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litgwritersroom · 2 years

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REVELATIONS

Love Island, Actually Chapter Nine

read it on ao3 | chapter one | chapter seven

Difficult conversations are had as Delilah and Bruno are forced to deal with his past and Jules is confronted with the aftermath of her rendezvous. Meanwhile, Bridget and Bobby put their feet in their mouths and it gets River considering things she never did before…

DELILAH: breaking free

Sounds. There were so many sounds in the silence. The car doors shutting them in, the blast coming from the grates of the heaters, the buckle of the belts, but the one sound that was sorely absent, almost painful, was their voices.

A deep exhale, inconsequential muttering under the breath, mumbles to fill in the silence. That was all that was exchanged between them. Delilah was brought back to the days after she and Lucas had ended things, to the silence that lingered in her life after that. The accursed lack of noise, the refusal of words out loud … it was a violence that was ironically never spoken about enough.

As the busy Friday lunchtime roads kept them stalling, the red light following a red light following a red light, the journey back to Bruno’s became frustratingly longer. Delilah didn’t want to talk about it in the car, but words tried to pull out of the back of her throat, scraping her bare as she had to swallow them back down.

Idle small talk felt so out of place, but the void was stretching, threatening to swallow her. It weighed heavy like she was meant to carry it as a Greek God would, but she was only human. Still, she had to try.

“That –”

“So –”

The crashing of words stopped them in their tracks, an awkward, insincere laugh following in its wake.

“We can talk when we get back to my place…” Bruno said, sounding lacklustre, like he knew something disappointing was brewing.

How bad was this news going to be, Delilah was left wondering. She was haunted by that last glance over at Jules; the frozen expression on her face like a deer caught in headlights. The texts from the woman of the same name that Bruno had insisted she needn’t worry about. Her knuckles shone white as she gripped the steering wheel.

The complex Delilah pulled them into was her first time. She and Bruno had only visited her place, and this was meant to be her first time treading into his turf. He had lived with Thea before she moved, and still had another roommate, so it was easier going to Delilah’s. Bruno had mentioned more than once that Lottie was an alternative girl who believed heavily in crystals and believed wholeheartedly that she practised real witchcraft.

Despite the awkwardness that had settled in the last half hour or so, Bruno opened the doors for Delilah, took her hand in his, led her in first so she was out of the cold quicker.

The place wasn’t the biggest, despite being fitted to house at least three people. The furniture wasn’t from the same set, let alone going for the same look; outdated rather than old-fashioned, with the occasional splash of the occupants' personalities here and there to try and make it feel more homely.

The remaining roommate was on the gingham sofa. Clearly a piece that came with the flat.

“Hey, Lottie,” Bruno said, as normal as could be. It was like there was no tension to be found, right up until he looked at Delilah, his finger pointing his way, adding, “This is, uhh –” and he floundered, unable to put a label on her after the display at her work.

Delilah reached over to Lottie. “Delilah,” she offered along with her hand.

“Lottie.” Her eyes narrowed, but not in a suspicious way, but like she was trying to place her. “Why do I feel like I know you from somewhere?”

Delilah sucked in her lips. In her gothic get up, Lottie was as striking as could be. She was not someone to forget, and Delilah had no memory of ever meeting her.

“Er, I sort of knew Thea? My sister-in-law owns The Sterling.”

The lightbulb went off for Lottie, lighting up her face in recognition.

“Right! You must be Gary’s sister! That’s how I know you!”

Delilah’s eyes widened. “Eh, yeah, we’re –”

“Twins! Yes, I’ve seen your picture in his office. I’m working with him at the minute, filling in a temporary position in his office.” Her brows arched up. “How’s he doing? We all missed him so much while he was on his honeymoon. It definitely wasn’t the same without him making his jokes all the time. He has the best banter.”

“That’s debatable,” Delilah said as kindly as she could to this stranger. “He’s good, cloud nine, that sort of thing. Settling into married life and all that.”

“Do you want a drink or anything, Delilah?” Bruno asked.

Delilah was thankful for the interruption. She wasn’t super into discussing her brother with Lottie, especially when she and Bruno still had their cross to bear. She shook her head and excused herself politely. Bruno led the way to his room, and she followed.

The door closed behind them, shuttering out Lottie, Jules, and the whole world. The silence from before sprang open, ready for them to dive onto, ready to catapult them high in the sky. Would they stay there, floating in the stars, or would they crash and burn, skidding across the ground.

Already Delilah had fallen so hard for Bruno. The question remained over how bruised and broken she would be when she landed this time around. Or if she ever would.

She was praying for the latter.

“So,” Delilah began, removing her scarf onto his bed. She could smell the fresh fabric softener, signalling that he had changed the sheets not too long ago. The fragrance filled his room. It was dizzying and delightful at the same time, but she was too burdened with what had just happened to allow her thoughts to linger on this gesture.

“... Yeah.” Bruno shrugged his jacket off, slinging it over his desk chair, his thoughts clearly elsewhere. He sighed, and it quickly lengthened out into a groan as he remained not making eye contact with her.

Delilah sat on his bed, reminiscent of a teenager confined to a singular room for privacy.

“That was really awkward, I’m sorry.” He looked at her finally, the apology clear in his eyes, the unease of the situation lingering on his face.

“Jules is your ex,” Delilah offered, willing the statement to be true over anything else that could have been a possibility. Already she’d made the connection to the ‘Jools’ in his contacts. She’d have to be daft not to.

“Sort of.”

Brows raised, Delilah pushed, “Sort of how? Like … you’re still seeing her? I know you’re messaging each other about meeting up.”

His mouth hung open like he was scrambling for something to put there. Words, excuses, explanations. Just something. As he struggled and stammered, Delilah’s head was filled with the text message she’d read on his phone, someone else’s name lit up on the screen.

There was a whole mix of emotions swirling within her, trying to bubble up to boiling point. She had to work hard to keep everything down, to stop anything from spilling over, from overreacting or panicking. It was fine, everything was good, explainable. She and Bruno could talk through whatever the hell had just happened.

“Delly,” he said, voice strained, as he came lumbering onto the bed next to her, his knees leaving an imprint in the sheets as he made his way over. He laid his hands gently on her arm and she felt herself melting in an instance.

She liked Bruno. She liked him a lot. Was he different to the man she had thought she was getting to know these past few weeks? How long did you have to be with someone before you knew them? She thought she had got to that point already. She thought she had him pinned, her impression infallible. He was a good man, and a good friend, and a good boyfriend. If she had been wrong, she couldn’t bear the thought of what she’d have to do.

“Delly, I’m really sorry, and I get how that looked,” he went on, the same urgency that laced his voice making its way to his pupils, the concern spinning in his blue irises, “but please believe me that nothing is going on … anymore.”

There was a lump in her throat at that last word. Tacked on at the last minute. The blow had been softened, only for the anvil to land on her head anyway.

“...Elaborate,” she said, the words pouring through her teeth, the only way she could get them out at all.

He paused again. Why was this so hard for him to explain? It’s what was making Delilah’s insecurity triple.

“We were … seeing each other, for a bit,” he went on, his hands talking with him, something Delilah had noted him doing in his comedy sketch when he was rehearsed but nervous. “It never went anywhere serious, to be honest, and by the time I had met you, Delilah, I barely noticed that Jules had sort of ghosted me.”

“But you’re messaging her. She’s the Jools you have in your phone.”

“Yeah,” he said, uneasily, like she’d caught him out on a technicality. “She messaged me randomly to say sorry for how she’d treated me. The night we met Jules had … stood me up…”

Delilah found that that last confession did little to cheer her up.

“Like I said, though, I’ve been having such a great time with you that I hadn’t really thought about Jules until she messaged me.”

“So you don’t care about her?”

“It’s not that I don’t care … We’re sort of becoming friends in a way? She’s been more open and friendly with me since we stopped having sex.”

She pushed and she pushed and she pushed back tears that floated behind her eyes, desperate not to give in to them. “I know it’s only been a short time, Bruno, but I think I deserve a little more than what happened earlier. I don’t want to sound needy, but it did hurt when you blurted out for everyone, specifically Jules, that you and I weren’t – serious, basically. I thought that’s what we were aiming for and I don’t want to be someone’s fun time, or the in-between. I want to be someone’s first choice.” She exhaled deeply, taking a short second to herself before adding, “I want to be the only choice.”

His expression had softened, the embarrassment and unease seeping off and she could see the certainty behind his eyes saying that’s what he wanted, too. That he felt that way as well.

Delilah wanted to believe it. She wanted to believe it so bad. Everything was too fresh, and what he’d done and what he’s said was telling a different story to the one playing in the way he looked at her. She needed to know the climax now because she wasn’t interested in unhappy endings. Call it cheap, call it cliche, call it boring, but she was a happily ever after girl and she wasn’t going to apologise for wishing and hoping and praying for the best.

He shut his eyes tight for a fleeting moment. “I know. I know. I’m sorry, it all happened so quickly, it just came out. I didn’t want Jules to think I’d had a girlfriend the entire time I’d been seeing her or something.”

Something felt caught in her chest, pulling tight on the strings that were already so taught, to the point she was beginning to feel them fray. “So you care more about how she feels than how I do?”

His eyes went wide. “No, no! It’s not like that! I just - I didn’t want a scene to happen, you know? Like she realises I have a girlfriend and she does the right thing and confronts me in front of you and your work colleagues and then because Jules is blowing up at me you get this idea that I’ve been two-timing when - let me just be clear, there was noooo overlap in the slightest - basically, I could see it spilling out into a nightmare.” He breathed in deeply. “And I’m so sorry that it ended up making you feel bad. This isn’t - it’s not - I didn’t think what I had with Jules was worth explaining before, but if I’d known you work with her…”

Delilah’s mouth thinned sheepishly. “Well, I don’t technically. I just happen to be collaborating with her to boost Mason’s profile since she works at the biggest music magazine.”

“Oh, see!” Bruno slapped his hands together with such a bang his skin must have stung, but he soldiered on, carrying out his jubilant point. “I had no idea she worked in music - or journalism - I think that’s what it would be? But yeah, see, that’s how little I know Jules.”

“So the relationship was just sex?”

“Yes!”

“And you're still in contact?”

“Yeah!”

He looked at her. She looked at him.

“I should stop that, probably…” he added, sucking his bottom lip inwards.

“I mean …” Delilah’s eyes bulged momentarily. “It’s not great from my perspective, truth be told.”

“That’s totally understandable, and don’t worry. I - You won’t have to worry about me or Jules again, that’s a promise.”

Delilah nodded, feeling lighter. “Shake on it?” She said, holding out her hand reminiscent of their date.

“It’s a deal,” he grinned.

His hand clasped hers and though this small exchange was just that - small - Delilah let it encompass her. She wanted to shake out all the negative feelings, to keep flying high, soaring to that happily ever after in the city skyline. She knew she had to land at some point, but that wasn’t going to be today, and it wasn’t going to end in a bloody heap.

“But are we on the same page?” She asked tentatively. This time she felt a lot more secure in the answer she’d get.

“Same page, same book, same genre,” he said, laying down on his side, finally getting comfortable. “You’re my only choice, Delilah. As soon as I met you I knew that. There isn’t anyone else to even compare.”

For the first time since she first saw him that day, she dared to smile. It flit in at the corners of her mouth, daring to spread to her cheeks, infecting itself into her eyes to make them sparkle, infecting her mood and uplifting her.

Bruno copied her smiled. “It’s weird, but I feel like I’ve known you a lot longer than I actually have. It’s like we’ve been doing this forever. I can’t believe you weren’t in my life even a month ago.”

“I know what you mean,” she said, mirroring how comfortably he lay. “It feels so bizarre that you haven’t always been in my life, but you’ve been living your own, doing whatever, without me.”

“Not anymore,” he grinned. “It’s you and me now.”

“Pinkie promise?”

“Pinkie promise.”

They wrapped that small part of themself around one another, the gesture and the words as strong as an anchor. Maybe she didn’t have to keep trying to fly so high after all.

JULES: would’ve, could’ve, should’ve

It was quiet, the kind of quiet where you wished and prayed for some sort of noise to appear and give your racing mind something else to focus on. The bed that she’d spread out like a starfish on for the last few months suddenly felt crowded. Cramped. She found it hard to believe the two of them had ever shared this bed before.

“You know this can never happen again, right?”

Her voice was soft but she may as well have been screaming in the silence that had settled around them.

Suresh turned onto his side, fixing those striking green eyes on her. “I figured you would say that. But I don’t think that has to be the case,” he said, reaching out for her. His fingers had barely grazed her arm before she sat up and moved to the edge of the bed, turning so her naked back was to him.

“Jules,” he said softly, and she felt him shift behind her, his hands coming to lightly grip her shoulders. “Come on. This is dumb and you know it.” His lips on her neck. “I know you. You don’t want this to end.”

Something about his words turned her blood to ice. Did he not think she was capable of thinking for herself? Of knowing what she needed?

“But I do, Suresh,” Jules said, shooting to her feet, taking most of the blankets with her as she tried to wrap them around herself, turning to look at him a moment later. “Don’t you get it? I need this to be over.”

“I don’t think you do,” Suresh said, watching her with a guarded sort of expression. Gone was the stripped down version of him that she’d seen in the kitchen, the person that had served her those divorce papers to begin with was looking right at her now.

“Maybe things weren’t perfect but I think what you need is for us to stay together. Jules, you’ve been miserable since we separated. Hell, you still haven’t told me what had you so upset earlier. You weren’t like that when we were together.”

“You were never around to see me like that!” Jules exclaimed, and she could hear the exasperation in her voice. “And who do you think you are, getting off on telling me what I need? What I needed was a husband who didn’t fuck other women, that was what I needed, but you couldn’t even give me that. What I needed was a husband who was emotionally available, okay, that was what I needed. You never gave me a damn thing I needed, Suresh, so how can you sit in our bed and tell me that giving you another chance is what I need? Huh?”

It came out of her like water flowing from a faucet, everything she had found herself wishing she could say to him since that night he left their flat with a bag and not even a goodbye. For once, she didn’t allow herself to hold back for fear of permanently damaging the delicate thing between them because that thing was already broken. Shattered.

A part of her had known that when she saw him standing outside her door, waiting to collect his things. She knew that there was no repairing this, no matter what he said to her or how many apologies he whispered into her skin. Call it closure or call it downright stupidity, but she’d known when she’d fallen into bed with him that it wasn’t going to be the glue that put their relationship back together.

As petty as it was, it felt like a final fuck you to him. Letting him have one last taste of her, one last reminder of what all he’d thrown away, before she took it away from him. Because at the end of the day, he was the one who told her he didn’t want to sign the papers. She had all the power now; this was all over the minute she decided it was. And it had to be over; she couldn’t let this keep going on.

For her own sanity’s sake.

“And I told you I was sorry for that—” he began, but she cut him off.

“Actually, you didn’t. You told me you made a mistake and that you regret making that mistake but you have never once apologized for everything you’ve done to me, Suresh. And that’s the issue.”

“Okay, so what, then? You go through with the divorce, and what? You’re just fine with that? With throwing away five years?” he asked, and the way he was looking at her made her want to scream, like she was some kind of petulant child throwing a tantrum instead of an adult woman making actual, relevant points.

But of course, because she was pointing out his flaws, it was like he didn’t hear a damn thing she was saying.

“You threw away five years the second you started screwing someone behind my back,” she said, trying her damndest to keep her voice steady. “And our fucking boss I mean, how cliché can you be?”

“Don’t bring Talia into this, Jules,” he said, and she rolled her eyes.

“I think I have every right to bring her into this conversation when the only reason we have to even have this conversation is because you cheated on me with her, but sure, let’s leave Talia out of this!” she exclaimed, throwing her arms up. The blankets slipped down and she yanked them back up around her, blowing out a breath as she did so. God, having this argument when they were both naked hadn’t really been her plan.

“What are you going to do without me, Jules?” he asked, arching a dark brow at her. “You’ve been attached to my fucking hip since we started Uni. You don’t talk to your parents, you don’t have any siblings, you don’t have any friends.” He scoffed, shaking his head. “You don’t have anyone besides me.”

“I have me,” she said, the words rolling off her tongue quicker than she’d expected them to. “And I also have this flat since you took your name off of the lease, so you can get the hell out.”

Suresh looked at her for a long moment before he got up, yanking on the clothes that were scattered across the floor. “Fine, Jules. But you know what? When everything inevitably goes to shit—which it will—I’m not going to be here to save you.” He finished buttoning his shirt and snatched his jacket up, throwing it on as he fixed her with a hard look. “Remember that.”

She wasn’t sure she’d ever been so relieved to hear her front door slam in her entire life.

BRIDGET: faux pas

Usually, Bridget could be counted on being the life of the party. She loved people, so she’d circle the room and engage pretty much everyone in conversation, no matter if they were people she’d known for years or someone she just met on the spot. Being social was her thing, as she’d put people at ease, talking about any topic of conversation at hand or making them laugh with her easy banter.

Tonight she was feeling a bit off her game. Even though the party for Chelsea’s birthday at the Edwards’ household (which was practically a mansion) should’ve been exactly her type of scene, she somehow still felt a little intimidated by the opulence of the place, as she couldn’t shake off the feeling that she didn’t quite belong there. Which was a bit ridiculous, as she’d been hanging out with Gary and all his friends for years now, she knew practically everybody, including some of River and Chelsea’s extended family.

