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lucky-clover-gazette · 1 month ago

Text

kings rising highlights & annotations

chapter 13

indented text is from the book. some quotes have commentary, some do not. some comments are serious, and some are definitely not. most of them will only make sense to people who have read the series. and, like, there are spoilers. so please read the books first if you're interested!

also: part of the reason i'm doing such a close reading is to study cs pacat's style, especially in terms of how she does romance and erotica. there are "craft notes" that might seem weird, like i'm being redundant or restating something rather than analyzing, but those are more things that i want to remember/take away from the writing!

i'm going to tag these longer posts with "sam reads capri" in case anyone wants to read them all at once.

this is a google doc i wrote with overall content warnings for the captive prince series. it's not perfect, but i do think it's important to include.

The intimacy of last night might have been too much for either or both of them.

sorry you’re not convincing me that scene was like groundbreaking relationship-shifting magical catharsis. but this is ultimately damen’s narration and his perception has never been 1:1 with what’s actually happening, in terms of authorial intent or what i analyze

They were gazing at each other. To Damen’s delight, Laurent reached out to trace a touch down over his body. Laurent was looking at him as if he couldn’t quite believe the fact of him, as if even touch could not quite confirm it. ‘What?’ Damen was smiling. ‘You’re very,’ said Laurent, and then, flushing, ‘attractive.’ ‘Really,’ said Damen, in a rich, warm voice. ‘Yes,’ said Laurent.

this is laurent being soft, but also still being laurent. if that makes sense. the one scene we’ve gotten through his pov has shown that he overthinks every aspect of a situation—the fact that he just awkwardly states that he has observed that damen is hot, in an attempt to ground himself in some kind of objective knowledge, is both adorable and poignant

‘Well,’ Damen owned, turning his head back to Laurent eventually, ‘You are too.’ Laurent dropped his head slightly, on the edge of laughter. He said, with absurd fondness, ‘Most people tell me that right away.’

damen always thought it, but i think laurent appreciates that he didn’t say it then. he really appreciates hearing it now, because damen actually knows him. the compliment has substance and weight and importance that it otherwise wouldn’t. it’s funny bc laurent has used his beauty to manipulate damen before—the baths, verisimilitude, etc.—but i think this is the first time he actually WANTS damen to find him beautiful. maybe even the first time he wants anyone to find him beautiful, for reasons other than strategy (like with torveld)

Sweet and simple in the morning, Laurent’s beauty was heart-stopping.

“you like it simple” my thoughts about that single line of dialogue from chapter 7 is going to continue to be a subject of importance throughout these annotations, as damen ~finally gets what he wants~ from laurent (not using quotation marks bc i don't want to make it look like that's in the text, but i'm being like sarcastic/ironic/whatever)

If there had been a chance for our countries to be—’ Friends.

i like how immature his thought here is, evidenced by the fact that he doesn’t even say it. damen knows it’s silly to think about politics like this, but he’s so attached to laurent as an individual that he’s starting to see vere as a person too. which is both great, bc it shows how much his character has evolved from accepting everything he once believed, but also highlights the way damen can lose himself and his critical thinking in his attachments

'I would have been trailing around tugging on your sleeve, trying to get a look in edgewise.'

cue a bazillion pieces of fanart

After a moment, Laurent said, ‘He would have liked you.’ ‘Even after I started courting his little brother?’ said Damen carefully. He watched Laurent stop, the way that he did when he was taken by surprise, and then lift his eyes to meet Damen’s. ‘Yes,’ said Laurent softly, his cheeks reddened slightly.

this is soooo crazy for them. while i think it does represent legit development, i also think they’re kind of acting the parts of people who are lot more healed and happy than they actually are. like they feel the desire for lightheartedness and vulnerability, and don’t want to deal with the things that make them uncomfortable anymore, so they’re just committing to the bit that they’re fine and seeing where it takes them. see also: the previous sex scene. but they still have big problems (see also: the previous sex scene again) and the book is not over yet

‘No. Listen to me.’ He felt Laurent’s hand firm on the back of his neck. ‘I’m not going to let my uncle hurt you.’ Laurent’s blue gaze was calm and steady, as if he had made a decision and wanted Damen to know it. ‘It’s what I came here last night to say. I’m going to take care of it.’ ‘Promise me,’ Damen heard himself say. ‘Promise me we won’t let him—’ ‘I promise.’

oh he already knows he’s trading himself for damen’s not-son, doesn’t he. which also makes the uncertain and uncomfortable vibes of the previous scene make a lot of sense. it’s kind of a repeat of their sex scene in prince’s gambit, except this time only laurent knows it’s probably the last time (or one of the last times) they’ll ever have together

actually wow yeah, laurent’s insistence here—“listen to me, it’s what i came to say, i promise’—that really nails down the finality and desperation he’s feeling. and damen just Didn’t Get It, and still doesn’t. which is interesting bc he was so pleased in the last scene that laurent was finally being honest, and accepting him for who he was. while laurent was accepting damen finally, and wasn’t even really LYING about his intentions (like right here, he pretty much deadass says it), damen is so distracted and overwhelmed by this romantic victory that he doesn’t notice the tragedy looming

also—“let him” what, exactly? “hurt him?” do you think laurent thinks damen knows what the regent specifically did to him, and could do to his son? bc if i didn’t know that he didn’t know, this line would pretty much indicate that he did. wow that is an incoherent sentence.

Laurent said it seriously, his voice honest; no game playing, just the truth.

damen isn’t actively trying to deceive the reader, but he is definitely incorrect in his certainty a lot of the time. but then again, those words were the truth—laurent is not going to let his uncle hurt damen’s not-kid, and it was the reason he visited last night.

The kissing this time had an echo of last night’s desperation, a need to block out the outside world and stay for a moment longer in this cocoon, Laurent’s arms winding around his neck.

okay what did i just say. we are so fucking back (in terms of actually good analysis)

‘Come in,’ said Laurent, turning his head towards the sound. Damen said, ‘Laurent,’ shocked and on full display as the door swung open. Pallas entered. Laurent greeted him with no self-consciousness at all. ‘Yes?’ Laurent’s voice was matter-of-fact. Pallas’s mouth opened. Damen saw what Pallas saw: Laurent like some dream of a newly fucked virgin, himself unmistakably above him, fully roused. He flushed all over. In Ios, he might have dallied with a lover while a household slave attended to some task in the room, but only because a slave was so far beneath him in status as not to signify. The idea of a soldier watching him make love to Laurent was breaking open his mind. Laurent had never even taken an acknowledged lover before, let alone—

ironic that damen was so overjoyed in the last chapter about this exact situation—that it was LAURENT who he had, being vulnerable and acting like his past submissive partners coughslaves —but when he actually gets spotted in this situation he’s like oohhhhhhh my goddddd nooooo!

like i know i kinda talk shit about akelions a lot, but the persistent theme that it’s inherently some kind of like natural entitlement of the “powerful” (royal, rich etc.) to possess and use people designated beneath them in status just truly reveals how weak and transparent their power actually is. like of course you’re going to look strong, if you only allow yourself to be seen with people you’ve placed in lower stations. some of damen’s shame here must be due in part to his akelion upbringing, but that same upbringing is WHY he got so excited about making someone as powerful and stubborn as laurent submissive and vulnerable to him. in a culture where it’s encouraged to keep it simple, he’s found himself deeply rewarded by the complication of laurent in ways he’d never anticipated, but also afraid of how that complication will come across to his countrymen.

Pallas turned blindly, and made for the door. ‘What is it?’ Laurent looked at Damen, who had detached himself and was sitting with the sheet pulled up to where he had clutched it to cover himself. And then, with the burgeoning delight of discovery, ‘Are you shy?’ ‘In Akielos we don’t,’ said Damen, ‘in front of other people.’ ‘Not even the King?’ ‘Especially not the King,’ said Damen, for whom the King still partly meant his father. ‘But how does the court know if the royal marriage has been consummated?’ ‘The King knows whether or not it has been consummated!’ Horrified. Laurent stared at him. Damen was surprised when Laurent dropped his head, and even more surprised when Laurent’s shoulders started shaking. Around the laughter emerged, ‘You wrestled him without any clothes on.’ ‘That is sports,’ said Damen. He folded his arms, thinking that Veretians lacked any sense of dignity, even as Laurent sitting up and pressing a delighted kiss to his lips had him slightly mollified.

love this lighter shot at the cultural miscommunications here. but MAN is it hard to ignore the giant dark shadow over laurent’s every word and action here. unless you’re damen i guess, but that’s part of why they’ve always worked well together (see other annotations about damen allowing laurent to feel like a person beyond his trauma because he doesn’t really understand it, while still being a fiercely protective and uniquely intuitive partner in romance and life)

Later, ‘The King of Vere really consummates his marriage in front of the court?’ ‘Not in front of the court,’ said Laurent, as if this were unspeakably foolish, ‘in front of the Council.’ ‘Guion is on the Council!’ said Damen.

it is very funny to realize how in vere, sex is basically a form of bureaucracy and political posturing. and it’s like, some people are having fun with it, but others aren’t. as opposed to akielos, where it’s also posturing but sounds like pretty much everyone who is high-class enough to have slaves is very happy to partake. unlike vere, they do it in the privacy of their bedrooms, and people are taught to believe it’s happening and respect it. in vere, if it’s NOT happening in a public forum, no one really gives a shit and it might as well not be happening at all.

basically, sex is a means of political posturing and demonstrating status in both kingdoms, but in distinctly different ways. in akielos, it’s the equivalent of subtly telling everyone at the hedge fund that you have an affluent lifestyle by wearing certain clothes and using advanced technology. you’re perceived and accepted as certified finance bro by tasteful implication. but in vere, it’s more like straight-up driving your third tesla into the office and loudly counting your money during staff meetings (i don’t know if hedge funds have staff meetings) so it’s garishly undeniable to your wealthy peers that you belong

‘I’m sorry Govart is dead. I know you were trying to keep him alive.’

“sorry for your loss, of the man you killed with a chair. we both fuckin hated the guy but he would have made great leverage” they really are rubbing off on each other <3

‘I thought he knew something that I could use against my uncle. It doesn’t matter. We’ll stop him another way.’

and what way would that be. laurent. (also, a surprise tool that will help us later!)

‘It was nothing. There was a knife fight. I got free, and Guion and I came to an arrangement.’

and it was one of the best chapters in the entire series

‘You were taken prisoner, you single-handedly escaped from the cells at Fortaine, and somehow managed to get Guion to switch sides on the way out?’ ‘Well,’ said Laurent, ‘not everyone is as bad at escaping as you are.’

laurent would enjoy tabletop roleplay gaming so much. also i love them

‘When you lost your brother, was there someone to comfort you?’ ‘Yes,’ said Laurent. ‘In a way.’ ‘Then I’m glad,’ said Damen. ‘I’m glad you weren’t alone.’ Laurent pushed himself away, up into a sitting position, and for a moment he sat, without speaking. He pushed his palms into his eye sockets. ‘What is it?’ ‘It’s nothing,’ said Laurent.

ohhhhhh my god (i wonder if mentally laurent is like, ‘well i thought he might have figured it out, but i guess not. how the fu—‘)

‘We should—’ ‘And we will.’ Laurent turned to him, sliding fingers into his hair. ‘But first, we have the morning.’

“and then i will turn myself in to my abusive creep of an uncle as a solution to the problem i’m ignoring. but for now, this is a romance novel, and i’m stepping into your genre for a change”

(which is i think the main thing i missed in my analysis of the previous chapter, by the way. i’ve written so much about damen being forced into laurent’s genre but remaining romantic despite the horrors, but that last scene was a subversion where laurent is forcing himself to ignore the horrors so he can both indulge damen’s perception of them and try to experience it himself as a relief from the imminent tragedy and his past traumas)

After, they talked.

great thing to write after a fade to black sex scene! reminds us what their relationship really is about, beyond the physicality and emotional catharsis. these two fell in love doing battle strategy, remember?

