#he deserved a more powerful/stronger name
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animezinglife · 1 year ago
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Okay. I get it now.
I did not expect that degree of leadership, intelligence, instinct, athleticism, and efficiency.
Xaden Riorson...I'm sorry I pre-judged you by your generic bad-boy name. You did not deserve it.
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100-gar · 29 days ago
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Controversial take but i watched all of jjk, in subbed, so it had my full attention 100% of the time, and i am of the opinion that it just fucking sucks.
So me and my wife were talking about it, and we were trying to figure out why people like it and we've come up short. I do not understand what's so appealing about this show for so many people. Can someone PLEASE tell me.
#yes the animation is phenominal and honestly i would have stopped watching after the first episode without it#MAPPA creates some beautiful art like just gorgeous#but the constant force-feeding of every minor character's backstory was hellish for me#had me rolling my eyes every time they did it (every three seconds)#the vast majority of characters are unlikable or bland or dead#often all of the above#choso is the only character i actively liked?? like i understand him i reallu do#i liked mahito? he's a freak so that's a given#i liked that one old guy with the weird still frames power#uhhh i like sukuna's weird obsession with ripoff sasuke#edit i member: i liked megumi he deserved better#oh i also REALLY liked nanamin or whatever his name was (it's been a while)#i think yuuji's suicide mission that he didn't think through is super interesting#alright heres my most controversial take of all#i don't care at ALL abt gojo. he's so mid there's like a million characters exactly like him#and he's UGLY why do people say he's attractive bro is UGLY A HELL#the intros are baller tho i sat through them every episode no skipping that shit#gorgeous animation as i'd expect from this studio#like! there's so many little drops of things that i liked about this show! which is why it pissed me off so much every time they did boring#ass exposition dumps on characters that are gonna die in five seconds. or worse-they are gonna live and continue to bore me to tears#and when i tell you i physically couldn't read the manga because of how fucking BORING it is#i got caught up and was like 'okay ill read the manga i kinda like what's currently happening n ive made it this far might as well keep goi#g' nah man i couldn't even read a whole chapter. jjk is king of exposition dumps#i do think the powers and how if you tell your opponent what it is it gets stronger is rad#and it drives me insane because i know they know how to drip-feed information about a character! and when they do that they do it SO WELL!!#but they just force feed you all this information the rest of the time like BRO ITS TOO MUCH SLOW DOWN AND JUST LET THE CHARACTERS DO THEIR#THING AND IT WILL BE MORE SATISFYING#anyways not tagging this because i don't wanna put hate in the main tags#just like. if you see this please explain to me what im missing PLEASE i want to like this show SO bad
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smutinlove · 5 months ago
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ᴊᴀꜱᴏɴ ᴛᴏᴅᴅ—ɴꜱꜰᴡ ᴀʟᴘʜᴀʙᴇᴛ
—You know what this is. For my fellow Jason Todd lovers, this is for you.
✯A = Aftercare (What they're like after sex)
This man can either be rough or soft. But most of the time, he is rough. But he also loves taking care of you. After sex, he'd run a bath for you or give you a well-deserved massage while whispering something along the lines of, "You did so good, love."
✯B = Body part (His favorite body part of yours)
He is a total thigh man. He loves your thighs. Jason loves seeing you wear short shorts that show off your thighs. He also loves it when you sit down and your thighs quadruple in size. It always gets him in the mood.
✯C = Consent (He's a gentleman)
He will NEVER do anything to you without asking first. Jason would hate to see you hurt, especially if he hurt you. He couldn't live with himself if he were the one that hurt you.
✯D = Dirty secret (Very obvious)
Whenever you're out or not around, he'll raid your closet and masturbate using a piece of your clothing. (He is a major horndog)
✯E = Experience (How experienced is he?)
He's had a few flings and hookups before he died. He's experimented with a few things. (Toys etc..) He's a very experienced person. Jason's a quick learner when it comes to you as well. He knows what you feel uncomfortable and comfortable with.
He's occasionally asked Dick or Bruce for advice as well. (Bruce would probably avoid the question and say he needs to go on patrol or something. But Dick would definitely answer and questions from Jason.)
✯F = Favorite position
Missionary. He loves seeing you squirm and moan beneath him while he fucks you until you can't walk straight. And if he's in an extra special mood (jealous/angry) his hands suddenly find their way to your neck, giving you a rough squeeze and ramming into you like it's his last day on earth.
✯G = Goofy (Is Jason more serious or just goofy?)
It depends on Jason's mood. Sometimes he'll make jokes and tease you. But mostly, he's serious and into the moment. And when he's angry or frustrated, he always feels better when he hears you scream his name and moan.
✯H = Hair (Does the carpet match the drapes?)
Jason keeps himself neat. He occasionally has a bit of facial stubble. And he may or may not have a bush down there. But if you want him to shave, he will. He's good like that.
✯I = Intimacy (How is he during the moment? Romantic aspect)
I feel like Jason would get a bit uncomfortable when he feels vulnerable. But during sex, he's definitely more rough and does his best to ask how you are.
Jason struggles with showing his emotions and expressing his feelings, but it's something he's working on.
But when you're not having sex, he knows you. Jason is great at reading your feelings. He knows what you want and don't want. He will always want to make you happy and remind you that you're loved.
✯J = Jacking off
(Mentioned in dirty secrets) He really only does it when you're not around. Most of the time, you are the number one thing on Jason's mind, causing him to get hard and have to do something about it.
✯K = Kinks
Size kink - He has a major size kink. He's around 6 feet and he loves the feeling of being bigger than you. He loves towering over you and randomly picking you up, feeling your figure against his chest.
Choking - After he was thrown into the lazarus pit, his grew. A lot. He became stronger as well. He loves the feeling of having control over you. The way you squirm under his grasp makes him feel powerful.
Orgasm denial - He loves to see you beg. Jason wants you begging for even the slightest bit of release. It makes him
✯L = Location (Fav place)
He isn't picky. He will bend you over a sink at your local Arby's if it meant he could fuck you. But Jason loves fucking you in the shower. Him seeing you squirming and moaning under him as he fucks you in a tight secluded space does something to him in so many ways.
✯ M = Motivation (What turns him on)
Jealousy. He absolutely hates it when you talk to other men. He's very possessive over you. The idea of you even taking a small liking to ANYONE pisses him off.
Arguing/bickering. This man loves chaos. It's his natural home. And whenever you two fight, it gets him hard. And that leads to angry makeup sex.
✯N = No (Turns offs)
Gun/knife play - NEVER. He would hate to put you under that kind of thing. Jason would never dream of hurting you. And he grew up in one of Gotham's crime alleys. He knows all the disgusting things that happen.
Threesomes are a no. He hates sharing, especially when it comes to you. The slightest thought of it angers him. He also does not want anyone else to look at you.
✯O = Oral (Preferences in giving receiving, skill, etc..)
This man knows how to eat pussy. He'd eat you out like it's his last meal. He's good at it. He knows what makes you scream. But Jason also doesn't mind being given head. He teases you, calling you a "good girl" and he praises you when you swallow his come.
✯P = Pace (is he fast and rough? slow and gentle?)
It'd depend on his mode really. But he likes to fuck you hard, but he knows how much you can take. He'll definitely hold your hand. And later on, he'll run you a bath and take care of you.
✯Q = Quickie (his opinion, how often etc..)
He'll never say no to a quickie if you two are down bad. But Jason prefers to take his time with you. He wants you screaming and begging for release. He just loves to tease and make fun of you.
✯R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)
He's not much of a risk-taker. (He def can't be an entrepreneur.) If you want him to try something new, you'd have to beg. And it would take a long time for him to actually warm up to it. He'd be okay to use restraints if it's okay with you. But he would never put himself in a submissive position.
✯S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go? how long?)
It would depend on his mood, really. He could definitely go for a round or two if it's just casual sex. But if he's angry or jealous? You will not be able to walk for a few days minimum.
✯T = Toy (do they own toys? do they use them? do they use them on their partner?)
Jason would NEVER use them on himself. He hates feeling submissive and losing control. But on you? Definitely. I feel like he would definitely use handcuffs on you just to stop you from moving your hands so much when he's devouring your cunt.
✯U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)
Jason motherfucking Todd is the biggest tease ever. He will touch you everywhere but where you want him too. He wants you begging for him. Jason wants you screaming his name, begging him to touch you where you want him too.
✯V = Volume (how loud they are, etc...)
Jason isn't really loud. You'll hear an occasional grunt or low moan coming from him. But he will definitely pull your hair and give you an occasional reminder that HE is the one pounding into you.
✯W = Wild card (random headcanon for character)
Jason wants to dominate you. Period.
✯X = X-ray (what's happening under those clothes?)
his cock is def 8-9 inches. no explanation needed.
✯Y = Yearning (sex drive)
Jason definitely has a high sex drive. He would definitely fuck you all day.
✯Z = Zzz (sleep)
He doesn't fall asleep until you do. He wants to make you feel comfortable and protected. He's a gentleman (most of the time) frr.
»»————<3———-««
im def going back into my jason todd phase. maybe i'll do one for dick and bruce. <3
anyway this took so long to write and im tired. VERY TIRED. maybe jason can tuck me into bed and give me a kiss?
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gremlingottoosilly · 1 year ago
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The Horror and The Wild [Emperor!Konig x fem!Reader] Medieval Fantasy AU
You had a nice, simple life. Serve the princess, obey the princess, protect the princess with your life. You never thought that this nice, simple life would bring you to be kidnapped by the infamous Northern Emperor. Konig never thought that kidnapping a wife would be much easier than courting one. CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2| you're here! Word count: 5317 Tags/Warnings: Medieval fantasy/Alternative European history AU, Age gap, Enemies(one-sided)to lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Forced marriage, Size difference(Konig is absolutely huge), Somewhat one-sided slow burn, Yandere Konig This fic on AO3
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— You’re really quiet, little princess. 
König isn’t ashamed of staring at you the whole horse ride. He isn’t ashamed of touching you, his precious treasure – cupping your breasts through that pathetic excuse of a corset, trying to feel of your legs through the billions of skirts, his touches sprawling across your skin like bruises. He is a soldier in all regards – his touches are far from gentle, far from how he should behave with his bride. You feel like a piece of meat being presented for him to devour. Like an unwilling sacrifice for a benevolent god. 
— Should I scream then?
Snarkiness isn't something that the princess should have – but it's the only weapon you have, although you are not sure if you can even use it. Emperor is laughing, and it is supposed to be a good thing – you were trained to receive such reactions, like a little dog standing and doing tricks on command; you were taught to strive for smiles on the faces of others. But König doesn’t allow you to see his smile, but König laughs all the time while describing to his soldiers the things he wants to do to you. It is almost surely, that he doesn’t think you know his language – you wish you didn’t know. 
— I can give you a reason to scream. — You shall not threaten a… — I’m not threatening you, kleine Katzen. With a good time, maybe. — What are you referring to? — That I would love nothing more but to rip your skirt off and show your cunt a royal treatment, princess.
Emperor has a foul mouth, wandering eyes, and grabby hands – he behaves like a drunk man in a tavern, even though you have never once been in a tavern, and the only drunk men you barely saw were the castle guards on various celebrations. He doesn’t act like a glorious king from the romance novels – and you don’t think that you ever read a novel about a king or an emperor, not about princes and glorious knights. People with this much power don’t deserve love, they already have everything they have – so why would he kidnap you? 
You turn away from him, the obscenity of his mouth makes your whole face burn. You are trying to hide yourself in your hands, you want to grasp something like a little fan or a handkerchief – everything to sustain your dignity. You are wearing the princess’s name and you have to behave like her – even if you don’t think that she would care about how you are behaving yourself. The dread of being exposed lingers in your chest, the only thing that doesn’t allow you to scream and launch on him like a wild cat. Rules and modesty tie you down stronger than any corset could. 
Like a rabbit caught in the hunter’s trap – you steal looks at the nature around you, excited and terrified to see it for the first time – not the perfect greenery of the castle garden, but an untamed nature. You saw the city for the first time – your capital, not burned and agonized under the empire’s boot, but eerie quiet. The city doesn’t know your face, the princess was hidden, kept in the tower as a means to escape the burden of marriage proposals and possible wars for the sake of securing her beauty. Nobody here knows you for your face, and for them, it’s just the empire’s knights, a power from a country too foreign to be worried about, and a random kidnapped girl in a dissarranged dress and tears streaming down her face. 
A hand on your waist secured you in place. No matter how much you squirm and cry, try to forget all the filthy nonsense he is whispering in your ear, you are forced to listen – and you want to cry every time his face hovers over yours. His hands are touching you, too much for comfort, your are still wrapped in his cape, but it’s a very small mercy for your torn dress and fragile body. 
The road is long and short at the same time. Your kingdom was bordering one of Northern Empire territories, but it’s days away – you never once thought that having the Empire right on your border would be such a nuisance, that it would allow them to simply take whatever they want from your tiny country – the rules of politics are never applying to those in power and, unfortunately, you found out the worst way possible. The road is treacherous, with people surrounding you, with soldiers going through the beheaded country like it’s nothing. You were biting your lips the entire first day of the ride, trying not to cry – you do not want to give him the pleasure of seeing your distress, but you can’t help but sob every time he exits the cabin to yell at his soldiers or laugh at something. 
You are not tied up, they trust you too much – they all know you would not be able to run, seeing just a helpless princess, a little war trophy of their emperor. The war trophy without the war, just a doll for him to enjoy. You steal a few glances at him – his spread legs that make you wonder how the poor horse even can handle him riding it, his mighty body, and his muscular arms. He could wrestle a dragon, you think – he could lift up the whole carriage and bring you back to the capital like this. He is a cocky bastard, not even having his sword in his hand whenever you move too much – too confident that this weak princess would not be able to resist him. You don’t want to fall from the horse and so you freeze in your tracks, even when they hit a small pause on the journey.
You can’t, of course – your hands are trained to hold clothes, to braid hair and, sometimes, fetch the water buckets – but you are mostly proficient in holding books, turning pages and embroidering. You can make tea, you can support the conversation, you can faint dramatically whenever the right opportunity occurs, but the ride has been happening for a few hours already, and you fainted three times – for specific reasons, of course, but fainting now would surely be a bit too much. 
— Is little princess too tired to hold herself straight? 
König chuckles in your ear, hands pushing you against his body. You don’t want to say anything, you’d rather continue your ride until you’re completely exhausted – books were never talking about how hard it is to ride a horse, that your rear would feel numb after the first hour, and your head would be bouncing on every little bump on the road. You never thought that the roads of your kingdom were so terribly maintained – and never thought it would be such a problem. 
You grit your teeth, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of confirming just how weak you are – but he stops his horse once you are not responding, a hand slides under your hips to help you get out from the damned animal. You swear to god that you will never ride this foul creature again – but the god, as always, stays silent. 
— What is it? 
— Princess isn’t used to long detours. We’d have to stop before dawn if we want to keep this a secret for now. — Could travel for a few more hours before it’s too bright.
His second-in-command is a weird man, no doubt. Tall, broad, wearing armor with tiger prints all over the metal – although you never saw a tiger in real life, only on various illustrations of the books you were reading for the Princess. He is painfully informal in a way that makes you wonder how he can keep his head on his shoulders – surely, if he’d talk this way to a king, he wouldn’t be such a profound member of the army. König only shakes his head, pointing at you as the reason to stop – as you begged him to get off this bloody thing. — I need my princess with all innards intact. Especially the soft ones.
Emperor laughs, cupping your ass through the skirts. He somehow managed to grope your softness without breaking the corsage, and you’d feel thankful for him, but the dress was ruined anyway – all the hard work of redoing it over and over, every time you had to manage to squish the princess inside of the harsh corset and billion skirts, every little detail you were thinking through together…it feels somehow suitable, to wear a destroyed dress. Fake princess deserves fake luxury, but even the modesty he allows you to have with his coat wrapped around you feels forced.
