#i know it’s sort of mentioned by people around him | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

gf2bellamy · 1 day ago

Note

Hii! I am in love with your writing! Specially the sunshine!reader x Spencer, I don’t know if you are taking new requests, if you aren’t feel free to completely ignore this, but I would love to see your take in one of the BAU member (maybe Emily) sort of call out Spencer in the “soft spot” he has for reader. And he’s all like I don’t???? But ofc they would notice this bc 1. They are profilers 2. They just know him. I can imagine Emily’s speech on how it’s ok to let people in and how she thinks they would be good for each other 🥰 or idk something better you can come up

Anyways I just want to thank you for sharing your writing with us 🤍✨

good — spencer reid

pairing: spencer reid x fem!reader ( no use of y/n ) content warnings: postprison!spencer so mentions of insecurities in regards to that a/n: hiii !! this is such a wonderful idea <3 i wasnt entirely sure if you wanted post!prison spencer but i thought it fit your request best so i hope thats alright !! <33

Emily narrowed her eyes as she studied the scene unfolding before her. There you and Spencer were, sitting close together in the back of the jet.

Spencer was leaning in slightly, helping you solve a crossword puzzle. She watched as his fingers brushed yours gently when he took the pen from your hand, as he wrote the next answer. You glanced up at him, as if you weren't sure whether to be grateful or flustered.

He’d practically solved the whole thing in the blink of an eye, but instead of simply finishing it, he waited for you to catch up, his gaze flickering to yours every so often with a small, encouraging smile.

Emily couldn’t help but shake her head as she looked out the window again.

It wasn’t the first time she had seen the two of you like this—closer than anyone else on the team. She could see it in Spencer’s eyes—he had a soft spot for you, no question. The way he took his time with you, how he tried to make you laugh or ease your stress, it was so different from how he interacted with the rest of them.

And as much as she had grown to appreciate the dynamic, Emily had to admit, she was getting tired of watching both of you dance around the obvious.

Emily couldn’t remember the last time she had seen Spencer smile this much, this freely. It had been a long road since his release from prison, and though he was slowly piecing himself back together, it was clear that you played a significant role in his recovery.

The way he would light up at the smallest of gestures from you, or the way he would seek out your company without hesitation—it was a refreshing change.

Her thoughts were interrupted by your laughter—loud and genuine—as Spencer cracked a joke about one of the crossword clues.

Emily’s eyes flicked to the two of you just in time to see your shoulder brush against his, your body language open, comfortable.

But it wasn’t just your laughter that caught Emily’s attention—it was the look Spencer gave you in that moment. His eyes lingered on you, soft and warm. Emily noticed the way his lips curled upward ever so slightly.

Emily sighed inwardly, leaning her head against the seat. She wasn't sure what either of you were waiting for, but she hoped, for both of your sakes, that you would stop pretending like nothing was happening between you.

The next instance was when Emily had had enough.

The moment you and Spencer walked into the bullpen together, Emily's gaze immediately locked onto the way he had a hand resting casually on the small of your back.

Her eyes nearly popped out of her head. She knew she wasn’t imagining it—there was no mistaking the way Spencer was always hovering just a little bit closer to you, the way his body seemed to naturally gravitate toward yours.

“Do you want some coffee?” Spencer asked you. You hesitated for a moment as you approached your desk, dropping your bag down with a soft sigh.

You glanced at the stack of files waiting for you. “Yes, I have like 20 files to get through,” you said, shaking your head. “I’m going to need that coffee.”

Spencer smiled. “I’ll make you one,” he said, his tone soft as he set his own bag down on his desk. He didn’t waste a moment before heading toward the break room, but not before he threw one last comment over his shoulder. “I’ll help you with some of your files later.”

He didn’t wait for your response, though Emily could already predict what it would have been—a quick “No, that’s fine.”

You didn’t want him to do too much for you, but Spencer had this way of offering help, and even though you would have rather tackled the work yourself, you knew it would have been pointless to argue with him.

You bit your lip, trying to suppress the smile that threatened to slip out as you watched him leave. You turned your attention back to the files, your hand instinctively covering your mouth to keep yourself from letting out the giggle that bubbled up in your chest.

Emily saw her opportunity and took it.

Without hesitation, she walked into the breakroom, where Spencer was carefully pulling two mugs from the cupboard.

One was your favorite—white with a print of Snoopy lying on his red doghouse. Spencer had gotten it for you on your birthday after overhearing you talk about how much you loved Snoopy as a kid.

The other mug was his—bright yellow, with an image of Woodstock perched happily on a branch.

That one had been your gift to him.

Emily still remembered the way Spencer had reacted when he unwrapped it, his fingers brushing over the design as realization dawned on his face.

“Snoopy and Woodstock have to stay together,” you had said with a grin, eyes twinkling with amusement.

For a moment, he had just stared at the mug, lips parted as if he couldn’t quite find the words. Then, without thinking, he had pulled you into a tight hug. You had stiffened for half a second, caught off guard, before melting into his embrace.

Emily had caught the entire moment from across the room, sharing an exasperated look with JJ. The two of you were so painfully oblivious to what was right in front of you.

Now, standing in the breakroom, she cleared her throat.

“Morning, Spencer,” Emily greeted, reaching for a cup of her own.

Spencer, clearly lost in his own thoughts, blinked at her before nodding. “Morning, Emily.”

He carefully poured coffee into the Snoopy mug first, taking his time, as if it was second nature to prepare yours before his own.

“Have a good weekend?” she asked casually, watching him with thinly veiled curiosity.

He glanced at her briefly before continuing his task. “Yeah. I was happy to have some days off,” he said with a small nod, carefully placing your cup aside before starting on his own. “You?”

“Yeah. Thanks,” Emily replied, swirling her own coffee absentmindedly. She was biding her time, figuring out the best way to ease into the conversation she really wanted to have.

“Did you do anything fun?” she asked, the question innocent enough but leading somewhere more intentional.

Spencer shook his head. “Not really.”

Emily hummed. “You know, you should do something fun.”

Spencer finally glanced at her, a little suspicious now. He knew Emily too well to think she was just making small talk. She wasn’t one for casual, meaningless conversation.

She didn’t say anything else right away, though. Instead, she took a slow sip of her coffee, eyes drifting through the breakroom window, settling on you.

You were sitting at your desk, chewing absentmindedly on the end of a pencil, clearly lost in thought. Your brows were furrowed as you studied whatever was in front of you, your lips pursed slightly.

It was such a small, unconscious habit, but Spencer had noticed it long ago. He had seen you do it a dozen times when you were concentrating, and for some reason, it was something he always found himself captivated by.

Emily turned her gaze back to Spencer, and—just as she expected—his eyes were already on you.

And then, just as quickly as he had let himself get lost in the sight of you, he pulled himself away, dropping his gaze back to his coffee as if it had suddenly become the most interesting thing in the world.

Emily smirked. Gotcha.

“She’s good for you, you know,” Emily said, her voice softer now.

Spencer’s grip tightened slightly around the handle of his mug. He stared at her for a moment.

Then, just as quickly, he looked away again. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he muttered.

Emily chuckled. “Spencer.”

He sighed, shaking his head, but Emily could tell he wasn’t annoyed. Just… hesitant.

“You should tell her,” she said, shrugging.

Spencer swallowed, his fingers twitching slightly where they rested against the counter. “It’s not that simple,” he finally admitted.

Emily tilted her head. “Why not?”

Spencer didn’t answer. Not immediately, anyway. But he didn’t have to.

Emily already knew.

She knew Spencer was afraid. Afraid of ruining what he had with you. Afraid that you didn’t feel the same way. Afraid that, after everything he’d been through, he wasn’t allowed to have something good.

"She likes you too, you know that, right?"

Spencer stilled, the metal spoon clinking softly against the ceramic mug as he hesitated. Emily’s words hung in the air between them, impossible to ignore.

His grip on the spoon tightened slightly before he forced himself to continue stirring his coffee, feigning indifference.

“You don’t know that,” he muttered, his voice quieter than before.

Emily huffed. “Spencer, you’re a genius. Do you really expect me to believe that you haven’t noticed the way she looks at you? The way she leans into you when you talk, the way she lights up when you’re around?” She tilted her head, eyes sharp as she studied him. “She likes you, Spencer. And you like her. So why are you making this so complicated?”

Spencer swallowed, staring down into the dark liquid in his mug. “Because… because what if I ruin it?” His voice was barely above a whisper, but Emily heard him.

Her expression softened slightly. “You won’t.”

Spencer let out a humorless chuckle, shaking his head. “You don’t know that either.”

Emily sighed. She could see it now—the self-doubt, the hesitation, the fear that had been planted deep within him after everything that had happened. After losing so much.

He was afraid of getting too close, afraid that if he let himself have this, it would eventually be taken from him, just like everything else.

Her voice gentled. “Spence, it’s okay to let her in.”

He glanced up at her then, his eyes conflicted, torn between hope and uncertainty.

“She’s already in,” Emily continued. “You just haven’t let yourself admit it yet.”

Spencer exhaled, his shoulders slumping slightly.

He wanted to believe her. He wanted to let himself have this—have you. But that lingering fear, that quiet voice in the back of his mind, kept telling him that if he did, he’d lose you too.

Emily must have sensed his hesitation because she suddenly reached over and took the spoon from his hand, placing it on the counter with a firm clink.

“Talk to her,” she said simply. “Or don’t. But don’t sit here and pretend like this doesn’t exist. Because we both know it does.”

Spencer stared at her, then down at the two mugs once again.

Snoopy and Woodstock.

A pair that was always meant to be together.

And then, before Emily could say anything else, he grabbed both mugs and walked out of the breakroom—straight toward you.

Emily watched as Spencer placed the coffee in front of you. You barely even glanced at the mug before flashing him a wide, grateful smile as you wrapped your hands around the warm ceramic.

Spencer’s lips quirked into a soft smile, his eyes lingering on you a little longer than necessary. Emily caught the way his fingers twitched at his side, the way he hesitated—as if debating something in his head. Then, as if gathering every ounce of courage he had, he took a deep breath.

And then—he said something.

Emily couldn’t hear it from where she stood, but whatever it was made you freeze. Your mouth dropped open slightly, eyes widening in surprise.

For a brief, agonizing second, Spencer looked like he regretted saying it, his expression shifting into something nervous, almost panicked. His fingers flexed at his sides, waiting for you to react.

Then, suddenly—your face broke into a huge smile.

A real one. The kind that made your eyes crinkle at the corners. The kind that held no hesitation, no uncertainty. The kind that answered whatever question Spencer had just asked.

You nodded. Quickly. Eagerly. Almost as if you couldn’t believe it had taken this long.

And Spencer—who had been watching you anxiously—grinned. A wide, relieved, genuine grin.

He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, his whole body seeming to relax. His fingers tapped lightly against his leg before he instinctively reached up to push his hair behind his ear, a nervous habit that Emily had seen a million times before.

Only this time, it was different.

This time, he was happy.

He glanced at Emily from the side, as if checking to see if she had seen everything unfold.

Emily, still watching, simply smirked and shot him a small, knowing smile.

Finally.

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visionsofyouandme · 3 days ago

Text

two tickets north (here’s to never looking back)

𝚜𝚢𝚗𝚘𝚙𝚜𝚒𝚜: Joel comes to your rescue.

𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝: 4.8k

𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜/𝚝𝚊𝚐𝚜: No Outbreak!Joel Miller x F!Reader. Sort of dbf!Joel. Reader has absolutely no descriptors other than having messy hair. Legal age gap (reader is in her 20s, Joel is in his 50s). Established secret relationship. Reader has a bad relationship with her father. Mentions of/allusions to domestic violence (brief). Names of affection (“babygirl,” “darlin’,” “sweetheart”). SMUT (18+MDNI) Unprotected p in v. Pathetic!Joel. Body worship. Creampie. Joel cannot get enough of you (for real). Not proofread.

𝙰/𝙽: Well, well... I have returned? Sort of? Writer's block is a bitch. I have a million WIPs that I'm trying to work through, and this is one of them. Watched a movie that inspired this, and I just couldn't get it out of my head. Hope you enjoy! <3

Read here on AO3!

You awoke to the sound of knocking on the trailer door. You sat up, glancing at the clock on the nightstand. You frowned, seeing it read 1:26am. If it was your dad, he wouldn’t have knocked so gently. More like barreled through the door and drunkenly run into the coffee table like he always did.

So, you knew it could only be one other person, and you jumped to your feet. You grabbed a robe just in case and pulled it over your shoulders, clad only in one of his shirts and a pair of shorts that didn’t leave much to the imagination. If no one was home, you didn’t care about modesty.

So you tightened the tie around the waist and pulled the main door open, and his frame awaited you on the steps of the double-wide trailer you called home.

Joel Miller. Your father’s employer, and casual friend.

And, as fate would have it, your secret lover.

You were surprised to see him, seeing as he typically calls to alert you of his coming. You threw the screen door open, and beckoned him to come in. You stole a glance around the dirt road leading between the rows of trailer homes and saw no one being nosy. It was late, after all, on a Saturday night. People were out at bonfires or drinking at crusty bars with their friends, lovers, and others.

So, you were thankful for the privacy.

Closing the door, you turned around to face Joel, opening your mouth to scold him, knowing your father could have been home if he showed up-

But, he took your face in his hands, and kissed you fiercely. He seemed to be vibrating with energy, and you put your hands around his wrist, prying yourself away from his kiss as much as it pained you to.

“Joel, what are you doing here?” you questioned breathlessly, and he looked down at you in the dim yellow light of the kitchen light not too far away. He smiled lightly, though you could tell he was holding back.

“Pack your things, babygirl.” he said, and you looked at him with a confused expression. He smoothed down your wild bed-head, looking over your face like it was the first time he saw it. “We’re goin’ north.”

“What?” you questioned tiredly, having just worked a double shift at the local diner all day. Nearly 12 hours of smiling and running around, taking orders and then closing up shop wore you out. You were trying to process the information while still half asleep.

“I cashed out the business.” he said, and you raised your eyebrows, then frowned.

“What? Why?”

“You always talked about runnin’ away, going someplace different, away from your dad. You remember when I said I would take you one day, away from all this? Well, this is it, darlin’.”

You looked up at Joel in disbelief, your heart seemingly stopping in your chest.

This was it? Finally, your opportunity to leave Texas behind?

“Where up north?” you questioned, and Joel’s hands dropped from your face, turning and heading to your room with a purpose in his step.

“I’ll tell you on the way. You gotta pack now, darlin’. Your dad, he could be home any minute. I left him at the bar, but he could find Neil or somebody to give him a ride.” he explained, and you could only watch in shock as Joel fished out the suitcase from the closet. It was covered in dust, rarely used. But now, it finally had a purpose again. He picked it up and turned into your room, flicking the light on. You hurried after him, pausing at the doorway as he began opening your dresser and tossing clothes in the suitcase.

“Joel, I can’t leave, not like this. I need time.” you said, and Joel looked up quickly, pausing with a handful of your socks.

“Honey, we’ve talked ‘bout this. He’s no good. You do more around here than he ever does. He wastes all of his time and money on beers and hookers.” he said, and you cringed at the truth of it all. You put your money towards rent and groceries every month while he sat on the couch with a beer in hand and staring at the latest game on TV if he wasn’t “working.” Joel had told you he noticed that his drinking had gotten worse, and therefore his productivity had plummeted.

You couldn’t stay here any longer. All of that, and the marks on your arms and back were also evidence that this wasn’t a place for you to call home anymore. The diner barely paid, and you had nothing else tying you here other than the sad excuse for “family.”

“I can’t just sit by and let all of this happen to ya. Not anymore. We’re leaving.” he said, and began putting more clothes in the suitcase. He opened the closet and flicked on the light, and looked around at what to take first.

“Joel,” you began, and he put his hands on his hips, assessing the row of clothes in front of him. You put your hand on his shoulder, and he turned his head to look at you. You weren’t sure what he saw on your face, but his certainly fell to something pitiful. “I-”

“Please, babygirl, say you’ll go. I can’t leave you like this, I won’t leave you like this-”

“Joel. I’m coming with you.” You said, breathing out at your own admission. He regarded your face for a moment, and then took your face in hand and kissed you deeply. The kiss was less fervent than before, but one of pure and utter relief. You lingered in his touch for a moment and then pulled away, your hand coming to rest on his chest.

“Can you go to the bathroom and get my stuff there?” you questioned, and he looked down at you, pressing his forehead against yours. He nodded gently, and gave your cheek a firm peck before speeding past your side to the bathroom. You then shoved clothes in your suitcase, moving about the room to pack anything you could that was sentimental. You took what was left of your jewelry that your dad hadn’t pawned off and put it in a small container. Fishing out a small felt box in the depths of your dresser, you pulled out your late mother’s ring and put that in your suitcase safely.

You had to lay on the suitcase, putting your body weight on it to shut it tightly, and Joel came in with a small bag of toiletries. It was smaller than you thought, and you frowned,

“I’ll get some stuff for you on the way. But we have to go now.” He said, and picked up your heavy bag with ease, turning and heading to the living room. Your heart hammered in your chest and you grabbed your handbag, giving one last look at the room where you spent nearly 15 years of your life in. You looked at the stack of records longingly, and the mixtapes beside it. Pictures of old friends and family long gone from your life. Trophies from high school sports and a diploma. Things you would have to let go. Some replaceable, some forgettable, and others? Not at all.

But right now, you didn’t have a choice.

You headed out to the living room to find the front door slightly ajar, Joel nowhere to be seen. You stuck your head out the screen door and saw him loading the bags into the bed of his truck, where you already saw several of his own bags resting there.

