love sandalwood.

What's something you're looking forward to this week? - i would dearly love to write this weekend. been wanting to actually get something actualised before the weather starts thinking of hoodies and pumpkin spice lattes. also i need to go to the library because i need new music; mine's getting rather stale.

What's a book you're currently reading? - i am so very sorry to say that i have not read an actual book in *mumblemumble* amount of time. a few years back i had sort of run dry on books that i was enjoying, and my tastes changed; i dove into fanfic and haven't really looked back since. it is still scratching that itch that i can't really describe. to be quite honest i think the last book-book i read was the latest Dresden Files instalment--and before anyone comes for me, yes, i am quite aware of Butcher's...uh. writing tells, let's call them. man's become a pastiche of himself, tell the truth.

What's a game you're currently playing? - The Outer Worlds, for, like, the fifth time. love Parvati; that woman can do no wrong in my eyes. tried doing a Board-bootlicker run a while back and then she looked at me all disappointed and my contrition knew no end. and i adore Felix wholeheartedly because that Labrador of a boy is the purest of heart and dumbest of ass and he makes me smile. ...also, i'm just killing time until next week when i can get my narsty little gremlin hands on Baldur's Gate 3.

What's the most recent movie you watched? - Nimona. if you haven't seen it, drop what you're doing and watch it immediately. now. go. why are you still sitting there? go watch it! okay, no, seriously--why aren't more films made like this? it doesn't talk down to kids or families (or anyone else for that matter), it is wholly unashamed of its emotions and finds joy in showing them (even the messier ones), the art is beautiful and vibrant and isn't half-arsed and crap CGI stitched with hand-drawn; it has a fantastic message, and when Ballister said 'I see you, Nimona,' i sat here and fucking bawled.

Are you watching anything on TV or listening to any shows? - i recently finished S3 of The Witcher on Netflix, and...well, i think i'd have to watch again to really start to pick at it and why it didn't particularly vibe for me (the nonsense with Radovid and Jaskier aside; i mean...Radovid? really? blech). i haven't read the books but i am familiar with the lore, but the writing seems to be so uncertain of itself this season, all over the place and muddled. and with production on pause (not just for TWN, obviously), i'm more than a little uncertain of Liam Hemsworth's stepping into the very big boots Cavill's leaving behind. the bar has been set pretty high; i'd say this of any actor, frankly. as for podcasts, i am sooooooo far behind on listening that i think i would have to start many over. i had been listening to Bahumia Two: Electric Boogaloo on NADDPod but that was months ago. my problem is that i have to be in the mindset to listen to pods (side effect of the ADHD), and right now the mindset is 'put on youtube vids or Japanese lo-fi and read fic in your downtime.' how long this will last is anyone's guess.

Favourite season? - autumn, by far. and i don't mean the soft Pinterest moodboard aesthetic type; i mean the frost upon the windowpane when you wake up in the morning but you don't turn the heat on yet because by noon it'll have warmed up enough kind. i mean the mixing of baking bread, strong coffee, herbal tea and the faintest whiff of cigarette smoke. the knowledge that the wind is just on the edge of turning biting and that its teeth will only grow sharper in a month; when you swap out your summer clothes for woolen blankets and soft pants; when you dig out the thicker yarns and the puzzles and rearrange your spooky house bric-a-brac to take pride of place. that kind of autumn.

What's something you've learned recently? - i have learnt factoids and things that would serve me well at pub trivia, but nothing that would serve to make an interesting infodump. not really. all the stuff i infodump about lately is fandom-adjacent and makes my husband's eyes glaze over.

Have you had any water lately? - yes! i drink water on the regular, interspersed with Baja Blast since summer is hanging on by a thread.

i'll support anyone who wants to do this but specifically tag @gadzooie @deacons-wig @totally-not-deacon @wildwildwasteland but no pressure if this isn't your bag!

#tag game

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mouse-fantoms · 2 years

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IF I AM TO PUT ON MY TIN FOIL HAT FOR A MOMENT:

Last Dream It Con… was the announcement that Jatp would not get picked up by Netflix HOWEVER

…what if this time 👀👀 (hear me out) it’s the announcement that they WILL get picked up by another network 👀👀

As time goes on they will be announcing more of the guests who will be there and like what if it’s more of the Jatp cast

It would also be cool bc it’s in Brazil aka where the original Jatp aired so that’d be pretty neat

If nothing else, it’d be cool if the old Jatp cast from the original Jatp were there and they like met the new Jatp cast that’d be neat

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sorryjustafangirl · 3 years

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wish we were older

a/n: two fics in one week? do not get used to this lol. but in honour of his 200th assist, here is a fic that's been a wip for way too long. it's based off of angel baribeau's song 'wish we were older' and is basically 4 times matthew wished he was older and one time he didn't. also there's a little easter egg in this one let me know if you find it ;)

pairing: matthew tkachuk x gn!reader

word count: 4k+

warnings: a couple swears, one mention of sex, kids

disclaimer: this is a piece of fiction and real person fiction so if that doesn't vibe with you, please don't read! also, gif is not mine, all credit to the wonderful creator.

Most people want to be younger. In Western society, aging is one of the worst things that can happen to you. There are skin treatments and surgeries to make your skin look younger, look healthier. When you’re young, you have no responsibilities, no expectations, there’s no judgement. Most people want to be younger, but not Matthew Tkachuk. He always knew that all he wanted was to be older – to live his life with you.

one - age six

“Can we play my game now?” You whined, standing in front of the soccer net. He had invited you over to play, and as his best friend, you said yes. But you didn’t think he’d make you stand in front of a net while he scored on you over and over again.

“Fine,” He grumbled, picking up the ball. “What do you want to play?”

“House!” You grinned widely, and Matthew found himself smiling at you despite how much he’d rather be kicking a ball than playing house. He liked making you happy.

You walked over to the small playhouse that was in their backyard and explained that he was going to be at work and you were going to be home and you’d make him supper. He didn’t like house that much because there was a lot of doing nothing on his end so he tried making a suggestion.

“Shouldn’t we be married if we play house?”

“I mean, I guess, but we can just pretend we’re married.”

“No, I think we should, like, do a wedding and stuff. It’ll be fun! I can make us rings!” His eyes lit up at the idea of doing something that wasn’t sitting around and when you looked over at him, you couldn’t deny his request. You liked seeing him smile.

“Fine, we can do that. I can pick some flowers!” You went to the garden to pull yourself a bouquet while Matthew ran inside.