Stopping right now, when you feel numb and your legs are getting weak and squishy like that weird transparent foreign delicacy, is very considerate of him. So much so you don’t even want to acknowledge it, hoping he’d just continue to go forward until all the traces of your past are gone. You’re too tired to consider anything from escaping to even opening your eyes. Suddenly, being on a horse of this size doesn't sound like something out of a fairytale. Suddenly, you realize that the horses are tall. 
— What’s wrong, princess? 
— I’m not going down.
You are sitting, frozen on top of his horse. One of your hands is keeping his coat wrapped securely around your body while the other squeezes the reins, hoping not to fall miserably to the ground. You hear soldiers laugh – the embarrassment spreads around your cheeks when you understand that a true princess would have horse riding lessons. You two never did – it would give you too much freedom, and your castle would never accommodate to large grounds of free roaming to keep a princess and her loyal maiden entertained. You can only hope they won’t think that the absence of your riding lessons would be too suspicious – and you also hope that he would just allow you to never jump down to the ground that feels horrifyingly far from you. 
— Do you wish to run with my horse? 
— Yes, your Highness. — Run, then. I’ll be waiting, little princess.
There is a laugh in his voice – you squeeze the reins and try to holster them, maybe kick the foul creature to the side so it would take the hint and start running in the direction of the nearest forest. Maybe you would get lucky, and the horse would drop you in front of the house of a kind forest witch that would take you as her student – you can cook, and you can read, so, naturally, any witch would be happy to have you as a disciple. Maybe you will get even more lucky, and the horse will kick you in the head after dropping you, finishing your misery in a tragic road accident. Not a honorable death, but a quick and interesting one. The horse remains frozen in place – just like you. König gently caresses its face, giving it something to eat – an apple, perhaps, a nice and tasty fruit, or sugar cubes, the delicacy that the princess would often indulge in but never gave you, or something of a…ah, this is it – you are starting to get jealous of his horse. Mayhaps, death is the only choice for you now. 
— I will run. 
— Of course you will. 
— Sir, should we prepare the archers? 
— Don’t know it yet. Maybe the princess escape would be too swift for them. 
You feel your whole face burn – they laugh, they all laugh, looking at you like a piece of meat, a funny joke between them. You don’t want to fall from the horse, and you don’t want to stand here either – but every time you look down at the ground that is so, so far away, you can only shake in your seat. You feel like crying once again – and this is what brings you to the edge. With a deep sigh and shaking hands, you jump down swiftly, your eyes closed and your legs getting tangled in the various skirts, dragging you down. ***
The emperor had an understanding of what he was getting into when he kidnapped a princess. Princesses, pretty and young ones especially, are mysterious creatures that should be carefully studied by the imperial scientist in order to determine how in hell they can even exist without killing themselves on something stupid three times per day. This one, however, was a crowned ruler of weird girls – sometimes throughout the journey, he was thinking about returning her to the king and choosing another one. Then he remembered that he beheaded the king – and so, the bloody dot was sealed in the history of relationships between Northern Empire and this tiny shithole in the middle of nowhere. 
Besides, the princess was too adorable to really throw her out. She is smart – for someone like her, anyway; her snarkiness combined with the primal fear of him and his men made him feel strong, more significant than before. It’s funny, in a way – König had defeated countless great warriors and spent his life turning the tiny Empire into the most powerful nation on the blonde, and yet, he never once felt this achieved as when he held the princess in his arms. The emperor never thought of marriage as a necessity, his whole magic endeavors securing that he would never have to worry about leaving an heir or having someone else to rule – but the loneliness can hit you like a royal stallion bred for the purpose of battery ramming into castle doors, and you can find yourself yearning for something that you never thought you’d want. Speaking of royal horses…
The princess is cute, the princess is dumb, and the princess is the most weird and perfect creature in the whole wide world. Makes him wonder just what was you doing in your little castle with your little servants, running around like ants under your dainty heel. You are snarky to him when you know that he is too busy to strike you and too tired to care about his opinion – he likes that about you, little yawns and feeble attempts to appear strong in front of him. He doesn’t, however, like the way you are frozen on top of his horse. He needs his wife helpless, yes, dependant on him in everything – and he also needs her to ask for help when needed, not…well, not jumping from the height of a royal horse in that stupid dress of yours. 
God, hive him strength. 
König, the ruler of the Northern Empire, biggest royal regime on the globe, thought that he overcame his anxiety when he was young, so long ago, he forgot how fast his heart can beat when the situation is going out of his control. He remembers this dreadful feeling now when that stupid brain of yours has decided that jumping from a horse is a good idea. He is fast, swift enough to catch you before you fall to the ground, and he squeezes your hips enough to hear the crack of that stupid dress construction. 
He has to stop himself from yelling. From putting you in your place and slapping you across that perfect face of yours – never the one to beat women, König feels like spanking the shit out of you now. His eyes are flashing with anxiety, and he grabs your shoulders, putting you in front of him – you can’t see his face, covered by his mask, and it’s a small grace for someone like you. He is scary when angry, nostrils flashing with rage when he thinks that you’d rather break your neck than ask him for help. 
— Made others set the camp for tonight. 
Horangi is as perfect as a knight can be – his friend, his partner in crime, one of the only ones who still can survive his temper and not be intimidated by it. He can see the worry in his eyes when König is pushing the little princess down to his hold, draping the various skirts across his hands to rip them away – and he quickly yells at the other soldiers who produced the operation, making them run in various directions to collect wood, stones and set up the tents for tonight. They have to move away from the popular roads, even though nobody in this kingdom would be strong enough to hurt them anyways – but this operation should be a secret, at least relatively, until the princess is secured as his empress, and her body is sprawled across his sheets, withering from pleasure and…
Ah, Scheisse. König cannot stay mad at her when the mere thought of her smile makes his dick twitch in his pants. He survived through horribly throbbing erection against the metal plates of his armor for the whole ride, the small mercy of not having her soft body press against him directly. It didn’t stop him from wanting more, from whispering filthy things, completely undeserving of your virtue. You are bringing him down to his knees – even an emperor is just a man when a pretty girl looks at him, and even at is age, he could feel like a young lover searching for his bride’s hand. 
Oh, but König would love something more than just your hand. 
He should be thankful to his knights for how quickly they made a tent for him to secure the dignity of the first moment between a man and his sweetheart. He usually does everything himself, not wanting to make a lady in waiting out of his knights, but he enjoys their help now – he surely won’t be able to prepare for sleep with his wild cat of a bride in his hands. You are unusually active for a princess, trying to get out of his hands, kicking him with your adorable legs, still wrapped in a ruined skirt. Perhaps you were so mad at him for destroying your dress – he gets it, knowing how sensitive ladies are about this. He’d buy you a new one right away, but, for your stupidity, you deserve to wear only his coat until they are inside the borders of the Empire. 
— Did you hit your head before I got you, princess? What were you thinking? — You told me to run. I did, Your Royal Highness. 
He pinches his nose through the mask, not believing just how arrogant you sound – he wants to push you down, to open that dumb skirt of yours and give your precious ass a few spanks before setting you down, making you sit on the ruined muscle until you’d learn your lesson. The king was definitely not punishing you enough if you still think that you can talk to your betters (and elders) like this. 
— I dared you to run. Thinking you’d accept the consequences with the dignity of a royal lady. 
— Why don’t you kill me then? For belittling your dignity. 
You look too snarky for his liking – he can see how terrified you are, little shakes of your hands and tears in your eyes. You are provoking him, picking the dragon with a stick so he’d burn you to a crisp. König knows that the customs of your kingdom value a good death over everything and just how much you’d love to fall into the grasp of a common tragedy. He also knows that he will not bury his bride before they are even married. 
It’s only natural that the emperor grasps the front of your dress, the edges of the corset you tried to tie down to save some of your dignity. The fabric rips with ridiculous ease, all the gold spent on making it runs with the speed of a thread being torn. Suddenly, your front is exposed, even the underwear is not enough to conceal your privacy. König indulges in the view of your open skin, glossy from sweat and so, so delicious in dim magical light erupting from an artificial candle. He knows that he is playing a dangerous game, that not touching you now would be his greatest accomplishment and greatest torture at the same time – your body meant to be touched, you look like a doll and like a statue, like the greatest treasure and the most desirable slut he ever laid his eyes on. 
The emperor is a man in the end – a war dog, closer to death than to the start of his life, a perfect incarnation of a horrible match to a young princess like you. Too wrathful, too arrogant, with more chips on his shoulders than the hair on your head, and yet, he holds you closely, putting you out of the torture device you are calling a dress. 
You breathe for the first time in forever, and your mouth is shaking from unspoken tears and spoken pleas. He holds himself back from cupping your face in his hands and crushing your lips in a kiss, not because he doesn’t think he deserves it, but because you deserve better than to be fucked on the ground of his tent without proper preparation and some relaxing oils for your body. One kiss would never be enough for him, and he hadn’t touched a woman in far too long to handle himself properly now. 
You look like you need to be ravaged – the greatest temptation König ever experienced. 
— I can do so much to you, little princess. More than you could ever imagine. 
— i’m not…n…not little. Your Highness. 
— You are, compared to me. Should be scared, not snarky. 
— I’m not snarky. 
Just for this, he loses control – your voice, shaking with tears but never losing that arrogant edge, that delicious drawl that cannot be described as something that belongs to a princess, makes him lose all of the composure he had. König had prepared himself for a lady who would fall in his arms and cry the whole night long, he prepared himself for a fierce fighter that would try to kill him immediately – but you are soft and vengeful at the same time, too weak to resist him, but not too helpless to not run his mouth. You speak before you think, and it’s an adorable quality for a princess and horrible – for an empress. good thing you would be his regent, a pretty thing like you should never be annoyed with politics and mingling. König pushes you across his lap, his free hand is tearing through various skirts, and what is left from that awful strick construction you tried to pass as a skirt support. He never understood why anyone would live through this torture – you’d look way nicer in his shirt and nothing more. Or, even better, nothing at all, chained to a bed in his bedroom until he’d think that you are tamed enough to be shown in public. 
You yelp in surprise, precious dumb thing. Just like a princess, you are not accustomed to the consequences of your own actions – you think that you can just run your mouth or do dumb things without his wrath falling upon you…and, little princess, you’re in for quite a shock. Your emperor doesn’t have enough patience for this, even though he did want you as his wife and knew what chaos it could bring. He just never thought that he’d have so much pleasure in looking at your adorable bottoms, all modest and long. Your underpants are adorably white, not stained from multiple washings, crisp and new – he feels the fabric with his fingers and almost thinks to not rip them away, just to appreciate the fine silks that went into constructing it. 
His mercy is cut short by that sweet whimper of yours. You plead with him not to touch you – like you have a saying on this. König defiled the death itself, so why would he even consider such silly things as chastity before marriage? He certainly had enough women in his bed to forbid him from ever going to heaven, and robbing you of your innocence would be a small crime against all the countless sins he already committed. 
But, he doesn’t want you to hate him – and you would, certainly, not in the fiery and passionate way he might enjoy, but a quiet, broken anger. He doesn’t want to turn this fragile thing into the broken shell of the betrothed princess, even if you need to be taught a harsh lesson – and you deserve much better than having your cunt destroyed on the harsh floor of his tent. 
— You’re lucky, little princess. 
He laughs, taking down your underpants – a harsh hand on your bottom, rough fingers that almost burn you without a glove to conceal his touches. You whimper when he lashes on the sensitive skin, stroking sensitive skin. If you knew how hard you make him, you’d run away with his horse already. 
— How am I lucky? You…you killed the king, you destroyed my country, you…
— I killed your father, yes, but I left you alive. 
— To make a show for your soldiers, I assume.. 
— If I wanted to leave you to waste, I would allow them to bounce you on their dicks a while ago. 
— How d…
— You’re lucky because you’re mine, little princess. Not going to share you with anyone. But…
— But? 
Your voice has finally gone down. he can almost taste the dread in your tone. König was burning down villages, destroyed his enemies with nothing more but a rusty sword and hatred in his heart – but he truly feels like a monster when he slaps your ass for the first time and sees your tear-filled eyes staring at him. God, he never was faithful, but hurting you feels like defiling an angel. 
And he loves every second of it. 
— You need to learn a lesson of respect, little princess.
It’s a small grace that he doesn’t make you count his slaps – he simply pushes you down, makes sure that your face is lying on his cloak, just for something soft to rely on, and gives you enough slapping to make the rest of horseriding as painful as possible. Maybe, it would teach you a lesson that if you need help, you’d have to ask him, to beg him for this – and not try to hurt yourself by doing it on your own. You’re awfully independent and resilient for the princess. 
It took him at least five strong, harsh lashes of his hand on your rear to make you cry as loud as he wanted you to. He cups your face in his palm, forcing you up his lap – and smothered your lips with a kiss. König knows he is overstepping; he wouldn’t be able to let go of you after devouring your lips like that, but he doesn’t care, at least for now. He wants to be your everything, to push every thought out of your head and fill it with himself. 
He adores the thought of being your first kiss, your first everything – you’re so inexperienced, so fragile in his hold. Never once thinking of himself as an appreciator of all the thighs dainty and artsy, he wants to worship that pout, your closed eyes, and little prayers of mercy you whisper between each kiss. Your body feels too enticing in his hands, a treasure he needs to keep all to himself. It’s a miracle he didn’t push your underwear down and took you all the way – as much as he wanted to touch you. 
König smiled when you cried into the kiss, trembling in his hold like a caged animal. Never once he thought he’d have this much fun without taking some plumpy woman on his dick, but you are full of surprises. Another five smacks on your ass left you with a bruised bottom and tear-strained, wet face. The look of misery in your eyes made him cackle – god, you were adorable. Continue like this, and he’d spend the rest of his life with you on his lap. 
— We will sleep now. The Empire borders are still days away, and you don’t look like you could handle the road right now. 
You pout, pushing yourself off his lap. Even the hard floor of the tent was better, the cold fabric made your butt sting a bit less. You still couldn’t sit straight, still miserable, with a burning feeling in the depths of your tummy – hate, perhaps, that made your hands shake and your thighs feel a bit too wet and warm for your liking. There is a knot in your lower stomach that makes you feel weird, anxious, that makes you squeeze your legs shut as you push through the pain and get your underpants on again. The soft silks of the princess’s undergarments made you feel a bit better. 
— I’d love nothing more but to run away while we’re still at my home, Butcher.
He smiles under his hood, pushing his hand on your backside. You freeze as he rolls you over, making you fit perfectly against his broad chest. He is a horrible, disgusting human being, clingy and warm around you – his bear-like hold is too strong on your limbs, making you freeze completely. 
— I’m sure you are, Liebling. And I would love to catch you and spank your rear again. 
— I will…you won’t catch me. 
— Someone will. I’ll pay handsomely to any knight or wandering hunter to bring my wife back to me. 
— I’m not y…your wife. 
— Yet. 
You turn away from him – try to, at least. He squeezes you against his chest makes you calm down in his hold like a wild cat he picked up on the side of the road. You don’t want to admit it, but he is warm, cozy, and even the harsh fabric he threw on the ground to make you a bed feels nice compared to the castle floors where you spend so much time. You still squirm, trying to find a good position to lay next to him without feeling like a toy in the hands of a grabby kid. König feels your wounded, perfect ass grinding against him – out of most of his armor, he can’t contain his erection now. Oh, how the strong emperor wished he’d have 
— Stop moving, princess. Unless you want to consummate our marriage early. 
— I’m not…I’m not moving. 
— You are squirming. Is the ground not to your liking?
— I must prefer sleeping in a grave with my papa. — Can’t promise you this…but isn’t sleeping with the Death himself would be enough? — You’re not death, your highness. A blight, maybe. Or a plague. — You’re making me blush, little princess. There is a smile in his voice. You feel your cheeks heat up again, but you can’t say anything. Too many nights sleeping by the princess’s bedspot, always being the first one to greet her at sunrise and the last one to tell her stories before going to sleep. Like a loyal dog on the wooden floor, with a pillow under your cheek for comfort – all of her other handmaidens, precious ladies from good families, had their own quarters and rooms. 
You had a cot by her bed and her endless affection. 
