#i love this thing its so pretty. i got the dearly beloved one too

[ngc-5194]

little edit for my kairi music box because the raw audio itself didn't want to cooperate

[toomuchracket]

dearly beloved (ross x reader fluff)

the final valentine's week fic! remember this shy gf one where they decided to get married in gretna? well. this is that. enjoy <3

taking a tentative sip of your tea, you turn as the door to the cottage opens. your friend hurries in, a burst of cold air following her before she slams it shut.  “what a beautiful morning it is,” she sighs, beaming at you as she takes her coat off. “perfect day for a wedding, i’d say.”

you beam over the edge of your mug, cheeks heating up at the thought of what you’re about to do. “yeah? how are the boys?”

“oh, yours is fine. he’s got a brew, he’s fully ready - he looks gorgeous, by the way, if you don’t mind me saying…”

“not at all,” you shake your head, smiling even wider. you wouldn’t expect anything less of ross, especially in a kilt.

“... and mine just cannot stop crying. keeps looking at ross and going ‘you’re getting married! i’m so happy’ and weeping,” she sighs. “like, tell that to your face, matthew, honestly.”

you giggle. “bless him. he’s a sweetie.”

“he is. my sweet little emo boy,” your friend grins. “i think ross is going to cry too when he sees you, though.”

“really?” you tug at your dress, slightly self-conscious.

she nods. “you’re radiant, babe. he’s going to love you even more than usual. and that’s saying something.”

smiling shyly, you turn to look in the mirror. you do look radiant, although you wonder how much that has to do with your gorgeous dress and pretty makeup than it does with the fact you’re marrying the man of your dreams within the hour.

within the hour. shit, you need to get a move on. you turn to your friend, currently shimmying her own dress on. “babe - oh, that’s pretty - when you get a second, would you help me put a bit of my hair up?”

“of course. that reminds me, actually,” she runs to her coat and digs through the pockets, pulling out a little box and placing it in your hand. “i was going to suggest we put that on the bouquet, but we could do something with it in your hair, if you’d like?”

you open the box, smiling at the pattern on the spool of ribbon inside. “macdonald tartan,” same as your husband-to-be’s kilt. “i love it. thank you so much, babe.”

“it was ross’s idea, actually,” she squeezes your shoulder. “needless to say, that set matty off again.”

“i know how he feels,” you smile, tears threatening to spill over your lashline at the tenderness of your man’s gesture. “only thing stopping me from crying is the fear of ruining my makeup, to be honest.”

she giggles. “sensible woman. alright,” she tugs her shoes on, and grabs a hairbrush. “have a seat, and i’ll do my best not to fuck up your hair on your wedding day.”

“my wedding day,” you laugh in slight disbelief, smoothing the skirt of your dress before sitting on one of the chairs by the window. the sun is bright on the scottish countryside, the cold ground glittering in its light; it’s stunning, and your heart soars at how lucky you are to have a setting and day like this for your most special one. “kind of insane that it’s… here. now. and it’s actually happening.”

“a bit, yeah,” your friend gently pulls some of your hair back. “you nervous?”

“nah.”

“really?”

“yeah,” you smile, eyes closing in contentment as your hair is manipulated. “always thought i’d be shitting bricks on the day i got married, if it ever happened, but i’m actually okay. dunno if it’s because i haven’t really had the time to stress about it, or if the gravitas of it all hasn’t just sunk in yet, but, to be honest, i don’t think that’ll actually happen,” you smile to yourself, biting the inside of your cheek to keep from fully cheesing. “it’s just me and ross, after all. i love him. he loves me. and we have you and matty with us, two of the people we love most and who love us most in the world. and there’s no aisle for me to trip on while i walk - how could i be nervous?”

your friend laughs; once she finishes tying an elastic in your hair, she leans down to hug you, and a tear drips from her eye onto your bare shoulder. “god, you’ve got me crying now, too,” she giggles. “thank you for letting us be a part of your day. means the world - i love you and ross, so much. can’t wait to celebrate your love today.”

“nobody else i’d rather have with me,” you kiss her teary cheek. “ribbon time?”

“ribbon time. well, take a look at your hair first,” she hands you a mirror. “i tried my best.”

“it looks amazing!” you exclaim, turning to see the face-framing strands she left out of the pretty half-up. “seriously. you’re good.”

“thanks,” she looks up at you bashfully, nail scissors poised over the spool of ribbon. “it’s cos i sit and do matty’s hair when i’m bored.”

you blink at her for a second, then the two of you collapse into a fit of giggles. “i don’t know why i’m laughing, i braid ross’s like every night to get him to fall asleep.”

she giggles even harder, awwing as the laughs fade. “that’s so fucking cute,” she waves the ribbon at you. “and now you can put this in it and be all matchy-matchy.”

“oh, i don’t know if we’re one of those couples,” you wince, sitting still so she can tie the ribbon around the elastic. “but marriage might change us. you never know.”

“well, not long now until you find out, babe,” your friend hugs you again. “have we ticked off the checklist?”

you nod. “vintage dress, old. ribbon, new. handbag is yours - thank you, by the way - so, borrowed, and there’s sapphires in my earrings for the blue component.”

“fab,” she smiles at you really tenderly. “you know, you really are the most beautiful bride i’ve ever seen. he’s a lucky man.”

“oh, no,” you shake your head, taking a sneaky glance at yourself in the mirror while you do and blushing when you see your glamorous reflection. “i think i'm the lucky one.”

she reaches for your hand, squeezing it gently. “shall we go and meet the boys and find out which statement is true?”

you squeeze her hand back. “let's do it.”

after a few minutes of teaching her how to work your film camera and another few of having your picture taken (always a weird experience for you, so used to being on the other side), you leave the cottage and step out into the crisp december air. across the road, outside the old blacksmith's shop you chose as your venue, you can see ross and matty waiting with the man conducting the ceremony; at the sight of your husband-to-be, resplendent in his kilt and black shirt and jacket, you speed up your walking, desperate to be with him.

matty clocks you first, walking over to greet you. his eyes - red-rimmed enough as is - well up when he sees you and your bouquet, and his fiancée winces when he wipes them with the sleeve of his suit. “hi, darling,” he pulls you into a hug. “you look amazing,” he pats your shoulder before kissing your friend. “and you look alright.”

she slaps him on the shoulder, which makes you laugh. “charming.”

“i'm kidding! you look lovely, my girl,” he kisses her head. “now,” he extends an arm out to you - you take it, and take your friend's in the other. “let's go and get you married, mate.”

the three of you walk towards ross and the officiant, both of whom smile as you approach. the latter steps forward to shake your hand and compliment you, and then it's ross's turn; he brings your hand to his lips, then keeps a tight grasp on it, eyes teary. “hi, love. you look… perfect.”

“hi,” you breathe, also on the verge of tears. “you're gorgeous.”

loud sniffling behind you indicates matty is, once again, crying. ross turns towards him and smiles, shaking his head, before turning to the officiant. “shall we?”

“indeed,” the man leads you into the old building - surprisingly warm inside, for it being a stone structure from the 1700s and it being december in the scottish borders - and directs you and ross to stand in front of the anvil, flanked by your friends. once he's made sure you're both alright, he begins. “dearly beloved, we are gathered here today…”

you don't really take in a word the man says, to be honest, bless him - you're too busy looking into ross's eyes, those pools of warmth you've happily drowned in time and time again. but you hear ross when he confirms that you're going with traditional vows for the ceremony, throwing a loving dig at your friends and saying “we'll leave the writing to those muppets behind us” (most likely to get them both to laugh instead of cry), as well as matty's heartfelt “love you, guys” when he presents the rings at the appropriate moment. in all honesty, you're not sure how long you stand there and wait in excited anticipation to officially become ross's wife - time seems to bend in on itself, simultaneously running fast and slow, so it's impossible to be sure of numbers and minutes and seconds. all you're sure of is the feeling of ross's hands in your own and the way he's looking at you adoringly, and that's enough for you. forever.

and then, of course, once you've both said “i do” and slid the complimentary silver rings onto each other's left hands, you're sure of the feeling of his lips on yours; soft, warm, familiar. he pulls back, smiling, and the world opens up to you again - your friends cheering through their tears, matty snapping pictures on your camera, and the officiant clapping and congratulating you both too. but ross is still at the centre of all of it, hugging you, murmuring “my beautiful wife” against your hair.

once the hubbub dies down a little, the officiant gestures to your friend to step forward. “the first act of marriage - the quaich ceremony,” he says, as she places a lovely wooden box on top of the anvil and lifts the lid. you and ross peer in, as the man continues to talk. “husband and wife share a drink, to symbolise the blending of their families, to seal their union, and to represent the sharing of love and happiness throughout their marriage.”

you knew this ceremony was happening, but you didn't know about the ornate silver two-handled cup engraved with your and ross's names and the wedding date, nor the vintage bottle of macallan whisky next to it. wide-eyed, you stare at your friend, who winks. “wedding present from me and matty. surprise!”

ross laughs. “you two are mental. thank you, though.”