“Mom?” He yelled, running into the kitchen. Chantel set down the knife she was holding to look over to her oldest son.

“What?”

He grabbed a cracker for the snack board she had set out and stuffed it in his mouth. He grumbled out his words but his mom just raised her eyebrows.

With a mouthful of crackers, he managed to get out his words. “Where’s the tinfoil?”

“I can grab it for you.” She turned to the drawer next to her and pulled out the container. He went to grab it, but she pulled it back. “Why do you want it?”

“I need to make rings! Y/n and I are going to get married!”

“Really?” Matthew nodded with his chest puffed out.

“I hate to break it to you, but normally you get married to people you love.”

“I love Y/n.” Or at least he thought he did. It was what his parents had and what his grandparents had. It was liking someone enough to spend all your time together and he already did that with you.

His mom gave him an amused smile. “Well, you’ve got to be older to get married, sweetheart.”

“Then I wish I was older!”

“Don’t wish your life away son!” His dad called from the other room and Matthew sighed, grabbing the tinfoil container to go back outside to play with you where his parents couldn’t burst his bubble.

He sat down pulling the tin foil to make two tiny rings, big enough for just your small fingers. When he was finished, he looked for you and saw you sitting on the ground putting a bouquet together. He just looked at you and looked at how the sun made your hair look pretty, smiling. This was a lot better than playing house.

“Are you done?” He asked. You nodded and stood up, him doing the same. You met in the middle and he started.

“Do you want to marry me?”

You nodded. “I do.” He slid one of the makeshift rings onto your hand. “Do you want to marry me?”

“I do,” he answered, and you slid the other ring onto his finger. “Ta-da! We’re married now!”

You grabbed his hands and pulled him closer, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek before pulling away to dance in the grass. Matthew stood back, in shock from your kiss, before softening and admiring you. Despite his dad’s words from earlier, he still wanted to be older.

two - age thirteen

“It’s Y/n! I got it!” Matthew yelled to the house as he saw your phone number pop up on the TV he was watching. He raced to his bedroom, grabbing the phone from his parents’ bedroom on the way. Your family had moved away from his, not far, but you were still his closest friend. You talked all the time at school and you always came to his games. He flopped on his bed before answering the ringing phone. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Matty?” The tone of your voice had him sitting upright immediately. Your voice was quiet and he swore he heard it crack.

“Yeah, what’s wrong?”

“Do you think I’m stupid?”

“What? No. Why do you think you’re stupid?”

You sniffled on the other end. “Charlie told me I was. And ugly too.” Charlie, aka your ‘boyfriend’. There was no label but from what you told Matthew, you both really liked each other.

“Charlie said that? Are you kidding me?” You mumbled a ‘no’ and Matthew sighed. “Well, you’re not those things. Charlie’s the stupid ugly one.”

You stayed silent. “You don’t believe me, do you?”

“How can I? Charlie’s the most popular guy in Mr. Jackson’s class. And he like-liked me. Or I thought he did,” you said, wiping some stray tears away.

“How can I make you feel better?” You shrugged even though he couldn’t see you.

“A hug would be nice but it’s already past my bedtime, and you have a game tomorrow.”

“I’m sorry,” he said. Matthew felt helpless.

“It’s fine, Matty. Thanks for listening.”

“Yeah, yeah, anytime. I mean that, call me whenever, I don’t mind.” You said your goodbyes and hung up the phone, but he couldn’t shake this feeling he had – like he didn’t do his job as your best friend. That’s when he had his idea.

“Mom! Can you drive me to Y/n’s house?”

“Matthew, it’s almost time for bed and you have a game tomorrow,”

“I know but I need to go to Y/n’s right now, Mom, please! It’s important,” He pleaded and Chantel narrowed her eyes. Pursing her lips, she nodded, grabbing the car keys and opened the garage door. Matthew raced out to the car and put his seatbelt, wiggling in his seat until they were on their way to you. She had barely put the car in park in front of your house before Matthew was running towards the front door.

He knocked a few times and you timidly opened the door, peaking your head out. He sent you a smile and your eyes started to well with tears. He immediately brought you into a hug and you relished in the comfort of your best friend.

The two of you sat on your porch steps and in no time, Matthew had you laughing about silly jokes about Charlie, telling you how you’re way too smart for him anyways. You leaned your head on his shoulder and thanked him for coming over to comfort you.

“It’s nothing. You needed me and I came. No big deal.”

The honk of Chantel’s car blared quickly, and he sighed. “I have to go, but I’ll see you tomorrow after my game, right?” You nodded your head and he gave you another hug.

“Matthew! Let’s go!” He rolled his eyes at his mom, but knew she wouldn’t hesitate to get out of the car and drag him to bed. He left your porch and climbed back into the car, waving at you as you went back inside your house.

“Why couldn’t I have five more minutes?” He grumbled as his mom drove away.

“Until you’re old enough to drive yourself around on game nights, I will decide when we leave.”

He sighed, closing his eyes as he leaned against the window. ‘I wish I was older’ were his last thoughts before he slipped into his dreams.

three - age nineteen

Matthew had asked you out the summer after sophomore year and the two of you had been going out ever since. He was a happier version of himself when he could call you his and he could unashamedly compliment you in public. Even when he was drafted to the OHL, it didn’t hinder the connection you had. The long distance wasn’t ideal, but he was still relatively close. Calgary was much further away.

You had accepted a full ride scholarship to the University of Missouri-St. Louis, and there was no way Matthew would let you give that up just so the two of you could be closer. He’d seen you work so hard, doing homework while watching his games and reading papers until 2am on FaceTime with him. You were two years into your degree and loving it, he couldn’t ask you to leave all of that to come to Calgary with him.

He didn’t even have to ask you to come with him to see the city for the first time. School wouldn’t start for another week, and neither of you were ready for the year ahead. You’d joined the family on the plane, his hand never leaving yours (except to put your carry-on in the overhead compartment). The two of you toured the city, sharing in the mundane moments like seeing the Calgary Tower and the dinosaurs at the zoo (“What other kind of zoo has dinosaurs babe?! They move! This is so cool.”). The family all went out for dinner the night before your flight was to depart from Calgary and the whole night was spent with Matthew’s hand on your thigh. You leaned into him as Keith shared stories of baby Matthew and Brady chimed in with his own chirps. You’d all shared a bottle of wine and Matthew’s billets had given you permission to stay the night with him, as long as nothing happened. You assured them the two of you would be on your best behaviour, and even when he teased you, you shut it down. The random grown adults upstairs were enough to kill the mood.