Compared to this, sleeping on the floor of a rich tent with an emperor by your side isn’t as bad. You have to remind yourself that you are sleeping with a murdered, pillager, kidnapper and colonialist – you shouldn’t feel warm by his side. But, he hugs you like a lover. But, he buries his masked face in your hair and inhales your scent – sweet fragrances mixed with the blood and sweat of a long journey. 
You fall asleep in his arms before you can think of something smart to say. 
König doesn’t fall asleep until hour later – too busy looking at your precious form, wrapped so perfectly in his arms. 
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raayllum · 3 months ago
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She Must Pay the Price, or A Drop of Mercy :: A Rayla and Leola Meta
Quick:
You're a young elven girl, and you show mercy and compassion to a human that you definitely weren't supposed to. When it's found out, you're punished, with elves even calling for your execution (6x09, book 1 novelization). Your father does what he can, but there's only so much. You're put on trial. You're found guilty regardless of intent, and only by association. You die for this; you die for them. You're a star. A guiding light. There's even a Great Fall off a precipice (though only one of you hits the ground).
Your name is Leola, or Rayla.
You're the beginning and the end, respectively.
So let's talk about it.
Tests of Love
For years, I had wondered where Aaravos' assessment of "Those who fail tests of love are simple animals. They deserve to be motivated by fear" (2x09) came from, cause you don't drop in a line like that if it's not going somewhere. It's quite a statement and worldview, after all. Now, with Leola's trial, it seems we know.
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We can see, then, perhaps that Leola's gift giving was the first test of love — are you willing to break the Natural Law, the Natural Order of things? — to help another? To show another a source of power in order to share, to be compassionate, and in Rayla's case, to be merciful (though we'll get more to that in a minute).
We also know that the love Leola had was powerful and all encompassing:
She didn't care to follow the order set in the stars. Though she was born an immortal being from the Heavens, she loved this world... and all its flaws. Her heart was warm and open.
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And she befriended mortals. Animals, elves... and humans.
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ETHARI: Who I love, where I love, what I love, are all specific. But to Runaan and those like your parents... love is rooted in all families, all creatures. Souls like that feel called to protect everyone as fiercely as those they hold close. (Bloodmoon Huntress)
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Okay, so Leola and Rayla both have big compassionate hearts and befriend creatures from all over the place. So what? So do Callum, Ezran, Soren, and most of our other main good guy characters. Even Claudia to a degree (though she could work on not using magical creatures for spell parts).
Well, specifically, it's because of how they intersect currently more with anyone else on the concept of
Mercy
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KOSMO: Daughter of the Moon, yours is a wondrous heart. In a moment of mercy, you sent ripples out into the ocean of time. Ripples that have not yet stilled. (6x05)
Rayla sparing Marcos, as noted in multiple interviews by the creators and by myself in previous metas, is ultimately the inciting incident / lynchpin of the entire series. Without it, there would've been no soulfang proposal or Ez running away to find the egg or any of the number of other elements that had to come together to make achieving peace possible.
While we still have details to discover regarding Aaravos' Fall and development of dark magic, we know that a lack of mercy was ultimately what sent him on his path of vengeance. Leola was not shown mercy, and while it seems there were already "flaws" for an imperfect world, things were (probably) better than they currently are in Xadia in a variety of ways. Then, to kick off the entire Saga, we have Rayla sparing Marcos in a soundtrack literally titled "Mercy" and have Kosmo, seasons and seasons later, spell out directly what a big deal this was for well, the ocean of time.
None of this is to say Rayla can't act out of revenge — she did ("when I first came here, I was on a mission for revenge") and she has ("but I became so obsessed with revenge"), much like Aaravos ("he isn't doing anything out of love, he's doing it for revenge") — but that her general compassion and love for others has always been stronger than her grief or rage, and that even when she had every social and personal reason to, she was and is fundamentally unable to hurt someone innocent.
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Even when she's shamed or punished for it by herself or by others. RAYLA: The human looked up at me, and I saw the fear in his eyes. RUNAAN: Of course he was afraid, but you a job to do! (1x01)
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EZRAN: Yeah, but then you saw he was scared, and you knew he was a person, just like you. RAYLA: That shouldn't have mattered. I had a job to do. (1x08)
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The Cosmic Council — and to a degree, the Silvergrove — say that the reasonings or motivations, the intentions, behind Leola and Rayla's actions do not and should not matter when it comes out to doling 'Justice'. So Leola faces her justice, being literally killed in the one manner that can kill a Startouch elf, and so does Rayla, being metaphorically Ghosted / 'murdered' by her community, regardless.
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Neither are enough to ultimately quell their light or their love/power, however.
A Star
RAYLA: That beautiful shining star you just pointed out? We call it Leola's Last Wish. (5x02)
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So both Leola and Rayla are stars in season 6, literally and metaphorically respectively. Leola's is more self-explanatory, whereas Rayla's is mostly about the role she has in Callum's life as a guiding light and star. I don't think it's a coincidence, though, that just as Rayla placed Callum on his path of being a primal mage, though, that Leola did the same for humanity. I also don't think it's a coincidence that Callum's love for Rayla restores Callum's own light and agency amid Leola giving humanity the same through light and fire.
It happened long ago, when humans had only just learned to hold fire in their hands without burning. They nurtured their precious primal flames secretly—in the dark of night, beneath shadows and shrouds—as cultivating its glow drew the eyes and ire of monsters. Eventually, for the audacity of their fire, they were hunted, and—though they looked to the stars for salvation—the stars, too, looked down upon them with disdain. Humanity had been given something it was never meant to have. (TDP shorts, Ripples)
In this way, we see the manifestation of a repeating parallel of Rayla representing Leola, a gift giver of life, magic, light, unjustly punished/killed, and Callum representing humanity, looking to the kindest brightest star for guidance, magic, restoration, and salvation if he's just given the chance to grasp it. After all, presumably, Leola's last wish would have something to do with primal magic and humanity, and who represents that better than Callum, with two arcana under his belt and possibly more on the way? With that in mind, I want to return to another quote from earlier but with a different focus on
Ripples
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Daughter of the Moon, yours is a wondrous heart. In a moment of mercy, you sent ripples out into the ocean of time. Ripples that have not yet stilled.
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The wisest of the humans looked upon the water. His own reflection smiled back at him, and he dared to imagine what such power would feel like in his own hands, should he be allowed to hold it. Imagine, he thought, if I were more than what I am. With a trembling hand he touched the surface of the water. Ripples spread from his fingertips. [...] I hope the stars were watching. I hope they saw it: the moment their perfect reflections turned warped and ruined, churned to chaos by the touch of a single human hand. In this, the humans taught me another lesson. And so I touch the surface of the water. I watch the ripples spread.
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Water in TDP is a strange beast, symbolically speaking. There are some more straight forward motifs (reflections, "don't try to control where the river [of life] goes, there's one thing you can know and control: yourself"). For Aaravos, it's connected to deep loss but also his own sense of patience in playing and winning his game, as illustrated above. For Rayla, it's linked to shame, self-reflection, bravery, and loss. Aaravos weeps and creates a sea upon losing Leola; Rayla says goodbye to her family by the lotus pond times three.
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We don't know what water represents for Leola. Not distinctly, anyway. The best we can figure though, is that by following the through line of the Rayla and Leola parallels, that the ripples Leola wanted to send out or did send out — not the distortions caused by her father and his grief — are ones that Rayla received, and then continued.
Rayla has always been a foil to Aaravos, and this hasn't changed. She is the one who set Callum on the path initially of being a mage, which put him in Aaravos' machinations as prey; she retrieved his Key; and she's the reason Callum's done dark magic, twice. At the same time, much like the moon, Rayla carries Leola's light as much as she shoulders Aaravos' dark. She literally represents light in Callum's life, helps lead him through the darkness, and him being a primal mage and it's possible growth to other humans is the best possible thing that could've ever happened to Xadia.
Sol Regem says that "no one can save" Xadia or fix what is deeply broken. The Cosmic Council said that Leola had broken the Cosmic order and had to pay the price. Rayla has repeatedly been willing to pay the price for both hers and other's actions in hopes of making things right, of sparing others' pain. Sometimes to her detriment, but—if Rayla as Callum's one Truth could fix the darkness within him, if she's the lynchpin for breaking the Cycle, for bringing back Runaan and fixing her family's souls, in opposing and presenting mercy amid the Council's lack of mercy, in the face of Xadia's violence—
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Then Rayla's act of mercy in 1x01, and potentially beyond in S7 with Callum, will be what fixes Xadia.
Leola's gift of magic is what 'broke' Xadia, and her execution is what literally did so, leading to the division of the continent. She wrongly paid the price in the absence of mercy and love. Rayla is therefore her thematic successor — welcomed this time as Light and Truth — as the carrier of Mercy and Love, and she will 'fix' Xadia through her ripples and dynamics. She will mend them back together. There will, at last, be no price to pay.
Misc. Thoughts / Predictions
One thing I was always curious about going forward into future seasons was the prospect of a 'trial' or reunification of the Silvergrove. It felt like a no-brainer the Silvergrove would have to change in order to reflect Runaan's character arc, much the way we see Katolis and the Sunfire elves change to better accommodate the new, more compassionate world order. Pre-S4 a trial felt a little strange as an idea, though post-S4 the parallels it could provide to the Lucia tribunal made more sense about why include either (or both).
However, Leola's trial seemed to hammer home the almost necessity (as this is still a prediction, after all, that may not happen) of Rayla and/or Runaan saying their peace to the Silvergrove leaders. This would be a great opportunity to provide a contrast to the Cosmic Council, reaffirming that Xadia is ultimately better than them because the Moonshadow elves and everyone else can change, and the Cosmic Council seemingly cannot or will not. But I guess we'll have to wait for S7 or beyond (#GiveUsTheSaga) to find out if this'll come to fruition or not.
I also wanted to touch on what we see with Leola ("I'm so scared!") and the repeated emphasis on "recognizing fear as a moment of empathy and personhood" and the horror that can come if you don't have that moment of recognition. This is something I've touched on before most notably as a striking difference between S1 Rayla and S5 Claudia, but I thought it was worth mentioning as S6 added to it specifically with Viren towards Soren and Lissa. This is another point in the "Rayla is an inversion of the Council's lack of mercy" column, as Leola's — a child's fear, and Aaravos willing to pay the price and take her place — earns her no mercy. Rayla, meanwhile, sees someone innocent that she has 'every right' to execute is afraid of her, and that strays her hand; it steadies her sword, and she spares him. Because if someone is afraid of you, it's worth asking yourself why, and what you might want to do instead.
Last but not least I wanted to talk about Leola's parallels to Callum and Ezran as well, since they are very much there (though yet not perhaps to the same extent).
Ezran has Leola's friendliness to animals and soft heart. He too is a child whose death is called for as a means of Justice, and he is granted mercy through Rayla and the discovery of the egg, able to live and grow and help usher in peace. He is, I think, what Leola might've been allowed to be if she'd lived in different times. Callum, meanwhile, carries the gift giving motif through his cube, staff, and tokens he both gives to (moon-phoenix bracelet) and receives (the moon opal necklace) from Rayla, and previous 'human-Leola' magic dynamic. Callum being able to break free fully from Aaravos' and dark magic's control in S7 and turn his eye instead to primal magic will be what helps bring true justice to Leola and hope for humanity / Xadia in righting the Cosmic Council's fundamental wrongdoing. Hopefully, anyway.
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed this deep dive into some parallels and potential narrative goings-on between Leola and Rayla as characters. TDP loves its historical and ironic layers in TDP (Ez and the Orphan Queen, Viren's arc from S1 to S6) and I think this layered thematic dynamic between the two merciful young girls was a good, brilliant choice by the creative team. I'm excited to see where this thematic thread goes in the future and how it may continue to be woven into the story. As always, thank you for reading, and I'll see you in the next one.
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eu-nicola · 4 days ago
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her memory
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summary: After Grace's death, you offer to take care of Charlie, Thomas, who lives tormented by his pain, accepts. As both spend more time together, both begin to develop something but neither you or him don't know how to accept it.
warnings: mention of death, nothing more i think
word counter: 7682
author's note: english is not my first language
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The cold wind cut through the morning with a cruel indifference, as if the world kept turning without stopping for anyone's mourning. The tombstones stood as silent reminders of lives past, names etched in stone, stories that had ended. Among them all, one stood out: Grace Shelby. The letters were carved with precision, the name reflecting both love and tragedy.
You, Grace's younger sister, held a bouquet of white lilies with numb fingers. You had chosen those flowers because they were Grace's favorite, although now the detail seemed ironic. You couldn't remember the last time you had brought her flowers when she was alive. Maybe you had never done so. Guilt nibbled at the edges of your conscience as you walked down the gravel path.
In the distance, a familiar figure emerged from the mist: Thomas. He was dressed in strict black, his face impassive as always. His eyes, though, those blue eyes that always seemed to be calculating, now reflected something deeper. Pain. Or maybe just tiredness.
You hadn’t spoken to Thomas since Grace’s funeral, and before that, your interactions had been tense, at best. You’d made it clear from the start that you didn’t trust him. “He’s not a good man for you, Grace,” you’d warned him more than once, but Grace always found a way to justify it. “You don’t know him like I do,” she’d reply with a smile that was now just a painful memory.
Thomas stopped in his tracks when he saw you standing by the grave. There were no words of greeting or gestures of courtesy. Neither did they need them. You were both there for the same reason.
You carefully placed the flowers on the grave and knelt down, closing your eyes for a moment. The silence between you and Thomas was thick, heavy with everything that had never been said and everything that would never be said. Finally, you stood up, feeling Thomas’ gaze on you.
“She always talked about you,” Thomas said, his voice low and rough, like he hadn’t used it in days.
You looked at him, surprised by the comment. There was an honesty in his tone that was disarming, something rare about him.
“And what did she say?” you asked, not because you really wanted to know, but because you needed to fill the void.
Thomas lit a cigarette, letting the smoke mix with the cold air. His eyes never left the tombstone.
“She said you were strong. Stronger than you believed yourself. That you had always been her rock, even when you didn’t know it.” He paused, as if choosing his words carefully. “And that you were the only one who could tell her the truth, even if it hurt.”
You felt a lump in your throat. Grace had always been the mediator between you and the world, softening your harshest words, interpreting your silences. Now that she was gone, you felt disoriented, like you’d lost your compass.
“I always thought I was protecting her,” you admitted quietly, your gaze fixed on the grave. “But maybe I was just trying to protect myself. I didn’t want to see her suffer for someone who couldn’t give her what she deserved.”
Thomas didn’t answer right away. When he finally spoke, his voice held a tone you’d never heard before: vulnerability.
“Grace gave me more than I deserved. And I gave her back less than I needed.” He stubbed out his cigarette in the dirt and looked up at you. “But I loved her. In my own way, I loved her.”
His words fell heavily in the air. For a moment, you wanted to respond as harshly as ever, to point out that his love hadn’t been enough, that his world of violence and power had dragged her to the grave. But something stopped you. Maybe it was the pain you saw reflected in his face. Or maybe you were just tired of fighting.
“Grace loved you too,” you said at last, almost in a whisper. “I never doubted that.”
Silence settled between you again. Thomas nodded slightly, as if that statement were enough. You both knew that the relationship between you and him would never be cordial, but at that moment, you shared something that transcended your differences: the loss of the woman who had been the center of your lives.
Finally, Thomas took a step back, shoving his hands into the pockets of his coat.
“I’ll always be here if you need me,” he said, not looking directly at you. Then, without waiting for an answer, he turned and began walking toward the exit of the cemetery.
You watched his figure walk away until it disappeared into the fog. The fog slowly dissipated as you walked away, leaving the tombstone and the memories behind.
After that encounter, you knew that you didn’t want to part with what little was left of Grace. The decision didn’t come immediately, but rather as a persistent murmur in the back of your mind. The image of Grace, always smiling with her baby in her arms, was etched ever deeper into your memory. Charlie was the only part of her left in this world, a small piece of light in the midst of all the darkness her death had left. And you wanted, no, needed, to be a part of her life.
Days later, you found yourself in front of the door of the Shelby house. You hesitated for a moment, looking at the imposing facade. You hadn’t set foot in that place since Grace’s funeral. You sighed deeply and knocked on the door. It was Polly who opened it, her sharp gaze examining you immediately.
