#he was obviously going to use seduction as a weapon

[bluecookieeggspizza-blog]

it kind of shocked me that valentine was actually kind of a prude, because in my head he was clearly a slut. there’s no way he didn’t hook up with half the academy. you’re telling me that manipulative motherfucker wouldn’t use other people’s passion and attraction to his advantage? fuck off

[youngheejay]

Love doesn’t exist in our world

Introduction

Chapter one: The beginning of retaliation

Chapter One: The notorious mafia boss orders his sons to get an arms and weapons deal—an easy job, but what happens if the deal fails? They have to ‘take care’ of the person who’s responsible.

Warnings: mafia themes such as violence, guns, killing, etc., suggestiveness!, alcohol, mentions of s*x, abuse!, swearing, women are objectified and sexualised

This is part one of the series, I don’t know how many chapters it will have—it will totally depend on the readers! If you like this chapter please interact (comment, requests, feedback) that way I will know if people want to read more and you can influence how the story should develop.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jay jolted awake from the sudden sound of his phone ringing.

Fuck.

He groaned.

His head was pounding from last night as he lazily supported his upper body on his elbows, the comforter slipping down and revealing his naked, firm chest. He looked around, scanning the bedroom as he tried to remember what happened. His trousers and boxers were scattered on the floor, panties and a dress thrown recklessly on the nightstand, a bra hanging from the edge of a dressing table.

Where the fuck was he?

He shut his eyes in frustration as he fell back onto the pillow with a groan and blindly reached for his phone. Just as he was about to press the green icon, the incoming call ended.

But Jay didn’t have any time to process the situation—the hangover blurring his mind—when a delicate hand nestled on his bare chest.

“Good morning, baby~” the female voice sang in a seductive tone.

He turned his head towards the left side of the bed, scanning the woman whose name he couldn’t remember.

Jay smirked—damn, she’s hot.

Without a word he pulled the woman towards his side and pressed his lips against hers. “Fuck-“ he rasped in between the hot kiss and slipped his tongue inside her mouth. A moan escaped from her mouth.

Her hand on his chest wandered downward and just as she was about to touch his-

His phone began to ring again. Frustrated, he parted from her lips and looked at the contact name. “Just decline it, baby.” Her lips trailed down his neck, sucking the spot gently.

Jay ignored her and took the call.

“I’m busy.” He uttered sternly into the speaker as he violently grasped the woman’s hair in his hand and forced it down, underneath the comforter.

“Come to Grand Maria. Now.”

Jay groaned, both at the pleasure he was receiving and the annoyance towards his brother. “I’m busy, Jake,” he repeated.

“You better come quickly. Pops’ callin‘ us.” He ended the call without waiting for a reply.

As much as he wanted to enjoy the pleasure — he knew he had to better get going. He roughly pulled at the woman’s hair to separate her from himself. She hissed at the pain caused by his harshness.

“I’m leaving.” He coldly uttered, her eyes widened from the suddenness. She scoffed, cleaning her mouth with the back of her hand, “what?! We only just begun!”

“Jay!” She whined as she watched him gather his clothes and get dressed, “you can’t just leave like that! Stay with me! I’ll make you feel so good.” She went to his side and held his hands to stop him from buttoning his dress shirt. That’s when Jay snapped and pushed the woman away, making her stumble and fall on her bottom.

He hated it when someone touched him — outside of sex, obviously.

She gasped loudly, not expecting him to be this aggressive. “Don’t touch me.” He warned.

“B-but,” her eyes welled up with tears as she pouted, “you promised you’d take me to your yacht party. You promised this will not be a one night thing!”

Jay rolled his eyes. He detested clingy, whiny and stupid women. But it truly was his own fault. He was too charming for his own good—women always fell for his lies and games.

“Not my fault that you’re stupid and believed that.”

“What?!”

Ignoring her pathetic calls, he adjusted his pants and belt as he walked out the front door and left the building.

-

With a cigarette in his mouth he anxiously tapped on the steering wheel. The black horse with the yellow background on it glistened in the summer light.

Why did Pops call them so suddenly?

He exhaled the smoke as he held the cigarette between his index and middle finger and rested his arm on the open window of his red sports car. A gift he received from Pops seven months ago after he successfully coordinated a cocaine and fentanyl deal with a big, reputable casino company. It’s not like he needed this car. He has been gifted several cars throughout his life and he had bought himself plenty of them. But this car was special. It was the first time Pops had recognised him as his son. The first time Pops had been proud of his hard work. The first time he ever received a pat on his shoulder.

“Proud of you, son.” He had muttered in between his cigar puffs, roughly patting Jay’s shoulder.

The red Ferrari Portofino was a beautiful car, no doubt. But it wasn’t the car itself that made him love this gift so much. It was the gesture. The fatherly affection that Jay had experienced for the first time in 26 years of his life. It was a feeling of warmth that awkwardly spread in his chest whenever he thought of that memory. The firm grip on his shoulder was nestled into his brain. It made him yearn for more.

The car was a reminder not to screw up. To work even harder for his affection and to not disappoint him. To make him proud that he accepted Jay as his son.

Jay took another drag of the cigarette as he pulled into the foreyard of the mansion. The security in front of the gates stepped aside, knowing the multiple cars and license plates—the legal and illegal ones—of the family members by heart.

The spring breeze combed through his hair as he stepped outside. He took one final drag before letting the cigarette butt fall onto the cemented ground.

Jay rolled back his tense shoulders and let his head fall back. He closed his eyes and sighed softly as the sun shined in his face. Memories of the night before popped into his mind causing a faint smirk to spread on his face.

The low hum of a vehicle interrupted his moment of peace. Jay’s head whipped back to the all familiar sound. “Yoooo!!!” Jake shouted from inside his costum-made Maserati GranCabrio. He parked the baby-blue luxury car right beside Jay’s red Ferrari—a symbol of ultimate wealth to anyone who would pass by.

“Why did Pops call us?” Jay questioned right away without any big words of greeting. “I don’t know man. Something happened—that’s all I know.” Jake stepped outside of his car as threw his arm over Jay’s shoulder. “Saw you leaving the club with two hot chicks yesterday.” His eyes glistened with amusement as a chuckle escaped his mouth. “Did you have fun?” He raised his brows, asking the rhetorical question in a mocking tone. “Two? I don’t remember that.”

The two men climbed the elegant entrance stairs leading to the large wooden door.

“What?” Jake’s laughter ringend into Jay’s ear, causing Jay to push his arm off as to keep a distance between them, feeling annoyed from the close proximity.

“Bro, how do you not remember? They were so fucking hot!”

Jay replied with a shrug of shoulders, blaming his memory loss on the fact that it had been awhile he went to a club and had this type of fun.

As soon as the two brothers stepped in front of the black door, it was suddenly opened by one of the maids.

“Welcome home,” the young lady whispered and glanced at the floor, not daring to look at them. Jay gave her nod. Meanwhile, Jake leaned down and grabbed her waist slightly, “what’s up, baby,” he purred into her ear in passing. The gesture made the young maid shy, warmth creeping in her cheeks as she tried to hide behind her shoulder. “Cute,” he mumbled under his breath, smirking.

“M-master is waiting in the Royal Dining Hall for you, sir.” The maid stuttered, flustered by his boldness.

“Yeah? We eatin‘ something?” His grip on her waist tightened slightly as he pulled her closer to him, his other arm snaking behind her back.

She nodded shyly, her vision solely focused on the ground.

“Did you make it, baby?”

“I-I helped a little, sir.”

“Good girl. I’ll make sure to eat your food well.” He leaned again into her ear, “though, I’d rather prefer to eat you instead.” He murmured the last sentence in a low tone. “S-sir-“ she was lost at words. She could never get used to the flirtatious and bold expressions of her Master’s son. Besides the fact that she was scared as hell of both of the sons, she couldn’t stop the butterflies from tingling inside her belly.

“Watch it, Jake. Pops will fire her if he sees this.” Jake rolled his eyes at Jay’s commanding tone. Can’t a young man have some fun?

But he was right. Fire was a euphemism to what he actually meant to say. He’d probably get her killed. Which Jake couldn’t understand at all because he knew that his father wasn’t some prude. He had witnessed it himself when he was just a little child. The flashbacks of his father going at it with a maid haunted him in his sleep. He quickly shook his head in hopes of deleting the scenes from his memories.

He then let go of her fragile body, the maid stumbled a little due to the suddenness. Jake winked at her teasingly, clenching his hands by his side as he suddenly missed her warmth. Once again, he slightly shook his head—angry at himself to have such feelings.

She has a hot body. There’s no other attraction. She’s a nothing. A mere maid.

He repeated the phrases multiple times in his head—like a desperate prayer to conceal the weird way his heart fluttered whenever he saw her.

“You like the little maid?” Jay asked as they walked down the shiny corridor. Jake bit his inner lip, letting out a faux scoff, “of course not. She’s just a little entertainment whenever I visit home.”

The maid couldn’t help but feel her heart drop into her stomach. Of course she knew that he was just playing with her. But she couldn’t help herself from falling a little for him. His words felt like a slap in the face. But she knew it was her own fault. She was so dumb, so stupid to have these feelings. After all, he was the son of a wealthy and powerful Mafia boss. He was an extremely attractive man and you were certainly not the only woman who he flirted with.

Little did she know that Jake’s heart clenched slightly when he said these words. It made him feel weird. Why would he care about calling her entertainment? That’s what she was. Another woman added to his list. One of many he had. He hadn’t realised that he was looking over his shoulder, stealing a glance at the beautiful woman who made his heart beat faster.

What was this feeling? So foreign, so strange. Jake’s eyes darkened, his jaw clenched subtly.

“You sure?” Jake whipped his head back when he heard his brother’s usual cold voice, only to be met with the back of Jay’s head. As they turned the corner, heading to the east wing of Grand Maria the young man took one last look at the maid, who was occupied with dusting a big frame, before scoffing again: “a thousand percent.”

“Doesn’t look like it,” the other countered casually.

Jake furrowed his eyebrows, irritated at his persistence. “What the fuck are you on? There’s no fucking way I would be interested in a maid. I just wanna bang her, that’s it,” he roughly brushed his shoulder against Jay’s as he passed by him to reach for the door of the dining hall.

Jay’s eyes squinted almost unnoticeably at the aggressive outburst but let it slide because it was his brother. He held himself back from further arguing, deciding to drop the topic.

“Just knock the door, Jake.”

Jake rolled his eyes while doing exactly that —he always acts like the boss.

The door was opened by Mr. Su, the lifelong butler of the family, who has been around even before the Don was born.

“Gentlemen.” Mr. Su greeted them with a slight bow, stepping aside.

The brothers stepped into the dining hall. The golden chandelier reflected warm light into the room, a stark contrast to the eerie aura illuminated by the man sitting at the very end of the banquet table.

Like a cliche movie scene, everything slowed down when they entered the room. The smell of cigars and symphonies of classical music filled the room. The Don aka Pops was reading some file when he looked up above his reading glasses. In sync, they bowed to him without any words, knowing the protocol by heart. He didn’t say a word when his sons stepped closer, yet far enough to keep a respectful distance.

His eyes darted back to the paper in front of him. “Sit down,” he rasped in a smoky, low tone, leaving shivers down to anyone’s spine who had listened. The young men obeyed immediately, taking a seat on opposite sides—a set rule whenever they dined with the Don.

Without needing a word, Mr. Su left the room after bowing to the family.

“You two are moving back home.“ Pops announced suddenly.

Jake’s eyes widened, he couldn’t help himself from uttering a small, “what?”

“No discussion. I decided.” He gave Jake a stern look which took him immediately back to his childhood days. Fuck. He felt like a nine year old who’s scared from a simple expression of his father. He hated this feeling.

Pops continued to read the paper before he passed it on to Jay, “you’re going to lead this mission. Do not disappoint me.”

“Yes, sir.”

~

The order was clear: Get a deal with the biggest arms supplier in the country.

It shouldn’t have been a tough deal to make since the interest was the same on both sides.

Only there was one big obstacle.

“I told you to make a deal and you’re telling me it’s going to take awhile?!

Jongseong.”

“Yes, sir.” Jay’s shoulders stiffened.

“I asked you a question!” Pops’ voice was audible outside of his office in the mansion. Every maid and worker were on high alert, moving around quietly and carefully.

Silence followed.

Then.

A loud crash.

The enraged Don had shattered the mirror decorating the wall by throwing his whisky bottle at it. The liquid spread on the floor along the tiny, broken glasses of the bottle and mirror.

The young man kept quiet. His face was blank. He didn’t react to the suddenness. To the violence. He didn’t flinch. He just continued to stare at the floor, hands folded in polite manner, not daring to speak up nor to look at the Don.