You touched your messy hair and figured you could fix it in the car, headed God knows where with Joel in the driver’s seat. You had traded your pajamas and robe for a pair of jeans and a faded grey t-shirt with your dirt-covered tennis shoes. Your life was now in two bags packed away in Joel’s truck, and you were finally getting out of this damn house.

Joel turned to you when you came to the truck, and he opened the passenger door for you. You gave him a light smile as you loaded yourself inside, sliding your handbag between your legs on the floor. Joel was in the driver’s seat in a moment, and kicked the truck into gear. You looked back at the trailer one last time, the realization that you’d never see it again not hitting you yet. With a jerk the truck swung out of the driveway, heading down the rows of other mobile homes just like yours. You spotted Mildred Oliver standing on her porch, smoking a cigarette, her eyes narrowing in the streetlight as she watched you and Joel ride by. You should have felt ashamed, worried that she would tell your dad. Worried that this could all fall to ruins.

But, with how fast Joel was driving, you didn’t think your drunk father would ever be able to catch up. You liked to imagine him coming home to an empty house, your presence wiped from the place and as desolate as the desert you and Joel were setting out across to get to wherever the hell you were going.

You could hear your father’s anguish, see the way his lips would turn into a sneer, and he would be at a loss of where you could have gone until Mildred would come and deliver the news to him. It would be only then that he would realize his boss had run off with his daughter, promising to give her a better life than the one she had here.

Coming to the entrance/exit of the trailer park, you breathed out softly. Just before Joel was about to turn, you spotted Neil Wells’ truck pulling in to the entrance.

You saw your father in the passenger seat for a fleeting moment- eyes glazed over, leaning against the window, clearly in a drunken stupor. He didn’t even look your way, and your chest deflated when he disappeared from view. Joel said nothing, but put a comforting hand on your thigh as he turned right.

Joel pulled onto the highway, the buildings of outer Austin, Texas disappearing as the desert came into full view. It was still pitch black out, and the light pollution turned less and less as you drove away from the city you used to call home.

And when you saw the stars, the moon, the Milky Way- they were all so clear and beautiful that it finally settled in at that moment. You could feel the relief come over you like a wave upon the shore, and you leaned back into the seat a little easier, your shoulders dropping from your ears. You felt Joel’s hand wrap a little tighter around your thigh, and you turned to see him staring straight ahead with a hard expression. But, his touch was soft, gentle, comforting. You put your hand over his, and leaned your head back on the headrest as you sighed into the air conditioned truck cabin. It smelled so familiar and so like Joel that it was almost as good as being wrapped in his arms. He spent so much time on this truck fixing it up lately, and now you understand why.

A getaway car.

“Where are we going?” you questioned quietly after the sign for the next city was briefly illuminated by the headlights:

Dallas 178 Miles

“I had some arrangements made for us up in Wyoming. My little brother- you remember Tommy? He lives up there now with his wife and son. Said it’s real nice. Good community. I think you’d like it there.” Joel explained, his thumb beginning to rub circles on your thigh. Your eyebrows furrowed, but understood everything perfectly clear. You knew the younger Miller brother from years ago, as he used to work with Joel at his contracting business before moving north for greener pastures. Last you heard he had married a woman named Maria and had settled somewhere in Wyoming, so you stored all of this new information in the back of your mind.

“And he’s okay… he’s okay with us?” you whispered, and Joel glanced over at you with a half smile. He nodded, his eyes flickering between you and the road.

“‘Course he is.” he said.

You felt he was lying, though you weren’t sure about what.

But, you couldn’t fight it. You were too tired, and the clock on the dashboard read 2:17am. Joel could sense your tiredness and took your hand in his and gave the top of it a kiss,

“Get some sleep, darlin’. I’ll wake you when we stop.” he said, and you nodded, trying to get comfortable against the door of Joel’s truck. It only took moments as you had fell asleep, dreaming of a new life.

When the truck rumbled to a stop, you were roused from your sleep before Joel could give your shoulder a shake. You looked up, blinking up at the neon “motel” sign, and rubbed your neck gently, sitting up. Joel said something about waiting in the car, and he went to the lobby tucked away to the left. You looked around, seeing the place was somewhat deserted with only a few cars parked in front of the rooms. Joel returned moments later with a key in hand, and telling you softly and gently that he had a place for you to really sleep.

You slid out of the truck, and while Joel insisted on carrying your things, you managed to wrestle one from his grip and grabbed one of his own for good measure. You lugged the bags to one of the rooms thankfully on ground level. When Joel opened it, you didn’t care for the musky scent that smelled vaguely of cigarettes or the barely illuminating light above. You just wanted to sleep.

Joel seemed to be worn down from the drive, and you truly didn’t know how long you had been driving. There was only one bed, though you didn’t complain about that. You always felt you slept better at Joel’s side anyway.

You set down your things and walked to the bathroom to splash water on your face, coming back to see Joel pulling off his boots. Kicking off your shoes and shimmying out of your jeans, you crawled into the scratchy sheets, hearing Joel shuck his own jeans off.

When the bed dipped, signaling his arrival, you sighed as he wrapped you up in his arms. He had taken his flannel off and was just in his dark blue undershirt and boxers. You rest your arm over his stomach, nestling your face in his neck. This was what you wanted, just to be close to him. To finally feel at peace, to finally feel loved, to finally feel safe.

“It’s alright, darlin’, I got you.” he whispered into your forehead, and you nodded soundlessly, falling back asleep with ease in Joel’s arms.

When you awoke, you blinked to let your eyes adjust to the stream of sunlight escaping between the curtains pulled tight in the motel room. It was already getting to be hot again, the Texas weather wafting it’s way through the thin walls of the motel and into your climate. You shifted, and you felt Joel next to you, most likely still asleep. Your thoughts began to rise up, rearing their ugly heads and demanding to be addressed. What possessed Joel to let go of his thriving business? Why did he come in the dead of night? Why was he so… out of sorts? So many thoughts, so little time to deal with them-

You felt a hand on your hip and you looked over your shoulder to see Joel watching you sleepily.

“Mornin’, pretty girl.” he mumbled, and you smiled, but it was fast and faint. Joel must have sensed your unease, because he moved and sat up a bit, rubbing his eyes.

“Are you… are you alright?” he questioned, his hand still resting on your shoulder gently. You turned to him completely, sitting up and blinking away the remnants of sleep, willing your body to catch up with your mind.

“Joel… is everything okay?” you questioned, and Joel’s eyes moved between your own, and you could tell he was assessing you, trying to see if you were having second thoughts. You weren’t, of course, but you just needed clarification. You needed some kind of reason, some kind of explanation. This wasn’t something to be thought of lightly, this was a big step for both you and Joel. Him coming up in the dead of night to whisk you away to somewhere up north with the promise of a new life was… exhilarating, but also worrying.

“”Course it is, darlin’.” he said quietly, and reached up to touch your cheek gently, and you put your hand over his, but didn’t move away. You still craved his touch despite your worries, and you knew he would never do anything to hurt you. But, you still had a sinking feeling in your stomach. “I want you to have a better life, a place where you can be happy, where you don’t have t’worry. And I wanna be the one to give that to ya.”

You looked at Joel with a soft expression. He had really done all of this just for you? Given up his life, his business, his home just for you? You wondered what would happen to his house, one you had come to know and love over the months you had been meeting. You would miss the early mornings where you would share coffee, the living room where you would curl up to watch a movie together, the bedroom where you would make love and where you both confessed you loved each other for the first time.

You just had no idea he would go to these lengths just to make you happy.

“You… Joel, that’s so much-” you whispered, feeling tears well in your eyes and he pulled you close, pressing a kiss to your forehead, then your cheek, then your lips.

“I’d do anything for ya, darlin’. Anything you want, you can just ask- in fact, no, you don’t even have to ask. It’s yours, no matter what.” he said, and smoothed his hand over your hair. You looked up at him and he brushed against your cheek as a few tears fell. No one had ever gone to such lengths to make you happy, to get you out.

But Joel did. He loved you, you knew that. But this? This went deeper than just any regular display of affection. This was the ultimate confession and action of pure love.

“You can finally paint your- our bedroom whatever you want. You can make your office, or studio, whatever you want it to be. You can make anything and everything happen, sweetheart. I’ll see to it, and help you get there.” he said, kissing your forehead gently. You leaned into his touch, and wrapped your arms around his waist. He pulled you into his lap, shifting your legs to lay across his lap and he held you close, rocking you gently. He kissed your hair gently, pressing his nose there to inhale your scent.

“I’m yours. Always have been, ever since that Fourth of July celebration.” he murmured, and you nodded gently, wrapping your arms around his neck, pressing your face there. You weren’t sure when you first realized you loved him. It was gradual, but also all at once- every step, every movement, every touch, every glance led to this moment.

You looked at him, his arm wrapped tightly around you, almost possessively. He leaned his forehead onto yours, and kissed you softly, his hand coming up to hold your cheek gently. Your heart fluttered in your chest, and you moved your body instinctively against his, craving more. You were about to embark on a new chapter of your life, and Joel was the one to make that possible. Kissing him a bit harder, your hands curled into his shirt and he turned his body, rolling over under the sheets to hover above you. He wore only his boxers and the shirt, and it was suddenly too much. You craved his touch, and your hands moved under his shirt, touching the skin of his sides, his belly, and up to his chest. He seemed to pick up on your movements and sat up to pull the shirt off and over his head. You sat up and mirrored the gesture, and he paused, looking down at your nearly naked form, save your underwear.

“You’re gorgeous, darlin’. And you’re all mine.” he murmured, and you gave a light nod of confirmation, a small smile on your lips and he moved back over you. His head immediately dipped to your breast, the perfect size to him, and he kissed the skin around it, then suckled on the nipple gently. You leaned your head back, a hand going through his hair with a soft sigh.

His hips grinded against yours with purpose, measured, but still gentle. He worshipped your breasts as his hand moved to take over the ministrations of the one he had abandoned as he turned to the other and began to suck on it a little harder than the other. You whined softly, lifting your hips for more. More, more, more.

Joel kissed to your sternum, resting his forehead against your chest as he moved his hips against yours, his erection apparent and aching against your core. Your hand that settled through his hair tightened just a bit, and you pulled him up to capture his lips. Your eyes fell closed, and he moaned into your mouth gently like you had brought him to his knees with only a kiss. His hand moved from your breast to your side, his fingers splaying on the skin there, feeling it like it was the first time.

“Joel,” you whispered against his lips, and his hands found the waistband of your panties, sliding them down your hips with ease. You assisted in kicking them off, your hand moving to his boxers and cupped him through the fabric. He grunted softly, his hand moving down to your core, his index and middle finger sliding through your folds, coming back with slick coating his fingers.

“You’re so wet for me… All for me. I wanna feel you,” he whispered, his voice aching with want like this was the first time he had taken you. You nodded viciously, giving his member and gentle squeeze and he leaned his forehead into the crook of your neck, “Fuck, if you keep doing that, I’ll come. Let me- fuck- let me feel you first. Please.”

He sounded pathetic to the outside viewer, but you could only shiver at the desire in his voice. He slipped his boxers down his thighs and barely had them off until he was pressing his member against your slick folds, using his hand to run the tip through the slick and letting it gather on him.

“Mmm, , Joel-” you whined, feeling your body become overtaken with fire, and your hand gripped his bicep as the other wrapped around his back. Nails dug into his skin, and he sucked in a deep breath, and nodded in response. He was right- you didn’t even have to ask. He just knew.

“I got you, babygirl. I’ll take care of you,” he murmured, his free hand moving against your cheek in comfort and he slowly slipped into you, both of you giving a chorus of sighs and moans.

“That’s it… so good f’me.” he murmured, his voice trembling. He began to rock his hips against yours and quickly pulled your knee up, your leg wrapping around his waist like it was second nature. You shifted in the bed, lifting your other leg up and whined at the feeling of him sliding deeper into you. He kissed at your neck gently, then up to your jaw, his tongue sliding out just a bit to taste you.

“Takin’ me so good,” he murmured, his hips moving back and forth with a steady rhythm, the bed rocking gently and the springs groaning under the movement. You shifted, your fingers digging into his back as the other moved from his bicep to his face. Looking up at him, he was already gazing at you with immense love and adoration. It was enough to make you feel lightheaded- the realization that he was yours dawning on you.

“Joel,” you whispered, your lips parting in pleasure as he hit a particularly good spot inside of you. He could feel you clench around him, and he groaned softly, kissing at your neck and then chest with reverence, like he was worshipping an altar.

“I l-love you,” you murmured, and he let his hand move down to your hip, his thrusts getting just a bit harder, the sounds of the bed confirming that.

“I love you, too, babygirl. I’m not gonna let anything happen- shit- nothing is gonna happen to you. You’re mine,” he murmured, and you stiffened as your peak began to rise. You bit your lower lip, wanting to come with him but knew it was no use. He always took care of you first, even if he was aching for it. His muscles tensed under your touch, and you lifted your hips to encourage him and your own high as well.

“I’m yours,” you echoed, devouring his lips with a hard, bruising kiss. He gave a hard thrust and a soft curse, and your toes began to curl, your body winding up only to let you go with a soft cry, eyes shut and body shaking.

Joel’s grunts were almost lost on you, his hips becoming sloppy but erratic, like he was chasing the feeling of you and trying to reach every inch inside you. Your hand moved to his hair, leaning your head up, pressing your lips to his ear,

“Are you mine, Joel?” you whispered, eyes fluttering with the remnants of your own orgasm, and he sucked in a sharp breath against your shoulder, and he nodded furiously. His body tried to fuck through his high, but he came so hard that it brought him to a stop. He mumbled words into your shoulder as his member twitched inside you with spreading his spend inside you. You caught words like “yours,” and “love,” and you leaned your head against the side of his face, all that was left in the room was your syncopated breaths of recovery.

He gave a slight thrust, and you whined, your legs sliding from his waist. He slipped out of you, and instead of moving away he lowered himself onto your body gently, his face resting on your chest. He turned his head to kiss at your chest after a few moments, and licked up your sternum to your chest. You laughed gently, your hand resting on his shoulder,

“Easy there, cowboy. I need breakfast before round two.” you said, and a chuckle rumbled low in his chest. He raised himself on slightly shaky arms, and kissed your lips gently. He nodded, and stood up, walking and then returning from the bathroom to clean up the mess you two had made to the best of his ability.

“Shower?” he offered, and you cocked an eyebrow,

“Did you see how tiny that thing is?” you teased, and he shrugged, sitting on the bed next to your relaxed form. “Or is that a thinly veiled suggestion of getting me to participate in round two?”

“It can be whatever you want it to be,” he said with a sideways grin, leaning forward and giving your forehead a kiss before walking to the bathroom. You sat up slightly, admiring the backside of his form as he walked away, your eyes tracing up his back and seeing the red marks there. Reminders that he was yours, and only yours.

And you were his.

After your respective showers and getting dressed, you and Joel left the safety of the motel and put your bags into the back of Joel’s truck. You sighed, rubbing your eyes and climbed in as he made a quick check out. He came back to the car, sliding inside and put a hand on your thigh, glancing behind him as he backed out and onto the road.

You looked forward as the highway came back into view, and you felt your stomach flip with worry that turned into anticipation.

Joel had made this future possible for you, and without hesitation, it seemed. You were feeling an array of emotions twist in your chest and swirl in your mind like smoke. But, above all, you were feeling free for the first time in your life. You took Joel’s hand in yours as you looked out the window as the Texas sun shone around you, unaware of his flickering gaze towards you.

The day seemed so bright, so full of potential.

And your future felt the same way.

Thank you for reading! Comments, likes, reblogs are appreciated <3

Divider by @/saradika-graphics !

#joel miller #joel tlou #joel miller x reader #joel miller x you #joel miller smut #joel miller x ofc #tlou hbo #joel miller fanfiction #pedro pascal #visionsfics #no outbreak!joel miller

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redwinelew · 2 days ago

Text

TO A VERY GOOD LAWYER

pairing matt murdock x female afab reader (no part 2 requests pls)

summary you and matt spend the night together after he represented you in your case

warnings set during daredevil born again. 18+. smut. fingering. praises. yearning. mention of drugs & (inaccurate portrayal of) insomnia. english is not my first language. not proofread.

author's note sorry to my followers who are mostly here for f1 content but i'm trying to get back into writing fics so i think i will turn this into a multifandom blog from now on ✌🏽

gif credit | masterlist

"and the jury finds the defendant.... not guilty."

in a few short days that you've known matt murdock, you find that he is a determined man. once he has set his mind onto something, it'd be very hard to convince him to do otherwise. he proved this by telling kirsten mcduffie that he wanted to represent you in your court case after you have been falsely accused of drug trafficking. though you once did in the past, not only dealing but taking as well, you have left that world, went to rehab and is now sober. you were careful enough not to leave any trails that could be lead back to you. but this time, you were framed. foolish of you to think that those people you were involved with would let you go that easily. and you were foolish enough to think that they'd believe you when you say that you would keep everything from the authorities.

you were going to accept the fact that you might never step foot outside of those tight four walls you were going to call home soon, to never feel the heat of the sun on your skin again, when you the door clicked. matt showed up, introducing himself and you held your breath. you only spoke four words, "i can't afford you". eyeing his blue suit and briefcase, they indicated that his service won't be cheap. but he quickly dismissed your concern, already sitting in front of you. and the next words that came out of his mouth were a promise that will get you out of this mess.

and now you are a free woman, all thanks to him.

"woo!" you cheer as the champagne bottle pops. matt smiles as you pour it into both your glasses. he was kind enough to let you go through his cabinet. to even invite you to his apartment and cook for you after the case is done.

"should we toast? i think we should toast!" you answer your own question, which makes him chuckle again. it feels like a reward to get to see this real version of you, an 180 contrast to the terrified one before this.