“What are you doing here?” she asked bluntly, her tone neither hostile nor friendly, just expectant.
“I need to talk to Thomas,” you said, straightening up.
Polly arched an eyebrow, but didn’t ask any more questions. She waved you in and led you to the living room, where Thomas sat behind his desk, papers strewn in front of him, a glass of whiskey in his hand.
He looked up as you entered, his expression unfazed.
“Another telling off, then?” she asked sarcastically, though there was a hint of curiosity in her tone.
You shook your head, gently shaking your head as you sat across from him.
“I’m not here to fight, Thomas. I’m here for Charlie.”
He set the glass down on the table, his gaze fixed on you.
“What about Charlie?”
You took a moment before answering, your hands clenched in your lap.
“I want to help. I want to be in his life. I know this may sound strange, but I would like to be his nanny.” You hesitated for a second, but continued before he could interrupt. “I want to be close to him, to help raise him. I don’t want him to grow up without having a connection to his maternal family.”
Thomas watched you silently for a few moments. His face was a mask of calm, but his eyes betrayed that he was processing each word carefully.
“Why now?” he asked finally. “You don’t trust me, you never have. Why would you want to get more involved?”
You leaned forward a little, trying to convey the sincerity of your intentions.
“Grace loved Charlie more than anything. And if I can’t have her, I at least want to make sure her son grows up surrounded by love, by family. This isn’t about you, Thomas. This is about him.” You paused, letting your words sink in. “And because Grace would want us to be there for him.” Both of you.
Thomas leaned back in his chair, bringing his hands to his face for a moment before running them through his hair. Finally, he nodded slowly.
“Fine. If that’s what you want, you can start tomorrow. Polly will show you Charlie’s routines. But I warn you,” he said, his voice lower and more serious, “this world is dangerous. I don’t want you to go near it if you ever think you can’t handle it.”
You agreed with a slight nod, knowing there was no turning back.
The next morning, Polly greeted you with a mix of surprise and silent approval. She wasn’t a woman of many words, but she seemed to appreciate your willingness.
“Charlie is a calm boy, but he needs stability,” she said as she led you to the little boy’s room. “His mother was his refuge, and now it’s up to you to fill some of that void.”
When you entered Charlie’s room, your heart tightened. The boy, who couldn’t have been more than two years old, was sitting in his crib, playing with a teddy bear. His eyes were the spitting image of Grace: big, curious, and bright. Seeing you, he tilted his head in curiosity.
You slowly approached, smiling.
“Hey, little one,” you said quietly, feeling excitement fill your chest.
Charlie watched you for a moment before extending his arms to you, an immediate sign of trust that nearly brought tears to your eyes. You picked him up carefully, feeling his warmth against you. He rested his small head on your shoulder, and for the first time in a long time, you felt like you were exactly where you were supposed to be.
The rest of the day passed in unexpected calm. You fed him, played with him, and took him for a walk in the garden. As you walked, you couldn’t help but notice that Charlie seemed more relaxed with you than you had anticipated. It was as if, somehow, he knew you were a part of his mother, a connection he still needed.
The passage of time hadn’t eased the void left by Grace, but caring for Charlie filled your days with a kind of purpose you’d never felt before. The little boy had a laugh that lit up even the gloomiest of rooms, and his small hands reached for yours with a trust that melted you. With each day you spent with him, you felt like you were helping keep a part of Grace alive.
Charlie followed you everywhere, whether it was in the garden, where he clung to your wobbly fingers as he tried to walk, or in the kitchen, where he babbled incomprehensible words as you prepared his food. What touched you most was the way he clung to you at night, his small hands tangled in your shirt as you rocked him to sleep.
You were aware that every smile you elicited from him was a silent defiance of the pain his mother’s death had left behind. Though you tried hard to stay strong, there were times when Grace’s absence was too much. On those nights, when Charlie finally fell asleep, you stayed by his side a little longer, whispering stories about his mother to him, wishing that, somehow, he could remember her.
One of those nights, after putting Charlie to bed, you went down to the kitchen in search of something warm to drink. The house was silent, save for the occasional creak of wood beneath your feet. The air was cold, and the light from the fireplace in the living room barely illuminated the hallway.
That was when you saw him. Thomas was sitting in one of the armchairs in front of the fire, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees, a half-empty bottle of whiskey on the table beside him. His eyes, normally sharp and watchful, were darkened by a deep sadness. His face, always controlled, now seemed vulnerable, almost unfamiliar.
For a moment, you hesitated. You had seen Thomas in many facets: calculating, furious, even protective. But never like this, broken.
“Thomas, are you okay?” you asked quietly, though the answer was obvious.
He looked up slowly, his blue eyes piercing through you, filled with a pain that seemed to have no end. He didn’t answer right away, instead taking another long sip from the bottle before setting it down on the table with a thud.
“I didn’t know you were awake,” he finally said, his voice hoarse.
You approached cautiously, sitting down on the armchair in front of him. The distance between you both seemed so short and, at the same time, infinite.
“I was thinking about Grace,” you murmured, trying to connect.
Thomas gave a bitter smile, but his eyes didn’t light up.
“There’s not a single moment when I don’t see her. Every corner of this damn house reminds me of her.”
The silence that followed was thick. You felt like any words you could say would be insufficient, but you couldn't just leave him in that state.
“Grace would never want to see you like this, Thomas,” you said softly. “She always saw the best in you, even when you didn’t.”
He let out a dry, humorless laugh.
“Grace was always better than I deserved. I brought her into this world, into danger, and it killed her.” His words came out laden with guilt. “Everything I touch breaks.”
You leaned forward, meeting his eyes.
“Grace chose to be with you. She knew who you were and what your world meant, but she still loved you. You can’t carry all the blame, Thomas.”
For the first time, Thomas seemed to truly hear you. His eyes met yours, and for a moment, you both shared a pain only you could understand. He let out a heavy sigh, as if he’d been carrying too great a weight for years.
“Charlie gives me a reason to keep going,” he admitted quietly. “But I can’t help but think of everything he lost. What I took from him.”
The pain in his voice tore at you. Without thinking, you stood up and walked over to him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.
“You’re not alone in this, Thomas. Charlie has a lot of people who love him. And so do you.” You paused, measuring your words. “I’m here.”
Thomas lifted his head, surprised by the openness in your voice.
“Thank you,” he finally said, his whisper barely audible.
You stayed by his side as the night wore on, both of you silent, but this time it wasn’t an awkward silence. It was the kind of stillness that comes from sharing a common pain.
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The days in the Shelby house followed a steady, almost predictable rhythm. The mornings were Charlie's: from the first light of day, the little boy filled the house with his laughter and babbling, and you were there for each of those moments. But the nights... the nights were different.
Since that first time you found Thomas broken in front of the fireplace, something had changed between the two of you. They didn't always talk, but the presence of each other was enough. So, every night after putting Charlie to bed, your steps inevitably led you to the living room, where Thomas waited for you, his silhouette illuminated by the flames of the fire.
The first few nights were a timid exchange of words. Thomas offered you a glass of whiskey, which you accepted although you barely touched it, and the two of you sat in silence, watching the flames dance. Every now and then, he shared fragments of memories about Grace, little anecdotes that made you smile or sometimes let out a stifled laugh.
“Grace always made fun of my smoking,” he commented one night, with a slight smile. “She said I looked like a cheap actor trying to look sophisticated.”
You laughed softly, imagining your sister with her sharp wit and love of little jokes.
“That sounds like Grace,” you said, your voice heavy with nostalgia.
Over time, conversations became more fluid, less restrained. You shared memories of your childhood with Grace, little secrets that only the two of you knew. Thomas listened intently, his eyes softening with each story, as if through your words he could feel his wife’s presence again.
“You know?” you said, staring into the fire. “I always thought you were Grace’s worst mistake.”
Thomas, who had been staring at his glass of whiskey, looked up slowly, one eyebrow arched.
“And now?” he asked, his tone neutral, but his eyes heavy with curiosity.
You sighed, playing with the rim of your glass.
“Now… I’m not so sure.” You looked at him, your words softer than you’d planned. “Grace was happy with you. And that’s what matters, isn’t it?”
Thomas didn’t answer right away. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he watched you closely.
“I’m not a good man,” he finally said, his voice low, almost a whisper. “I never have been. But with Grace… she made me want to be better.”
You nodded slowly, understanding the weight of his words.
“We all have our shadows, Thomas. But I’ve seen how you are with Charlie, how you talk about Grace. Maybe you’re not as bad as I always thought.”
He let out a dry laugh, but there was a glint of something else in his eyes, something that seemed like a mix of relief and gratitude.
“That’s the closest thing to a compliment I’ve heard from you,” he said, his tone mocking, though his smile was genuine.
“Don’t get used to it,” you replied, smiling back.
With each passing night, the relationship between the two of you transformed. The conversations became deeper, more sincere. Thomas showed you a side that few knew about: the man behind the boss, the husband, the father struggling to find balance in a world full of chaos.
One night, after a long silence, Thomas confessed something that surprised you.
“I didn’t think you could forgive me,” he said, his words laden with a weight he seemed to have been carrying for a long time. “Not after everything.”
You stared at him, sensing the sincerity in his voice.
“It’s not easy to forgive, Thomas. But I also know that life is too short to hold on to hate.”
For a moment, you thought you were going to see tears in his eyes, but Thomas just nodded, clenching his jaw as he looked away.
Even if everything was fine between you and Thomas, there was always something off. The next day, the sun was shining softly that afternoon, and a light breeze rustled the leaves, making everything seem almost calm, almost normal.
Charlie was swinging happily in a baby swing that Thomas had had installed months ago. You stood nearby, watching him with a smile as you gently pushed the swing, making sure it wasn’t too high.
Charlie giggled, and when the swing stopped, he raised his arms to you, asking to be pulled out. You picked him up easily, holding him against your hip as he wrapped his arms around your neck. He looked at you with those big, bright eyes that reminded you so much of Grace, and something in your chest tightened.
“I love you, little one,” you murmured, gently kissing his forehead.
The little boy stared at you for a moment, then rested his little head on your shoulder and, in a barely audible voice, whispered,
“Mommy.”
The world seemed to stop. The air became thick, and for an instant, you couldn’t move or breathe. Your heart skipped a beat as the weight of that word fell upon you. You didn’t know what to say. Charlie didn’t fully understand what he had just said, but to you, the meaning was overwhelming.
Before you could react, a deep, sharp voice broke the silence.
“What did you say?”
You turned around suddenly and saw Thomas standing a few feet away. His face was tense, his eyes dark and filled with a mix of surprise and suppressed fury. He had returned earlier than expected and had clearly heard his son’s words.
—Thomas… —you started to say, trying to calm him down.
—Why is he calling you "Mom"? —he interrupted, his voice low but full of intensity.
Charlie, oblivious to the tension, clung to you with an innocent smile, his small hands playing with your hair. The image must have been a shock to Thomas, a painful reminder of what he’d lost.
“He’s just a kid, Thomas,” you said calmly, setting Charlie down so he could play again. “He doesn’t know what he’s saying. I would never try to take Grace’s place.”
Thomas took a step forward, his posture rigid.
“But you are,” he said, his voice raspy. “You’re looking out for him, you’re comforting him, and now he thinks you—” He paused, as if the words were too painful to say out loud.
“I’m here because I wanted Charlie to have someone to look out for him, to love him. I’m not trying to replace Grace, Thomas. I never could,” you replied, trying to keep your composure.
“Oh, yeah?” he snapped, his tone bitter. “And what do you think is going to happen if you keep this up?” He’ll see you as his mother.
His words were like blades, and you felt a lump in your throat, but you weren’t going to back down.
“That’s not fair!” you exclaimed, raising your voice. “I’ve done everything you asked of me, Thomas. I’ve been here, taking care of Charlie, helping you keep this home standing. And now you’re blaming me for something I can’t even control?”
Thomas clenched his fists, his eyes burning with frustration.
“You don’t understand. This isn’t your place. You’re not his mother. You never will be.”
The words were like a blow, but you refused to let them affect you any more than necessary.
“You’re right, Thomas,” you said, your voice cold. “I’m not his mother. But at least I’m here for him. And you? Where are you when he needs you? Or do you prefer to hide behind your whiskey and your business, letting others deal with the pain?”
Thomas took a step closer, his face now just inches from yours.
“Be careful what you say.”
“Why?” you replied, challenging him with your gaze. “Because you don’t like hearing the truth?”
The silence that followed was sharp, both of you breathing heavily, the tension between you almost tangible. Finally, Thomas took a step back, his face hardening.
“If you can’t understand your place here, then maybe you shouldn’t be here.”
Those words were a final blow. You nodded slowly, your expression cold but hurt.
“Understood.”
Without saying anything else, you turned and walked into the house, leaving Thomas alone in the garden. You felt a mix of rage and sadness as you climbed the stairs to your room. Everything you had done, all the effort, seemed to have been in vain. You leaned against the closed door, trying to control the tears that threatened to spill out.
The days that followed that tense confrontation with Thomas were tinged with an awkward silence in the house. The air seemed heavier, as if the very walls held back unspoken words and hurt feelings. But the most noticeable change was in Charlie.
The little boy, who used to be an endless source of laughter and energy, now seemed to be caught in a cloud of restlessness. His demeanor changed dramatically; laughter had been replaced by sobs, and his usual enthusiasm for play had given way to an irritable, brooding attitude. Every little inconvenience, from a toy that didn't work the way he wanted it to the lack of his favorite snack, made him burst into tears.
It hurt to see him like this, but the worst thing was that you knew why. Charlie missed the closest thing he'd had to a mother in the last few months. And even though you'd tried to keep your distance after the argument with Thomas, you couldn't help but worry about the boy.
That afternoon, Charlie was sitting on the living room floor, tightly hugging a teddy bear that Grace had given him. Tears ran down his cheeks as he murmured between sobs:
"Mom..."
You knelt beside him, feeling a lump in your throat.
"I know, honey," you said softly, stroking his hair. "I know you miss her."
Charlie turned to you, his little eyes full of desperation.
"Mom," he said.
It was like a dagger straight to the heart. Your instinct was to hug him, but you stopped, remembering Thomas' words.
“Oh, little Charlie,” you said finally, your voice breaking.
The little boy didn’t understand, and you knew it. To him, absence was a void that was impossible to fill. His sobs increased, and in the end, you couldn’t hold back any longer. You lifted him into your arms, holding him tightly as he cried against your chest.
“I’m here now,” you murmured, trying to calm him down. “I’m not leaving, okay?”
At that moment, the door opened, and Thomas entered the room. His gaze hardened as he took in the scene before him: you holding Charlie, trying to comfort him like a mother would.
“What’s going on here?” he asked, his voice cold.
Charlie turned to his father, his little face still wet with tears.
“Dad… Mom.”
Thomas tensed his jaw, his gaze darkening even further. He took a step toward you, his eyes fixed on you.
The boy clung to you, but was eventually led to his room by a maid. Once he was out of the room, Thomas turned to you.
“What part of ‘you can’t be his mother’ didn’t you understand?” he said, his voice low but filled with contained anger.
You stood up, crossing your arms.
“Thomas, don’t you see what’s happening? Charlie is hurting. He misses his mother, and for now, I’m the closest thing he has. Why can’t you just accept it?”
Thomas laughed, but there was no humor in his voice.
“Accept it? You want me to accept my son starting to call you mom while Grace is in her grave? Is that what you want?”
“No, what I want is for you to stop being so selfish,” you replied, raising your voice. “This isn’t about you, Thomas. It’s about Charles. He needs someone, and you can’t be everything to him.”
Thomas took a step closer, his presence imposing.
“You don’t decide what my son needs. I’m his father.”
“And I’m the only person who’s been here for him while you drown in your own pain,” you said, not backing down. “But it’s okay, Thomas. If that’s what you want, I’ll leave. But when Charlie keeps crying at night, when he asks you why I left him, you’ll be the one responsible.”