The two of you brushed your teeth together, catching glances in the mirror, Matthew’s hand resting on your hip bone. You bumped into his side and he sent you a cheeky smile before softly bumping you back. He finished changing into his pajamas first, the Superman pair you had bought him last Christmas as a joke. When he asked why Superman, you simply replied, “Because you’re my hero Matty.” He’d never forgotten those words. When you finished changing, you turned to see him under the covers, one hand holding the comforter up, so you could snuggle in beside him.

You pressed your head against his chest, listening to the steady heartbeat you wouldn’t hear for a while. His hand softly traced over your back, his other hand playing with your fingers. You slowly dozed off and Matthew was quick to follow you. It wasn’t hard when he was holding the love of his life in his arms.

The next morning, you had a hard time getting out of bed. Not just because you’d have to leave, but because Matthew’s grip around your waist wouldn’t budge.

“Matty, I have to get up, your parents will be here soon.” He groaned but released you and watched you get ready from the bed. He watched the way your hair fell naturally, the way your forehead wrinkled when you couldn’t find something, the way your eyes softened when they met his. He made grabby hands from the bed and you checked the clock. You humored him and fell back into his embrace for five more minutes.

You pulled him out of bed, pajama pants and all, to say goodbye as his parents pulled up into the driveway. They let you and him have a private goodbye, standing by the car. Matthew was quick to take you into his arms.

“I wish we were older so we didn’t have to say goodbye,” He mumbled into your shoulder. His words brought tears to your eyes and you swallowed before you answered him.

“It’s not a goodbye, it’s a see you soon.” You rubbed his back and he squeezed you even tighter. You tried to pull away but he refused, holding you for just another minute before letting go. Your hands found their way to his face, lightly stroking his cheekbones. “Listen to me, Matty. You are going to be amazing here, okay? You’re going to blow everyone away, I just know it. I’ll be cheering you on the whole time.”

He nodded and pulled you in for one last kiss. You squeezed his hand before passing him off to his parents, getting into the car beside Brady. When the Tkachuks were all buckled in, Keith put the car in reverse, starting the drive to the airport. You waved to Matthew and he waved back. You softly mouthed ‘I love you’ and he said it back. As he got smaller and smaller in the background, you couldn’t help but hope Matthew’s wish would come true soon.

four - age twenty four

Johnny became a dad. Lucic's kid started kindergarten. His cousin got married. The PT, Leila, just had her baby. It didn't help Taryn kept sending him pictures of the neighbours’ newborn asking him she was going to be an aunt.

Matthew's hands tightened on his laces and he pulled them tight enough to have white marks on his hands. He shook them and tried to ignore his teammate's coos about his newest addition. Yeah, the kid was cute but did Johnny have to rub it in everyone's faces? He sighed as he put on the rest of his equipment and left the dressing room early. He skated on the ice alone, stickhandling and shooting some loose pucks towards the net-- not that any of them went in. His mind wasn't there.

All he wanted, and all he had wanted for the past five years, was to be your husband. To have kids of his own, to be the family man like his dad. But he had to wait for that.

Matthew Tkachuk isn't an overly patient man. He's driven by impulsive decisions, his mouth running during a game before he can consciously decide what to say. He moves before he can think, his body instinctively moving, on the ice, in a fight, even as a kid he was like that. And he’d tested his patience and done his waiting.

After four years of long distance while you finished your degree, something he was so proud of you for, you were finally in Calgary with him. When you had said you wanted to get your Master's, he had all but begged you to stay in your new hometown with him. He had done four years of virtual dates and FaceTime calls, four years of only seeing each other in the offseason and Christmas because you could never get the All-Star break off of school. He'd done four years without you and there was no way he was letting you leave again.

So you applied to the University of Calgary (no surprise you got accepted) and started your program. He had wanted to propose the moment you got accepted, but he figured it would be best to celebrate the two things separately. So he waited. At first, Matthew thought it was going to be wonderful. You'd spend more time together, he'd get to cheer you on, he'd get to go to sleep with you in his arms. He was mostly right -- but the life you shared was hectic between your school schedule and his intensive regimen. There was barely enough time to plan date nights, let alone the evidential wedding that would happen when he proposed. So he waited longer.

Finally, your program finished and there was time in the world to celebrate that. School was done and you already had a job lined up that started in two weeks. He'd had enough of waiting at that point and popped the question. It was perfect and everything you'd ever wanted and Matt was just happy you said yes. You had always been the one for him but he knew he could be a bit of an asshole every now and again.

So between the engagement, wedding planning, your new job, the start of a new season, Matthew knew it wasn’t the right time for a kid, but goddamn did he ever want one.

Everyone filtered onto the ice, beginning their warmup. He mostly stayed away from the group, his mind on how he couldn't have all the things he wanted. He didn't need, or want, reinforcement from his teammates of what he's missing out on.

He stayed near the back for most of the practice, missing shots left and right, and grimacing every time Sutter’s mouth turned into a frown at him. He just couldn’t get the thought of a family out of his head. What Sunday mornings would be like, how the family photos would look sitting on top of the fireplace, how you’d look holding his kid in your arms...

Gio skated up beside him in line, letting the others go in front of them. "Chucky, what is going on?"

"It's nothing."

"Don't lie to me. What's buggin' ya?" Matt looked up at the ceiling and shifted on his skates like a little kid.

"It's just like... everyone's having kids and having a family and getting married and I just- I want that so badly but it's just not the right time for me and Y/N. I just, like, I wish I was older so I can have that, you know? But whatever, it's fine, I'll get over it."

"You don't have to get over Matt, it's normal. You're having baby fever. And I know it's hard, but enjoy the time the two of you have by yourselves. Take a spontaneous trip. Have sex with the door open. Do all the things you can't with kids. This isn't a waiting period in your life for something better, this is your life. Have some patience, alright kid?"

"Yeah yeah yeah. Thanks, man."

"Good, now can you make a goal please? It's embarrassing, Marky isn't even trying." Matt huffed and went off, picking up a puck and hitting the back of the net easily.

+ one - age thirty two

Matthew hopped in his truck and drove away from the arena. Snow was softly falling onto the windshield, but after close to fourteen years after he first came to Calgary, he found comfort in the flakes. A lot had changed since he first came to the city. After Gio was traded, he was named Captain. You had not only moved out from St. Louis to be with him, but he was now your husband.