Maybe it was the fact that their brother Eddie had invited all the members of FourWay, including their manager Jasper and that had the potential to be a triple-fold minefield. Never mind the thing where, as Delilah’s best friend, Bridget should be totally against the band (Delilah insisted she didn’t need to engage in the ridiculous rivalry between FourWay and Mason Knowles, but Bridget knew better than that). But no, the issue was that she actually had personal history with not only one of the members but with their manager, too.

Back in her uni days, she’d lived a very ‘work hard, party hard’ lifestyle and on one such partying occasion she’d hooked up with Tom, way before he was known as the lead singer for the band. And she’d actually gone to uni with Jasper, where they’d had an on-again-off-again thing for a while.

But still, everybody had a past and Bridget would never be ashamed of hers. It was all water under the bridge (ha!), water off the duck’s back, still waters, not troublesome waters or… something? Anyway, that was all ages ago and they should all be able to behave like grownups in this social setting (she hoped).

Maybe her discomfort might be simply physical, as she’d been feeling off nearly the whole week. She hadn’t been violently ill since Tuesday, thank goodness, but every day she’d suffered from some bouts of nausea and headaches now and then. She wondered if maybe she should go to the doctor, but the symptoms seemed so minor that she was sure any day now they’d clear up and everything would go back to normal. And she’d never let something like this stop her from celebrating one of her dear friends, as Chelsea meant so much to her.

Maybe it was the absence of Delilah, as usually the two best friends would be joined at the hip during these events. Her sister-in-law did say she would be busy with the photoshoot for Mason’s article in the afternoon but that she’d try to stop by later. Bridget had sent her several texts that had gone with no reply so far, but she figured Delilah was probably spending more time with Bruno and she couldn’t blame her for prioritising her new beau over a party on a Friday night.

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that she’d got there alone, since Gary had come straight from the office. She’d even thought he might’ve been a bit late to the party since the whole week he’d missed dinner as he was working late, ironing out the details for the contract with the big client, yet it turned out he’d actually arrived early to help out with something about the sound system for the DJ? She wasn’t sure because just as Gary had been explaining it to her, River came up to them with a rather harried expression.

“There you are,” she said without preamble, placing a hand around Gary’s arm. “You need to come with me. Kassam says there’s something wrong with the audio system and he can’t figure out what you did.”

“Oh man,” he grumbled in exasperation with an annoyed expression. “Of course, he can’t. Fine, let’s see what the oh-so-famous-yet-technologically-challenged DJ needs now.”

Bridget chuckled as he handed her his beer before he followed River back through the throngs of people. She just stood there for a moment watching as they walked away before she mentally shook herself and turned around to socialise with the people around her.

She chatted for a bit with Chelsea and her beautiful mother, Magnolia, as she complimented their home and the lovely party. She danced and joked around with Kobi and some of his friends, at one point laughing so much that she had legit tears in her eyes. She even bit the bullet and said hi to Tom and Jasper, the two men congratulating her on hearing news of her recent wedding. It was actually way nicer than she had expected, no awkward blunders, weird vibes or any other unpleasantness as she found it was still as easy to banter around with them as when they’d been close, literally another lifetime ago.

The music had been flowing around them for a while and even though Bridget kept moving around the room she couldn’t seem to find Gary anywhere. She had paused by the bar as she looked around to see if she could spot him when Bobby sidled up to her.

“Two drinks at once?” He commented with a smirk. “Someone’s looking to party hard.”

“The beer is actually Gary’s,” she clarified with a smile as she held it up. “I’ve been carrying this thing around for almost half an hour now, since River took him away to solve some music emergency.”

“And you’re still carrying it around?” Bobby asked with a bemused frown. “Why didn’t you just drink it? The thing’s probably gone stale.” He said, making a gesture with his hand and she handed it over.

“I would’ve, but my stomach was acting up earlier,” she said with a shrug. “I actually switched to ginger ale.” She gestured with the flute in her hand.

“You’re still feeling sick then?” He asked, tipping his head back to gulp down some of the beer before grimacing. “See? Stale.” He commented, before getting rid of the glass of beer and going back to his tumbler of scotch.

“No, I’m actually feeling loads better. Just had some bubbly earlier and it didn’t sit all that well with me,” she said, brushing it off, as she didn’t want to cause him concern, but she could still see the worry in his eyes. “Oh my god, your brother and his friends are hilarious!” She exclaimed, hoping to distract him. “That theatre kid, Johnny? I had literal tears in my eyes at the impressions he was making.”

That got Bobby going, because the mere idea that anyone would be as funny as him seemed to be a matter of pride and Bobby set out to prove that he was even funnier by charming her with his best jokes, impressions and top-notch banter. By the time Gary and River joined them, he had her in stitches and Bridget was feeling so much more at ease.

“Is it time for the Bobby Show already?” Gary asked with a smile as he circled his arms around Bridget. “Did Riv hire you as part of the entertainment for the night then?”

“Nah, this is all a labour of love,” Bobby said, throwing his best friend a cheeky wink.

“Maybe you should try being a standup, Bobs,” Bridget told him with a grin. “I hear comedians are very popular these days.”

River let out a quiet laugh at that and bumped her hip with Bobby’s, a teasing gleam in her eye as she looked him over.

“Oh really?” Gary turned to his wife with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. “Where did you get that?”

“It’s what I heard from Thea anyway,” Bridget said with a shrug. “One of her roommates is a standup comedian and sort of a regular at the pub.” She took a sip of ginger ale then to avoid mentioning anything about Delilah, as she was sure she hadn’t said anything about Bruno to her brother yet.

“Bobby McKenzie, standup comedian,” Bobby said with a laugh. “Not gonna lie, I kind of like the sound of that. Maybe I’ll check out some open mic nights?”

“Oh my god,” River said with an exaggerated sigh. “I see how my life is gonna be reduced to going ‘round to stand up bars now.”

“Bet you would love having a horde of fangirls going after all your shows,” Gary nudged him with an elbow to his ribs. “Do comedians get lots of hook-ups, you think?”

“According to Thea, they do,” Bridget said with a laugh. “But oh! I’d actually really love to see you with a nice girlfriend, Bobby. You’re such a great guy, you deserve to find happiness and love.”

If she could’ve taken those words back, she would’ve. She didn’t really think before saying them, because it was something that had been going around in her mind lately, how she wished Bobby would fall in love with someone and just be in a happy relationship. But she saw the flash of hurt in his eyes, as if those words directed at him coming from her were such a blow and in hindsight she could understand how it had been a bit insensitive of her.

She could feel she was about to start rambling away to dissipate the awkwardness in the air, as she wasn’t sure if it was all in her head or if everyone else could feel it too. But then River was speaking up, seemingly glossing over the potentially awkward moment as they continued with the conversation.

“Even if you don’t get a girlfriend out of it, at the very least you should get laid more often, boy,” River said with a smirk.

“Such a ladylike comment,” Gary snickered. “And in your mother’s house, too. Imagine what your mum would think if she heard that.”

“Excuse me if some of us like sex and aren’t afraid to admit it,” River huffed in response, a smile just tugging at the corners of her mouth.

“Yeah,” Bobby said with a huff of his own, gazing into his scotch. “You and your married men.”

For a brief moment, Bridget had been expecting River to groan in response to what she was sure was a joke, as Gary would then launch into one of a thousand stories from their youth and reference a funny episode or another. But then Bobby looked up in alarm, almost as if surprised he’d said those words out loud. And looking at River she could see the same shock visible on her features, her eyes wide and her mouth just slightly open. She couldn’t look more shellshocked if Bobby had actually slapped her.

“Riv ─!” Bobby reached out reflexively, but she simply shook her head, her face like thunder as she hurriedly walked away. He ran a hand over his face and cursed under his breath, seeming to forget everyone else around him as he also started walking in the same direction she’d gone.

Bridget turned with a completely befuddled expression to Gary. “What the hell was that?”

“I honestly have no idea,” he said, turning to her with a confused frown.

“Really?” She asked in a disbelieving tone with a raised eyebrow. “You don’t know something that’s going on with River and Bobby?”

“I swear, I have no idea what that was, darling.”

She could see the honesty shining in the depths of his baby blues as well as his own sense of confusion, but something about that whole scene had her rattled. She opened her mouth to argue back, but then her stomach churned and she could feel the acid burning up her oesophagus.

She rushed by Chelsea as she ran across the room to the restroom and she made it just in time so she could empty the contents of her stomach into the toilet.

“Oh my god, babe!” Chelsea exclaimed in alarm as she walked in after her, crouching down next to Bridget and holding her hair back. “Are you okay?”

She could only shake her head as the wave of nausea hit her again. By the time she was done, Gary was also standing at the door of the restroom, his face marred with deep concern.

“What happened?” Chelsea asked as she helped her up and they walked to the sink. “Is it something you ate? Was it something in your drink?”

“No, don’t worry about it,” Bridget said dismissively as she splashed water on her face and rinsed her mouth. “It’s nothing to do with your party, I’ve been feeling off the whole week.”

The gasp coming from Chelsea was so loud that it seemed to suck all the air out of the room. “Oh my days! Babe, are you pregnant?!”

Bridget looked up in alarm at that. She met Gary’s eyes in the mirror and she could see the same shock etched on his features, as the thought hadn’t even crossed their minds before. She was glad the Edwards also had a big restroom with a chair on hand because suddenly she was standing on very shaky legs and needed to sit down.

Not only for the possibility of dealing with an unexpected pregnancy, but because in the back of her mind she couldn’t stop thinking about Bobby’s strange remark and how the only married man in River’s life was actually… Gary.

RIVER: heat waves

The door opened.

River didn't have to look at it to know it was Bobby. Maybe it was the certainty she had that he would never let her be mad at him for more than five minutes, maybe it was how there wasn't a single chance Bobby would let her think he hurt her on purpose, or maybe it was just the sound of his sneakers against the tiles that she had grown used to. Probably all of the above.

"How did you know I was here?" Her feet were inside the pool already. Even if it was the middle of December, the indoor pool was always warm.

From her periphery, she realised Bobby was taking his shoes off just to sit next to her, and she had to fight back a smile. "I realised when we were around fifteen that you like to hide in your indoor pool when you're upset, never really understand why, though."

"It's the furthest away from the house." She sighed, feeling his body get closer to her, so close they were almost touching. "And my dad never liked it here."

He hummed, like it all suddenly made sense and she hated it. Hated that he knew her well enough so her peculiarities that she was so proud of were easy to decode. Between River and Bobby there was no mystery, no cool girl with a distant heart, no pride to keep. She was his usual, his every day, a certainty, something he knew like the palm of his hand, and she hated it.

She avoided looking at him, just for now. It bothered her that he had this power over her mind, how he could make her feel incredibly bad then switch it up to make her happy again. It was a feeling in the pit of her stomach, one she learnt to avoid at any cost but that Bobby would bring back now and again. One that made her hate people and ruin herself over and over again just to bury deep down her chest.

"River," his voice, so overly sad, pierced through her, making her tremble. She knew he would make it good again, he always had a way of doing it.

"Let me be mad at you for a second," she spit the words, a little more aggressive than she meant it but never daring to look at him. If she couldn't control how easily Bobby would fix this, she at least would control when he did it.

There was nothing he could say about it except a low and begrudgingly, "Sure."

Again, River sighed. "You know, I really, I really trusted you with this. I know you don't owe me anything at all, Bobby, but I trusted you, so I told you. I would rather die than lie to you and I thought… Somehow you felt the same. Loyalty and all that."

"But I do, Riv, I—"

"Let me finish," she interrupted him, closing her eyes to not watch his response. "Anyway, I know you are… in love… with Bridget or whatever, and I always tried so hard to protect your feelings from yourself. I wish you had the same care with me as I have with you, that's all. I can't really… demand anything… but I would like it if you didn't put me in second place."

"I'd never… oh, River, I would never…"

"You did, you chose to tell my secret to everyone instead of facing her."

River hadn't noticed it before but when she opened her eyes and looked down, she had her hands closed so tight it was hurting her palms. They were sitting on her lap, pressing her thighs down and pushing her shoulders up. Her hair fell around her like a curtain, protecting her from Bobby's broken voice.

"I screwed up, didn't I?"

She looked down, she looked up, she looked ten metres forward, but all that didn't stop her from looking at him. Her heart broke almost immediately and she instantly forgave him, just like she knew she would. He was staring down at their feet, slowly touching the water, but even so, he just had that devastated look on his face. His long lashes looked wet with tears, like morning dew, and his always silly smile was taken by an upside-down curve that River would dare to call a frown.

There it was, that stupid wave of affection and love she had for Bobby and only he. All she wanted to do was hold his face with soft hands, caress his cheeks, kiss his temples and say it was fine, that she was fine now. Bobby looked sad, frustrated and disappointed, all things she had caused him herself. She had spent so long hating those who hurt him and now, look at her.

All she had to do was think for a while to conclude there was no way she could be mad at him. He could hurt her, push her, simply disappear, and River would love him again the moment he showed up. It sucked, believe it, she was well aware of that, but still, she couldn't change that for the life of her. Her heart had a soft spot for him and a mind of its own.

"I know I maybe deserved it," she sighed. "But I really trusted you."

In a sudden move — one she wasn't expecting, even if he was Bobby McKenzie — he grabbed her hand and squeezed it, making her eyes travel to their linked fingers. She wondered if he could feel the beat of her heart in his hand. "No, you didn't deserve it. I was a complete knob. This was on me, Riv."

Rived nodded in agreement, squeezing his hand, trying to be light, funny. "At least you are aware of it."

He chuckled, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "I know what you're doing…"

"Oh?" She blushed — thankful that the moonshine wasn't that bright at that time of the night — the sentence catching her off guard as if she was a reindeer and the words, headlights.

"You never let me apologise properly, you always interrupt me, say it's fine or make a joke, but you never let me finish," he sighed, turning to look her in the eyes. They were so golden, had she noticed it before?

She shook that thought off her head and tried to focus on what mattered. Again, Bobby was right — he had been right a lot lately. She never let him apologise. Because she was afraid of the look in his eyes when he was guilty, the feeling in the pit of her stomach when he looked at her as if she was too precious to lose, and the dread of breaking it if she pushed too far. River knew that out of all her flaws, the lacking knowledge of how to be loved was the biggest of them all.

For Bobby, she wanted to be the synonym for summertime, happiness, bike rides next to the beach, fireworks, and good friendship. Nothing less. And definitely nothing more.

But when did Bobby care for that silly bad impression she had of herself? "So, right here, right now, I'm stopping you to say I am sorry, River." He nodded, taking a deep breath. "I will never, ever do something like that again. Not telling your secrets to others, not lying to you, not shaming you. I love you and you're so fucking important to me, and…"

Love you. She thought about those words for an instant. Bless his heart, she knew they were honest and she couldn't even count the times they had said it to each other, but a man shouldn't be saying that type of thing to a woman in the middle of the night, that close to her.

But then, she stopped herself. She was the one who shouldn't be seeing the situation like that, she knew he meant it in a fraternal way. For god's sake, she was anything but fine that night.

"It's fine, Bobby," she squeezed his hand and smiled before hugging him. And she was honest, it was really fine, after all. "I'm ok, I trust you. I love you. I just needed to cool down."

It was quiet for a while and she thought it was over. They would stand up and then go back to the party, if there was a party to go back to. If not, then he would stay a little longer and they would watch something on Netflix in her childhood bedroom.

But then she looked at him with one of her honest smiles and he had a mischievous smile that became a mischievous tone in his voice. "Cool down, you say?"

She only realised what he meant when his arms were circling her waist and they were falling.

Bobby pushed their bodies onto the pool. The water was warm, thankfully, due to its heating system, so the impact wasn't as big as it could've been. River didn't get the time to think before Bobby was splashing water around, laughing like a little kid, and making her follow him.

Soon enough, they were splashing each other in a weird, no rules spoken, competition. She had a feeling she was about to win and he might as well have felt the same because one second they were joking and the next he was holding her by her wrists, keeping her lock close to his body so she wouldn't move.

Her breath caught in her throat as she tilted her head to look at him. Had she ever noticed how the moon shone through the window panels? Or was it just its reflection on Bobby's skin that would make it look that pretty? Inside his eyes, she could see it better. As she searched for answers to questions that she thought were long forgotten, she saw a glimpse of the moonshine and her own reflection, looking back.

Time had frozen them on the spot, she thought for sure. What other reason would they have to be so quiet? Especially them, known for being loud and proud. The pressure of his fingertips on her skin started to tingle and, suddenly, River was much more aware of his engulfing presence and the few centimetres that made him taller than her. His cheeks, dusted with freckles, had a much brighter shade of scarlet and his dimples were looking so much clearer now.

Oh.

Bobby was handsome.

And she couldn't help but flush under the amber pair of eyes that looked at her back with an intensity that most definitely mirrored her own. The weight of his eyes had never felt so heavy on her, scanning and picking details as if it was the first time in a long while he had seen her, even if they saw each other every day for the past 10 years. She couldn't blame him though. For her, it was like seeing him for the first time as well.

Taking her by surprise, her heartbeat quickened and Bobby softened his grip on her. Yet, she didn't let go or dared to move away. She could feel his chest moving up and down, his breath just above hers, and the hesitation he also was full of. If someone was going to break their spell, it wouldn't be her. Not when she found herself wondering what he would do.

She could swear she felt him leaning towards her — or maybe it was her standing on her tiptoes — before they heard someone opening the door to the pool all at once. They snapped their heads in the direction of the sound at the same time, meeting River's mother leaning against the glass door.

"What are you two doing?" Magnolia asked, her blue silky robe sweeping the floor.

Even though the presence of her mother had just startled her, it was Bobby's voice that made it all very much real.