"to your freedom." he says, raising his glass.

"and to a very good lawyer."

your glasses clink and you both sip your drink. you take this opportunity to cast a glance at his apartment. he knows how to take good care of his home despite his disability. not a speck of dust can be seen. his kitchen was quickly sorted out after he cooked dinner for the two of you earlier. his movement were smooth though he was still careful around the stove and knives. you'd be lying if you say you were not impressed. some men even with all their five senses working, are not as efficient as he is.

"how are you feeling?" he asks, moving away from his island to the couch.

you sit beside him, one leg tucks under the other while leaving a respectful distance between the two of you. your champagne glass has been put aside on his coffee table. you tilt your head up, staring into one specific spot on his ceiling, thinking. not long after that, a smile grows on your face as you look back at matt, his unfocused eyes behind those red-tinted glasses waiting patiently for your answer.

"i feel great. relieved mostly. and i feel free. because i'm no longer looking at jailtime. and it's all still very bizarre to me that we won. all thanks to you, of course."

no longer do you have to look over your shoulder, waiting for trouble to come. justice has been served and you are free from your past. free to start a new life in the busiest city in the world.

"i just don't know what to do now. i mean i know i should try and get my apartment back. find a new job but it all seems very overwhelming. like i don't know where to start. i don't even know if i can do this. i know it won't be easy. people are not very kind to former addicts, you know? even when we're trying our best to be sober." you add, choosing to be honest about what has been worrying you since you were freed.

"well, i can't say i understand how you feel or what you're going through but take it slow. you can do this. take your time. it won't be easy but i've been doing this for a long time. i've seen my former clients get back to the top after their cases. i've seen them in a place better than they ever were. you can do it too. i know you can. i believe in you."

then matt reaches out to place his hand on top of yours on the couch, interlocking your fingers together

"make me proud, okay?"

your heart flutters in your chest. his hand decorated in blue-green veins feels big and warm, covering your small one completely as he gently squeezes it.

the way he's talking to you, with that deep timber of his voice you have begun to like a little too much, it shouldn't feel this intimate. the room suddenly feels too small, too hot and for once you're grateful that he's blind or else he would see how easily he has made you flustered. your mind starts to race with forbidden thoughts about him that you shouldn't even have dared to think about.

unbeknownst to you, matt is able to hear the change in your demeanor. your pounding heart, the sharp intake of your breath, how your body freezes at his words and only then he realizes what he's doing. quickly matt removes his hand from yours.

"oh, i'm— sorry." he mutters an apology before clearing his throat.

you shake your head, forcing a smile knowing he cannot see it. "it's fine."

matt fixes himself, manspreading on his couch. his rubs his thigh awkwardly, before taking the opportunity of this awkward silence to read you. you've changed your position, now leaning forward. you are fidgeting with your fingers in an attempt to calm your racing heart. and then he feels it, smells it. the way you're pressing your thighs together and that sweet scent of your arousal.

matt inhales shakily, nails digging into his own skin.

fuck.

"you want more champagne?" he offers, because he himself needs it right now.

you snap out of your daze. the silence lingers as you process his offer. this might be a bad idea. you never liked being drunk but god, you'd take anything to get your mind out of the gutter right now.

your voice trembles as you confirm. "yes. thank you."

he takes your glass without another word, navigating back to his counter. the champagne pours smoothly into your glass. he walks back to you and you murmur a thank you as you take your glass back.

matt reverts back to the kitchen. he can't let himself be too close to you right now. not after knowing what he knows. so instead he pours the last bits of champagne into his own glass. exhaling deeply, matt leans back against the island, before sipping his drink.

however hard he tries, he just can't stop thinking about your reaction. the fact that you're sitting there, pressing your legs together in an attempt to relieve yourself, wanting him, and he can't do anything about it because he respects you too much and the consequences of his colleagues finding out about this would be too severe.

"you uh.... do you have anywhere to stay tonight?" matt breaks the silence, finally popping the question. he never thought he'd want you out of his face as soon as possible but this is for the best of you both.

you look up, and the answer is easy.

"no. i don't." you shake your head as you reply. your family cut ties with you after you got into drugs and you don't have any ride-or-die friends that are willing to let you crash on their couch for a few days.

pause again. an idea pops in his head. a terrible one and matt clenches his jaw. before he could even stop himself, his body already betrays him, facing you from the kitchen. "well, you're welcome to stay however long you want."

your eyes widen at his offer. you blink, thinking that you've heard him wrong.

"w-what? i.... what about you? where will you sleep?"

he smiles softly. "i'll take the couch. it's fine, really. after what you've been through, i figure you'll need the rest anyway. take the bed."

you are left dumbfounded. you stare down at his couch you're currently sitting on. matt is tall, and this couch doesn't look that much comfortable for him to sleep in. you also think about the fact that you'll be sleeping on his sheets, surrounded by his scent everywhere and immediately you know that this is a terrible idea.

"n-no, i can't.... you've been too kind to me, mr murdock. i can't possibly kick you out of your own bed."

matt can't help the chuckle from leaving his lips. you're being too polite, as if you're not currently wet for him.

matt knows this is literally the opposite of what he needs right now. he can already imagine the sleepless nights. thinking about you tuck away safely under his duvet, wearing his shirt, his scent on you, with you lusting after him, it'd be too much for him too handle. but what's worse is leaving you to sleep in the streets.

"no. you're a guest. a woman. and everybody loves to brag about how much of a gentleman i am. i need to live up to my reputation."

the sound of his laugh sends tingles down your spine and straight to your core. you swallow. if only he knew how much you want him right now. his laugh sets your body on fire as a familiar warmth pools between your legs. you shift awkwardly on the couch, trying to will it away.

"you don’t have to pretend to be a gentleman for me, mr. murdock."

pause.

his jaw clenches at your words. hands gripping the glass in his hand a little too hard. matt wonders if it just slips, like you didn't even think about your words or if you're well aware of the implications.

it's a mixed of both.

you didn't think before you speak, but you're also glad. because seeing the way his jaw tightens at your words, the muscles under that white shirt tensing, and how the glass in his hand might just shatter soon confirmed your theory. he wants you too. and matt can't be that blind to not notice your attraction toward him. but the fact that he's restraining himself from doing anything about it frustrates you. the case is done. he is no longer your lawyer. nothing is tying you two together, if that's what he's so worried about.

you want to break him.

"it's fine, really. take the bed." he chuckles and repeats himself again, trying to act casual. "and stop calling me "mr murdock". it's matt."

"matt." you test it in a whisper-y tone, letting his name roll off your tongue. it sounds good. but you can't help yourself from imagining it being said in a more breathless, desperate tone.

matt swallows, hearing how your heart is pounding again and it's almost too hard to ignore.

"you need to get some sleep. it's late." he says, hoping that the conversation would end now.

"i.... i can't sleep." you choose to confess.

"why? insomnia?" matt guesses as he washes his empty glass.

you finish your drink before nodding and walking over, bringing your own to him.

"y-yeah.... something like that."

matt can feel your presence, can barely stand how close you are to him but he doesn't move, doesn't turn to look at you. but you can see how his chest rises and falls quicker than usual, having you just inches away from him again.

his fingers brush against yours as the glass exchanges hand but your answer distracts him from reacting to your touch.

"wait, seriously?" his eyebrows meet in a knot as matt turns, fully facing you now.

you can't tear your eyes away from him, as he stands so close to you. the height difference feels overwhelming. he's so much bigger than you, but it only makes you want him more.

"y-yeah, seriously. i.... i have trouble sleeping. it's like i can't turn off my brain."

"i.... i have no idea."

you chuckle nervously. "well, it's not relevant to the case so...."

"for how long?" matt inquires, the frown on his face grows deeper. the way you're casually admitting to this makes him feel uneasy. he can't even imagine how you still manage to function with the lack of rest. not to mention, the constant fear of the people from your past catching up to you and your court case. it must have been hell.

the concern in his voice makes your heart flutter. you have no idea how long it has been since anyone truly gives a shit about you. and you know you shouldn't read into his question too much but this feeling is nice. to know that at least someone cares.

"weeks. months, even. i've tried everything. counting sheep, meditation, even sleeping pills. nothing works. i just... i just can't sleep. i thought it was a withdrawal symptom but i've been sober for a while now and it just keeps getting worse."

matt's heart breaks hearing your answer. how your voice is laced with desperation for just a few minutes of rest. how you sound like you're already giving up at finding a cure for your insomnia.

"i'm sorry." his warm hand wraps around your arm, giving it a gentle squeeze and your breath hitches in your throat. a simple skin to skin contact but it sets your entire body in flames. the way his hand covers your arm, so much bigger than yours, the warmth radiating from it. it feels so good. it's electrifying.

and matt, he didn't even realize he was doing it. it's like a reflex to him, this need to offer you some sort of comfort.

"can't imagine what it must have felt like for you."

your lips tremble, trying not to tear up in front of him. not here, not now, not like this.

"it... it can get really lonely."

"well, i might know a thing or two about it."

you pause. "being lonely... you understand it?"

matt smiles. one that doesn't quite reach his eyes. "more than you know."

you falter, his reply catching you off guard. it's odd to think that this man in front of you, this confident, charming, attractive man, feels lonely. but the hint of sadness in his voice makes your heart ache. you don't know what's happened to him but the desire to comfort him and the desire to have him are now equally strong.

so many things happening right now that you never even thought would happen. well, yes of course you found matt attractive from the moment you laid eyes on him but with your case going on, you didn't have time to care. your life is more important that how devilishly hot your lawyer is.

but now that you're free, that you're finally alone with him, nothing is stopping you from taking in his handsome features. even in the dim lighting, you can see the way his stubble emphasizes the sharp edges of his jaw.

you inhale deeply, before taking a brave step toward him.

matt breathes your name. his hand never left your arm but his fingers tighten slightly on your skin. a silent warning. because he knows all too well what you're trying to do.

a shiver goes down your spine when you hear him say your name in that breathy tone. it sounds better than what you've imagined and you find yourself wanting to hear it more. and the feeling of his hand on your arm, the way his fingers grip you, it's enough to drive you crazy. the warning in his voice is clear as day, but you push through. you want him too much to care. you know he wants you too. you both needed this, only he's too stubborn to admit it.

you choose to ignore his warning, closing the distance between the both of you.

matt rasps your name again, only firmer. his voice is strained, his warning is clear. his grip on your arm tightens to the point where it almost stops you in your tracks but you push through, especially when he makes no effort to move away from you.

you're right in front of him now, your body flushed against his as his back pressed against the counter. his hand on your arm falls as you slowly unbutton his shirt from the bottom. already you could feel the heat of his body, how goosebumps appear on his smooth skin shivers as you leave featherlight touches across his abs.

"please..." you whisper, your voice nearly a moan.

his jaw clenches harder as you place your hand on his chest. his heart is pounding beneath your palm, and it's hard to ignore the way your touch affects him. he tries to keep his resolve, to not give in to his desires, to push you away, but he can't seem to do it.

"you need to stop... this isn't... we shouldn't..."

you look up to meet his eyes, though knowing that he couldn't see you but you could feel his gaze burning into you. you can feel his racing heartbeat, his breathing quickening. he's trying so hard to resist. to be a good, honorable man. to respect the boundaries. you can see how much he's struggling. but you don't care. not when you both know that you need this. this carnal desire to have each other begging to be satisfied.

you huff out in slight frustration. "why? because i'm your client?"

"yes."

his answer only makes you unbutton his shirt faster, pushing it behind him before raking your nails across his skin. you do not want to question how a blind man like him manages to achieve such a perfectly sculptured body.

he groans, feeling your hand on his chest. he can hardly think straight, drunk on your touch. his lust is starting to cloud his judgement. this is a battle he knows he won't win. every fiber of his being is screaming at him to pull you closer, to give in to the need that's coursing through his body. but he tries to fight it, still trying to be a good boy though gods know he's anything but.

"i don't care." all your rational thoughts have fade away, replaced by the overwhelming desire that you have for him.

"fuck...." he groans, throwing his head back in a bliss as he feels you pressing yourself against his hardening bulge. his hands instinctively go to hold you by your hips, the urge to guide you as you grind against him is strong.

matt has always been trying to be a good catholic boy. he's not one to curse, except in bed. but in only a couple days of knowing you, you have made a different man out of him, one that he doesn't even recognize himself.

"stop trying to be a gentleman. i told you, you don't have to pretend in front of me. i can take whoever the real you are."

matt is nice. his smile is charming. he always opens a door for you despite his disability, treats you like a person instead of a criminal like every other attorney or police officer. and you know how all these seem to be the bare minimum but in a world full of assholes who called themselves men, he is a diamond in a haystack.

"you don't understand. i'm.... i'm not a good man."

you could guess. everybody has a dark past. a self-proclaimed gentleman who admits to be lonely like him must have gone through something life-changing. but you couldn't care less in the slightest. you're not interested in who he was or his past. you just want him. this version of matt in front of you right now. this doesn't even have to be more than just you two having sex. you don't want to worry when tomorrow comes.

you study his face and see the pain, the loneliness, the desire behind his red-tinted glasses. you crave nothing more than to take away all his pain. you want to make him feel good, to make him feel loved and you want him to make you feel the same.

"me neither." you say, reminding him of how you two meet. in a police station, with your wrists cuffed to the desk.

"your past doesn't define you. you're a good person to me."

those words shouldn't have affected you so much but they do. those words of reassurance mean more than he could possibly know. he doesn't judge you, doesn't look at you like you're dirty and tainted. this Is the validation you've been desperate to hear.

"yours doesn't define you either, matt." you reach up and place your hand on the side of his face, your thumb softly stroking his cheek. "so stop letting it control you and just focus on what you want right now."

matt releases a deep breath. what he wants, or rather who he wants, is you. and you both know this. you could feel his muscles finally relaxing, the tension of his body slowly goes away and replaced by a deep lust for you.

"fuck it." and he finally crashes his lips against you.

it should be embarrassing how quickly you moan into his mouth but the thought is now so far from your mind thanks to the way his lips move against yours. he kisses you hungrily but with deep precision, like he's been thinking about this for a while. his lips dancing with yours in a perfect rhythm and you let him guide you through the flow.

matt breaks the kiss for a split second to remove his glasses before going back. one hand holding you by your hip, the other by the side of your hair, brushing it down slightly before going down to wrap his fingers around your throat. he doesn't close his grip, just holding you in place but your knees instantly go weak by the action. it's smooth without hesitation. he's not even doing much yet but it already have you a whimpering mess under him.

still with his lips on yours, matt steps forward, making you move in reverse toward his bedroom. you try not to break the kiss and turn around just to make sure that neither of you would be bumping into something but he seems pretty confident in his steps so you let him guide you.

along the way, you two discard each other's clothes. you push his white shirt until he falls to the ground, leaving matt with nothing to cover his upper body, making it easier for you to run your nails across his hard abs.

doing the same to you, matt only stops when you and him finally reach his bedroom to break the kiss and pull up your shirt. his hand then undo the clip of your bra with ease before his lips find yours again. you break the kiss for a split second to see where the bed is which is right behind you. you move in reverse, pulling him by his belt with you before stumbling backwards onto the mattress.

matt has his hands on both sides of your head to hold himself upright while you widen your legs to make space for him in between them before locking your ankles around his waist.

you claw on his chest, holding on for dear life as he lets himself loose, hands roaming to memorize every curves and dips of your body. his lips leave yours, now assaulting your every inch of your neck followed by a few light bites on your collarbone. you had to dug your teeth into your bottom lip to suppress the moans from tumbling over when he grinds his hardness against your clothed sex.

"don't hold back. you wanted me so bad, now let me hear you." matt whispers into your ear before biting your earlobe. the deep, perfect timber of his voice shoots straight down your core. it sounds better than what you have been fantasizing for the last hour. following his commands, you make yourself heard by him. every moans, every whimper, whines and mewl. his name falling from your lips in a most sinful way possible.

his lips trail down to your chest, taking one of your sensitive nipples in his mouth. his thumb brushing your other nipple, squeezing your tit. he can't get enough of how perfectly you tit fits under his palm. you moan, running your finger through his hair to get his mouth impossibly deeper into your chest. his mouth works its magic, sucking and swirling its tongue and gently biting your hardened nub before giving the other the same attention.

matt's focus then shifts to your jeans, eager to get rid of it. you kick it off followed by your panties, not caring where they land on his bedroom floor. he inhales shakily, his heightened sense catching the sweet scent of your dripping cunt in the air.

he pushes your leg apart and caresses your knee first before purposely slowing down his movement until he reaches your inner thigh. his middle and ring fingers then massages across your folds, and a moan left his lips at how you're absolutely soaked for him.

"fuck, you're so wet, sweetheart."

you whimper, buckling your hips for more friction, to hear more of that pet name from him.

"f-for you." you admit, no longer hiding as you shamelessly widen your legs for him, your desperation for him on full display. you try to grind against his hand but his other one holds you by your hip, giving it a light squeeze.

"shhh.... be good. behave." he says it so casually, barely above a breath but it already makes your pussy clench around nothing at how he manhandling you. it's something so incredibly sexy and yet frustrating at the same time, how he manages to be calm though his facial expression doesn't convey the same.

"please.... mhmm—"

matt listens, circling your clit with the same two fingers in a steady pace. not so fast to make you cum for him by doing just this though he'd love to find some other time to make that a reality, and not too slow that he's depriving you of your need.

"i know, i know...." he leans his forehead against yours. he listens to every micro expression of yours, studying just what makes you click. your breathlessness, the way your toes curl, your nails digging into the back of his neck and arm.

then matt suddenly stops but not for long. you don't even get to take a breath as he slips a finger smoothly inside you.