“anytime,” she grins. the officiant directs her to pour some whisky into the quaich for you and ross, and she does so enthusiastically. “oh, that’s too much. sorry.”

your husband (!!) scoffs. “no such thing.”

“typical,” she rolls her eyes, while everyone else laughs. “anyway, let me toast.

“strike hands with me, the glasses brim,

the dew is on the heather.

for love is good and life is long,

and two are best together.

bless the union of these two,

eager for marriage, eager for love.

may they begin life together,

live that life together

and come to the end together.”

ross takes a handle of the cup. “ladies first, yeah?”

you grin, taking the other side; together, you carefully lift the quaich to your lips, and let the whisky pass through. the amber liquid is warm as it flows down your throat, and you can’t help exclaiming in satisfaction. “oh, that’s bloody good stuff,” you smile, moving the cup to ross’s lips. “you’ll like this, darling.”

“yeah?” ross takes his requisite drink, and his eyes widen. “oh, absolutely. worth getting married just for that, i reckon.”

the officiant laughs. “and with that… congratulations, mr and mrs macdonald. if you’d like to follow me to this table, we’ll sign the marriage certificate.”

“of course. but first,” ross necks the rest of the whisky and kisses you quickly - matty cackles and cheers in the background, while you blush. “sorry. couldn’t resist.”

you laugh, kissing his hand as you walk. “i love you.”

“i know. you just married me,” ross grins as you roll your eyes, pulling your chair out for you and kissing your head as he sits down beside you. “i love you too. d’you want to sign first, my love?”

“alright,” you sign as directed by the officiant, and pose as directed by matty and the camera, then it’s ross’s turn. “look at that - legally stuck together forever.”

“nowhere else i’d rather be, love.”

[racingliners]

Fic Writer Interview

tagged by @monacotrophywife and @alpinelogy tysm Lima & Erika!!!! 💚

How many works do you have on AO3?

27! Mostly F1 fics with some Star Trek ones too.

What's your total word count?

581,636. Let it be known that I do enjoy going off on one.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

The Rules of Strategy (153)

the og version of Life In The Fast Lane (144)

This Must Be a Mistake (116)

I Guess You Are Right (86)

No Mistakes With You (77)

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I always try my best to! Mainly because I feel like the only way to acknowledge a comment on ao3 is to reply to it, and it's a nice space to talk about my thought process for a scene or bit of dialogue if someone mentions a part that they liked!

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

I make it a point to keep the angst to a minimum because I'm just too soft dbhdbshbh

I guess the closest I have to an angsty ending is I'll Be Okay, Someday which has an open ending (though with a hopeful vibe)

What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

Definitely No Mistakes With You - nothing like kissing the love of your life on your wedding day in the bright summer sunshine (I was very much going for maximum fluff in that one)

Do you write crossovers?

Yes! Discretion Is The Better Part of Valour is my beloved Shovson Star Trek AU that I wrote for the hypersoft fest and set (roughly) during Star Trek Discovery. I'm actually in the process of writing a prequel for it (but in prose format) which is v exciting!!!

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Thankfully no (pretty sure it would make me want to stop writing forever)

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I'm very much a hand-wavy, fade to black smut writer (the closest I've got to writing smut was in Depths) only because I think it's really hard to write good smut (there is so much good smut out there like oh my god) and I know that as a writer I'm not at the point where I want to try so for now I'll leave it to the experts until I'm brave enough.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Thankfully not that I know of.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but I'd definitely be open to it!

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not in the official sense. DITBPOV which I mentioned above was a collab with @shovson (he drew the most stunning art for it!) and when we were planning everything we bounced a load of ideas back and forth, a good few of which ended up in the final work.

I have absolutely no idea how the process of co-writing a fic even works but if the stars aligned I like to think I'd be down for it!

What's your all-time favourite ship?

For Star Trek it's a tie between Trip/T'Pol from Star Trek Enterprise or Michael/Book from Star Trek Discovery.

For F1 I think Sewis has definitely barged its way into my heart (the 2022 drivers dinner was what sealed it for me), but Shovson has definitely jumped up the list recently.

What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

Not gonna lie friends I am so worried that my re-written version of Life In The Fast Lane is going to be in WIP hell forever 😭. Partially because I hit a bit of a road block with it a few months ago but also because I grossly underestimated how big a project it would be (past me did not leave a lot to work with so a lot of the Season 1/2023 chapters was written from scratch).

I love it so so dearly, it's the fic that got me back into writing for F1 and fic writing in general so I'll always love and adore it for that. Maybe if I just lock myself in a cabin in the woods with no distractions I might be able to pick it up again, I want to finish it because I put so much effort into being able to make it an original work with all the worldbuilding and planning, but my inspiration for it has just sadly ran very dry :(

What are your writing strengths?

Setting descriptions I think. When I'm picturing things in my head it's always quite vivid so I like to write that down for the reader's benefit. I'm also very detail orientated so it just goes hand in hand I feel.

What are your writing weaknesses?

I wouldn't call it a weakness but I definitely feel the least confident in writing dialogue. I constantly have the fear of someone going "they would not fucking say that" in the back of my mind and it's definitely to my detriment. And also because I'm autistic I struggle writing humour and banter because I find it difficult to understand IRL.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I think if you're gonna do it you have to do it a) for a proper meaning and b) execute it properly. I can definitely see the appeal for a realism point of view, but as I can only speak English I'll only ever do single words or very short phrases that I am fairly certain will be accurate if I put them into a translator, anything longer or a full conversation and I'll just say what language the characters are speaking in.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

F1! the og LITFL was my gateway into fic writing (hence why I wanted to re-write it in the first place, it has a lot of places for improvement)

What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to?

I've mentioned this before but I definitely want to write some Jenson/Lewis. idk what but it's just niggling there in the back of my mind, I feel like there's a lot of potential.

Also every few months I get the idea to write a Tennis AU but I very quickly talk myself out of it because I just do not have the headspace for it right now.

What's your favourite fic you've written?

Also going to do a list bc it's my house

The Rules of Strategy - they say you should write what you want to read and writing Merc Engineer Seb just brings me a stupid amount of joy (writing Lewis winning is also v v nice)

Discretion Is The Better Part of Valour - I had the most fun planning this with Synth, but I also loved playing around with the screenplay format too! And also just merging my interests was so fun

Life In The Fast Lane (original work version) - as mentioned above, my baby!!! I just love my little gaggle of OCs so so much and I really do think about this fic allllllllllllllll the time. It just refuses to translate to typing words into the word doc at the moment.

Sister - Hands down my favourite Star Trek fic I've written, just for getting to write my own interpretation of Kelvinverse!Michael and Spock's relationship.

tagging (as usual, absolutely zero pressure!): @hungriestheidi, @seafoampearlygirl, @kaossbells, @brawngp2009 and @avida-heidia-5

[star-on-a-beach]

the silly mirror lady

You know what, yeah. She deserves it.

Mirobelle, also known as Eloise, was born and raised in a less fortunate area of France. She became an orphan very young for reasons I haven't decided, and was sent to an orphanage when she was 6 or so. It was a pretty small orphanage, with only about 7 kids at its peak, and Eloise was always the oldest no matter how many other kids were there with her (there was only 1 other kid when she first arrived, who was 4, and it grew from there)

This orphanage was also very old fashioned and treated the kids as such, but the staff definitely wasn't the best. Not abusive, but definitely neglectful and snarky with the kids at times. Eloise learned very early on how to change diapers, prepare baby food and bottles, cook, change baby clothes, and how to keep the kids safe in general. A lot of them looked up to her like a big sister and she loved each kid dearly.