“Fucking useless prick. Just like your pathetic mother,“ Pops scoffed.

“Get on your knees.”

“Yes, sir.” Like a robot he automatically reached for the buttons of white dress-shirt and undid them without any hesitation. He knew what was following. Pops punishment.

He got on his knees, his muscular, naked back was in front of the Don.

His bare back was decorated with old and fresh scars. Brown and red. Deep and dark. Some were almost healed. Barely noticeable. Others were big and ugly. Every single one told a story.

Then the beating started. Pops swinged the belt. The swings were sharp, hefty and mercilessly.

“Fucking-“

Hit.

“Bastard.”

Hit.

“You’re no“

Hit.

“son of mine.”

Hit.

Jay gritted his teeth, trying to suppress the groans of pain. You would’ve thought that he had gotten used to it. But it was painful every time.

Unbearable.

To be the literal punching bag of the biggest, most influential Mafia Boss in the city when things didn’t go as planned. When the alcohol made him furious and he couldn’t control himself. When he had to blow off steam. Whenever Jay, his son, was available to take his frustration. And if he wasn’t available, he made sure he’d be available and get there.

And as fucked up as it sounded—Jay took the beating. He didn’t fight against it. There was no point. In his eyes at least.

It was his fault that his mother had vanished.

It was his fault that he resembled her more than his father would’ve liked.

He should’ve completed the task flawlessly. It was his responsibility. He should’ve known better by now.

“You know, I don’t like to do this. But you’re making me this way.”

A particular powerful hit followed. Jay grunted silently. Gritting his teeth, jaw clenched, nostrils flared.

“You’re leaving me no choice. I have to teach you, right?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I’m getting older, Jongseong. Someday, you’re going to take my place and by then you need to be disciplined. You understand, right?”

Jay nodded. That’s how it always went.

Hit.

Jay scrunched his face in pain.

“Give me a proper answer.”

“Y-yes, sir.”

~

“WHO THE FUCK WAS IT??!!”

Jay slammed one of his worker’s faces on the floor, his knee dug onto his neck, hands gripping his hair and jaw painfully.

“WHO THE FUCK BLEW UP OUR DEAL?!”

“S-sir-“

Jay didn’t listen as he beat up the man. He was blinded by rage. The man spit out blood.

“H-hee- s-seung,”

Jay grabbed him by his collar: “speak properly, motherfucker!”

“I-it was heeseung! He is the right-hand man of Osaka Kazama!”

“How do you know?!” Jay spat with fire in his voice.

“I heard two guards mentioning his name when we went to make the deal!” He stuttered fearfully.

Jay took a deep breath. “Ok.” He let go of his collar. “Ok,” he repeated, patting the man’s cheek roughly as he stood up. The man, all beaten up, lied on the floor as he groaned due to the pain.

“Get rid of him,” Jay ordered coldly to the guards, wiping down the blood on his hands with a handkerchief.

The man begged for forgiveness. But Jay was mercilessly.

“We have to get the deal no matter what it costs us! Loyalty is the first rule in our family! If the trust is broken, there is no escape! If you choose to withhold information it will be punished like betrayal! I count on you! We can’t let the rival family get ahead of us! We can’t let them take what’s ours! Got it?!”

“Yes! Sir!” The men shouted loudly and proudly—fearfully—the feeling of unity and brotherhood brought and held them together.

“I want every single information of this Heeseung guy.” He instructed to Jake and Jungwon. His close friend who, alongside with Jake, had been a big part of all of his missions so far.

“Don’t worry, Jay. We’ll get the deal. And we’ll make sure that this guy doesn’t get in your way again.”

“We got it, bro.” Jake patted Jay’s back, unaware of the pain of the injuries he had been enduring ever since.

Three days later, Jay and Jake were presented by Jungwon the most relevant information of Heeseung’s life.

The three men sat in Jay’s office in Grand Maria.

Since Pops had ordered for them to move back to the mansion, Jay had settled back into his old office.

“Heeseung grew up without any family. He is an orphan who had been living in an orphanage until he was 9. The workers there abused the children and once the police found out, they shut down the organisation but nobody took care of the kids. Since then he had been living in the streets until he was 12 years old. He was dragged into the children U13 mma fights and was discovered there by Kazama’s wife, who then took him home. Well, that’s the official story. There are rumours that there was a person who took care of the children who were abandoned on the streets. The person had sent the children to multiple families. Some families accepted them, others abandoned them.

You can imagine that his loyalty towards Kazama and his wife is immense. As you know they have six children of their own, so they must’ve seen something special in Heeseung for them to accept him.”

“Or the person who sent Heeseung to the Kazama family was a close friend of theirs and they had no choice but to take him.” Jake added.

Jay’s eyebrows pinched in concentration.

“That’s also a possibility. But, like I mentioned, this is just a rumour. A speculation. Since they already have six biological children it just doesn’t make sense— why would they adopt another child? They’re no philanthropists. And they most certainly have an heir to their empire.”

“All six children are men?” Jay asked.

“No, the youngest is a girl. That’s the next point.” Jungwon showed pictures of two women in the next slide. “These people are our target. If we want to make Heeseung miserable and show him he can’t steal what’s ours then we’ll have to get close to his people.”

Jay smirked, “so you wanna mess around, huh? Why not just leave a simple message?”

“If we kill his people, he will without hesitation kill our in response. It will start a war that we can’t win because we’re not armed enough. But if we get close to his beloved ones, we can threaten him and he’ll back up his weapon deal with Highton Park—which was ours to begin with.”

“Who are these people?”

“First:

We have the youngest daughter of the Kazama family. She recently started studying medicine. The family’s baby. The family excludes her from every aspect of the mafia world. And she’s definitely also not interested in the business. Rumours have it that they have something going on. Even if she doesn’t have any information about his business, to have information about her is valuable. According to my sources, he is very protective of her. Weak point number one.”

Jay gave him a nod, allowing him to continue:

“His second weak point is Y/N Y/L. She’s also an orphan who was left out on the streets. Apparently, when Heeseung was taken to the Kazama‘s she followed him and they both didn’t want to let go of each other. Of course, the family didn’t tolerate her but somehow she managed to get a spot in their villa. She lives there but not under good circumstances. Currently, she’s training to become a kindergarten teacher.“

Jay chuckled sarcastically, “what a fuckin’ joke that Heeseung guy is. Fuckin’ two chicks who live with him. Good job, Jungwon. He’s an easy target. We will have that deal by the end of the week.”

“I think we will need a little more than a week to accomplish what we’re aiming for. Because as far as I’m concerned we should take it slowly. Heeseung is a smart man. He has someone infiltrated within our men who gave him the tips about our deal with Highton Park. He’s totally anticipating our attack. So we should do it step by step.“ Jay nodded in agreement, “so, what are you suggesting?”

“Since we can’t trust anyone except us three I’m saying we should do the investigation ourselves.”

“You want us to play spies?”

“Well… if you wanna put it that way… but think about it! It’s the safest way if we get to control how much we interact with them and what information we get to blackmail Heeseung. And since you two have been living undercover your whole life there’s no way that the family knows your face or your name.”

Jungwon continued, “The probability of something going wrong is low if we have ultimate control of everything.”

Jake cut him off, “what do we plan to do? How will we get close to them?”

“Well, I thought you can attend the same lectures and courses as that Kazama girl.” Jungwon suggested with a shrug of his shoulder.

“I’m not going to fuckin’ college! There’s no way I will attend lectures. Jay should go!”

“Do I look like a college student?” Jay challenged with a raised eyebrow. The irony of his question clear as day as he sat on his big chair of his work desk, the sleeves of his white, neat dress-shirt rolled up, revealing his tattoos.

“Do you wanna go to the kindergarten then?” Jungwon also raised his eyebrow in mockery.

“Fuck no! I hate children!” Jake groaned dramatically, “let’s have a meeting with Pops first and present him this idea.”

“No.” Jay ordered with authority. “We won’t tell Pops anything about this until we have a result. Nobody will tell anyone what we’re doing.”

“So what are we gonna do?! We’re in the fucking mafia not some drama!” Jake countered in a high pitched voice due to the frustration towards his brother.

{Fast forward to next week}

“Hi, I’m Jake.” He introduced himself with a flashy smile, “I couldn’t attend last week’s lectures, could you help me out a little?” He rubbed his neck, tilting his head charmingly.

/

“This is Jay, he’s the gentleman who gave us the big donation - top secret! He wants to do some voluntary work so please show him around!”

________

© youngheejay 2025 | do not repost or plagiarize.

[apoloadonisandnarcissus]

I’ve seen some folks who know Balkan folklore complain about the “location of the vampire grave” scene in “Nosferatu” (2024) being all wrong, and, people, that’s the point! We are suppose to see it’s all wrong because this is a hallucination/nightmare created by Count Orlok.

The “red flags” in this scene is what gives it away. And Robert Eggers is very aware of all of this. This is intentional; because not only has Eggers done extensive research, but he has quoted Serbian horror cult classic “Leptirica” (1973) as one of this cinematic inspirations for this film, where there’s a similar scene to this one.

This ritual is, obviously, done during the day (like in “Leptirica”) when the creature is resting on his grave, not in the middle of the night, when it’s active. If this corpse was really a strigoi or any other creature he wouldn’t even be on his grave at this time of night, to begin with (and the film will acknowledge this with Orlok himself, as Thomas finds him resting on his sarcophagus during the day);

If a “virgin” is used to locate the grave it’s usually a boy (not a girl), and the horse is suppose to be black (not white);

The Romani call this creature “moroi”; and while the legends are diverse and these creatures are still associated with folk vampire lore, “moroi” are usually ghost-like beings and often connected to the spirit of children: unbaptized, stillborns or even the offspring of two strigoi. In some regions of Romania, “moroi” are considered mortal vampires with a normal lifespan and death, similar to the strigoi-vii (living strigoi), only mortal (while strigoi-vii are considered immortal).

When the Handsome Romani vampire hunter stabs the corpse with a spike of cold iron, it has no physical reaction other than vomiting blood. This is contrast with the other two parallel scenes we have of “spikes of cold iron” in the film, also involving Thomas Hutter character:

This corpse is a regular corpse, not a strigoi morti (like Orlok) nor a moroi. Because Orlok wants Thomas to play the hero, and will weaponize this until the end of the film (as he says to Herr Knock, when he offers to kill Thomas: “I have use in him”).

For his part, Count Orlok is a quintessential strigoi morti, he’s not a “mix” of creatures as I’ve seen mentioned in other places (looking at you Screen Rant and Reddit). The narrative identifies him as such during the Inn scene.

But Eggers plays with the idea of the Zburător in this scene, because according to one author it might have inspired Bram Stoker “Dracula” (“might” being the key word here). Zburător is a demon/ghost incubus-like creature from Romanian folklore, who has sex with young women (usually married) during the night, and targets newlywed couples. His appearance is that of a handsome young man with dark eyes and black hair. They are shapeshifters and seductive, considered by some authors as the original "suave, sexy vampire”… which is the opposite of what Robert Eggers has said he was going for with his Count Orlok.

And this scene being full of “red flags” is also a nod to Count Orlok not being a Zburător. This Romani vampire hunter is identified as “Handsome Roma man”, and him being an attractive and beautiful man is a key element to his character, in all levels, because this is how Count Orlok would have looked like if he was, indeed, a Zburător in this story. A young woman being present (instead of a boy) is probably also connected with this idea.

Count Orlok haunting of Ellen has nothing to do with Zburător myths and legends:

He doesn’t “target” Ellen because she’s newlywed (she wasn’t even married when she resurrected him at the prologue; where we have two strigoi legends; returning to living relatives and strangling;

Orlok is not your “sexy suave” vampire with dreamy eyes or flowing hair, nor can he shapeshift into one; he’s a living nightmare of pure horror, a walking rotten corpse filled with maggots precisely because he’s a strigoi morti who can only create terror and fear on his victims (like we see with Thomas and Anna Harding);

Zburător visit young women’s dreams disguised as “prince charming” (their true form is that of a dragon), bringing romance and seduction, until the women can no longer distinguish reality from dreams, and they die. This is the opposite of what we see in “Nosferatu” (2024), the two times we see Ellen dreaming of Orlok are nightmares of him strangling her (prologue) or her feeding on Thomas during the Sex Magick divorce ritual, because strigoi can only create nightmares in others not “neverending seduction” dreams like Zburător.

[fiestylittlebeetle]

I probably mentioned this before for khyware in GC

Cw kidnapping and toxic relationships

But Mal gets ditched by Khyber in the initial fight with Ben that reveals Mal is no longer up to snuff

But Khyber does come back later for him, and not in a romantic way. In a shitty possessive way.