"f-fuck...." a broken moan escapes your lips, already feel so full of his digit.

matt moans, feeling how tight and warm you are, better than how he imagined it. his patience is starting to run thin, finding it difficult to not withdraw his hand and bury himself inside you instead.

"soaking my finger already and i barely even touched you." he grunts, rocking his digit in and out of you. his thrusts are and careful but not slow. he scissors inside you, stretching you out, just how he wants you. his heightened sense helps him to immediately find the perfect rhythm that would make you melt under him.

"oh fuck— fuck, fuck— thank you. thank you—"

that earns another grunt from him. you're so sweet, so polite, thanking him like that. it's only fair that he rewards you with another one of his thick digits.

"oh— fuck—" you mewl, clenching around his fingers. your legs are already shaking and he's just gotten started.

the palm of his hand hits your clit in each pumps, stimulating you further and earning a whine from you. matt just knows what he's doing, as if you two had done this before. if you could even gather a coherent thought, you'd say that it's impressive how effortless the way he's drawing those sounds from you that you didn't even think you could make.

"you're so beautiful like this. so good for me." matt praises, and you wanted to argue that he couldn't see you so he wouldn't know but the tip of his fingers start hitting that sweet spot inside you, making you lose all of your vocabulary. and besides, he's lawyer. you wouldn't want to argue with one. you know you wouldn't win.

"m-matt.... matt— i'm—"

you don't even get to tell him that you're close, he's already pulling out his fingers out of you.

"no...." you pant. your legs are wobbly already, shaking from just his fingers.

"patience, sweetheart. i want you to come on my cock. now, open."

and you listen, opening your mouth to taste yourself on his fingers. you hum, and the vibration shoots straight down to his cock. you coat his digit with your saliva and sucking them a little bit, dreaming of how it'd be if his fingers was his cock instead. he can't see you and yet you find yourself keeping an eye contact on his unfocused pupils.

matt growls, before pulling out his fingers from your mouth. he gets off the bed, freeing his hard cock from the confines of his pants. your lips parted at the sight. he's bigger than any man you have ever taken. thick and long and god he's already hard. it's crazy to think that you made this this way, how you both are equally desperate for one another.

"it's okay." matt reassures you as he crawls back to you, giving you a few pecks on the lips.

"we'll go slow, okay? i'll be gentle." he smiles, kissing you deeply. you nod, breathing shakily as he positions himself in between your legs.

"wait." you stop him, and matt freezes.

"what is it? did i do something wrong?" he asks, worried that he might have accidentally hurt you without realizing.

"no. just— let me." you gather some of your wetness from when he was working you open with his fingers earlier to smear it on his tip.

matt growls at the action. if his cock could grow any harder, it would. "fuck, sweetheart. you're killing me."

you grin, before he grabs you by your throat to kiss you deeply as his hand pumps his cock before pushing you gently back onto the mattress.

"let me make you feel good now." he says it like a promise, before slowly pushing himself inside you.

"ah— fuck. matt—" you mewl, your wall tensing around his length.

"it's okay. i'll go slow. relax for me, darling." he says, spitting on your entrance for more lube.

it feels like forever, before he's finally fully inside you. matt stays like that for a moment, letting you adjust to his size. he pushes your hair aside, his lips travel all across your face in an attempt to soothe the burning sensation inside you. you're panting already just from having his cock buried deep inside you.

"i got you." matt says in a whisper, and you trust him. you trusted him with your future, your life, and now you trust that he will make you feel good.

"fuck...." you moan. he's going slow, finding his pace but the thickness of his cock is already enough to make you see stars.

"m-matt— so big—" a mewl spilling out of your lips. you cling onto his arms, your nails creating crescent-shaped imprints on his skin.

"i know, i know." matt replies but it was far from a smug tone. "but you're taking it so well. such a good girl for me."

fuck.

"please.... s-say it again." usually you'd hate to beg for men. you hate how pathetic it makes you feel. but not with matt. you find yourself willing to do anything to earn those praises again. to make him proud, like he said.

you see how his expression slightly falters, sensing what you need. his knuckles caress your cheekbones softly and you can't help but lean into his touch.

"you're such a good girl for me. you're doing so good. taking me so well. i'm so proud of you."

fuck, fuck, fuck.

you've slept with plenty of men in your life, especially when you were dealing and taking drugs. you were so desperate in wanting to get high that you were willing to spread you legs to any dealer who promised to spare you a few pills. some kept their promises. some were only using you for their pleasure.

but with matt, you weren't expecting anything less. somehow you knew he wouldn't be treating you like those men did. and you were right. he's being tender, gentle. he keeps his hands on either side of your head, as if he's afraid he'd break you further if he touches you. he's fucking you like you're a fragile little doll and you're starting to get tired of it.

"more." you manage to say in a steady voice.

"what?"

"i need more."

"but—"

"you s-said..... that i'm taking you well. i can take more. please."

matt groans. how could he refuse you, when you sound so sweet, begging him like that? when you look so pretty sprawl underneath him like this?

so matt delivers. he listens to your reaction to find out what exactly you need. his hips slam against yours harder, deeper with a slightly faster pace. and it's perfect. in a minute you have become a mess underneath him. the way your eyes flutter in pleasure, having difficulties to keep them open, how he knocks the breath out of you.

matt takes his hand to press his thumb down on your lower belly with his other fingers on your waist, stimulating you further while getting to feel just how deeper and far up your guts he is, pulling out a whimper from you.

"fuck— j-just like that—"

matt could feel you getting close to your peak, but you're not quite there yet. with his one hand still pressing down your belly, he takes his other hand to rub your clit at a steady pace. you moan loudly, back arching at the new sensation.

"yes, yes, yes, yes— fuck. oh my god, yes— just like that—"

god has blessed matt with having a reincarnation of aphrodite underneath him, drunk on his cock and he doesn't understand just what he did to get so lucky tonight. he couldn't get enough of you. your expressions, knowing that this must probably be the first time since your dealing days that someone is pleasuring you like this. and even then, matt doubts any of those men could make you feel like he does right now. your body is perfect. those sounds that you're making are addicting and matt wishes he could do something to have them playing on repeat in his brain.

"m-matt—"

"i know, i know, sweetheart." you don't even have to say it, he could already feel your orgasm approaching from miles away and matt does everything in his power to bring it to you. his fingers continue flicking your clit, his thumb presses down on your lower belly for that extra stimulation, and his tongue never stops from telling you all the things that you been craving to hear. how beautiful you look in this moment, how good you're being for him. how much he wants to feel you milking his cock.

"come for me. let me feel you soaking my dick."

that's all it takes.

your body shakes as a wave of ecstasy washes over you. the scream you let out is enough to earn complaints from his neighbour the next morning. your brain goes numb, empty. the only thing you could think of is just matt. your chest heaves as you pant. you wrap your arms around his neck, pulling him closer as he continue rocking his hips, chasing his own high now.

matt grunts as he gets close to his own release. nearing there, he pulls out, hand pumping his cock as he spills himself on your stomach. you moan, unable to gaze away from how hot he looks right now, jerking his dick off with his head thrown back in pleasure. before collapsing besides you.

silence, but not for long before matt wraps his arm across your waist, pulling you close and burying his face in the junction of your neck. he's panting as well, exhausted certainly. you smile, caressing his arm with your eyes closed.

"not letting you sleep on the couch tonight." you whisper.

"god, i hope so." he replies, and you laugh.

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sweetdispatch · 18 hours ago

Note

Can I pls have a 5 cupcakes with cinnamon flavor and chocolate covered coffee beans

Misconduct - M. Rempe

v' bakery pairing: Matt Rempe x fem!reader summary: You didn't like Matt at first because of the things you hear about him, your opinion has changed with time when you actually met him warning: NSFW, graphic sex (+18), oral (m receiving), swear words taglist: @bunbunbl0gs @hwalllllllelujah

It wasn’t like you hated him. You just didn’t like him from what you were hearing about him. Your friends were close with Matt but they were always talking about his aggressive side in hockey. It was a no for you. You hated violence and heating arguments. That’s why when you heard that Matt will be at a party, you tried to keep him far away from you.

You weren’t scared to meet him, you just didn’t want him as your friend. When he entered the house, it wasn’t difficult not to spot him. He was super tall, taller than everyone. You saw him immediately and noticed bruise on his face. As much as you hated violence, his bruise kinda turned you on.

Matt was attractive and you couldn’t deny it. He was a good looking guy but from hearing the stories about his fights, you tried to ignore it. You were telling yourself that personality is more important than looks. Your friends introduced you to Matt. He was in awe of your beauty and wanted to know more about you but you weren’t interested in knowing him.

You didn’t want to be rude to him but every time Matt was talking to you, you were showing him that you're not interested in this conversation. He didn’t know what he did wrong because he just met you but could feel that you hate him. That’s why he gave up. If you were mean to him, he’s gonna be mean to you.

Unfortunately for you, your friends were inviting Matt all the time. He was showing up if the schedule let him. You felt that you were suffering when he was around. Meanwhile, he was living his best life. He completely ignored your presence and acted like you weren’t there. With every gathering, you were slowly changing your opinion about him but he moved on.

You spotted that Matt is a super nice and relaxed guy. He was always joking and telling ridiculous stories. You’ve realised that you judged him wrongly. You really wanted to apologise but you were too ashamed to admit what you were thinking about him. Matt also was slowly changing his opinion about you.

Matt realised that you’re not also pretty but really smart and well spoken. You were normal, you didn’t try to colorize your life to make it more interesting. You were just you and when he saw you smiling at him, he knew that this might be a new start for your friendship. You were sitting alone with him when your friends went for drinks and you two started talking.

From enemies you became friends. You started seeing Matt in a different light. He was gentle and polite. He was also looking at you way differently. When you told him why you were so rude to him, he laughed but also understood you. Both of you were just happy to sort things out, especially that there were hidden feelings.

After a month, you two started dating each other. You enjoyed the closure to him and Matt was happy for this. With this came sex which was always mind blowing. You were talking a lot about sex. It wasn’t a taboo topic for both of you and you wanted to have the most from the experience. One time, you mentioned to him that you love rough and dirty sex and this information was stuck in his head.

Matt couldn’t believe that this sweet girl who hates when someone’s raising voice, loves rough sex. This didn’t sit right with him but the calmest people are always the freakiest. For a long time he was thinking how to make it happen because he didn’t want to hurt you. He knew you didn’t like him at first for being aggressive and he was scared to try it.

After one of the games, Matt got back home mad. He got misconduct in the first period and he didn’t agree with the decision. He wanted to talk with you and just forget about this whole game but you were pissed at him for what he did and you spared him a piece of your mind about this situation.

“What were you even thinking?” That was the first thing you said to him when he arrived at your doorsteps.

“I didn’t do anything! I can agree that this was a penalty but not fucking misconduct. The refs hate me because I’m tall and known from fights” Matt sighed hoping that you’ll drop the topic.

“That’s not an excuse! You hit this guy hard. If you are aware that you’re tall then maybe play more calm and not run into them with full impact” You said furiously.

“Drop it, I’m not in a mood to talk with you about it” Matt said firmly to you but you fought back.

“I won’t. Matt you can’t do this every fucking game” You crossed your arms on your chest.

“I’m not even doing this on purpose. Not my fault” Matt really wanted to forget about it but you sound like you won’t let it happen.

“I can’t believe it. You don’t even feel guilty” You said louder than you wanted. Matt had enough of it and needed to make you quiet. In that moment he remembered how you mentioned you like rough sex and saw an opportunity in this.

“That’s it. You’re in trouble now” You looked confused at him. “Should keep that pretty mouth shut but now I’ll do it” Matt closed the gap and you felt intimidated by him but this sudden change turned you too. “Kneel, I won’t tell you twice”

You obeyed him and did what he wanted. Matt unzipped his pants and took them down with his underwear. Your eyes were focused on his cock. It always amazed you how he could fit it in you without any pain. By instinct, you grabbed his dick and started stroking him.

“Since you have so many things to say, I will put your mouth into better use” Matt said and roughly grabbed your hair. He forced you to look at him. “You remember what to do when it becomes too much for you, right?” His angry voice became sweet so he could be sure he’s not crossing the line. You nodded your head.

Matt took it as a yes and pushed your head on this dick. You opened your mouth and he started roughly pushing his length. When you gagged, he stopped and gave you a break for a minute. With each thrust he was forcing you to take more and more. After a couple thrusts, you finally managed to take his whole dick into your mouth.

Matt started facefucking you. He was rough with his moves. Your chin was covered in your spit but you loved this. Your eyes were watery but you enjoyed too much to stop. You were gagging around him but he didn’t stop. He was merciless for your mouth and throat. You could feel how wet you are for this.

You placed your hands on his thighs to stabilise yourself. You loved this change in him. You knew Matt was close because he started growling and making noises. This meant he was close to his release. You wanted to help him and you grabbed his balls to play with them when he was abusing your throat.

Matt cum in your mouth. You swallowed every drop and opened your mouth to show him. He smiled at you and helped you stand up. He pulled you into a kiss. When you pulled from him, he threw you over his shoulder and started walking into the bedroom.

“Don’t think we’re over here” That’s all he said to you and dropped you on a bed. It was a long night for you.

#matt rempe #matt rempe x reader #matt rempe imagine #matt rempe fanfiction #matt rempe oneshot #nhl #nhl imagine #nhl fanfiction #new york rangers #v' bakery

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captain-sodapop · 2 days ago

Text

The Winchesters: A Post-Mortem

Endings are hard.

I’ve been dicking around, and as I wrapped up another Supernatural rewatch, I finally decided to follow through on something I’ve been threatening to do for a while: watch The Winchesters. Since the show is dead, done, and dusted, I feel okay about it because now it feels like it’s just some obscure piece of lost media and I’m not actually, you know, supporting it.

I think we have a hard time letting stories end, especially when they have been with us for so long. We live in an age of reboots and endless spinoffs. The Winchesters is an interesting case because when the flagship show ended, viewers had all their own feelings about it, but it was over and they knew it was over. Dead, done, and dusted.

Not so much.

As you know, on June 24th, 2021, about seven months after the end of Supernatural, Jensen Ackles announced his spinoff The Winchesters, produced by his and his wife’s new production company, Chaos Machine. Robbie Thompson would be heading the project, and it would be telling the “epic love story” of Sam and Dean Winchester’s parents. We’ve already established that there’s no story here, and no matter how you twist it you will never convince me there is – at least, not in the way they wanted to tell it. Diehard fans and conspiracy theorist Hellers seemed to end up being its primary audience, but considering its low viewership numbers, I don’t think it ended up attracting many people outside of the established fandom, and was thus canceled.

This was not a story people cared about.

This fact did not seem to matter to the good people at Chaos Machine and The CW.

Luckily for me, there are only thirteen episodes, and I have nothing better to do, so I am here to present my autopsy of The Winchesters.

The pilot moves so fast.

The Winchesters begins with Samuel Campbell, Mary’s father and Sam and Dean’s grandfather, who we know from the original show. In the prequel, he’s played by Tom Welling, not Mitch Pileggi, but he’s a mere shadow when we first see him, so we can’t tell yet how poor the casting is. All that matters is that we know he’s gone missing, and Mary wants to find him.

Immediately, the cold open of the pilot pales in comparison to the flagship program’s pilot. It really does feel like a cold open to any run-of-the-mill episode of Supernatural. It doesn’t create that same intrigue as the Supernatural pilot does.

But that brings us to one of the show’s central problems, and it’s something that shows up almost immediately: it is a poor attempt at rehashing the original, filled with Easter eggs that the casual viewer wouldn’t have gotten or cared about.

Right after that, we get the copycat title card and then a sort of awkward transition to John’s homecoming.�� He’s having PTSD flashbacks to his time in Vietnam, his tour having just finished, and goes home to see his mother (whose name I don’t even think is mentioned in the pilot, not until the second episode, so I think anyone wasn’t isn’t familiar with the original show might be a little confused.)

But this is where we hear him: Dean Winchester.

“March 23, 1972. The day Dad came home from the war, and the day he met Mom. Now I know this story might sound familiar, but I'm gonna put the pieces together in a way that just might surprise you. And in order to do that, I have to start all the way at the beginning.”

Um. Okay.

I’m going to tell you what this is, and it’s really very simple: it’s a justification.

Genuinely, I think these voiceovers are one of the worst things about the show. Now, Dean isn’t exactly a poet, and even Sam teased him for some of his corny lines, but these bookends are…beyond poorly written. Just strings of cliches put together, and the first one is the worst one because what it is attempting to do is justify this show’s existence within its very text.

As anyone who is familiar with the situation knows, when the prequel was announced, there was very public backlash – including from Jared Padalecki, who not only played protagonist Sam Winchester in the original show, but was not looped into any of this…at all. He found out at the same time the rest of us did, and it was pretty clear from the reaction that his was the majority opinion.

The thing about this little intro from the pilot is that it’s not really Dean talking here – it’s Jensen. It’s Danneel Ackles and Robbie Thompson trying to justify the fact that this show even exists. That exact sentiment showed up in several press releases and interviews for the show. Whoever was being spoken to, they’d be like “Oh, we’re gonna surprise you! It’s not what you think!”

The thing is, the prequel is:

Not surprising

Doesn’t exactly start at the beginning. That’s misleading.

(“I’m gonna put the pieces together in a way that just might surprise you.” Jesus Christ, shut up.)

The pilot does do something I appreciated, though, which was to acknowledge that John enlisted underage by forging his father’s signature. This could have been interesting, but they drop it pretty fast.