"It was just…" she heard him saying too close to her. Her eyes immediately turned back to him at the same time he did. But as quickly as he looked down, he shot his amber eyes right back up, leaving River with her heart beating faster than ever before. "... just a stupid joke. We were just about to leave."

He took a step back slowly and she had the time to miss his always-warm skin before he turned and swam back to the ladder. She couldn't exactly pinpoint why but she suddenly felt hollow.

"Yeah," she affirmed in a quiet voice, not sure of what had just happened.

She trailed the same path as him, back to the ground, with a handful of new things she had noticed about it, the knowledge that Bobby McKenzie was handsome and her heart on her throat.

#litg #litg writers room #writers room #litg fanfic #litg ff #lia #love island actually #love island the game #litg bruno #litg suresh #litg gary #litg noah #litg bobby #litg nicky

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the---hermit · 1 year

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jumbo reading challenge update #3

This post has been sitting in my drafts for months. I have procrastinated posting this update for so long. I still have no plans for the rest of the challenge and I am trying to fit in the books I am reading randomly, so I have no idea if I will complete the challenge by the end of the year. I surely didn't expect to be 75% done with it in the first half of the year. Here are the links to my first and second updates on this challenge.

The Priory Of The Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon for the high fantasy prompt:

I don't know where I got the courage to approach a 800 page book, but I am surely happy I did. This is one of the best books I read this year. Challenging my fear of big books is teaching me how immersive they can be, and how special the reading experience becomes. This fantasy book in particular is very well made, I would even recommend it to people who don't read a lot of epic fantasy. I cannot wait for the sequel to be translated so that I can get it (I know I could get it anyway but I want matching editions).

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman for the main character of color prompt:

This was the last unread book in my Gaiman bookshelf (which means I have to look for the books my collection is still missing). For some reason I procrastinated reading this book for years. I am happy I finally picked it up, but it was definitely not my favourite novel by this author. I was expecting something along the lines of American Gods, which is not the case. It's an entertaining novel, but I prefer darker fantasy.

Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney for the horror or thriller prompt:

I listened to the audiobook for this novel, which was made pretty well. It's a story inspired by And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, which is one of my all time favourite novels. I was a bit scheptical at first, but it wasn't as bad as I feared. After reading it I was a bit confused over my feeling for this novel, especially for the big twist at the end. It's now been a while and I can say that although the audiobook was very entertaining and well paced, I am not a big fan of the ending. I see what the author was trying to do, and I am prersonally not a fan. But it wasn't that bad.

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton for the minimalistic cover prompt:

This book was surprisingly fun. While reading it I was a bit frustrated with a couple of things that felt very stupid, but to be honest after finishing it it made sense. It's one of those lighthearted adventurous books that needed a couple of silly things to work and it's fine. As I said it was really fun. I feel like it would be a great pick for a summer read, so much so that I am considering reading the sequel this summer.

Through The Woods by Emily Carroll for the clever cover prompt:

This was a rererad for me. I got this book last year and loved it, and since in the past month or so I have been in a big graphic novel rereading mood this felt perfect. I picked it for this prompt because the longer you look at the cover the more you notice some hidden detail. The art in this book is amazing, and it's overall one of my favourite graphic novels I own, it's the perfect gothic horror with fairytale vibes, I couldn't ask for more.

Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe for the non-binary author:

I am so happy to have this in my graphic novel collection. It's a very special addition, it was very insightful and emotional, and I know for a fact that I will be rereading this book more than once. I very much recommend picking this up. I felt like it did a great job at giving an idea of what it's like to question your sexuality and gender, how complicated and scary it can be, but also how joyful it is.

She Who Became The Sun by Shelley Parker Chan for the pun in the title prompt:

When I realized there was a pun in this book title my brain expoded. It's genious. The story of a girl who takes the identity of her brother to claim his destiny, becoming "the son", I loved it. I loved all characters. There's a light fantasy element that I hope will see more of in the sequel. Overall it's a very well done and engaging historical fantasy, and the gender in this is amazing. There's very interesting parallels, really strong characters that completment each other, it was a great read that I will be recommending a lot.

The House In The Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune for the water in the title prompt:

This book has been often described as part of the cozy fantasy genre, and honestly it's a great way to describe it. I really enjoyed my time with this book, it was the perfect lighthearted read I needed.

The individual book reviews are linked in the titles above as usual.

#bookblr #booklr #studyblr w/ knives reading challenge #jumbo reading challenge #reading challenge update #book reviews #book recs #book recommendations #bookish #books #reading #mine #the---hermit

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emeritus-fuckers · 9 months

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For the match-up event:

Your identity

I am a nonbinary (possibly bigender?) bisexual. My pronouns are she/her and he/him, though I prefer she/her pronouns. I identify more with the female experience, as that’s how I was raised. I think gender norms are stupid, so I embraced the gender spectrum with open arms!

Who do you like? (pick from Ghouls, Humans, Papas, Repugnant, or everyone)

I like Ghouls, Humans, and the Papas. If I had to choose from the three, I’d choose the Papas.

What do you look like?

At just five feet tall I’m a bit short, and I’m also chunky, I’d say pear-shaped. My hair is a little past my ears, and I recently dyed it black so I could dress as Terzo for Halloween. My taste in style is a bit eclectic, but 90% of my wardrobe is casual. I would love to add more gothic or pastel attire to my wardrobe.

Your personality?

I’d say I am a pretty chill person, but I think part of that is because I’m used to constant internal panic. I have also been described as very kind, giving, considerate, outgoing, and chatty. While I like being nice, I don’t like being used, so I have firm boundaries. Whenever someone tries pushing my boundaries, I get frustrated and stern, but if they keep pushing I get pissed. Sometimes I have a short fuse and lose my cool, but I always feel like shit after.

Your interests? (What do you do in your free time? What are your hobbies? Your passions? Your music taste?)

In my free time I like to hang out with my friends, play video games, and listen to music. My favorite music genres are heavy metal, hard rock, and alternative. My favorite game is Dead by Daylight, but I also like playing Destiny 2, Rocket League, and Stardew Valley. Some of my hobbies are watching movies, reading fanfics, and learning about new things. I am passionate about film and psychology, and I hope to use both of them by one day working in the film industry.

Trivia time! (Here you can include everything that didn't fit in the previous category!)

I like to explore new places and try new things, even if it may seem a bit strange at first. I think it’s good to get out of your comfort zone every once in a while! I especially love exploring the natural world, and learning more about what exists around us. On a completely different note, I love haunted houses! The set design is so cool to me, and I’d love to work at one.

This post is part of the 1000 followers match up event. Entries for the event are now closed.

Your match is…Papa Emeritus IV

Copia is happy to travel and explore places with you. While you two are on tour, when he gets any free time, you sneek off to explore.

He is surprisingly chilled in a haunted house (you went to go see one while on tour), he did grow up in the Ministry after all. He is more surprised and shocked at how the other people in the tour group react to rats. He cannot understand why they all scream and run. He goes over and picks the rat up and starts saying how adorable he is. He adopts this rat and calls it Casper.

He loves films!!! Absolutly loves them so he is so happy to have someone who shares his passion. You set aside one evening a week (more if you can) to watch a film. You get popcorn, snuggle together under a duvet and watch the film. Copia will put his arm around your shoulders and hold you close to him.

He will do anything he can to support your career in the film industry.

Copia would never use you, not ever. He admires how you have firm boundaries, he is learning to have them as other people have tried to take advantage of his good nature. As Papa it's been easier for him and you can help him and give him advice.

However when it comes to you, if anyone upsets you/tries to use you, Copia is immediatly there to support you, no longer the shy Cardinal but full on Papa.

You also love to play video games together. "It's like you were made for me sì?" Copia says beaming at you while holding out the controller to you. "I am very lucky to have you amore."

Written by Nyx

#match up event #match up #Copia #papa emeritus iv x reader #papa emeritus iv #Copiaxreader #the-real-eggplany

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pyshcic · 2 years

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𝙻𝙰𝚈𝙴𝚁 𝟷: 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙾𝚄𝚃𝚂𝙸𝙳𝙴.

NAME: mary alice brandon, alice cullen (whitlock). EYE COLOR: blue. HAIR STYLE / COLOR: black, short and choppy. it forever appears as though it's still awkwardly growing out, if you really look at it, but she styles it in such distracting ways so as to make it feel tastefully designed. described once as a "spiky halo". HEIGHT: 4'11". CLOTHING STYLE: here's her wardrobe pin board. an eclectic mix of gothic modernism, odd and sometimes ostentatious –– it's built on her academic interest in fashion over decades of existence, having studied the topic in detail. it always appears she's just ahead of a trend, and yet still true to a constant aesthetic all her own. BEST PHYSICAL FEATURE: i think her eyes are easily the most stunning aspect of her, they have a warmth to them that is difficult to maintain as a vampire in my mind. that and their natural shifting of color, from dark brown/red to a milky white during visions.

𝙻𝙰𝚈𝙴𝚁 𝟸: 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙸𝙽𝚂𝙸𝙳𝙴.

FEARS: losing jasper, above all. losing any of her loved ones, really; she acts impulsively to protect them and goes so far as to put others in danger to achieve their safety. she has a quiet, unspoken fear that perhaps she's a bit crueler than she thinks. GUILTY PLEASURE: oh she's a sucker for social media! she posts ootds quite often and has pinterest boards, etc. she also loves romantic comedies. she loves to watch silly reality tv show competitions because she finds it distinctly human and absolutely fascinating. BIGGEST PET PEEVES: people not following her advice. bella wearing jeans. AMBITIONS FOR THE FUTURE: it's difficult to say, she doesn't plan much in terms of aspirations, she just follows the flow of her instincts and what people around her (namely jas) would like to do. all in all, her only real goal so to speak is to love and be loved by the people around her.

𝙻𝙰𝚈𝙴𝚁 𝟹: 𝚃𝙷𝙾𝚄𝙶𝙷𝚃𝚂.

FIRST THOUGHTS WAKING UP: she does not sleep! WHAT THEY THINK ABOUT MOST: what activity she can rope her darling and sometimes unwilling friends into in order to ease her own boredom. stocks and fashion trends, secondarily. WHAT THEY THINK ABOUT BEFORE BED: she does not sleep :( WHAT THEY THINK THEIR BEST QUALITY IS: she's kind, and loving. and she's happy –– she's always so happy. her tendency to smile is above all her greatest attribute. and she likes to consider herself a very wise giver of advice (though many would beg to differ).

𝙻𝙰𝚈𝙴𝚁 𝟺: 𝚆𝙷𝙰𝚃'𝚂 𝙱𝙴𝚃𝚃𝙴𝚁 ?

SINGLE OR GROUP DATES: oh, i'm so sorry jasper ... group dates. though of course, both, ultimately, but she loves socialization, so the idea of having herself, jas and other people out on the town is absolutely envigorating. TO BE LOVED OR RESPECTED: loved. BEAUTY OR BRAINS: why not both!! if she had to choose, admittedly it would take her a long time to decide on it, but she'd probably end up going with brains. probably. DOGS OR CATS: cats.

𝙻𝙰𝚈𝙴𝚁 𝟻: 𝙳𝙾 𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚈…

LIE: yes. she will absolutely lie especially when it helps her get closer to an end she's specifically seeking. BELIEVE IN THEMSELVES: yes to a certain extent –– she's confident in her abilities and her cleverness. she believes that she could handle most anything. however, she does remind others she's capable of failure when it comes to her visions and best guesses. she can only be so reliable. BELIEVE IN LOVE: oh in every iteration, every meaning of the word. so fully and completely it consumes her!

𝙻𝙰𝚈𝙴𝚁 𝟼: 𝙷𝙰𝚅𝙴 𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚈 𝙴𝚅𝙴𝚁…

BEEN ON STAGE: i think she would have been, yes! but likely not in any way that brings too much attention to herself, if only for her and her family's safety. but i think she's unafraid of public performance, certainly. CHANGED WHO THEY WERE TO FIT IN: in a literal sense, yes, because if she had not had the vision of the cullens she would most assuredly have no qualms drinking human blood. and of course, she acts the part of human in order to keep up appearances. but generally, in a more overarching sense, she tends to keep fairly true to herself.

𝙻𝙰𝚈𝙴𝚁 𝟽: 𝙵𝙰𝚅𝙾𝚁𝙸𝚃𝙴𝚂.

FAVORITE COLOR: i think it changes almost on the daily. perhaps today it's a muted purple, tomorrow a vibrant evergreen. FAVORITE ANIMAL: crows. FAVORITE BOOK: ah, how difficult ... emma by jane austen, i think. FAVORITE GAME: she does love a good game of baseball. otherwise, chess.

𝙻𝙰𝚈𝙴𝚁 𝟾: 𝙰𝙶𝙴.

DAY THEIR NEXT BIRTHDAY WILL BE: as she's unsure her date of birth, she tends to switch around the actual celebration to her liking. for a while, she and edward would celebrate on the same day (6/20) due to an inside joke of the pair being akin to long lost twins, given their somewhat similar appearances, abilities, and year of birth. so, if following that, the next day it would be would be a Tuesday. Eugh... she may switch it to something on a Saturday. HOW OLD WILL THEY BE: canonically, 122yo. take or leave a few years depending on the verse, and also depending on edward's age because i tend to assume alice was born in the same year.

tagged by: @dinopunching thank you darling ❤️ tagging: @praive, @newborne, @rosulie, @matreart, @delightedends, @e5me, @subdivines, @wormregards + anyone else who'd like to :3

#𝐢. footnotes & meta . ﹙ now that 𝘪𝘴 a mystery .#very fun indeed hehe

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autolenaphilia · 2 years

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The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery

The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery from 1995 is the second Gabriel Knight adventure game, developed by Sierra and written and designed by Jane Jensen. The first was Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers

The most obvious change from the first game is that the pixel art graphics style has been replaced with Full motion video using live action footage of actors against 3D backgrounds. Unlike pixel art graphic adventure games, this is not a style that has seen much of revival (partly because it’s expensive) and makes this game seem very much of its time. Many of the FMV games from the 90s craze for the medium are not beloved either.

I won’t lie and say The Beast Within looks great today. The FMVs have a low resolution and are very grainy, as do the sprites of the characters outside of it. There is some dodgy CGI too. The end result looks like a 90s tv show uploaded to youtube in low quality.

Yet The Beast Within is in my opinion one of the FMV games that stand the test of time. And that is both due to gameplay and story.

For one thing, it’s actually a fairly traditional point-and-click adventure game, except the cutscenes and the character sprites are live action footage of actual actors, instead of animations. The FMV craze sometimes took the form of “interactive movies” in the mode of Dragon’s Lair, and didn’t have much actual gameplay. But The Beast Within is a fully fledged adventure game.

And it’s a good one. There is some pixel-hunting, but much less so than the first game, because this time the cursor changes to indicate an interactable hotspot. There are no complex system of verb commands either. The puzzles felt largely fair and reasonable, and I didn’t have to rely on hints much. And as far as I can tell, there are no dead-ends. There are sequences where you can die, but you are given the option to retry them from a checkpoint with no penalty. As far as gameplay goes, this is a pretty good adventure game that cuts down on the bullshit that especially Sierra perpetuated in the genre’s earlier days.

The story is the star in most adventure games, and this is no exception. I love the story of The Beast Within, despite its flaws.

It helps that the acting in the FMVs is far above the general reputation of FMV games. These actors are overall legit good and I don’t feel they hinder the story being told. If the acting is arguably bad sometimes it’s the good kind of “bad” acting: overacting. And it’s a gothic werewolf horror story, such camp fits the tone.

The game of course stars Gabriel Knight once again. He is now living in the castle of his ancestors, the Ritter family, in Bavaria. And he gets asked by the locals to investigate a series of murders, that seem to be committed by a werewolf. This being a horror game, it’s of course actually a werewolf. Once his friend Grace Nakimura learns about this, she decides to fly over to Bavaria from New Orleans to help, against Gabriel’s wishes. Grace is a playable character now, alternating with Gabriel. They conduct parallel investigations into the werewolf case.

Gabriel tries to find the werewolf killer in the present, and investigates the murders to find the killer. While Grace investigates the past, doing mainly historical research that she hopes will help identify the present-day werewolf.

It’s interesting how this game handles the idea of two American investigators working in a country in which they don’t entirely understand the language. Most of the game’s dialogue is in english, but there is a surprising amount of german. More than you expect from an American production. They got a translator to translate relevant dialogue by Jane Jensen into German, so it’s understandable. And especially with Gabriel, who barely knows any german (Grace has more basic knowledge and can form sentences), you get the sense of them being in a foreign country. They come across educated and/or younger people that speak fluent English, other german characters don’t and they’re stuck trying to figure it out. The pronunciation by the actors is however variable and heavily depends on the actor. Some are actual germans or have basic pronunciation knowledge, some clearly don’t. I appreciate the effort though, which does give some versmillitude to the game’s setting.

The roles of Gabriel and Grace have been recast. A decision which I understand. The original Gabriel Knight voice, Tim Curry doesn’t look anything like Gabriel Knight, even if his voice is the definitive one. And Leah Remini is not Japanese-American, like Grace is.

And the new actors give different takes, but ones which largely work. Dean Erickson plays a more awkward and less confident Gabriel than Curry’s in the first game. Perhaps he is humbled by his past experiences, and he is clearly not entirely comfortable in this new country in which he does not speak the language. It’s surprisingly endearing.

Joanne Takahashi as Grace is also fine. She is more let down by the writing than her actual acting skills. She is likeable enough, Grace is still the charismatic character I loved in the first game. But there is some really awkward character writing for her in a vain attempt to further the Gabriel/Grace relationship. It’s meant to be bickering friends who secretly love each other. And she is this tsundere character who says she hates Gabriel but actually loves him, and proves it by going to great lengths to help him.