As he rolled up in the suburban driveway, he smiled as he saw the outside lights welcoming him home. He grabbed his bag and stick, opened the front door, and gently placed it on the floor so as not to disturb his family. He tiptoed his way towards the kitchen, listening to the laughter of his kids.

“When will Daddy be home?” Cameron, your four year old asked. A grin spread across his face and he rounded the corner.

“How about right now?” Shrieks from all Tkachuk kids sent Matthew into a chuckle as Eli, your six year old, launched himself into his arms. Cameron was helped off the counter where he was sitting and you grabbed your eighteen month old, Jada, from her high chair to greet your husband. Cameron joined the group hug and Matthew took a quick moment to sneak in a kiss from you. He tickled Jada’s stomach and her giggles brought a wider grin onto his face, if that was possible.

“Daddy, daddy, can we go skating? I want to show you how good I am at skating now!” Eli asked, once he detangled himself from his dad.

“Sure, bud, after supper, alright?” Matthew ruffled his hair and he smiled, with one tooth missing. He made his way towards you at the stovetop, Cameron on his hip after making the grabby hands at him. He snaked his free arm around your waist and kissed the top of your shoulder.

“How were they today?” You leaned into his embrace as much as you could while keeping an eye on supper.

“They’re your kids so… chaotic as usual. E has been outside as much as he can and Cam spilled his orange juice like four times. He did clean it up, unlike someone’s pile of laundry from his road trip.” He blushed at your glare.

“I love you," He said in a sing-song voice.

“I love you too. The pile is now on your side of the bed so you can’t ignore it. But Jada here finally ate her banana chips, yes she did, yes she did,” you half-said-half-cooed to your daughter on your hip.

“Did she now?” Cameron wiggled in his dad’s arms so he got put down and Matthew took the opportunity to take his daughter from your arms. “Daddy is so proud of you, baby, so proud.” He lightly booped her nose and she giggled. “What about work, did what’s-his-face get back to you?”

“He did, but he wasn’t super helpful, so I’ve got to reach out to his boss and see if she can give me what I need to complete the project. Boys! Suppertime!” You got Jada situated in her high chair and Matthew helped the two boys into their chairs. He served everyone’s plates while you got Jada’s food from the fridge. After a quick saying of grace, the boys dug in and you gave Matthew another kiss before turning to Jada to help her if she needed.

“Daddy, do you know what I know?” Eli said.

“No, bud, what do you know?”

“That me and Cam and Jada are just like you and Uncle Brady and Auntie Taryn because it goes boy and then boy and then girl!” He smiled, even with some food still in his mouth.

“That's right! You are so smart.”

“I want to be like Daddy!” Cameron whined. He crossed his arms and you smiled.

“Of course you can be like Daddy. But first you have to be older," you explained.

“Then I want to be older!”

“Almost, buddy, almost. Do you want to come skating with Eli and I?” Your husband asked. When he nodded, Matthew told the two boys to go get ready and he’d be right there. Then he turned towards you and just watched you with Jada. You turned to him and after a while and tilted your head. He shook his head but you gave him a look. He stood up from his chair, collected the boys plates, before coming behind you.

“It’s nothing...just for as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to be older. And I realized that I don’t want to be older anymore. I have everything I could possibly want. I am the husband to the love of my life, I’m taking my two sons skating in our backyard, and I just… I don’t know, it feels really fucking good.”

“Even without a Stanley Cup?”

He bent down to be at your eye level and brought one hand to the back of your neck. He gently brought your lips to his and only broke away when Jada squealed. “I have everything I could possibly want right here. There’s nothing better than this home we built,” He whispered. He heard the boys call for him from the back door and he smiled as he went to get ready.

“Hey babe?” He turned around at your voice. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

thanks for reading and feel free to let me know what you thought!

taglist (join here): @heatherawoowoo @4ambagelbites @tysonjost-taylorsversion @2manytabsopen @stars-canucks @lorrmorr @fallinallincurls @plds2000 @barzysandhughesbaby

#matthew tkachuk #matthew tkachuk fic #matthew tkachuk imagine #nhl imagine #nhl fic #nhl x reader #calgary flames imagine #hockey imagine #hockey fic #abby writes

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southieparkie · 3 years

Text

SPOILER WARNING: SP POST COVIDE: RETURN OF COVID!!!!!!!

Okay soooo there’s a lot to unpack here.

- First of all, the four boys chanting “Let’s go Nuggets” at the beginning made my heart so happy omg.

- OMFG STAN BURN FARM AND SHELLY FUNERAL WE SAW IT ALL YOU GUYS HHHHHHHH (SHARON’S VA ATE THAT FUNERAL SCENE UP THE REALISM HAD ME CRYINGGGG)

- the fight scene with token was so random and unexpected but i stg it may have been the second greatest thing in this special lmao

- tweek standing up and saying that he’ll do whatever he can to help stop covid just…it’s great. like, yes nervous blond man, you go find that tin foil with ur husband

- the whole anne frank reference they did with menorah was okay ig

- the scene where craig n those guys realize they need tin foil and connecting the dots as to who victor chaos really is was fucking brilliant. we as an audience already figured out that vic is actually butters wayy before this special even aired, the beauty of it all is that the audience knows, but the characters dont. so seeing them put the pieces together and letting the mystery reveal itself was not only satisfying to watch but also really clever. like, wendy and token and all those guys didn’t say what they were thinking, but we KNEW what they were thinking. (i suck at analyzing things dont come for me pls i just think its neat :( )

- BUTERS!’dnsjskxkw

- wait no VIC

- butters being an NFT salesman is the LAST thing i predicted for this special but ykw? i’m nOT mad at it

- BUTTERS CALLED KENNY “KEN” DID YOU GUYS HEAR HIM.

- why did we have to see his penis tho

- and we saw kenny’s dead penis in the last special like omg stop i can’t keep defending u guys, matt n trey

- CRAIG N TWEEK GOT KNOCKED TF OUT PLEASEEEEEEE

- Tweek pointing and screaming when Craig got his shit rocked is so him

- kyle having an alexa and being scared shitless from said alexa going bonkers was a good laugh

- clyde’s villian origin story was definitely something

- the scene where stan is comforting wendy with the wet rag after the whole NFT attack thingy butters did was so wholesome i was smiling through the whole thing

- THE PART WHERE KYLE STARTED WIPING TOKEN’S PHONE WITH THE RAG TOOK ME OUT

- speaking of that cartman taking butters to the lab KNOWING that butters’ NFT shtick can cause major chaos (see what i did there) was pretty smart

- IKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- let’s talk about the fight between eric and kyle cause y’all already know that kyman shippers will use the clip of eric rocking kyle’s shit to prove that kyle is indeed a submissive uwu boy and cartman is a big dom. maybe im over exaggerating, but there are people out there who think like this still and its dumb

- we’ll save that convo for another day. anyways, the two alexas kicking butters’ ass in the pews made me snort

- eric’s baby is a little shit

- clyde’s dramatic walk he does when he’s about to k-word kyle in the past is freaking hilarious to me.