Servants brought a breakfast of fruits, soft cheese, honey and breads on round platters,

glad to see thematically appropriate fruit basket guy is still finding work, even though damen and laurent are un-marrieddivorced

Damen took the seat closest to the wall, affixing the gold pin he had recovered to the cotton at his shoulder. Laurent sat in a relaxed pose, in only pants and a loose shirt, its collar and sleeves still open. Laurent was talking.

i love prince’s gambit

Damen realised that Laurent was letting him in to a part of himself he had never shared before, and he found himself drawn in to the political complexities, even as the experience felt new, and a little revelatory. Laurent never opened his thoughts like this, but always kept his planning intensely private, making his decisions alone.

damen i think you’re underestimating how much laurent showed you in the last book, compared to literally every other person he talks to

‘You are not keeping slaves in your household.’ ‘I can’t imagine why,’ said Damen.

smash cut to the cover of captive prince, a novel by cs pacat

‘You hate the idea of slavery. It turns your stomach.’ Damen said it, a flat statement of truth. ‘If I’d been anyone else, you would have freed me on the first night.’

doing my analysis for me. how far we’ve come

‘When I argued the case for slavery in Arles you didn’t try to change my mind.’ ‘It is not a subject for an exchange of ideas. There is nothing to say.’ ‘There will be slaves in Akielos. We are a slave culture.’

wow, i’m actually kind of surprised damen hasn’t already committed to dismantling the entire practice. i know he gets there eventually, and maybe he wants to at this point—but he’s still like, “well other people are going to do it and that’s their right.” maybe that’s the incomplete part of his development here: he’s decided that it’s wrong for HIM to be doing, as a result of his experiences and tastes, but hasn’t quiet grasped that is a universally wrong practice, even if it’s his friends and allies doing it

Damen said, ‘Are pets and their contracts so different? Did Nicaise have a choice?’ ‘He had the choice of the poor with no other way to survive, the choice of a child powerless to his elders, the choice of a man when his King gives him an order, which is no choice at all, and yet still more than is afforded to a slave.’

yep, i’m a little rusty but i do remember a lot of my laurent character analysis having to do with the fact that he would rather be doing something on purpose even if it isn’t something he wants to do, than given no choice or ability to HAVE thoughts or preferences at all. free will is extremely important to laurent, and the idea of losing it is both terrifying and shameful to him. so even in situations of financial desperation or lack of power due to age or status, laurent still believes that there is more of choice to willing submission than just never being “afforded” the ability to make choices in the first place—even if slaves live under less stressful or overall comfier conditions. even the most desperate, poor, powerless victim still has more personhood and autonomy allowed to them than a slave. and without that foundation of personhood and autonomy, there is no purpose to life.

laurent thrives on having purpose, and suffers without it. and in his big pov chapter we're also told that he often has hope, despite everything, and has to regulate it in order to be realistic. there is no purpose for a slave, and there is no hope for a slave. at least with veretian pets, at least for laurent in the veretian court, he still had purpose, and he still had hope. i think the only time in laurent's life where he did NOT feel purpose/hope was when he was under the regent's thumb, which had only happened because laurent lost hope and purpose due to auguste's death and leaned on the regent for comfort. and that situation had only really changed because the regent stopped being attracted to laurent as result of natural aging, not even because laurent was eventually able to change things due to his own internal strength. that's fucked up, man. but it does explain laurent's perspective.

Damen felt again the shock of hearing Laurent voice his private beliefs. He thought of him, helping Erasmus. He thought of him visiting the girl from the village, teaching her a sleight-of-hand trick. For the first time, he caught a glimmer of what Laurent would be like as a king. He saw him, not as the Regent’s unready nephew, not as Auguste’s younger brother, but as himself, a young man with a collection of talents thrown into leadership too early, and taking it on, because he was given no other choice.

damen, assessing laurent’s situation: he was given no other choice, but he’s still trying his best :(

laurent, miserable and tired but possessing free will: i am MAKING the choice to do this to the very best of my ability, using my compassion and intelligence in a way no one else could. even if it sucks, even if i could do something else (because i absolutely could), i am CHOOSING to be the kind of king my people deserve. having “no choice” would mean lacking the will to choose to do anything but the exact thing i’ve been trained to do, which is how both akielion slaves and princes are groomed to live (re: the latter—consider damen’s musing on his father, the military, and tradition)

I would serve him, he thought, and that itself was like a little revelation.

back in book 1 i highlighted the overall thematic question: can there be honor in submission?

yes. like this. so much has led to this line, subtly and slowly, and we’re finally seeing it said outright. damen would serve laurent because of the person he is, not the royal status that has been put upon him by birth. and he’d be doing so as a person with free will, acknowledging laurent’s complications as well as his own, instead of the imitation of a slave who can’t choose anyway so might as well just go along with it.

in other words, he’s leveling up his commitment to the bit <3

‘I know what you think of my uncle, but he is not—’ Laurent spoke after a pause. ‘Not?’ ‘He won’t hurt the child,’ said Laurent. ‘Whether it is your son or Kastor’s, it is leverage. It is leverage against you, against your armies, and against your men.’ ‘You mean that it hurts me more that my son is alive and whole than it would if he were maimed or dead.’ ‘Yes,’ said Laurent.

laurent: i know that you think my uncle is simply bloodthirsty and evil, and would only think to injure or kill your not-son, but you don’t understand that he would rather sexually abuse a young boy than kill him. because he did that to me. which you haven’t figured out. although you did know about nicaise. but you seem to have a blind spot about the entire topic.

damen: wait, what do YOU think i think of your uncle?

laurent: ignores the question basically, the kid wouldn’t get hurt, because it’s useful to my uncle to keep him intact as leverage against us both. (especially against me, because i know what he would do to that boy, but if i explained that i would have to explain why, so i’m not going to mention it specifically)

damen: so like. he won’t kill the kid because he can torture and manipulate us with it more effectively if it’s alive

laurent: somehow i have told the truth and you do understand it, but there is so much that you still don’t understand

He said it seriously, looking into Damen’s eyes. Damen felt every muscle in his body ache with the effort of not thinking of it. Of not thinking the other, darker thought, the one that at all costs must be avoided. He tried to think instead of a way forward, though it was impossible.

possibilities for “the other thought”:

1) the obvious one, and the most likely in my opinion: the regent would assault the child.

damen has a reason to suspect this, because he is aware of both nicaise and aimeric

in terms of craft and characterization, this a little hint that damen might have considered laurent being abused, but eventually dismissed the notion because it is TOO dark and too upsetting to acknowledge

^^^ active repression is in-line with damen’s overall tendencies

2) the other darker thought is the death or torture of the child, which laurent is explicitly telling him will not happen. damen is accepting that “comfort” uncritically because it doesn’t make him feel as upset or powerless as the alternative. the regent’s abuse of young boys is not being considered at all.

‘My uncle knows you won’t move against him while he holds the child,’ said Laurent. And then, calmly, steadily, ‘So we get him back.’

not going to lie, i’m not the biggest fan of the baby as a plot device. but i get why it’s used, and how it connects a lot of characters, especially like jokaste and kastor who haven’t been present in previous books. i just think it might have been more effective if it was a child that damen and/or laurent actually knew—although i do understand that the baby’s “royal lineage” probably comes into play here. but i also think a big theme of the series is about honor coming from integrity in action, rather than blood or status. but it is just a fuckin baby, and a baby is the ultimate symbol of innocence and helplessness. so maybe it’s just kind of a wash.

also the confusion about the paternity kinda just annoys me. i get that to damen it doesn’t matter, but then like. make it kastor’s baby for sure, then. that would give damen’s integrity and family oriented nature even more of a spotlight.

(maybe it is confirmed to be kastor’s at some point. i didn’t pay that much attention to this plot beat the first time around)

He looked for changes in her, but the cool, untouchable air was the same, as was the particular way that her eyes regarded him. She had the same colouring as Laurent. She had the same mathematical mind. They were like a matched pair, except that her presence was different.

it’s both telling and sweet that damen is so used to having his mind changed by laurent, who ended up so much more honorable and understandable than originally believed, that his first instinct with jokaste is to look for signs of that same potential. as opposed to damen in captive prince chapter one, whose first thought seeing laurent was “he would be an expensive sex slave”

There was a part of Laurent that was always in tension, even when he affected calm. Jokaste’s unassailable composure seemed like serenity, until you knew she was dangerous. A similar core of steel, perhaps, existed in both.

i think you might have just been down bad for jokaste in a specific way, and down bad for laurent in a different way. jokaste definitely isn’t making you feel serene now, is she? and laurent, inversely, is a great comfort to you when you first thought he was unpleasant. another example of the overarching damen nice=/=good and mean=/=bad theme.

She didn’t seem perturbed by her incarceration, or even really to notice it.

like damen in the cell, internally attentive to every little detail. i bet jokaste is too.

He said, ‘Is there a child?’

he wants it to be untrue, so the regent doesn’t have leverage over him. i also think he’s partially asking if it’s HIS, although that’s more of a personal thing that wouldn’t impact his actions in saving the kid

‘I have told you that there is,’ said Jokaste. ‘I wasn’t talking to you,’ said Damen. The attending women seated around Jokaste were of varying ages, from the eldest of perhaps sixty to the youngest, Jokaste’s age, around twenty-four.

he's learning!

‘Let me tell you what is going to happen. You are going to be executed. You are going to be executed whatever you say or do. But I will spare your women, if they agree to answer my questions.’

damen immediately doing what he’s so upset the regent is doing to him and laurent is fascinating. like “oh i have an idea of how i can challenge jokaste into talking! use human lives as leverage! wonder where that came from, anything recently happen…? oh right.”