But Gabriel and Grace don’t interact much in this game. Gabriel deliberately keeps her distant from his investigation and later justifies it with wanting to protect her, and it’s just annoying as she clearly could be very helpful to him. Grace on her part has this truly embarrassing bitchy jealousy drama with Gerde, a woman who Grace thinks is having sex with Gabriel but she actually isn’t. It’s pointless and the worst part of this game’s writing by far.

Yet there are far more interesting parts of this game’s writing that make me actually love it.

I’m gonna spoil the reveal of who the werewolf is, because it’s obvious from the moment the character enters the story. The story saves the reveal for the beginning of chapter 6, the game’s final chapter, but it’s obvious from the get-go. And I need to reveal it to discuss Gabriel’s storyline properly.

It’s Friedrich von Glower, the leader of an aristocratic hunting club. He is very well played by actor Peter Lucas. He portrays him with both charm and menace, and his dark-haired features are perfect for the part. He is a charismatic presence that dominates the game. The performance does however make it very obvious that he is a werewolf. Yet he is a fascinating character, and a large part of what makes this game so appealing.

Werewolves in this game are immortal. They can be killed, but can live on for centuries otherwise. Grace’s research reveals his extensive backstory stretching back to the 1700s. In the present day, Von Glower has used his experiences as a werewolf to develop a pseudo-darwinian philosophy about how humans will become stronger by getting in touch with their basic animal instincts that modern civilization suppresses. The members of his hunting club are all rich and basically use this philosophy to become better capitalists or lawyers by being ruthless in their actions. It’s a perfect ideology for these rich people, as it justifies them doing terrible things to earn more money.

Yet that’s not the purpose of the philosophy for Von Glower. He is lonely as an immortal werewolf. He wants a companion to join him, and has tried throughout the centuries to find that person. It’s clearly not just friendship he is after, it is romantic and sexual companionship. He is also either gay or bi, and tries to find that companion in other men. The purpose of the club with its philosophy is to prepare a person to be turned by Von Glower and become his werewolf companion.

Grace’s research into his past reveal that he once loved and turned the king of Bavaria Ludwig II. This lead to Ludwig’s suicide after over a decade of suffering.

Once von Glower meets Gabriel, it is love at first sight. He is overly friendly to Gabriel considering they just met and is clearly flirtatious. It’s obvious that he has designs upon Gabriel. And Gabriel seems to genuinely return his affections in some way, even if it is not as openly erotic as it is from von Glower’s side. Gabriel at least is receptive to his flirting. It’s perhaps platonic, but he clearly quickly comes to trust von Glower. Von Glower is obviously a sinister werewolf from the minute he enters the story, yet Gabriel seems oblivious. Is he in love? Maybe.

There is also Von Zell, who was the sole member of Von Glower’s hunting club that he choose to turn. Yet he was dumped by Von Glower after Von Zell’s turned out too violent and strange for Friedrich’s tastes. Now he plays the role of the bitter ex-boyfriend, fiercely jealous of Gabriel.

The Gabriel/Friedrich love story speaks to the themes of the series very well. Gabriel’s story in the first game was about his struggle with his baser instincts. He starts as a lust-driven womanizer, and he has to develop into a “schattenjäger”, a brave fighter against supernatural evil. And now von Glower represents a new temptation for Gabriel to abandon his duty to fight against evil and fall back into his lust-driven ways. Werewolves is a good fit for that kind of themes. Except, the temptation is queer this time around.

This type of story is of course homophobic on some level. The queer character is a villain who must die in the ending. Yet Von Glower is somewhat sympathetic in his loneliness and his feelings for Gabriel seem to be genuine. He is a complex villain, and the relationship between him and Gabriel is complex and engaging. It’s no more homophobic than your average queer monster horror story, and us queer folk often appreciate those despite their flaws.

And this is a story that speaks to me beyond the queer themes. I love German history. And you get to dig into it in this game. In the first game, Grace’s function is that she would do research on Gabriel’s request and then present her findings the next day. And now that you get to play as her, you get to do that research yourself.

I’ll grant that other people might find her parts of the game exposition-heavy. It’s literally reading book chapters at some points or interviewing people for more exposition. But I find werewolves and the Bavarian king Ludwig II to be fascinating subjects. So I was greatly entertained by all this. It’s part of why I found this game’s story so rich.

Ludwig II was gay or bi in real life, and so it makes sense tying him into this game with a bisexual werewolf (who was Ludwig’s boyfriend and who turned the king), as silly as that sounds. It works. His struggles with being turned into a werewolf by von Glower ends up being mirrored by Gabriel’s relationship with von Glower in the present day.

And the game includes the other fascinating bits of Ludwig’s life, such as his extravagant castles and his relations with Richard Wagner. The game lets you explore Neuschwanstein and try to find the score for a lost opera by Wagner concerning werewolves. It’s so fun if you are interested like I am. And you get to hear parts of that fictional opera and the composer Robert Holmes does do a decent Wagner imitation, albeit with a synthesized orchestra. The music overall is good, but it stands in the shadow of this fake Wagner opera. It’s so many interests of mine converging at once.

That is why I love The Beast Within. It is not a perfect video game. The game’s writing and presentation is definitely flawed. Yet there are many virtues. It’s a solid point-and-click adventure that tells a campy but well-written queer werewolf story that takes on German history and culture in an intelligent way.

#my writings #gabriel knight #the beast within #adventure games

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shadedjasmine · 3 months

Text

Deep Blue

1 • 2 • 3 • 4

It’s time. The week has passed, and my work begins.

Savannah zip ties my wrists together. Protocol, but she apologizes all the same. I’d wager she leaves them a little slack for my benefit. Together with two armed men, I am walked from my apartment and loaded into a van, along with 5 others in the program. My prisoner number, 11PB-078, is stitched into the breast pocket of my work blazer, just like the others in the program. We’re all various ages and different backgrounds. But, we are all just numbers. At least to some; Savannah had to double-check her paperwork earlier to ensure my number was correctly displayed. She forgot it again two minutes later. “You’re just Jasmine to me,” she shrugged.

When the van rolls through the mountains, Moonlight Palace comes into view, sitting atop a mountain, supported by gothic structures weaving impossibly through the rock, as if the mountain had formed around it and carved away. At the base of the mountain is a more post-modern structure and a sprawling campus that weaves in and out of the mountain. Lux Hall is a contradiction of architectural periods with no attempt to unify them artistically. It functions, and for the Shadows, that is enough.

The prisoners and I are unloaded at Lux Hall South’s entrance and marched in single file, with our handlers in tow. My eyes drink in the space, finding the seams in the structure where new ideas took form and forced a change in the building. In the center of the common area, massive as it is, is a stone, sitting beneath a massive skylight. Stray remnants of the weaving river fall from the skylight and into a flowing reservoir that we cross over by bridge.

“Wait,” I peer to Savannah, keeping my pace with the rest of the envoy. “Where is this waterfall coming from if we’re in a mountain?”

“You didn’t see the rest of it,” Savanna replies. “The mountain is the edge of a massive plateau. The river rapids travel eastbound for miles over and around the plateau, eventually meeting in the ocean to the east.”

My mind paints the picture and I feel myself smile. Even in my imagination, it’s beautiful.

“I’m guessing this mountain is manmade.”

“Terraforming has come a long way. The mountain was made to disguise the house, and was blasted away when Pan took residence.”

“So this massive boulder in the middle was from the mountain I take it?”

“Very good,” Savannah points to the blasting marks on the stone. “When Lux Hall was first unearthed, a blasting error was made and a stone fell through and damaged the skylight. A few of us liked it and started climbing it for fun. So, we kept it, and repaired everything else.”

As we walk, a few people by the boulder’s base turn to look at us. But the eyes of one girl, sharp and curious, land firmly on me. She has to be about my age, with an affinity for loose-fit clothing and stylish boots. She tracks me with a blatant curiosity, her hands hooked around the corners of her pockets. Only when her friends call to her does she move back to the boulder. But she keeps eye contact for a while longer.

We reach our destination; the staircase before the security office. The prisoners and I are lined up shoulder to shoulder, our bound wrists held firmly in front of us. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Savannah check her watch. She scoffs.

The door to the security office opens. The man that walks emerges from inside reminds me much of the guards at the pillbox; he is older, falling slightly out of shape, with his year or so riding a desk beginning to cover up whatever training he had. He’s losing a battle with his five o’clock shadow, His hair is beginning to thin.

He walks past us, the prisoners, and walks straight to Savannah and the handlers. I don’t hear much, but I get the sense that we aren’t worth the time to go through orientation. “I don’t care what you do,” I hear him bicker. “Just put ‘em somewhere.” He walks past us once more, on the way somewhere more important than us. And then he notices me. He scowls.

“The tides can be viscous out there, “ he mutters. “Try not to drown.” And that’s it. He walks away. Orientation over. I fail to see anyone in the lineup who expected any more. The handlers and guards split us up.

“Ok, we got one at the beach, I’ll drive her,” I hear Savannah tell security. They argue for a bit, but in the end, I’m left in her custody alone. She leads me away from the office, down through a series of smaller hallways.

“One what?” I eventually ask.

“I’ll tell you when we get there.”

The busy sounds of the main hall eventually fade, and before long, I’m led through a car garage and to a small Lotus Elise. Cute. It suits her. But after she carefully helps me into the car and gets into the driver's seat, she starts the engine. And I hear irregularities.

“So, for a few months, we’ve been getting artworks from a nation that doesn’t exist.” Savannah drives off, looping around and exiting the garage before peeling down the road like she didn’t just speak the strangest sentence I’ve heard all day.

“...I’m sorry?”

“Yeah,” Savannah laughs. “An artist going by the name of Deng Jia has been painting things, crafting things, packaging them up, and sending them on floating dinghies that crash on shore. Be don’t know how they found us, or how the dinghies fly under the radar until the last nautical miles, but it has been their preferred delivery method and it has never failed them. They’ve told us where to find them, and drone footage confirms that they are right where they say they are but…”

“...but?”

“There shouldn’t be anything there. No land, no nation, nothing. They just sprung into existence with intimate knowledge of who we are and where to find us. The paintings they’ve sent depict members of our ranks and events from our history. Armor sets have been forged that fit the exact measurements of the recipients that they are meant for.”

“There’s no way we don’t have a leak.”

“That’s what we thought. But we’ve examined security several times and it’s always come back airtight. That’s part of the reason why we came up with this prisoner release program–to shake things up. Introduce some new variables and maybe find out what we’ve missed.”

“So, there’s another dinghy.”

“Yes. Unfortunately, it looks like it crashed on the rocks just before the beach. You’ll likely have to recover it, but luckily, the sea isn’t too deep there.”

My heart flutters in its chest. “I don’t think you understand what this means to me…”

“Simple joys, like the lofty drive home, or mom’s cooking, or swimming– It means so much more when it’s been taken from you. Trust me, I understand.”

The car continues away from Lux, weaving its way down a wavy road. Light dances across my skin through the passing trees, and I can see the beach from where we are.

And then I hear it. The irregularity.

“I think you have a cylinder misfire.

Savannah peers over to me with an incredulous look on her face, like she just discovered something fascinating. “...you’re a gearhead!”

I roll my eyes. “Yea, yea. I dabbled in cars for a bit. I know a little.”

“You diagnosed my engine by listening to it. You know more than a little.”

I snicker, resigning with a sheepish shrug. “It was a hobby. Maybe I’ll get back into it.”

Savannah pulls her car to a stop at the peer. She opens the passenger door and immediately cuts the zip ties. She allows me the pleasure of stepping out onto the peer on my own. The sound and scent of the sea swell within and around me, and I am free. Truly free. But I do not forget Savannah’s grace and leniency. My wrists should still be bound; we both know this for sure.

I keep a short, invisible tether between me and my handler as I drink in the sea air.

As Savannah rummages through the trunk of her car, she sees me, staying obediently in her orbit. “You’re wearing the swimwear we gave you, right?”

“Of course.”

“Well…. go on. I need a few minutes to get the tracker set up. Maybe like 5 minutes?”

The sea calls me, and I take a careful step forward. But only a step.

“Go, Jasmine. Your handler has given you permission for a five-minute swim. We’ll engage your tracker if we need to find you.”

I glance out to sea. The terror of doing anything wrong, of ending back up in the Pillbox, freezes me into place. I don’t notice Savannah until she appears in front of me and her fingers make quick work of my blazer buttons. She steals the jacket away and drapes it neatly over her arm.

“Seven minutes,” she tells me. She walks away.

Mist dances on my forearms. The waves crash onto the beach in a symphony of white noise. My shirt is half undone when I look down at my fingers. My slacks all but vanish. Somehow, I have the resolve to neatly fold my uniform and return it to the car. I don’t remember doing any undressing, because all I can think of is the feeling of sand between my toes.

Eight years. Eight years without the feeling of sand between my toes. The tether is much longer now. Much much longer.

I am sent running, and within seconds, my ankles feel the sea take them for the first time in almost a decade. The water rises the further I go, and eventually, I can submerge myself fully. I gather my breath and I ocean welcomes me home.

The world disappears, and I am weightless. The afternoon sun shines down in spectacular rippling flickers. The water is dense, and sound travels faster through it. The waves above sing in a unified chorus for miles and miles. It's peaceful but absolute.

I float for as long as my breath allows. I tithe to the ocean in tears.

My record is four minutes, but I can’t deny that I cared more about the reunion and less about the technique. I return to the surface after two. I check the shore and find Savannah smiling at me. She says nothing. She silently offers me my remaining five minutes.

I scan the ocean for the rock face and I notice it a few dozen feet away. Challenge accepted. I recall my training, I steady my breathing and I take in the air. And then I dive. I search the shallow depths for the wrecked dinghy. It doesn’t take long.

I swim over, examine the wreckage, and find the object of interest, sealed in a lock box with a rope tied around it.

It's like they wanted me to find it. Savannah’s right–this whole situation with these people is odd. Clairvoyance couldn’t be ruled out. No wonder the Shadows were concerned; up until this point, they were the closest thing to clairvoyance on the planet.

I tie the free end of the rope around my waist and dislodge the object. It’s light and flat, and therefore, very buoyant. Towing it back takes no effort at all.

I resurface after four minutes and sit on the beach before pulling the object ashore with me. Savannah sees the object and hurries to the beach to retrieve and catalog it. I lay on the sand for a few seconds before offering my assistance. Together, we open the lock box and find a perfectly preserved painting of two other women on an unfamiliar beach. It wasn’t Savannah and I, but the parallels were undeniable.

Not only couldn’t clairvoyance not be ruled out, it was approaching likelihood. No wonder security was in disarray.

I dry myself off, drape the passenger seat in the towel, and drift off to sleep under the setting sun to the sound of a smooth engine with a cylinder misfire. When I wake again, I am back at the apartments. Savannah escorts me to mine.

“Good work today,” she tells me as she unlocks the door. “Coffee and crepes tomorrow?”

I smile. “I’d like that.” I step inside.

“Sleep tight.” Savannah closes the door and I hear the lock engage. The silence is filled

by the sound of the ocean creeping in through the cracked window.

I take my first proper look around and notice the appearance of new furniture. A couch, a coffee table, a laptop. My memory foam mattress is missing, replaced by an actual bed placed in the corner of the bedroom I never acknowledged. I close the bedroom door, mainly because the door is there, and I have the option to do so.

I place myself between the sheets and drift to a loftly sleep.

And an hour later a garrot ensnares my neck and drags me out of bed. I’m pulled to my feet for masked men to strike me freely with batons. Over and over again, I feel blunt instruments abuse my ribs while a wire threatens to choke me, or worse.

My assailants drop me to the ground and in the corner of my eye, I see the same angry

little man from the security office. Warrick. His eyes all but promise me that he’ll kill me before long. He and his men leave. The sound of the front door’s lock sliding into place offers me no sense of safety.

Oh, Meredith…no wonder you ran from him…

Don’t cry…don’t cry…don’t cry…

#Weaving the Thread: From the Grey

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latte-fairytaekwoon · 3 years

Text

Chosen (Park Seonghwa) Rated

Pairing: Creature! Park Seonghwa × Human! Reader (Female)

Genre: Smut, Angst, Fluff, Sci-Fi/Fantasy AU.

Summary: Symbolizing purity, innocence, and daintiness, the Daughters of Aster had been hand-picked since a young age to be brought up and raised for a very special task: to carry the offspring of the nobility in the kingdom, which just so happens to consist of cold-blooded humanoid creatures. And now that she's become of age, it's Y/N's turn to be auctioned off to the highest bidder.

Word Count: 5.6K

Warnings: Tentai content including tentacle bondage, tentacle sucking, breast play, suction play, breeding kink, penetration with tentacles, multiple orgasms, semi voyeurism, reader is a virgin and Seonghwa is whipped for her, mentions of eggs, and stomach bulges. (It's my first time writing actual tentacle smut so I apologize if it sucks.)

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Gulping harshly as she pressed a hand to open the large, metal gate that guarded the huge mansion, the young woman hesitantly stepped inside the spacious and grim-looking garden. Underestimating the weight of the gate, she softly jolted back when it suddenly slipped out of her grasp and clashed back into place. She winced momentarily when the loud noise seemed to resonate, spooking several of the small critters and ravens that roamed around the small terrain. Glancing back, she half expected an old groundskeeper to swoop out of one of the trees and chastise her reckless behavior. But nothing surrounded the area except the foliage, trees, and rose bushes that added to the beauty of the grand estate.