- WHY DID CLYDE HAVE TO D!3 WTH IS WRONG WITH YALL LET HIM LIVE

- stan, kyle, ken, and eric on the jumbotron at the nuggets game is probably the exact moment in which the south park fandom’s hope for the broship/future episodes was restored

- the letter stan wrote to randy made me SOBBB. HE SAID I LOVE U HNNNNNN

- okay so about the ending

- IKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- STAN IS AN ASTRONAUT OR SOMETHING IM NOT RLLY SURE WHAT HE IS BUT HE ISNT AN ALSCHOHOLIC YES

- uhh….so uh……we all agree that kyle and stan have adopted kids together and that they call him uncle stan just cause they’re confused, yes?? stan and kyle are together and they have children?? do they not?????

- no?? k

- STENDY. WHAT ARE THEY GONNA DO ON NEW YEARS?????? MAKE OUT PERHAPS???????????

- if they accidentally reproduce that night and sam marsh becoms canon im gonna drag my teeth against hot concrete

- kenny didn’t get any speaking lines what the fuck matt & trey u had one job

- yall was tweek drinking wine?? material gworl????

- TIMMY OH MY GOD

- TIMMY MY BOY THERE HE GO ON THE SCREEN

- rating: 9.5/10

- bring on the NFT butters/Mad Scientist kenny fanart cowards idc if you suck at rendering or whatever

- AND fanfics don’t forget the fanfics

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twicearoundthesun · 2 years

Text

[Roommates AU]

“We’re late. It’s seven now.”

Chaeyoung pulled her shirt over her head without unbuttoning it, running a hand through her hair to smooth it down.

“We’re thirty feet down the hallway from them.” She pointed out as she tucked the shirt in.

“Which is exactly why we should have managed to get there on time.”

Chaeyoung poked her head out of her bathroom.

“We still have thirty seconds until it’s 7:01, don’t we?”

Dahyun sighed through her nose. “We just met them, and they were kind enough to cook dinner and invite us over. We can’t keep them waiting, they’ll be insulted.” She fidgeted with nervous energy. She couldn’t help it, Chaeyoung knew. Her family hadn’t been about informality in any situation; old habits die hard.

“We’re okay, dude, they won’t mind. A few minutes is completely normal, and acceptable. No insults here. Look, I’m done. Just let me throw some slippers on and we’ll head over.”

Dahyun nodded, once again smoothing down the tin foil that covered the flourless chocolate cake she’d made. She then smoothed down her sundress – she looked quite a bit more put together than Chaeyoung, but the black jeans and white button-up would have to do for now. She slipped on some shoes and told Georgie to be good before she shut the door.

“What was their friend’s name? That they said would be joining us?”

“Uh.” Chaeyoung didn’t even want to attempt to say it. She showed Dahyun the text she’d received from Mina. “T-Z-U-Y-U. She’s our age.”

“I’m older than you. Is she my age or your age?”

“Yeah, okay. Not even a year.” Chaeyoung rolled her eyes. “She’s my age, I think… How do you think you pronounce that?”

Dahyun only shrugged, stopping to knock on Mina and Jihyo’s door. There was a long pause, and then a small bark. Chaeyoung and Dahyun exchanged a glance, but the door opened to reveal neither Mina nor Jihyo.

The girl was tall, maybe a half a foot taller than both of them, even without shoes. She was dressed in a simple but fashionable-looking sweater and jeans; very put-together but somehow still cozy, and she was absolutely stunning. Chaeyoung wondered if being drop-dead gorgeous was a requirement in this group of friends. Tzuyu looked a little uncomfortable to meet them, but not as uncomfortable as the ancient-looking wiener dog squirming wildly to get out of her arms.

“Uh, Hi.” She stepped back, letting Chaeyoung and Dahyun in. “I’m Tzuyu, I’m Jihyo and Mina-Unnie’s friend. They’re trying not to burn down the kitchen right now.”

“Howdy. I’m Chaeyoung.”

“Nice to meet you, Tzuyu.” Dahyun mumbled, not taking eyes off the dog. “I’m Dahyun.”

“Oh, and this is Ray. Mina’s dogsitting for her parents.” Tzuyu seemed to sense her discomfort, and added, “He’s a sweetheart, don’t worry.”

Dahyun nodded, and Chaeyoung put a gentle hand on her back, holding out a hand for Ray to sniff. The old little guy gave a small, friendly lick.

“Cutie.” Chayoung smiled.

“If you’d close the door I could put him down.” She said, a little bluntly, though it didn’t seem like it was meant to be as rude as it sounded. Chaeyoung just chuckled and did as she said, and soon Ray was waddling around the apartment, now completely uninterested in the company.

“Dahyun! Chaeyoung!” Jihyo’s voice met her ears a split second before she was pulled into a side-hug, careful not to bump into the giant bowl held in Jihyo’s other arm. She gave Dahyun a hug, too. “Sorry we’re running a bit behind! The meat’s going in the oven now. But we can start appetizers!” She placed the salad bowl on the dining room table, set for five people.

Mina appeared next, holding a large plate of appetizers. A big smile crossed her features as she saw them and Chaeyoung’s heart fluttered.

“Hi! So glad you could come. You met Tzu, right?” Mina asked, placing the food down next to the salad. “We’ve got some cheese, some grilled veggies – oh, a little bit of grilled squid. Some guac and chips, too. And I have some meat and seafood on its way…I hope you’re hungry, I wasn’t exactly sure how much to buy.”

“So she settled for the whole store.” Tzuyu explained. Chaeyoung chuckled.

“Oh, shush, you.” Mina smacked her with the dish towel she was holding. “You’re lucky I did, you got a free dinner out of it.”

Tzuyu shook her head but didn’t say anything further.

“How do you guys know each other?” Chaeyoung asked. Their banter was cute.

“Tzuyu? Oh, we pulled her out of the garbage one day and now she eats all of our food-” Jihyo started, returning with more plates.

“Hey!”