He said to the soldiers behind him, ‘Take them.’ Jokaste said, ‘This plan of action will mean the death of the child.’ He said, ‘We haven’t established that there is a child.’ She smiled, as if pleased to discover a pet capable of a trick. ‘You’ve never been very good at games. I don’t think you have what it takes to play against me.’ He said, ‘I’ve changed.’

this entire war hinges on schroedinger’s inconvenient baby

also, jokaste was born in the wrong kingdom. i think part of the reason she’s so terrible is that she’s bored in akielos. vere’s political landscape would be enrichment for her and she’d probably thrive in that environment, and feel no desire or need to establish her status by getting pregnant by a prince

okay sorry but like. au where laurent reluctantly teams up with young noblewoman jokaste a year or so after the regent stops assaulting him, and they work together to overthrow him through complicated court political maneuvers. laurent is motivated by obvious reasons, and jokaste is mostly just personally slighted by the regent’s misogynistic court and therefore annoyed, but deep down they both know she cares about him and wants things to be better. and obviously he cares about her bc it’s laurent and he cares about everything, just doesn’t want the world to know it

‘You are the only one protected in your arrangement. These women are going to die. Unless they talk to me.’ She said, ‘You have changed. Or is this the new power behind the throne? Who am I really negotiating with here, I wonder?’

damen wouldn’t. he knows it, jokaste knows it, and laurent DEFINITELY knows it. he would not tell damen or expect damen to do this as anything more than a bluff to assess jokaste’s commitment to the bit

He was already nodding to the nearest soldier. ‘Start with her.’ It wasn’t pleasant. The women resisted, and there was screaming. He watched impassively as soldiers took hold of the women and began to drag them from the room.

wait holy fuck did he do it?? it’s not entirely clear. but i think he fucking did??? is it written vaguely to make the reader have this exact confused reaction?? hold please i’m reading more

EDIT: it's "women" and not "woman." i originally read it as "woman," meaning that the first was specifically resisting and screaming as she died, and then the soldiers seized everyone else. if it's plural women, i think it's safe to say that the first woman did not actually die, the soldiers just mobilized in a way that made kyrina scared enough to tell damen the truth, despite jokaste's warnings

‘No,’ said Jokaste. ‘He will not kill a roomful of women for loyalty to their mistress, Kyrina.’

still not saying outright if he killed the one woman, and i have to wonder WHY, if not to intentionally confuse and stress out the reader. it could go both ways with these carefully chosen words of dialogue—“he will not kill a roomful of women for loyalty.” “roomful” could imply that he already killed one but she thinks he wouldn’t kill multiple (but from what we and jokaste know of damen, that assumption makes very little sense—he’s not really like a utilitarian trolley problem kind of guy, although i guess laurent is). but “for loyalty” implies that she does understand damen, and the assumption that he would not kill for the REASON of loyalty, because it’s something he respects in himself and others. hhhhh

EDIT: see previous annotation

‘There is a child. He was taken to Ios.’ ‘That’s enough,’ said Jokaste. ‘None of us know if the child is yours. She says it is.’ ‘That’s enough, Kyrina,’ said Jokaste. ‘There’s more,’ said Damen. ‘Exalted—’ said Kyrina— —as Jokaste said, ‘No.’ —

turns out when your status is predicated on power earned by force rather than earned respect, the people serving you are going to submit to the strongest person in the room. unfortunately for jokaste, she just stopped being perceived as the strongest person in the room

‘My lady did not trust the Regent of Vere to protect her interests. In the case that there was no other way to save her life, the wet nurse could be instructed to bring the child to you—in exchange for Jokaste’s freedom.’

she’s out-veretianing the regent of vere.

oh ALSO!! it’s neat how based on jokaste’s attendant calling him “regent” and not “king,” jokaste must also casually refer to him as such, not actually respecting him or his false title

Damen sat back in his chair, and lifted his brows slightly at Jokaste.

that’s laurent-brand cuntiness. should have added a lean though

'There is no way to circumvent my conditions.'

that phrase is like catnip to damen and laurent. one time damen ripped a metal grate out of a wall

Jokaste, he thought, believed that it was impossible for him to travel into Ios, and that there was no place where it was safe for him to attempt an exchange. But there was a place where two enemies could meet without fear of ambush.

i like how the kingsmeet is set up for a way for damen and laurent to ensure that the regent doesn’t hurt them, but in a twist it ends up being the regent’s plan to anger damen so much that damen breaks the rules and tries to throw hands

‘But you’re a fool to trust him. He has his own plans.’ ‘He has never pretended otherwise,’ said Damen.

true. and perfect for this exact conversation. this is what‘s really being said, i think—

jokaste: laurent may be giving you good ideas, but it’s stupid to trust him because he’s definitely also keeping some of his manipulations from you

damen: he’s never claimed to be honest, which ironically makes him more honest than you. i know he has secrets and i trust him anyway, because i know him. you never even gave me the chance to know you, for whatever reason, and i was a fool for trusting you and faced the worst consequences imaginable. at least when laurent tortured me, we both thought he was my enemy. you tortured me when you were supposed to be my ally. you have not earned my trust and respect, and laurent has, and ultimately that’s your loss. because i know you appreciated my integrity and honor, two things that you believe that you can not afford to have yourself.

(maybe it’s not that deep. but i think it’s satisfying to consider, with the little we’ve been told about their history)

He looked at her, alone on the low couch. He couldn’t help but remember the day they met. She had been presented to his father, daughter of a minor noble from Aegina, and he had been able to look nowhere else. It was three months of courtship before she was in his arms. He said, ‘You chose a man who was bent on destroying his own country. You chose my brother, and look where it’s left you. You have no position, no friends. Even your own women have turned on you. Don’t you think it’s a shame things had to end this way between us?’

NOPE IT’S THAT DEEP I NAILED IT

“i loved you so deeply and immediately and would have done anything for you. kastor doesn’t give a shit about you or this country. the way this ended between us was your choice, and it was a bad one. your loss.”

‘Yes,’ she said. ‘Kastor should have killed you.’

and we know he’s right, and that he hit a vein, because the woman who pretends to be cool and detached and in control basically just tells him that she can’t handle him being around.

#sam reads capri #capri #captive prince #damen of akielos #laurent of vere #lamen #kings rising

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genericpuff · 8 months ago

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Genuinely I would give anything to hear your thoughts or read more critical analysis of yours on other webcomics writing (*slides you Marionetta* I like the webtoon but there are some things in the writing that I'd like to see be discussed critically more often but the fandom focuses way too much on shipping. sighs..)

Anyway, you probably have been asked this before but are there any webtoons in particular you would recommend? :D

Oh lord, you don't know how many times a week I get asks in my inbox asking for my opinions on webtoons they're reading. It's really sweet that people wanna hear me talk about other works outside of LO, but unfortunately I just don't have the time to read as much as I used to, even keeping up on LO lately is getting really difficult 😅 I'm definitely keeping a list though of works to check out!

That said, I try not to read series on the basis of criticizing them because frankly I just... don't want to spend time reading something if people are only looking for me to rag on it? 😆 Of course I know that's not the only reason, I know there's also just the element of seeing me talk extensively about other works the way that I do with LO, but it's not really something I can turn on and off like that, I have to get really into a series to want to talk about it to that extent. So it often comes down to just luck of the draw :'0

Right now the series I'm keeping up the most on (or have completed and would absolutely 100% re-read):

Alfie (18+, it's porn with plot but the plot is REALLY GOOD , I SWEAR LMAO the art is gorgeous, the characterization is IMMACULATE, and it ironically tackles the subject of purity culture way better than LO ever has lol)

Theia Mania (the creator is often in my comment section / neck of the woods, she's been working on an Abduction of Persephone retelling for a long while now and has also tackled other myth retellings in her style! I always love seeing new pages of her work in my feed :' ) <3)

Tales from Alderwood (if you like fantasy and comedy, this one's great, the plot's really starting to get interesting and it's just got this really great sense of humor about it)

The Black Parade (this one's REALLY interesting, it's a comic-stylized version of My Chemical Romance's The Black Parade, using the songs as narration and sometimes even dialogue to tell a visual story, it's really cool and the art matches beautifully with the lyrics and style of MCR!)

A Tale of Two Rulers (this is a Legend of Zelda fancomic that poses the question, "What if Zelda and Ganondorf got married to solve their political crisis?" It updates a lot slower than most of the other comics I follow but the art and writing is so worth it <3)

Dogs of Future Past (and p much all of Lynx's Undertale comics which can be found in the link, seriously, THESE are the comics you wanna read if you wanna get into Undertale fanworks, they are PEAK)

Tamberlane (this one's an anthro comic, I normally don't read anthro but this one actually gripped me by the throat, the art is gorgeous and the character arcs so far have been great!)

The Mafia Nanny (okay it's legit so funny that I'm including this one here but I've been reading it the last couple days after seeing it basically beat out LO at the top of the trending tab for a couple days, so I figured I'd give it a shot, at first I was like "great more tropey shit" but the more I read it the more it's actually started to get pretty good, I'm holding out and hoping to god it stays that way LOL it's not especially deep or anything like that, but it's really fun and cute to read and the shipping of the main character within the narrative isn't too self-absorbed which I can always appreciate, I'd honestly be 100% fine with it if it didn't turn into a romance)

City of Blank (I talk about this one a lot here, but it's one of my favorite Originals right now, the art is super polished and the writing has gotten INTENSE, go check it out if you want some fun action / sci-fi storytelling!)

Time and Time Again (a time-travelling vampire and his werewolf boyfriend get into all kinds of misadventures, what more could you ask for?)

Touch of Divinity (like the Mafia Nanny, this is one I just started reading, it's got a very interesting premise so far and I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes!)

#if i ever do read marionetta then y'all will definitely hear about it LOL #ask me anything #ama #anon ask me anything #anon ama #recommendations #reading reccs #reading recommendations

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lover-of-mine · 5 months ago

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the whole ‘why is he here’ thing is 95% of the reason i don’t understand where tf BT shippers are getting all of this from. ‘tommy’s so kind to buck’ ‘they’re so smitten’ ‘they’re made for eachother’ ‘buck’s so happy with tommy’. okay, but where?? show me in canon, read me dialogue, point out specific scenes, SHOW ME exactly where the show had told or shown you that these things are true. and they can’t! because there has been nothing on screen to suggest this, no development, no certainty about their relationship, no discussion about their relationship at all actually, no emotional connection… sure buck is smiling and happy but it’s not like buck has never smiled or never been happy before? ‘buck’s grinning!’ that’s literally how oliver smiles! he cheeses!! the show is giving absolutely nothing but then the shippers run with it and headcanon and make things up out of thin air and decide it’s canon fact to shove in people’s faces and delude themselves into believing they’re getting more than they are. either season 8 breaks them off and treats him as the fairly unimportant plot device for buck’s bisexuality realisation that they decided to keep around for a bit longer because he was getting them clicks and attention, despite the fact that they had no idea what to do with him… or it actually makes an effort to prove to us ‘why he is still here’. i know which option i’d prefer…. but my point still stands. sorry for the paragraph!

Don't apologize, I'm giving you a standing ovation. The whole Buck is happy, he's grinning thing if funny because he was like that with every girl before? He was grinning like that at Ali, he looked smitten by Taylor up until the point in 5a where they decided the relationship has been enough, everyone saw how he was smiling a Natalia at the coffee date or during 618, even the cemetery while talking about her and no one was screaming endgame even tho Natalia was played out to be his endgame in case of a cancellation. And the whole T is so kind to Buck, sure, the flirting can be cute in 704, BUT Buck is an unreliable narrator, so I kinda eye everything that happened there wondering how much is true and how much is Buck's rose colored glasses, but even in that scene, T was in no position to excuse Buck from hurting Eddie, and he actually asked Buck out after kissing him out of nowhere instead of running away like Taylor, but it's not like Taylor set a very high bar. Then maybe the way he tops Buck's beer on the date? But that gets overshadowed by the way he calls a car and leaves Buck on the curb, only communicating he's leaving when he's literally in the car, when he could've talked to Buck before? Also the closet joke to Eddie when he knew Buck wasn't out was ?????? And then we have the coffee that i still don't understand why any of that happened, because why would you agree to go to someone's sister's wedding after half a date you walked off? Then the party, if he was so great he would've dressed on theme????? He literally needs to change into a uniform because he shows up at the hospital in said uniform, so he could've put effort into his outfit. The way the hospital scene could've been cute if he had helped Buck clean his face or at least told Buck his face was dirty, and they could've walked in holding hands or something. The ceremony had nothing, Buck's hand was even in his pocket because there was nothing about that conversation to indicate they were more than friends. And the dinner in the loft had Buck being vulnerable, and the weirdest tone shift leading to a kink joke that feels very out of place given the circumstances. That's it. That's every scene. Tell me where are you seeing them being made for each other? I honestly feel like T comes out as callous and condescending every time he opens his mouth. I can't find anything to like about him or about him when it comes to Buck and I legit don't understand where the hype is coming. Like, seriously. The show gave me nothing. Let's see how the show handles him next season, I guess.

#911 #911 spoilers #i really need a tag for asks #anon 😌#anti bucktommy

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curioussubjects · 4 days ago

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I just finished Veilguard, and...I'm really not sure how I feel about it?