Gathering back her courage, the quaint young woman took slow and careful steps across the small dirt path that led straight to the front stairs of the mansion. It was a somewhat terrifying architectural design, reminiscent of the old gothic-styled cathedrals from ancient times, not at all fashioned after the pompous and outlandish French designs most of the other members of the aristocracy preferred. The gray stone walls made the place seem cold and distant, the hardly lit windows signaled that it was probably rarely inhabited, and the black ravens perched on the top of the sculpted angel monuments lined up through the staircase only made the sensation feel more haunting and chilly.

Finally, in front of the main entrance, she hesitated as her fingers brushed along the round metal door handle. She felt frozen with fear as she realized there was no returning after all. This was the moment she had been prepared for her entire life. In a few moments, she was about to meet.....

Her master.

Just that thought sent shivers down her spine. She did not wish to ponder too much on the various horror stories she often heard back in the institute, nor imagine what kind of life she would live now as a surrogate to one of...their kind.

In the very moment she lifted her hand once again, she took a jerked back when the door seemingly opened by itself, a young maid looking surprised to see her standing there. Upon inspecting her attire and recognizing the crest that held her dark blue cloak in place, the maid's expression beamed with joy.

"Oh! You must be Miss Y/N correct?"

Nodding her head and affirming it was indeed she, Y/N felt puzzled when the tiny maid practically yanked her inside, albeit not intended to harm her, she simply seemed excited about her presence, which frankly made no sense to her. It was not as if surrogates were treated with kindness let alone respect. When her hands reached up towards her neck, the young woman was quick to stop her.

"Oh please! Let me do that for you."

Although she was not particularly fond of people coming up so close in her personal space, she maintained a calm demeanor whilst the maid removed the long cloak off her frame, delicate hands folding it perfectly and tucking it under her arm.

"I'll have this cleaned and ironed out for you Miss before taking it back to your room. You must be famished after coming here after such a long journey." She paused briefly and examined Y/N's complexion, which seemed rather pale and depleted, making her pout rather sadly at the state their new guest was in.

"If you would like, I can ask the cook to prepare a meal for you. Do tell, what is your favorite dish?"

Y/N waved a dismissive hand at the kind lady's offer.

"Please, do not trouble yourself. I am not the least bit hungry." Indeed, it was not a lie. She was overly anxious and uneasy that she did not believe it to be possible to even fathom stomaching any sort of sustenance at that moment.

"If you do not mind and if it is allowed... I would much prefer to retire for the evening." Y/N humbly requested.

Nodding with the understanding that the new company was weary, the young maid took hold of a golden bell tied around her waist and proceeded to ring it moderately. In mere seconds, a tall sharply dressed gentleman came up and bowed towards her.

"Cedric would you please escort Miss Y/N to her room?"

Gesturing for her to follow, the butler guided her up the flight of stairs into the second story of the house. Passing through a long corridor, Y/N glanced now and then at the outside patio through the windows that overlooked the gardens. They were much larger than what she initially thought, and the longer she looked, the denser the trees seemed to appear. She was so distracted by the scenery that she nearly collided face-first into the poor butler's back had he not spoken up first and made her steps come into a screeching halt.

"This will be your room from now on miss." Producing a string of keys out of his pocket, Cedric unlocked the door and gently pushed it open, stepping inside to make room for Y/N to pass.

Her breath was nearly taken away by the sheer size of the room. It was double the size of the old living space she used to share with 6 other girls back in the institute and was furnished with more than what she'd ever need. The decor too seemed like something more befitting for someone of the family than for someone of her station.

"If there is anything the matter with the decor or should you prefer a different pattern, you may simply speak the word and the Master shall arrange for the room to be modified as you like."

At the mention of the Master, Y/N felt that nerve-racking tingle travels down her body once again.

"Shall you need any assistance, please feel free to ring the bell attached by your bed and one of us will be more than happy to aid you?" Reaching for the door handle, Cedric bid her good night before closing the door to leave her to her thoughts.

Still feeling cold from the long walk, Y/N stepped closer to the fireplace, outstretching her hands in hopes of warming them up. She was grateful that although not expecting her early, they had prepared a nice fire to warm up her room. After getting filled with the heat, Y/N went over to one of the dressers so that she could change into her night attire. Upon opening the many drawers, she was shocked at not finding any of her old clothes, instead, there was an abundance of luxurious clothing which she did not recognize. Storming over to the large wardrobe, she too found that none of her personal belongings had been delivered, they seemed to have all been replaced with new apparel. Knowing that she had no choice, she went back to the first dresser that she had looked in before and rummaged through to find the plainest and simple nightgown she could find. Reaching for the row of buttons training down the middle of her blouse, she undid them one by one with utter care before slipping it off her body, letting the garment fall on the floor. Running the zipper down, her long and flowing skirt joined her blouse, one foot delicately kicking them away for the time being. Standing there in nothing but her undergarments made Y/N suddenly feel apprehensive. She carefully looked around the room again, feeling the strange sensation that someone was watching her. Shaking that thought out of her head, she quickly threw the nightgown over her head and finished dressing. The fabric was soft to the touch and it didn't scratch against her delicate skin, but the most surprising factor was that it fit like a glove on her body. It made her wonder if perhaps they had prepared it in advance or it was merely a coincidence.

Picking up her discarded clothes, she neatly placed them on the table near her, slightly folding them and smoothing them over. Going over to the bed, she pulled back the covers before sliding her body onto the mattress and covering herself. She couldn't help the small blissful sigh coming out of her mouth as her sore limbs welcomed the soft and comfortable bed, the pillow feeling like a fluffy cloud. As she laid there, she began to reminisce about all the events that led up to that very moment, or more specifically, that very morning during the Auctioning.

Hearing the loud applause coming from the other end of the room, Y/N tried to calm her nerves, knowing she was the next one in line to face the crowd. As soon as she took one step forward, she was stopped by none other than the Head of the Institute, who took hold of her wrist and looked at the girl behind her.

"Abigail, you go next. Y/N, you're coming with me."

Without so much as a further explanation, Y/N found herself dragged away from the waiting room where her fellow inmates also looked at each other in confusion at the sudden interruption. Y/N wanted to speak up and ask what was happening, was she not to be auctioned off to one of the many noble families? The old woman of course knew all the questions Y/N had, but she didn't say a word until they were outside in the front of the building, where there was a carriage awaiting her.

"Your personal belongings have already been sent out to your new home. We've received word to have you delivered as soon as possible." Even with that brief explanation, Y/N still didn't understand anything. Noticing her distressed state, the Headmistress sighed softly.

"Y/N, you are not to be auctioned off like the rest of the girls. Someone has already purchased you many months back, but it seems they accidentally forgot it and thus added you to the lineup. Luckily, I managed to find you before you stood up on that platform. Certainly avoided a disaster." The old woman chuckled, yet that did not relieve Y/N's worries.

What did she mean someone had already bought her? Who were they? Where was she sold off to?

Unfortunately, none of those questions were answered, instead, she found herself being pushed inside the carriage and speedily taken away to an unfamiliar side of the country that she had never seen before, away to who knew where until she ended up right in the place she was currently in.

Drowsy and tear-filled eyes eventually closed even whilst remembering the events of the day. Y/N knew she was more than likely lucid dreaming as she slowly drifted off to sleep. She didn't feel fully unaware of her surroundings though, and perhaps it was that skeptical feeling that kept her on edge and guarded against anything around her. It especially came into help when she seemingly felt something stroke her cheek, gliding down to caress the outline of her jaw. At first, she believed it was nothing more than her imagination, but when she felt a thumb running across her bottom lip, she opened her eyes, screaming and sitting up when she saw a dark figure standing right in front of her. He was started himself by her outburst, immediately retracting his hand when he witnessed how agitated his innocent act had made her.

"I'm sorry..... I didn't mean to frighten you." His voice was soothing and low, clearly intended so that she'd calm down.

"Would you mind if I..." His gesture indicated that he wanted permission to come near her again, which she felt like she had no choice but to give.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, the handsome stranger reached out and cupped the sides of her face, moving it slowly to the left and then towards the right, eyes drinking up every detail of her countenance.

"My God, you're even more beautiful than the last time I saw you tending to the gardens in that place."

Hearing those words made Y/N widen her eyes. How did he know about that? Unless...

"Are... Are you my new master?" She couldn't even believe it.

The young man giggled softly.

"If you don't mind, I would much rather prefer if you called me by my name, Seonghwa." He introduced himself. Y/N briefly nodded, but obviously, it wasn't enough for him as he leaned in close, nose nearly bumping into her own.

"Please say it." He urged her to.

"Seonghwa." She breathed out his name, to which he let out a gentle smile as one of his hands moved to tuck some of her hair behind her ear.

"Once again, I apologize for startling you, my dear. I just got impatient and couldn't resist myself. I just had to see you." He confessed before getting up out of her space.

"You must be tired so I'll leave you be now. Get some rest love and I'll see you in the morning."

Y/N expected him to walk towards the same door she had come inside from, but she looked with astonishment as Seonghwa went over towards another door which she had mistakenly assumed to be her bathroom, and opened it up.

"My room adjoins to yours, so if you ever want to come and see me, I'm just a knock away." He fought hard to not laugh at her flustered expression, whispering out another good night before retreating into his chambers.

Y/N released a breath she didn't know she was holding. So far her new master looked...normal? Nothing at all like what she expected from the many tales that roamed back at the institute. Seonghwa was nothing that she expected, exceptionally beautiful, poised, kind, and gallant. But she knew she could not be fooled by his charming manners, after all, none of the members of the aristocracy were actual humans...

And it was only a matter of time before she figured out what sort of monster Seonghwa was.

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Y/N tried to steady her heartbeat as Seonghwa drew closer to her, lips brushing against her own. Although this was the exact moment she had been prepared all her life for, she still felt a tinge of nervousness as she felt Seonghwa's hands clasp around her waist, his body, which was all bare save for the briefs between his thighs, pressing against her own.

"Tell me, my dear has anyone ever kissed you before?" He smiled when she shook her head.

"May I kiss you?" His inquiry sounded so sweet and pure that Y/N didn't think twice about lifting her face and closing her eyes.

Seonghwa's lips were soft, reminding her of the soft petals belonging to the different roses in the gardens outside, precious little buds that she had been granted permission to take care of in the month she had been living with him. He had never once denied her anything and had been very attentive to her every need. And now as he tenderly kissed her, pouring his heart into the loving kiss, Y/N wondered if this is what love felt like, that foreign emotion that she'd often hear spoken about yet always been told it would never be something she or any of the other girls at the Institute would ever experience. She didn't know, but she knew that she enjoyed whatever this was, this feeling of Seonghwa's lips closing over hers, only to pull away and then dive back in, each minute that passed enabling his kissing to become more ardent and passionate. It was truly breathtaking for her, as she'd often find herself gasping for air each time his lips would pull apart from her mouth.

Starting at the corners of her lips, Seonghwa began pressing butterfly kisses down towards her jaw. Y/N's breath hitched, neck tilting back when she felt him nibbling against her skin. It seemed as if he knew exactly where to direct his attention towards, her sharp breaths an indication that she was warming up to his touches. Releasing one hand off her face, he moved it down until his fingers brushed against her collarbone, treading dangerously close to her covered bosoms.

"Now tell me, love has anyone ever touched you here?"

As if on instinct, Y/N arched her back towards his palms when they lightly squeezed at her pillowy mounds, a light, and embarrassed moan being uttered by her for the first time in her life.

"N-no, no one's ever touched me there." Her shy confession made him smirk as he then dropped his hand down to lift her flimsy nightgown.

"What about here? Has anyone touched here?"

Cupping her sex, he found it warm and inviting, his body aching to be inside of her, to fill her up and breed her as he wanted to. He didn't need her to answer, just her mouth going agape and emitting the cutest whimpers he had ever heard was enough of an answer.

"No of course not. You're pure and completely untouched by anyone else....." When she felt his fingers slide across her wettened folds, her hands reached out and gripped against his biceps, using them to keep herself steady as they continued exploring her deepest places. It felt so unusual yet wonderful to have Seonghwa pry open her lips, fingers ever so gradually slipping past her tightness to lodge inside her warm cavern. Once settled, they began moving, pulling themselves out before coming back in. To distract her, Seonghwa stooped down to kiss her once more, it felt more rushed than before, tongue occasionally poking outwards to scrape against the roof of her mouth. As his fingers worked hard to stretch her open and mouth busied in devouring her adorable whines, it was all to prepare her and get her to ease up before he continued with anything. Pulling away with a deep inhale, Seonghwa used his free thumb to wipe away the excess saliva on her bottom lip, breath ghosting over her own.

"Y/N... I'm going to need you to stay calm and not freak out. All right?"

By his tone, Y/N deduced that she was about to figure out just what exactly it was that made him different from her. She could feel him hesitate, looking just as scared as she did the first time she arrived at the estate. Just as she was about to assure him that she was not afraid, she felt something crawl up her legs, it was somewhat slimy and had a couple of ridges along the underside of it. Glancing down, she nearly fell back onto the bed when she witnessed two long tentacles wrapping themselves around her thighs, tearing up part of the silk fabric of her nightgown. Before she could stumble back, another tentacle launched out to wrap around her waist, pulling her forward to help her regain her balance. She breathed heavily, looking visibly shocked as she realized they were coming out of none other than Seonghwa himself. He scanned her face, trying to read her reactions. Scared? Disgusted? Apprehensive? It was rather difficult to make out exactly what she thought about his tendrils holding her steady and tightening around her body. Wanting to test something, he produced two more tentacles, these slightly thinner than the previous ones. They moved closer towards Y/N, who of course, instinctively recoiled from the unusual limbs.

"Don't worry. If I were in your position, I'd be utterly revolted as well." Although he spoke out those words with a dry smile, they held a lot of pain within them and it made Y/N saddened to hear him. Wanting to make up for it, she outstretched her hand towards the nearest tendril, the very limb slightly pulling away when it felt her come near. No doubt Seonghwa was hesitant about having her touch him. Undeterred, Y/N reached out once more, this time the tentacle didn't recoil but subtly leaned into her touch. Ever so slowly, it began to wrap around her arm, looping itself around her wrist, and settling itself on top of her palm. Y/N couldn't resist herself as she softly squeezed at the tender limb, thumb curiously playing around with the tiny suction cups along the underside of it. She couldn't help but giggle when it slightly slithered itself to attach some of the cups onto her palm, applying light pressure that had a rather pleasant feeling. So amused by the bizarre member, she didn't realize that the other thin tentacle had moved until she felt it loop itself on her other arm, the same as the one on her right side. Seonghwa felt relieved when she didn't seem afraid anymore, instead, she now smiled up towards him, fingers gently caressing the smooth surface of his tentacles. Unbeknownst to her, he could feel every touch ministered on them, the tentacles being a part of him, an extension of him. And they were highly sensitive to any sort of contact made with them.

"Can we...can we continue?" There was a slight quiver in his voice that did not go unnoticed by the woman held hostage by his slimy tendrils. Understanding exactly what he was referring to, Y/N nodded, eagerly awaiting to see just how Seonghwa would impregnate her.

Feeling herself lifted off the floor, the tentacles gently laid her down on the bed, detaching themselves momentarily off her body as they began poking around at the semi-ruined fabric of her attire. Grasping at several ends, Y/N gasped astonishingly when they tore off the rest of her dress, discarding the remaining pieces on the floor. Laying there completely naked in front of Seonghwa, who did not hide anything in his stare as they raked her entire body. Feeling self-conscious, Y/N moved to cover herself but the tentacles were faster as they wrapped around her wrists and ankles, holding the first ones above her face while the other ones kept her legs apart, allowing Seonghwa to fully gawk at her wetness. The thought of burying himself deep in her and breeding her made him uncontrollably hard.

Y/N squirmed as several more tentacles sprouted out of Seonghwa's body, making her question just how many he could produce. Two medium-sized ones traveled up her sternum, oozing out some sort of secretion that trickled onto her breasts. The tentacles then latched themselves onto her perky mounds, twisting and pulling at her nipples until they hardened and poked out. They continued to toy around with her boobs, flicking against her sensitive nubs now and then before going back to clamp down and attach their suction cups to her tender skin. Y/N shuddered as she felt them slightly vibrate, adding to the daze-inducing state she was drifting off to.

Just as she was distracted in enjoying the pleasure the two tentacles were giving her, she let out a shriek when she felt another slimy organ come up and flit at her clit. The tentacles around her ankles kept her from closing her thighs, leaving her with no choice but to succumb to the movements made in her delicate button. It felt so surreal, so extraordinary, and she writhed around on the bed as much as she was able to when the tiny end of the tentacle sped up and rubbed faster against her swelling clit, the delicious friction making her mouth water. She wondered if this was the bliss some of the girls back home talked about, the ones who had gone out of their way to break the solemn vow they swore about remaining intact and pure, forcing them out of the Institute as they were no longer considered valuable vessels for future buyers.

"If this is what they enjoyed then, I would have gladly broken my vow too." Y/N mused to herself. But then she remembered had she broken her vow she would have never been able to meet Seonghwa, and she'd grown attached to him in that short period of meeting him.

"No... It's better this way. Having saved my body just for him so he can use it as he pleases. Have me carry his children. Oh, God." She felt herself clench around nothing as she thought about being stuffed by him, carrying his babies. Months before, the idea of carrying the offspring of some humanoid stranger horrified her. Now, it thrilled her and she looked forward to it.