“Just kidding. She’s our firstborn.”

“Unnie.” Tzuyu whined, in a way that almost made Jihyo’s claim believable. She turned to Chaeyoung with a small, dignified huff. “Mina was my pre-med mentor.”

“The school took one look at her and knew she was going to be trouble.” Mina smiled, a proud shine in her eye.

“My freshman year faculty advisor thought I could use a mentor, since I was new to the country and didn’t know anyone. I was still learning Korean, too.”

“And I did research for him for a few years, worked in his lab. So he asked me to show her around. He knew I’d done the same thing – moved to a new country to attend that school because I got a good scholarship, I mean. Learned the language on the fly. So I did. And entirely thanks to my mentorship, she graduated top of her class last year.”

“Unnie.” Tzuyu whined again. It pulled on Chaeyoung’s heart a little, how much they clearly adored her.

“Cute.” Chaeyoung smiled.

“Please don’t mind them. They brag about me like they’re actually my parents.”

Jihyo gasped dramatically. “Myoui-Park Tzuyu, I did not labor for hours to bring you into this world for you to deny-”

“You literally didn’t!” Tzuyu turned bright red. “You guys are so weird! You’re going to scare your guests.”

“No, it’s kinda endearing.” Dahyun spoke up.

“Oh!” Mina realized she was still holding the cake. “Let me take this from you, I’ll put it in the kitchen until dinner’s over. This looks incredible, Dahyun, are you sure you’re not a baker?”

Dahyun blushed at the compliment and Chaeyoung patted her on the shoulder, sliding past her to take a seat.

“So, you graduated last year?” Chaeyoung asked when the conversation lulled, about midway through dinner. “Are you in med school now?”

“No, actually,” Tzuyu blushed. “I, uh, kinda really liked working in the lab. So I got a research job.”

“Oh, cool. What’s your research?”

“I’m a clinical research scientist. So like, treatment development. The lab I’m in right now focuses on auto-immune diseases, and immunosuppressive medication.”

“Holy crap, that’s awesome.” Chaeyoung said, and Dahyun nodded. She noted the proud smile on the two eldests’ faces.

“Did you two just graduate, too?” Tzuyu asked as they finished up. “Jihyo tells me you’re my age.”

Chaeyoung chewed on her lip, unable to stop the quick glance she gave Dahyun.

“Uh, no, I - um, I had to drop out as a junior, three years ago.” Dahyun said quietly. “Uh, but I was a music theory major, focusing on composition.”

“Oh, I’m.. sorry.”

Dahyun forced a smile. “No, nothing to be sorry about.”

After a small silence, Chaeyoung spoke up.

“And I didn’t go to college, but I was apprenticing at a tattoo shop for a while. I haven’t been able to, lately, though.” She didn��t give them an explanation, though it was on the tip of her tongue: apprenticeship is often unpaid, and her mom’s unexpected week in the hospital last year meant money was getting tight.

“Wow- that’s really cool.” Tzuyu said.

She flashed her a smile. “So- shall we move on to that chocolate cake? Dahyunnie’s one hell of a baker.”

Their hosts took the change of topic gratefully. “Absolutely. Can’t wait any longer to try it! Let me just clear the table first.”

#roommates au #dahyun #chaeyoung #tzuyu #mina #jihyo #smc unites !#twice fic #twice au

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hmspogue · 3 years

Text

Outer Banks season 2 Official Trailer shot-by-shot rundown

A comprehensive post where I scream about analyze the entire trailer frame by frame for clues, theories, and plot. Just my own opinions and general tin foil-hatting

These are screenshots from Netflix’s trailer for Outer Banks season 2. I do not claim or own any of these.

note: this post is tagged as a long post if you wish to avoid having to scroll until your thumbs break.

“My old man used to tell me, ‘it’s best to never say you’ve hit rock bottom’.”

(Putting all of these shots together since they’re scenes we already know but-) Holy shit, okay let’s just....start off like this I guess, damn.

“'Trust me’, he said...”

Kiara looking back and forth between the boys like this really just feeds the headcanon I have that her form of grief this season is going to be her trying to hold it together for their sakes (and eventually just snapping).

JJ just looks fucking furious someone give these kids a hug? I already know this scene is going to ruin me.

“You can always go...”

JJ back working at the hotel. He looks literally so angry again in this scene I could see him self destructing at work and losing his job? (Please do not be isolating yourself you beautiful son of a bitch even though I know you’re going to).

Pope in the Twinkie (costuming wise they all are in warmer looking clothes for some of the shots, so just confirming it’s a little bit into the school year when this all takes place).

“Lower”

Big John was real big into pep talks, I see. (seriously can you imagine Big John having this conversation with like 8 year old John B after he fucking dropped his ice cream cone or some shit I shouldn’t be laughing).

I’m just-

These poor kids, I wanna know how the police all the way down in the Bahama’s knew about them?

Their calves....

“RUN!”

Are going to be so fucking jacked by the end of this season I stg.

Fuck you.

“The gold from the Royal Merchant....it’s here.”

For a while, I had thought that maybe they didn’t even make it to the Bahama’s at the front of the season and ended there (because everyone had been filming in there). But I guess they’re going to be making two trips.

If I were a bird from this POV I’d shit right on that house no questions asked.

oooooh ho hokay. Just so we’re clear. Ward Cameron not only get away with murder and about two dozen other felonies, but-

“Half a billion.”

HE STILL FINDS THE GOLD IN THE CRAIN HOUSE AND GETS TO KEEP IT?

Not the polo with the snap back, I just know this man has a playlist called Sad Boi Hours that is just Juice WRLD’s top 5 songs on Spotify and he tells his friends they wouldn’t know the underground artists he listens to.

Sh, you have lost screaming privileges. Go inside and take a nap maybe.

“John B, we are fugitives in a foreign country.”

So, previously, I was talking about how I was confused how they would still be trying to find him is everyone thought he was dead, but here the wanted poster clearly says “presumed lost at sea”. I think that will be interesting to see how the Pogues all interpret that.

Especially because they already had a memorial for John B and everything, I wonder if there will be any part of the Pogues holding out hope that they both could still be out there OUCH.

I’m going to circle back to this, but it looks like John B and Sarah are going to get separated for a little while in this man hunt, I could see my idiot himbo son trying to sacrifice himself so Sarah can get away but in reality just....stranding her.

“Promise me you won’t do anything stupid?”

Oh, sweetie....

“Well, Sarah Cameron, I do stupid things all the time without realizing it.”