The thing the orphanage placed the most emphasis on was cleanliness and organization, taking on a relatively old-fashioned teaching stance. Each kid, even as young as 3 or 4, had chores that included making beds, folding sheets, cleaning rooms, etc. The staff used stories and lies (i.e.: "If you don't clean your bed perfectly, you won't be protected from the monsters at night") in order to scare the kids into doing their chores. This especially had a massive influence on Eloise, who got extremely good at cleaning and organizing everything exactly how she was told so she could avoid being taken away. She also ended up doing a lot of the youngest kids' chores, who didn't understand the critical standards they were held to, in order to protect them. It was easier to just do the chores than try and teach the kids, and the added praise from the orphanage staff made Eloise feel comforted by having everything perfectly cleaned and organized.

When she was 10-11, Eloise was adopted by a group of people who were part of a Jewish-inspired cult that also adopted girls of that age range from around France and Belgium to be servants. Their beliefs were that "The Highest One", a being who supposedly loved all of them above everyone else and gathered them for a reason, would one day arrive on Earth, and needed "sacrifices" to gain power in order to do so and free the Earth from all other sin. Once again, this cult was way behind the times and liked to stay that way.

Unfortunately for Eloise, it also had very similar views on cleanliness as the orphanage, and the monsters and demons that the workers spoke of were told to be "The Highest One"'s wrath when she told the upper members of the cult about her past. Her fears were given the face of wrath and torture if things were not kept completely clean, and if very specific schedules and regiments were not kept (these schedules and regiments were said to bring good luck and please THO). The fear definitely worked, and because of the skills she gained in the orphanage, Eloise became the most beloved servant of the cult. The uppers loved her because she was obedient, diligent, and quiet, and the other servants loved her because she explained their situation in a way that was comforting and she could show them how to "clean properly".

During the last month before Eloise's 13th birthday, a ceremony was held for her. One of the cult's leaders said she was chosen to meet THO and that they had to hurry and prepare her for meeting him. She was told THO was pleased with her efforts and wanted her to escape the current world and to heaven as a reward. So, Eloise was dressed in white robes and sent to a candlelight processional in her honor.

It's important to note Eloise always had her doubts. She believed in God, but something about the way she was told he would punish her for messes and disorganization didn't sit right with her. The entire basis of the cult didn't sit right with her. All she wanted was to go back to her found family in the orphanage, but she was far too afraid to say anything or lose her status.

The processional was full of chants, songs, ceremonial dances, and the best food Eloise had ever had. At the end of it, sunrise of the first day of her birth month (still undecided), the cult leader presented the item to bring Eloise to THO: A C&A headset.

So she was laid onto a bed, given final blessings and regards by everyone, including the servant friends she had made along the way, and the headset was placed on her, sending her to the digital realm.

The night after she went under, as a part of the ceremony that was reserved for the higher ups only, Eloise's neck was slit and chest was stabbed with a ceremonial knife, and blessed water was poured into the wounds, believed to be able to purify her corpse so her spirit, through the headset, would finally reach heaven.

Mirobelle still remembers the feeling of being stabbed and having her neck slit, and the feeling of both wounds having freezing cold liquid poured into them, until just like that, she was no longer there, and she was now part of C&A's system.

The end.

Oh, and also, for the longest time, Mirobelle believed Hexe was "The Highest One", despite THO always being referred to as a man or just a being. It took a lot of effort from everyone in the kingdom, especially Odette and Nova, for her to understand the cult thing was a sham. She wasn't that affected learning, because she had her doubts in the first place. The fear has never quite left, though.

[miquellah]

Apologies for the unsolicited Elden Ring lore question, but I've been having a lot of Thoughts; namely, why was it that Ranni chose Godwyn to kill on the Night of Black Knives? I mean, I can speculate why she didn't choose some of the others - love for her full-siblings, and respect for the threat presented by Miquella and Malenia if she killed one of them but not the other (if not love for them too, honestly) - but it's always seemed to me a very personal thing to do to him. It can't just be that she loved him least. Especially as the Omen twins exist, and by most accounts Mohg at least was pretty roundly disliked in general (if he was even let out of the sewers). (Justice for my man, by the way - deserved better than he got.)

My personal speculation is that Godwyn the Golden - the Golden Order's Golden Boy - was either transphobic, if we're going with the trans Ranni headcanon, or allegorically transphobic, if not. You've mentioned before on here that Ranni is a pretty one-for-one trans allegory; her journey is all about shedding a destiny and a body that was inflicted upon her against her will. We know very little about Godwyn as a person, save for a couple of things; he earned the loyalty of the ancient dragons through fierce battle, and he was beloved by those within the Golden Order. This, to me, suggests a character very much his mother/father's son; devoted to the primacy of the Order, and kind to those who fall within it or are willing to submit to it. Ranni, however, is not willing to submit to this fate - devoutly desires to be anybody other than the Empyrean she was born as.

I think that Godwyn disapproved of who Ranni was, who she wanted to be; I think that he consistently advised her to submit to the dictates of fate and of the Fingers. And I think that, above all, is why she turned the blade upon him over any of their other siblings.

No problem for the impromptu drop-in! And a Ranni one now no less, woah!

I think it’s always been a pretty prominent question, albeit one i haven’t yet dug in much for myself. He was the very first to die, so even past all of the other candidates we DO know, there was surely even more. That said…

My personal ideas, and one that i’ve honestly tossed around most, is that maybe ranni didn’t actually have full command of the black knives. It’s definitely her fault, but while it’s possible she hired them directly, she also just could’ve tipped them off anonymously and presented herself as a potential victim— with godwyn as the random collateral. Of course, there’s still a lot of holes and speculation any which way there, BUT…

On the other end, like you say, ranni could’ve just disliked him from the start. There’s a possibility he wasn’t as kind in full as we take him for— that sort of duality is notoriously a very big theme across many characters. I’ve also seen it posited that godwyn could’ve been ranni’s own assigned consort, an arranged marriage of sorts, an idea which she despised.

BUT!!! having just come out of my sniffing around the themes of Berserk, another idea comes to mind: the idea that sacrifice only means its most when you DO love something, and then give it up. Still speculation on my own end, and we don’t know the full mechanics, but “equivalent exchange” as a idea not only present in berserk itself (often a huge inspiration for many souls ideas, as we know), but alchemy and related magical theories as well (something that elden ring’s lore is largely built off of)

So. It could be that she hated him, or that he was the most convenient, or even that godwyn was someone she loved dearly, and was ultimately the most fitting sacrifice she was willing to make. We may never know! But ultimately, ranni’s will itself was enough to pull through in any which way.

[twothpaste]

Giegue/giygas for the ask game, maybe?

First impression: I learned about Giygas through internet osmosis long before I even thought to play EarthBound. All the usual "ooooh this game is secretly sooo dark" and "he's ack-chewally an aborted fetus, see, oooo" kinda shit. I remember it giving me the impression Mother was way scarier and edgier than it turned out to be. (I played games like OFF and Yume Nikki first though. So by the time I got around to Mother, it was very refreshing to play somethin bright & uplifting at its core, lmao.) (In retrospect, I kinda wish Giygas wasn't among the first things every prospective player is told about the EarthBound. Going into the Giygas battle blind seems like it would've rearranged my brain molecules, and I wish I'd gotten to experience it like that.) I forget when exactly I learned about Giegue (I didn't get to play M1 blind either), but I'm pretty sure my first impression was honestly pretty neutral? The imposing presence of a huge alien spaceship, 8-bit sci-fi machinery, and a barely legible creature in a capsule was pretty wicked to see for myself the first time though!

Impression now: Giygas is a big triple decker chocolate layer cake worth of metaphor & symbolism. The existential horror of growing up, the fear of losing who you fundamentally are in the process, the horrific inhumanity adults are capable of, the hopelessness of coming to terms with the world as it is, and so on. Not really a character per se, but the quintessential globular slurry of adolescent angst Ness & pals've gotta contend with. Giegue is a bittersweet little story about a broken family. An internal conflict between vengeance, familial love, and maybe where one's obligations lie? Cool antagonist for sure. I wanna like him more than I do (M1's cryptic hands-off approach to storytelling is hard for me to sink my teeth into 😔). I've speculatively written (and drawn a comic for the upcoming zine 😉) about how Giegue became Giygas, and read some good fics on the topic. In the canon we're given, though? There's really so little binding them together narratively or thematically… I have a difficult time reconciling the two, in the context of the games themselves. Mother 2 in general feels more like a reboot than a sequel - and there's hardly if any "lore" weaving Giegue & Giygas together - so Itoi's choice to declare they're one and the same just seems kinda odd to me. C'est la vie. Fan creators make do.