"I'm going to slide a few more inside of you now, ok? It might feel uncomfortable, but I promise I'll make sure you don't feel any pain." Y/N vigorously nodded, the tentacles around her ankles spreading her legs further and bringing them up so her knees were bent.

Two thinner tentacles, even thinner than the ones around her wrists came out and began probing around her hole, stretching it ever so slightly before sliding inside her. Y/N felt them scraping against her tender walls, leaving her flabbergasted at feeling them creep deeper and deeper against her right muscles, stopping once they reached her cervix. Ever so carefully, they position themselves at her opening, prying her cervix open. A dull sting shot up her body, not exactly painful, but it wasn't exactly pleasant to feel. Noticing this, Seonghwa made the tentacles release their hold on her tight rim.

"Perhaps I might need to make use of this after all."

Y/N didn't know exactly what 'this' was, all she felt was the two tentacles lightly thrust inside of her, tips flicking up to tease at her sweet spot. And then she felt it, the tentacles oozed some sort of secretion to coat her inner walls, even moving to spread some of the liquid against the entrance of her womb. The tentacle working on her clit had to momentarily stop when Y/N began spasming, small gasps and moans spilling out her lips, not realizing that she had just had a subtle orgasm, but Seonghwa knew. He felt when her juices covered her walls, causing them to become more slick and wet, an effect produced by the natural pheromones his tentacles had just sprayed inside her, helping her to relax and not feel any more discomfort. Although it would also make her highly sensitive, meaning she would become a sticky and panting mess by the end of it, every stroke or brush inside her body would be heightened considerably. And Seonghwa was rather curious to see how that would play out.

Finally, a rather large and thick tentacle sprung out, heading directly towards her opening. It contracted itself as it skimmed past her entrance, flowing smoothly thanks to the previous tentacles that had worked Y/N's core open and the pheromones he had induced into her. At first, nothing seemed to happen, then Y/N's mouth flew open as she felt the tentacle start expanding, bottoming out inside of her, forcing her stretched-out muscles to widen even more. Unable to resist the urge, she looked down, nearly wheezing as she looked at the tightly nestled tentacle inside of her, pulsing inside her slick covered borders. Just those small pulsing vibrations had her throwing her head back as more liquids seeped out of her. Feeling her arousal coating its skin, it seemed to rile up the large tentacle as it began pushing itself further until it reached the entrance of her cervix.

"Usually humanoids of my kind would place as many eggs can fit inside their surrogate's womb... But I don't wish to overwhelm you with that, especially since it's your first time." With a smug grin, Seonghwa stooped forward and placed a hand on top of her abdomen.

"So let's just try it with two."

The large tentacle began contracting once more, wriggling around as if trying to get something out. Y/N soon felt what it was as a smooth, round, and semi-hard object began pushing itself inside of her. The two smaller tentacles, which were still lodged on the sides of her walls, went back to pry her cervix open, allowing the egg easier access as it traveled through her tunnel and nestling itself inside her womb. Seonghwa watched proudly as her belly swelled up as soon as the egg lodged itself in her, fingers brushing against the oval outline bulging out of her skin.

"So pretty, so beautiful." He praised her, teeth tugging down at his bottom lip as a hidden tentacle had come out to rid him of his last article of clothing, stroking his hardened cock generously, the suction cups paying close attention to his leaking head.

"How are you feeling so far love?" Seonghwa wanted to make sure she was fine before proceeding.

Y/N fluttered her eyes open, soft pants spewing out her mouth.

"Please...more." That was all she could manage to mumble out.

Satisfied by her answer, the massive limb started wriggling once more, popping out another egg that scraped deliciously against the roof of her cave, journeying past her barriers and plopping next to the previous egg, joining it inside her womb. With slight embarrassment, Y/N cried out as another wave of pleasure poured out of her, hands wanting to cover her reddened face at the thought of so easily cumming by the mere thought of Seonghwa's eggs inside her while his tentacle continued throbbing inside her.

"Don't feel ashamed my love. I just so happen to enjoy watching your face contort with pleasure." His admittance only made her more sheepish and flustered.

"We're almost done, love. I just need to fertilize my eggs."

Y/N groaned loudly when the tentacle began moving, thrusting itself in and out, her previous juices seeping out every time it pulled out her body, creating a wet stain on the sheets underneath. Maybe it was her imagination, but Y/N swore she could feel the eggs move inside her, bouncing each time the tentacle pushed back inside her. The tendrils around her ankles and wrists tightened themselves, holding her steady as the tentacle started to plunge itself faster and deeper into her, twitching every so often, a sign it was getting ready to squirt into her womb.

Seonghwa was also enjoying the spectacle, watching closely as he was about to impregnate his darling surrogate, the tentacle wrapped around the shaft matching the movement the larger one was doing. He felt blessed to be able to feel both sensations at once, one being his cock stimulated while his tentacle had to endure Y/N's tightness clench unbearably around his slimy member. It was ecstasy for both of them, their grunts and moans echoing inside Seonghwa's room. Wanting her to experience the maximum pleasure he could offer, the tentacles laid out across her chest went back to their previous task of playing with her nipples, suckling on her tender flesh whilst the one between her legs toyed with her swollen clit. It was all so much for her that Y/N couldn't help it as her third orgasm of the night overtook her, this one more intense and prolonged by the endless amount of attention her body was receiving.

"Seonghwa!" She cried out, tears of over-stimulation brimming at the corners of her eyes.

Hearing her call out to him, Seonghwa himself hissed as the tentacle worked him over the edge, spurts of cum trickling down onto it as well as splattering onto the floor. The tentacle that was now coated with his cum moved towards Y/N's face, lightly tapping on her cheek. Turning to face it, she inhaled sharply and didn't hesitate to allow it to slide past her lips and wiggle inside her mouth. She moaned around the appendage, sucking on it, the sensations flowing back to Seonghwa's cock.

"Oh fuck." He exclaimed, the tentacle pushing itself on the back of her throat while the one between her legs rapidly moved to finish its final task.

Y/N's wailing was partially muffled by the tentacle stuffing her mouth, her body and mind spiraling out of control as she felt thick ropes of warm cum being gushed out of the tentacle and shooting straight into her womb. She could even feel her stomach swelling up even more by just the liquids being poured into her. It was enough to have her crying out once more, a state of euphoria clouding her mind as her 4th high shocked her senses, numbing everything except the feeling of the tentacles around and in her. Seonghwa himself didn't need further stimulation, cumming untouched for the second time when he finally finished breeding her, mouth drawing out long and labored breaths as he started to come down from his high.

Slowly, one by one the tentacles started pulling away from Y/N's body, disappearing back into Seonghwa's body. Both of them groaned deeply when the last tentacle pulled out of her agape hole, some of the leftover cum dribbling out onto the bed. Y/N felt so sore and so full, her hands reaching down to caress her now swollen stomach, surprised at how big it looked. She felt ready to pop at any moment. With utmost care, Seonghwa moved her further into the bed, helping her rest her head against one of the pillows and covering her up with the warm blanket. It wasn't long until she felt his body press up against hers, pulling her as close as was possible as one hand protectively wrapped around her belly.

"Thank you..."

She was so weary after that intense session that she could only mumble a barely audible 'huh?' at his words. Chuckling, Seonghwa pressed a kiss against her cheek.

"Thank you for carrying my babies. You have no idea how happy I am at this moment."

She could only manage to give out a faint smile at his words, fastly falling asleep when she felt him hum a soft tune against her ear.

"I'm so glad I chose you."

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Taglist: @little-precious-baby @multidreams-and-desires @yunhofingers @deja-vux @brie02 @daniblogs164 @couchpotatoaniki @a-soft-hornytiny @yunsangoveryonder @minhyukmyluv @nanamarkie @mingismoon @ateezbabysitters @rainteez02 @harry-the-pottypus

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daedalusdavinci · 2 years

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❝ i haven’t stopped thinking about the way you laugh. i’m hoping i’ll get to hear it again. ❞ superbats.

first attempt at writing superbat is a go. if this is bad no it isnt

send me a yearning prompt!

The sun never shone in Gotham. The city was as dark and brooding as its favorite hero, a looming crowd of old stone and gothic steeples. The neon of convience stores like growths on old architecture shone in the dark puddles that formed on the cracked sidewalks. Every alley was dark and threatening, even in the middle of the day, like the ghosts of people Gotham had claimed were packed together inside. Even without the ban on metas, Clark had never felt at home in the shadows.

The red and blue of the Superman uniform stuck out like a sore thumb on the rooftops of Gotham, and next to him, Clark could practically feel Batman gritting his teeth. He didn't fit in here. He drew too much attention, undermining the way Batman preferred to work and inviting a challenge Batman wasn't prepared to deal with. His presence in Gotham was on a timer, and he was running it out.

He'd only stopped by to show Bruce a file. There was no need to stay longer than it took for Bruce to solve the case, which he did in minutes, turning through the pages with a calculating expression that looked as at home on his face as a smile did on Clark's. "It's open and shut, really. I'm surprised you couldn't figure it out yourself."

Clark lingered over his shoulder with bold familiarity, pressed closer than he needed to be to view the file. Bruce's back was cold against Clark's chest, his heart beating steadily despite the intrusion. It was like Clark wasn't even there, he was so accustomed to the way Clark clung. It warmed Clark, his chin ducking to press his mouth against Bruce's shoulder. He heard Bruce's heartbeat tick up and suppressed a smile. "Is that supposed to be modesty?"

"No." His case closed, Bruce's attention wandered, his fingers fluttering to where Clark's hand rested on his waist. "You didn't have to come to Gotham for this."

"It could have been an email?" Clark guessed.

Bruce's lack of response was response enough on its own.

Clark sighed. "You know you're better with this stuff than I am. And maybe I like to see you, from time to time."

"We see each other at JL meetings," Bruce reminded him.

"You're being obtuse."

Bruce hummed. His fingers slid in between Clark's at last, squeezing. "I'll consider that."

Clark squeezed his hand back, careful with Bruce's much more fragile body. He would have to go soon, he knew, and he fished for something else to say to prolong the moment for a little bit longer.

Bruce beat him to it. His voice was slow and careful, a low rumble against Clark's chest. "There's a charity gala coming up in Metropolis. If I recall, Bruce Wayne was on the guest list."

Clark grinned. All at once, he felt lighter than air, only anchored in place by Bruce's steady presence. "A gala needs press."

"So it does."

"And you might need a little supervision."

Bruce's stillness shattered in his surprise, making him twist to look at Clark. "What?"

For anyone else, it might've been a sign of danger. But Clark's grin only widened. "You don't remember the last one, do you?"

Bruce's blank stare suggested that he didn't. Then, after a beat, his face twisted into a grimace. "Oh, no."

Clark laughed. "Maybe the sunlight will be good for you. The wine, too."

"Shut up."

The way Clark smiled at him was all too fond, laced in with amusement. "You know, I haven't stopped thinking about the way you laugh. I'm hoping I'll get to hear it again."

"Get out of my city," Bruce said, but the embarrassment took all of the venom out of it.

Clark snickered, but he took the file from Bruce, dropping a parting kiss on his cheek. "We'll call it a date."

#superbat #superman #batman #bruce wayne #clark kent #tumblr drabbles #my fics #asks #ashysiashy #i am so very sleepy rn slkdjfndsdf if you see typos no you dont

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sims4lizzyuk · 3 years

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Vampiric tales: A vampire legacy challenge

VAMPIRIC TALES: A vampire legacy challenge

General rules: -All of your sims must be vampires -For each generation, you must complete three aspirations before moving onto the next one -After three aspirations, your elder vampire and their spouse will retire to a huge gothic mansion/castle in another world, relinquishing the title of coven leader. They will still be an ‘elder’ vampire and can be visited for advice, but they are no longer leaders of the coven – simply wise vampires. -Follow these rules from the ORIGINAL Vampire Coven Challenge (which I couldn’t find online), as building a coven is part of this: -You must have two main ‘elder’ vampires who are grand master vampires and the leaders of the coven. The title of elder can only be bestowed upon your family – more specifically, your current sim, their spouse, and the past generations and their spouse. -You must have four ‘elite’ vampires with level 8 logic skill -You must have six ‘guardian’ vampires with level 8 fitness skill -All other minor vampires and above are considered ‘family’ -All vampires ranking below minor vampire are considered ‘fledglings’ -Every time a new generation is born, turn two new fledglings -Keep records of every vampire through books and/or paintings about them -All generations must master the vampire lore skill -All generations must have the ‘vampire creation’ power -The heir to the coven is your eldest child and their spouse -All vampires, once a master vampire, must be immune to the sun -All the vampires in your coven must be random townies that you find. You must turn them and mould them to make them into who you need them to be (not by changing their traits, just by giving them skills and teaching them vampire lore) -Once your starter sim has moved into Forgotten Hollow and has the vampire creation power, you may start turning sims who will become your elite and guardian vampires. You may not create them in advance. -If any of your vampires die (no judgement), you must keep their grave on your home lot -The main members of your coven must live in Forgotten Hollow – Vlad’s house, your house, a house for the elites, one for the guardians and one for another household of family. Once Forgotten Hollow is full, you may expand into other worlds (you may want to turn Newcrest into a vampire world) but all homes must have the gothic, vampiric vibe of Forgotten Hollow -If you want your elites and guardians to retire, they may do this and you can choose new ones but they must have the necessary skills for the role. You may also keep the same ones throughout the generations. -This is designed for all the packs up to Dream Home Decorator – if you don’t have them, just adapt the challenge as you choose.

Gen One Aspirations: Master Vampire, Vampire Family, World-Famous Celebrity Traits: Genius, romantic, ambitious

To do: -Create a vampire sim with a very gothic vibe and move them into Fledermaus Bend – build them a gothic, vampiric home. You may use money cheats for this. -Marry one of the three original premade vampires in Forgotten Hollow – Vladislaus Straud IV, Caleb Vatore or Lilith Vatore. -Win a vampiric spar against Vlad -Have four or more children -Finish all three named aspirations -Retire to a huge gothic castle/mansion in Del Sol Valley

Story: You are new to Forgotten Hollow. You are a young vampire with a lot of dreams – primarily, you want to build your own vampire coven. Your past was difficult, and you decide to move away to Forgotten Hollow. You have your own house just the way you like it. There, you find three other vampires and you make it your goal to get into their good books. They help you to learn all about being a vampire, and they teach you ancient lore. One of them, you fall in love with along the way. The three of them didn’t get on well at first – but once you enter the picture, the four of you become very close. As you gain in power, you establish a small coven of which you are the leader. You start to turn more vampires and to tutor them as you were tutored. You marry your vampire love and start a family. Once you feel satisfied that you are the most powerful vampire in Forgotten Hollow, you start to focus more on relations within your coven. You want it to feel like an immortal family, and you make sure both your children and the vampires you have turned have a good relationship with you. After that… perhaps you can expand beyond Forgotten Hollow. Perhaps you can take over the world. Believing you can do anything, you start to pursue fame. You start to share tales of your coven around the world and eventually, you really do have it all – love, family, money and global recognition. You decide it’s time to pass on the title of coven leader to your eldest child, probably now grown-up and more than capable of handling everything. Assuring your family that you will always be there if they need you, you and your spouse move away to a huge gothic castle in Del Sol Valley to enjoy a much-deserved retirement. You’ve done very well.

Gen Two Aspirations: Soulmate, nerd brain, outdoor enthusiast Traits: Genius, dance machine, ambitious Career: Secret agent

To do: -Complete your three aspirations -Complete the secret agent career -Get married to another child from the coven -Master the dancing skill as well as all those you need for aspirations -Have two or more children

Story: You were raised in the coven as it grew in power, and you see the love and the power that your parents had and want that for yourself – admittedly, the love more than the power. You’re smart and ambitious like your parent, and you also love to dance… although you’re quite mild and modest, there are a lot of things you can do. As you grow up, you quickly find the soulmate you were looking for in one of the other members of the coven – you’re surprised to find that your dream had been right beside you all along. You get married and start a family, and you pursue a career as a secret agent which surprises a few people, but it’s what you really want to do. You’re incredibly smart and have never sought praise for your accomplishments, and a part of you enjoys the secrecy. You focus on your job as well as practical skills – both logic and handiness. Once you’ve mastered your career and even been to outer space, you feel there’s something missing – and, leaving the coven stuff more to your spouse, you find it in nature. You visit Granite Falls and fall in love. This is everything you’ve needed. Your spouse and family are important to you, but you find it equally important to just be with nature. After spending more and more time in Granite Falls, you eventually realise what it is that you want – to just step back from the coven. It’s your parents’ legacy and you’re proud to uphold it – but your eldest child is ready now. You move away to a small and cosy yet, of course, gothic house in a nice, wooded area with your spouse, and settle down into a quiet life with the one you love – although, of course, you’ll still visit your family.

Gen Three Aspirations: Friend of the animals, Freelance botanist, Traits: Perfectionist, good, hot-headed Career: Veterinarian

To do: -Marry another sim from the coven -Have two or more children -Complete the three aspirations -Master the wellness and gardening skills -Always have two or more pets

Story: You’ve always made it your goal to do everything you do to the best of your ability. You want a great life, a great spouse, great kids and pets… you just want it all. You love animals and you love helping people, so you open up your own (naturally, vampire-themed) vet clinic as soon as you are able. As much as you have positive intentions, though, you still have issues with anger – and that just won’t do. You throw yourself into wellness and try to centre yourself as much as you can – and, naturally, you succeed. Your anger still bubbles up to the surface, but you know how to deal with it. In order to aid this, you remember how your parent used nature to ground themself, so you start to focus more on your gardening and find that you enjoy it. Once you’re content that your garden is everything you want it to be, you find a new focus – writing. Initially, you were just writing books for your kids and the coven’s children, just novelty little books about vampires – but then you really got into it and before you know it, you’re writing full novels of all different genres, self-help books about wellness and gardening, records of your coven’s vampires… you become a bestselling author, and eventually decide that you want to focus more on being with your spouse as well as your writing and your career – and on top of running the coven, that’s a little much. You move away to somewhere nearer your vet clinic, and you leave the role of coven leader to your eldest child who you more than trust (perhaps wrongly) to handle it. They may have a lot going on, but you trust that they’ll find a way to work through it. Your other child/ren will be able to support them, at least.