All in all: good game, had fun, but still didn't quite hit some of the highs it wanted to hit and it's still not as good as DA2

(Spoilers galore below for everything)

The Good:

Pretty game is pretty;

Love the codexes, especially the ones written by companions or with their commentary;

Speaking of, the Mementos had so excellent tid bits of lore flavor to them, as well;

Regrets of the Dread Wolf was a damn good quest;

Some truly funny party banter;

I actually thought it was really easy to figure out who my Rook is as I played the game, which was much harder for me to do for my Lavellan in DAI;

And speaking of Lavellan, she was in character she WOULD say that she WOULD do that. Bless;

Everything about Nevarra and the Mourn Watch, I wish there was more content there because I was so into it;

Orb and dagger mage is really fun to play, which was VERY surprising considering I don't play close range ever;

I also really enjoyed destroying blight boils for some reason lmao;

Petting cats (they PURR WHEN YOU DO);

Assan <3;

Taash being so autistic;

Teia and Viago my beloveds;

✨Friendship✨

The Solavellan of it all;

And Solas, too. Love that sadsack disaster man;

Maybe this is super basic of me but I liked Varric's narration...idk it's comforting;

Honestly, just Varric in general was a bit safety blanket in a nice way for me because the game feels overwhelming at first;

There's no party like an all Dalish party!

Exploring -- loved finding all the fun details in each location, and I know I didn't even do enough in my playthrough;

I'm weak for stories about guilt, fear and regret. And I'm even weaker when those stories are so obviously about forgiveness and moving forward. Also love. Always love.

The Bad:

The pacing. I've said this before but DAtV could've used a more explicit arc structure or have quests note which level they're meant for or SOMETHING because some times it seemed I was doing quests too early or too late for when I was in the main story. I also thought events kept oscillating from happening too fast or too slowly, and it very much did get in the way of immersion;

The romance. Literally what are you doing Dragon Age that you fumble the romance. Granted, I only romanced Davrin so far, but I'm getting the sense from looking through the tag that maybe Lucanis' romance also feels a bit off? Honestly I have so many issues with the romance progression for Davrin that it's its own section;

I hope this is only a Veil Jumpers issue, but I thought Rook was so separate from the faction. I felt very little connection to them;

I've seen some people point out NPCs talk to Rook like they're a child, and while I don't really agree with that I do think Rook doesn't have enough opportunities to be knowledgeable in their own right. Especially annoying with a mage Veil Jumper Rook! I miss the Inquisition perk dialogue options that let my Lavellan be a smarty pants;

Holy overdesigned armors! Yikes!

Not all areas are as well developed as the others: Rivain is the most egregiously empty and underdeveloped, but I actually thought Arlathan Forest was super lifeless too. So was the Lighthouse! You get the early game discovery bit and then nothing ever again and it's like oh that was really it huh (and the stuff we did get was so good please more?);

I hate to say this but BioWare missed the mark with Rook's place in the group. The companions seemed connected to each other, yeah, but Rook was like some cross between group therapist and not-so-undercover boss. There was none of the warmth Hawke got from their companions (or the Inquisitor, for that matter!). The game really needed 1. a lighthearted party hangout cutscene and 2. companions coming together to take care of Rook (the fact this isn't even a thing in the romance is bonkers to me);

Taash's personal quest being about choosing between being Rivain and Qunari as if that's how culture works is Bad Actually;

The worst minimap I've ever seen in a game wow;

Also: give me back my beacon marker;

The gods were in a regret prison but what were their regrets exactly we just don't know.

The Bad (Romance Edition):

Again, the pacing! Incredibly slow to start (and not in a slow burn way, mind!) and then super fast in the last third of the game;

In fact, the romance seemed to be running on a completely different level than the rest of the story. The last romance scene was incredibly out of place tonally, especially.

The first two romance titles for Davrin are "Thrill of the Chase" and "Hot and Bothered"...and like WHERE????

Davrin never writes about Rook as a romantic partner or as if he has any concerns with the relationship...which we later find out he has, but was news to me;

Tbh, the romance felt like an afterthought. There were cutscenes that in any other DA game there would've been flirting options, for instance, but this time there was nothing (what do you mean Rook can't make a flirty comment when Davrin is shirtless working out with Taash? It's low hanging fruit!);

Not nearly enough flirty banter between Rook and Davrin, which is nuts considering their personalities;

I'm really super disappointed with Davrin's romance, which sucks because he's actually perfect for my Rook and I really like his character. There was so much potential for a really fun romance that was both tense and sexy, but also sweet. But no. Secret good Davrin romance that exists in my head save me.

The ???:

Southern Thedas got scorched when the North didn't how?

Please tell me who was catfishing Andraste;

Making enemies super aggro on Rook unless you specifically have companions taunting was very weird.

#dragon age the veilguard #datv spoilers #datv #dragon age #ok there were many thoughts #but they're bullet points it's fine #the lists are also not comprehensible or in any particular order #i think im closer to figuring out why the game isnt quite working for me though #there's just something fundamental missing that i havent been able to put my finger on just yet

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thedragonagebigbang · 2 months ago

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Bang Creator Interview: Tumblr: @twist-shout-and-shells | AO3: Aint_No_Holy_Ghost

The Collaboration period has begun! In these quiet months before works are due, we want to foster a sense of excitement, camaraderie, and celebration among our participants. To that end, all participants were given the option of a formal interview by our mod, Dema, or an informal “ask-game” survey. We hope you enjoy getting to know our phenomenal creators as much as we have!

This is how local political unrest can help your love life!

Izzy and Dema talk writing (surprise!), trying and failing to catch a train, and Those Greek Guys

Dema: Starting current events (at the time of the interview): It's pitch writing time! How's it going?

Izzy: I've reached the part where the fun and games end and the heavier plot begins, so I'm moving more slowly. I totally lost control of the direction my story was going after chapter 3. But it's been a great time writing this story!

Dema: It is funny how our own stories can get away from us. I think I have my vibes pinned down and I almost always deviate. Does that tend to be your experience or are you usually a make-a-plan, stick-to-the-plan-type of writer?

Izzy: I try to be a no-plan writer. That's usually how my stories start: I get an idea and start in it with no real direction. But eventually I'm forced to develop some plan for where I'm going, and I try to stick to it. But I think the nature of stories is that sometimes they just write themselves and I'm simply their vessel.

Dema: I'm trying to remember which writer described it as trying to catch a train...

Izzy: That sounds familiar... But I can't remember either.

Dema: Wow, it's gunna drive me crazy. I'll put it in later… it was basically, you're on foot, and inspiration is like a train, and you're just grabbing onto whatever you can grab. Except I'm pretty sure a nobel prize-winning writer said it so it sounded much better.

[Narrator: Dema never did find the original source, and it really will drive her crazy. If you know it, tag her!]

When you say you eventually need to develop a plan, at what point do you realize you need to do that?

Izzy: Either when I run out of inspiration or when I have a clear idea of where I want to get, but no idea of how to get there. With my story for the DABB it was the former: after writing three chapters non-stop I hit a brick wall of "alright, and where am I going with this?"

Dema: I was going to ask about the DABB next! Did you have your preliminary idea before you decided to join in?

Izzy: Yes. It was an idea that had been kicking around in my head for a long while, but that I wasn't sure I should actually write because it's a) kind of a cliche and b) not a very popular pairing, but eventually I decided to just get it out there anyway. It started with a very particular line of dialogue and grew from there.

Dema: Oh, we love a rarepair in this house…And of course, I know what it is, and am excited.

Izzy: Lol! It was strange for me actually, becoming a rare pair writer. The first big bang I participated in was for Supernatural, a pairing with 100k fics on their tag. Now I'm writing for a pair with 100 fics, 4 of which are mine.

Dema: Incredible. You are holding down this fort. Also I love this little teaser. When did you start writing for DA?

Izzy: October 2022 (We're in 2024 already, jesus Christ)

Dema: Yes, unfortunately it is a daily shock for me as well. But I love how many people come into the fandom and create new fanworks even so long after the last game came out. What drew you in? Were you already hanging around the DA fandom before 2022?

Izzy: I started playing...at the end of 2021, I think. My brother introduced me to the franchise and my autistic little brain became obsessed with it. I was going to name my favorite game and protagonist, but considering they're the center of the fic, that'd be a spoiler. Anyway, I started following some DA blogs on Tumblr, and eventually thoughts of that game had consumed my every waking thought to the point I wrote two academic essays about it in my first year of uni. I wrote a significant portion of those 4 fics in the bus on the way to said uni. What drew me in most were the themes, really.

Dema: Any in particular?

Izzy: Found family and the tragic undertones of it all, mostly. I really like the way DA2 works as a tragedy in between two epics. The mage x templar conflict is also quite interesting. The tragedy x epic was totally the subject of one of those essays, btw. My professors suffer.

Dema: So I assume DA2 is your favorite of the franchise? Have you played all of them?

Izzy: Yes, it is! I've played all of them a couple of times, and DA2...several times. I don't know how many.

Dema: I'm so curious if you played them in order or started with DA2. The "best order" to experience the DA universe is an interesting debate.

Izzy: No, I played them in order. Personally, I think it'd be strange to play them out of order, at least for the first time, because of the way the stories tie into each other. What I did do was play DA2 twice before I played Inquisition because on my first gameplay I didn't really check the writing desk (there wasn't anything like that in DAO and I was still new to games more complex than The Sims) and I missed Fenris entirely. Detail: he's one of my fave companions now

Dema: I'm pretty sure I missed Sera on my first DA:I playthrough. It's wild how much it impacts the story, if you miss a companion!

Izzy: Yes! I mean, it's a whole arc and a lot of banter you just don't get. Fenris has so much good banter!! I truly can't believe I missed him.

Dema: When it comes to the DA fandom, would you consider yourself a gamer first and a writer or reader second, or something else?

Izzy: That's a really difficult question. I'm not exactly a big gamer. Like, I'm not a completionist and I mostly play on casual because my real focus is the story being told. So I guess what I truly am is a "reader of the game" lol. Though I have been getting more into combat strategizing and stuff like that for DA2, because you can only play something on casual so many times before it loses the appeal. If you'll allow me an anecdote, to paint a picture of the kind of "gamer" I am: one time I was playing DAI in my brother's room (his computer), and he walks in, sees me with a vein popping on my forehead, stupidly focused, staring unflinchingly at the screen, and asks "what the f* are you doing?" I was in the undercroft tinting armors.

And then, after that, I'm a writer.

Dema: This story is very relatable, lol. You've touched on the narrative structure of the franchise a bit and I'd love to hear more about that epic to tragedy to epic format, and why that resonated. Since you wrote a whole paper on it, just distill it into like four sentences, that shouldn't be hard right??? (I'm sorry)

Izzy: Oh, god. Ok. I'll try not to get too carried away :V

Dema: Please feel free. Here is a box to stand on, and a megaphone.

Izzy: So. Uh. The Greeks, right? Those guys. Aristotle, more specifically. The Poetics and all that. I think DAO and DAI follow the formula of classic epics: you have this larger than life hero going on a very important quest to save the world. Notice that those games are longer than DA2, kind of like an odyssey, if you will. There are many quests, many steps to the journey before the hero can rest. It's glorious and grand, regardless of whether the hero survives or not. Now DA2 follows the formula of tragedies even closer than the other games follow the epic. And I mean step by step aristotelian formula. You have Hawke, who rises into fame and fortune. The rising movement is very important, because you later have the downfall. He gets fame and riches, but everything comes with a cost, usually the lives of his family. So in DA2 you have this constant rise and fall movement, leading up to the end where (if you defend the mages, at least) Hawke is forced to leave behind everything they spend 7+ years building. They lose everything. In the essay I compared it to Oedipus: he becomes king and etc, there's this looming prophecy (remember Flemmeth when you do the amulet ritual), and in the end everything falls apart. That's as summarized as I can get lol. And Hawke starts out as a nobody! And the game is actually divided in acts!!!