Favorite moment: The Giygas battle, but like, before he goes sicko mode. When he's bound to a chamber of wires and innards, reflecting Ness' face back at him, and it turns out our fervently raving buddy Porky is actually the one in "control". The atmosphere is so intense and unnerving, such a bizarre yet captivating way to ramp things up. There's like, this sense of stomach-churning dread, as you begin - if only scarcely - to realize the alien overlord you were expecting is an entity far more powerful and personal and helpless and incomprehensible than you ever could've imagined. I mean. You know, because the internet spoiled you when you were 11. But in the bigness of the moment it still makes my mitochondria itch on a primal and cellular level. /pos. Love it.

Idea for a story: My favorite Giegue thing is the vague implication (??) of whatever the hell George did to to him. Y'know, whatever made him hate humanity so much. Whenever I see fan content speculating on how George might've experimented on him or mistreated him I do in fact Feel Somethin' There. (I have been a sucker for angsty-creature-in-a-lab stories from the time I saw Mewtwo Strikes Back in kindergarten all the way to Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 a couple months ago, and I don't suppose I'll ever be sick of 'em.) The conflict it introduces between George and Maria is intriguing too. Like, her husband's treating her dearly beloved child like a science project? Trying to extract the secrets of PSI from his oversized alien brain?? You know if this kinda shit went down, those two were on a caliber of divorce drama the world has rarely seen.

Unpopular opinion: I really like Giegue design interpretations that're freaky and grotesque and biologically unfamiliar. When the beast isn't just mammalian in nature. Truly out of this world.

Favorite relationship: A mean-spirited but otherwise ordinary 13-year-old willingly aligned himself with the alien emodiment of all things evil. And the alien embodiment of all things evil willingly let the kid be his right-hand man. And I'm normal about it. EarthBound tells us basically nothing about how Porky n' Giygas' partnership in crime came to be, but speculating about it sends me into a shark frenzy. Porky seeking power over the world that wronged him, at literally any cost. Giygas weaponizing a child's worst, most vengeful impulses. Porky ultimately usurping Giygas, at least in terms of agency. Witnessing the absolute horror his "master" becomes, and simply sidestepping out of the universe itself to dodge the mess he brought about. I like to imagine there was a period where Giygas was still cognizant enough to maintain a rapport with Porky - and that the two of them fucking hated each other. Both of 'em using the other as a means to an end, assured in the conviction they're the one with the upper hand. And they're kind of both wrong. Bloaw up da worl.

Favorite headcanon: Giegue/Giygas speaks (telepathically?) with a rural midwestern accent. Courtesy of the fine folks who raised him. Other aliens probably think it's weird and mondo cringe, but are too intimidated to say so.

[treepan0]

You know what? Koall lore dump + Janemba headcanon writing stuff (because it is needed to understand Koall)

So usually when writing Janemba I use his background from Buu's fury over the movie, as it makes him a lot more flexible and easier to write than being left over evil juice from villains before him.

From there I expanded: how did he get in there? How did he impact the world before his imprisonment? Why has he locked away? What about his family? Etc.

That last example is actually where Koall got her start lore wise, I was designing this demon lady and randomly thought "hey, what if she was Janemba's mom?" At one point, it kind of stuck.

Other details came later, for example her bodice was inspired by one of my first magical girl animes: Princess tutu. Usually it has its own modifications and flair, similar to how madoka magica changed it so it wasn't too similar legally.

So yes Koall is a dark magical girl, however I like using my knowledge of the trope to make her less annoying. To clarify Universe 2 attempted to parody magical girls, but kind of misses why they're so beloved.

In other words: universe two only scrapes the surface of potential for a magical girl character, thus Koall was born from my knowledge, disappointment and needing a bit more fan lore for my beloved demon son.

So going through the lore here now: Koall is from a magical system that isn't really common anymore, however she has gone through and learned as much as she can about it. Slowly she has unlocked many powerful transformations, however the seventh she was advised to never teach another to use unless to be a replacement for herself, as its power was to an absurdity and everyone else wanted to maintain order as it is.

Koall of course accepted this fact and moved on, eventually learning of universe two's magic system, she took the time to teach some a thing or two in her earlier years with this state. Eventually after a long while passes she feels lonely, and visits her original home for a bit despite being banished.

And while she is initially caught for being present when she was not meant to be, she's handed a baby boy told his name is Janemba and kicked back out with the kid. Knowing that children have their minds affected by what they see from an early age, she takes a more modest appearance at least until the boy grows up fully.

These early years take a long time and she's immediately learned why Janemba was kicked out with her, they were afraid of his power more than anything else. Seeing a chance to be maliciously compliant but also getting attached, she raises him to adulthood and never once held the truth from him, but told and reminded him that she loves him dearly, and that a biological connection was never needed to be her son.

This is in fact the truth from her, she just never told him that they tried to banish him, because they didn't tell her directly. Eventually she lets him travel to where he was thrust into her arms, and that's where the backstory of being a kingpin of an organized crime ring back in the demon realm begins. It leads to a situation where Janemba stays in the demon realm most of the time, but visits Koall on the holidays.

Koall doesn't mind this arrangement one but, and is just happy to see her son happy. Unfortunately one day she loses everything, as Beerus visits Koall to tell her he had to seal her son away in the soul scrubber. it leads to a sense of grief that consumes her ever since, at this point all knowledge of Koall are just legends of either a powerful dark magical girl, or a powerful succubus that terrified many.

Either way she's pretty much a very sad hermit people haven't seen a glimpse of, in like thousands of years and won't see again until Janemba's freed. Additionally she's under the same laws as gods of destruction, angels and Kais, Koall cannot interfere with the struggles over other beings but can teach them a thing or two.

[cherrivixx]

6 and 12 for the kh ask game?

[thank you for the ask :))))) in reference to this post]

6. Favorite song? for the themes, i'm pretty basic, i like "simple & clean -- planitB mix". i like the others too, that one just does something to my brain. for remixes of other games/movies themes, i really like the "twister -kingdom mix-" which is the remix of twister from twewy, and all the other mixes of twewy songs. im not really interested in disney, so most of the world's soundtracks are nice but not particularly nostalgic or anything. for original songs, i love "nachtflügel" (yozora's theme), "13th struggle," "just wondering" (from chain of memories), "vector to the heavens" (xions battle theme), and more but i dont remember all the names sorry jhsjsh. most of the ones i like are fast and dramatic as theyre battle themes, but "just wondering" is kinda silly and fun, i like it a lot. versions of dearly beloved get their own section. i REALLY like the DDD one, its kinda reminds me of a waltz (? sorry i dont really know much about music) which sets it apart from the others to me. the union x ending credits version is also really good, feels very layered (???). even though i never got to play the game, it feels like an outpouring of love from every single person who played the game, every person who ever worked on it, everyone whos ever loved kh. its so good. missing link's version is also REALLY good. i love the clapping, with all the chorus-y bits and strings (?), it feels ethereal and majestic. but the clapping and brass (??????) grounds it, like something beyond our understanding but not being alone in it ?? sorry that doesnt make much sense. i REALLY like kh music even though i cant explain any of why its cool jshjshsjs

12. If you read fics, favorite fic? ooh !! i'm a big fan of "The Art of Leaving" by NeedsMoreAU on ao3, mostly because character studies make me go crazy and i love axel. its a study of his relationships with others throughout the series which i like very much. "albatross" by synaxis on ao3 is also great -- another character study type thing, who'd've thought it, this time about kairi during the gap between KH1 & KH2. overall i typically like fics (in most fandoms) that are either AUs completely different from canon, ones that neatly slot into canon and are just for fun interactions or ideas, or character studies; which i notice tends to be what i write as well, though i haven't published any KH fics yet.