Gen Four Aspirations: Hope vs. Order (Enforcer of order), Public Enemy, Galactic privateer Traits: Perfectionist, paranoid, evil Career: Criminal

To do: -Marry someone from Batuu (after turning them into a vampire) -Master the robotics skill and build a servo -Have one or more children -Complete your three aspirations

Story: You are… an interesting sim. You take care of the coven, sure, but you also believe that when it’s as advanced as this… it kind of runs itself. You’re a perfectionist as well, but in a very different sense than your parent. You don’t trust anyone, and you’re always afraid of people stealing the coven’s power. You’ve never really cared about mortals, and you find it fun to mess with them sometimes. As a young adult, you run away to Batuu and join the First Order – just to stir things up. You live out your life, marry someone from there and work your way slowly up to the top – although, of course, you go back to visit the coven sometimes and check everything’s okay. You trust your sibling/s to handle it – they’re someone you do trust. Once you’ve reached the very top of the First Order, you disappear back home. You’re there for the coven – but you also focus on the criminal career. Your family run the world – but you want to run the underworld as well. You make a lot of enemies and even kill one of them – it wasn’t fun any more, they were just annoying – and life becomes true chaos and you love it. You also start to get into robotics, which you enjoy a lot, and you build a robot to help you with your crime and mischief. Once you’re content that the criminal world is yours and you’re the king/queen of thieves and liars, you return to Batuu – you’ve missed it there – but this time, you join the scoundrels. You find that they’re a lot of fun, so you use your wit and your silver tongue to reach the very top before returning home to your eldest child who’s frowning. They tell you that they haven’t been taking adequate care of the coven and they think you should leave them in charge. You’re more than happy to relinquish the responsibility, so you move away to a villainous lair somewhere and leave your child in charge. Your spouse understands you, even if no one else does.

Gen Five Aspirations: Mansion Baron, Fabulously wealthy, Computer whiz Traits: Squeamish, materialistic, bro Career: Interior designer, Tech guru

To do: -Master the video gaming and fitness skills -Marry a famous athlete (after turning them into a vampire) -Master the interior decorator and tech guru careers -Have other coven members over to watch sports at least once a week -Have two or three children

Story: The coven isn’t as in pieces as one might imagine – you and your aunt/s and/or uncle/s did a pretty good job of doing it while your parent was off in Batuu or being a criminal, so you are more than prepared to run it yourself. You love the gothic style, and you love interior design. You’ll confess that may be a bit materialistic, and if you’re honest, the plasma does gross you out a bit so you prefer to drink from plasma fruit where possible. You stick to the rules with your interior decorating, although you like to put your own gothic twist on it where you can. You also do up your own house and make sure it’s definitely up to your standards. You also love sports, so you frequently work out in the home gym that you installed, and you love to have other members of the coven over to watch the games on telly. When you’re out one day, you can hardly believe it when you meet one of your favourite athletes. Not only that – they seem to like you! You start dating, turn them into a vampire, have a big fancy wedding and start a family together. Once you’re well and truly rolling in it, you discover another passion that you have – video gaming! You add a gaming room to your vampire mansion, and you leave interior design behind to become a gamer. When you eventually decide that it’s time for you to retire, you purchase a lavish house somewhere dramatic – with all the same amenities as your old place and more, of course – and you move away with your spouse, leaving the role of coven leader to your eldest child.

Gen Six Aspirations: Lord/Lady of the knits, Master maker, Party animal Traits: Dog lover, maker, childish Career: Civil designer, freelance crafter

To do: -Marry someone you met at your great-grandparent’s vet (again, turn them if they aren’t already a vampire) -Always have at least one dog from when you become a child -Complete your three aspirations -Have at least four children -Visit every household in the coven at least once

Story: You have a child-like innocence and care passionately about making the world a better place. You loved to visit your great-grandparent at their vet as a child, and you’ve always especially loved the dogs. You focus on innovation to help the environment once you’re old enough to work, and you always look on the bright side. You also support your work with selling some of your knitting on Plopsy – you’ve loved knitting since you were a child. As a young adult, you meet the love of your life at your great-grandparent’s vet and fall in love very quickly. You marry quite young and start a family – a big family. Your spouse is very outgoing and helps you to let loose a bit whenever work stresses you out. Once you feel you’ve done a substantial amount to help the environment with your work and your knitting is getting successful, you decide to cut back a bit and try freelance crafting alongside your knitting – and this goes very well. You’re very happy with your fabrication and your knitting, and you feel like life is good. The coven is still running smoothly as well – once you no longer work full-time, you have more time to spend with your family as well as the coven. As you get older, you find that you really enjoy the social aspect of running the coven, so you start to host frequent parties for the coven. You make sure nobody feels left out, and you’re a real nurturing presence for the coven. Some of the younger members are surprised that such a powerful vampire can be so sweet and caring. When you finally retire to a nice – yet still gothic, that part of your family is as immortal as all its members – home in Brindleton Bay, the coven are sad to see you go but hopeful for the future under the reign of your eldest child.

Gen Seven Aspirations: Jungle Explorer, Archaeological scholar, musical genius Traits: Clumsy, hot-headed, cat lover Career: Manual labourer, entertainer (musician)

To do: -Master Selvadoradian culture, piano and pipe organ skills -Own a piano, a pipe organ and a keyboard -Always have at least one cat -Have at least two children -Complete your three aspirations -Master the musician career

Story: While your parent loves dogs, you are all about the cats. You are not physically gifted and have quite a short temper, but you’re determined to be a good leader of your coven and you’re very protective – enemies of the coven are treated very harshly under your reign. As a young adult, just when your parent is thinking about retiring, you decide to take a trip to the jungle to mentally prepare yourself for stepping up as the leader. There, you discover a real fascination for the culture and the music, and you meet your Selvadoradian sweetheart. You turn them into a vampire so you can live together forever and have a beautiful jungle-themed wedding. Once you’re married, you visit Selvadorada with your spouse as often as you are able and discover new things about it every time. While your kids are growing up, you only ever work part-time so that you can be there for them as well as running the coven and visiting Selvadorada. You become more preoccupied with studying the ancient past – you’ll always be there for the future, but the past from before the coven was founded is something you know little about and are eager to learn more. You love archaeology, and you also love music – once your children are a little more grown-up, you start to pursue your passion for music as well. You learn the piano and the pipe organ, and your music is soon ready to take you all over the world – that’s when you make the decision to retire and leave the coven to your eldest child. You had a good run, and you can’t wait for what retirement will bring for you and your spouse.

Gen Eight Aspirations: Academic, Beach Life, Leader of the pack Traits: Jealous, outgoing, child of the islands Career: Fisherman

To do: -Master fishing and fitness skills -Marry someone you meet at uni -Complete all three aspirations -Have one or more children

Story: The coven is practically ancient by this point, and doesn’t need an active a leader. You’ve always loved to learn and you’re desperate to go to university, so you think… ‘why not? Why shouldn’t I?’ You move out for a short while and have a wonderful time at university while running the coven from afar. One of your siblings in Forgotten Hollow helps out with running it while you’re away, and you promise to come back as soon as you’re finished with your degree. You don’t quite stick to it, but your coven agree once you’ve graduated that you deserve a holiday. You go on a week-long holiday to Sulani and fall in love with the islands. You and your university boy/girlfriend have a wedding there, and you promise yourself it won’t be the last time you visit. Of course, once the holiday is over, you obediently return to Fledermaus Bend, and you spend some time with your coven. You never forget what you learnt in Sulani, though. You host a kava party for the coven, and you continue to fish. You also go frequently to the swimming pool so that you can swim. You’re a natural leader, and you’ve always been good at getting what you want. You can get a little jealous – especially seeing as you struggle with being a vampire and watching mortals come and go – but when that envy comes to relationships, you promise your partner that you’re working on it. You start a few clubs where you can do the things you’re passionate about, and you eventually grow to be comfortable in your vampiric skin. Your coven love you even though you’ve been absent a lot during your reign, and they’ll miss you once you retire to a home in Sulani – the place that has called to you since you first visited.

Gen Nine Aspirations: Serial romantic, Painter extraordinaire, Joke star Traits: Child of the islands, adventurous, cheerful Career: Social media, entertainer (comedian)

To do: -Master the singing skill -Go to the karaoke bar at least once a week -Visit Gen One at least once a season -Have three or more children -Complete all three aspirations -Master the social media and comedian careers

Story: Your parents took you to visit Sulani a lot as a child so you do feel connected to the islands and you love a good adventure – but you’re more comfortable in your own skin. You love being a vampire, and you take full advantage of the fact that you’re immortal and mortals… aren’t. You’re very charismatic and love to sing, and you’re always visiting the big city for karaoke nights, which you post about on social media. You get on very well with the coven’s founder, and they’ve taught you a lot about how to succeed on social media – being a global superstar, they know all about that. You have relationship after relationship… until, eventually, you fall hard. You meet another vampire, a kind and creative artist who takes your breath away. For them, it’s worth leaving your serial heartbreaker reputation behind and before long, you’re happily married. They get you into art as well, and before long, you’re well on your way to having a successful art career alongside them. They always look on the bright side just as you do, and you’re a perfect match. Once your painting career is everything you want it to be, you find a new passion – comedy! You’ve always had a way with words, and you enjoy nothing more than using them to make people laugh. You’re happy, and life is just how you want it to be. When you retire, you move to a house in Sulani near your parents, and you feel more than ready to pass on the mantle to your eldest child.

Gen Ten Aspirations: Extreme sports enthusiast, bodybuilder, friend of the world Traits: Bro, loves outdoors, gloomy Career: Stylist

To do: -Complete all three aspirations -Master fitness, skiing, snowboarding and rock-climbing skills -Marry someone you meet at a Snowy Escape festival -Have at least one child

Story: You love sports and hanging out with your friends, but immortal life… it’s hard. As a younger vampire, you have a great time. You have a successful career as a stylist, and life seems great. With your sunlight immunity, you’re able to spend time in the outdoors. You visit the snowy mountains, you fall in love with someone you meet at a Mt. Komorebi festival… and they’ll never leave you, at least. You love the mountains and you love being outside… but as the mortals you knew grow old and die, you start to withdraw. You don’t visit the mountains as much. You introduce yourself to all the members of the coven you don’t know – for it has many branches now, it’s everywhere and it’s impossible for you to have met everyone in person – and you try to focus on being friends with everyone in your coven. Your coven is what you’re destined for. You can’t help but wonder, though… is vampire life really it for you? OPTION ONE: Continue the story! Gen Ten finds a renewed passion for life in the coven, and their children continue to run it! Choose more stories and more aspirations – use your imagination! OPTION TWO: This is the final generation. Gen Ten seeks out the cure and cures their family of vampirism. They grow old and pass on in peace. The coven is too powerful to die out now, but the main story of the great leaders will end here.

#sims 4 legacy challenge rules #sims 4 challenge rules #the sims 4 #vampires #ts4 vampires #legacy challenge #new legacy challenge

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endobiologist · 3 years

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Trans Guy Tips #5; Dressing Good

Today, we're going to talk about basic fashion, and some things trans guys specifically need to know when buying a new wardrobe.

Some of these rules can always be broken, it's your body and your choice what to put on it!

However, this is a guide for passing better, so feminine and androgynous looks will not be covered here, only the traditional masculine. I will most likely make a guide out on dressing that way later.

1. Match colors, but don't be afraid to throw in some accent detail colors! Usually when you think of fashion, you think of making everything match, however some things will go better with some contrast rather than plainly matching!

As long as it still has some similarity, it doesn't have to be the same.

The most basic rule you need to learn dressing as a man, is that you wear your belt to your shoes.

If your belt is brown, so should your shoes be.

If your belt is black, they should be black.

Usually most fashion rules can be broken, but this one seems to be very important, as it can throw off the whole appearance of an outfit to have mismatching shoes and belt.

2. Use what I call the finger trick.

When selecting a shirt, specifically a dress shirt, put your fingers in the collar between your neck and the collar.

If you can comfortably fit two or even maybe barely three fingers in there, then that's a perfect fit shirt around your neck.

If you can fit four or more fingers, it's loose and will make you look baggy and overweight.

If you can fit only one, or feel any pressure on your throat, you need a looser shirt because it's too tight.

3. Somewhat similar, but when buying pants, this may be the most important thing of all.

If you get the right set of pants, it can disguise even the biggest of curves.

You want to get what's known as a straight-leg jean pant, you can make it a cargo pant if you wish, either one looks very masculine and good.

I would usually recommend bootcut pants if you wear longer shoes, like boots, or combat boots, or anything you need to tuck the jeans into.

Always get pants that don't feel constricting, and always get them where they fit comfortably with a belt, but don't need a belt due to fitting good already.

But straight-leg type is so important to go for, it's one of the things that makes a boxy figure like a cis man's.

4. I'm not sure if this is obvious or may come as a surprise to some people, but even if you like dressing femininely, if you wish to pass, I would suggest always shopping in the men's section.

They have shirts and pants and everything else under the sun that shaped specifically for men's bodies, making yours look even more like a cis man's, which is very gender affirming. Also women's jeans are made to support the butt and make you look feminine and curvy, while men's are designed to be straight, boxy, and comfortable, usually with deep pockets too!

5. Similar to the matching rule before, you can match a busy pattern shirt with a plain pair of pants, or busy pattern and pants with a plain shirt. However if you put too many busy patterns, or too much plainness, either way makes you look not as good.

Try to balance the detail with the simplicity.

6. Overall the most masculine thing you can wear especially pre-t, is either a formal or casual suit.

You can even wear just a dress shirt with a tie or bow tie, with some dress shoes and pants, and you're good!

This just generally makes you look super masculine and it's hard to mistake.

7. if you're like me, where you like to dress flamboyantly, but you're also super dysphoric about it, wait until you get testosterone therapy.

If you end up having it and you start seeing positive effects before dressing femininely, it's great!

I did this and now I feel totally comfortable with it, as no one ever misunderstands me even if I wear the most feminine things ever.

So if you're going on t, feel free to dress more extravagantly during because you will pass even so!

8. Another way to check shirts that are long sleeved, particularly dress shirts, is to tuck it in like usual, and then lift up your arms really high like you're reaching for something.

If it untucks or lifts the fabric in an unflattering way where your armpits look huge, it's cut wrong and is not something you should buy.

9. This may be surprising to some, but yes, cis men will wear feminine designs on masculine outfits.

I can't count the number of times I've seen men wearing bright pink suits. Other times there's been crop tops, painted nails, hair done, everything.

So if you really like that button up with the flowers on it, but are feeling hesitant due to the feeling that people might judge you, don't worry!

Maybe some will, but a lot of people wear unique clothing, and no one will be as bad as what your thoughts say to you.

10. I have somewhat of a warning, as good and fun they are, t-shirts can be very revealing when it comes to showing your chest, even through your binder! Something about them isn't cut quite right, even if they come from the manliest man's site or store.

If you still wish to wear t-shirts like I do, I would recommend getting a short-sleeved or long-sleeved Dickies button up jacket/shirt that you wear open over it. Or any jacket thing, really. This covers your chest completely and negates that effect.

11. This is sort of more hygiene base but still has to do with getting dressed. Always use men's soap, and men's cologne, and men's essential oils, and men's lotion, if you have them.

Also use some aftershave, it's helpful if it has lotion mixed in and moisturizes as well.

You can even shave even if you're pre-t, due to it making a clean feeling due to there being no feminine peach fuzz on it. This can help support dysphoria relief, as well because it feels like you're shaving a beard, at least until it comes in.

When your moustache and beard do come in from testosterone, if you take it, make sure to oil it lightly with natural oils like argan oil or coconut oil, the stimulates hair growth and follicle health.

And I would recommend shaving just once as it starts developing, so it develops thicker, stronger, and more handsome.

12. If you're planning on going on t, buy at least some of your clothing a size or a few sizes up, or getting a duplicate that's larger.

You will grow, so if you buy all your clothing in a smaller size, you'll probably end up unable to use any of it.

13. Always position your belt buckle in the center of your stomach, the way you can tell if it's positioned right is if it lines up with the buttons of your button up perfectly.

14. When wearing a suit try to always keep the bottomless button unbuttoned. That button isn't actually there to be used, it's meant to be unbuttoned and it makes it look so much better.

The reason it looks so much better is because it makes it flattering and thinning. If you button all the buttons, it will make you look heavy due to it tightening around your waist and stomach.

15. You should always have at least two pairs of dress shoes. one pair that's black, and one pair that's brown. Same with belts. It's also recommended for summer that you keep one pair of masculine flip flops or sandals or sneakers around.

16. This is more of a suggestion than anything, however it's manly as fuck, and people love it.

If you carry a work knife, a pocket watch, a small portable multitool, and a handkerchief.

Possibly even a pen and small notepad with you at all times.

This may seem odd at first, but it's what men used to do constantly in the older days.

These items can come in very useful. A work knife can open packages, open letters, be used in place of scissors occasionally, and even used to defend yourself and others.