The volume of his self awareness is astronomical. sir, that is your whole character summed up in your own words.

GOD, IT’S ME AGAIN. PLEASE LET THEM LEAN INTO COMPLETE HIMBO JOHN B THIS SEASON I’LL DO ANYTHING-

nyyooooOOOOOOOOOOOOM-

“Hold on!”

The complete abject terror I would feel having John Booker Routledge driving get-away and then saying the words “Hold on” while reaching fro the gear shift? The english language fails me.

Sarah, bestie, I’m so sorry.

I just wanna know-

what the plan or objective was in this situation. What was the reason for being this dramatic.

Rest in piss, bozo <3

“Ward’s still out there...”

Okay, same conversation they were having as before. I wonder what makes them decide they need to get back to the OBX for this tho.

“I can clear my name. This can all be over in one shot.”

It looks like Topper watching this but way more concerningly, correct me if I’m wrong but this 100% looks like....John B gets caught. And the DEATH PENALTY?! He did have a mug shot for the fliers in s1 and the one above but he was never brought in? Plus he just looks super dirty and dishevled in this one so I-

Jail break anyone?

I also still want to know if they’re going to go with a Topper redemption arc this season. like, does he know more than he should just from being around Rafe and his big fat mouth? Is he going to help out the Pogues even if it’s just for Sarah?

This shot just suddenly made me really sad. The thought of this all started because Big John left one last thing for his son to find, his literal life’s work. And when it all started, it was just a fun adventure John B and his best friends were going on together and having fun with. Then it all got dragged to absolute shit and turned into what it did, including the remaining 3 Pogues thinking that this treasure hunt took their two best friends away from them. And it’s nothing like Big John intended it to be.

Why my eyes wet?

Now we’re edging into what I was talking about earlier with John B and Sarah getting separated.

“If you think there is anything I wouldn’t do...”

Once again, John B is no where to be found. Also, just in case y’all didn’t already know or forgot Ward is an actual psychopath.

I believe this one of the new character, played by Jontavious Johnson (Stubbs). Based on the voice over it lowkey sounds like they’re implying Ward maybe hired Stubbs and Cleo to find and bring Sarah back. My theory would be I bet they do go to retrieve her, but she somehow convinces them that it would be more beneficial for them in the end to be on the Pogue’s side instead.

Miss Girl you gotta be keeping your head on a SWIVEL. Especially when you’re a FUGITIVE of the LAW-

“...you haven’t been paying attention.”

My guy, who are you clarifying this for?

It’s what you deserve for monologuing.

in all seriousness, the idea of them coming to face to face with Ward in Nassau after thinking they finally escaped him is genuinely terrifying.

“SARAH!”

It kind of looks like they’re either hiding their faces or covering their noses? I don’t know maybe it was from some tactic to get away from Ward.

What did I literally jsut say about yelling privileges, you unhinged mother fucker?

“I’m calling the shots now. I’m driving.”

The following progression of scenes made me actually snort-

“I can’t drive stick.”

PLEASE THE FINGER GUNS LAUNCHED ME INTO ORBIT I LOVE THEM, YOUR HONOR.

Alright, so now it looks like we’re in Charleston. This is the same scene with Heyward’s truck that got leaked from BTS (read: JJ and Kie shoulder touch).

One of the main things that stuck out to me in the following scenes which, you will see, is it lowkey looks like Pope is kind of heading up this part of the operation, or even going in alone? The following clips are just very Pope focused.

I don’t know what it means, it’s just an observation.

“John B was not the only one that Ward double-crossed.”

LIMBRY-

Bro, we have been hearing about this woman for literal months and I just have....so many questions?

Who the hell is she? How is she connected to Ward? Why is she in South Carolina instead of the OBX? How do the Pogues even learn about her and how to track her down? How is she meant to “help” them? GAH I JUST WANNA KNOOOW. I already know I don’t trust her though and no I will not be offering up supporting evidence.

Sir, that is my son please unhand him.

“I think you know what I want.”

.......no? But feel....free to explain yourself?

The print on the paper is the same one that’s on the ceiling tiles in the following scene. Obviously, with a key on it that most likely goes to the place a few shots from now.

Hell yeah, son, let’s get SLEUTHING.

“The treasure belongs to the Pogues.”

DAMN STRAIGHT.

Bestie’s I’m not going to lie, I stared at this frame for a solid 10 minuets and I have no idea what it says on there I’m sorry. Someone in the comments is welcome to enlighten us.

“We gotta find it first.”

I can’t tell if that’s just dirt or if he hurt his head? But he look GOOD right now for one thing. For another, same outfit as the one in the Twinkie from the beginning of the trailer.

Look at her. LooK AT HER! LOOK! AT! HER! I MISSED HER SO MUCH even in that damn smiley face top that continues to haunt my waking hours she is in it so much and it stresses me out for literally no good reason I’m sorry-

I could literally cry right now and I think that speaks volumes to how little we actually see him genuinely happy. Have I mentioned how much I love that red hat?

Also, probably not that important, but this is not from the same scene as the shots of Pope and Kiara were. This is from the next one-

“Woogity-woogity?”

“Give me some woogity, baby!”

Yeah, this pushed me over the fucking edge, the way that they’re actually happy and laughing? The fact that they kept woogity-woogity and made it A Thing? Yes.

I am, however, going to be intentionally ignoring what appears to be the very intentional stagingof having such an obvious space between where Kiara and Pope are sitting adn where JJ sits, even including the level they’re sitting on because I don’t have the emotional capacity to face those implications right now. Thank you for your time.

Yes yeeeeEEEEEESSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!

GIVE ME ALL OF THE SCENES OF THEM ACTUALLY GETTING TO BE TEENAGERS AND JUST BREATHE AND LAUGH AND HAVE A GOOD TIME AND NOT BE RUNNING FOR THEIR FUCKING LIVES!!!!!!!!!!!

before Rafe comes in and literally starts shooting because they can’t breathe for more than 7 seconds but we’ll....get to that.

They refer to Sarah as a Pogue this season or I burn Netflix to the ground. Your move, Jonas.

50 bucks says John B is driving the Twinkie again for the first time since being back.

I deadass think the Pogues JUST got Sarah and John B back and they’re just having the time of their life. Kie was in her smiley face outfit when Pope was in this one a few clips ago, and I still hold to the belief that that one still they released of JJ and Kie hopping over a fence is the Pogue reunion so-

Ward? I have no idea what he’s looking at behind the wall paper and I’ll be so honest I don’t care my eyes are only seeing Pogue content right now.