Khyber manages to get his shit together and he's mostly back in the hunting game, trying for new trophies, even starts to build up a new collection. And he wants malware in that collection, after all, he is a rare one of a kind being, and one with a reputation at that.

Khyber doesn't really view malware as a person, and he's useless as a weapon now.

He views Mal as a prize.

Now, in what I'm imagining, he comes back for Malware after Aether has already become involved, so Mals recovery is already coming alone well by this point. Aether and him aren't together together but feelings abound if you know what I mean.

My idea is Khyber gets Malware alone, probably luring him away. And maybe even tries to play at romance cause, he's not stupid. He knows when they were together Mal was getting attached before Khyber ditched him to Bens mercy.

Unfortunately he miscalculates on plan A (seduction) and Mal is extremely not interested and is in fact pissed at him for even thinking he is anymore, like how fucking dare Khyber come to him like this after straight up abandoning him. Not happening.

Khyber has a plan B though, which is capturing him by force using a powerful magnetic device to disrupt his body mass and incompasitate him.

Mals disappearance does not go un-noticed. Especially not by Ben (who's basically in charge of making sure he doesn't go evil again.) and DEFINITELY not by Aether, who cares about and tries to regularly communicate with Mal.

Aether actually approaches Ben about not hearing from Mal in a few days. And being worried something happened. Ben thinks Mal might have betrayed them all (everyone else is like "he's been doing great lately though why would he do that" even Kevin is like "doesn't sound right to me")

Ben wants to track him down to ask him "what the fuck" if he did betray them. Aether goes with him cause he's worried.

They end up tracking him down to Khyber's ship where he's being kept. And Bens first thought is "oh he's with Khyber again" but upon searching his ship for him he's quickly proven wrong, as they find him contained in glass and restricted by powerful magnets (Khyber thought he looked prettier alive, also malware has plot armor now)

(Side note: I think Khyber was affected by the nemetrix in an almost similar way to Phil, and can mutate slightly with Tyrannopede. He doesn't go full but he does get bigger and has certain physical features of the tyranno)

So Ben and Aether work together to kick his ass.

I know I said Aether isn't much for fighting but he is PISSED at Khyber. Like first of all, Malware is a PERSON not a Prize. And second of all, that's his CRUSH you bastard!

Anyway they save Malware obviously and he's shook up. Ben feels bad for thinking he betrayed them. And Aether is just relieved he's at least alive.

[dreadfulsanity]

Sinnerman

"I had a weird fucking day. Wakako threw something my way. Guy wanted someone to kill someone. So I asked who the target was. She didn't know. Now, I have no problem putting bullets into skulls of scum. Like Jataro Shobo. Seriously. The more I learn about the guy the more I wish I could kill him again. Utter piece of filth. But I digress. So I asked her what if the target is some nice, loving father of three. 'Then you will make the right decision, V.' Ugh. So I decided to hear the guy out at least. "

"Turns out, he was after the killer of his wife. Joshua Stephenson. Yes, the one who's all over the screamsheets lately. Passion of Christ nonsense. Looks like he got off death row by making a deal with corpos. Bill couldn't let that slide. Before you ask, yes, I agreed to help. Though I was hoping I'd still find an angle I could play. Anyways, we waited in his car until the target came in sight. No one said anything about NCPD though. We followed the van. I spare you the details. We caught up to them. Some badge with a stick up his ass threatened to shoot. Bill couldn't care less. Stormed with drawn weapon towards him. Tried to get in-between them, but... well, Bill is dead. And now Joshua wanted to... hire me to spend the day with him. Isn't that nice? There was also some corpo rat from the studio among the trio. I agreed, because... I was curious. Plain and simple. Btw... I apparently have a reputation among the NCPD. Dangerous to be around were the words Vasquez used. I'm no danger to badges, am I?"

River chuckled. "Well, I'm not a badge anymore, so I couldn't possibly say." He kissed her neck.

"Oh, we're getting to that. Apparently your old buddies like to gossip like school girls. We arrived at some house in SD where Joshua wanted to visit someone. Asked me to come with. Vasquez was giving me the stink-eye. You know me. I took that as a challenge. Maybe got a bit cocky. Called him cute, but that I have sadly only space for one cop in my bed. 'Ex-cop.' he snapped back at me."

"What?" Another chuckle.

"Told you. Apparently we're the talk at the NCPD."

"What did you say to that?"

"That you have bigger cojones than all the other badges at your precinct combined. And definitely bigger balls than Vasquez. With a very snotty look around his crotch region. He just grunted. I chuckled and went in after Joshua. Apparently that was the house where the mother of one of his victims lived. And he was besties with that victim's sister. She... forgave him. It was through her that he found god. Made me nauseous. Mum came home, didn't find it in her heart to forgive him and threw us out. Next stop was a diner. The corpo bitch wanted to get rid of me. I did not oblige. Made her mad. Worth it. We talked a bit more, Vasquez and Joshua wolfed down some chow. Then they left for the studio and I came here."

Val poured herself another whiskey.

"You know, this whole thing is insane. I mean, he's obviously bad people, and got sentenced to death for it. But the corp making bank on his suffering... they want to crucify him and record a braindance of that. What the hell is wrong with people? And then, as I was making my way home, the corpo bitch called. Begged for my help. Apparently Joshua has second thoughts. She wants me to set him straight. She'll be in for a rude awakening. He belongs back on death row. Not in a BD studio."

"Jesus, V. Your days are never boring, aren't they? Maybe I should come with you someday."

"I'd like that. Could do some NCPD scanners. Gigs that won't ruffle your conscience. Actually... I get a lot of mini gigs from my fixers, looking for missing persons. But for today, I'm done. Think about it. I'd like to have you around some more."

She drank the whisky in one go before grabbing his hand and pulling him off the counter.

"But for now..." She smirked seductively and guided him up the stairs to her bed.

[air-mechanical]

4 and 13 for keero!

4. Which one is more protective? Who needs to be ‘protected?’

Ah, it could go both ways!

Dedra obviously needed protecting when the rioters wanted to rip her limbs off. She exists mainly in a sterile world of cold order, spending a lot of time in her office and at work. She's surrounded by familiarity, where there are good guys (the ISB) and the bad guys (those against the ISB and The Empire). She has little experience of being amongst regular people. And especially amongst angry regular people with Emotions on Full Display. Syril will help protect her against these unsettling alien situations. He'd give her guidance on on people and human emotions when needed. Dedra can effortlessly get into the mindset of an enemy. But in the grey areas where most people live, she’s stumbling without a map. Syril would never dictate her course anywhere. But will protect her from the threats he's familiar with.

He'd also protect her from herself. Dedra thinks living on a diet of caf, stim pills and the odd meal with chewable components is adequate. Syril's horrified by this. He'd spend hours in the kitchen and most of his paycheck to ensure she eats well, sleeps well, and feels well.

Dedra would protect Syril from any tangible threat she identifies. Someone wants to blow him up? Take his job? Steal his sandwich from the fridge? She’ll extract them from their warm bed one night and hand them over to Dr. Gorst. But only because she wants her asset to remain functional and useful. Not because she cares about him or anything. 

13. Who’s the bigger tease? 

Thinking about this question again, and my answer is still Dedra. But what if she knows the almost debilitating effect she has on Syril, and actively chooses to use it on him. To weaponize it. Dedra knows the theory and the mechanics behind seduction techniques, behind physical pleasures, behind love, behind emotional and mental vulnerabilities. She’s just never experienced them. She’s in no way missing out on anything.

Syril enters her life and what a miserable excuse of a pathetic man. It's embarrassing how desperate he is for her attention, let alone her praise. But he can be useful to her. He’s an asset in a department where she has no allies. If she can extract information out of him by any means necessary in order to serve The Empire, she will do so. Maybe not willingly, but absolutely to the best of her ability. So she teases Syril with abstract promises of things to possibly come.

It's suspicious how receptive he is to her. He acts with no suspicion towards her. Which means it must be an act. Mustn't it?

Thank you for these asks! As always they're great to think and write about.

Ask Away Any Time OTP Questions

[pirunika]

ok. i need to compare Astraeus (Lovestruck) to Blade (WIP - Shepherds of Haven) bc as i was trying to make them on Black Desert Mobile i noticed they r pretty similar in... looks

both black haired / eyed with a sort of cropped hairstyle (one is 5'9 and the other is 6'3" tho)

both swordsmen

both given an east Asian... design. I mean Astraeus downright uses a katana as his main weapon and his theme is cherry flowers (which...i still don't know why as he s a Greek mythological figure but *shrug* im used to it now), Blade less so I suppose, i mean his last name is apparently a Welsh name but its just... here and there you get the sense that's the main inspiration for his culture - food, words, style whatever - which i dont like, tbh, making the emotionless, brutal species Like That but I can head-canon around it all I like its the canon (for now) world-building

this i like :D 1 is from an app that shut down.. like 2 years ago and the other is from a WIP work, not all out yet

both have older brothers, though Astraeus surely suffered more in his hands, having served him for years if not decades and it ends with a death... We dont know what that particular thing gonna go with Blade but I think it wont be that brutal.

Both sort of leaders, Astraeus is to titan army (or whats left of it more like) and Blade to Shepherds militia.

THEIR RELATIONSHIP W THE MC: Astraeus pretty much starts in love with the MC, he's low-key a stalker (i mean high key he did kidnap her...) and they have this... connection. Immediately. With Blade... it's... so not that. It's a slow process. Just as strong but slow and steady against.. whatever the fuck was up with Astraeus at one point (and yall kno he s my #1)

Astraeus is very chaotic, the MC says at one point chaos 'thrives within him' (or around him) he's a titan god after all and Blade is.. once again. Not that. Astraeus wears his heart on his sleeve. That's my favorite thing about him actually, he's one of the closest examples I saw to the male femme fatale idea. He's seductive and emotional and acts according to his heart. Blade falls a bit dull against that because we just have…. too many of the emotionless warrior guys, though I gotta give its due, he does his category well - say.. compared to Adam from Wayhaven Chronicles (and there I do love Ava, I know they are the same person but listen almost no female character is Like That) and you can tell he starts caring for the mc - obviously, which makes him much more appealing then the rest of the so called macho guys.

Astraeus is a poet. Blade points out he likes reading poetry. Does he write? I don't know but its surely not a corner of his personality I feel

They also both like gardening, once again Astraeus is more passionate about it, growing a tree in a land where nothing grows (Tartarus) Blade mentioned it but it's not like.. his thing - so far

Overall this made me realize maybe we don't know Blade well, despite the countless asks n everything or that he needs a certain.. something. Not everyone has to be passionate and emotional of course but like uhm... He's a bit too perfect and bland, WHICH is maybe his flaw I mean other characters do call him boring and dour and again the story is far from over so we'll see!

[lumilasi]

Major bio overhaul done:

Name: Lawrence Faydream (surname comes from the tradition his wife's kin have, where the family surname is formed based on the beings the two parents are, in case the Fae marries someone not of fairy kind. Lawrence by default has no surname)

Nicknames: Boss (Aimi, a young fairy who works as his right hand woman) old man/Dad (Avane, obviously) brother (Alois)

Age: Human form appears to be between 40-55, since he was born the same time as Alois, he's existed around 70-100 years

Height: 183 cm

Occupation: Overshadower Council member/The leader of the Shadowless Sect

Family: Estranged wife Evena, daughter Avane, brother Alois

Friends: He doesn't actually have close friends, but he is on friendly terms with most people working for him (Aimi, Amalia) He is also well acquainted with their family doctor Lionel Knight.

Love interest: Wife Evena (A mantis fairy)

Abilities:

Access into other people’s minds and dreams and ability to influence them, mainly either creating nightmares or devouring them. He can also cause hallucinations even when people are awake

He can turn into shadowy goop and cover an entire area, enclosing large groups of people into a hallucination

He can destroy other beings’ hallucinations easily, and is typically immune to them. This also includes seduction spells like siren songs. (This is something people have tried to use against him a lot, and then get pretty upset when it doesn't work lol)

He can trap people into their own minds, though only for a period of time, around 8 to 12 hours.

He can phase through objects and float.

As a more powerful dream-eater than usual, his hallucinations can actually become solid and cause physical harm. He is also capable of trapping even his own kind into their own minds, something only he and Yuuji are known to be able to do currently. Normally Dream-eaters cannot trap their own people.

He is physically fairly strong and durable as well; he's got some close combat skills to utilize if needed, as he's aware his powers can be countered fairly easily if someone knows how. He also knows how to use firearms, though one doesn't exactly utilize those often when dealing with magic beings. (Not even magic firing weapons like what his assistant uses are common.)