I know pilots sort of need to hit the ground running to prove their case, but if we’re going to use the original show’s pilot as a point of comparison, it’s incredibly weak. Not only were there rumored production issues and they apparently had to do reshoots, forcing them behind schedule for the rest of their run and putting immense pressure on the cast and crew, but it’s simply lacking. In the original pilot, we are given enough glimpses of the Winchester backstory to make the rest of the pilot interesting. Sam and Dean are brothers and therefore have history, a dynamic – though strained at the time – and an undeniable chemistry that intrigues us enough to keep us watching. With the Woman in White, we get an idea of what it is the family does and what Sam has run away from, while giving the episode a plot that isn’t yet mired in the show’s mythology.

The Winchesters doesn’t have that. What we have is John and Mary, and while a lot of people were rightfully confused as to why they – of all the characters on the original show – would be the ones to get a spinoff, the fact is that they did. Truthfully, while they would not have been my first choice, if treated properly, I believe John and Mary’s lives before the show could have potential.

What we know about John and Mary from the original show is that they were brought together by a Cupid from Heaven in order to ensure the birth of Sam and Dean, so that Michael and Lucifer would have vessels for the Apocalypse. In fact, the Cupid states that John and Mary couldn’t stand each other beforehand, but I guess when they bumped into each other outside of Slaughterhouse Five (which does happen in the spinoff’s pilot), I guess we’re to assume that’s when Cupid’s arrow struck and they fell in love.

Basically, their love is…not natural. It would not have been something they chose for themselves without divine intervention. The prequel doesn’t hint at this at all. Instead, the prequel has John and Mary immediately thrust together and John introduced to the world of the supernatural and the Men of Letters and on his first case all in those 42 minutes.

These are not John and Mary. Not the ones that we could be made to truly care about.

The John and Mary we know are much more complex. They are interesting, and flawed. We know from season 12 that Mary was sometimes sneaking out on hunts, even after Dean was born. We know that John and Mary would sometimes separate for a few days at a time, maybe even longer, probably because what they had for each other was not true love, but something divined by Chuck/God and the angels in order to carry out their plans. They were pawns, especially when it came to them as a couple. A story where Mary is struggling to keep her former life a secret while John is dealing with his post-service life, all while trying to be a couple and having these moments of realizing they don’t really know or love each other could have been a good premise. Instead, what they present is instead just sort of…confusing.

After the pilot, there are a series of Monster of the Week episodes. This is all supposed to be John’s intro to hunting and the true coming together of the Scooby Gang. This version of John and Mary are thrown together with Latika (she’s the pacifist who does all their research), Carlos (he’s the stereotypically slutty, sassy bisexual), and Ada (the wannabe witch who’s older than them and I guess sort of a mentor? Maybe?), and along with John’s mom, Millie, we’re told that they’re this big, happy found family.

Lots of telling and not showing here. In all honesty, John and Mary don’t have great chemistry, and that is not intentional. (I’m actually not gonna blame this one on the acting, at least not wholly, but I’ll get more into that later.) John is saying that he can’t live without Mary within something, like, three episodes. Honestly, he’s got better chemistry with Latika in the pilot than he does Mary. Actually, I’d say he has better chemistry with pretty much all the other main characters – Latika, Carlos, and Millie – than he does Mary, and that is interesting. Ya know why? It’s because it makes John feel like the protagonist. And John is the closest thing to a Sam-like character we get in this show.

We learn early on that the Big Bad is something called the Akrida, which are these weird, poorly CGI’d spider-looking things (all of the budget on this show went to music and reshoots, I swear), and they are out to destroy the universe – and not just this universe; all the universes are at stake, so it feels like the show is trying to play off what the original program was doing in its last few seasons. (Which, weren’t all but Earth One destroyed anyway? Or something like that?)

This is a big thing. It feels…too big. The first season of the original show did a good job of building to the reveal of Yellow Eyes, and they let that story breathe with the Special Children in the second season. We saw that while Sam and Dean were experienced, they were still novices in a sense, in over their heads, and did a lot of learning and had to figure out how to work together again. We don’t get that feeling here. They’re too good too fast.

xXx

In the tenth episode, John and Mary go up against a Golem. The Golem is under the control of a former Man of Letters who performed experiments on humans, and under the guise of helping them defeat the Akrida, he wants to use John and Mary to bring back what the Akrida took from him: his wife, who was killed by them in the late fifties.

When John and Mary dispose of the bodies at the end of the episode, John thinks what the Man of Letters was doing was out of love, trying to bring her back, but Mary says that he was only doing it for himself – that he was being selfish. And then she asks John if she thinks they’ll ever turn out like that.

Immediately, this seems to be an assertion that what Mary did in the original show – making the deal with Azazel after he killed her parents and John to bring John back – was this awful, selfish thing. That saving the only person she had left, the only person she could save (because she wanted Azazel to bring back her parents, too), was inherently wrong. This seems to ignore the fact that Mary had no idea what the repercussions of the deal would be. All she knew was that the demon was going to “pay her a visit”, whatever that was supposed to mean (probably assuming he would come to collect her soul as usual), and all she wanted was to save just one person, and that was the man she believed she loved.

I know we’ve established that John and Mary’s love was contrived, but to Mary, she believed she did love him, and it is ridiculous to think that her saving him was something that makes her inherently bad, or selfish, or unloving, as the prequel seems to imply. She could not have known that Azazel would do what he did to her, to Sam, and to their family. She didn’t even know there would be a Sam and Dean! She was nineteen years old!

And yet, the prequel takes this opportunity to vilify her. The fandom already did enough of that. When Mary made her return in season 12, her character endured endless misogynistic takes. When even Dean said it was ridiculous of him to expect her to tuck him in and make his lunch, the fandom still didn’t want to accept it.

Mary is a complex character. She was dealt as shitty a hand as any other character, but still had to absorb a lot of blame. Oh, god forbid she struggle to adjust to the 21st century, and having adult children, and not being dead anymore, and learning what the consequences of her actions were. She clearly felt immense guilt for the hurt that was brought on her family, which was something she would have never intentionally done. She wanted her and her family to be safe and did the best she could with the information and resources she had. God forbid a woman be complex or have flaws or be anything less than the perfect mommy to her adult sons. (Who – again – were not as upset about that as the fucking fandom was.)

And now the prequel is piling onto her, too. Our Mary is better!! Shut the fuck up.

xXx

The prevailing sentiment I had when watching this show was that none of it mattered. The plot, the characters, the monsters…none of it mattered. Not as a story, and not as it related to the original show. It doesn’t even really succeed at doing what it really set out to do, but we’ll get to that later.

Like I mentioned, the Akrida feel like a really big Big Bad for the first season of a show. Ultimately, what the Akrida are, are a failsafe for Chuck. Basically, they were his backup plan if he were to ever cease to be and they would carry out his plan to finish destroying all the universes he had created. I guess those of us who watched the original show are supposed to gather that he created these Akrida sometime around season 15, when he started getting rid of all those other universes. And, since the Winchesters and Jack defeated Chuck at the end of season 15 and Jack took over as God, these creatures are supposed to come in and finish what Chuck couldn’t.

Alright. A little convoluted, but I can follow it. It’s how the spinoff attempts to connect itself back to the main show’s plot.

But, wait a second – I thought this was the epic love story of John and Mary!

Let me just say this: this is not a love story. The love story in the show is pretty weak. Like I mentioned earlier, the show moves so fast, which means John and Mary’s relationship moves incredibly fast, and the show makes no indication that this is because of any Cupid effects (but maybe they knew the clock was ticking and they didn’t have a good chance at renewal.) We get no sense of how much time has passed here. I’m being told I should care about this relationship, but I don’t because of how little effort the writing puts into not only developing this relationship, but the characters themselves. So it’s hard for me to say that the love story matters in any way.

Then there’s John and Mary’s searches for their fathers. Those of us who have seen the original show know that Henry Winchester died in the future killing Abadon. We also know that Samuel Campbell first died when he was killed by Azazel in 1973, and then in season six after being resurrected by Crowley to help him search for alphas. After the show opens with Samuel going missing and Mary starting the search for him (which just doesn’t pack the same punch as the search for John), Samuel’s presence in the show after they find him is negligible. For one thing, he’s not a great portrayal of Samuel, and doesn’t even look like him – not a bit. That part isn’t as important, of course, but it does still take you out of it a bit. This Samuel is still sort of a jerk, but it just feels like he’s sort of…there. So when they find him, it doesn’t feel like a big deal.

John’s search for Henry is carried out a little better. The reason for John deciding to go home to Lawrence after returning from Vietnam is because a Mystery Man (who we all know is Dean) gave him a letter that Henry had left for John before his passing. It leads John to finding an old Men of Letters clubhouse in Lawrence, which he and his new friends use as a base throughout the show and is a resource for them in learning about and fighting the Akrida. When John finally does see Henry as a ghost (the result of a séance similar to the one Sam and Cas perform to contact Bobby in season 10), Henry is once again portrayed by Gil McKinney, like he was in the original show. That does help. Henry is mostly there to give them information to help them with the Akrida, but it does give John and Millie a sense of closure, unlike in the original show, where John spent his whole life not knowing what happened to Henry and hating his guts.

This all happens in the seventh episode – the show’s midseason finale: both John and Mary get answers on their fathers. It’s supposed to be the episode where all these things start to come together. Mary finds Samuel, John and Millie find Henry (sort of), we get some answers on the Akrida, and John and Mary kiss. Woohoo.

After that, there are another few Monster of the Week episodes with Big Bad plot running alongside it, just like in the original show. It follows a similar structure. The episode with Richard Speight, Jr. as Loki (not sure if it’s supposed to be the real Loki or Gabriel as Loki, but probably the latter?) is maybe the worst one. Loki/Gabriel just comes off as an annoying caricature, the plot and his scheme are just sort of confusing, and there’s just…way too much singing. Part of Carlos’s story is that he wanted to be a musician, and he and his former bandmate do some singing, and the songs don’t even sound as if they fit the time period, so. That’s awesome.

Carlos is also subjected to more humiliation when in an episode with vampires – and I’m sure those in the know already know where this is going! – he has Latika douse his hair in holy water and he whips it around to splash it on the vampires. Like…since when are vampires affected by holy water? Not only is the physics of it stupid (it would be so inefficient to have to be constantly whipping your head around, just fucking squirt them with a water bottle or the water gun Carlos used in the pilot), it’s just not even right. It’s incorrect within the show’s own mythology.

The penultimate episode is a creepy clown episode. I will say, the clowns are sort of creepy, but maybe that’s just because I agree with Sam about clowns just being inherently creepy. It’s an okay case, I guess. This is also the episode with Rowena. Ada is trying to find some sort of magical way to deal with the Akrida, and she stumbles into a witch club where Rowena finds her. Ruth McConnell does what she does, and it’s hard to complain about Rowena because she always plays her well. She does give Ada the magic to use against the Akrida in return for a bonzai tree that has a demon trapped in it (I know, I know) because the bonzai demon has information on her son. (Who we know is Crowley, but he doesn’t get a namedrop here, and there’s no further explanation there. I guess it’s possible Rowena could have known in the seventies that Crowley/Fergus was a demon or otherwise had something to do with demons and hell, but when she sees him in season 10 for the first time, she doesn’t recognize him. I do think that can be written off as him just being in a new vessel, though, so I’ll give this one a pass.) Of all the guest stars they brought on from the original show, Ruth/Rowena is by far the best, both in performance and purpose. She shows Ada how to kill Akrida using magic, but doing so kills off a bit of her soul, similar to the magic used to resurrect Jack in season 14.

And then it’s the finale. Just like that. In the final episode, they go up against the Akrida and their queen. In order to kill them, they either need to use the magic Rowena showed Ada, or they need to use something from another world. They connect with a hunter, Joan Hopkins, who has been in contact with Dean/Mystery Man, who she has thrown into the portal and destroyed after months of him staying ahead of her, and no living thing can survive the portal (the portal being the thing that the Akrida use to destroy worlds.) John and Mary find out this hunter is actually the queen. She and her family have hunted with the Campbells for generations, and we find out that Joan was actually born in 1673 and after losing her entire family and her husband, she turned on humankind and imbued herself with monster essence. She claimed monsters weren’t the problems, but humans for always needing saving, making it so hunters always paid the price for protecting them. She was made the Akrida queen when she was cast out of her world, and she is helping them carry out Chuck’s final mission of wiping the universe of universes of humanity. And now, Joan/the Queen is at full power, and will open up the portal to finish the destruction.

In the end, there’s this battle, and all our new friends are there fighting the Akrida, and they use this thing called the Ostium in an attempt to summon something from another world to kill the Queen, the Ostium being the only thing known to be capable of doing such a thing. They use Dean/Mystery Man’s journal to try to summon him, but nothing happens at first, leading them to conclude that the Mystery Man is dead.

And then – as we all know – the Impala appears.

Mary realizes the Impala is not from their world, and therefore can be used to kill Joan. With the portal open, she runs Joan over with the car, but also ends up accidentally going through the portal, which as we know, no living thing can survive. Womp-womp.

But wait! The Impala reappears, and inside it is a living Mary – and Dean Winchester.

Apparently, the Impala somehow protected her (I don’t know how, it’s not explained, don’t ask me), and Dean tells them all he’s already dead, so it’s not like it could do anything to him, and I guess that tracks. He was stuck in between worlds after being tossed into the portal by Joan, waited by the portal, and gave Mary a ride out.

I’ll let Dean explain the rest:

“I'm a Hunter, just like you. But I'm not from this Earth…When I died, I made it to heaven. And [the Impala] was waiting for me. So I went for a drive, and then I took a little detour. Through the multiverse…I was looking for my family. See, I come from a long line of Hunters. I guess I was hoping that somewhere out there was an Earth that had a version where my family had a shot at a happy ending. When I was driving, I caught wind of the Akrida. Turns out that they were one of Chuck's last creations...basically, he's a real dick. He left the Akrida behind to wipe out all of existence in case he failed. Well...he failed. Eventually the Akrida were going to make their way to my world, and I got family there, so I couldn't let that happen…I took my little detour. The rules were simple. Don't mess with anything. Well…I gave it a little nudge. Thought it might need a little help. Looks like it worked out pretty well. So now that the Akrida are gone, you all can choose your own destiny. You can write your own story.”

Then Bobby and Jack show up. We already saw Bobby at the beginning of the episode, and he more or less feels like Bobby, but it’s still like…what are you doing here. What’s going on here. This scene at the beginning of the finale shows us when Dean gave John that letter from Henry, when he’s dressed like a Bond villain, setting the story in motion. Bobby reminded Dean then that they weren’t supposed to meddle, but Dean is Dean and does whatever the fuck he wants, apparently, and Bobby says he’s off to get the cavalry, a line I’m still not completely clear on because who is the cavalry in this situation? Is it Jack? Can’t be Gabriel/Loki because they’re dead, can’t be Rowena because not only is she Queen of Hell in the main timeline, but nothing about her appearance here suggests that she was the current iteration of herself from the original show. So I don’t know who the hell the cavalry is in this context, but I’ll let Jack and Dean take it from here:

JACK: Dean. DEAN: Yeah. No, I know. I know, Jack. JACK: When I restored things, I wanted mankind to make their own fate. That meant no interference from on high, anywhere...no exceptions. DEAN: I couldn't let our world get destroyed. Sam's still down there, okay? He deserves a good, long life. Hell, they all do. So, if you want to cast me out of heaven...so be it. BOBBY: If we're taking a vote, I'd say you give the guy another chance. JACK: There's always another case with you Hunters...even in death. Well...if you're going to meddle in things, finish what you started. After this...it's time to get around to the..."there'll be peace when you are done"…part of the song.

Jack then hands Dean the journal he had been writing in and the Colt. Yes, the Colt. Dean gives them to John and Mary, telling them to use the Colt if a Yellow-Eyed Demon ever comes to them, and to use his journal to help guide them as hunters. The journal is what we see Dean with in the final episode of the pilot, and what he says in voiceover at the beginning and end of each episode (which are just these platitudes and cliches about hunting and family) are written in that journal. They ask his name, Dean tells them it’s James Hetfield (founding member of Metallica), and then he, Jack, Bobby, and the Impala disappear.

The episode ends with all of them happy the Akrida are gone and free to make their own decisions about their lives. John plans to keep hunting with the gang, but Mary isn’t sure. She got into Kansas State earlier in the season, but she needs time and space. But she does show up at the Winchesters’ repair shop at the end, and she and John go on a drive while “Ramble On” plays over a montage of scenes from the show.

And that’s it.

xXx

Okay.

What becomes abundantly clear at the end of this show is that all that mattered – all that ever mattered – was what the fuck Dean was doing. It wasn’t John and Mary’s love story, it wasn’t the search for their dads, it wasn’t the question of whether to hunt or not, it wasn’t the Scooby Gang’s found family. It was just…Dean.

Now, don’t get me wrong: I love Dean. I think he’s an interesting character. I also think his death was appropriate. But one person was so frustrated by his ending that he decided he needed to do something about it.

The logistics of the finale are…weird, to say the least. I can understand the logic behind the Impala being capable of killing Joan based on the show’s rules. It’s of another world, and Joan really gets her shit rocked by it, like Regina George getting hit by that bus, so I can buy it killing her. Sure. And I guess Dean waiting by the portal in the space between spaces or whatever is…plausible, I guess, since we don’t know how anything works between universes, so I’m willing to buy that. (Notice I’m not buying anything here with much enthusiasm, however.) But what the fuck does Dean mean, he heard about the Akrida while he was driving around? What does he mean, he took a detour? Did Jack tell him what was happening? Was he the one who set the rules? If so, did he not take care of the problem himself because of his own self-imposed resolution to not meddle? Did Jack want Dean to give John the letter? I don’t think he did because Bobby seemed to think that was meddling, which Dean was expressly told not to do, but how does any of this work without some level of meddling? And speaking of Bobby, I know we see him in the original show’s finale, but what the hell is he doing this whole time? Did he get caught by Jack doing something offscreen that we’re not told about, or did he run to him and tattle? (Super out of character for Bobby to be a narc, by the way, if that is the case.)