Thomas didn’t answer right away. His gaze was hard, but there was something else going on, too: an internal struggle, a battle between his pride and the reality that was hitting him harder and harder.
Finally, he took a step back, breaking eye contact.
“Do what you want,” he murmured, before exiting the room and leaving you alone.
The next few days were marked by an awkward silence between you and Thomas. Even though he had made it clear that he didn’t want you anywhere near Charlie, you couldn’t just walk away. Not when the little boy needed you more than ever. So, defying Thomas’ orders, you continued to look after the boy. After all, someone had to do it.
That night, the Shelby house was unusually quiet. Charlie had had a long day and was restless, his small body still shaking from time to time from residual sobs. You held him in your arms, gently rocking him as you walked around the room, whispering soothing words to him. Eventually, his eyes began to close, and his breathing became more rhythmic.
The house was empty. Thomas had gone out, as he often did lately, immersing himself in his business and affairs. Everything seemed calm, but there was an uneasiness in the air that you couldn’t shake.
Suddenly, a noise downstairs broke the silence. At first you thought maybe Thomas had returned, but a quick glance at the clock made you dismiss that idea. You clutched Charlie to your chest, your senses heightening. Another noise, this time clearer: the creaking of a door carefully opening.
Your heart began to pound, but you kept your cool. You couldn’t allow yourself to lose control. Slowly, you made your way to the bedroom door, making sure Charlie was safe in your arms.
The sound of footsteps ascending the stairs grew clearer and clearer. Then, a figure appeared in the doorway, a tall, burly man with a cold, cruel gaze. He held a gun, his face partially hidden by a handkerchief.
“Well, well, what do we have here?” the man said, his voice deep and full of mockery. “I didn’t expect to find a babysitter.”
You said nothing, your mind working quickly. The man pointed the gun at you, a gesture that made it clear he wasn’t there to talk.
“Where’s Shelby?” he asked, taking a step forward. “I know she’s not far away. But in the meantime…” his eyes fell on Charlie, who began to fidget in your arms, sensing danger. “Maybe we can send her a message, huh?”
“You don’t have to do this,” you said in a firm, yet calm voice. “Thomas will be back soon, and when he does, you won’t want to be here.”
The man laughed, a harsh, cruel sound.
“And what are you going to do?” he snapped. “Another empty threat? I’m here to settle a score, and if it means hurting the one you care about most…” He motioned to Charlie with a shake of his head.
Charlie began to cry, his small fists clinging to your shirt. Your instinct was to protect him, positioning him so that his body was out of reach of the gun. Despite the fear you felt, you kept your voice calm.
“You’re not going to touch him. If it’s Thomas you want, then he’s him you’ll face. But not a child.”
The man paused, considering your words, but his expression showed no sign of mercy.
“The world is not so kind, young lady.”
Before he could move, another noise echoed through the house. This time, the unmistakable thud of a door slamming shut. The man turned quickly, raising the gun, but before he could react, Thomas appeared in the doorway.
His gaze was deadly. In a quick, calculated move, he pulled out his pistol and fired without hesitation. The sound was deafening in the small room, and the man fell to the floor with a thud, the gun slipping from his hand.
Thomas moved forward slowly, his eyes fixed on the intruder’s body to make sure he posed no further threat. When he was sure, he turned his attention back to you and Charlie.
“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice low but urgent.
Charlie was still crying, his tears soaking your shirt. You nodded, though your heart was still pounding.
“Yeah, we’re okay,” you murmured, trying to calm Charlie as you cradled him against you.
Thomas moved closer, placing a firm but gentle hand on your shoulder.
“Take him downstairs,” he said. “I’ll take care of this.”
You nodded again, walking out of the room with Charlie still in your arms. His sobs began to subside as you descended the stairs, the warmth of your embrace providing him with a modicum of comfort.
When you reached the living room, you sat down on the couch, holding Charlie close. Shortly after, Thomas came down, his steps slower, his expression hardened. He sat down in front of you, his gaze assessing you.
“I shouldn’t have left you alone with him,” he finally said, his voice heavy with a mix of guilt and concern.
“Thomas… it’s not your fault,” you replied, though you knew it wasn’t enough to ease his burden.
For the first time in days, his eyes showed something other than fury. There was fear there, fear of what could have happened if he had arrived a minute later.
As you rocked gently, Charlie’s little face buried in your chest, while you ran your fingers through his hair, murmuring soothing words.
Thomas sat across from you, his elbows resting on his knees and his hands clasped together, staring at the floor as if he was trapped in thought. The dim light from the lamp cast deep shadows on his face, highlighting the hardness of his features. But his eyes… his eyes showed something different that night: vulnerability.
“I shouldn’t have taken you away from Charlie,” he said suddenly, breaking the silence with a low tone, almost a whisper. He wasn’t looking at you, but his voice was heavy with remorse. “It was a mistake.”
You look up, surprised by his words. You had expected many things from Thomas Shelby, but not an apology.
“Thomas…” you began, but he held up a hand, indicating that he wasn’t finished yet.
“Ever since Grace died, I’ve tried to protect him, protect us both. But in doing so, all I’ve done is fail him. I can’t give him what he needs.” He finally looked up, his eyes meeting yours. “But you can.”
The words hit you with a mix of relief and pain. You knew how much it had cost him to admit that, how much it meant to him to acknowledge that he couldn’t do everything alone.
“Charlie needs you, more than I wanted to admit. I’ve seen you with him, how he calms down in your arms, how he trusts you.” Thomas ran a hand over his face, sighing deeply. “And I was an idiot to try to push you away from him.”
You looked down at Charlie, who was breathing easier now, his fingers gently clinging to your shirt. A feeling of warmth and relief settled in your chest. You had been willing to do anything for that little boy, even if it meant facing Thomas Shelby.
“Thank you for saying it, Thomas,” you finally said, your voice soft but firm. “But I need you to trust me, to understand that I would never do anything to hurt him.”
Thomas nodded slowly, his eyes still locked with yours. There was a weight in his gaze, but also a sort of unspoken truce.
“I know,” he admitted. “And I’m grateful. More than I can express.”
He leaned forward, his hands resting on his knees as he watched Charlie with a mix of tenderness and pain.
“I never wanted him to grow up without a mother. And I know you’ll never be able to replace Grace, but what you do for him… that’s the closest thing to a home I can offer him now.”
The lump in your throat tightened, but you forced yourself to keep your composure.
“I’ll do everything I can for him, Thomas. Always.”
For the first time in what seemed like weeks, Thomas smiled, albeit a weak, tired smile.
“I know,” he said simply.
Silence fell between you again, but this time it wasn’t awkward. It was a silence of understanding, of acceptance. Charlie had fallen asleep, his little rhythmic sighs filling the room.
Thomas stood up, walking towards you with slow steps. He leaned down slightly, placing a hand on Charlie’s head and stroking his hair gently. Then, his eyes met yours again.
“Thank you,” he murmured, his voice barely audible, but loaded with meaning.
You simply nodded, no need for words.
The next few days were quieter in the house. Thomas allowed you to care for Charlie without interference, and even began to participate more in the moments you shared with the little one. There was a routine that was beginning to feel, if not normal, at least less tense.
You and Thomas also began to talk more. At first, it was practical conversations, about Charlie or about how to reinforce the security of the house. But little by little, those dialogues transformed into something more personal. Moments when, for a brief moment, Thomas Shelby wasn’t the ruthless leader of the Peaky Blinders, but simply a man trying to navigate loss.
One night, after you’d put Charlie to bed, you found Thomas in the living room, a glass of whiskey in his hand. The soft light from the table lamp illuminated the room, creating a warm, almost intimate atmosphere. He was sitting in the armchair by the fireplace, his gaze lost in the flames.
“Everything okay?” you asked, carefully entering the room.
Thomas looked up, his expression relaxing at the sight of you.
“Yeah,” he replied, though his tone said otherwise. “Just… thinking.”
You walked over and sat on the couch across from him. You didn’t want to push him, but there was something in his gaze that night that worried you.
“About Grace?” you asked softly.
He nodded, taking a sip of his whiskey before setting the glass down on the table beside him.
“Always Grace,” he murmured. “There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about her. What could have been if…” He paused, his jaw tightening.
You didn’t say anything, allowing him space to speak if he needed to. You knew that, as hard as it was for him, these moments of vulnerability were important.
“Sometimes I think I’m losing her,” he continued, his voice barely a whisper. “Her face, her voice… it’s all fading away, and that scares me more than anything.”
Your heart clenched at his confession. Thomas, the man who always seemed so strong, was pouring his soul out in front of you. Without thinking too hard, you stood up and walked over, standing next to him.
“You won’t lose her, Thomas,” you said softly. “She’ll always be a part of you, of Charlie. Nothing will change that.”
He looked at you, his blue eyes shining in the firelight. There was something in his gaze, a mix of pain, gratitude, and something else you couldn’t quite put your finger on. Without thinking, he raised a hand and gently brushed it against your cheek.
The gesture took you by surprise, but you didn’t pull away. Instead, you found yourself leaning slightly into him, until his lips met yours in a soft kiss, laden with repressed emotion. It was a brief moment, but it was intense, as if both of you were allowing yourselves to feel something you’d been denying for far too long.
But as soon as it was over, Thomas pulled away, his expression changing from vulnerability to guilt in an instant.
“This shouldn’t have happened,” he said, his voice hard and laden with regret. He stood up quickly, moving away from you as if the contact had burned. “I can’t… I can’t do this to Grace.”
The pain in his voice was palpable, but it didn’t hurt any less that his words were hurting you, too. You stayed on the couch, trying to process what had just happened.
“Thomas…” you tried to speak, but he held up a hand to stop you.
“No. I can’t,” he repeated, his tone harsher. “It was a mistake. I shouldn’t have…”
You stood up, the lump in your throat getting tighter with each word he said.
“A mistake?” you asked, your voice shaking slightly.
He didn’t answer, but his silence was enough to confirm it. You felt your eyes begin to fill with tears, but you refused to let them fall in front of him.
“I understand,” you finally said, your voice firmer than you expected. “Maybe I shouldn’t have stayed so long.”
Without giving him a chance to respond, you turned and walked out of the room, your heart pounding in your chest. You climbed the stairs, each step feeling heavier than the last, until you reached your room. You closed the door behind you, letting the tears finally fall.
The days following the kiss and the rejection were unbearably tense. You and Thomas had gone back to barely speaking beyond what was necessary. Conversations were limited to the basics: directions for Charlie, changes around the house, or simple mechanical greetings. Any vestige of the connection you had begun to build seemed to have faded, leaving an awkward chasm between you.
It hurt, more than you wanted to admit. You had accepted that Thomas still carried Grace in his heart, but you hadn’t expected the kiss you shared, brief but full of meaning, to become a wall between you.
Finally, one night, after you had put Charlie to sleep, you found yourself unable to bear the coldness any longer. You knew you couldn’t continue living in the same house, taking care of Charlie, and pretending everything was okay when it wasn’t.
You found him in the living room, as always, with a glass of whiskey in his hand. He barely looked up when you entered, but you didn’t say anything right away. You closed the door behind you and stood there, watching him.
“How long are we going to keep this up, Thomas?” you finally asked, breaking the silence with a voice filled with frustration.
Thomas didn’t even flinch. He took a sip of his whiskey before answering, his tone indifferent.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Your jaw tightened, and you took a step forward.
“You know exactly what I’m talking about. This. Us. Pretending like nothing happened, when we both know it did.”
Thomas finally looked up, his blue eyes cold and calculating.
“There is no ‘us,’” he said harshly. “There can’t be.”
His words were like a punch to the gut, but you didn’t back down.
“And that’s it?” you replied, your voice rising slightly. “Are you going to keep hiding behind Grace’s memory, using your guilt as an excuse to keep everyone at a distance?”
Thomas’ expression hardened, and he set his glass down with a thud.
“Be careful what you say,” he warned, his voice low but dangerous.
But you were too furious to stop yourself. The pressure of the past few days, the built-up tension, it all came crashing down.
“Careful?” you repeated, taking a step closer. “I’m tired of walking on eggshells around you, Thomas. What’s wrong with you? Why do you insist on pushing everyone away?”
Thomas stood up suddenly, his imposing presence filling the room.
“Because that’s what I do,” he snapped. Because the people I care about always end up hurt or dead.
“And that’s an excuse to treat me like that?” You took a step closer, your eyes flashing with fury. “I’m not Grace! You can’t keep punishing me for something I can’t change.”
The tension in the room was palpable, each word a sharp dart. Before you could think, you grabbed an empty glass from the table and threw it hard. The glass crashed into the wall behind him, shattering into pieces.
Thomas reacted immediately, crossing the distance between you in a matter of seconds. Before you could move, he roughly grabbed you by the arms, his grip firm but not painful. His eyes burned with an intensity that took your breath away.
“Enough!” he growled, his voice hoarse and heavy with repressed emotion.
You were about to retort, to fight against his hold, when suddenly, without warning, his lips crashed against yours. It was a desperate, hungry kiss, as if both of them were trying to drown all the pain, frustration, and guilt in that moment.
You resisted for a moment, surprised by the abruptness, but quickly gave in, kissing him back with equal intensity. His hands, which had previously held you tightly, slid down to your waist, pulling you closer.
The world around you disappeared. There was no more arguing, no more awkward silences. Just the warmth of his lips, the frantic beat of your heart, and the feeling of being, for the first time in days, completely alive.
His lips left yours for an instant, moving down to your neck, as his hands eagerly explored. Everything about him was urgency, need held back for too long. There were no words between you, just the ragged sound of breaths and the steady throb of a dormant desire that had finally exploded.
“Tommy…” you murmured in whispers, your fingers getting lost in his dark hair as he lifted you slightly, leaning you against the nearby wall.
He responded with a growl, capturing your lips again, as if afraid that moving away for a second might break the connection. It was a forbidden moment, but you were both too far away to stop.
The room seemed to fill with heat as every barrier crumbled. Thomas was all fire, and you consumed yourself with it without remorse.
Finally, when the intensity subsided, you both lay still, breathing hard, still entwined. His eyes searched you, and for an instant, you saw something more than desire. It was a vulnerability he rarely showed, an acknowledgement that he needed you more than he was willing to admit.
He didn’t apologize this time. There was no room for words; the silence between you spoke for itself. And in that moment, you knew nothing would ever be the same again.
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blarshwritezz · 7 months ago
Text
Yandere Clone x Reader
Male Yan x gn reader
TW - general yandere behavior, torture, manipulation
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Clone!Yan wasn't even supposed to exist. If only your boyfriend had never agreed to that stupid experiement.
It was sketchy, but paid hella good money, and the two of you were going through hard times. You guys really needed the cash. Especially since he was starting to consider proposing.
You told him it was too risky. You told him there were much better ways to make money. Safer ways. But he was blinded by all those zeros. 10 million sure does motivate someone. Even you were considering joining in too.
The day he left for it, you nearly cried. It's been a long time since you had to spend a night without him.
But finally, he came back a week later! Something was just...different. When he held you, he seemed stronger than usual. He seemed to blink less, and stare at you more. He was getting very jealous very easily. Sure he had some slight jealousy issues before he went off, but it wasn't ever this bad...
At first, you considered it side effects of whatever those awful people did, or that it was just because he missed you. But it only seemed to get worse...
You'd notice him eating less, exercising less, doing everything he usually did less...
He used the money from the experiment to buy the two of you a lovely little home somewhere peaceful. Nothing fancy, the two of you didn't need too much. Just a quaint little home in the suburbs.
In that home, you realized there was always this suspicious locked room. When you asked him about it, he just said, "Oh, that? Yeah, I think it's pretty weird too. I guess the previous owners just locked it and forgot to give us the key."
Lately, he's seemed pretty dismissive when you were worried.
But some nights, you swore you heard strange noises coming from that room. Things like scratching, muffled screams, faint groans, and even whispers of your name.
One night, you had enough. It was one of those rare nights where your boyfriend would get up, presumably to use the restroom or get a glass of water, and not return for over an hour.
Silently, you crept down the hall. The door to that room was slightly ajar, the light of the moon peaking out. You got just close to peak in and what you saw was not only horrifying but confusing as well.