Weaknesses:

Like Alois, he can't have an effect on more resilient minds W/O permission, and his powers are weaker against light based magic.

He has the tendency to break the rules for the sake of his loved ones, sometimes potentially against the general well-being of everyone else he's supposed to protect, or against her family's will.

Overall he's a bit arrogant and tends to think he knows better with certain things, which can cause problems with his relationships, or his work.

His strained relationship with his wife has also caused him a lot of mental stress that has resulted in Lawrence somewhat ultra-focusing on his work, to the point he's struggling to form meaningful connections outside his family. He feels bitter towards his wife, even if he understands the way she's acting and the things she's saying are due to trauma. This has led to him somewhat avoiding to go and visit her, which has led to their relationship deteriorating further.

Personality:

While he is seen as a good leader and a loving father & husband, Lawrence does have a level of arrogance to him, where he tends to think he knows what's best to do in certain situations. When he's made up his mind it can be difficult to convince him to change his plans, typically only his daughter is able to do this.

He's always been somebody who wants to have influence over how things are done, hence he ended up in the positions he is in. He is not above doing questionable things to achieve his goals. Although, he does still have a level if moral integrity, and is more than willing to go against the Council loudly, if he believes their plans are immoral in some way. This does make him seem hypocritical at times, being against the execution of someone while turning around and killing another person he wasn't ordered to.

In the end, he often does what he does for the well-being of those he cares for, and in his mind end can justify the means. Given he knows his family wouldn't necessarily always agree with this though, he tends to hide the darker things he does, sometimes even from his own subordinates.

Due to his logic-driven personality, he does struggle to sometimes understand and empathize with more emotional points of view, and he's not good at handling his wife's current state. He tends to prefer using logic to understand the world, which leads to his inability to communicate properly in situations where emotions are heavily involved.

BG Story Summary The brothers were born from a pair of siblings, who ended up losing their entire family in a natural disaster. Due to being born as a pair, the two were seen as unusually powerful; Lawrence was invited to join the Overshadower Council eventually (the group that manages the business of dark beings such as dream-eaters, soul eaters, vampires, etc) as they noted Lawrence's strength and remarkable leadership skills during an incident, where two demons were fighting and causing mass havoc and danger to civilians. He managed to trap the two and make them stop fighting, while delegating his brother to help people leave the scene. Given the strength of the demons in question, it was seen as very brave to do, especially considering the pair had only existed for roughly 5 years at that point. Lawrence met his wife when he was selected as the leader of the Shadowless by the Grandmaster Council. She at the time was a member of the group, and the two became close rather quickly. This eventually became a problem however, as it was starting to have an effect on both of their judgment. Evena decided to resign from her job due to this, though she did not reveal the real reason to Lawrence until a month later; she was pregnant with his child. The two decided to officially marry after that reveal, as while it wasn't a requirement for them to have a life together, Lawrence knew how important some traditions were for the Fae kind. Avane was born months later, a kid with unique wing structure, them being made of shadows instead of typical fae magic. Their life together was quite happy at first, with Evena looking after little Ava with the help of her fellow Fairy villagers, while Lawrence was mostly at work back in the capital, Chrysalis. He made sure to come home every weekend to see his growing daughter and beloved wife. He often brought them both some gifts from the city as well, and visited their dreams/dispelled any bad ones from little Ava's mind. Then, when Ava was around 6, something drastic happened; a Lycan that the Shadowless were trying to locate had figured out where Lawrence's family resided, and decided to attack them as revenge for the group capturing his partner. Evena was initially able to fight back, but was eventually caught off-guard by the enemy due to being rusty after so many years. During the attack, Ava was almost killed by the wolfman, saved last minute by her father and his trusty right-hand-woman, Aimi. The little girl survived ultimately with no lasting effects, apart from completely forgetting about the incident. Her mother however, was more affected, ending up with severe trauma that she suffers from to this day, which has somewhat destroyed her relationship with both Lawrence and her daughter, due to how her mind has been warped by the incident. She essentially feels betrayed and bitter towards both, like it was somehow Lawrence's fault everything happened, and that now he seems to prefer and love Ava more than her. She's also bitter and jealous that Ava seems to be fine despite everything, whereas she is suffering. None of this is logical of course, because her mind is not thinking Logically right now. Because of her condition, Lawrence has stopped visiting her mostly, unable to handle the bitter, angry words she keeps throwing at him. He KNOWS she's not thinking straight, but he doesn't know how to handle it...

Fun Facts:

Aimi - and her predecessor Marci Raye - are the only people who know majority of Kenzo's secrets.

His previous right hand woman Marci left her job due to traumatic incident, but still gets roped into her old job sometimes to help Aimi.

Aimi has babysat his daughter/helped Evena look after her, and is one of the few people whose hands he'd trust her life in.

Despite Lawrence's best efforts, his brother knows far more of his secrets than Lawrence realizes, because Alois can read him better than anyone else in the world.

The official reason Lawrence asked Aimi to keep an eye on Jurou Araknos was actually a favor for his father Harrow, given he'd spoken with the man secretly, and had been the one to let him escape. (This is all part of the plan to get Jurou to join him eventually)

Lawrence was also the person who revealed to Harrow's family his reasoning for killing a fellow Council member. He also may or may not have something to do with allowing him to escape.

Aimi found out about his true intent through Alois, and has agreed to help Alois to protect Jurou from her boss secretly, as she also wants to save Kenzo from himself, respecting him a lot ultimately.

Lawrence doesn't just look friendlier when at home/outside work; his overall demeanor and aura seems to shift into something much kinder and less menacing when he relaxes. Unless you mention his wife, it is a sore topic.

He prefers wearing simple and comfy outfits when at home, given he spends most of his time in uniforms. You could describe his at-home style kind of bohemian with some traditional Japanese clothes influences sometimes.

The Overshadowers Council symbol is typically silver, white, blue, purple, or black. Their robes are also somewhat inspired by the Moonflower.

Lawrence and Aimi have kind of a puzzling relationship in the eyes of fellow council members, given Lawrence is generally seen as Scary, but then he just casually chats with her like "Oh also, remember to tell my daughter we have visitors tonight for dinner." Let alone going with her weird habit of calling her weapons "pew pews." Most other members don't speak this casually with their personal assistants.

While he mostly handles the leading part of his Shadowless job, Lawrence does sometimes go out for hunts himself if he feels it is required.

Given Dream-eaters are shaped by the person whose nightmares they were born from,Lawrence's more arrogant and sometimes morally gray nature was likely something the human he was born from shared.

He knows how to use firearms because he essentially had to kill the Lycan attacking his family using a normal gun with a silver bullet, because the attacker had managed to create a powerful protection spell that made him immune to majority of magic abilities. (This was among the reasons why this Lycan was considered so dangerous)

[devilsrecreation]

Fiiiiiine, I’ll tell ya’ll about my version for the Villain AU

BUT TW just in case anyone needs it: There is a mention of guns and bombs, just to let you know so I don’t make anyone uncomfortable cuz I don’t wanna do that. If you still wanna know about it, either dm me or just skip my idea(s) for Sam Eagle and/or Crazy Harry :)

Each muppet has a different theme/deal with their own unique designs

It should also be known that the muppets all backstab each other

Here’s what I have so far:

Kermit is your generic evil mastermind who does a variety of evil deeds, but most of them involve frogs (i.e making a ray that hypnotizes frogs to do his bidding)

-Robin is his henchman

-Walter and Scooter are also henchmen who work under Kermit (they’re all villains in training)

Miss Piggy always pulls huge heists like stealing jewelry that makes you powerful when you wear it. She has fashion-related powers and a hypnotizing singing voice

-Uncle Deadly is obviously her henchman, along with her BFF who does her wardrobe (like an evil Edna Mode). He has red eyes and large wings. Oh, AND he can actually breathe fire

-Foo-Foo is this violent, mutant poodle that only listens to her

-Piggy wears a dress with spikes on it and it’s so cool

-Constantly tries to take over Kermit’s position as the number 1 most dangerous villain

-Bobo is a violent beast used as a weapon by Piggy and Deadly

Fozzie AKA The Jester is a very annoying villain who loves puns and steals anything he can make puns off of. He often pairs up with Kermit and has made contraptions based on gag gifts (like a rubber chicken missile or a giant whoopee cushion he can escape with)

Gonzo is an insane and unpredictable individual without a whole “deal”. Why? Cuz he’s not an idiot. His schemes are obviously super dangerous and somehow is one step ahead of everyone. He has an army of evil chickens with Camilla (his assistant and girlfriend) as the leader

Bunsen and Beaker are obviously mad scientists with dangerous inventions

Pepe is a combination of Sedusa from PPG and Aquaman (but obviously evil). He uses seduction to get what he wants as well as having an army of sea creature goons to help him. He’s got a whole water theme going on

The Electric Mayhem are like sirens but with rock music. Although they use music for their schemes, they each have individual powers

-Dr. Teeth hypnotizes you using his glasses, uses voodoo, and on top of that…is a mad dentist on the side

-Floyd has magic hair. It can grow as long as he wants in order to attack people and grab things (and people)

-Janice has plant-like powers, using vines and flowers to harm people. She can also create a little black ball from her aura to blast at people

-Zoot not only has psychic powers and telekinesis he uses for evil, but he has a special power that turns him into a shadow for camouflage

-Lips is the smartest out of all of them who uses fire for everything. He can do anything from connecting to evil people to even inventing stuff as long as he has his trumpet on him. The trumpet is the main reason why he’s powerful. It’s all about the trumpet

-ANIMAL IS A FUCKING RABID BEAST AND YOU SHOULD RUN, NOT WALK, WHEN HE’S OFF OF HIS MUZZLE. NO, LIKE, YOU’RE ACTUALLY ABOUT TO DIE HOLY SHIT

-Villain Serpico is a black mamba instead of a cottonmouth

Rowlf does something similar to the Mayhem using his magic piano, except he’s also a master manipulator. He may seem like a good boy, but he isn’t…trust me

Sam Eagle represents everything America isn’t. He’s cold, calculating, he doesn’t work with anyone, and he’s a gun-fanatic. He’s killed people for the sake of it with either his stolen, army-based weapons or by letting his wild side take over

Swedish Chef is an evil cook who can cook and bake anything, with serious consequences to whoever eats his food. It ranges from doing Chef’s bidding to straight up poisoning

Lew Zealand, like Pepe, also has a sea-based army to help him with his schemes, except it’s all fish. ALL fish. Every evil idea he has involves fish. He’s not very dangerous though, so he’s one of the less-threatening villains

Crazy Harry’s schemes involve bombs and only bombs

Link Hogthrob is one of the petty villains who just steals stuff for his own personal gain. But he DOES use a special mirror to temporarily blind people so he can get the job done

Julius Strangepork is another mad scientist, obviously

Wayne and Wanda are hard rockers to the core (as per Bart’s hc). Partners in crime who use their singing to manipulate people

Johnny Fiama is an evil mob boss with Sal has his right hand monkey

All of the puppeteers are a part of a superhero organization run by Waldorf and Statler whose main mission is to take all these muppets down. Whoever’s character is causing destruction, it’s up to that puppeteer to take care of it. For example, if Gonzo is stealing something, Dave has to stop him. If Pepe is using mind control on all of the sea creatures, Bill has to put him in prison, etc.

[weerd1]

ENT Rewatch Starlog, 16 January, 2024: Episode 3.04 “Rajiin”

The Xindi council meets after the Xindi-Humanoid Degra, who is developing the weapon to destroy Earth, suffers a lab accident that sets back his efforts. The Reptilians want to proceed with another plan, but the council decides they don’t know enough about the Humans yet to proceed. 

Trip visits T’Pol for neuro-therapy and mentions that they should stop because he is starting to hear rumors. T’Pol is non-plussed and does not feel it is anyone’s business, whether they were being sexual or not. Meanwhile, Archer (still itching a bit after the previous week’s devolution) directs Enterprise to a market world where there is a chemist who can show them how to make trellim-d to reinforce their hull and protect them from spatial anomalies. Upon arrival on the world, they find the chemist and Tucker starts to make a deal for the recipe, while Archer is approached by a merchant who seems to be selling…sex slaves (who all have some remarkably human features for this part of space). One particular woman catches Archer’s eye, but he leaves. There’s a commotion behind him and the woman has escaped, asking for help so she doesn’t have to go back to slavery. Her name is Rajiin.

Archer saves her and takes her on Enterprise while Tucker trades some of the ship’s most valuable commodities, spices, for the trellium-d formula. When they begin to develop it, they realize how vulnerable the liquid form they are synthesizing is, and Trip and T’Pol are almost harmed in a small explosion. They decide to get some rest before proceeding, and T’Pol asks Trip to come to her quarters for more neuro-pressure.