[meimi-haneoka]

È il mio 10 anniversario su Tumblr 🥳

It's apparently my 10th anniversary on Tumblr 😳😳😳

This blog definitely didn't start as a CCS blog, or not even a Clamp blog, I remember I was in my Saint Tail brainrot/withdrawal period, and I wanted to ramble about it all alone on a personal space, always hoping that Tachikawa sensei one day would write the extra chapter that she talked about on her blog...hence why I chose this url. For this and another personal reason, actually. I also loved to RT all the nice screencaps and edits for my favorite anime...

...then 2016 came and the love of my life, CCS, came back and my blog was absolutely swept away by the excitement, turning pretty much into a constant stream of CCS content and chapter commentary for Clear Card each month. When the anime came out in 2018, things only got worse 😂 but then in 2020 I started to realize about the translation differences between the English version and the original Japanese, and I decided that my beloved story deserved better than that, better than being misunderstood like that, especially the new characters that in the meantime I came to love so dearly...

So pretty naturally, I started to vent my frustration compiling all the mistakes/differences every month, in a very "whoever is willing to read it, is welcome to do so" fashion. For my convenience the differences are always included in my commentary. I haven't gone around promoting my posts very much, it's basically always "I run into someone confused about a line in the Eng ver/got some facts wrong, I tell them that the original JP actually says something else and I leave a link to my blog".

The more the story went on, the more I wondered if I was stepping on anyone's toes for doing these posts, but with my immense joy it seems they got Clamp's blessing, so I'll keep doing them till the very end of the story.

In between these commentaries, I throw some other translations I do mainly for myself (Twitter Spaces where Sakura is mentioned, interviews especially about the anime, etc) and that I like to organize more or less neatly in one place, and that people can share if they want. And also my fanarts, even though they never do big numbers here. But heh, I'll keep sharing them here too, cause it's my blog after all.

So yeah, 10 years of this. There were definitely times when I've hated this website and its community since things were becoming pretty toxic, flames started randomly out of nowhere, I just hope once the anime will be back it won't be the same shit again. I stopped looking at the CCS tags because of that and other reasons connected to that, so unless one of the people I follow shares it and puts it on my dash, I almost never reblog CCS art/edits/gifs etc. Cause the pretty artworks aren't worth wrecking my mood because I found the nth person shaming something that I love (and the people who love that thing, with it). Sorry about that, my blog is pretty boring in that sense.

Luckily, Tumblr brought me also good things, so I guess it makes up for that. I've met lots of people from my current CCS "circle", here.

To be honest, I know I have 2626 followers (as of today), but to this day I still wonder why. I highly doubt all of them are here because they're interested in my posts, probably not even half of them, lol (and I do my best to kick the bots). Nonetheless, thank you to all the people who interact with my posts ❤️ and thank you for sending me nice asks every month! 🙏 I don't always reply to them right away and some of them I leave for later when I have a downtime (like this one ask that's pretty broad in topic and I'm keeping it for when I have a little more time and nothing else to talk about).

Since Clear Card will continue for a little more than expected, the monthly appointment here will continue in parallel, and I'm already preparing my next "trivia" post, it's a topic I wanted to talk about since looooooong time. 😉

[frostbite-the-bat]

tell me about your fucked up petz creatures

I WILL GO OVER My Main Cast. alphabetically as they appear in my funny box !

Starting off with ABYSS!! i love her dearly. she's a spamton mixie! specifically a blue addison + spamton + sparkle kittling. she's got no eyes or colors (she's got blue paw pads, thought!), leading to an unsettling appearance. i love her dearly, though! she's full of cheeky personality and she loves jumping through the hoop, if she isn't knocking it out of my hand. (or doing other things... she loves to mess around)

up next is... asshole! yes. thats his name. he's my oldest spamton i currently have! he was originally a different spamton neo, but for petzspamton creator's comfort i converted him to be dib's spamton neo. being based on a siamese - he's picky and he's mean. he's an asshole. that name stuck with him. he used to wear an iconic sweater but this spamton neo kinda breaks shirts so he has a santa hat now!

also spamton neos in petz are known for. their. uhm. Thoughtful Gaze.

next is... BIG BOY! MY BELOVED!! he is a gift from petzspamton for me based on my mega spamton neo design! he came named bigboy and since even my mega spamton neo's nickname has been bigboy. :] he's big, he's cuddly, he's gentle and he LOVES food. he also flops. a LOT. and genuinely when i say he loves food i mean it, he's based on a persian and those love food in petz. he seems very eepy today he's flopping less than usual but probably because of how wacky the room layout is + he's too interested in buck plush

OLD BAD ART ALERT I DONDNT DRAW LIKE THIS NOW I DREW THIS IN MY FLOP ERA but heres mega sneo design. just for context!! (ye he got swapped wings but who cares)

if you see similarities between this hair and the way i draw high roller, no you dont. no you fucking dont.

up next is cap'n! i'll be honest i dont play with him as often since i converted everyone from petz 5 to petz 4 - losing k_k in the progress </3. he just loves starting fights with everyone its no fun </3 but ANYWAYS!! this is a hexie made by YOURS TRULY! hes goofy

can't show off cap'n without.. SWEET! oh boy after glados this is my most complicated hex. DO YOU KNOW HOW PAINFUL IT IS. TO MAKE A CUBE. OUT OF (SPHERES) (AND LINES THAT ARE VERY FUCKY) ITS HORRIBLE. sweet sweet sweet my dearest friend sweet they start fights sometimes too but are calmer than cap'n. they like playing with plushies a lot as you can see

next is creature! a funky little spamton mixie. seriously this thing is like generation 7 and listing everything thats In Their Blood may take a while. they've got lovely spots and neat textures + are pretty big!!! their tip ends with a pink which is a fun contrast compared to the blue/white gradient. very silly fella!!!

next is cupcake! one out of two silly kitties i got from bad_death ! they did a thing where they gave out unique textured/patterned fellas to people on petzcord. so these guys are unique! like everyone elses. i have other petz i got from other people that are hexed, but i don't have them in the playable petz folder right now. cupcake likes to flop around, too! what a lovely fuzzball... they also get scared of everything which isnt characteristic of a persian personality but. hey. the wordl is scaresy...

next is dragonfruit with their funky shrimp tail !! also a spamton mixie - you can defo see similarities between them and creature. i believe they're related? anyways - the main breed they take from is cubus! they have calico personality so they are very playful!!

next is fledgeling! Bird. i dont even know whats in them .

FROSTBITE. MADE BY PETZSPAMTON FOR ME. THIS smug-ass cursed entity. they're a little bastard beast. theyre just me but petz. smug ass. likes to 🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨. friends with some but enemy to many. LOVES DANCING. PLAY MUSIC INGAME AND THIS THING WILL SHAKE TAIL. dear god even this frost made it to hr's , they will kill.

also the iconic gif with them and spammo.

next is GLADOS! or catdos if you will. i made this with my own blood sweat and tears it was a nightmare. but look! glados !

im getting tired and i havent eaten today yet because im autism SO. SHORTER DESCRIPTIONS.

iceshock!! silly ice spammy kitty.

MANGO MY DEAREST BELOVED. YOUNGER BROTHER TO OTTERPOP. THOSSE TWO ARE BASICALLY MY MASCOT SPAMTONS. I LOVE THEM SO MUHHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHC. THISSECTION IS FOR THEM BOTH MWA MWA LOVE THEM. also that was ttheir bday gift a year ago They Didnt Like It. btw otterpop blue shirt mango flower shirt

onion .

....and i hit the image limit so...! feel free to ask for more...!