Dema: I read a LOT of classics/Homer in undergrad and I love this. Ten out of Ten. Thank you! I could honestly listen to you talk about that epic/tragedy structure for another hour but alas, we are out of time. To close the interview, and just for fun: Can you come up with a buzzfeed-style, misleading, click-bait title for your fic? Without giving anything major away that would identify you lol

Izzy: Ok, so, this is as vague as I managed: This is how local political unrest can help your love life (Also, I just realized I went out to get wifi and did the whole interview wearing a DA2 sweater. It was a complete accident, I swear)

Dema: AMAZING. Please show me the sweater!!

Izzy: The culprit:

Dema: I love it. Thank you for chatting with me, Izzy!

#fandom big bang #dragon age #dragon age fanfic #2024 interviews #writer interviews

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jimmycarterghostland · 18 days ago

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(This is going to be kind of a long post about Worm. BTW, I'm currently on the Scarab arc)

I'm reading Scarab 25.1 of Worm right now.

I only read a couple of words of it, though. I had to make this post, because I need to say it boggles my mind when someone says they read Worm in a matter of weeks. I saw a Reddit comment from a guy(I'm assuming they were a guy) who said they read Worm in two weeks. I started this read in either May or June. So either 4 or 5 months ago, and I'm still reading. This web serial is MASSIVE.

When I first started the read, I would read three chapters per day. But these chapters are so long now, I only read one of them per day. And I can't even imagine reading Worm in two weeks. I would quickly get tired of reading that many words. This thing is over one million and a half words long.

Some background: I discovered Worm years ago, back when I was googling the longest story, or probably when I was searching up a one million word-long story. I can't remember which of those things led me to Worm.

Ultimately, I ended up discovering this story. I spoiled a lot of it for myself. I also used to read it out of chronological order. I would read random scenes and stuff. My attempts to read the entire story in order failed. Until I started this current read months ago. I don't mention all of that in my occasional posts about Worm, and I spoiled a bunch more of it for myself during this read. So, I'm actually aware of a lot that's going to happen in this story later on. Reading Worm completely unaware of what was going to happen in it must have been crazy for people who read it live.

I like how Wildbow has a bunch of loyal readers who comment on every chapter. I pray my own web serial gets loyal fans like those. Technically, I'm a silent reader with Worm. I don't leave comments on WordPress, but I do discuss Worm on Tumblr, and I've been reading every chapter. It's funny, because as a writer, I hate having silent readers. Positive comments on a story are encouraging, gives me the push I need to keep writing it.

Anyway, I love Worm. It's so good. There are definitely some grammar errors and some instances of clunky writing, but this story is still a lot better than many traditionally published novels. I won't name any names, but there's this one traditionally published novel that I've been reading every day, and it's absolute trash. I actually dread reading it. But I hate having a book and leaving it unfinished, so I'm forcing myself to read that one. It sucks so bad. The difference in quality between this book and Worm is astounding. Seriously. It makes me appreciate Worm a lot more. I never dread having to read a chapter of Worm.

The characters in Worm are complex and have their own unique personalities and speech patterns. Wildbow is a master of writing multiple points of view, and a master of writing distinct characters. Characters in Worm have unique dialogue. I remember reading a certain chapter and just knew it was Skidmark speaking, because he is vulgar and doesn't feel shame when he curses or says something inappropriate.

In Hookwolf's interlude, his personality pops off the page. His racism shows in his thoughts. He refers to Shatterbird as a racial slur in his inner monologue. A non-racist character would have used the proper term for Shatterbird's ethnicity in their inner monologue. But Hookwolf is a racist. He thinks like one, and Wildbow shows that well. Wildbow knows how to give each of his narrators a distinct character voice. Or if not each of them, enough of them. Many authors are bad at writing multiple POV fiction. Wildbow isn't one of them. And since I prefer multiple POV literature over single POV, I'm glad that Worm is a good example of what good multiple POV literature looks like.

Worm has some great subtlety too. A lot of things aren't overexplained. As in, Wildbow doesn't unnecessarily beat the reader over the head with certain stuff. Like, when Leviathan was moving slower, implying he was weaker than he was when the battle against him first started. Wildbow could have written "Leviathan was moving slower because he was weaker." Wildbow didn't do that, though. The fact Leviathan was moving slower told enough.

Another instance of Wildbow being great with subtlety was Charlotte's interlude. She is distrustful of men because of what happened to her at the mall, but Wildbow doesn't constantly refer back to that incident. There's no overexplaining. The reader can already guess that Charlotte is distrustful of men because of that mall incident. If Worm was written by a bad writer, they would have kept explaining how the mall accident was what made Charlotte scared of men. Wildbow does a great job of "show, don't tell".

I no longer think Worm will be traditionally published. I wish it would be, but at some point I realized it would be very hard for Worm to be traditionally published. I think it's fine the way it is. Having Worm in a web serial format is good enough.

I love Worm, and I am glad it exists.

#wildbow #parahumans #worm

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nepenthean-sleep · 7 months ago

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Hey hey! For the character meme Gideon!

hello thanks for the ask :)

favorite thing about them i love how she speaks. someone said once that everything she says is like the wrong option in a video game dialogue choice list. all of tamsyn's characters have incredible dialogue but gideon is so goddamn funny especially. like it wraps around from being cringe to being funny again. her narration is excellent.

least favorite thing about them i'm gonna say what i said for harrow, everything about her makes sense for her character and her role in the story.

favorite line given the first answer here you can imagine this is extremely difficult for me. however. i'm going to go with a decidedly unfunny one from chapter 25 of ntn because it makes me feel insane.

Nona had never seen anyone so sad in her whole short life. It made her nearly afraid to die. “Nobody locks me up anywhere,” said Kiriona.

she says!!! while locked in her corpse by her dad!! after being locked in harrow's brain for a year by harrow!! after being locked in drearburh for 18 years by the ninth!! ohhhhhhh my god

brOTP sorry i'm going with gideon and ianthe because they hate each other and i just find that endlessly amusing

OTP griddlehark sweep

nOTP don't really have one, just don't like when she's shipped with men

random headcanon after she goes to canaan house she starts getting freckles because it's her first time in sunlight

unpopular opinion idk i don't really see people talking about this much but like she's an asshole. she has a mean-spirited streak. and like yeah i guess if your opponent in the cartoonishly evil contest is harrow it's gonna make gideon look like a much better person but like. idk everyone was shocked by her being a dick in ntn but it's not really that different from how she was before?

also i really really hate the fandom himboification of her turning her into a one-dimensional horny fuckboi vehicle for harrow to have 36 orgasms or whatever. or the opposite where they make her a loyal idiot golden retriever. butches often have personalities that are not either of these things, actually!

song i associate with them it is 100% absolutely from hell with love and sweet true lies, both by beast in black. not only do they sound like songs i think gideon would listen to, like, the lyrics are so.

Killed my light To serve your delight Now see me ripped apart Ripped apart

Another voiceless cry Another hopeless try I wish you'd open your wings and take me inside From hell with love I write Confess my passion crime Cause to my heart, soul and mind, you are kryptonite Oh babe

like cmon.

Baby, baby tell me more of your lies Say you want me for a lifetime I believe you even when I know it's a lie Love's so blind Sweet true lies

AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!! thank you @oceanwrath for introducing me to these songs with your tlt art.

favorite picture of them again i can't choose just one there's so much good art in this fandom but my favorites are this FUCKING STUNNING kiriona piece by @nil-elk and this amazing one by @battletailors and this incredible piece by @notedchampagne and this one by @may12324 and this one by oceanwrath and listen ok i just really really like gideon nav 😭

thanks for the ask!

#gideon the ninth #harrow the ninth #nona the ninth #the locked tomb #ask games #neph.txt

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thewhiskersonkittens · 2 years ago

Text

Call Me

Pairing: Nick “Goose” Bradshaw x Female Reader.

Summary: After you both find yourselves suddenly single right around Valentine’s Day, you and Nick “Goose” Bradshaw give the “Single's Connection” dating line a call on impulse. You both are pleasantly surprised with what you find on the other end of the line. 📞💋🔥

Warnings: Smut, strong s*xual dialogue, curse words. phone s*x, m*sturb*tion, Goose being a freak, sleazy late-night TV commercials, outrageous landline phone bills in the pre-Internet era. Minors please DNI! 18+.

Word Count: 5,713.

A/N: Minors please DNI! 18+. You are responsible for the content you choose to consume. I did a little bit of research on the old 1-900 numbers that used to be advertised for this sort of thing. I’m sure what I describe here in the story isn’t 100% accurate as to how those phone numbers worked exactly but I kindly ask to be overlooked on that.

Hope you enjoy my trashy mind. ;)

Goose sighed as he slumped into the recliner in his apartment on base. He ran his hand through his dirty blond hair. He didn't know why he was getting so worked up. Valentine's Day wasn't a real holiday, or at least it shouldn't be. It was just pure commercialism. It was something chicks made a big deal about and dudes went along with it just to keep their girl happy. But there was something painful about being dumped right before Valentine's Day. It hurt like hell.

His date to a party at the Officer's Club had canceled last minute. She was now the third consecutive dud Goose had in the dating world. He had no problem meeting attractive women, especially with Maverick by his side, but it seemed like it always went nowhere.

"Don't worry, Goose," Maverick told him in the Miramar locker room after training was complete for the day. The pilot quietly told him he would check with Charlie and see if she knew anyone to fill the spot. Goose only shook his head no.

"Thanks, Mav, you're a real pal. But I'll pass. By the way, you do know you and Hot Teacher Lady aren't exactly a secret, right?"

Maverick and Charlie's relationship was obvious to anyone with a fully functional brain and set of eyes. It was kind of funny watching Maverick trying to keep it under wraps. Goose's best friend was anything but subtle.

Back in his apartment, Goose took a swig from a half empty bottle of Budweiser that he had left on his coffee table. He washed down the lukewarm liquid as he flipped on the TV.

He scanned through the channels, not really looking for anything other a mindless distraction. He landed on a commercial featuring a buxom, platinum blonde.

"I'm tired of being alone!" She proclaimed through the television.

"Yeah, you and me both, honey," Goose bitterly said out loud more to himself than to the woman in the box.

"That's why I'm calling the Single's Connection!" The woman went on.

The camera zoomed in on a shot of her picking up the phone and dialing.

A montage of other ridiculously good looking people smiling and chatting on the phone played as a sultry female voice over narrated:

"Talk to real singles in your area now! It's a fun, easy way to meet someone new and it's always discreet. Give the "Singles Connection" a call at 1-900..."

Goose couldn't help but scoff.

"I'm sure all these hotties must have a really, really hard time in the dating department."

Goose joked as he watched the obviously paid spokes-models on the screen, polishing off the rest of his beer.

The first woman from before appeared back on the screen.

"What are you waiting for?! Call me now and let's make a connection!"

The commercial ended and switched to a different one.

"Call me now and let's make a connection!" Goose mimicked.

What a crock of shit. He thought as he sat down his beer bottle. His eyes flickered to the cordless phone on his table. He raised an eyebrow as he stared at it. It was as if the device was silently daring him. He had never once entertained the idea of actually calling those dating hotlines. He figured a guy must be really desperate to resort to doing that and the girls on the other end were probably nowhere as sexy as the commercial portrayed.

"Nahhh..." Goose laughed at himself as he shook his head.

Yet, curiosity got the best of him. He picked up the handset and pulled out the long antenna.