Meanwhile, Archer is approached by Rajiin who seems to approach him romantically, but as they become physically close, he seems to snap to, and she is across the room as if nothing has happened. He ignores it. Rajiin goes out into the ship and finds Hoshi, and seems to be able to influence her into a more intimate setting. Soon, T’Pol is approached by Rajiin, who has entered T’Pol’s quarters without permission. We see her start to seduce T’Pol, and when the Vulcan resists, Rajiin seems to use a mental control on her, as if forcing something like a mind-meld. Trip signals at the door, and enters after his chime is ignored, but the bridge sensors say she’s inside. He finds T’Pol unconscious on the floor and is himself attacked by Rajiin. Soon security is looking for her, and she puts up a formidable resistance before she is captured. She also manages to call a ship to come pick her up.

Soon Enterprise is attacked by two Reptilian XIndi ships, while Archer tells Rajiin that her benefactors were responsible for killing 7 million humans. The Xindi board and after a struggle, liberate Rajiin. One Xindi is captured, but has a built in poison module to kill himself. Enterprise tries to pursue, but the Xindi ships enter a “vortex” and are gone. 

The Xindi council reconvenes and the Reptilians state they will begin working on a bioweapon to eradicate the Humans. The Humanoids protest again saying they don’t know enough, but Rajiin is brought in and she reveals she has full scans of human physiology.  The Aquatics demand the planet destroyer AND the bioweapon be produced simultaneously. 

A fairly solid episode if not terrific. It isn’t very subtle about the fact Rajiin will turn out to be a threat, and definitely Berman and Bragas the fact Rajiin is going to get seductive with Hoshi and T’Pol. It plays a little exploitatively, and is a little troubling with T’Pol especially as they already had her go through a forced mind-meld in earlier seasons that obviously served as a metaphor for sexual assault. Not cool.

Cute though is the interaction she and Trip have with him not wanting there to be rumors about them and her just not giving a shit. Also, Trip being able to present the spices as an Earth commodity that, “wars were fought over” is a fun scene. Getting a step closer to trellium-d carries that story.  

Finally, Phlox at one point mentions Crewman Cutler, who was an occasional guest star in earlier seasons who for reasons I can’t explain never got more scenes. However, not long after this episode, the actress Kellie Waymire who had played Cutler, died at age 36 of an undiagnosed heart condition. A talent lost way too early, and a shame her character wasn’t able to appear more. 

Next Voyage: Enterprise finds a derelict Vulcan ship, but it’s not quite empty; can they solve the mysterious fate that seems to be affecting T’Pol on “Impulse”?

[vuulpecula]

The CRM would take and take and take, just as they had all suspected. Just as they had all been warned. There was no stopping whatever plans were already in motion, she simply had to survive them as best she could--maybe there would be a chance at escape. Why go with her head hung low, why not do as she had always done: looking for ways out.

Frowning, the leader studied him hard. He was lying. There was no way he hadn't heard, so why pretend? Soldiers followed orders, what happened if he gave them none? She tilted her head, reading his actions like a page from a book written in a different, somewhat familiar language. "They made their choice," Fox repeated lowly. "It is not as if I can call them and ask them to return." Still, she brought her hand to her ear, pinky and thumb stretched out to mimic a phone. "Hello? Yes, yes, very good. Please come back, the CRM is asking so nicely...oh, what is that? You do not want to? Very well, I will let them know." She hung up the imaginary phone and gave Rick what was supposed to be an apologetic shrug. "They do not want to come back." Surviving on their own was not what she was concerned about. After the scouts, plans had been made. Another settlement had been scouted and built up as best they could with what little time they had. Not that he nor the CRM needed to know that.

Us, he had said. Leaders like us. Again, she thought of killing him. It would be fun. An opponent with all the odds. Fox suspected she could kill him, yes, but she wasn't sure she could do so without going down with him. Not that it mattered. She was not a stone in the way, she was a dam.

"Mm, but it is my favorite chair," she pouted, toying with one of the many rings weighing down her fingers. "That is where you are wrong, Grimes," she again used the name she had picked up from the radio. "You may be a leader out here, but in those other places, you are nothing more than a pawn. I would much prefer it to be you to take my life than someone I do not like so much." Her little flirt had obviously had some effect on him, for he rubbed his eyes, so she played it up more by glancing to his mouth. Seduction was only another weapon in her endless arsenal.

Fox did not move when he directed her to, arms crossing. She wasn't ready to look away and submit quite yet. "Mm, there are a lot of threats there for a father. Does your daughter know what daddy is out here doing?" Would it matter to him if she told him there were children within her group as well? No. In these times, children were precious, protected at all cost. They were the future and there was no resource more valuable.

"I am not resisting," Fox answered softly, moving her face just enough to tap the end of her nose with his. As if to prove the point further, she turned around, away from him. Still just as close, but offering her hands to him behind her back. Excited to see how quickly she would be able to wriggle herself out of them. "You forget the third option," she went on, correcting him. "They could survive. They could thrive."

@rickgrimesdoingrickthings

The consignee listened silently what she had to say. It wasn't like he disagreed with her. At all. They were defending theirs. "You're not in power to decide if the CRM takes all you have. They will just kill you and everyone you love if you don't submit. You can't fight." He sighed.

"Tell to let them go? I have no idea what you're talking about." Rick was pretending he didn't hear the radio. If he said nothing, the soldiers would hold their position and do nothing. If he ordered them to spare the fugitives, Rick could be in trouble, get investigated for being too nice, maybe be considered a traitor. "The Civic Republic won't kill those they don't consider a threat or a stone in their way. So don't be a stone in their way." Rick said, eyes moving away from hers, facing the void. "People are resources...if your people go to one of the small colonies...you should all be safe. As for you..." His eyes moved to hers. "If you cooperate and play the game, you can live. Leaders like us...they want it. They want the best." He didn't seem proud or even patriotic about the CRM.

And then she started to negotiate. "This is not a proper room. A throne of bones and walkers chained?" It was fucking disturbing. Not that he wasn't used to it though. "Use my hands? To kill you?" He sighed again, shaking his head. "If you cooperate, I don't think it will come to that. If not absurd, they will believe in what I say. Many of us were or are playing roles- they can understand the tough role that you're playing. "If you don't get your people to do as I said, if you don't let me relocate them to the small colonies, the CRM will literally run over them." His eyes were glossy. "Yes, I'm a liar, but it's not to you I'm lying to. And I'm not asking you to like me." And then she said it- that his face wasn't bad- how could she flirt in a time like that? She was attractive. Very. And as it was something he wouldn't think about or consider, her comment got his mind thinking about it. She was hot. She was. Rick rubbed his eyes. It didn't matter... "Now, time to end this little game. Put your hands behind your back." He took the handcuffs from his belt. "The CRM occupation forces won't take long to come. Things better be already solved when they arrive." The man didn't move, despite Fox being so close. One of hands was on his belt, ready to draw his gun and shoot, or draw the tactical knife and bury it in the base of her jaw. He legit didn't want to though. "Most often take kind people for stupid. I know." He raised his eyebrows and nodded to her. "But I have a daughter to return to at home. And even if I didn't want anyone to die today and even if I don't want anyone else to die here, don't fool yourself- returning to my kid is way more important than any mercy I might show you here." His voice got harsh, low, cold- even thought there was mercy and devotion in his eyes. "If you make things difficult, I'll just leave. I don't even need to do anything. I can just leave with the vehicles and you'll like to deal with the CRM occupation force on your own, without any chance to move your people to the colonies. All of her people escaping the community though, they knew about the CRM. And that...that was very bad. Any Civic Republic leader wouldn't accept that. "The ones who decided to run...your people...I can help them." He tilted his head a bit, staring her, so serious. "Promise, swear you won't resist, and I can send transport trucks to intercept your people. To take them to the colonies as well." Rick blinked, extended his jaw briefly. "They will either become walker food or get massacred by the CRM forces once their coords get shared. I can at least send them somewhere safe." He moved his head slightly down, so their noses were almost touching- he wasn't intimidated. She invaded his space, well, he didn't move an inch. "So, how is it going to be?"

@vuulpecula

[popcornforone]

Refreshing

A Fan Fic based on Silva

Well this wasn’t planned at all & then someone in our group chat said after the trailer dropped “aren’t you writing about Silva at the moment?” So behold a Silva fic for you all to indulge in.

Synopsis: while on your ranch Silva approaches in the midday heat in a hurray & needs your help desperately

Word count: 1.6k

Warnings: smut from the past insinuated but nothing graphically described, teasing, anger, seduction, kissing, mentions of weapons, pain

Also the reader is gender neutral. So please read them however you want to read them, there is no description of the reader. Obviously in the film Silva is gay, but this is your mind people you pick what the reader will be.

Thanks for the read peoples, all feedback is welcome

The sun is baking as you tend to your sheep on your ranch, trying to organise them for sheering later this afternoon. As much as it would be a good idea to sheer them now, the midday sun is approaching & you will definitely melt away. You need to cool off slightly & take a break inside before you do this. That’s when you hear the whines of a horse in the distance. Someone is approaching your ranch. It’s rare that people do, you’re off the beaten track a little. Only those that know you or you sell to come to visit & you were not expecting any visitors today.

You look long into the haze & instantly recognise the green jacket on top of the horse, Broad & intimidated. That Jacket you would spot anywhere. It’s Silva. His own ranch is 10miles away but he is galloping from the horizon to you at such a speed, that he will be with you in the next couple of minutes. Your hand reached into your back pocket to draw your gun, but you slowly leave it in there & wait for his imminent arrival. His is a friend not foe, even if it’s been several months since you last saw him. Whatever he is here for must be serious, you don’t think you’ve ever seen a horse move so fast.

The horse gallops up past you & he puts the breaks on “wooooo there calm calm it’s okay we’re here we’re here now” he leaps off the horse & removes his large black cowboy hat, his hair & face are dripping with sweat, bright crimson & puffy looking back at you. He looks you directly in the eyes. It doesn’t matter what state he’s, how tired he looks, how much pain he’s in, in those eyes entrance you & it make you feel like the world stops “sorry I hate turning up without calling in advance, but something major has happened & I need to use your phone, is that okay” he asks. His lips quivering looking at you pleading for this favour. “Certainly Silva, in the hall on the left hand wall.” He just nods silently & rushes into the house. His scent is intoxicating as always as it brushes past your nostrils.

You tie his horse up who is about to trot off & offer it some oats, eating out of your hands as you stroke its mane calming it down. It’s panting & you know Silva has ridden the hell out of it. You know Silva can ride fast & hard in all respects.

His voice is corse & aggravated down the phone that you can hear from outside. Whatever has happened he’s not happy about it & he is enraged. “I’m trying to understand but that’s not good enough” is the one that makes you jump & move nearer to the door way of your ranch on the porch. You briefly make eye contact & he realises he’s not in his own place or Jake’s, he should be respectful of where he is. He tones it down & continues his discussion. He puts the phone down, you were expecting a slam, but he doesn’t. He rubs his hand through his greying hair, scratching his patches in his beard in frustration. Those large hands cover a vast area. His jacket is off slung over the chair in the hall way, you can see the sweat patches on his red plaid shirt from where he had ridden so fast in the midday sun. His body is shaking almost trying to reject whatever stress he is going through & the fact that he is over heating.

You see him wobble slightly, & you just about catch him before he collapses. “Silva,” you say voice full of concern, worried about your friend who clearly once again has overdone it. He always puts too much pressure on himself, but he wants to be perfect. He wants to be the man everyone wants to be, the man everyone relies on. he stares back at you & mouths”water” it’s barely audible, but you go. You sit him on the chair, getting rid of that jacket that he’s just thrown on it, & you rush to kitchen. 4 glasses are already sitting on the side & you fill 3 of them to take to your friend. You give him 2 as the 3rd fills but he has downed 1 instantly. “Bloody hell Silva” you shout coming back with a 3rd & now 4th glass & you refill the other 2. “Did no one ever tell you to hydrate & not push yourself too much?” His long muscular neck gulps down the water, some of it trickles out of his mouth, turning into steam the second it hits his skin.

“We need to get some layers off me” Silva moans failing to undo his buttons in his weary haze, but you step back “oooh I’ve been down this road with you before Silva, this isn’t happening” “what!” He says startled “that was years ago” he states “& I will over heat & have heat stroke if you don’t help, please” his eyes gleam back at you, those rich caramels so inviting which have everyone under their spell, age gender or sexuality doesn’t matter. once you’ve looked into those puppy dog pleading eyes for more than 5 seconds you are lost. You help him with his buttons & remove his shirt. He takes off his under layers too. “I’ve got a shower upstairs if you really…” “No I just need a minute to calm down, actually a jug of water would be good for the horse” he says. His chest is heaving & gleaming with sweat, the silver hairs trailing from there to his tummy getting it all caught up. It’s so tempting to go back to how you once were with him right now, but you don’t. You don’t think he’s noticed that you’re staring at him, his mind has 1000 things on it, with what he needs to do. You snap out of your trance when you hear the horse, & remember the jug of water.