[autocann1bal]

part two of playlist analysis!!

pt 1 <;-

lets get right back into it!!

moving in place - shauna dean cokeland hc that lockwood was pretty fucking reckless after jess dies-before george showed up and did. very dangerous things.

summertime sadness - lana del rey just before lucy left, at the door, lockwood trying to get her not to leave.

star shopping - lil peep (for more context, i have a slight obsession with the stars and the stars mean more than the world to me) SHES LOCKWOODS STARS SHES LOCKWOODS STARS SHES LOCKWOODS STARS WAILS SOBS SCREAMS SHOUTS ARFURFSDFJGK

scott pilgrim vs my gpa - mom jeans ...am i allowed ot say lockwoodcore again.

cherry wine - hozier GOT ANOTHER HOZIER SONG BOYS. its so soft. theyre sitting in bed at night after a particularly bad panic attack and lucy is stroking his hair as cherry wine plays. 

brian is the most beautiful - memo boy sleepy trance-ish vibe sort of thing dont ask idk it just. vibes

over population at the end of everything is less of a worry, haha ('a letter to you' from mother 3') - no love in the house of gold idk sad vibes you do with this what you want.

wasteland, baby - hozier OMOMWOMWOWOMOWOMOMWM beloved theyre so cute and in love shes brushing his hair as they get ready in the morning they are in love.

cdbaby <3 - chloe moriondo i had too. lockwood bumping ts the first night lucy is there and george is telling him to stfu bc hes to loud and its 10 pm.

el manana - gorillaz more lockwood being sad bc lucy is gone :(

november has come - gorillaz tbh this one should be in a george playlist i just feel like hed like this song

i really wanna stay at your house - rosa walton, hallie coggins locklyle reminds me so much of lucy and david (cyberpunk edgerunners) so they get the lucy/david song <3

luna moth - maya hawke lucy feels like shes ruined the group dynamic after she joined the company :(

tongues & teeth - the cranewives oh lordy lord lord i have many words to say and none of them will be coherent. EORROUFUFH this is such a lockwood song you dont understand hes so afraid of being close to people. hes horrible afraid of letting lucy in because hes afraid kipps is right and she'll leave. hes so afriad i love him dearly hes so me (im projecting) 

tv - billie eilish god lucy feels so useless and worthless. she ruined the teams dynamic as soon as she showed up. the repetition of 'maybe im the problem' at the end is her talking to herself in the shower

something in the orange - zach bryan god theyre so stupid and sad i love them i miss them dearly thats all u get thank u  genesis - grimes they are walking around at night. they should not be. genesis ensues. great - mccafferty uh oh mccafferty time be prepared (i do not support nick!!) god this song is so lockwood hes so insecure and sad. he thinks hes alone. PLOT TWIST lucy is outside his door also crying because she can hear his cries. throat - mccafferty mmm what if i just [hands lockwood (slight) substance abuse problems] kill me for this if youd like but i just. i think he. gasoline. - mccafferty song told from lucy's pov, why you ask? 'when your sister died/that changed everything' HRMST unforgiveable curse #3 - mccafferty 'im useless without her/i hope that i dissolve' LOCKWOOD YOU SILLY MOTHER FUCKER YOU ARE VALUED BY MORE PEOPLE THAN JUST LUCY FOR THE LOVE OF GOD cotton candy - mccafferty 'im so lovely/at making destructive decisions' the entirety of l&co ^ graveyard - mccafferty idk why just. lucy after the teams death vibes (the team being the team in her home town w norrie and thems. witchcraft - mccafferty ok ik the song. is not fluffy vibes but idk idk it just gives me fluffy locklyle cuddle vibes dont ask why because i am unable to answer. lights are on - tom rosenthal oh my god just imagine lucy walking past portland row after she left, staring into lockwoods window. hes there too. its to dark for her to see him but they make eyecontact before she briskly turns and walks in the other direction and lockwood just starts crying. cocaine jesus - rainbow kitten surprise same thing as lights are on maybe a slightly different font maybe its george who knows [shrug] sweet tooth - maya hawke bfs, even gfs if you will (yes im talking about a technically het couple, what about it?) mike walton - basement version - adjust the sails hrmrhrhff lockwood sitting in the basement pretending to be filing things WRONG hes crying :) romantic homicide - d4vd LITERALLY JUST THE FIRST LINE IS SO LOCKWOOD 'im scared/feels like you dont care' LOCKWOOD LOCKWOOD LOCKWOOD LOCKWOOD LOCKWOOD thats all u get ty call it fate, call it karma - the strokes 'can i waste your time here on the sidewalk?' KIPPS THAT YOU??? nah this song is lockwood watching kipps and lucy talk on the sidewalk and is just like ??????????WHAT bathtub - the front bottoms YOU WILL NOT tell me this isnt anthony lockwood. you cant. i will go more in depth of this anyone asks. i mean anyone a single person can be slightly interested and i will do it. car lights - james marriott oh how fittes at 50 ball of them. i will not elaborate jim bogart - the front bottoms 'i would sleep better on your floor than i would ever in my bed' alright lockwood PACK IT UP YOU PATHETIC SIMP stupid for you - waterparks this time its LUCY being a simp PLOT TWIST lockwood may be a pathetic man but lucy is a pathetic woman they are so cute together my little squishy scrungles dark beach - pastel ghost hes sleeping on her chest and shes calmly braiding his hair fight me theyre so cute i love them riptide - vance joy yea i added riptide what about it. theyre so in love i love them theyre so cute sobs hes so in love shes so in love theyre so <33333 kids - mgmt GUESS WHAT ITS ANOTHER SONG ABOUT THEM BEING CHILDREN IN A TERRIBLE WORKPLACE tire swing - kimya dawson cozy breakfast vibes. lucy is singing lockwood and george are whistling. george is also cooking because lockwood isnt trusted near an oven after the careless whisper incident the 30th - billie eilish yall. yall remember when lockwood got shot. yea that. no surprises - radiohead is this self explanatory. orbitron - duster guess whos having a breakdown? ITS LUCY THIS TIME MF MWAHAHHAHAH. she is breaking down in the shower. oopsie. part 3 coming shortly :)

[tev-the-random]

HI @tamblerdraws WELCOME TO THE INSANITY CLUB, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE

There's no way out

Right?? I grew up without many videogames, so I never got to experience the hype of most of these games first-hand back when they came out. But this is like! A mini remaster of a few of them! And it's so beautiful and crafted with so much love! It feels like such a precious gift.

DUDE, DON'T GET ME STARTED! My first ever Sonic game was 06, this guy has been living in my head rent free for over a decade, and now other people get to obsess with him too?? FUCK YEAH??? He's so silly and evil, I really want him to exist–

Not to go on a wild Sonic 06 tangent, but I really do think it would be the game ever if it got remade with actual time and care put into it. I don't think that will ever happen, it's a very dangerous terrain. But in some universe out there, the story gets the appreciation it deserves. Just the fact that there's a small portion dedicated to it in Shadow Generations already vindicates me.

The hub world and the collectables are such a fantastic idea! They aren't completely pointless, as they offer some incredible content, but you don't actually need to pick up ALL of them to unlock something. The branching level design makes for some fun exploration while trying to find the keys, the different kinds of keys makes it easier to know what exactly you're still missing, and the open hub world, with all its tricks and nooks, offer even more exploring to find the chests! The replayability of this game is fantastic and the collectables are the best goddamn snacks a fan could ask for.

YES! YES YES YES! I'm holding these characters so dearly, I missed the good characterisation! Interactions!

We finally get to see more of Maria as a character. She is so precious! And protective! And enthusiastic! Shadow really gets the best sisters. And Gerald as well, I don't think we've ever properly seen him before the whole ARK incident, so his personality has always been a bit of a mystery. It's Shadow's family, man. I love them.

Though this isn't my favourite Rouge voice ever, I still think they manage to strike the balance between sassy and serious pretty well! ALSO ROUGE OFFERING TO TALK TO HIM AFTER THE WHOLE THING IS OVER IF HE NEEDS HER! Her and Omega talking about each other and about Shadow! TEAM DARK MY BELOVED, YOU'RE FINALLY BACK FROM THE WAR-

YES! So many little references (the rival fight cracked me, with both that dialogue from SA2 and that one line from Heroes. Chef's kiss, very fun). Not gonna lie, I thought it was going to be an actual battle, but the cutscene is so well animated, I can't even complain.

AND THE FAKE EMERALD WAS SUCH A GENIUS MOVE! Not only is it a great callback, but it actually plays an important part in connecting the story to the original Generations?? We love to see it. And I mean, we never do find out what happened to that emerald after SA2, so it's fair enough that it would still be on the ARK. Just one of those things I never really stopped to think about, you know?

This game is everything I've ever wanted. The timeline is finally healing. Thank you for engaging with me to talk about it.

I've been biting my desk and scratching my walls over Shadow Generations and NOBODY is crazy enough about it to want to engage with me at this point. Somebody talk to me about it. Tell me your thoughts. Say hi. Rant to me. Please. I am insane.

[asoulofatlantis]

To see Rose, an 800 years old powerful Witch that had people like Dreichels and Lianne wrapped around her little finger at the times of the war of the lions, squirm infornt of her much younger granddaughter XD

The chance to finally kick Crows ass!