There was your boyfriend, holding a bloody pen, standing above...himself? But a grotesque and mutilated version of himself.
You backed away in horror, only to crash into something behind you, making a loud noise. Nearly instantly, your "boyfriend" was at the door staring at you.
"Oh dear, my lovely [Y/N]...you weren't supposed to see this yet. It was going to be a surprise." The man spoke, a twisted grin on his face. "I guess now I have to tell you early."
He grabbed your arm and dragged you into the room. No matter how much you struggled, no matter how strong you were, he was more powerful. His bruising grip could have broken your bone, but he was being oh so careful with you.
"You see, my dearest, this man you called your boyfriend was just pathetic...he didn't have the balls to give you everything you deserve. But I can. I can be perfect for you. I'm him, but better in every way." He whispered, his cold breath against your neck as he held you tight and forced you to look at the man who could hardly be recognized as your sweet boyfriend.
"I won't ever age, or change, or ever go against you. Why, I was made for you..."
You were so confused, and he could tell. But your words were stuck in your throat. It was a good thing he could read you so well.
"Don't you remember? All those months ago, the experiment? The scientists who created me needed a dumb test monkey down on their luck, and your old boyfriend was perfect for that role. They took his skin, his blood, his hair, every bit of DNA they could to make me. The only thing missing was the transference of subconscious, and well, the only thing he could think of was you. So naturally, the only thing I can think of, is you~"
He wrapped his artificial arms around your waist tightly, making sure you didn't fall over. You felt like you would be sick...
"Unfortunately, I have to keep him alive. If he dies, I will too. But I recently decided to take out his eyes. That way he'll never get to see you again. Only I should have such an honor."
He started kissing your neck, making you feel even more disgusted. Right in front of you was your beloved boyfriend, the very one you hoped to spend your life with, turned to this shell of what he once was. You could hardly even see his skin tone beneath all the blood.
"Don't worry, just rest. You'll never have to see that failure again..." With those last few words, he covered your mouth with a cloth. You were already paralyzed in fear, too terrified to fight back this time.
He watched you for the rest of the night...and the next day...and the next night, and the next day, and the next night. Never once were you free from the thing that claimed to be your boyfriend.
Or rather, husband now. He was so glad you finally agreed! Not that you had much of a choice.
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Yea, feeling this one! Different style than usual, woo!
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visionsofmagic · 1 year ago
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— what he calls you, what you call him. ✷ mk1 edition.
PET NAMES.
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— nsfw content under the cut! just a drabble & version 2 of my other drabble series for mk1. the idea came into my mind when I was writing a request, so, have fun! [also have no idea how this turned out to be more spicy than I thought] [main master.]
tomas, syzoth, bi han, liu kang, kuai liang, raiden
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TOMAS. he likes to call you by every beautiful title even though he still believes your name is the prettiest one among them. he chooses “my goddess” mostly in lots of ways from showing his love to begging for you to let him fuck you. he always gets blushed whenever you tease him by using a few certain pet names. the most effective one is being called shy by you.
“oh, hi shyness, miss me already? ohh, cute!”
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SYZOTH. he is shy like tomas yet he is a bit stronger with certain pet names you use for him while he’s calling you his love, goddess, precious. he prefers using cute little names for you besides your name. he even whimpers them when he has you on him, under him, in front of him. it doesn’t matter - the only important thing is how he tries to get you to call him with a certain title - good boy.
“ohh, my good boy - you’re so beautiful!”
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BI HAN. it takes a long time for him to come up with pet names that include affection rather than power play - apparently, he’s new to this, a bit, yet when he discovers how the names he calls you have different effects on you, he begins to use them often. you are the reason he begins to use them after all - calling him master, in a very seductive way, turning his title to something different, something that makes his blood boil with a refreshing ice sense. it drives him crazy whenever you use it, so, he chooses to call you his personal favorite, including humiliating nicknames too - “slut”, “whore”, and “toy” - also he calls you, “pretty”, “delightful”.
“ohh - master, you have no idea what you’re doing to me - mmh, maybe you do.”
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LIU KANG. he is a lover who likes to give both affection, love and lust, desire to his partner, so he uses lots of pet names while giving every beautiful name to you, from “darlin’”, “love”, “beauty” to “doll”, “honey”, “delicate flower”. he likes to see your expression, and your reactions as he calls you with such names. also, he can’t help but fall for you further, can’t hide the feelings he has in the moments of you call him your lord - both in a pretty way as if he’s the only one who has your heart and soul at the same time with your trust, and in a sweet way as if the only thing you want from him to devour you, showing his true power while showing you starts as he pounds into you.
“ohhh, my lord, please - it’s so gooood my lord, so good -!”
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KUAI LIANG. the dilemma of this man makes you go crazy. it will be like in daylight, you’re the most precious thing in every realm, a delicate lover, deserves all gentle things from him - it even shows itself with the way he calls you his love, heart, and soul - yet in nights, he turns into a fire beast, having you so weak on the knees and teasing you whenever he gets chance to by calling you his good girl. his favorite ones - the ones that turn the table and make him weak on the knees one for you are being called your warmth, your lover, and your cute boy. according to the moods, he goes crazy with each of them.
“my lover - goood, feeling so good!”
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RAIDEN. another shy boy who likes to call you the ones you are comfortable with- he even asks you if it’s okay to call you such a thing the first time he uses it without realizing it for a moment. he’s also a gentle lover - it takes time to also use a few filthy names rather than only cute ones such as “pretty”, “princess”, and “cuteness.” he spends a certain time until he calls you his good girl, making his mind turn dizzy with how you make him feel so good. for him, he should choose the name he can never get tired or bored of hearing from your pretty lips - as he remarks shyly.
“oh, look at my pretty boy! making such a mess for me!”
🩷
tagging • @lookingforgoodthings & @snowprincesa1
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wutheringcaterpillar · 1 year ago
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A Hole in the House
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Summary: Tommy returns home from war only to find his younger sister asleep in bed, and he can’t resist himself from her as his needs have been put off for far too long even when she wakes up.
warnings: NONCON, degradation, humiliation, name-calling, misogyny, loss of virginity, breeding kink, incest
When Thomas arrived back from the war, he was different. No one understood the trauma or events he had to go through without any sexual release. He longed for a woman’s touch immensely and he would go to any extent for his needs to be met.
Opening the door quietly, he was careful to remove his shoes, tossing them over to the carpet in the corner before undressing himself of his uniform jacket and heading to his bedroom.
Nearly tiptoeing against the hardwood floor not to wake anyone. He glanced in your room to make sure you were sound asleep and safe but what he didn’t expect was to see his sister nearly all grown up going through the motions of puberty.
Adrenaline began to run through his veins at the sight of your tits falling effortlessly through the straps of your tanktop. The way your thighs were exposed, your underwear just barely fit around the curves of your hips, the roundness that was now your ass that had grown so much. You were a woman now, one that he was going to use like a wild animal until he got off inside that warm, tight hole he so desperately longed for.
“Fuck.” 
Who was he to resist, he deserved to have you after everything he has gone through and if he had to shut you up about it he would to any extent.
Stepping into the room he began to shed himself of his clothes but the sound of the door closing woke you from your state of unconsciousness but he didn’t care.
“Tommy? Is that you? What’re you doing?” Tossing his clothes to the side of room, he crawled on top of your bed, pinning your weak wrists above your head.
“Shh, shh. Be quiet you filthy whore. Thinking you can dress like that in a house full of men and expect us not to get aroused. Is this what you wanted eh? Just waiting for your favorite to come home?”
His eyes connected with yours in a vicious and cruel manner. The crook of your neck flashed in the moonlight invitingly, and your nipples glistened as they were partially hard.
In the darkness you realized he was naked when his hardened cock pressed up against your thigh, scaring you immensely. You tried to push him off, but Tommy was far more stronger and powerful than your tiny self.
His cock pulsated against you as his pre cum slid down your soft, delicate skin, seeping down into your sheets. Forcing your legs apart with his you tried to scream for him to stop but it didn’t seem to faze him. He aligned himself with your entrance, and plunged into your warm abyss without any warning. Your legs flailed on both sides of him as pain rode up your spine, you could feel the blood spilling out from the dryness
“Please, please stop Tommy.” He ignored you cries and pleads as he drilled into you relentlessly, his head arching down as his lips connected with your nipples, sucking them harshly without any remorse.
His tongue swirled circles as he left little bites on both of them. His head hung low, as he felt your inner walls clenching around him involuntarily, he wouldn’t last long if he stayed in this position. 
“This is what you wanted isn’t it Y/N. Wanted your big brother to fuck you senseless? Tell me, when did you start dressing like a fucking prostitute eh?”
As he sat up, you reached for the headboard trying to pull yourself away from him but he was faster, flipping you over onto your stomach instantly, forcing your hands behind your back.
He slapped your ass harshly, watching the fat ricochet from the hit poetically, causing you to yelp as tears streamed down your reddened cheeks.
“Please Tommy! Please!” He grabbed the back oof your hair, yanking you back, his hot breath right in your ear as he spoke.
“Shut up.” He forced it back down into the pillow, your tears soaking the fabric beneath you as a high pitched scream escaped you when his cock reentered you.
This time it didn’t hurt as bad as your body began to react positively to the brutal intrusion against your will.
He parted your rounded cheeks, watching his rather large cock slide in and out of your tiny, now soaking hole.
Waves of pleasure rode through him at the sight of you so helpless under him, the way your body curved innocently and took every inch of him gracefully, you were a piece of art.
His balled slapped against your pubic hair, his free hand grabbing at your sides, nails digging into your skin until he felt blood escape the bruised skin.
Your hips raised involuntarily and your fists began to curl in the sheets as the head of his cock brushed against that heated sweet spot in the middle of your core.
You felt disgusted, used, and were in disbelief that this was all at the hands of your brother. The man who vowed to protect you from the entire world, taught you your mannerisms, etiquette. He promised to never let anyone hurt you, who knew he would be the one to do it.
His fingers protruded your innocent lips, forcing their way down your mouth.
“Be nice Y/N.” You could taste the salt of your tears on your tongue as you sucked his fingers while he plowed into you.
His cock stretched you out immensely and you knew in today’s society as Thomas had told you before, no one would want a used woman, and now no one could have you, or access to your most sacred, innocent place but him.
He bit down on his pink pale, lips when he saw your hips start to rock back against him, watching you devour his cock every inch as your back began to arch and you were moaning around his fingers.
He yanked your head up once more when he could tell you were close as was he.
“Say it, c’mon I wanna hear you say it. Tell me you want brother to cum in you. Want my seed, knock you up with our bastard child. Tell me!” Your head was on his shoulder now, back pressed against his sweaty chest. His hand wrapped around your throat as he continued to fuck into you, your slick coating his cock.
“Please don’t-“ He tightened his large hand around your throat, making it hard for you to form any coherent words.
“That’s not what I said Y/N.” His other hand smacked you right on your pussy harshly, causing you to wince against him making his cock twitch buried deep within you, between your silked walls.
“I-I want you to cum in me. Want-“ He took a handful of your breast and squeezed it as hard as he possibly could.
“Want my brother’s cum in me!” He threw you back down onto the somewhat wet mattress, his hands holding your hips and he forced you against him, railing into you over and over watching your ass bounce back against him each and every time until he felt his orgasm coming on.
Within seconds his seed oozed into you, shooting up into your ovaries and the moans that escaped your parted lips were unexpected and disgusted you as your own high approached forcing your back to arch.
He collapsed on top of you paying no attention to your weeps and tears or the blood that coated the sheets beneath the two of you.
“God, you’re such a slut aren’t you. Taking your brothers cock so well. Only cock youre gonna take from now on.” His words hurt, and your mind was scattered as you were trying to cope with what just happened. The feeling of his seed running down your thigh made your facial features contort in pain and humiliation. Any future you pictured for yourself was now over, men wouldn’t want a woman who’s not a virgin, who allowed her brother have sex with her, and cum in her. You’d be the town’s laughing stock and abomination.
Rolling off of you, Tommy picked up his clothes from the floor, and rolled his eyed at the sound of you still crying. What did you know about pain? He’s the one that endured it for years.
He bent down next to your bed patting your cheek somewhat harshly.
“You tell a single soul, no one will believe you. They’ll think your sick and delusional. The family will vote to throw you in a psych ward, so I highly suggest you keep yer fuckin’ mouth shut eh? I don’t care who’s that baby’s is but as far as I’m concerned it’s not mine if you do get knocked up.” You watched your brother with tired eyes that didn’t know who they were looking at anymore. 
“What did they do to you over there Tommy? You just raped me.”
“Talk to me when you’re sent to kill men and be the reason why some of them died.” He stood up and exited your room. He was a completely different person, he showed no remorse and would find his way into your room on numerous occasions after this one.
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keyotosprompts · 7 months ago
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not easy to please ⋆⭒˚。⋆
alternatives to popular tropes
⇴ siblings's worst enemy
they're your sibling's enemy, so of course they're yours too. they're despicable and you seriously want them dead. luckily for you, the feeling's mutual.
⇴ struggling ceo and their know-it-all office worker
how did this mf become the ceo of one of the most progressive countries in the world?? they're clueless and you're the one that has to fix all their mistakes. you seriously don't get paid enough for this (unless they can come up with another way to pay you).
⇴ marriage of inconvenience
what happens in vegas stays in vegas. except when you've signed an official marriage contract, and everything is so much more complicated before. now this person is stuck with you until you can divorce! (or will you?)
⇴ forbidden hate
your parents absolutely adore the idea of the two of you together. they have wedding pinterest boards, future plans, and baby names for the two of you. only one thing: you two kinda hate each other, and hell would have to freeze over before you'd ever get with them.
⇴ no more second chances
sorry dude! f'ed up really bad the first time, and now you're not giving anymore chances, and your ex has to deal with the consequences. one problem: they can't deal with the consequences bc they're literally in love with you. hm. just what will this person do to get you back?
⇴ not so secret identity
everyone knows who they are. not even the old mask and hat trick could prevent people from identifying them. and it's fine–they absolutely bask in the fame. one problem though: they're a constant target to the entire world. perfect!
⇴ separated from each other
they never get any alone time. alone together in an elevator? too bad, a party of ten just showed up, pushing the two of you on the opposite side of the elevator. finally alone at home? nope! unfortunately, your friends make a surprise visit! oh how will you two ever get past this?
⇴ "you deserved it."
a normal person would've asked "who did this to you?" except your bond is not normal. not in the slightest. i mean seriously, what does this person want from you?
⇴ "i can't have you, so i'll let someone else take my place."
they know that they're not good enough for you, and that you deserve someone better than them. so, they choose to let you go, and hope that someone else can make your world light up like they used to
⇴ the one that is still here
everywhere you go, this person is there. whether it's physically, mentally, or spiritually, everything ties back to them. everything reminds you of them. you couldn't even escape if you tried.
⇴ playboy but he's actually a nerd that cannot get play
he's gorgeous–he's the most attractive man you think you've ever seen in your life. you think he's probably got it all–girls or boys coming up to him nonstop. only, that's not true in the slightest. somehow, he's managed to fumble every single time.
⇴ nobody wants the bad boy
he's troubled. there are rumors of him starting fights 24/7, and he lives in a bad area. he could really fuck someone up. nobody wants him.
⇴ "you must be delusional"
lovers that know that they're in love with each other, but when admitting it to their friends, they shut down their feelings.
⇴ loving someone to save them
none of that breaking up nonsense. love is power. their love and support causes you to be stronger than ever. knowing that there's love out there gives you a reason to keep on going. love saves you.
⇴ too smart to live
you've outdone yourself this time. bypassed every guard, rule, and law without anyone catching you. so, of course, there's only one solution here: to eliminate you.
⇴ different worlds (revised)
you grew up poor while they grew up rich. now, in the present, you are the more successful one, while they are struggling to get their life together. now, you must help the one who used to be in your current position, and fix things together.
⇴ one-sided blind date
rule one of having a blind date: you should not know who you're meeting. well, too late! you sneaked a peek at your friend's phone and found out who you'll be seeing soon. now, you're scrambling to get out of this date because you know exactly who it is.