You leave Silva for about 15 mins as you attend to his horse & the sheep that you were dealing with a few minutes ago, suddenly feeling like a distant memory. You cool the horse off with the jug of water & give it some more oats before heading back in. Silva is no longer on the chair in the hall. You hear sighing from the kitchen, happy sighs of delight. You walk in & his head is in your sink, the cold tap flowing as he drinks from the filling basin & cools off. He’s not heard you come in at all. This gives you a chance to stare at his arse for old time sake. He still keeps bloody good care of his body, after all these years.

“Okay so..” you say like you’re just walking back in & hadn’t seen this sight until that exact moment & he removes his head from the sink in a gasp & turns around to face you quickly. Water dropping from his now drenched hair, across his chiselled face, through the beard & landing on his chest. It’s the perfect sight & your lips part. “I…I…” you stutter & he’s frozen on the spot “I mean you’ve seen this all before, it’s nothing” “but you haven’t changed at all Silva” you interrupt spluttering, composure leaving you “you’ve aged gracefully & got even more handsome with age, while the rest of us don’t” he doesn’t respond to your compliment, “guess I could have used the shower saved your embarrassment” is all he says, no flattery back. He grabs a water bottle, completely unphased by your reaction to him, that is yours & fills it up “so I stay hydrated” he nods & he puts his plaid shirt back on & walks past you in the kitchen back to the hall way to pick up his hat & jacket. He almost grazes your hand with his.

“Thank you” he says as he leaves & starts uniting the horse, “you asked no questions of me & just accepted I needed help, it makes you a truly wonderful person & loyal friend after all these years.” You chuckle “well next time there’s an emergency, just don’t kill yourself in the midday sun okay Silva?” A smirk comes across his face. He ties his jacket to the back of the saddle & goes to get on but pauses. His mind in over drive. He gets off the stirrup & takes the 10 paces towards you. Before you’ve even registered what’s happening his lips are on yours. Warm from the heat of the sun & his radiating body. Passionate & round as you easily allow him to glide his tongue over your teeth & gracefully dance yours with it. Thousands of memories come back like it was yesterday. You remove his cowboy hat to feel his still damp hair & dare to drag him even closer into you but he stops you with a harsh breakaway.

“That’s our little secret, do you understand, I know we’re both single at the moment but it complicates things if we do anything more than that.” Silvas eyes flicker open & are stern as he says this, he means every word. “Okay i understand, I think” his smile is soft & he has once small peck left for your lips. & then he about turns & leaves, riding off in the heat again, back to where-ever he needed to be next.

It’s only as you cook dinner later that evening that you find his under shirt under the kitchen table. You hadn’t even realised he hadn’t put it on. You pick it up & see there’s a note with it. simple & to the point & it makes your heart race.

*I’ll be back in 3 days to pick this up, if everything has gone to plan & I’ve had the courage to do what I know I should do, we can continue from where we have left off

You smile & sniff it, inhaling his stale sweaty scent, knowing full well that Silva after all these years still deep down, has some feelings for you. It just needed a little refreshing in both your minds.

[l0lol0lol0loi]

My thoughts on Vere

I want to say that .....

Actually, Vere is not even my type...

I just give you a hint for understanding

Asra (Arcana) - Jumin Han (Mystic messenger) - Sage (LL) - Kentin (MCL)- Valkyon (Eldaria) - Kadzu (Romance Club) - Victor (RC)

As for game romance:

DA fandom

Zevran - Isabella - Iron Bull (yeah yeah joke about them being whores, but I like how they overcome difficulties, how they hide true feelings and Warden - Champion - Inquisitor try to read them,to talk things out, to form mental connection,

you have an option not to have sex with Zevran throughout the whole game and be lovers and get married;

you will patiently wait 3 years for Isabella to talk about feelings towards each other;

as for Bull... don't kill his screw...ahaha...awkward... learn to read him, just like he reads you and shower him with affection.

Vere may seem close to game romance but still there are lots of difference

All of them are not good educated (in arts, I mean, because Vere certainly does), mostly act friendly (Vere seems distant while three of other characters show true feelings), careless and charming, sex jokes, physical way of fight (Vere has some magic abilities, he steales MC's key with magic and has some shadows behind him in GG. But i am sure he uses weapon, like stilettos or his hands, hehe) , sarcastic, sudective (I mean clothes and lack of it, wink).

As for visual novels, Vere is just.... stands out, so to speak.

I guess his romance will go as Isabella's from DA2 or similar to it.

There will be a lot of refusal and denying of his feelings

Being torn apart between personal desires and MC's well being

Needs time and space to accept the thought of stable and healthy relationship, to change lifestyle

Sex and romantic relationship are different stuff ( when you feel love to someone, you can't have sex with that person. Yeah sounds funny, but when you romance Isabella or Zevran, there was a period of time when they caught feeling to mc and rejected all mc's offer to stay alone in a while. So Isabella and Zevran needed time to proceed that sex can be with a person who loves you and you love back)

That's what I remembered from da

As for Vere,

I just see 2 ways of romance

1. You both flirt with each other, but you always stop it when things go too far and spicy ("surrender" scene hello)

2. MC acts naive (naturally or on purpose) and does't react to his provocation

No matter what type of MC is there MC and Vere have to work together

Obviously, Mc has to reveal their curse. So I see their first interaction as something mutual.

Vere needs a person who has no connections to the city and Senobium, who can be useful to him (after all, mc's curseis damn dangerous and can be used against someone when no one expects that), who can be easily manipulated (Do you remember when he talks about MC's background like ..."Poor thing, I give your life a new meaning" and stuff like that).

As for Mc's side, he has an access to Senobium where he can look for info, he is experienced sharlatan having some shadow magic which MC has already seen, he is in desperate just like MC, he knows the city perfectly.

And their partnership will be business-like. Of course, Vere will tease and flirt with mc but he will keep his distance. He seems to me as someone whose trust is hard to gain but when you do... Omg.... hehe.... He won't change at all, except he will mess around more with you. He is that kind of a person who is normal outside (sassy and bitchy) but he melts inside every time when you do something cute, funny, ordinary things like cleaning or fixing your clothes.

In private he demands affection of yours in his way. Glaring at you expectingly, telling some nonsense/ words of double meaning to get attention. Then you look at him to see what's going on, you see him sitting seductively as usual , an innocent smile on his lips, but his eyes glow with promises of more...

Anyway...

He seems to me as very, very, very jealous person (he literally is jealous of Ais' pets imao even though they are just fwb). But he doesn't show it or he thinks so lol, you have to understand that by his spout face, his irritation and you should go w him somewhere privately (you have to trick him first because he won't go just like that, eg "oh i saw some slutty costume for you a fight between clerics of senobium and bloodhound, let's go) and give him small kisses all over his face. He definitely will tease you afterwards but during the process he is such a lovey dovey mess

He loves when you know what he wants... that's not what you may think ~~~~

I mean that guy can go to whorehouse, I am sure some important people of Senobium like to use him as a sex toy. Sex is casual stuff for him.

So when you give him a gift or cook his favorite dish, or just ask his opinion, he dies internally as he is overwhelmed w that affection you give him. Your treatment is so unnatural, unexplainable to him and yet so endearing and he craves for more...

But he won't ask it openly at early stages of relationship

Buuuut when you two are together for a long time he will be the one taking initiative, he won't ask your opinion he simply grabs your hand ans places it on his head and says "Between ears and try not to disturb my hair" or similar to it ehehe.

My list isn't over but I wanted to say something

I understand why Vere isn't so popular as babygirl of TS fandom:

1. his type is known in mass media ( slim, slippery, sarcastic, nasty dark magic wizard with some BIG ambitions). I can name some: Tomoe from anime Kami-sama Hajimemashita, sorcerers from WITCHER, mini boss from dlc PATHFINDER kingmaker. The list isn't ended but I am lazy to think about it.

2. he can kill mc ( it's so fun looking how ppl hate him for that. Vere, keep going!!!)

3. Has deep connection w Ais, some ppl don't want to ruin their relationship, others are jealous but afraid to admit

4. he is considered to be all about sex thing/flat and his boobs aren't big.

Just joking 🙃

[saezurufeels]

Chapter 49 & 50 - Thoughts and Predictions 💕

Hi!! The title is pretty self-explanatory. I really loved these chapters, especially chapter 50. Lots of ✨realizashuns✨ plus, If you give me fun little locations, unexpected character encounters AND unprompted drama…you’ve sold me. Anyways, my reaction is below and as always, my thoughts are subjective and sometimes speculative, especially on chapter 50.

Starting with chapter 49, I find it quite impressive that Doumeki figured out that Kamiya has been reporting his moves to Tsunakawa. His deductive reasoning skills are very good. Seems like Doumeki really doesn’t believe that Tsunakawa trusts him

My guess: Doumeki feels guilty that his loyalty is split between Yashiro and Sakura Group. This is evident by the fact that Doumeki’s appeasing Y’s wish to guard him, while working to find the Kyouseikai members-- his assigned task right now. Remember, Doumeki volunteered Kamiya to guard Yashiro, while he worked to find the guys that kidnapped Niki, but Yashiro decided he wanted Doumeki instead, which D could have refused according to Muraji (”you let the guest do as he wants”). So, Doumeki is working two jobs right now, but one is definitely more personal

Ngl, I wasn’t sure if I could trust Kamiya for a while, but it seems like he is looking out for Doumeki by reminding him of his duties and by assuring Tsunakawa and Muraji that D is doing both jobs without revealing the true nature of D’s personal involvement with Yashiro

In Yashiro’s apartment, Y tells Doumeki not to expect anything from their partnership, which contradicts his earlier deal with Muraji. Doumeki tries to talk about work, but Yashiro has no interest in sharing his plans with him. Yashiro’s motives are still not clear. He’s acting like he’s after the money that Kido stole and gave to Yamakawa, while Muraji and Kamiya believe he’s working for Doushinkai, and Doumeki also thinks he’s sharing information with Inami. Knowing Yashiro, I wouldn’t be surprised if in actuality, being aware of Tsunakawa’s risky plot to take revenge, Yashiro joined forces to stay close and protect Doumeki. Obviously this isn’t a shocking theory, but if/when the truth comes out, it might be an important revelation to Doumeki (if he doesn’t already suspect it)

Yashiro uses some funny word-play to see how Doumeki will react. As it turns out, expressions are still not Doumeki’s strong suit, which amuses Yashiro. Even though their different ways of communicating creates challenges in their relationship, it’s also a place for humour and lightheartedness. Oh the nostalgia

I notice Y also giving D some sultry, half-lidded looks. He’s being nice and a little seductive. This is a change from his previous snappiness (justified). Yashiro is warming up to Doumeki’s presence, especially since his awareness shift in chapter 47

Doumeki picks up on Yashiro’s change immediately.

Like a good host, Yashiro offers the bed to Doumeki while he rests on the couch, but not before remarking that he’s been “dragged” around all day by a certain someone. Y can’t just be sweet, he’s gotta add some spice

But Yashiro didn’t count on the fact that he’s talking to the same guy that slept criss-cross applesauce on the floor the last time Yashiro used the couch 4 years ago, so he’s certainly not going to use the bed now

So anyway, Doumeki carries him to the bed, they lock eyes, Yashiro is splayed out underneath Doumeki in the sexiest way possible. Doumeki begins to touch him, cause, of course he would

.

Chapter 50

Yashiro tells D to get off of him, but Doumeki refuses, saying Yashiro wanted this because he chose him. Yashiro responds by saying that’s not true, he’s only “fine” with Doumeki over Kamiya, and there is a difference between wanting and settling. Again, their different communication styles are clashing. Yashiro uses his semantic skills in battle, but Doumeki’s ability to read emotions, hidden intentions, deep desires, etc. is a weapon of its own. He often calls Yashiro’s bluff, and it’s an impressive skill that not many can use against Yashiro, because not many have the knowledge and confidence to go against Yashiro like that. That’s probably why Doumeki says to him: “I know you to some extent/I know you in my own way.” I mean, if we’re being honest, Doumeki (and maybe Misumi) is probably the only person that ever truly knew Yashiro, but anyways

Then Doumeki pleasures Yashiro and Yashiro gives him that erotic look, and you know EXACTLY which one I’m talking about.. even Doumeki seems to blush in that moment.. it’s the only instance of D becoming even slightly flustered in this chapter.