"God, this is so stupid," He muttered. "I can't believe I'm actually doing this."

He punched in the number and went through all the prompts. It apparently was one of those lines where you left a voice recording of you describing yourself and what you were looking for and if someone was interested they would give you a call.

"Hi, ladies, my name's Goose." He spoke into the receiver. "I'm six foot two, one hundred and seventy pounds. I have dark blond hair and brown eyes. For a living I...well, let's just say I have the most bitchin' job in the world. It's guaranteed to make your ex jealous. I'm not rich but I do know how to show a girl a good time. I hope you like the Grand Slams at Denny's and don't mind being picked up in a pretty rad Ford truck. In my spare time, I like playing the piano and singing "Great Balls of Fire" at the top of my lungs and pissing off my peers with my best friend. Anyway, I'm looking for a girl who thinks Valentine's Day sucks as much as I do and is bored and just wants to talk. Yeah, I don't have very high standards. I guess that's pretty obvious, huh? I mean, here I am calling the “Singles Connection” after all. So if you think I'm the stud for you, give me a ring. And by the way, I do have a mustache and I wear Hawaiian shirts in public with no shame. But don't let that scare you off. I'll rock your world, honey. "

Goose could hardly keep a straight face as he ended the message with his phone number. He figured no girl would ever respond to such a silly message.

With a chuckle he put the phone back in the cradle. He got up to go finish the previous night's dishes and when he was done he returned to the recliner and dozed in and out of sleep while watching some more TV.

A few hours later, the phone started ringing, stirring him awake.

Goose looked at the phone ringing and glanced at his watch. It was almost midnight. Who was calling this late?

...

"Hello?" Goose answered. No one said anything. "Hello?" He tried again.

He heard nothing but a faint gasp and the sound of a click. The caller on the other end hung up. Goose looked at the phone in his hand in disbelief.

A minute later, it rang again. He answered on the second ring and hesitated before speaking.

"Helllooo?" Goose asked, slowly and carefully.

A deep breath was inhaled and exhaled on the other end. Finally, a female voice spoke.

"Um, yes, hello," You said, timidly. "Uh, hi. Is this...Goose?"

You sounded so unsure.

"The one and only," Goose replied.

You cleared your throat, took another deep breath and said:

"Hi, there. I'm Y/ N. I heard your message on the Single's Connection."

Goose about shot up out of his chair when he realized what was going on. He had practically forgotten about calling that number and that silly message he left.

"Holy shit...." He leaned forward and clasped his hand over his mouth.

"Is this a bad time?" There was a hint of disappointment in your voice.

"No, no, no!" Goose assured. He chuckled. "I'm sorry. It's just...I didn't expect anyone to actually call me back."

"I'm sorry for hanging up on you earlier," You explained. "It's just I've never done this before. You know, call one of these 1-900 numbers."

"Yeah, it's the first time for me, too." Goose said.

You both breathed a sigh of relief. It made you both calm down and relax.

Goose leaned back in his chair.

"Well, I'm...I'm glad you called! So, you say your name is Y/N? That's a really pretty name."

"Aww, thanks," You replied. "But Goose isn't your real name. Is it?"

Goose laughed. "Hehe. It might as well be. In my line of work it's what everyone calls me."

You smiled on the other end of the line.

"What line of work is that?"

Goose smiled proudly.

"I'm in the Navy. For now, stationed right here in sunny San Diego. I ride in the back of some really bad ass jets. I'm basically like an extra set of eyes for my pilot. I play with the radio and watch the radar, among other things. If we happen to come across an enemy pilot, we keep up foreign relations. Communicate with the single finger salute. We're really friendly like that, you know. All in all...it's...it's..."

He pretended to struggle to find the words. "It's pretty much the best damn job in the world."

You were giggling on the other end.

"Wow, yeah! That does sound really cool. Bitchin', I think is what you called it?"

Goose laughed, remembering he had said that in his message. "Yes, ma'am. Bitchin'."

You spent a few minutes telling him what you did for a living and described what you looked like. You cleared your throat and shifted in your bed. You pressed the receiver closer, so close the pressure started to hurt your ear so you loosened up a bit.

"Hey, um," You start. "I hope you don't mind me asking this... " You take another breath. "But I gotta know something. You know, before we go on..."

"Ask away. I'm an open book."

You laugh nervously. "So..you aren't married, right?"

You grimaced at the thought. Messing around with a married man, even just over the phone, was a line you wouldn't cross.

At first Goose was a little bit taken aback by the question. But it was a reasonable question to ask. Just because it was called the "Single's Connection" didn't mean only single people used the service.

"Oh, God, no!" He said. "Nah, no lucky lady has claimed me yet."

He paused and thought about it.

"Are you?!" He asked, quickly. "You know, married?"

You exhaled a breath you didn't realize you were holding.

"Oh, God, no!" You repeated.

"No, I'm not married. I'm single as a freakin' Pringle!"

You immediately thought that sounded like a such a dorky thing to say but you smiled when you heard him laughing.

"Well, good," Goose said, relieved as much as you were. "That's...that's a very good thing to know."

"That's part of the reason why I called tonight," You told him. He didn't respond and you went on:

"I, uh...um...God, I don't know why I'm telling you this. But I just wanted to talk to someone tonight." You paused and twisted the telephone cord around your finger.

"Well, talk to me, honey. I'll listen. That's why I called, too. Just to talk. All jokes aside. "

His voice was so soothing and friendly. You had only been speaking to this guy for a few minutes but he seemed really warm and funny just like he did on his message. Not at all like some creep you expected to get on these hotlines. It also sounded like he had a little bit of twang when he spoke. A sweet Southern man, you thought.

"So you know it's Valentine's Day this weekend, right? I was supposed to go with my boyfriend on this romantic getaway..." You paused and then quickly clarified:

"My now EX boyfriend, that is! Anyway, so we had these plans set months in advance. We were going to go to this really nice cabin resort in Colorado. Oh God, the pictures of it looked so beautiful. But I found out he's been sneaking around on me! He's been hooking up with his ex for weeks."

You scoffed at reliving it all. "Maybe even longer than that. Shit, I don't know. I feel like such a fool. We had been together awhile now. And I thought...I actually thought...we'd...God. I thought this trip was where he would ask me to marry him."

Your voice cracked at the end but you weren't crying or even tearing up. You had no tears to waste on a cheater.

"I guess I thought wrong, huh?" You concluded.

Goose remained silent for a moment. He wasn't exactly sure what to say to a story like that. He went with the first thing that popped into his mind.

"You were going to go on a romantic getaway to Colorado?!" He asked, incredulous. "What's so romantic about having snow all the way up to your ass?!"

You burst out laughing while Goose went on.

"I mean, no offense, dear, but Hawaii is where it's at!"

"Pffft!, " You playfully spit. "Oh, please! Yeah, Hawaii is nice but it's so cliche. Everyone goes to Hawaii! Or the Bahamas. Or the Virgin Islands. Or the Florida Keys..."

"Yeah, cause they know warm weather is better than freezing-your-nuts-off weather anytime!" Goose interjected.

You both laughed. God, this girl is really sweet. Goose thought. You had such a sweet, lovely voice and you described yourself so pretty. Of course, there was the possibility you were lying about that but he knew you weren't. You were very pretty. Inside and out. He just knew it.

"No, but seriously, Y/N," Goose said. "I'm sorry that happened to you, sugar. And here I was sitting 'round moping just because I had a date cancel on me. You got it much worse. You deserve way better. You dumped his sorry ass, right?"

"Absolutely!" You confirmed. "No regrets. I figure I dodged a bullet."

"Good girl."

Something about that made you shift. Underneath the sheets you felt a tingling sensation in between your legs. It was the other part of the reason why you called. You were looking to get off. It had been awhile.

"Hey, um, Goose? There's something else...I,um, hehe... there's something else. I don't know...if you'd even be up for it?"

"Yes? What is it, honey?"

He really should stop calling you the pet names. He had no idea what it was doing to you or perhaps he did? You assumed it was just a thing that came naturally to him, being from the South and all.

"So..." You began. You told yourself to grow up and just spit it out.

"I know we both said we just wanted to talk but the truth is..."

You trailed off. You took another deep breath and put it out there.

"I'm all alone and I'm feeling...like I need someone to help me release some tension."

Your voice had a slight change in it. You wondered if he knew what you were getting at. He sure did.

Lord have mercy. Goose thought. Somebody pinch me. This is too good to be true! Phone sex was one of his biggest kinks. He had done it before with previous girlfriends especially while being on a lengthy deployment. He always ended up regretting it when he got the phone bill but it was one weakness he couldn't resist.

"Goose?" You asked, worried he might have hung up. "Are you still there?"

“Yeah, I'm still here," He said, a mischievous grin spreading across his face.

"So...just to make things clear. You're feeling horny, honey? And you want me to talk dirty to you? Is that it?"

You felt your cheeks get hot and you were certain you were blushing every shade of red right now.

"Is that right, Y/N?" Goose asked. His voice had become more honeyed and an octave deeper. He had turned on his bedroom voice.

"Yes," You breathlessly admitted. "Yes, Goose. That's right."

"Oh, honeyyy...," His always drawl came out thicker when he felt turned on which was happening rapidly even though nothing had got started yet. "I'd be more than happy to help you!"

You felt the tingling sensation in between your legs again and this time it felt like it was starting to throb.

"OK, so what do I do?" You asked, softly, your heart beating faster. "I've never done this before."

"That's all right. Where are you right now?"

"I'm in my bed."

Goose hummed. "OK, that's good. What are you wearing?"

You looked down at yourself as if you forgotten what you had on. You told him you had on an old cotton T shirt and shorts. You realized you hadn't exactly thought this whole thing through.

"Yeah, I'm not exactly in my sexiest attire," You joked. "I told you this is my first time doing something like this."

"Hey, that's A OK with me, baby," Goose reassured. He asked if you wearing anything underneath.

"No?"

"Great. Take them off. All of it. The shirt and the shorts."

"I'll have to set the phone down for just a second."

"Take your time, sweetheart."

You flung back your bed sheets and did as Goose instructed. The cool air in your bedroom made your unclothed body pebble up but you knew you weren't going to stay cold for long.

"I'm back," You said, raising the receiver to your ear again.

Goose shut his eyes trying to picture you, lying naked on your bed right now. He bet it was a really pretty picture.

He opened his eyes and continued.

"All right. I want you to close your eyes and take a deep breath for me. Clear your mind. C'mon, honey, close your eyes and take a deep breath. This won't work if you're not completely relaxed."

You scooted yourself all the way back on your bed so that your back was flush with your head board. You both took a few deep breathes together.

"Keep your eyes closed for me." Goose told you. "I want you to imagine something. Think about your snowy Colorado cabin, OK? Think about how beautiful it is."

"OK," You whispered. You concentrated very hard.

"I want you to really picture it, honey. Picture the most cozy, comfy log cabin. It's big and spacious. There's a King size bed. With super soft red and black plaid sheets. There's a wood burning stove in the corner. There's a nice, crackling fire going. It's the only source of light in the whole room besides a few candles that are lit. Inside it smells like oranges, cinnamon and cloves. All those sweet winter smells. On the table, there's a bouquet of two dozen long stem red roses and a basket with wine and chocolates. Outside, it's snowing. It's a light fluffy snow and it's coming down at a steady pace."

"Mmmm..." You hummed. It all started to take shape in your mind. "You make it sound so lovely."

"There's floor to ceiling windows." Goose continued. "No shades. No curtains. No blinds. If there was anyone standing outside, they could see right in. They'd have a perfect view of you. Lying completely naked on the bed..."