Or, maybe I’m supposed to interpret this another way, as something Dean stumbled upon while he was taking his Heavenly drive. He said he took a little detour and went looking for his family. That he was hoping there was a version out there that had a happy ending. Maybe he somehow found this potentially happy version of John and Mary and learned their universe was being threatened by the Akrida when he did? I don’t know.

I am baffled. Befuddled, even.

This episode is the only one to acknowledge Sam, and what’s funny about that is that for as much as the show excluded him, it inadvertently reinforces the idea of Sam as protagonist. Dean wants to stop the Akrida not to save this universe, necessarily, but because he’s worried about the Akrida getting to Earth One and getting to Sam. He did it all for Sam. It’s fucking poetic, is what it is, and I don’t think they did it to be poetic. I think they did it because they knew that:

They were stupid to leave Sam out of it in the first place, and

They had to justify this whole thing somehow.

In the end, none of it mattered.

xXx

At the beginning of this, I mentioned how hard it can be to let things end. While we can joke about how ridiculous Carlos whipping his hair back and forth to spray vampires with holy water is, or how Mary was dressed like a knockoff Claire Novak in the pilot, or the vanishing Impala, or how bad the Akrida looked, or how convoluted the premise of the whole show is, I think there’s something more we can take away from this: The Winchesters is a study in both vanity and poor media literacy.

Dean Winchester dying at the end of Supernatural makes perfect sense within the text of the show. This is a tragic character completing his tragic arc. His death also symbolizes the end of an abusive cycle, but in order to acknowledge that, you have to acknowledge that something very complex exists within Dean’s character. Many fans do not want to acknowledge that Dean continued the familial cycle of abuse. Do I believe he loved Sam? Absolutely. Do I believe he was unfairly parentified? Yes. Do I believe he was also a victim of neglect? One thousand percent. But that doesn’t change the fact that Dean continued these harmful cycles. That’s part of the tragedy. His death made it possible for Sam to break those cycles and live a life he had been continuously guilted and shamed and ostracized for wanting to live, and while that’s in a sense a win, it comes about in a tragic way.

The tragedy is the point. The hurt is the point.

But Jensen Ackles just didn’t like that. Of all the people on the cast and crew, he was the only one who it didn’t seem to click with, and look – I can understand that maybe he needed to take some time to sit with it because he brought that character to life for fifteen years and that character has a rough end, and it also marks the end of fifteen years of his life. It’s tough stuff. But what Jensen and the producers of The Winchesters did didn’t add to Dean’s story or his character, it didn’t add to the original story, it didn’t improve upon anything, or clarify anything, or rehabilitate anything.

It was Jensen’s attempt to get the last word, and it failed spectacularly.

I said earlier that I don’t want to blame a lot of the show’s problems on the acting, and I think that’s true. The main cast are young actors who haven’t been in a ton of projects (Meg Donnelly, who played Mary, has the most experience with ABC’s American Housewife and Disney’s Zombies movies), and I don’t want to blame cast and crew for just wanting to get work, and the main case certainly isn’t unwatchable. They have to do and say some pretty cringy shit at times, but that’s not on them. The supporting cast is generally serviceable to forgettable, and only truly bad a couple of times (the guy who plays Ada’s half-djinn son is…not great. He sounded like he was having lines fed to him and wasn’t comprehending any of what he was saying). Carlos and Latika aren’t particularly bad characters or poorly portrayed or anything, even if they do rely on some stereotypes (again, not on them), and might be fine in another context.

I will also say, though, that while Meg Donnelly isn’t like…a bad actor, she’s not a good Mary. The Mary we know from the flagship program is sweet, and hopeful, and resourceful, and very capable. I could absolutely believe that the Mary portrayed by Samantha Smith or Amy Gumenick could both kill a monster and struggle to break out of the life she was raised in, and absolutely, 100% want out of that life and apply to Kansas State University behind everyone’s back (just like someone else we know!) Donnelly’s Mary just feels like a Claire Novak rip-off. Which was a weird choice to make, and I guess they could try to justify by being like Oh, well this is a Mary from another universe, but that’s not gonna fly. We got a Mary that could certainly kill monsters, but otherwise doesn’t really feel like Mary Winchester at all.

Then there’s John, portrayed by Drake Rodger. He was my favorite of the main cast, and the one who seems to be the true protagonist, which I noted earlier. Rodger had mentioned having watched the original show, and he has that sort of gentle giant quality that Sam had, and even does a good job of picking up on some of his mannerisms that make him at least feel like a Winchester. Does he feel like John? I mean…that’s harder to say than it was with Donnelly’s Mary. We know from the original show that John before hunting was a pretty different guy. He was probably struggling with PTSD after his tour, but Mary repeatedly refers to him as a sweet, open person, so I can believe that this John could be more like Sam: generally a very nice, gentle guy who you need to watch out for when he’s angry or scared. As far as performances go, he did pretty well – or, as well as he could, considering the writing.

So, yeah, I’m not gonna pin the show’s downfall on the acting because that wasn’t it. And I’m not gonna pin it on the crew, either. Sure, the special effects and editing weren’t always great, but they weren’t always the best on the original show, either.

This is a project that never should have been greenlit, for one reason because it would have saved that crew member from getting struck by lightning. The crew member sued, naming Ackles and the other producers in the lawsuit along with the network for not following proper safety measures. Director John Showalter, a Supernatural alum, decided he wanted a scene shot in the rain, even though there was lightning in the vicinity. The show had already dealt with reshoots and short filming windows, so Showalter, the producers, and the network decided to risk everyone’s safety, and a crew member literally got struck by lightning and woke up in the emergency room. I hope he gets a giant settlement.

It also shouldn’t have been greenlit not just because it was apparently poorly run and unsafe (which, really, is the worst thing about all this – the show’s not even good, and you’re endangering people for it), but because it was a petty little vanity project. Jensen Ackles just couldn’t let it go, couldn’t stand that he wasn’t the protagonist, and had to try to get in one last word.

But he couldn’t do it. He was never going to be able to do it. This wasn’t a project driven by love of storytelling, but by spite. He wanted everyone to be thinking Where’s Dean? How does Dean fit into this? What’s he doing there? He didn’t want to explore this weird, difficult relationship, or the original show’s major theme of autonomy; he just wanted attention. That’s what comes through in all of this because the story itself doesn’t matter. If these characters don’t reveal anything about the original characters or story, then it doesn’t matter, and it’s certainly not written or performed or produced well enough to make it matter. Why should I care about this John and Mary? I don't know, and the show doesn't, either.

And the kicker is that all of Dean’s voiceover bits are stupid cliches, it doesn’t make sense how he even got himself into this mess, and it all still comes back around to Sam in the end, anyway. So there was literally no point. It was all a waste of time and money and a man got struck by lightning.

This show was doomed from the start. Dead, done, and dusted before it even made it to your screen.

#supernatural #spn #spn prequel #the winchesters #spn meta #jensen ackles #john winchester #mary winchester #dean winchester #sam winchester #that's right I'm putting this in the main tags #idk if anyone will be interested in this or not but here it is #I know it's long but there was quite a bit to say #and I had nothing better to do #abby speaks

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butterflydm · 20 hours ago

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Wheel of Time 3x03 Deep Dive (show spoilers)

Spoilers only for the show in this one, through 3x04, because some of what we learn there gives us insight into bits of this episode.

Our first Forsaken meeting post-Ishamael's death.

Let's go, Forsaken Meeting!

I really like the way they introduced this by having us follow Rahvin to the meeting location, and the show-only people would wonder what Prince-Consort Gaebril is up to but have that shock of surprise when Lanfear comes to speak with him. Loved it!

We get to see four Forsaken here -- Lanfear, Rahvin, Sammael, and Moghedien (hiding from all the others except Rahvin). We also get mention of the deceased Ishamael, and learn that Rahvin has been talking to two other Forsaken named Graendal and Semirhage, who were not invited to Lanfear's meeting. Lanfear mentioned Graendal last season ("vain idiot") but did not mention Semirhage.

So, to all appearances, this would seem to be Lanfear's first meeting with any of the other Forsaken since she spoke with Moghedien (a month and some change ago). She does have a different agenda from the other Forsaken, as far as we're aware -- Ishamael wanted to turn the Dragon and his friends to the Shadow; Lanfear wants the Dragon for herself and is fine if his friends just fuck off forever and never contact him again; and she claims that all the other Forsaken just want Rand & co dead. Her opinion of "the boys" last season was that they "couldn't carry out a plan if they were under Compulsion", but we don't know how accurate any of Lanfear's opinions about her coworkers are.

So if Rahvin is dressed as a noble, though less fancy than when he's around Morgase, Sammael is dressed up military, and fancy enough that I'll say 'general'. And Lanfear is wearing clothes that remind me of the more 'modern' style that we saw in the Age of Legends.

"According to her, and anyone who meets us, we've been hopelessly in love for more than a decade." Terrifying! Gaebril's cheerful affable stepdad vibes from the last episode revealed here as a facade.

"You always were an artist with compulsion" - this from Lanfear does let us know that this is sort of Rahvin's "speciality" and potentially none of the other Forsaken are able to compel as easily and as quickly as he does.

Sammael just wants to get down to the business of the meeting. He wants to know where the Dragon is.

But she doesn't want to talk about that.

"You didn't learn your lesson last time, did you? You were so in love with Lews Therin, you'd have stretched out at his feet if he'd said "Rug"."

We have an interesting set of observations when it comes to Lews Therin and Lanfear's past relationship. According to legend (Moiraine), Lanfear was in love with the Dragon and turned to the Shadow after he broke her heart and left her to marry his wife. According to 'Selene', her ex-boyfriend judged her after he saw who she really was and broke things off with her.

Lanfear's main angle in seducing Rand appears to be isolating him as much as possible and trying to get him to admit that he's just as dark on the inside as she is, and that she's the only one who will ever see that and understand and love him all the same.

Ishamael also blamed the Dragon for both himself and Lanfear turning to the Shadow (but that was part of his ploy to try to convince Rand to turn). And Sammael paints the picture of a woman pathetically eager and desperate for a man who doesn't respect her.

What's the truth about Lanfear and Lews Therin's previous relationship?

I think that the most obvious signs of the truth lie in how Lanfear is seeking to mold Rand, presumably so that things between the two of them don't go the same way that they did with Lews Therin. And what is Lanfear doing with Rand? She wants to isolate him from everyone else who cares about him and convince him that he has darkness inside him that no one but her is capable of loving.

So, I think that Lews Therin did glimpse the darkness inside Lanfear, went "um, fuck no!" and went off to fall in love with someone he liked better, but Lanfear doesn't want to think about what that means.

The fault can't be in Lanfear. And she doesn't want the 'fault' to be in Lews Therin either. She wants to be able to blame it on external influences that are tearing him away from her, or else on him denying his true nature. Because that would mean that her desperate and possessive love for him isn't in vain.

Lanfear and Sammael seem close to starting a fight, but Rahvin cools the temperature of the room down by reminding them that it was all their in-fighting last time that let Lews Therin trap them in the seals, and we get to the actual point of the meeting that Lanfear called.

What is the purpose of Lanfear's meeting? She wants them to gang up and kill Moghedien (doesn't mention that this is because Moghedien was just threatening Rand by sending a Gray Man to his inn in 3x01). She dresses it up by pretending that she's worried that Moghedien is going to start taking each of them out so that she can be Nae'Blis herself, and the implication is that Nae'Blis was previously Ishamael, who was particularly favored by the Dark One before his death in 2x08.

Lanfear calls out Sammael as "the weakest of us", which maybe explains why he fronts as so aggressive. She also tells us that Moghedien tends to work by targeting the weakest in the group and picking them off one by one until she reaches the top. In the case of the Forsaken, that would be Lanfear, she says, now that Ishamael is gone. I like that the show has leveled out the power levels between men and women, and so Lanfear, instead of being the strongest of the female Forsaken, is now currently just flat-out the strongest Forsaken.

This also gives us some information about Nynaeve being the first to be targeted by Moghedien in 3x01 -- she's currently the weakest of the group (but has the potential to be very strong if she breaks her block), so going after her is the least risky option at the moment.

"If you're so strong, why isn't our Great Lord speaking to you? And why aren't you Nae'Blis? Why aren't you our leader?" Sammael asks, after Lanfear positions herself as the top of the power pyramid, the person that Moghedien would kill last.

"Maybe he mourns Ishamael still," Lanfear says. I do think it's possible that Lanfear really does want to kill the Dark One (as she claims to Rand later on) but I don't think she wants to stop doing horrible things, which is what Rand would actually want from her.

Rahvin says that he'll consider presenting Lanfear's idea of an alliance to two of the other Forsaken, Graendal and Semirhage, making it clear that he has already made some alliances of his own.

It's interesting to think about how Ishamael and Lanfear so often wore clothes that tied them to the Age of Legends, to the past. They are also the two Forsaken who remain the most concerned with the past incarnation of the Dragon, Lews Therin. Meanwhile, Rahvin and Sammael both appear to have adopted the clothing of the place where they're currently living.

After Lanfear & Sammael leave, we get the reveal that Moghedien was hiding and watching. Moghedien states here that she doesn't want to make the same mistakes as last time, and doesn't plan to end up in a cage again. Very interesting considering that we see her at the end of the episode playacting as Liandrin & co's servant as they learn that the object of power that they stole from the White Tower is a male version of the sul'dam bracelet and they are here in Tanchico to find the matching collar. She talks about wanting to avoid being caged and ends up finding out about a potential way to cage the person who locked her up last time.

I definitely understand picking slightly more time in the episodes over using the credits but they are so pretty and I am always happy to see them. And the way that the gold threads first burst out at Josha's (the Dragon's) name just hit me so hard from the first time that we saw them.

Our first major plotline in this episode is Elayne and Nynaeve's investigation into where Liandrin might have gone, which starts with the interrogation of Amico and Joiya, who both pretend to break and who are both lying liars who lie, as Elayne and Nynaeve figured out by the end of the episode.

Nynaeve and Elayne remind us that they do not trust anyone else in the White Tower, even the people like Verin who Siuan trusts (even Siuan herself). Nynaeve has a lot of reason to be wary -- Liandrin really did connect with her before betraying her, plus she and potentially Elayne also know about Siuan trying to cage Rand. The one other Aes Sedai that they might trust, Alanna, is not currently in the Tower. Nynaeve did get along really well with Maksim, so might have been willing to trust the pair of them, if they'd been around.

Unfortunately, we know that Elayne already may have trusted the wrong person -- with the reveal that Gaebril is really the Forsaken Rahvin, it's possible that every word that she said to her mother was repeated directly to Rahvin.

The information that we get from Amico and Joiya:

The Black Ajah work in hearts, where women only know three other BA Sisters (the two others of their heart and one outside of it). this protects the full BA from being revealed if any single BA sister gets caught

Liandrin somehow knew about the rest of them (because of Lanfear? or because of Ishy?) despite that breaking the heart structure, though she was actually Amico's "outside her heart" connection

Amico's lie about Liandrin's location is that she's gone to Tear, to help one of the Forsaken claim Callandor

Joiya's lie is that Liandrin has gone to find Mazrim Taim, the false Dragon in Saldaea

We shift to Elaida, who appears to have some health issues going on that make her hands shake. Or, well, hand. It appears to be only the one hand, where she wears a gold and red bracelet that appears to have a snake on it. And I can't tell if she sweeps the items off her vanity out of frustration or if she literally loses control of her hand and it sweeps the items off against her will.

She calls for a servant but instead of getting the one she's used to, she gets Min. The shot in the mirror showing Min, and then Min hurrying out of shot to go clean up the broken glass... I really like it. We also see a perfect red rose next to the mirror, which is a very nice nod to a piece of Elaida's characterization in the books. We know from Verin that she's sending Min around to look at various Sisters and try to get viewings from them. Now that Min has been handed off to Siuan, it makes a lot of sense that Siuan would want to see if Elaida might potentially be causing trouble in the Tower.

Elayne's hairstyle is a rose! The back of her hair is a rose! That's so cute. <3

Also, Nynaeve feels like Verin and Siuan are too focused on Joiya and Amico, and Nynaeve figures that they're both lying, and that the best way to suss out the truth is to do their own independent investigation, out from under the watchful eye of Siuan. This continues the trend we've been seeing this season of the 'kids' bucking against authority and going their own way -- Rand telling Moiraine "You don't tell me what to do anymore"; Egwene getting the Accepted ring and then immediately bouncing from the Tower, Elayne standing up to her mother last episode and telling her that she would be staying in the Tower and not going home, and now Nynaeve deciding that Siuan isn't investigating the right things and that she needs to take charge of things herself.

If we expand the theme to forging their own way and finding authority in themselves, then this also extends to what we're seeing from Perrin and Mat in this episode -- Mat being able to harness his memories to kick the princes' asses, and Perrin beginning the process of organizing his people in their defense against the Trollocs.

The kids are all coming into their own this season.

Nynaeve has the inside scoop on Liandrin, from having followed her last season (also, I spotted the Gray Man following them here) and takes us back to the room where she found Liandrin with her son, which is empty now. We do get it acknowledged here that Nynaeve has been telling Elayne things off-screen, so if Elayne didn't previously know about Siuan trying to cage Rand, I expect that Nynaeve has told her about that by now.