Doumeki insinuates that Yashiro has a lustful body, and I can’t really be sure what Yashiro says back to him, but it could be important..we’ll just have to wait until we get some matching translations. Doumeki still has no clue that Yashiro is/was impotent, and Yashiro hasn’t told him yet.. at least not directly. Again, depending on the translation, it’s possible Y may have dropped a hint about his impotence/attraction to D after he came. If that is the case, it seems Doumeki missed the clue because he was distracted by Yashiro’s rope burns. This also wouldn’t be the first time Yashiro became honest in the heat of the moment.. and this little confession would be pretty big. I wonder if Doumeki will recall this interaction later in the story, since I think this matter is important. There’s no way to separate the issue of sex from this story’s resolution. I’ll explain in detail further down.

I think Doumeki ties Yashiro’s hands after Yashiro wasn’t able to respond to Doumeki’s question of whether he wants it rough or gentle

So what do we make of this whole situation? I definitely think it’s complicated and there are multiple things going on with Yashiro and Doumeki. I’ll start with Yashiro:

First, going back to chapter 47, I believe that Yashiro reached a bit of personal enlightenment while having sex with Inami. I already talked about this, so I won’t go into details here, but in short: Y realized that he may actually not be a twisted pervert (recognized he was raped as a child and doesn’t enjoy rough sex with disgusting pigs), thus he also realized that he can’t corrupt Doumeki. In other words, Yashiro no longer feels responsible for Doumeki’s “downfall” into the yakuza. He no longer thinks that he can corrupt Doumeki, because D is “not his guard dog anymore” — he’s his own person that made his own informed decision to join the yakuza and has a life fully separate from Yashiro.

Although Yashiro protested Doumeki’s advances in chapter 50, his overall demeanour seemed a bit more relaxed compared to previous chapters, and I’m just stating facts. I say this because he protested slightly less, there was less verbal sparring and instead more flirting/sensual glances, and most importantly Yashiro MAY have admitted that he only gets aroused by Doumeki (somebody confirm this pls). I believe that Yashiro is more accepting of Doumeki, because he is more accepting of himself. Realizing that his body no longer responds to violence, or craves rough, anonymous sex with men but instead wants only one person— someone that treats him gently— could be doing something positive for Yashiro’s self worth. Remember, Doumeki isn’t being rough with Yashiro, just cold. When he restrains Yashiro, he doesn’t appear to be hurting him. And, Doumeki isn’t using Yashiro to get himself off.. he’s only pleasuring Y. Those differences between Doumeki and Yashiro’s other sex partners are the reason Yashiro’s preferences have changed and the reason he is more open to the idea of having Doumeki around (choosing him to be his guard over Kamiya), so that if something did happen between them, it wouldn’t be the worst thing. This wouldn’t have been conceivable prior to the time skip

Naturally full healing doesn’t happen over night, so Yashiro is still weary about having gentle sex with Doumeki, as he should be. He can’t be sure of how his psyche will react to fully embracing Doumeki, and this sort of healing needs to happen gradually of course, and with full consent. But Doumeki doesn’t know this. So then what is going on with Doumeki:

Firstly, it’s crystal clear now that because of Y and D’s lack of communication, Doumeki is suffering from major misunderstanding. He believes Yashiro can’t live without sex and would do anything to get it. In Tsunawaka’s bathroom, Yashiro told Doumeki point blank that he hasn’t changed. He said it again in chapter 46 and in chapter 49— that he hasn’t changed and he does things for his own convenience. Doumeki even witnesses Yashiro interacting with Inami not once, but twice, and later Y admits to having sex with him. When Kido was caught, Yashiro openly talked about their past sexual encounters, while Doumeki listened.

So when Doumeki asks Yashiro questions like, “do you need a man that badly,” it seems to be a genuine question. Doumeki is essentially asking, “are you pent up right now, do you want sex?” Back in Tsunakawa’s bathroom, Doumeki asked Yashiro if Y can have sex with him. That was also a genuine question. Doumeki wanted to know if Yashiro can see himself having gentle sex. Based off of Yashiro’s response, Doumeki interpreted the answer to be a “no.”

Doumeki’s belief that Yashiro will do it with anyone to relieve his sexual frustration has been proven time and time again. Since Nanahara dropped a bomb on him when he said that Yashiro might not be able to quit sex even if he wanted to, Doumeki seems to have adopted the mentality that Yashiro may never stop seeking out loveless sex. No wonder Doumeki tells Yashiro in chapter 50 that Y has a “lustful body that can’t be helped”

Now Doumeki is stuck between not wanting Yashiro to harm himself by having rough sex with people like Inami and Kido, and also not wanting to overwhelm and harm Yashiro by being too lovey-dovey. Again, during Y and D’s sexual encounters, Doumeki isn’t being physically rough and violent toward Yashiro..he’s “just” being emotionally distant. Loveless, you could say

Personally, I don’t believe that Doumeki planned for any of this to happen. I think he’s taking things as they come and responding in the moment. I think his goal or motive since the time skip is to ensure that Yashiro experiences the least amount of harm possible. It’s in his protective nature to shield the one’s he loves, no matter what. Naturally, Doumeki taking things into his own hands and intervening in Yashiro’s life makes us, the readers, debate the morality of his choices. And I’m glad to see people thinking critically and engaging deeply with the themes of this story.

Ok so if Yashiro is starting to accept Doumeki into his life, then why did he go to Kido at the end of chapter 50? The short answer is: Yashiro acts up when he feels like he’s being left behind. Not to sound repetitive, but setbacks in healing do happen, and Doumeki’s relationship with his supposed girlfriend is a major trigger for Yashiro. It’s not so much that Yashiro is envious of other peoples’ happiness, but rather, he’s fearful of losing something. He’s afraid to lose Doumeki to someone else.

With every new chapter release I like to reread older chapters and to see if I notice new details. With chapter 50 out, it confirms my belief that Yashiro wants Doumeki to admit his feelings, because Yashiro is afraid that the feelings he has for Doumeki are unrequited.

Ever since Yashiro realized his body responds to Doumeki after the incident in Tsunakawa’s bathroom, he’s wanted Doumeki to admit that he also wants Y. Remember chapter 45? Yashiro got so upset that Doumeki wouldn’t admit that he wants to drive Yashiro home for more than work-related reasons that he literally hopped out of the car? Then Yashiro got so worked up when Doumeki insinuated that Y was the only one that “wanted something.” Yashiro was like “you think I want YOU? Watch this” and walked straight up to Inami in front of Doumeki. The fear of being caught in a one-sided love has stayed with Yashiro ever since Kageyama, so it’s no wonder Yashiro doesn’t want to be the first one to admit he is in love— he simply doesn’t want to be abandoned and let down again, like he has been so many times before. Unfortunately for Yashiro, his almost desperate attempt to make Doumeki jealous didn’t go the way he subconsciously may have hoped, because Doumeki thinks Yashrio still craves loveless sex just to satisfy his body. Although Doumeki realized that Yashiro likes tenderness in bed, Y will not be the first one to admit it; thus Doumeki continues to be emotionally distant from Yashiro, in and outside of the bedroom. And round and round we go. Doumeki thinks Yashiro needs to satisfy his sexual urges, yet wants to protect him from violent men, therefore finds a shaky middle-ground by maintaining emotional distance from Yashiro while also taking care of Yashiro’s sexual appetite. On the other end, Yashiro knows his body only wants Doumeki; he doesn’t realize consciously that it’s more than just his body, since he’s also afraid of being abandoned by Doumeki or losing him to someone else, therefore he shields himself by keeping his feelings hidden, which in turn keeps Doumeki in the dark about Yashiro’s changes and real desires.  

If I had to take a guess, I think the solution to this problem lies in Doumeki finding out about Yashiro’s impotence with other sexual partners. This solution would clear Doumeki’s misunderstanding that Yashiro craves loveless sex with strangers and yakuza, and would give him the confidence to try being loving again without fearing that it would drive Yashiro into a corner again. If Doumeki switched his cold personality to a warm, loving, and committed one, Yashiro would realize he doesn’t have to fear loving Doumeki one-sidedly and/or losing Doumeki to someone else. Whether and how Doumeki finds out about Yashiro’s impotence remains to be seen, but I think it’s definitely coming… it’s been teased too much to be left unaddressed. Not to mention that piece of dialogue in chapter 50 where Yashiro may already have admitted it in the heat of the moment. Perhaps Doumeki just needs decipher its meaning.

Nevertheless, I think progress has been made, because in the very least it seems like Yashiro doesn’t fear corrupting Doumeki anymore. The only hurdle left really, although it’s a significant one, is the issue of sex (to be loving or distant/cold) and abandonment (to be honest or closed off).  

And lastly, Yashiro experiences a mental setback when he meets Doumeki’s supposed girlfriend, and tries to have rough sex with Kido to cope with never again being the person Doumeki treats gently. This is the exact reason Yashiro never wanted to meet Doumeki again— to prevent this sort of heartbreak, which I think Yashiro always thought was inevitable.. that Doumeki would eventually leave him.

But, interestingly, Yashiro didn’t go to Inami. He followed Doumeki’s rule that as long as he’s is working with D, he needs to stop seeing Inami and stop exchanging info with him. So, as far as Yashiro knows, Doumeki shouldn’t have any issues if Y slept with Kido, right? Yet, Doumeki showed up out of nowhere, completely unexpected, with a vein popping out of his neck in anger. Yashiro is stunned.

In that moment, I can only assume a million thoughts are racing through Yashiro’s head. Doumeki followed him all the way from the restaurant to stop him from regressing back into his old coping pattern and seems more upset than ever. Remember when Yashiro asked in chapter 45, “what’s it to you?” I’m sure he’s trying to find the answer to that question now. If Doumeki has a girlfriend, why does he care if Yashiro is sleeping with Kido? Is Doumeki upset on Yashiro’s behalf, after Kido just insulted him and pressed his head roughly down his dick? A lot going on here, can’t wait to see what happens next

[xiaosmoon]

hi!! I'm OBSESSED with the way you write, so if you could indulge me a little? :D diluc + kaeya + zhongli with an s/o who has to seduce an enemy to get important info—though they try their best to stay put, worry/jealousy gets the best of them, and they arrive at the scene just in the nick of time...

hopefully this doesn't overstep any of your blog rules :< tysm!!

seducing an enemy

parings: diluc, kaeya, & zhongli x gn!reader (afab for zhongli)

summary: you get sent on an important mission to try to get information out of an enemy by seducing them, but worry/jealousy gets the best of them and they arrive just in time

warnings/content: seduction, angsty but with comfort, suggestive if you squint

a/n: ahhh thank you so much!!! i hope this did your request justice :)

-> diluc

you really shouldn't be running this late. diluc was pacing back and fourth in main room of the winery. the maids tried to get him to calm down, but he just couldn't sit still. not when you were out on a mission at the risk of being hurt.

and on top of that, seducing someone. just the mere thought of it was enough to send diluc into a frenzy. of course he trusts you. he really does, but you were doing this to a dangerous enemy. the risk of it all was just too much not to stress over.

"i'm going out for a walk. please, do not wait up for me." was all diluc announced to his maids before grabbing his coat and running off.

it was a very cold night, and diluc suddenly remembers that pretty little lace you were wearing.

"it's all apart of the technique, diluc. i can't seduce a person if i'm covering every inch of my body."

obviously you were right, but diluc still wishes you weren't cozying up to a scumbag wearing little to nothing.

diluc hadn't realized how fast he had been walking because he was already at the destination. with claymore in hand, he wasted no time busting open the door. he found you with a knife to your neck, trying to pry the man off of you. your vision was tossed to the side, so you were utterly helpless.

all diluc could see was burning red. he didn't even get a good look at the guy holding you; he let his body do the talking and swung his claymore, not actually hitting the guy but causing him to lose balance and drop the knife.

while diluc was keeping him away, you drop down grabbing the fallen knife and stab the enemy's leg. before diluc could chop the guy in half with his fired up claymore, you quickly push him back with the rest of the strength you could muster.