Tho Reans pain really takes the fun of it away really quickly... but that too is part of the many, many reasons to replay this game. Going all in into the fight, and ending it feeling terrible because this whole thing is a reminder that even if you hate Crows damn guts (and Aidios knows I did...) you can not wish him gone or dead or to stay in his state if illusional memory-loss, because it pains Rean and if you play Cold Steel, you love that damn boy and you want him to be happy.

Also... this ceremony too always bringing tears to my eyes, even tho I know that Cedric is fooling us all, it still feels like for a moment there, I have my cute little prince back and him shaking hands with Rean and Kurt and hugging Olivert - which will be the last chance of us to see interactions like that, giving the path our pretty Arnor boy has taken, still squeezes my heart a little...

The chance to enjoy a few last ship-teasing moments before all my greatest shippers went missing/are presumed dead/switch sides and half of my ship go through forced separation/breakups and that kind of shit XD

The chance to wonder once again if the reason Osborne married late, was because Dreichels soul was still secretly longing for Leanne. (And never getting a full answer to it - and still wondering, even tho I know that XD)

The chance to see Baby-Rean ♥ (Seriously, we have been blessed in this game. Smole Olivert, our dear Arnor-Twins as Babys and also our dearly beloved Rean as a Baby. And they were all SO DARN CUTE XD)

Oh you’ve got to be fucking kidding me. 13 tickes? What the hell am I supposed to do with so many damn tickets? This summer-festival is so damn boring. Last time I spend almost all of the tickets hastily backing something with everyone who as interested, simply because it was the fastes way to get this over with.

Never hurts to replay this game just to see Rean blurt out lines like that without any second thought. Also... must enjoy the casual shippiness, thing will get rough for those two in CS4, as we all know. So its important to enjoy this ship in all the glory CS3 presents it in. On a silver platter.

Was absolutely worth the unnecessary long ride XD After taking care of Alisa, I feel like I should just go backing again tho, because the summer-festival (final bonding events aside) is not really something worth replaying the game for. But pssssst! ^.~

That was way too easy. Who needs 13 tickets anyway? I have Alisa kiss me with just one XD *Achem* Anway, its certainly worth replaying the game for THIS scene.

[hoodiewithhorns]

━  using your safeword scenarios p.3 !★

genre : hurt/comfort smut.

characters : f! reader x sakusa, matsukawa, kenma

p.1  + p.2 + m.sterlist + requests  

(please read the rules before requesting ty.)

▼ cw : not proof read, use of safeword, neglect , unprotected sex, degradation , clit spanking ( 1 ), impact play ( sakusas part ), mentions of exe(s), caught masturbation (reader) , pillow humping, thigh riding, implied punishment, kinda crybaby reader, implied cockwarming, cheating (?), angst, established relationship, all characters are 18+, MDNI ▲

different safewords used this time <3

- ty to the anons and user @/please-take-me-to-the-moon for the scenarios <3 

sakusa 

word count : 1.4k

you knew better than to do this, humping your dearly beloved boyfriends pillow with just your cotton panties, a loose shirt with no bra under, like a bitch in heat, desperate for friction of any kind. You knew if he had caught you like this he would punish you that was guaranteed. however, in the literal heat of the moment you didn’t care. sakusa’s constant pattern of coming home the minute you were already fast asleep in your shared bed, never being able to fill the void of need in your little cunt. 

〜　☆

Considering he’d let this slide since its been a month since you’ve two have done anything sexual, these thoughts only making you hump his pillow even more desperate leaving a pool of your arousal staining his pillow, with the occasional soft whimpers of his name. losing yourself in your own lust, You didn’t hear the sound of the door clicking open.

Sakusa, leaving his practice early since his performance was unfavorable by the shitty mood he was in, lashing out on his teammates for the smallest things they’d do and so many more. in short, his team suggested he’d stay home t’ill he cooled down. 

“y/n? i’m home.”he walked around the empty apartment accompanied by the muffles of your soft moans, trying to find you as quickly as possible, obviously knowing it was you. he opened the bedroom door slowly and quietly. his eyes grew wide at the scene in front of him. 

still not noticing his presence in the door frame you continued humping his pillow feeling your high approach, but leave you since you needed him. 

“tch.” clicking his tongue at you in disapproval. you flinched letting go of his pillow to face him, feeling your heart race when you made eye contact with him, arms folded and a look of disgust planted on his pale face. Your eyes already filling up with tears knowing what comes next. “m’ y-yoomi! w-welcome home-”

“who the fuck gave you permission to touch yourself?” cutting you off, walking towards the bed, he pinned you down to the bed, arms on your sides, hovering over you with his dead, cold, heartless gaze cutting through you, as you tried to look away in shame only earning you a slap to the face to make you look at him. the sting causing you to choke out a sob. praying internally that he’d let you off the hook just this once. you were just needy for him.he has to understand that, right?

“answer me, right.now.”

“n-no one yoomi... i’m s-sorry please don’t wanna be punished!” you pleaded to him only making him more angrier. he grabbed your jaw making you whimper at the tight grip. scanning you top to bottom, eyeing at the wet patch on your underwear. 

“then why did you huh? couldn’t wait until i got home couldn’t you? needy fucking thing.” he tutted, letting go of your jaw harshly, tugging your panties down to your knees already feeling impatient himself by how his cock hardened through his shorts. despite wanting to punish you, he wanted you. needed you to be precise.

 the man hasn’t felt you in a whole month how could he not miss his girlfriends tight slutty cunt? removing his volleyball shorts letting his cock spring free, he strokes himself a few times before lining himself against your cunt, letting a small sigh when you felt his hard tip touch your soaked entrance. 

feeling slightly relief you were finally gonna feel him after so long. That feeling of relief however didn’t last long when he slammed his fat cock inside you without warning. you let out a yelp, hands immediately going to his chest hoping for him to not bruise your cervix from how deep he was already. he growled when he felt your palms try and stop him, so he slapped your hands away roughly marking them red. 

“b-but yoomi please it hurts..it h-hurts” 

you figured he didn’t hear you. but he was too focused on punishing you to care if it hurt or not. so you pleaded again for him to slow down. finally getting a response from him.

“shut up you disgusting whore.you brought this on yourself, touching yourself while your boyfriends away.”

“...dirtying up his fucking pillow while he’s gone. how fucking pathetic.”  he spits, slapping your clit harshly in attempt to get you to shut up. his degrading not having a hint of reassurance anywhere like it usually does when he fucks you. normally, he’d call you his “slut” or his whore but never ever calling you a disgusting one at most, what did this mean?..you asked yourself, mind going hazy with fear. feeling like your boyfriend finds you disgusting for your actions, and not a single trace of love or concern for you, not even noticing how you tried inching yourself away from his pace. 

sakusa was a mean dom yes, but he cared about you and your boundaries and right now it seemed like he didn’t care about any of those.

too focused on his own pleasure, not realizing you slowly started to breakdown in front of him, hands to your eyes shaken from how hard he hit them, as more tears fell to stain your cheeks.

“n-no not disgusting..i-i’m...so sorry..sakusa..just missed you.” you muttered no longer feeling the long needed pleasure of his cock, only feeling a painful discomfort in your chest as if your heart was gonna burst out of it at any minute. he was caught off-guard by you calling him by his last name, but that didn’t stop the brutal pace on your sloppy cunt. repositioning his hand to your hips digging his nails in your sides, bound to leave marks to be seen in the morning. 

“addressing me by my last name? what you think thats gonna make things better?”he muses, his pace speeding up making you whimper. you’ve just about had enough.

“germs! g-germs! no more, i don’t like this!! y-you’re hurting m-me sakusa... please s-stop..stop.” screaming your safeword, trying to get him off you, you pushed with the little strength in you with your fragile hands. it wasn’t enough but he got the message. blinking a few times to make sure he processed the current situation.

he sighed pulling his cock out watching you with wolf eyes as you softly cried to yourself, turning to your side. he didn’t say anything he just laid down beside you. sneaking an arm around your waist, face buried in your neck. he planted some soft kisses onto it trying to make you relax. if he was being brutally honest, he didn’t know what to do.

you never used your safeword and even if it didn’t show in his face, he was pretty frightened. watching you tense up and shake around him all because of him.