Elayne and Mat really would have a lot in common if they get the chance to sit down for a chat because just like Mat is always the one to take the emotional temperature of his friends, Elayne reaches out here to Nynaeve and opens the door to a conversation with a non-judgmental, "You liked her, didn't you?" to Nynaeve about Liandrin, which gives Nynaeve the space and safety to talk about her complicated feelings about Liandrin.

I love the continuation of us getting all these different funeral rites and rituals. The chalk and salt symbol at the place of someone's birth and death. Wearing your loved one's ashes until the grief finally wears off your face. Just the variety of human ritual that we've gotten in the show, and what it tells us about the different people and places that have been shaped by this world. Love it.

Elaida wants to talk to Siuan and gets blocked by Leane and Verin. She is... uh, not pleased. The sort to keep a grudge forever, it would appear! Elaida learns here that she won't get her private talk with the Amrylin unless she can get a Sitter to request the audience for her, so now Elaida has a goal, which she will attempt to solve in a couple of different ways.

Attempt #1: flattering and bribing one of the current Sitters into requesting the audience for her. Contrary to Verin's words last episode, Elaida does not seem particularly well-liked. At least not by the Red Sitters.

For the Red Sitter named Galina, Elaida brings a gift of wild strawberries from Andor, which brings with it the information that Morgase keeps a royal forest.

For Tsutama, who is a Sitter and also the Highest of the Red Ajah, Elaida brings a necklace. It is not much like what Tsutama is already wearing, and Tsutama promptly rejects it and just as promptly calls Elaida out on her attempts at bribery.

We also see here what lesson Tsutama took from what happened in 3x01 -- basically, that the Reds fucked things up by managing to be so untrusted by the Amrylin Seat and that they need to earn that trust back, after Liandrin betrayed the Tower in such a spectacular fashion.

Elaida wants to "return the Reds to where they belong, at the heart of the Tower." She says that because the Dragon Reborn has been revealed, and confirmed to be a man, it is time for the Red Ajah to take the lead on how to handle him, since they are the ones who have practice dealing with men who can channel.

I really like this because it shows us exactly what Siuan and Moiraine were afraid of, exactly why their search for the Dragon Reborn had to be kept a secret. But we also see the dangers of that secret, because Siuan has not been able to prepare the White Tower for the Dragon's arrival. The weight of Tower Law and Tower tradition has proved too weighty to overcome, especially since Siuan not feeling like she could trust anyone also likely contributed to the factionalism in the Tower.

Elaida wants them to call for a vote to send a team of eight Sisters to find Rand and cage him. Tsutama shoots the idea down. Elaida is not happy about continuing to be thwarted.

Rand and co have arrived in the Aiel Waste. Cracks me up to see Aes Sedai level secrecy turned on an Aes Sedai. "That's Wise Ones' business." lol

We get clarification here that Egwene managed to pull herself out of her (Lanfear-induced) nightmare and put herself into Bair's dream -- where Bair was carrying spears instead of being dressed as a Wise One.

They find a burned caravan of the Tuatha'an, with their dead, so we're able to learn what the Aiel perspective on them is. "It's forbidden to harm the Lost Ones" (and we'll learn why in 3x04).

"The only thing with less honor than refusing to defend yourself is killing someone who won't defend themselves".

It really is fascinating how ji'e'toh was built out of the Way of the Leaf and how Lewin & the others coped with breaking their oaths to peace, and how they tried to chart a narrow path where they were still keeping to some of their ways while knowing that they were barred from others because of their violence. No swords, because swords are viewed as inherently violent against other people while spears or arrows can also be used to hunt game for food. The way to most honor is to touch an enemy without killing them (from 3x04). Bits and pieces of the Way of the Leaf still surviving in the present-day Aiel.

We get our first mention of the Shaido, in context of how they might be willing to break Aiel tradition by killing the Tuatha'an (Lan notes that what look like sword wounds could be spear wounds disguised to look like swords). I have some thoughts on the Shaido, but I think that's better for when we actually meet them. The main thing to note here is that they have a blood feud with the Taardad.

Egwene tells Rhuarc that they need to bury the dead Tuatha'an, and Melaine shoots back "they are not worth the time or the stones. It's their own fault they're dead" but Rhuarc agrees to stay behind to bury them. We also get our first "Shade of my heart" between Rhuarc and Bair here. <3 This endearment always gets to me because it's just so personal and specific to the Aiel as a people.

In the first steps of a "you two don't belong together" campaign that Bair will continue in the next episode, Bair calls Egwene to come along with her, while Rand stays behind with Rhuarc as he covers the bodies with stones in their burial ritual (which we can see in 3x04 comes down to them from the time of their trek eastward, as Jonai buries his daughter this way as well). I have some thoughts on Bair's motives re: Egwene, mostly revolving around Bair wanting Rand to be able to focus his attention on becoming the Car'a'carn and not get distracted by wetlander Aes Sedai, even if they are capable of learning how to use the dream, but I feel like we may get more answers on her motives when 3x05 airs. Bair does mention in 3x04 that the Wise Ones did not see Egwene coming along with Rand, and that may contribute to her belief that Rand and Egwene's paths do not align.

"You know too much and too little." Yeah, this ties back to Chiad and Bain's reaction when Aviendha mentions the Trial of Rhuidean to Rand in 3x01 -- they were startled and talked to each other when Aviendha said it to Rand. Living as someone who was raised outside their culture, Rand will never fully understand (as he admits to Aviendha in 3x04, after the columns) and it also seems that Rhuarc & the Wise Ones were of the mind that the less information given to Rand about what he needed to face to become the Car'a'carn, the better.

We get a really lovely scene here of Perrin burying his wife's ring, and we continue the "funeral rite" theme from the previous scene, as we learn how the Aybara family buries their dead -- holding an apple tree seed, to add to the orchard and thus feed their descendants for generations to come. That feels so perfect for the Two Rivers (I wonder if different families have slightly different versions but that they all 'contribute' to the future in some way). And Alanna shares her people's way with Perrin -- that the markings on her face are Ihvon's ashes with clay and water. The music here is gorgeous.

"It hurts and comforts me to see how her tree has thrived in my absence." That is such a beautiful line. It made me tear up.

"We wear the grief until it seeps in... becomes a part of you." And how stripped down and vulnerable Alanna is in this scene. "When one half of a couple dies, the other one is left to grieve. When one of three departs, who owns that grief?"

So, we've seen that different cultures all have their own funeral practices. Maksim does not seem to be from the same culture as Alanna -- did he object to Ihvon's body being burned to create the ash for Alanna's funeral rites, because it conflicted with his own rites that he wanted to carry out (which may have been the Warder rites or his own cultural rites)? Who owns the grief when they both loved Ihvon?

Bain teasingly says that "losing" Maidens' Kiss means that you'll be dead, so Mat was doing fairly okay by only getting a few nicks! I do think that Maidens' Kiss does a good job of showing us how casual and ingrained violence is in the Aiel culture -- even their kissing games have violence woven in.

Anyway, Chaid and Bain get no takers for their game today, but we do get to check in with Maksim, via them asking him to play, about his own grief over Ihvon - "the only man I ever loved". Much like Alanna is wearing her grief on her face, Maksim carries his grief as well -- Ihvon's blood is still on the sword that killed him, and Maksim carries it still.

We also learn that Loial is writing a chapter on Manetheren, and he seems to be quite a few pages into the book that he's writing (he did have a month on a boat to take some time to sit and write out what he's experienced and what he might have learned by talking to the others).

We meet a group of people, being led by "Lord Luc" (a hunter for the Horn, who stuck around after he learned about the Whitecloaks and Trollocs). The woman that we are later introduced to first as Mandarb and then as Faile, is also there but we don't get her name at this time. We learn that Natti Cauthon & Mat's sisters have been captured by the Whitecloaks, making Perrin's internal conflict nudge up another degree or so.

Faile challenges Perrin's presence, which leads to all the villagers noting his changed eyes, while Perrin challenges Lord Luc ("Lord of what, exactly?" we don't get an answer.

We do shift over to get a view of the Whitecloak camp (on Watch Hill, Faile helpfully lets us know in the previous scene). We see that Natti & the girls are, indeed, captured. That Dain is conflicted over the idea of harming them in order to question them about Perrin but willing to bend his morals if it starts to take too long for Perrin to show up in the Two Rivers, and that Child Valda is as much of an asshole as ever.

Also, it really does disturb me so much seeing kids with the Whitecloaks. Training them up young. Dain was one of those kids once.

Cutting from Mat's family to Mat having his memories that are keeping him awake -- inspired. The transition choices in the show have always been great, even back in s1, but they flow so well this season especially.

Min showing up in Mat's bedroom again late at night (but once again not for that reason). This time, she actually is there to talk to Mat, instead of acting as Siuan's messenger. What Min tells Mat here -- that she is haunted by visions of her visions of the future and wanted a chance to be rid of them, may resonate with Mat whether he wants them to or not, because he is currently being haunted by visions of the past.

Elayne and Nynaeve continue their investigation -- Nynaeve found the symbol and Elayne figures out the meaning. Together, they figure out that Liandrin has likely gone to Tanchico.

"What if everything they said was a lie? We should be looking at what they didn't say." Elayne and Nynaeve study the catalogue that Verin has created of the stolen items, and they find the drawing of the bracer, immediately recognizing it as similar to the sul'dam bracelet. Elayne's knowledge of history and politics comes in handy again -- she knows that Tanchico is near Falme, where the Seanchan originally left from centuries ago, so Nynaeve puts together that the collar that goes to this bracer might be located in Tanchico. That there is a clear and present danger to Rand.

The Gray Man tries to kill them - Nynaeve gets them both out of the way physically, while Elayne pushes him back with the One Power. When they go out into the corridor, they find that he's already dead. Stabbed to death.

From where his bolt flew, it does look like the Gray Man was aiming at Elayne, which is interesting, since it was Nynaeve that Moghedien was targeting before. I do think that Elayne wasn't considered an important part of things before 3x01, but since we know that Moghedien and Rahvin are talking to each other, and Rahvin likely learned from Morgase that Elayne healed the Dragon Reborn at Falme... Elayne may now also be a target, at least for Rahvin and Moghedien, though perhaps still unknown to the other Forsaken.

Verin strolls around the corner with a book, asking the girls what happened. She is able to tell them a little bit about Gray Man, but Nynaeve notes (after she leaves) that she never wondered who killed the Gray Man. As Elayne said about Joiya and Amico -- it's good to pay as much attention to what people don't say as what they do.

Everything is too suspicious for our detective agency now and they've just learned of a clear and imminent threat to Rand (and they now both consider themselves Protectors of the Dragon Reborn, the way that Egwene does, I think), so they figure it's time to book it and get out of dodge before the Forsaken can send another assassin after them.

We shift over to Tanchico to cover Liandrin & co's arrival and to check out the new outfits on the Black Ajah. Jeaine slaying, as always (they all have fun outfits - I also really like Ispan's braids). This is the part of town where Liandrin is from, and these are the people who raised her. Liandrin wears a veil when outside here, and she slips into a different accent when she speaks to the locals.

There's some big information about Tanchico (or this part of it) that's given to us here, information that validates and reinforces what we learned about Liandrin's past in previous episodes, the things that created the way she feels about men and the trauma that led her to the Shadow, to have enough power that no one would ever be able to abuse her like that again.

Tanchico practices child-bride marriages, and it sounds like it's normal practice for the girls to get married very young, so that their husbands can "mold" them into being the perfect little wife. The show has done a really good job of giving Darkfriends relatable reasons why they would choose to become Darkfriends, and seeing Liandrin's backstory really helps explain the person that she is, and why she acts the way that she does.

We shift over the Elaida and it's time for Plan B -- she's figured out who Min is and why Min was sent to be her servant, and she puts into motion her plan to get Tsutama out of the way so that she can do what Tsutama refuses to do when it comes to the Dragon Reborn. And she uses Min to do it.

Step 1: bond with Min over having visions of the future (helpfully also telling the audience that Elaida shares this with Min).

Step 2: offer her advice on how to handle her burden in a way that will make her feel agency over it. She tells Min that they can find their power in what leads up to the moment that they see, and what they do afterwards.

Step 3: now that you've created this sense of kinship between you, pretend to share a secret with her, knowing that she will pass the information on to Verin & Siuan, in order to get you what you want. Elaida is good at manipulating people into doing what she wants (if the people don't already know her - Tsutama caught on to her pretty quickly). And Min passes it along because she knows that Elaida can't lie -- but if Elaida saw in a Foretelling that she would become the Highest again, then that could explain how she could tell Min this and not have it be a lie.

"Many years ago, I had a Foretelling that the queendom of Andor would play a key role in the Last Battle." And that led to her supporting and advising Morgase in her campaign to win the Succession War. She touches her bracelet after this, and Min asks about it, and Elaida does coyly admit that it's part of a Foretelling "of a sort". Very intriguing!

Bair and Egwene talk about Dreamwalking and how rare it is. Also, Bair calls Egwene "Egwene Sedai" and Egwene does not correct her.

Egwene does confide in Bair about her dreams, and Bair tells her that someone hurting her in the dream world and the hurts following her into the waking world means that the person hurting her is truly also there in the dream world, and alive. Bair promises to teach Egwene how to protect herself... after Rhuidean.

We go from Egwene talking about the person hurting her, to us seeing that person.

Lanfear claims here to Rand that he's the one that brought them here this time and not her -- he doesn't buy it and neither do I. We've never seen any evidence that Rand can move himself around in TAR the way that Lanfear can and the way that Egwene was able to do in the last episode.

She is playing up her vulnerability hard in this talk with Rand. Oh, you were so right to make the choices that you did. I made so many mistakes. I can't do this on my own. You need to help me, Rand. You need to save me from myself and my own poor choices. Don't you want to save me, Rand? (remember how it felt when you saved me from that Fade? didn't it feel good to save me? I'm here to make you feel like a grown man, capable of protecting the woman that he loves -- you remember that you told me that you loved me, right?) You need to find this incredibly powerful object for me so that you can help save me from the bad choices that I've made.

The fact that she is still playing Selene here -- that she has soft hair and a soft attitude -- really exposes that she's not being honest. Her most honest moments with Rand, imo, were their desert talks last season, after he'd found out the truth. But she realized that they weren't effective, so she switched gears.

The bait-and-switch of the sweat tent scene is interesting. Because Lan encouraging Moiraine here could mean one of two different things: either he feels like she's open to the idea and he wants her to have some happiness even if she's not still with Siuan, or she isn't open to the idea and he doesn't want her to trap herself into the past.

We learn here that the Taardad Aiel, at least, do take in refugees sometimes, as they took in Melindhra as a small child and raised her as their own. We don't know about the other clans.

This plotline of exploring Lan's feelings about his heritage feels very well-timed, since it means he can bond with Rand over it (which we see a little of in the next episode).

"Aiel do not have tattoos" - given what we learn in the next episode, this is likely because they are sacred, as the marker of leadership. They don't get other tattoos because of the marking that Rhuidean gives the clan chiefs.

"Have you forgotten your duty?" Duty has been another big theme so far this season -- taking up the duty left to you by your ancestors. Elayne struggles with this in 3x02, Lan is questioned over it here, Perrin will take up a duty regarding the Two Rivers, and both Rand and Aviendha will accept their duty to the Aiel people in 3x04 (and the burden of duty through the generations is a huge theme we explore in 3x04).

Two Rivers town meeting! Perrin volunteers to turn himself in to save the Cauthons, and the vast majority of the village says "fuck no. we defend our own".

A heartbreaking thing that we learn in the conversation between Maksim and Alanna is that Alanna is now keeping secrets from him -- she hasn't told him why they came to the Two Rivers. He's just as much in the dark as everyone else.

"Mandarb" and Perrin have their first conversation here, where she comes over to poke at him over that moment of attempting to turn himself in. "I've never seen someone try to turn themselves in... and fail." She has been watching him a lot and definitely finds him intriguing. They have a bit of (understandable) miscommunication -- Perrin is amused by her being here to look for the Horn (because he knows it was found already) and then amused by her name (because it was what Lan called his horse) and puts her back up with his amusement until she gets up and leaves with one last barb ("try again to turn yourself in").

She definitely thought Perrin was going to make a dick joke about her name ("It's what my friend calls his..." and it means 'blade'). But that was not his intention, of course. Still, she leaves prickly and he remains amused by the conversation.

Turning himself in failed, so we learn that Perrin's Plan B is to go in and save Natti & the girls.

Mat spots Min, and wants to clear the air between, now that he's had a chance to think about it, but now she's the one who isn't feeling great. I'm guessing she might be coming back from telling Siuan and/or Verin about her conversation with Elaida.

Mat apologizes to Min, and he begins to explain about what he's been dealing with, and we learn that Mat's memories are common knowledge around the Tower. Then Min gets another viewing of Mat -- a twisted doorframe behind him, and his body hanging from a noose. She's worried over it and Mat immediately clocks her reaction, as this is not the first time she's had a scary viewing about him.

Galad swoops in to 'save' Min (she doesn't need it), and even after Min says that she's fine, he stays and keeps bothering Mat anyway. This kinda goes with what we saw in his introduction about treating Elayne like she was young and needed his protection -- he seems to extend this outwards to all women, not only his little sister (who doesn't need his protection either).

Mat's extremely sarcastic "praise" of Galad here is very funny. The show definitely puts a lot into building up Mat's irritation towards the brothers (but especially Galad) before we get the sparring later on.