"diluc, he's down! it's alright now!" diluc was breathing heavily, his eyes fixated on the person screaming in pain. once he feels your body hugging his, his demeanor quickly changes.

diluc drops his claymore and returns your embrace back, kissing the top of your head. "are you alright? are you hurt?" he pulls you off of him, holding your shoulders to examine your body for any injuries.

you put your hand on top of one of his and give him a soft smile. "i'm okay, i promise." you turn around to look at the man behind you on the floor. "he, however, isn't. i'll have to bring him to the knights for further interrogation."

you go and grab your vision before cuffing the man's hands. "y-you're crazy! i'm going to die because of you!" he nearly spat in your face.

diluc was quick to act, grabbing him by the collar and yanking the guy dangerously close to him. "call them crazy again and that claymore you saw earlier will  definitely kill you." if diluc's claymore won't kill him, the fight he felt definitely would.

after diluc accompanied you to take him to the knights, (he wouldn't stop talking about how incapable they were on the walk there. "this never would've happened to you if they knew how to do their job." some things will never change.) he sat you down on a nearby bench and once again examined you thoroughly, even though you told him you were fine for the nth time.

he carefully draped his coat over your shoulders. "i'm just so glad you're alright. good thing i came when i did." he would say. for the rest of the night, he held you tight and gave you many, many kisses while telling you that you're never doing something like that again. not because he was jealous or anything, of course not

-> kaeya

kaeya knows you're an amazing and capable knight. you have amazing combat skills and are perfect at undercover missions. perfect person for the job.

so why was he so stressed?

imagining you throwing yourself all over that enemy in the short and tight dress you were wearing was eating at his mind. you had looked absolutely tempting in that getup that kaeya couldn't keep his hands to himself.

"oh? all this for me darling?" kaeya had walked up behind you and allowed his hands to run down your sides as you added earrings to your final look.

he kissed your neck, and before he could continue, you turned around placing a kiss on his lips. "this isn't for you, love. i have a mission..."

the wine glass that was resting in kaeya's hand had now been shattered to little pieces, littered all over the floor of angels share. he had came here to help keep his mind off of you, but it wasn't helping. at all.

kaeya quickly slammed mora down at the bar, scaring charles before heading off to you. he knew he could be potentially ruining your mission, and jean would have his head for it, but at this point in time he really could care less. you were more important to him than his job.

if only the grand master hadn't taken all of the horses with him, maybe kaeya would've gotten there faster. damn him.

as fast as his feet could carry him, he arrived at the goth grand hotel (did you really need a horse kaeya?) he pushed the fatui agent at the doorway trying to stop him and barged straight to the front desk.

"if you don't tell me what room y/n is staying in right now, i swear i will freeze hell over this place." the poor frightened desk lady handed kaeya the hotel key without protest. he swiped it from her and marched off.

"a42... a42... come on where are you?" kaeya walked down 2 hallways until he finally found it.

not even bothering to use the key, kaeya froze the knob before kicking the door open. much to his dismay, you were pinned down to the bed with the enemy right on top, ready to weald his weapon.

kaeya wasted no time to act. he shoved the guy off of you and drew his sword, keeping it pointed nicely at his neck so he couldn't move.

you jumped off the bed to retrieve your own. "i was handling it you know."

"if by handling you mean almost getting yourself killed, i would say you did a fine job." kaeya's voice was still seductive even when he was mad. maybe he should've gone on this mission instead.

you quickly cuff the fatui agent before kicking him out of the room, leaving him for the knights to deal with. "i'll get revenge for this! my superior, he won't like this. he'll deal with you!"

you sigh as the two knights grab him. "yeah, yeah, i've heard it all before. the day your superior comes for me is the day you'll see hellfire." was the last snarky comment you made before closing the door behind you, leaving only you and kaeya in the room.

"there were other knights here?" kaeya asked, approaching you. "only two. master jean planted them just in case."

kaeya pulled you to him for a very tight hug without warning. he buried his face into your neck and wrapped one arm around your shoulders while the other holding your waist. he kissed your neck, and then your jaw, cheek, forehead, your lips, ear, and finally whispered, "you're never doing this again."

you pull his face back so his eyes can meet yours and you cup your palm around his jaw. you tilt your head to the side and raise a brow. "why? because you were scared for me or because you were jealous?"

there are very few things that make kaeya aleberich blush. but him being called out by you is definitely one of them. "jealous? no, of course not. i was worried for you, love." he pulled back from you a bit and you became a laughing fit.

"hey, i was! you cant prove otherwise." he mumbled the last part and crossed his arms like an angry toddler.

you wiped a fake tear from your eyes and composed yourself. how cute, you thought to yourself. "but you did know i had it, right?" you asked.

kaeya looked back over to you, arms still crossed. "yes, i did dear. you're more than capable of holding your own. but what kind of boyfriend would i be if i wasn't to worry, hmm?" he walked back to you and brushed away any hair that was out of place.

"but," his teasing voice was back. "we do have this very nice hotel room to ourselves now. how about we make the most of it and-"

cue you throwing a pillow at him

-> zhongli

he understood your line of work. he understood how dangerous it could be. but what you had told zhongli earlier that night still wandered at the back of his mind.

you were dressed beautifully in black. the outfit hugged your body in just the right places and zhongli thought you looked absolutely ravishing.

"going somewhere dear?" his eyes were drinking you up. you smile and plant a kiss on his cheek. "it's for the mission i told you about."

the mission sounded dangerous indeed. he had no doubt in your strength but this, this just seemed too much, even for you.

the man you were seducing is known to be very dangerous and zhongli's subconscious couldn't rest at that. mortals were quite fragile after all.

"mr.zhongli? did you hear me?" hu tao waved her hand in front of his face. he snapped out of his daydreams about you and redirected his attention to the young funeral director.

"apologizes miss hu tao, could i possibly take the rest of the night off?" zhongli felt terrible for asking this of her but he just had to go to you.

hu tao granted him his wish, believing that he was feeling ill. at first, zhongli was debating if he really should come to you. it really is their mission, i'm sure they can handle themself.

he was afraid his interference would mess with your mission, but ultimately his concern for you overpowered that thought.

he reached the location in no time. it was a small beach house right on yaoguang shoal. and right outside, 2 guards were posted.

such an important and powerful man obviously has security, zhongli thought to himself. zhongli closed his eyes. he tried to listen for the sound your voice; a sound he had learned to memorize. and he found it. your voice was muffled was full of distress. that was enough for zhongli to approach the guards, ready to break open the door.

"hey," one of the guards stuck his arm out blocking the door. "you can't be here. so lea-" before the guard could get out another word, zhongli send geo shards flying towards both of them, knocking them to the ground unconscious.

he sent a geo spear straight through the door, stabbing the enemy's arm on the other side and pinning him to the wall. you were limp on the floor, but the sight of the geo spear put you to ease. your dress was torn leaving you a bit exposed and you had broken your ankle while fighting the man, but the pain seemed to go away as soon as you saw zhongli walk in.

zhongli sent a few more geo shards to secure the guy on the wall before rushing over to you. "dear, are you alright?" he said squatting down beside you. zhongli took of his coat and draped it over your exposed body. he placed his hand gently on your shoulder, afraid to hurt you.

you smile in relief, raising a hand his arm. "i'm alright, just a broken ankle. could you help me get him to the milieth? they should be here in 10 minutes. i've gotten all the information i need."

"you, this- this isn't over! i'll come back for you. i swear it." the man slurred. your eyes widened at his arm. there was a lot blood was oozing from his wound.

"zhongli, he can't die." zhongli looked at you in confusion. "but he broke your ankle. he can perish."

laughing right now would be very inappropriate, so you had to retain yourself. "i know but the milieth still need him. very alive."

zhongli obeyed your wish and yanked the man off of the wall harshly. "i won't heal him, but he can be taken to bubu pharmacy." zhongli took the spear out and tied his arm tightly with a random cloth he found on the floor. he tossed the man outside for the milieth and rushed back to you. he helped you sit up and you rested your body against his chest.

"thank you, for coming. although i could've handled it myself you know." you look up at him and smile. he lets out a sigh and kissed your lips. "i know dear. but um-" his coat was slipping down your body, revealing a good amount of your cleavage. he turned his head away, blushing a bit. "you should wear my coat." you giggle at his words but put on his coat properly.

zhongli rests you against the wall and scoots to where your feet. he tears some of his shirt to wrap your ankle in. "this will hold it until we get you medical attention." without warning, he picks you up in bridal style. you quickly wrap your arms around his neck so you don't fall.

"w-what are you doing?" you ask, it came out more as a squeak. "the milieth are here," zhongli responds walking outside. "they can take care of that man. we need to get you back to liyue."

yes, he really did carry you all the way to liyue.

[cookinguptales]

wwdits tarot: the sun

Hi and welcome to the last of the celestial cards, XIX. The Sun!

This was actually the card that gave me the most trouble, but I think I ended up on an interpretation that I really like. I hope I convince you!

Now, The Sun is actually usually one of the easiest and least complicated cards. It’s a card of hope and optimism, joy and vitality. Like a sunny day, it’s warm, innocent, and renewing. It tells you that good things are coming and that positivity is worthwhile. It says that your life is going to be so happy soon, and that your happiness and charisma will lift the spirits of others as well.

It’s one of the few really unambiguously happy cards in the deck!

But… truthfully, unambiguous joy, safety, and positivity is something that we don’t see that often in WWDITS. This is a show full of murderers, and those who don’t join them often become their victims.

Plus, while a sun is a symbol of joy in this deck, it’s obviously got a very, very different connotation in a series about vampires.

So what do you do, then, when none of the characters are a ray of sunshine — and the sun is, in general, a murder weapon?

I thought about it for a long time, this dichotomy. Warmth and danger. Joy and death. I thought about what The Sun means when upright, and when it’s reversed.

Upright, The Sun is the happiest, warmest card here. Reversed, it’s still not necessarily the worst, but it does indicate that you’re having a hard time looking on the bright side or that, perhaps, you have become too optimistic and overconfident and are no longer living in the real world.

And then it clicked.

Which character do we have who’s happy, who’s joyful, who’s charismatic and confident -- and whose warmth could burn you to a crisp? Who do we have that takes the depressed by the hand and leads them into a dream-like world of seductively dangerous optimism?

Well. The Sun has to be Jan, doesn’t it?

On the surface, Jan has all of the qualities of The Sun. She’s bright, she’s cheerful, she’s optimistic, she’s charismatic, she’s a go-getter, she encourages everyone around her to be their best selves.

And she’s a cult leader. A serial cult leader, at that.

She draws the unfulfilled to her like moths to a flame, and like those moths, her followers always seem to get burned alive.

So she’s both sides of the sun, isn’t she? Deceptively bright and inviting, but deeply dangerous to any vampire who crosses her path.

It’s hard to say how long Nandor would have lived if Guillermo hadn’t shown up, but I’m willing to bet the answer is not long. Sure, Guillermo showing up both saved Nandor and destroyed the cult, but going by the sheer number of photos she had on her wall, I think it’s safe to say that Jan is known for being prolific more than her staying power. The cult was going to implode sooner or later.

I don’t think she would have had even one second thought about killing Nandor. Jan has all the trappings of an energy vampire while still sipping on blood; all creatures are her prey. She basks in the adoration of her flock, but she doesn’t seem overly upset when she loses her followers and has to start again.

She was going to use Nandor up until there was nothing left, and then she was going to abandon the burned-out husk.

It’s fascinating, because The Sun is a card that is supposed to radiate strength and support, and she seems like she does. But the more you watch her, the more you realize that all she’s actually doing is sucking it up.

So… I suppose I’ve taken the most positive card in the deck and turned it into a warning. But that’s the life they live in WWDITS, isn’t it? There is no light without shadow, and with this particular cast of characters, the shadows are where they’re safe.

(It... also occurs to me that all three celestial cards have Nandor's exes on them. There's probably something to be said about that, how, like the stars, the sun, and the moon, they're ultimately far away -- and that he seems to like them even more when they're a little bit unattainable.)

Well. Anyway. Onto the imagery, I suppose.

The Rider-Smith-Waite version of this card has a child on a horse waving a pennant, a sea of sunflowers in the background and a sun shining down from above. The child is somewhat reminiscent of Death on his pale horse holding his own pennant, but this child symbolizes hope, innocence, and joy.

I want to bring that odd echo of Death into my version of the card, too, I think.

My Sun will have Jan standing before the neon lights in her facility that look an awful lot like the sun.

Her stance will be casual and inviting, though, her head limned by the light in a sort of halo effect. It will stream from behind her hair like the rays of the sun.

In a look a little inspired by her Jim Jones cosplay, I want Jan to be wearing sunglasses here, a nod to the fact that these rays of light will not be burning her.

This photo in the show was pretty clearly a recreation of this one. If you don't already know who Jim Jones is... well, that link is to an encyclopedia entry, but it discusses a lot of things that require content warnings. All of her wall photos were references to real-life cults.

Unlike that photo, though, her clothes and her pennant will be bright, will be fun, will be very 80s. The horse by her side will be, too, all Lisa Frank and joy, but it will be oddly… gaunt.

And the sunflowers in pots throughout the facility around her will all be withered and charred, fed only by ash.

This is a sun that burns.

wwdits tarot masterpost