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foone · 1 year ago
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Alternative names for humanity along the lines of "Homo sapiens" (Wise man) and "Pan narrans" (Storytelling Chimpanzee) that I'm too lazy to look up/make up Latin for:
chef ape
throwing ape
walking ape
The idea being that we're apparently unique in the animal kingdom in that we cook our food, so we're the Chef Apes. We're also one of the best animals at throwing things: humans have more accuracy and strength when throwing stuff than other apes, by a long shot
And apparently our ability to walk slowly for ages was key to our early survival as persistence predators. We can't outrun a gazelle or mammoth or whatever, but we don't tire easily and so we can just keep following it until it runs out of stamina
Pan basipila: the baseball playing Bonobo
If only baseball had a cooking element, it would be the perfect Human Sport.
We need to devise a sport where you cook something, follow someone for a long time, and then throw it at them.
The most human thing is the surprise pie to the face
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Also as much as I like Terry Pratchett's suggestion of "Pan narrans" I wouldn't be surprised if we turn out to not be the only animal that tells stories...
Elephants. I bet elephants do.
Like, there was that case where an injured elephant went to a ranger station for help. One it had never been to before, but other elephants had.
The theory being then that some other elephant had told this elephant "hey if you're hurt, go here, the humans will help"
That, combined with how they have burial rituals (some which might indicate there's an elephant religion!), and that we're working on figuring out how elephants communicate...
It wouldn't surprise me if we learn sometimes in the next decade or two that "oh yeah, elephants tell stories too. They've got FICTION."
So "Pan narrans" isn't what I'd want to bet on as our uniquely human thing.
But at the end of the day, maybe the whole idea of there being a uniquely human thing is, in itself, just another story we're telling.
So maybe it is a good fit after all.
But I especially like the idea that we're the Baseball Ape because I have this image in my head of a galactic council of aliens. Some angry alien who looks like Cthulhu had a baby with a spider has the floor, and they're ranting about "why do the Hu-mons deserve a seat?"
The Crogath are stronger, the Eldru are smarter, the Cybernetic Essense lives longer, the Dromans go farther and faster, the Moltriri have us beat in fiction and poetry, what is so special about these damn bipedal fleshbags that makes them unique in the universe?
And then WHAM. Right between the eyes. A handheld translator device, a bit bigger than a modern smartphone, beans the speaker out of nowhere.
And there's an (untranslated) yell in the chamber as the prime representative calls for order.
"WE CAN THROW, MOTHERFUCKER!"
(it takes a while to properly explain the insult. Crogathi (especially drones) don't really have mothers or sexual reproduction, so they don't really get why that would be an insult. It's finally translated as something like "bud-biter")
and it's true. even after the World Series becomes the Galactic Series, no non-human team ever manages to win.
The Eldrul Librarians almost make the cut in 2486 but accidentally piss off the ghost of Colonel Sanders and end up inheriting the Hanshin Tigers' curse.
alien textbooks describe The Colonel as some kind of human patron deity of baseball and cooked avian food, who should not be disrespected at all costs, or his vengeance from his place beyond the grave will be swift and punishing
(they're right)
"Look, we can't PROVE he was why Gemini Noctis went supernova unexpectedly, but given the protests that had happened right beforehand, and the incredible powers ascribed to the human spirits, do you really want to risk it?"
the funniest possible future: humanity gets a key place in galactic politics because we're never able to adequately convince the universe at large that our ghost stories are just that, stories, and they're terrified shitless that we'll unleash spectral torment on them
"humans? look man, living humans are a pushover. you can easily rip them in half, crack their planets with a quark bomb, their ships are little more than tin cans with a tachyon drive taped on the side. but it's not the living humans you have to worry about... it's the ghosts."
"humans are a bit like the Nontilek, with a two-stage lifespan, a grub and an adult. What you think of as "adult" humans is just their infant stage, and they only fully transform once they "die". Once fully hatched into Ghost form, their powers are almost limitless."
you want humans off a colony planet and bomb them from orbit? good luck, now you have a few million ascended humans who can pass through solid matter and can't be killed, and they will never rest until you and your descendants are gone or dead.
you don't believe me? look at this: One of their most popular stories is about them building an empire that spanned a large chunk of their little planet, then having it MURDER THEIR OWN GOD.
It only worked for a few revolutions, and he just came back, promising that one day all of them would join him in the next phase of their lifespan.
They still, to this day, thousands of orbits later, erect little statues of the means they used to execute their deity.
not even the Crogathi, who literally worship death itself, tell stories that frightening to their newly hatched grubs.
Humans are scary, man, stay away and just give them whatever they want.
the rest of the alien's education on the dangers of humans is just a selection of human movies. the sixth sense, poltergeist, ghostbusters, the shining, the devil's backbone, and, of course, field of dreams.
ghosts AND baseball? it's everything they're scared about humans all in one package!
the obvious twist you could do, of course, is simple:
the aliens are right.
humans are a two-phase species where the elder form has immense power but leaves communication and decision making to the younger form, which will be confused and angry if you acknowledge the presence of their elder-stage members among them.
this often leads to them cutting off contact or their elder-stage members causing immense damage through seeming "accidents" on the contacting vessel. This is believed to be some kind of religious prohibition that they are not able to explain.
so it's official contact protocol to pretend you cannot perceive the elder-stage humans among them, and to give them what they want to avoid possible retribution.
No means to combat elder-stage humans has yet been found, and the limits of their power is not known.
All alien captains are required to study the fate of the SS Ennolon, which contacted a lone human craft in the galactic year of 12,783. They had initiated contact and were getting along fine, until the human showed the Droman captain a picture of their "late father".
Captain Droless, accounting for the difficulty in telling humans apart, then pointed at the father sitting in a chair nearby and said "That is them, correct?".
The human looked at the chair, reacted in confusion, then anger, and asked the contacting crew to immediately leave.
It was another 400 cycles before contact could be reestablished between the Droman Federation and the Human Alliance.
the intergalactic guide describes humans as a powerful race of immortal energy beings who have the strange habit of sending their larvae out on missions around the galaxy, occasionally contacting other races, but refusing to acknowledge their elders, except in stories
they seem to frequently put their young in dangerous situations without lifting a hand to help, so this is suspected to be some sort of pilgrimage or coming-of-age ritual.
(From a twitter thread on October 1st, 2022)
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metalotaku-da · 2 months ago
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danny phantom x dc prompt ideas: weather wizard addition.
this comes to you thanks to my big story pieces comment section. i think if the phandom knew more of this characters background and i thought it was more commonly known. it would have more of a field day. same with gotham academy >.> but that is for another post.
alright weather wizard, is a flash villain and a member of the rogues.
mark mardon. is a thief and criminal who escapes from prison and fleas to his brothers house. where he believes he found his brother dead and his weather experiments. including the weather wand which he takes and starts his alias crime as weather wizard. it is hinted at in the comics he actually killed his brother and stole his work. it is believed he had a confrontation with his brother over his prison break, the argument and heightened emotions triggered mark's meta gene and he accidently killed his brother when his powers manifested. and he blocked out that memory. and it is also why he can't use his weather powers without the wand. as a mental block. because he does have powers without the wand.
later on he finds out he has a son with a cop he had relations with. it is known josh is his son because he has weather powers. mark in a fit of rage and jealousy over the his son's powers kidnaps him, with plans to DISSECT AND EXPERIMENT ON HIM TO FIND OUT HOW HIS POWERS WORK SO HE CAN GET THEM. he has a break down though over it before he can go through with it. and wishes his son had someone besides him as a father, because he deserves someone better.
other facts of note: josh was thought to be wally's kid till he got his powers. lady cop has batman's taste. her name is julie.
the rogues have strict rules against hurting kids.
weather wizard killed impulse breaking this rule. though he was tricked.
so yes phandom. here are some options i've brain stormed. please add more ideas for others to knaw on.
1: danny has escaped the fentons/and or giw. flees to central city and weather wizard finds this vivisected terrified kid. and man does it hit his guilt and crazy. this could have been his son. he was going to do this to his child. and it's his redemption/penance to protect this child to make up for his sins. could have a mental break and think he actually did this danny and danny is his son josh too. so many ways to go.
2: other rogues find him, after hearing about ww kidnapping his son and think danny is his son who escaped from his injuries and go on revenge spree for this kid in mistaken idenity. which has funny and dark ways it can go.
3: danny meets ww or his son. and hears how ww couldn't go through with it. maybe from young justice. impulse or members of the league, other rogues dealers choice. danny just dieing a little on the inside like, how come your parent could stop himself with love when he never met you, but my parents raised me and still didn't love me enough not to. the angst protentional here is so high.
4: jazz could work at the facility treating mark. her point of view from treating a person who is so much like her parents but who showed their love for their child in the end. when hers couldn't move past their goals and see their child they claimed to love. could add in she's got a de-aged danny/dannies because of it. to see what it could have been if her parents had been better. stronger. she could get feelings. (totally thinking on par with harley/joker kind of but not that dark.) where mark actually like her and cares for her. could be one-sided. and the giw find them mark breaks out cause she and or kids are in danger and saves them.
5:mix and match the above.
please add more
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phantobats · 2 months ago
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INT. WAYNE MANOR - DINING ROOM - EVENING
The cavernous dining room stretches out, cold and dimly lit by the chandeliers hanging far above. Shadows cling to the corners of the room, leaving the long, intimidating oak table barely illuminated. YOUNG BRUCE WAYNE, 16, sits at the far end, his posture slouched but defiant. His school uniform is a mess—tie undone, shirt wrinkled, and stained with a spot of blood. His knuckles are bruised, raw, yet there’s a smug grin tugging at his lips.
Across the table, ALFRED PENNYWORTH, late 40s, stands rigidly, working with methodical precision to wrap Bruce’s hands in clean bandages. Though his face is calm, there’s a tension in his movements—like a storm ready to break.
ALFRED (voice tense, low) And what exactly did you achieve today, Master Wayne?
Bruce shrugs, the adrenaline still humming beneath his skin. He pulls his hand away from Alfred, smirking.
BRUCE (casual) I won. Some jerk thought he could mess with me. Showed him he picked the wrong guy.
Alfred pauses mid-motion, the gauze in his hands tightening. His eyes flicker with something—disbelief? Anger? He stays silent for a moment too long, the room growing heavy with unspoken tension.
BRUCE (leaning back, smug) Not a big deal, Alfred. The guy deserved it.
There’s a loud, violent scrape as Alfred pushes his chair back with such force it nearly topples over. Bruce flinches, startled, his cocky facade wavering for just a second. When Alfred stands, he towers over Bruce, casting a long, imposing shadow. His voice, when it comes, is like ice—quiet but laced with fury.
ALFRED (cold, dangerously calm) Deserved it? And who, exactly, are you to decide who deserves what, Master Wayne?
Bruce’s defiance flares up again, his glare hardening. His voice rises, a mix of anger and wounded pride.
BRUCE (angry) You weren’t there! He was pushing me around, humiliating me in front of everyone. What was I supposed to do? Just stand there and take it? He’s lucky I didn’t break anything more important!
Alfred steps closer, his frame almost towering over Bruce now, the room shrinking around them. His eyes burn with intensity, every word like a knife.
ALFRED (furious, but controlled) Lucky? The boy is in the hospital, Bruce. Hospitalized. Do you even understand the gravity of what you've done?
Bruce’s lips curl into a snarl, his voice defiant and cold.
BRUCE He’s lucky, alright. Next time, he’ll know not to bother me. I won that fight, Alfred. I showed him exactly what happens when you mess with me.
Alfred’s face darkens further. He turns away for a moment, hands shaking as he begins to pack the medical kit. His voice drops, but it cuts through the tension like a razor.
ALFRED (distant, icy) Did you know the boy’s parents refused to press charges, Master Wayne? Not out of mercy… but out of fear. You didn’t win that fight because you were stronger, or smarter. You won because your name is Wayne. They know you could destroy them without lifting a finger.
Bruce’s face contorts with frustration. He stands abruptly, slamming his hands down on the table, the sound reverberating through the dining room.
BRUCE (shouting) If his parents know better, why didn’t he? What’s the point of having all this power if I just let people walk all over me? I’m not weak, Alfred!
Alfred spins around, his eyes blazing. He steps closer, his presence overwhelming as he speaks with deadly intensity.
ALFRED (voice rising) Power? Is that what you think this is? That your name entitles you to violence, to break others just because you can? You think you’re strong, Bruce? Strength isn’t in your fists—it’s in your restraint. In knowing that your power comes with responsibility.
Bruce glares, his face flushed with rage. His voice is venomous.
BRUCE (furious) Responsibility? Like my father’s? He’s dead, Alfred! He’s gone! And I’m the one left here to deal with the consequences! His legacy is dead! It died with him!
There’s a brutal silence that follows Bruce’s outburst, his words hanging heavy in the air like a death sentence. Alfred’s face twitches, his expression hardening. He steps even closer, now only inches from Bruce’s face, his voice dangerously low.
ALFRED (dangerously quiet) No, Master Wayne… your father’s legacy didn’t die with him. It died the moment his own son became the very thing that killed him.
The words strike like a hammer. Bruce’s breath catches, his fists clenching so tightly his knuckles turn white. For a second, he seems frozen, unable to speak, unable to process the weight of what Alfred just said.
Then, with a cold, deliberate calmness, Bruce straightens his back, his voice eerily steady.
BRUCE (voice like ice) You are dismissed, Mr. Pennyworth.
Alfred’s face softens just a fraction, realizing he’s crossed a dangerous line. He opens his mouth to speak, but Bruce cuts him off.
BRUCE (interrupting, calm but deadly) I will call for you if I need anything.
Alfred hesitates, his eyes filled with both fury and deep, gut-wrenching sorrow. But there’s nothing more to say. With a slow, deliberate nod, he turns on his heel and walks away, leaving Bruce standing alone in the massive, empty dining room.
As Alfred’s footsteps echo into the silence, Bruce’s shoulders finally slump, his face twisting into a mask of barely-contained rage and pain. He stares down at his bandaged hands, his breath coming in sharp, shallow bursts.
FADE OUT.
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justwinginglife · 2 months ago
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The Strongest Weakness
Alright guys, it's started; I told yall I would be posting fics based off of Keshi's new album. Here is my fic based off of "Soft Spot," which imo is so Gen Narumi coded.
Gen was the strongest for a reason.
He was merciless, he was relentless, he was pure power, he was raw talent, he was an immovable and unstoppable force of nature, he was the foundation for any stable future that Japan could ever hope to have. It didn’t matter that he was reckless, it didn’t matter that he was abrasive- in the face of power, prudence and propriety were irrelevant. 
And it quickly became common knowledge that Captain Gen Narumi of the 1st Division was the strongest. 
So then why did he feel so weak whenever he was around you?
Why did he feel so frail? Like he’d crumble if you diverted your attention from him for a second. Like he’d wilt if you didn’t call his name. Like your smile was the only thing keeping him from the verge of collapse and ruin. He needed you to get through the day, and he never needed anything. It scared him to need you. To want you. To dream of you. To long for you. To obsess over you. To be robbed of his oxygen when you weren’t near him. To be robbed of his sleep, of his sanity. To have every cell in his body intoxicated by you, addicted to you, enamored with you. Why was he so weak, and yet he’d never felt stronger than when you were by his side? He’d always been so sure of himself; he didn’t need anyone to tell him who he was or who he could be. But the version of himself that he was around you, he almost didn’t recognize.
He never went out with his officers; he was always perfectly content to stay at home, with nothing more than NPCs to keep him company. But he suddenly found himself intently listening to chatter in the hallways, craning to hear gossip in the stairwells, trying to see if you were going to karaoke tonight. If you were going to the bar tomorrow. If you were going to the club next week. And then he found himself tagging along, just for the chance that you’d sit next to him in the booth, just for the chance to buy you a drink, just for the chance to dance with you. He hated dancing. But he didn’t hate the idea of being close to you, of feeling your hips under his hands, of feeling your sweat mingle with his, of feeling the beat of his heart match rhythm to the beat of yours. So he danced with you. Until his feet almost bled, until his legs almost collapsed, until he was properly drunk on your presence, and even when the club closed, he procured a stereo so he could continue to dance with you outside. 