Goose was looking straight ahead but the only thing he could see was the picture he was painting with his words.

"But there's no one there," He whispered low into the receiver. "There's no one there but you and me, baby."

Your breath hitched as the fantasy started to turn sexual.

"Can you feel me, baby?" Goose asked. "I'm right there with you in the bed. I'm naked, too. I'm on top of you. We're looking into each other's eyes and I'm stroking your hair..."

"Are you kissing me?" You asked. You had the phone receiver nestled in the crook of your neck. You were starting to move your hands up and down and all over your body. You were feeling much more relaxed.

Goose smiled. "Mmm...yes, honey. I'm kissing you. Kissing your soft, sweet lips..."

Goose moaned just thinking about it.

"Your tongue on mine. Over and over and over. I'm kissing you all over your body. Mmmm...kissing your pretty little face. Kissing your chin and then right along your jawline. All the way down your neck...mmmm...You feel my mustache tickling your skin, baby?"

You giggled. "Mmmm...I bet it does tickle!"

"It's going tickle you everywhere. Everywhere."

You moaned at the scene playing out in your mind. You began to toy with your pebbled nipples and it made you start squirming.

"What are you doing, baby?" Goose asked. "Are you touching yourself already?"

"I'm playing with my nipples," You replied and you hear him make a throaty noise. "Are you going to suck on them, daddy? I want you to."

You had no idea if Goose was into the "daddy" kink thing. You knew from your experience some guys were and some guys weren't. His moan on the other end of the line confirmed he didn't mind it.

"Hold that thought, honey." Goose said.

Goddamn, this girl is going to be the death of me. He thought as he sat the handset down so he could pull off his shirt. He unbuttoned his jeans and unzipped the fly. He was getting harder and harder by the minute. He moved a box of tissues closer. He was definitely going to need them later.

"You there?" Goose asked when he picked up again.

"I'm here, baby, " You breathed, still stimulating your nipples with wet fingertips. "I'm here with you in the cabin. We're in the sheets. You're kissing me all over. You were going to give my nipples some attention."

"Mmm, yes, " Goose started to palm himself over his underwear. "I bet you got luscious titties, don't you? Do you like it when daddy kisses your titties, baby? Kiss, lick, suck." He made a popping noise as if he just sucked and released one of your nipples. "I love me some titties, darlin'."

"Who doesn't?" You said and you both laughed.

"That's true. Very true!" Goose agreed.

There were two types of people in the world as far as he was concerned. Those who love titties and those who lied about not loving titties.

"Are you going to titty fuck me, daddy?" You asked.

It caught Goose so off guard he didn't recognize his own voice when he made an ungodly moan and almost dropped the handset. He never had a woman ask him to do that before. Over the phone or in-person. It made him pull himself out of his underwear and let his now raging hard-on be free.

"Oh, honeyyy," He drawled. "Fuck yesss..."

You crossed your arms over your stomach so your breasts pressed together.

"Just like that, baby," You begged, picturing him sliding up and down in between your breasts. "Feels so good...mmm...yes, that's it..."

Goose couldn't help but be slightly amused.

"You're a little freak, aren't you?"

You gasped.

"So are you!" You defended with a laugh.

"Of course I am!" Goose licked his lips. “I’m a man after all and I’m in the Navy. It goes without saying. Aww, yes, honey...I'm fuckin' those great titties of yours."

He was steadily stroking himself now. You reached down in between your legs and started rubbing your nub with your manicured hand. You both continued to go back and forth about what you were doing to each other. You were going to put him in your mouth and suck him off. He was going to continue his journey down the length of your body. Kissing, licking, sucking, he assured you he would leave hickeys all over your skin.

"Don't worry," Goose told you . "They'll all be in places where nobody can see."

"Mmm...you're such a gentleman, " You teased. "Turns me on even more."

Goose snickered. "Hehe. I might be a gentleman but trust me, baby, before it's all over, I'll have you acting very unlady-like."

You sighed. "God, yes, please...."

Goose told you about how he was going to use both his mouth and fingers on you.

"I'm in between your legs now, honey. You taste so fuckin' good. Mmmm...You feel it? I like to take my time. Licking that pretty pussy of yours. Over and over and over. Is it pretty, isn't it, darlin'? Pretty just like the rest of you. Then I'm gonna take my fingers..."

He paused and gave them a wiggle before he went on:

"I'm going to take my fingers...my middle and ring fingers...and I'm gonna push them in and out. In and out, baby. Real slow at first..."

You had long since slid down your headboard and you were writhing in your sheets and moaning and panting heavy into the phone. The more this went on, the hotter it got and the more real it seemed.

"That's right, honey, " Goose praised you. "You feel these fingers in you? In and out. Mmm...and I'm still licking you. Mmmm...I'm going to go a little faster. Yeah, faster, faster. That's right. You're getting so wet for me."

You whimpered. "Yesss...Oh God, yes!"

It was true. You were getting wetter and wetter. You rubbed yourself faster.

"That's right, honey." Goose encouraged, loving hearing how you were getting more and more worked up.

"How hard are you right now?" You asked. "You gonna put it in me, baby? I want you inside of me."

Goose looked down and saw he was hard as a rock. He pumped himself faster.

"I'm ready for you, sweetheart. I'm so ready."

He pictured you naked and turned on and all spread eagle for him. It was a gorgeous sight. He just knew it.

"You feel me?" He asked. "I'm right up against you. I'm rubbing against you right now. You ready, darlin'?"

"Please!" You cried.

"I'm going in, sugar." Goose's breathing was becoming as heavy and as labored as yours. "I'm inside you now. You feel so good, baby. Yesss, so damn good. Mmm...You feel me sliding inside of you? Mmm...In and out. In and out..."

"Don't stop!" You practically wailed. You were rubbing yourself vigorously.

"Aww, no, no, no," Goose grinned. "No, baby. I'm not stopping. I'm just getting started. In and out....Mmm... You're so fuckin' good... You feel so good...You feel the rhythm, baby? The nice rhythm we got going?"

Goose exhaled. "Ahhh. You feel soooo good!"

He had no doubt in his mind that in real life you felt incredible.

"Harder.." Your plea was just a breathy moan. Goose heard it but decided to tease you a little bit.

"What's that, darlin'? What did you say?"

You were so wet at this point you were starting to leave wet spots on your sheets.

"Harder, daddy, please!" You begged. Your back was arched and while your one hand was busy stimulating yourself, your other hand was putting your fingers in your mouth.

"Ah, you want me to fuck you harder, honey? You like it rough? Can you handle it, baby?"

Goose was starting to wonder how much more he himself could handle. You both were moaning in unison, both of you getting closer and closer.

"I'm right above you," Goose said. "I'm holding you down and I'm driving my hips into you. Over and over. Mmm...faster and faster...Mmm...you feel so fuckin' good! ...Yesss...So deep inside you...Hehe...I can hear how wet you are, honey..."

It was true. The noises you making were becoming obscene.

Goose couldn't help but feel a bit of an ego boost.

"You're making me feel so proud, honey. Keep it up. Atta girl. Yeah, that's it! Come and take it, baby! It's all yours!"

You weren't going to last much longer.

"Holy shit!" You cried. "I'm gonna...I'm gonna..."

"You gonna do what, baby? You gonna come for me? Is that it? I want you to."

You were a blubbering, whimpering mess. It was all you could do was moan into the phone. Your legs were shaking.

Goose was still pumping away.

"Ah, I love those sounds you're making," He groaned. "Like music to my ears, honey. Come on, baby. Yeah, that's good. Mmm...You can come, baby. I'll let you..."

He sucked in a sharp breath as he felt his own crescendo about to happen.

He cradled the phone in the crook of his neck as he reached for a handful of tissues.

"Come with me, darlin'," Goose egged you on. "Come with me. Come on...you can do it. You can do it, baby. Come with me...Ahhh!!!"

"Ohhh, babyyy!!! " You managed to cry. It seemed to be the thing that finally made you both come undone. Your whole body spasmed as you rode out your climax, uncontrollably moaning into the phone. You heard him grunting in rapid succession and knew he was feeling the release too.

You both listened to each other catch your breath for a minute.

Goose chuckled. "Look what you made me do, honey. I made a mess."

You were still trying to come back down to earth. You continued to ride your pleasure wave with little breaths, moans, and whimpers.

"So?..." Goose asked. He discarded the used tissues in the trash can and reached for his pack of Marlboro's. "How are you feeling now?"

He was hoping he helped you out at least a little bit. You certainly helped him.

You cleared your throat, still trying to recover. You opened your mouth to say something but you couldn't help but start giggling. Softly at first and eventually it became a giggle fit. You felt good. So good. Better than good.

Goose smiled listening to you. He, too, began to chuckle as he lit a cigarette and took a drag.

"As long as you're laughing with me and not at me!" He said. "Ahhh...You sound so pretty when you laugh. So? You have a good time, honey?"

You finally found your voice to speak:

"You were fantastic...Incredible."

It was no lie. You wondered if he could make you feel all that over the phone, then he must be dynamite in-person.

"You know, for a guy who said he thinks Valentine's Day sucks," You reminded him of what he said in his message. "You're actually quite the romantic, aren't you?"

You knew deep down he had to be. After coming up with the whole romantic cabin scenario on a whim like that.

Goose laughed. "You caught me, baby. Guilty as charged."

It was true. He was a romantic. A hopeless one, if he was being honest with himself.

"How was I? You know, my first time over the phone and all?" You asked.

Goose thought about telling you that was some of the hottest sex he'd ever had. Instead, he said:

"Perfect. Just...perfect. You were perfect."

"You're not at all what I expected when I called the number," You told him. You told him how you expected to get some creep or a desperate loser or both, neither of which he turned out to be.

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, honey," Goose joked. "No, in all seriousness, you're not what I expected either. I didn't expect anything much other than an outrageous phone bill..."

He trailed off and you both groaned simultaneously, remembering how expensive calls to hotlines can run.

"Hey, Y/N?" Goose started. "This might sound kind of crazy but...could I call you, sometime? Outside this hotline?"

He really liked you and wanted to keep talking to you. If it kept going as well as it did, maybe the two of you could meet in person. Perhaps make the fantasy a reality?

"Sure, Goose," You replied, warmly. "I'd like that."

You definitely wanted to keep in touch.

After you gave him your number he said:

"Nick."

"What?"

Goose ran a hand through his hair and grinned.

"My real name. It's Nick."

You smiled.

"Well then, Nick. It's been a pleasure."

In more ways than one! You thought. "Good night."

"Likewise," Goose drawled. "Oh and hey, by the way...Happy Valentine's Day, honey."

#top gun #top gun 1986 #nick goose bradshaw #goose #nick goose bradshaw x reader #goose x reader #top gun fanfiction #top gun maverick #reader insert #bless you if you read all this b/c it's kind of long ❤

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bloodinthegutter · 1 month ago

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Little review of Deep Cut, but it's mostly me being your hyper fixated friend

First of all, hi. I don't think I've really talked about my thoughts on any particular comic run or mini series cause I started this blog specifically as a Marauder fan blog and, unsurprisingly, they're not really in the comics that often. I've thought about talking about past storylines or highlighting certain moments from comics, even if it's just one issue out of a hundred. I might do that going forward while I wait for the next thing to come along for me to relentlessly post about.

By the way, I'm not a critic. I'm very casual going into pretty much everything, and I'm way more positive than I am negative. Please don't listen to me. Please.

Okay, so how did I like Deep Cut, since it did kinda feature the Marauders? I dunno, it was fine. Nothing grand, just a little Logan side quest. Fun for anyone who's looking for a quick Wolverine story, and probably fun for anyone who's nostalgic for the Claremont era (although, I am one of those people, and I'm still sitting here not really sure what to say about it. This is hard).