A pocket watch is just fancy and shows you're always trying to be on time.

A multi-tool shows you're ready for any task, and it can be a lifesaver in many situations!

Meanwhile a handkerchief is important, because if you ever come across someone crying, or someone wounded, you can lend them or give them your handkerchief, which is a very gentlemanly thing to do, and it can help you pass better, as well as it just being a kind thing to do for someone.

The pen and small notepad is always good to carry on you regardless of any gender, due to you needing to write things down often.

17. Ironically, although socks with sandals seems to be a fashion 'no-no' to most people, I quite like them, and it seems like I pass better with them.

Men tend to wear those slip-on flip flop things, and when you wear socks with it it makes you look very masculine, even if it may look silly to some.

Personally I like it a lot.

18. If you do wish to do makeup & nails, I would suggest doing it as black and gothic as possible, as that's the most common style guys do it as, and if you do it in a certain way, it can come out looking way masculine.

And that concludes my fifth part of this Trans Guy Tips series!

Thank you for reading, and I hope anything I said helped!

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winchesterxxi · 3 years

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Urges of the Subconscious (Din Djarin x Reader) | PART 1

Gif by @keanurevees

Rating: E (Explicit)

Type: Smut

Pairing: Din Djarin x AFAB!Reader

Summary: Stationed in Tatooine for the night, courtesy of Peli Motto, you and Din are forced to share a room. Thinking that it was more than obvious that the two of you weren’t together, you both expected to find two separate beds - that didn’t quite happen. Sleeping next to the person you’ve been having dreams about for a while now leads to some unconscious shuffling closer to each other - culminating in quite the interesting morning.

Word Count: 3.6k

Warnings: One bed trope, SMUT (wet dream, rubbing, blindfold, nipple play/breast play, fingering)

A/N: I haven’t written for Din in so long, god, I missed my favorite bucket-head. This is also a long one because my gears are oiled and working, so bear with me. Also, part 2? 👀

Buy me a Kofi!

✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸

When Din had told you that there was a fault in the differential and exhaust manifold of the Razor, you knew that meant a trip down to Tattooine. You weren’t particularly excited about it – the scorching hot weather mixed with the sandy landscape always made you feel gross and heavy, sensations that you weren’t particularly fond of.

The child on the other hand, at the mention of a need for repairs, cooed in excitement, eager to encounter his adored Peli Motto, who he seems to have absolutely smitten. Nothing wrong with that, in fact, it was nice to see the kid being in someone else’s arms without fearing for his life.

Down on the rocky ground in front of her secluded shop, Peli looks up at the shadow that suddenly allocated itself in front of the sun, only to adjust her vision and catch the Razor Crest slowly descending closer, until its landing skids contacted the red ground and the large cargo ramp started to lower itself.

Into her vision came what she secretly nicknamed as “The Space Family”: You, with the baby in your left arm, and the imponent Mandalorian just a couple of feet behind, a gothic painting, some would say one that was slowly making their way towards her.

“We brought the Child!” You amusingly exclaimed, grinning as her smile immediately grew and the child was already trying to wiggle out of your embrace.

“Easy there!” she exclaimed as the child cooed and babbled in her arms, content with the reunion

“How much do you want for it?” she asks you “Just kidding. But not really.”

“The kid’s still not for sale. But I have a few repairs that need to be done.” Din intervenes. You know he isn’t being purposefully stern, but the man could sure use some lessons on loosening up and being able to understand a joke.

“Always a pleasure to talk with you, Mandalorian.” Peli greets with an expressionlessly sarcastic face that falls upon her as soon as she looks up from the child “Point me in the direction.”

After a close inspection alongside the Mandalorian, they both returned to where you and the child stood before he reached for Peli once again and you laughed at his tiny attachment problem.

“ I can get you out of here tomorrow at around noon.”

“Noon? Peli, we can’t stay overnight. People need us.”

“People can wait. Can’t they?” She asks the question in a higher-pitched voice directed towards the kid who she bops in the nose before turning back to you and Din. “And sure you can! There’s a small holsterly just a few miles down the sand, an hour walk and you’ll be fine.”

“We only have credits for the maintenance.” Says Din from your right side.

Peli is about to throw a quick answer, as she always does, but something stops her. She closes her mouth and looks down at Grogu, who happily jiggles the tiny ball between his fingers. She smirks and looks up at you two again, adjusting the kid in her embrace.

“Tell you what. You let me take care of the kid for the night, you two go and have some rest, Maker knows you need it… and the maintenance is on me.”

“We’re not leaving –“ the Mandalorian starts but you quickly cut him off, placing a firm hand on his whistling bird, settling him.

“Deal.”

“Wh- What?” He shakes his helmet in your direction.

“Come on.” You tug him along your side, heavy beskar boots reluctant to move, as you wave back at Grogu and Peli who is smiling like two children who will, more than definitely, be up to no good in the following hours.

But he knows better than to make a scene with you when you are playing nice. So he waits until the pair that was left behind to be out of sight to pull you by your elbow to face him.

“Are you out of your mind?”

“No, but we are almost out of credits.” You reason with him, picking up on his sentence. “Din, she did a nice thing… not all people are out to get you.” Your voice is calm, and it takes all of your strength not to reach out and touch him, maybe caress the helmet of his cheek, or his hand. But he’s who he is, and you don’t want to cross any lines.

His towering figure lets go of your elbow and he walks ahead through the sand, talking over his shoulder.

“This is the first and last time we’re doing this.”

You grin and bit your bottom lip behind him, feeling victorious from having him wrapped around your finger in situations like this, before speeding your own stride to catch up to him, feeling the heat reflected on his beskar hit your skin.

It was a small inn, there was no doubt, more like a one night resting home for the looks of it, the offer ranging little above a few sleeping quarters along a hall and a shared bathroom at the end of it.

Once unlocking the wooden door, you and Din stepped into the now moonlit room, which ended up being more spacious than anticipated.

With Din closing the door and locking it once again, your eyes scan around the carved walls and the big window, the tapestry on the floor and then – the bed. The only bed. Not even a couch on the other end of the room. Only a bed.

Din seems to have noticed it too as you feel him come to a halt right behind you, helmet turning to scan the room.

“Why would they give us only one bed? I specifically said it was a two people bedroom.” You can feel his aggrieved tone sip through the helmet, frustrated with the situation.

“Two people. Not two beds.” You scoff and he looks at you, causing you to look away and avert your smile from his field of vision – how unskilled Din was with such mundane tasks always amused you. “I’m afraid this one’s on you Din Djarin.”

You walk over to the bed and start to peel the layers of your leather uniform, down to your undershirt and panties.

“Woah, what are you doing?” Din asks you, turning his helmet away once his helmet falls upon your bare legs.

“Getting to bed. You should too.” You state in a deadpan voice, before sliding your legs underneath the cotton sheet and laying your head in the fluffy pillow – something you haven’t had in months.

“No, yeah, I can see that! But I-… do you… Are you…?” he stumbles over his words, awkwardly still standing in the middle of the room at the bottom of the bed.

“Din, rest. Come on, it’s not every day you have a real bed to lay on.” The man huffs and walks over to your opposite side of the bed, before pulling the covers back, getting ready to seat down, before you shoot up on your elbow.

“Aren’t you going to take the armour off?”

“Why would I? Hostile planet, unknown people sleeping next door. Peli might contact us at any minute.” He has a big list of reasons, and he could more than definitely go on, but something in the way you are looking at him through the visor stops him.

“Din. Nothing bad is going to happen for one night.” Your eyes were honest and they pierced his soul melting his insides and kicking his usual hunter instinct out the window.

Not being able to resist, he drops his shoulders and sighs, before reaching for his chest pauldron and unclasping it while you grin victoriously.

“The helmet stays on.” He warns you, while pieces upon pieces of beskar and leather fall to the ground, placed against the foot of the bed until he is in nothing besides his fitted undersuit and beskar helmet.

Reaching for the covers once again, Din finally sleeps into the bed and as soon as his back hits the mattress he releases a quiet grown and you chuckle.

“Better?” you ask him, face turned his way and cocking your eyebrow up.

“Better.” This time, to your surprise, he’s the one that chuckles, the vibration of the modulated sound going straight to your stomach.

“Goodnight Din.” You whisper, turning your back to him and placing your body in your preferred position to sleep. With one look at you, the only nothing he can now see is the moonlit outline of your curves as your ribcage rises and falls at the rhythm of your quiet breath.

He’d be damned if anything happened to you. For as paranoid as he was the possibility of someone breaking in at the dead of the night and harming you, stopped him from turning his back to you and instead, settling with his chest up to the ceiling, helmet turned in your direction.

“Goodnight.”

For the first time in Maker knows how long, both you and Din managed to sleep during a full night with no sudden wake up calls or alarms beeping around. It was nice, he had to admit. So nice, that his body got a little too comfortable, his hands in his slumber reaching for your body and your own figure, unconsciously draw to his embrace let itself be held by him during the long hours of the dark – none of you being aware of such.

But somewhere along that time, in the wee small hours of the morning, your body rotated in his arms, back to his slowly moving chest and his hands, unbothered, had to keep touching you, they had to make sure you were there, hence gently palming your right boob.

It wasn’t until you felt an involuntary squeeze of his bare hands against your tunic, a definite sleep spasm that you were pulled awake and made aware of the situation.

Heat flooded your whole body once you realized the compromising position you both found yourselves in. Gently humming Din’s name, you don’t dare to move his arm, being very aware of his hunter instincts.

“Din.” You repeat again, this time louder and the man behind you hums. At the same time as the sound leaves his lungs, his fingers squeeze yet again. You suck in a breath and bite your bottom lip, preventing any sort of moan from escaping.

Din groans once, the sleep still gripping his system but he must’ve soon realized where his hand was, forearm trapped beneath your weight as he quickly pulls it away, sitting up straight in the bed.

“Kriff. I’m so sorry, I didn’t intend to-“ His chest is rising and lowering heavy, and you can see a hint of the red skin that heats on his neck and upper chest.

“It’s alright, I know.”

A heavy silence hangs in the air, you having since sat up in bed, back against the headboard, only your breathings and and heavy tension floating in the air. You were pretty sure your cheeks were still pink, as they still felt hot.

“I don’t want you to think that I wanted to do anything to you. I would never.” He says, coming off harsher than intended. It’s not that he didn’t want to be with you, Maker, he did, he had fallen head over heels a long time ago… But, maybe you didn’t feel that way. You were too good for him, anyway. A puddle of light in his life that he didn’t want to corrupt with his own being.

“Would it be so bad?” You whisper, afraid that he really didn’t want anything to do with you, slightly hurt by the words he’d just said.

Silence remains and you look to your side only to find the beskar helmet turning in your direction, your hopeful eyes and hung mouth pleading for a genuine answer.

Feeling bold, you reach for his bare hand that rested against the mattress and hold it up to where it was before and he is silently following your actions, but you can feel his muscles tensing at your actions.

“What are you doing, Y/N?” His voice is strained as he looks away but dares not to move his hand.

“Din. Please.” You whisper in a broken voice and that’s all it takes for his helmet to return to face you.

“If I start, I’m afraid I won’t be able to stop.”

“I don’t want you to.”

There is a moment there. One of silence, but that was heavy with unsaid words. A look into your eyes was all it took him to pull your hips gently down and lay you back on the soft mattress while his body shifted to be above you.

His rough fingers gently tugged at one of the straps of your tunic before pulling it down and off your arm, same as with the other one that followed, leaving the thin fabric still splayed over your chest, from where he could now see the hard buds straining through.

Your breathing deepened and you could feel heat pool at your core, shifting your thighs closer together, an action that didn’t go unnoticed to the masked man above you as your knees brushed his crotch.

“Mesh’la.” He whispers, looking down your body, his erection pressing against the fabric of his confined pants.

Putting all of his weight on his elbows, the Mandalorian slides the fabric of your tunic down, revealing your swollen breasts, courtesy of the arousal he was fabricating in you. His fists curled at the sudden need that he had, one that he couldn’t fulfil if there was the possibility of you seeing his face.

Sitting back on his knees, he reaches out to the floor on his side of the bed, where he remembers to have discarded his armour and other layers the night before. When he sits back up, you can see that he is holding one of his undershirts, the one that went directly under the leather layer, made of a soft black fabric.

He motions it towards your head as if asking for permission to put it around your head and all you can do is nod while bitting your bottom lip, eager to give in to the pleasure he intended to deliver.

You lift your head from where it was resting against the pillow and his gentle hands tie the fabric around your eyes, making sure that it was tight enough for it not to slip, but not too much so that it would hurt you.

In the darkness that you found yourself surrounded by, all your other senses tingled in anticipation, especially your touch and hearing as from somewhere lower above you, a hissing sound filled the air, followed by that of metal being placed on wood.

Still sitting on his knees, his eyes could now see you in all of your glory, without the darkening of the helmet. And you were a sight to behold. Hair splayed around your head on the pillow, lips parted in anticipation, breasts aching for him. To the latter he gave in first, lowering himself to attach his lips to your left nipple, his breath fanning over it for a moment before diving in.

You suck in a sharp breath and moan at his action, while one of his hands finds your free nipple, not wanting it to go unattended.

“Din, that feels so good.” Your head lifts up and then drops with a small thud against the pillow taking in shallow and quick breaths as his fingers and tongue continued to tease your sensitive buds.

His mouth and hands were equally skilled, the latter, rolling your bud between his thumb and forefinger, as quick jolts of pain and pleasure rushed through every nerve in your body.

He stayed there for a long time, switching sides every now and then, mouth sucking and tongue lapping and brushing against your nipples.

He sucked and moaned around it every time his tongue stroked the tip of your nipple and your hands fumbled between grabbing the sheets below you or his soft hair, body arching up wanting more. More of him, more of that sensation, just more.

With your tunic still draped over your torso the one hand of Din’s that wasn’t supporting his weight travels down to your core, thick fingers brushing against your clit and soon after trailing a path up your dripping slit, moaning when his digits became wet.

“Did that make you wet, cyar’ika? You like it when I play with your nipples?” his husky voice sent waves of arousal up your body.

“Yes, Din, you’re so good at it, please.” You reach your hand down to palm at his erection “I need you, please.”

Gently he grabs your hand from his crotch and places it down next to your head. “Next time. We need to get going in a few if we don’t want to burn under the midday sun. But I can still make you feel good.”

You moaned at his willingness to prioritize your pleasure over his, going as far as denying himself of an orgasm at this crucial moment, which would have him frustrated until the next time you could be alone together again.

His lips return to your nipples and, at the same time, he slides two digits inside your aching cunt, the warmth and clenching around his skin making him whimper around your nipple, making the pleasure skyrocket on your part.

The outer rim of his free hand now rested against the mound that was free from his mouth’s hold, as his middle finger flicked up and down against the tip of your nipple, making you cry out in pleasure as it synched perfectly with his ministrations against and inside your core.

It was all too much, and tears pooled at the outer corners of your eyes, leaving an eventual wet trail behind as they ran down your cheeks, until being soaked by his shirt that rested around your eyes.

Your body convulsed under his frame, arching against him as a wave of white pleasure washing over you like never before, the joined ecstasy of his two places of stimulation pushing you with full force over the edge you were chasing.

Din rode your high until he felt you could no more, never for once slowing his movement in between your legs as your cum dripped down his fingers and into his palm, and making the most of your sensitive nipples by bringing both your breasts together with his large hand, positioning them in a way that both nipples were almost touching, allowing him to lick and suck at the two simultaneously.

Once your body is spent and limp, chest rising and falling trying to catch your breath and trying to drive some oxygen up to your brain as you felt like being high, Mando finally lifts his face up to your own and, for the first time lets his lips latch onto something other than your chest. The kiss is deep and wet, his tongue roaming your lips before exploring your mouth.

Din then sits back up on his knees, chuckling as your head followed his once your lips parted, not wanting to separate just yet.

His bare hand reaches to the side table where he’d laid the helmet and puts it back on, coming away from straddling you and rather returning to his side of the bed, pulling you in by your waist to his side and sliding the shirt up from around your eyes

He watches you smile, still in the aftereffects of your orgasm.

“Hey.” You muse up at him.

“Hey.” He answers, the helmet preventing you from seeing the lopsided smile that adorned his beautiful face.

“That was…”

“I know.” He completes your thought.

“Was it so bad, after all?” You close your eyes as the question leaves your lips, the exhaustion of this morning activity starting to wash over you.

“Not even close.”

As if on cue, the first ray of sunshine makes its way through the window glass and you know that it means you need to get dressed and out of this place. Din notices it as well, patting your side before slinging his legs over the edge of the bed and standing up.

“Come one, mesh’la. We need to go.”

“I know.” You groan up to the air. “But this is so comfortable.”

“The faster we get there, the faster we can go into the Razor and the closer we are to putting Grogu asleep.” He tells you, hands on his hips, a teasing tone on his voice and damn it, he got you good.

“I hate that you know me so well.” You huff with a smile, crawling up to his side of the bed so that you’re on your knees on top of the mattress, still, he towers over you.

“Can’t wait to know all of you.” He whispers as his helmet comes closer down your face and his hands travel to your waist. He then gives it a little squeeze before patting your ass. “Come on now, let’s go. I have a feeling someone is waiting to make grabby hands at us.”

“I was about to say you have a stationed ship waiting to take off, but I’m glad to see you have your priorities straight.” You muse over your shoulder, walking to the small bathroom adjacent to the bedroom.

As you go, Din stays behind adoring the view of your hips swaying and ass jiggling as you walk.

“Oh, you have no idea.”

He really couldn’t wait to know all of you.

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