He wasn’t used to going out of his way for someone like this. He wasn’t used to feeling anything for someone like this. But there you were- living proof of his ability to love someone. He couldn’t deny it if he tried.
When you waited hours for him to finish training just to present him with rice balls and water, he knew he was in love with you. 
When you secretly slipped a copy of the game he’d been eying for ages under his door and you thought he wouldn’t recognize the pitter patter of your footsteps as you scurried away, he knew he was in love with you. 
When he lost another competition to Hoshina, and you sat with him through his sulking, when you told him you were always Team Narumi from day one, he knew he was in love with you. 
When he was anxious, when he was afraid, when he was insecure, when he was overwhelmed, when he was everything that a Captain shouldn’t be, and you made every effort to make sure some part of you was always touching him, your knee against his knee, your shoulder up against his shoulder, to remind him you were there, to remind him you supported him, without alerting the rest of the squadron what only you had noticed, he knew he was in love and would always be in love with you and only you.
Gen always thought that he only deserved what he could produce. He was strong because he trained and he was the Captain because he was strong. But you loved him before he ever knew how to love you. You loved him before he was ever somebody, because he was only somebody when he was yours. You loved him despite him being everything you weren’t. Despite his rough exterior, despite his ill manners, his impatience, his ignorance, his arrogance, you still loved him. You, with your kind nature, with your sweet smile, with your endless patience, with your gentle touch, with your infinite optimism, you still loved him. And he didn’t deserve you but he’d never stop trying to. 
When he finally asked you out, he half hoped you would say no. He hoped your standards weren’t so low that you’d settle for the mess of a man that he was. He hoped he could come back as a better man one day, as one that was worthy of you. But for now, he was still impatient, he was still selfish, and he couldn’t continue to dream about you, to wish for you, to hope for you, to desire you, without ever uttering a word about it. He wasn’t exactly sure what words to say -he was never good with words- and he was sure you could tell how he felt without him ever saying a thing, but you deserved more than longing glances and intentions whispered into the abyss. If anyone was going to make him confess to feelings he’d long thought were impossible, feelings he’d long deemed himself incapable of, it would be you. 
And if anyone was going to accept him the way he was, if anyone was going to love him regardless of his faults, if anyone was going to give the orphan in him a home, it would be you. 
And you did. 
You said yes.
If he thought he loved you before, he loved you infinitely more now. He loved the way you’d massage his shoulders and kiss the top of his head while he was working. He loved the way you’d leave him little love notes in his lunchbox. He loved the way you’d lay your head in his lap while he gamed. He loved the way you’d bury yourself into his chest while you slept. 
And he never stopped showing you all the ways he loved you too. Even if he didn’t say it all the time, his love was still there, vibrant and pure, in every kiss he pressed to your skin, in every gaze he bestowed upon you lovingly. In the way he always checked to make sure your suit was fully functioning before you headed off to battle. In the way he started to play farming games with you because you didn’t like fighting games. In the way he switched which side of the bed he slept on after an entire lifetime of sleeping on the same side, just because you didn’t like the side by the closet door. He didn’t need words when he had intentions. 
Once, he took a two hour drive to pick up food from your favorite restaurant because he knew you were craving it, and when he dragged his exhausted, carsick, love drunk ass back onto base, your food in hand, his fellow officers teased him for being wrapped around your finger. He grumbled at them but he couldn’t deny it. 
It was common knowledge that Captain Gen Narumi of the 1st Division was the strongest. 
It was equally common knowledge that you were his weakness.
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bonefall · 9 months ago
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.. opinions on wind runner? i feel like im one of the only ones that genuinely hates her sometimes
If you feel like the only one who genuinely hates her, I think you need to look around more. Wind Runner is a very widely disliked character, because she's often used within the story as a small antagonist who "threatens" the authority of Tall Shadow. Gray Wing dislikes her. Thunder is openly cat-racist to her. She spends several books trying to break through the moor cats' xenophobia to join a group that came to HER LAND.
Then, when Moth Flight is old enough to be a relevant character in Forest Divided, Wind Runner is turned into Yet Another mean mom the very moment Moth displays ADHD. She's contrasted to her mate Gorse Fur, who is a Soft And Good Dad, and ultimately MASSIVELY punished with the harrowing events of Moth Flight's Vision (even though, for most of that book, she's completely right.)
Ask yourself why they're especially harsh on WIND RUNNER for being mean to her child, in the arc with Tom the Fucking Wifebeater and his redemption death, plus Thunder being forced to stop being mad at his abuser Clear Sky, please.
To me, Wind Runner is an intense, ambitious woman who's demonized for it in a way that men just aren't. She's subject to several misogynistic trends within WC, plus a huge helping of xenophobia that goes absolutely unexamined. If DOTC cared at all about women, it would have treated her with the nuance she deserves.
Wind Runner is treated with nearly endless suspicion by Gray Wing through books 1 - 3, while he's bending over backwards to suck Clear Sky's toes.
Her wanting to join the group that came TO HER HOME and being a bit pushy about it earns a stronger reaction from Gray Wing than Clear Sky murdering people.
She's pressured into changing her name "to fit in," and it's still not enough. She wanted to join the group so bad she changed her name, at the request of the Mountain Cats, for a chance of being better accepted
This came after she'd already saved Jagged Peak's life when a burrow collapsed on him. She's plenty trustworthy.
She keeps doing shit to try and prove herself to this group of assholes. Remember Bumble being dragged back to her domestic abuser? Gray Wing interprets this as a power struggle, when WIND RUNNER WAS NOT EVEN PART OF THE GROUP AT THE TIME.
From Wind Runner's POV, she did something that the Moor cats wanted done. It was fucking evil. It was committing violence against another member of the out-group the cats see her as.
But who actually has the power here? Tall Shadow does.
Gray Wing said it himself that she could have come up with some excuse for Bumble to stay, and she didn't. In fact, any cat could have spoken up. No one did.
and still. STILL. Wind Runner gets nothing. Her reward is Gray Wing surmising that actually, her doing their sick dirtywork was a political move.
It's more consistent as a motivation with how Wind Runner wants to join their group. The thing she's been doing.
She only actually gets to join the group after Thunder starts publicly hurling slurs at her for suggesting they need to be ready for Clear Sky to attack them. "What do you know about peace? Last time I was here you were NOTHING BUT A ROGUE WITH A ROGUE'S NAME"
Gray Wing even starts purring when she gives birth, because her ambition goes away briefly and she "stops bossing everyone around." this is treated like a sweet thing. god forbid women retain their personalities when they have kids
She loses her first premature child to a seizure and Gray Wing starts proselytizing his religion to her. "Maybe it's a good thing your weakest child died because Jesus has them now" I want to beat him with a hammer
When her second child gets sick, Clear Sky has a bright idea that involves killing it. I refer to this as his "reverse leper colony" suggestion. He only develops a sense of humanity towards the sick when his brother's pregnant wife is in danger. Wind Runner and her kitten barely seem to clock as people to him.
It's only after her SECOND baby succumbs to a horrible, painful death that she decides the moor cats are assholes, and she goes to start her own group. It's LONG overdue. I was extremely excited to see it.
Now. Listen.
I've been treated just like Moth Flight before. I've practically heard the scolding in Book 6 Chapter 3 verbatim. I'm not downplaying anything about Wind Runner being harsh to her; being yelled at like that never fixed the problem.
What I'm saying is that this is the SAME arc that summons the hollowed-out ghost of Storm to coo that Clear Sky "never drove anyone away" with his abusive behavior and gives Tom the Wifebeater a heroic redemption death.
So why is the scolding from Wind Runner treated as unambiguously harsh? What's the difference between her and them?
Why is it that outside of this little bubble of the community, you can get buried in a flood of people crying about how "Clear Sky made Summisteaks Butt he thought it was the right thing :((( He feels bad about shoving Thunder's face in a weeping, pus-filled wound and trying to kill him :((((" but Wind Runner is mean about Moth Flight not catching a rabbit and she should be skinned alive
Why is WIND RUNNER held responsible for the death of Clear Sky's child in Moth Flight's Vision, WHEN IT WAS COMPLETELY HIS OWN FAULT??
So, why should I hate her? Because she's mean to the idiot protagonists? Because she's Yet Another Bad Mom whose actions ARE treated as Bad in the story, in the arc famous for openly weeping whenever someone's mad at their abusive dad?? When she has this whole horrific, unexamined story about how incredibly bigoted The Settlers are towards her and the extremes she goes to in order to please them?
I'm glad she's mean, actually. She should have been even meaner. I think she should have a gun
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bzurk · 3 months ago
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don’t feel obligated to respond at all my beloved but i would looooove to know your thoughts on könig & knife/gun play <3
also i saw your funny number follower post, congrats!!! you deserve so many more i stg you’re one of the most underrated writers in this godforsaken fandom.
- Dad <3
My headcanon… König is not nice. He is an arrogant, proud and cocky man. He takes looking down on people to another level.
"And they said I couldn't be a sniper..."
“Let’s be honest… It’s better off in my hands.”
“Hands off, It’s mine.”
Like, he knows he’s big. He knows he’s scary. He knows he’s good at what he does. His broad shoulders and towering frame are weapons in their own right, constantly reminding others of their inferiority.
He relishes in their discomfort, in the way they avert their eyes and step aside.
He is not the same kid who was relentlessly bullied and harassed, shoved into lockers and ridiculed. He spent so much time alone, stuck in his head, thinking the world was out to get him, afraid.
It hardened him, made him antagonistic and cruel.
Covered by his mask, König could be someone else entirely.
This... side of his comes easily when he has you in his palms, malleable and docile, sharp edges dulled by fear. Something for him, and him alone, a precious treasure for his eyes only.
And once you're in his grasp, he can do whatever he fucking wants to you. He knows you won't talk back, won't deny him, not when he is so much bigger than you, when he could snap your neck with the flick of a wrist.
But he wouldn't hurt you. Not intentionally, anyway.
Threatening you, though? Proving just how much bigger and stronger than you he is? He thrives off it.
The cold barrel of his pistol gliding over your tongue and chipping at your tooth enamel, his name carved into your hip, bruises in the shapes of his fingers, his knife pressed against your throat-
Anyway, rant over- YOU MAKE ME WANNA WRITE FOR KONIG NOW grrrr
cw below the cut: predator/prey, knifeplay
The labyrinth swallows you whole, its corridors twisting like the coils of a serpent, leading you deeper into its grasp. Each turn is a gamble, a frantic bid to outpace the monstrous presence that dogs your every step. Your breath is ragged, each inhale a knife to the lungs, and your heart hammers a frantic rhythm against your ribs, urging you onward. You curse your shoes - sharp, sensible, and utterly impractical - biting into your feet like a predator gnashing its teeth.
The Minotaur breathes down your neck, a force of nature you cannot outrun. Every shadow is its claw, every echo its growl. You are a sacrifice in this man-made labyrinth, the gods demanding blood and fear as tribute. The offices you sprint past, once a sanctuary of mundane routine, are now twisted visions of horror. Desks loom like skeletal remains, chairs crouch like beasts ready to pounce, and the flickering glow of monitors watches with an indifferent gaze, a silent audience to your terror.
Time warps and distorts, stretching and snapping like the sinews of your aching legs. The world has narrowed to the staccato rhythm of your footfalls, the shrill wail of the alarms a discordant symphony, and the relentless pursuit of the creature behind you.
Desperation claws at your mind, a frenzied beast in its own right. You grab a chair as you run past, flinging it behind you with every ounce of strength you can muster. The chair crashes to the floor, an explosion of sound in the cacophony of the chase. For a moment, you hear the beast stumble, a snarl of frustration echoing off the walls.
But it's not enough. It never is.
The beast is upon you in a heartbeat, a shadow of rage and power that slams you against a desk with bone-jarring force, the collision of a heavy animal ploughing into your ribs, squeezing the air from your lungs and the panic from your head. Pain blooms through your body, and static takes your vision. Your lungs scream and scream and scream for breath to no avail, muscles spasming. The hit is like a system reset to your body, shutting down all of your functions only to reboot them in a heartbeat.
The Minotaur is faster. He is built from pure muscle and sinew, bulging and heaving under the blaring red lights, the silhouette reaching for the ceiling. He grunts and groans, breath expelled harshly in a facsimile of exhaustion.
The Minotaur steps into the blaring red light of the alarm, its glow revealing him in a series of sharp, fractured images.
What stands before you isn't a creature forged from myth and nightmare, but a man, a towering figure encased in the cold precision of tactical gear. His silhouette is all harsh lines and rugged edges, a mountain of muscle and sinew crafted for power and endurance.
A hood drapes over his head, its fabric heavy with the residue of shadow and blood, concealing most of his features, except for the sharp glint of his eyes; a glacial blue that pierces through the darkness. Those eyes hold no mercy, no hesitation, only the cold calculation of a predator who knows his place at the top of the food chain.
In one hand he grips a large combat knife, its blade gleaming wickedly in the crimson light, reflecting lethal intent. The knife seems like an extension of him, as natural as the breath he expels in harsh, rhythmic intervals. Every part of him speaks of discipline, of a man moulded into a weapon as much by choice as by necessity.
He regards you with an intensity that burns through the space between you, a look that speaks volumes without uttering a word. It tells of dominance and disdain, the arrogance of a hunter who has already decided the outcome of this encounter. And as you lie there, splayed and breathless, you realize that this man, this Minotaur in human form, is the living embodiment of your worst fears - a predator who revels in the chase and takes grim satisfaction in knowing that escape is futile, in knowing that he has won.
The Minotaur steps closer, his heavy boots echoing on the linoleum floor, each step deliberate and filled with purpose. His presence looms over you like a dark, oppressive storm, blotting out any hope of escape. He plants his feet on either side of your hips, a calculated move that pins you in place, trapping you beneath his imposing figure.
His eyes, those cold, glacial blue eyes, narrow slightly with amusement as he regards you - splayed out, wide-eyed and breathless, a deer caught in the headlights. He reaches down, his hand moving with a predator's grace, and grips the collar of your blouse. The fabric strains against his hold, and you can feel the cold, unyielding steel of the knife pressing into the hollow of your throat, its edge a chilling promise of violence.
"Pretty thing," he coos, his voice a low, rumbling purr that sends a shiver down your spine.
There’s a twisted satisfaction in the way he speaks, a predator savouring the fear that radiates from you like heat. His words are a mockery, dripping with condescension, as if your fear is nothing more than a source of entertainment to him. You can see his eyes crinkle with delight beneath the hood, the corners creased in a perverse kind of happiness. It's a manic joy, one that revels in the power he holds over you, in the certainty of his victory.
"You put up a good chase," he continues, almost conversationally, as if discussing the weather or a mundane day at work. The knife presses just a fraction deeper, piercing skin, a reminder of the precariousness of your situation. "But in the end, you know it was futile, don't you?"
His voice is a mix of admiration and taunt, a hunter acknowledging the prey's fleeting attempt at escape while relishing in its ultimate capture. There's a cruel satisfaction in the way he leans closer, his breath a ghost against your skin, warm and chilling all at once.
He relishes in your fear, in the way your pulse hammers beneath the thin barrier of skin, the way your breath stutters in your chest. It's a game to him, one he plays with expert precision.
You can see the madness in his eyes, a glint of something untamed and wild that speaks of a man who thrives on chaos and control, who lives for the thrill of the hunt and the inevitable conclusion it brings. And in that moment, you understand with terrifying clarity that you are at the mercy of a predator who knows no bounds, who revels in the dance of fear and power, and who will not be satisfied until he has claimed his prize.
His knife trails down, down, following the bead of blood as it trickles down the hollow of your throat.
“Pretty, precious little thing,” he coos into your ear, the fabric of his hood tickling against the sensitive skin of your tear-stained cheeks. His knife tinks as it hits your top button. “I will have much fun ruining you.”
You squeak when the sound of your button skating across the floor echoes. Followed by the next, then the next, then the next, until your soft belly is exposed to the beast and its hungry maw.
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