I got the feeling throughout the first issue that yes, Claremont has a story to tell, he wants to fill in the gaps from forty years ago, which is great, I like that. Claremont definitely knows how to write Logan in a way where someone could read his dialogue or thought bubbles or the text boxes of him narrating to me and I’d go, “Oh yeah, that’s definitely Logan talking.” Same with Sabretooth. I’m not even that big of a Sabretooth fan, but I’ve always loved his dynamic with Logan, how he literally just loves fucking with him. It’s, like, the one part of their dynamic that usually gets lost when they adapt X-Men into movies or shows.

I saw some people on various sites talking about how they didn’t like the art very much, and yeah, there were some…interesting design choices in certain areas…

...but I didn’t think it was horrible.

I think this whole part was the highlight of my experience with reading this series:

She seems so excited. I love that for her. And I loved seeing the Marauders use teamwork. Greycrow definitely said it best when he said "Marauders win when we fight as a team." Brought me back to reading the Mutant Massacre as a kid and being like, "Oh no, these poor Morlocks...these Marauders are pretty cool, though." Fuck's wrong with me? Haha...

So, funny enough, I think where the series started to waver a little bit for me, personally, was after Logan realized that Sabretooth was a clone. Because whereas issue #1 with the whole fight between Logan and Sabretooth felt like it could be just a one-issue thing, a little gift from Claremont to us, the other three issues felt a little like he didn’t entirely know what to do with the rest of the story. To me, it kind of felt…over? After the first issue? If that makes sense? There were three issues to go, and I had been looking forward to seeing the Marauders, but I was still like, “Really? There’s more?”

I mean, of course there’s more, but something else that was kinda crazy to me was how underwhelmed I felt following the Sinister battle. I don’t know why, because after a fight with Sabretooth, two Marauder fights and an extra one where he, for some reason, didn’t kill any of them, Logan going up against Sinister should have been the moment where I clapped my hands and said, “Here we go, boys! The moment we’ve all been waiting for!” But I wasn't. I was just like, "Oh. Okay. That's cool."

Granted, I did like seeing Wolverine and Sabretooth team up, albeit briefly. That was cute.

But I think it being the last issue of a mini series kinda made me expect it to be a little rushed, so even though I typically go into things without any high or low expectations, I still felt a little underwhelmed. As much as I love the Marauders, I’m genuinely a little surprised that we got two full issues with them and not more Sinister. I’m not exactly complaining, but I can tell this might disappoint some other people.

Not that I care what other people think. Here's some pictures of my favorite character doing some poses:

I randomly just remembered that I met Chris Claremont at a comic con when I was 15 and he seemed genuinely surprised when I told him that I liked the Marauders. I really hope this mini series doesn't exist because of me. I'm haunted by memories of my still-existing cringe.

Anyway, like I said before, I'm not a critic. There's a bunch of Wolverine-centric podcasts that do deep dives into Wolverine comics waaaayyyy better than I can, and probably a million other users on Tumblr who have expressed their thoughts on this series in better detail than I did. I didn't hate Deep Cut, and I am just glad I could see my favorite villain group together again in a mini series this year, but it was still a pretty underwhelming read. I still have so many questions, too, that just seem like retcons now, like are the original Marauders still alive out there? Can Sinister not make clones of them without the originals? Is Hellions Greycrow a clone? Or is he the real Greycrow? And maybe the zombie Marauders were the real ones? But then where's Vertigo...?

None of that matters. I'm literally laughing at myself right now, I'm obsessed.

Closing thought: what the ever loving fuck are Scrambler's powers?

#this is my first comic review #but it's not really a review #it's just me talking like we know each other #please let's discuss

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kay-claire · 1 year ago

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Okay, all my Red White and Royal Blue movie feelings:

(Spoilers ahead)

Taylor Zakhar Perez really put his whole pussy into playing Alex. He does it perfectly and from a few press videos I've seen of him he really loved the character

Nicholas Galitzine is pretty, but he's not really playing Henry to me. Movie Henry and Book Henry are two different characters in my mind.

The changes they made in the film to the book work well, but I still kind of wish we got Alex's bi awakening and that they hadn't cut out June. Like she didn't need to have a big role but I wish they hadn't made him into an only child, and also kind of odd his parents are still together (like it took me way too long to realise his parents were still together and that he'd already had his bisexual crisis)

That said, all the changes they made for the film worked well to simplify the plot and create a more cohesive story, so I'm not mad about any of it.

(Though I still find it so funny that they made the queen a king instead to be less like real life, and then the real queen went and died during production)

I just finished Heartstopper season 2 yesterday, and I looooved the colour grading in that show so much. I don't really like the colour-grading in this film, BUT it's not BAD - I just kind of wish it weren't all so muted. That said, I do like the camera work (like when they slow zoom into a scene of the two of them talking, to show the two of them slowly getting more intimate with each other was lovely), and the graphics they use in the montages are great.

I really love how they decided to do the texting/emailing parts of the film - having them read out the texts instead of it all being on screen is fantastic. Like not to compare it to Heartstopper, but I didn't read any of the texts on Heartstopper because I draw while I watch stuff, and I can't be arsed to pause what I'm drawing every 5 second to read a text. I really like how RW&RB narrate the texts, and the one scene early in the film where they superimposed Henry into scenes with Alex while they were texting each other was SO GOOD.

The dialogue is really great, I love the writing. The flirting and banter between Alex and Henry is perfect.

The making out and teases at sex are really hot too. Like we were all worried about the chemistry between these two but they look great together in those scenes (to me at least)

I like that after Henry runs away from Alex after being at the summer house, the movie follows Henry's POV for a while instead of sticking with Alex.

I'm so glad I enjoyed this movie. It's definitely something I'd want to watch more than once.

#red white and royal blue #red white and royal blue movie #rwrb #rwrb movie #rwrb spoilers #rw&rb

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cream-and-tea · 4 months ago

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1, 2, 3, 18, 19, 21, 53, 54 for your beloved Pallas, please!

~ Morri (@/memento-morri-writes)

hi morri and thank you so much for the opportunity to ramble about my wretched evil little beast <3 (questions from here!)

What’s the lie your character says most often?

definitely some variation of “i don’t care/ it doesn’t matter to me” because there’s a v high chance they do care they actually care a lot it does matter to them they want to scream and cry and throw up about it. pallas plays at being very detached and their massive amount of dissociation goes a long way towards furthering that, but in reality they often get REALLY intense about/overly invested in things. they’ve just gotten good at quashing that impulse over the years.

How loosely or strictly do they use the word ‘friend’?

VERY STRICTLY to say the least. actually thinking on it i don’t think pallas calls anyone a friend internally through narration or externally in dialogue in allll of the text that’s been written for lay me down so far (not even agnes gets classified as a friend because what they feel about agnes is so much weirder than that lmao they could never think about her in such simple terms). they hate being Known and Perceived in any way and they also hate acknowledging that they want other people in their life. the one person they’d probably uncritically call a friend is nina and they try their best to never ever ever EVER think about nina bc of The Horrors. so.

How often do they show their genuine emotions to others versus just the audience knowing?

this is a funny one bc pallas is so ungodly bad at processing their own emotions that i don’t think they’re fully able to recognize when they’re being genuine and when they’re not. that being said they generally do not do well showing emotion around others bc they hate having any feelings at all (no matter how good or bad) and so they violently repress whenever they realize that’s what’s happening. to be honest i think the audience will probably understand pallas’s emotions way better than pallas does that’s just how disconnected they r like i cannot stress enough how pallas does not want to be here existing and interacting with people pallas wants to be cryogenically frozen then never unthawed or perhaps turned into some kind of statue.

Who do they love truly, 100% unconditionally (if anyone)?

um. the tldr is that It’s Complicated.

the long answer is that pallas’s relationship to love as a concept was already messy enough before age thirteen bc of the just barely burgeoning aro crisis that was already doing a whole awful lot to make them feel alienated/alone/like there was something wrong with them. and then all of those feelings got kinda subsumed when they were dropped into the torment nexus (<- special super secret private training with the director 😀). they didn’t really ever get the chance to form their own understanding of what love and relationships mean outside of That One Relationship (<- with the director) so That One Relationship kinda subsumed all of their others and became their only point of reference.

this had. a variety of interesting effects (the violence thing. the physical touch thing) but the most important one i think is that pallas views all relationships, all interactions with other people, as transactional, and as a result pallas doesn’t believe that unconditional love exists. so they can’t exactly extend that to other people.

the one problem is that the reason this training and conditioning stuck so well in the first place is that pallas is incredibly, soul-crushingly, devoted to the causes they serve. this is literally what made them primetime candidate #1 for mommy’s specialist little weapon just above the fact that they were practically a walking talking bundle of easy to dig into insecurities with phenomenal magic power. every interaction IS transactional, but that bargaining has to be done in service of the library, everything is conditional because nothing is more important than saving the world(tm), relationships only really come down to give and take but when it comes to certain people pallas is willing to give a lot more than they take. and the director is the one who gave them their cause, she embodies the cause to them. and so even when she breaks the rules she taught them, even when they get nothing in return for the horrible work they do for her, they cannot bring themself to question it. like. pallas doesn’t believe in unconditional love…….. but also that’s literally godmomteachermom what r they supposed to do.

if you’re wondering whether they’ve thought about or examined these contradictions at all the answer is no they’d explode and die if they did ❤️

What would they do if stuck in a room with the person they’ve been avoiding?

resolve FIRMLY to ignore the person and then sit there getting progressively more and more irritated at said person until they explode and do something nasty and violent to make sure the person never tries to talk to them again. i can say all of this with certainty bc this exact series of events happens two times in the book (once with fiver and once with calliope) except in both of those scenarios pallas wasn’t even stuck in a room they could literally leave whenever they want they just chose to do this instead.

What common etiquette do they disagree with? Do they still follow it?

pallas does like Structure and Rules but when it comes to common etiquette i think they feel like most of doesn’t apply to them bc those are rules for real actual human people and pallas doesn’t consider themself a real actual human person. also they’re not really around other people enough for it to really matter to them??like they do want things to be Neat and Orderly but if you try to make small talk with them they will stare blankly at u w their freaky gray eyes until you get a nosebleed

Who would / do they believe without question?

sigh. see #18 for the simple answer. but there’s also an interesting thing that starts to happen in lay me down where pallas begins to believe agnes without question as well.

at first this kinda happens bc they think she’s to dumb and naive to try and trick/manipulate them but as their relationship develops they start putting her more and more on a pedestal, seeing keeping her safe as a way to make up for what they consider the worst thing they’ve ever done, leaning on her for comfort as a security blanket, and they start to think that bc agnes is so good and agnes is so kind and agnes is just as devoted to them as they are to her that she is genuinely incapable of not telling them the truth (because that’s what the two of them do! they tell the truth to each other! give truth and get truth back!!) so they end up taking a Lot of what she says at face value. in case you’re wondering if this ends up being devastating in the long run i’ll let you know that yeah :) it does :)))

What’s their instinct in a fight / flight / freeze / fawn situation?

i think their gut instinct is freeze but they’ve been trained and conditioned to react with fight instead so the Freezing only happens when shit gets really really really bad and they kind of revert back to the mentality they had when they were younger and that was their main response. otherwise it’s killing maiming violence killing all the time allllll the way

#this got so long but i don’t care. my freak <3 #also i think the answer for 18 is the most i’ve Explained pallas and the director’s dynamic on here #i feel like maybe i should talk about it more bc in a way they really do fascinate me #also bc i haven’t even scratched the surface shits BAD in there ok #wip: ghost story #creme gets an ask

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