Yes, the fact that Leane goes now to give the Amyrlin's orders that are designed to get Tsutama out of the Tower confirms to me that Min was just in reporting to Siuan, and then Siuan takes immediate action to try to get what she views as her greatest danger out of the way. And Elaida talked plainly enough that I can understand why Min believed her (I just think she was able to speak so confidently because she's had a Foretelling that gives her the knowledge that the moment she's talking about will happen). But it means that Siuan was tricked into forcing out the Red Sitter & the Head of the Ajah who actually was dedicated to earning back the trust of the Amrylin and who wasn't inclined to make hasty moves with regards to the Dragon Reborn.

I'm guessing that part of the reason that Mazrim Taim is the goal that is given to Tsutama is because of the lies told by Joiya. Siuan thinks that Liandrin might already be there. While she may be less suspicious of Tsutama being Black Ajah now (because of her actions in 3x01), she's still worried about her as a potential challenge to what Siuan believes she needs to do in the Tower, so she gets her out of the way.

Since Elaida fully thinks of herself as the once and future Highest of the Reds, her words here are actually her saying that she needs to stay in the Tower to complete her work (though she's the only one who will understand it that way).

Now Perrin returns the favor of protection -- as the Two Rivers defended him against the idea of turning himself in, Perrin uses his personal knowledge of the Trollocs to convince the villages to hold together here, and not scatter back to their own farms. He takes up a position of inspirational leadership in the village, without realizing that he's doing it.

Mat trains with a quarterstaff, perhaps trying to do as Min suggested, and find the Hero from Falme inside himself again. The princes show up and twit Mat about his fighting skills, but Mat doesn't yet take the bait, faking a laugh.

Galad, uh, offers to show Mat how to handle his sword, but Mat rejects that offer.

Nynaeve shows up, after having sought Mat out to say goodbye to him -- Mat is understandably upset at the idea that Nynaeve is just going to leave without him after she promised to help him.

And, once again, Galad swoops in to rescue a woman who neither wants nor needs his help (and Nynaeve is the one who came to speak with Mat! not the other way around).

"Mate, take a day off!" is such a great, frustrated line from Mat. Just let him talk to his friend! He's a touchy-feely person and his friends know that about him. He's not bugging her!

It is also so funny to me that we get Elayne mentioning later that she didn't even tell her brothers that she was leaving and we definitely have Nynaeve here, not trusting Elayne's brothers with the knowledge that they're leaving.

Loved the fight. <3

I don't really have anything deep to say about it, just that I really loved it. Mat quoting the same Old Tongue line that he said before the fight at Falme. Nynaeve's concern turning to smug happiness over seeing him beat the snot out of the princes. The music! The times when we get the bits of slo-mo. Mat's very brief moment of choking Galad. It all really works for me.

Echoing Perrin, Mat also finds an authority in himself that he didn't know he had, but instead of it being outwards, it's inward. Control over himself.

Now we get a more personal and private conversation between Perrin and the woman who says now that her name is Faile. No jabs this time and no hidden amusement. She asks an honest question, gets an honest response back in turn, and they end on a nice note.

"Nobody's getting hurt. I'll make sure of it." Hmm, very similar to what we see with Randcestor Lewin in the next episode, which did not end up working well for him. Will it work better for Perrin? His people don't follow the Way of the Leaf, so they won't cast him out if he does end up causing violence.

Mat has joined Nynaeve and Elayne's trip by invitation, while Min is sneaking along behind them (but, hey, we don't see any Gray Men, so at least there's that!). Likely thinking about Elaida's advice about trying to turn her viewings into a gift.

We end on Liandrin finishing out the funeral rite for her son, including some flashbacks to holding her son after his birth. She goes upstairs and we get some Black Ajah lore dumps about how they are going after a way to cage the Dragon, and it's revealed to the audience that Moghedien is there, playacting as a servant and learning what Liandrin & co are up to, so that's all some nice set-up for the future episodes.

#wot #the wheel of time #wheel of time #wot on prime #wot s3 spoilers #wheel of time s3 spoilers #butterfly watches wot #wot meta #my wot meta #wot 3x03 spoilers #wot 3x04 spoilers

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rewrite-this-story · 3 days ago

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Here's the thing, in the DC universe, Dick Grayson seems to appear literally everywhere and because he's sort of a celebrity, I feel like civilians would eventually notice this. Like, there are absolutely dozens of conspiracy theories specifically revolving around Dick Grayson.

First of all, his famous parents die in a suspicious manner when he's a kid and their death is never officially solved, so of course, there's a ton of true crime content about the death of the flying Graysons. Even as an adult, Dick still has to turn down requests to be interviewed about his parents' deaths at least once a month.

Then, he's adopted by one of the richest men in the world and starts showing up at random political events and meetings even as a child. During this time, he's also seen hanging out with Starfire and multiple other known aliens and superheroes.

Later, he becomes a police officer in one of the most corrupt and crime-ridden cities in America, only rivaled by Gotham itself, during a time when there was constant turnover in the police department. Not long after Dick joins the force, a while bunch of corrupt officers, including the commissioner (if I remember correctly), are fired. During this time, he absolutely was at the center of solving a bunch of insane cases. Between his parents' death and his time as a police officer, you can not convince me that this man hasn't been mentioned by name in more true crime podcasts than any other person on the planet.

Later, he dies and is revealed to be Nightwing. Now, I know this was supposedly fixed by erasing a bunch of people's memories, but I feel like there would still be posts online about Dick Grayson being Nightwing and dying that no one remembers anything about.

Also, he has started numerous non-profit organizations that actually successfully do a ton of good in the community.

And then there are the posts where people think it might be him, but no one's sure. These are the grainy photos of him in other countries or at major political events he has no business attending.

My point is, I feel like there would be a lot of online forums dedicated to figuring out what the deal with Rich John Grayson-Wayne is. He also definitely has to refuse to be in a lot of documentaries or podcasts because he's worried they'll find outout about his work as a superhero.

#dick grayson #nightwing #dc comics #outsider pov #kind of #dc headcanon

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nethhiri · 1 day ago

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Chapter 68: Hog Wild

Warnings: Sex

I wish this dude would leave me alone. I glanced in his direction ONCE and he's been following me for days, hiding behind trees. He thinks he's so slick about it, too. Little does he know he stinks so fucking bad I can tell where he is. Not to mention his huge body was hard to hide as it was. Pathetic. Sometimes I find things left for me, small gifts. I know it's him. I haven't touched a single one. How dare he think he can win me over with cowardly advances. I'm just going to keep ignoring him and maybe he'll take the hint.

But he didn't. The massive jackass just kept hanging around, leaving progressively more impressive gifts. How embarrassing for him, to be hopelessly in love. Love was for suckers. Love was what put this crew in this mess in the first place. It was not about to get in the way again. Love was going to have to fuck off until everyone was reunited, maybe forever actually. Then, maybe nothing like this would happen in the future.

I bet he thinks he's god's gift to Earth, the way he puffs his chest out. He holds his head pretty high for someone who won't even approach me. Not that I care. His spiky fur coat looks stupid and his head is fat. In fact, his head is so fat, it makes his ears look stupidly small.Snort. Keep dreaming, you ogre. My life is already dedicated to someone and they're way better than you.

The villages were all the same. The food was trash. The people were skittish. And that stupid man of a hog was there. He was persistent. He could have credit for that. The villagers seemed to hide from him. Maybe due to his size, because he certainly wasn't intimidating. That was a bonus. They were annoying to move around anyway. When it came to the wastelands, things were different. It was harder to come by food, and the food that was found, was rotten or tainted. Somehow, the nights were colder there, and the days were hotter. Dehydration was a real threat, especially when the rain there was tainted, too. It wouldn't be that long to travel through it. It was doable.... wasn't it?

What was I thinking? I might... be lost. I'm so fucking hungry but everything is poisoned. I tried to eat some of the more safe looking things and still got sick. My tongue is so dry. I need a drink. The water looks like sludge, though. This sucks. There's not even any sheltered areas to sleep tonight.

Waking up shivering was less than comfortable. This time, the gift he left, some fruit, was almost accepted. Almost. A few more days and it would be. This was becoming exhausting. Why was this fucking wasteland so huge? The blonde one was usually the reasonable one. Not this time. This was all his fault. Something was very wrong with him, though. His nature was more calm and steady normally. Perhaps he could earn forgiveness later, through food, as always.

Food. I'm so hungry. Not hungry enough to give up my pride and eat this fruit though. Not yet.

A couple days passed. It was finally time. Time to give in. It was plainly obvious that the fruit was planted. It didn't even match the rest of the fruit on the bush. It was lying on the ground near it, looking vaguely like the head of an animal. And was it glowing? Who cares? Everything was probably a tiny bit toxic here. One bite and it was certain that this was the worst tasting fruit on the planet. It was moist on the tongue, though, so nothing was left for the ants. It was a temporary relief. Though, now sludge was starting to seem appealing.

No, really. That smells much better than it did before. There must not be any chemicals in here. I think I'll have a little taste. Fuck! That's good! Why was I not drinking this before? I don't even care that I'm Kidding-out right now. I'm starving! There's going to be sludge all over my face. Maybe my secret admirer will finally fuck off. Actually. I might wallow in it. Surely he won't get near me if I'm covered in sludge. And it's getting warm out so it will be sort of refreshing. Eat your heart out, stalker.

There was an alarmed snort. "No, Queen!" He offered help.

"Don't touch me you fucking creep!"

"Please. You're going to hurt yourself."

It was her turn to snort. "Do I look hurt to you?"

"No... you look like the prettiest gilt I've ever seen."

"Obviously." Mini looked him up and down. "Okay good talk."

"Don't go! Let me at least escort you out of the wastelands." He lowered his head. "Please, queen."

"Stop calling me that."

"But... I want you to be my queen."

"And I want to be left alone, but here we are."

Minerva flicked her ears in an extremely unimpressed way. She turned away with him hot on her haunches.

"Won't you tell me your name?"

"...Mini."

"Aren't you going to ask mine?" He puffed his chest, which she did not see since he was behind her.

"No." She walked faster, annoyed that he was so close to her.

"It's Mountain God."

"I could not care less."

He snorted. "I'm kind of a big deal."

"That's nice." Mini stopped. "Do you hear that?"

Mountain God flicked his ears in various directions. "No?"

"That's exactly what I want to hear for the rest of this trip."

The man never knew what hit him. You did though. It was a parasol straight through the heart. Kamazo had gotten you the most beautiful red bangasa tipped with a sharp, gold ferrule. The red helped hide the bloodstains when you were walking with it over your shoulder, and the gold, well, it was just pretty, especially when it was dripping with the same blood that left the stains. You pulled the accessory out of his body, leaving a hole clean through his chest. You swung the parasol over your shoulder and opened it, flicking the blood from it with the momentum. Turning, you glanced to Kamazo for approval.

"Fa fa fa. Hold still." Kamazo came up to you and wiped blood splatter from your face. "You did well."

You leaned up to kiss him. "I wish you would take these bandages off. I hate when you cover your face."

"You know I can't."

"Can't or won't."

"Watch it. Fa fa fa."

"I would kill anyone that stared."

"I know you would."

"So?"

"Fa fa fa. There would be no one left if I let you kill whoever you wanted." Kamazo took your hair in his hand, admiring how the light reflected off it. "That's why Master Orochi likes you so much."

"Really? I think he likes me so much because he's a perverted old man and I'm-."

Kamazo put a hand up to your mouth. "Don't speak of him like that. I don't want to have to punish you again."

"Sorry."

"I know you are. Fa fa fa."

Orochi didn't need much convincing to let you work for him. Truthfully, he seemed quite pleased that Kamazo had spared you and brought you to him. Orochi should be grateful that Kamazo had kept you drugged until that point, or you would have snapped on him when he groped you. Your mind had started to clear in the past few days, ever since Kamazo had stopped giving you the strange water. Up until then, whenever you gave Kamazo any pushback, you had found yourself feeling foggy and dull soon after. There was something gnawing at the back of your mind, something that you had to do, but you couldn't remember what it was. If you could behave long enough for your mind to recover fully, maybe you would remember.

Even though you knew Kamazo was giving you something to make you more compliant, you couldn't bring yourself to be angry with him. It felt protective, in a way. Was he protecting you from yourself, or himself, or maybe Orochi? The only emotion you could conjure when it came to Kamazo was adoration and loyalty. There was something keeping you from feeling anything else, not that you were sure you wanted to anyway. It was bothering you, though, that you weren't quite sure if you had always been this way. Actually, you couldn't remember much other than Kamazo.

"Don't pout. You know what you're doing," Kamazo tutted.

You grinned, with a hint of guilt. "You're rough when you're annoyed."

"If you want me to be rough, all you have to do is ask."

"It's more natural when I push your buttons."

"Fa fa fa. Consider them pushed."

Kamazo stalked towards you until your back was flat against the wall in the well-hidden alley. No one was going to bother you here. You both put your weapons aside. He slid his hand under your clothes and he caught your lips with his own. His tongue pushed into your mouth at the same time his fingers pushed into your cunt. There was a slight sting as you weren't quite ready. Your hips rolled into his palm, easing the stinging almost immediately. Your moans poured into Kamazo's mouth as he worked his fingers into you. He knew your body better than you did it seemed sometimes. Kamazo covered your mouth with his free hand so he could watch the pleasure on your face and keep you quiet at the same time. Your own hands were clinging to his clothing. They tried to grab his cock to jerk him off, but he was keeping it out of reach on purpose. Kamazo pulled his fingers from you and held them up to your lips for you to lick. You did what he wanted, tasting yourself on his fingers. Finally, he pulled his cock out. He spit into the same hand and moved it at a languid pace up and down his shaft. When you reached for it, he stopped you.

"No. Watch. You're not allowed to touch."

Again you did what he wanted, watching as he fisted his cock with increasing speed. He leaned over you, close enough that you could feel his hot breath ghost across your skin. You were forced to listen to the noises he let out, driving you wild. All you wanted to do was take him inside you. You wanted him to fuck you hard against the wall. He knew it, too. That why was he was punishing you this way. So close to that fantasy, yet he wasn't going to let you have it. He wasn't even going to let you finish. He just wanted to work you up so that you were that much more pent up when he denied you that pleasure. Kamazo sank down to his knees, hand moving furiously on his cock. He groaned as he leaned in, taking in the scent of your cunt, careful not to touch you at all. How easy it would be to ride his pointed nose until you came. But you knew it would only make your punishment worse if you moved or tried to get off in any way. With a guttural grunt and a shudder, Kamazo spilled his seed onto the ground. You groaned with desperation, watching the spurts coat the dirt instead of your insides.

Kamazo stood back up, putting his dick away. "Maybe next time you'll act better."

"Kam..."

"The faster we take care of the next hits, the faster we get a room. Fa fa fa." Kamazo tilted your head with your chin, biting your earlobe before whispering, "Then I'll fuck you raw, until you pass out."

You grinned at him, biting your lip. "I'll be good."

"I know you will. Fa fa fa."

Mini stretched and yawned, feeling her companion snuggle closer to her as she moved. She tried to run him off many times. So many times. But the bastard kept following her. He was obsessed with her. She finally gave in and let him serve her. If he wanted to wait hand and foot on her, so be it. Mountain God was a good hamservant, fetching Mini all the food he could find, even the contaminated stuff. She found herself craving it for some reason. The chemical smell didn't even bother her nose anymore.

He didn't bother her as much anymore either. He was somewhat handsome for a hugely fat-headed boar. It was sort of nice to have another of her own kind around. She hadn't seen another boar in a very long time. Mini turned to her sleeping partner and jabbed him with her tusks so he would wake up. It was time for him to fetch her breakfast. Honestly, it should have already been in front of her when she woke up. MG was slacking since he thought she was finally into him. Wrong. Mini was using him as a tool since he wanted to act like one.

MG's snoring tapered off and he shook his head as he woke up. He leaned in to press his nose against Mini's and she turned her head away.

"Don't be like that, swineheart."

"Ew, Meej. Don't call me that."

"I can have a pet name but you can't?"

"It's not a pet name. I'm not calling you Mountain God. It's too pretentious for what you are. You're like... the Earl of Hills."

MG snorted in an amused way. "Somehow your insults only make me more infatuated with you." His eyes cracked open and blinked a few times. "You are glowing."

"Stop that. I told you not to talk about it."

"No. Really. You're glowing."

"What do you mean?"

Minerva noticed a faint green glow emanating from her body. Oh no. Did I overdo it with the toxic sludge? As she began to worry, her heart rate sped up. Mini didn't feel right. She noticed MG getting... smaller? That wasn't quite right. She was getting bigger. Her hooves fused into one hoof-shaped claw and her dew claws grew to act as a second and third phalange. Mini could feel her tusks growing larger and her tail getting longer, more muscular. She was as comfortable resting on her two back legs as she was on all-fours. Mini craned her neck to look at her body. There were bat-like wings sprouting from her back, with glowing green membranes. Bony, vertebral processes broke through her fur, which was now nearly black in color. Bending down, she used the reflection from a stagnant pool to look at her face. A boar's skull with glowing green orbs instead of eyes stared back at her.

Mini could no longer communicate, which she discovered by trying to speak to MG, and instead roaring so hard his ears blew flat back and he was covered in glowing, green spittle.

MG was staring at her with wide eyes, taking a step back. He shuddered. "Mini... "

Mini grabbed him with her newly prehensile hands, careful not to pop him like a water balloon. She sniffed him inquisitively, blowing out disturbingly radioactive-looking steam from her nostrils, which enveloped him in a cloud.

Mountain God swallowed thickly, a warm, tingly feeling flooding his body. "I'm in love with you."

Tag list: @bbnbhm @wgwingguns @nocturnalrorobin @lycanthropemaul

#one piece #marooned #massacre soldier killer #eustass kid #x reader #kid x reader x killer #massacre soldier killer x reader #hitokiri kamazo x reader #hitokiri kamazo #kamazo x reader #eustass kid x reader

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