“This is a map of the whole island.”

This fit, when will John B learn how to operate buttons, stay tuned for season 5. Also my previous theory of this being their reunion outfits and stuff because Pope is in the back in the same jacket as before.

The plot thickens and so has JJ’s hair, Rudy drop the shampoo brand.

Please, dear God, tell me they’re back in the sex church. For @jiaaraa sake.

Kiara, your Madison is showing.

Okay, I really did try but all I can make out is Something to the tomb begin something something.

You’re welcome.

I am no expert but I do not believe boats operate on land.

John B looks like he is in the same outfit here that is in his mug shot we saw on the TV screen so I have a sneaking suspicion this is where he gets caught.

“John B is back-”

Once again with the damn sexual tension that’s always between Barry and Rafe in every scene they do are we about to kiss right now?

“-it’s him or me.”

First of all, no.

Second of all, I’m just....so very confused about this time line this season. It kind of looks like Ward and Rafe follow and find Sarah and John B in Nassau (unless those scenes by the truck were actually back in the OBX). So did they....go to Nassau, then just come right back when they did? I’m just confused.

Put that thing back where it came from or so help me.

Literally when will you stop at this point I am begging you.

This looks like the same scene the Pogues were, ya know, literally just having a good time at so fuck me, I guess.

Yeah, no, it’s going to be a no from me, I’m just going to pretend like I’m not seeing this and moving on.

I have simply no idea what is going on here or who that is on the bike but maybe JJ? Maybe Luke even? I think that’s JJ’s bike.

The sewer scene. The SEWER SCENE-

For months sicne that tiktok leaked this damn scene has been genuinely all I could think about. So (obviously) it seems like they’re sending Kie down into the sewer to go do seomthing and things go horribly, horribly wrong.

If you haven’t seen the tiktok, essentially all it was was JJ and Pope screaming and trying to lift up the man hole cover while Kie is begging for them to hurry from inside. I’m cheating a little bit as this isn’t a shot from the trailer but this picture was posted and it’s from the same scene.

I’ll just....leave this here. Back to the trailer shots.

Nice. Also, same shirt as mugshot.

Hey, um, what?

Kiara’s car, she’s driving, I can’t tell who’s in the back seat or the front.

Holy God what is going on and how can I as an audience member put a stop to it?

So, same scene as we will see and was in the teaser but, for some reason, they’re all jumping off of a giant ass boat into the little life raft where it looks like JJ gets hurt later but don’t you worry we’re getting to that.

JJ AND KIARA WITH THE POGUE HANDSHAKE JJ AND KIARA WITH THE POGUE HANDSHAKE THEY BOTH LOOK SO DAMN GOOD AND THEIR LITTLE SMILES SPARE ME-

Cleo 🥵

I’m so excited to see her arc and what it brings this season you guys have no idea.

Please for the love of God be about to get Ward Cameron’s ass like he deserves literally punt him into jail right from Tanny Hill.

Sarah at My Druther’s with what looks like a bloody bandage on her side? Same outfit she’s wearing when they’re running from the police on the beach and she has the bandage there too so. Interesting.

Topper hugging who I’m pretty sure is Sarah, being a general douche because he’s clearly looking at John B like 😏

Clips like these serve to remind me just how many of my worldly posessions I would gladly give up to be able to punch Topper Thorton in the throat one time.

I think this is Cleo jumping off the boat with Pope after John B and Sarah.

Absolutely busting a lung at Pope’s form in this one.

John B and Sarah waiting in the life raft, still Cleo and Pope coming after them. The obvious next question is where are JJ and Kiara. The scene I’m sure you all have been waiting for is coming up and clearly takes place in the life raft as well.

So, I really think JJ and Kie get left for last, something horrible happens as they’re trying to jump (my head instantly goes to JJ maybe like pushing Kie out of the way and getting hit on the head instead or even just some accident).

And, oh my GOD a scene of him falling off the boat after it happens and Kiara diving in after him immediately, having to desperatly try to stop him from sinkingand get to the life raft holy shit-

Girl CATCH HIM?????

Because why wouldn’t this be Rafe’s fault. Part of me wonders if this isn’t related to JJ being hurt.

I am going to try and unpack this as calmly as possible because behind my computer screen I am vibrating at a frequency that could shatter glass but respectfully.

WHAT IN THE FUCK IS TIAUEWFHLAILA

Okay, so scene wise, JJ’s hit his head somehow (probably while he was jumping with Kiara) it looks like and now they’re back on the raft.

In my opinion, this is either:

A) JJ is in really, really bad condition after getting hurt in the jump and they’re not sure he’s going to make it. So this is a “Please stay with me, stay awake, please don’t die” hug OR

B) They very narrowly just avoided a deadly situation (my first thought is JJ hits his head while jumping, passes out in the water, maybe almost drowns but Kie and the others get him onto the life raft in time) and this is more of a “Oh my God, you’re okay, you’re safe now, we’re okay” hug.

I honestly lean more to the second one based on the little bit of Sarah’s face we saw in the background. To me, it almost looked like she was smiling thru tears, which, fits way more with the second option than the first.

Anyways. Moving on before I burst a lung again.

(also, before anyone comes at me, no, I’m not happy JJ is hurt, obviously.

(Once again, arrest outfits). You can still see the bandage but it looks like Sarah’s limping now too so...good Lord give the girl a break maybe?

Everything in this trailer just went to shit so fast I think I have whip lash, can we go back to the Pogues hanging out and being happy now pkease I liked those scenes.

“I get it. You guys are scared.”

“No.”

She’s cute but, uh, hello sewer scene outfits. Seems like them planning to do whatever the hell they were going to do in the sewers but the boys are starting to get cold feet as maybe they should but hind sight is 20/20 I suppose.

“It’s kind of cute.”

“I’m not scared.”

“You should’ve just led with that.”

I will never be able to express how much I adore Pogue banter and general dumbassery and I have a feeling this season will not be lacking in either department

I high key don’t think these two are actually going to be there for this scene to go down but I’ll let it slide this time because-

They do be kinda cute.

It both feels like I’ve been waiting for this damn show for 3 years and also like I just watched season 1 last month explain that to me.

Either way holy shit. I missed this dumb show and these dumb kids so much it physcially hurts and WE GET THEM BACK IN T-MINUS 16 DAYS.

Also. Where The Hell Is Wheezie Cameron And When Will She Have The Rights She Deserves.

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