“ y-yoomi..im sorry-”

“don’t be.”

he rubs your hands with his thumb in slow but comforting circles, seeing its still red from being slapped away by him, along with him kissing your cheek to simmer down the sting from earlier. god he felt so bad, but was so scared at the same time, all he wanted to do was hold you close..

..and thats what he did, watching you curl up to his chest. The room was silent for a few minutes that felt like hours gone by. you looked up at him with the look you always gave him. Full of love and adoration even with puffy eyes and hurt in your chest you still loved him.

He looked down noticing the soft smile you gave him as if nothing happened. Titling his head in confusion he asks

“why are you smiling? aren’t you upset..at me?”

you shook your head at him, “no yoomi I’m not mad. My body kinda hurts yes, but I’m glad to have you home...i missed you so much I’m sorry i touched myself without permission...”

he lightly smiles at you kissing your lips softly.

“it’s okay. tomorrow we’ll have the day all to ourselves and we can do whatever you want my love. I’m sorry i was so mean... i was having a bad day and I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”

you paused leaning in closer to his chest as you mumbled.

“can we...take a bath together yoomi?”

“oh sure...here i’l carry you.”

needless to say, you forgave him and gave him one last kiss before going to bed.

kenma

word count : 886

kenmas work schedule was god awful since he was practically up to play games and just that leaving you feeling needy and neglected. you hated it. 

but tonight you were just, so needy and couldn’t stand this constant neglect.

No matter how many times you touched yourself of grind against something it couldn’t compare to the way kenma would stuff you with his cock.

he wasn’t a super harsh dom leaning towards a mix of soft and mean, but he still prioritized your needs before his. and tonight you were gonna get that version of kenma.

walking towards the couch he was playing his games at slowly, with nothing but his hoodie and knee highs. you bit your lip standing in front of him, fiddling your thumbs out of nervousness. He titled his head to remove you from his line of sight to see the tv screen better making your heart ache just a little, being so used to it already.

taking a deep breath you sat in between on of his thighs wrapping your arms around his neck making him let out a groan of annoyance to your needy antics.

he continued to play his game acting as if you weren’t there and nothing changed. it all came to a halt when he felt you grinding on his thigh, letting out small cries of his name.

“baby.... please” you mumbled facing his disinterested face not even sharing a glance at you as he continued to move his thumbs around his controllers joystick. He didn’t even pay mind to the fact you were borderline naked either.

“five minutes pretty girl.” he muttered still too absorbed in his game. You pouted shifting your legs to be wrapped around him now, wet cunt on top of his crotch rubbing against him lightly. Making him flinch at the sudden friction. giving you hope he’d give you what you want now. you smirked continuing to grind against him making him bite back a grunt. 

“ugh what are you doing?” he said clearly annoyed by your antics already.

your face became red while placing your hands on his shoulders slowly starting to grind against his growing bulge. “want your attention kenma please need you so bad.” you begged hoping he’d give you something anything really.

but being kenma, he went back to his video games. your pout returning once more. “but kenma, please i really really need you.” you continued with your antics and he paused his game, putting his controller on the coffee table. 

“fine you want me so fucking bad?” he grabs you by the hips making you yelp as he throws you down the couch. back hitting the cushions while he takes your legs and wraps them around his waist.

he pulls down his sweats pumping himself a few times as he rolls his head back, holding back his grunts. he slowly slides his cock into you, being easy to do considering how wet you were already for him. 

he groans as he bottoms out inside you starting steady, but slowly picking up the pace to be more..brutal.

“k-kenma..m’ feels good thank you thank you” you rambled out praises making him grab you by the throat to thrust into you faster. 

“god you’re so fucking annoying bothering me because you wanted to get your cunt stuffed like a little slut while i fucking work.” he scoffs making your eyes shoot open at him.

“such a fucking annoying little slut.” he continues his degradation thr grip on your throat not loosening. you felt you eyes grow teary as he continued to call you more vulgar names with the sprinkle of him calling you annoying. 

“ c-console...” you mumbled wrapping your hands on his wrists, making him let go of your throat. he froze getting closer to your face as he pulls out slowly.

“huh? Whats wrong does it hurt?” he asks rubbing away your tears with the pad of his thumb. 

your lip quivered as more tears started to form. “...i-im annoying...?” you looked him in his eyes as more broken sobs leave you.

“I just wanted some attention kenma...you’re always so busy sometimes I don’t even think you remember i exist..” you muttered feeling small under his cat like stare. 

he sighed kissing your cheek, falling to your. side feeling his breath hit your neck. “sorry baby i swear i didn’t mean it...you’re not annoying its my fault for not giving you attention.” he admits as you wrap around him. 

“y-you promise you didn’t mean it?” you ask once more. he sneaks a hand under your head to lift you up to his chest, patting your head softly. 

“ i promise. here why don’t you sit on my lap, we can do that thing you wanted to try last week...” he looks away embarrassed, you tilt your head in confusion but then realize what he was referring to. you nodded joyfully wrapping your arms around his neck, he adjusts himself for you to line up to take him. he  slowly puts you back down on his cock. hissing at the returning feeling.

He smiled kissing your forehead lightly as he hugged you tight. 

“better my love?”

“mhm mhm!” you said placing your head on his shoulder as you relax into him. slowly drifting away into sleep. its not much, but at-least it stuffs your very needy cunt.

matsukawa 

word count : 615

what lead to this? you two were just on a simple date together at a nearby mall shopping together, looking at upcoming movies, stopping by a few manga stores and bakeries to treat yourselves. overall, just enjoying the time shared together. 

that is t’ill the two of ran into your ex. issei watching the two of you talk to each other not realizing how uncomfortable you really were, hiding it with a friendly facade of course going unnoticed by him since he was practically death glaring your ex. 

he was basically third wheeling in your conversation with your ex. you would side eye issei hoping he’d pull you out of your situation but it was too late since his mind was cloudy with jealousy and rage.  

now, leading up to your current predicament. a heavy make-out now leading to a degradation fest.  

“aw whats wrong little slut can’t take me, fucking pathetic much?” he teases pounding you at a faster pace. “can’t believe my own fucking girlfriend was just there being all friendly to her ex..what don’t tell me you still want him?” he muses making you rapidly shake your head. 

“ no i don’t i swear issei..just wan’ you..”you muttered eyes growing puffy from how cruel he spoke to you as he continued to suggest away of how would get him back since it seemed like you missed him from how friendly you were acting.

growing quiet at his words trying to tune out his words. it’ll all be over soon anyways, you just had to hold on a bit you told yourself. of course you were an idiot for letting him keep going. 

“ maybe i should go ask how kimi’s doing act all friendly and nice towards her.” you tuned into what issei had said in horror at what he just said.

kimi, his much prettier ex who t’ill this day wasn’t over him and he knew this. throwing it in your face as he darkly chuckled at you. you removed your arms that were wrapped around his neck pulling him close. and cupped your face in your hands at the thought of your boyfriend going back to his ex. leaving you alone again.

he wouldn’t right? even though she was much prettier in every feature she had compared to you. he wouldn’t right..? right? 

“f-funeral...“you sniffled making him stop all his movements and lock eyes with you. your safeword ringing in his ears. 

“hey..hey no i didn’t mean it...” he quickly pulls you towards him, pulling you out of him and hugging you tight. he rocks you softly back and forth in his embrace letting all your bottle up feelings burst onto him.  he quick to comfort you and pepper a few kisses on your face.

“ issei..” you mumbled against his chest. he rubs your back looking down at you.

“yes baby..?” his voice shaken with worry hoping you weren’t too mad at him.

“ i-i don’t miss him.. i was only being nice..i was uncomfortable talking to him why didn't you..” he internally punches himself for being so blind and not being able to see by all your movements how uncomfortable you were just breathing the same air as your ex.

he was too blinded by his jealousy to realize his poor baby was scared. he mumbled a curse before apologizing.

“i’m sorry baby i didn’t realize he was making you uncomfortable i should've done something..” his eyes wander away from you.

“ i was just jealous..” he admits

“but issei.. you’re all i want.” you say kissing his cheek and he smiles gracefully. 

“am i-i all you want sei?”

“ duh pretty baby. everything  i want and need.”

matsukawas is so short i’m so sorry ahhhh but i hope u all enjoyed <3

[lesbianakaashi]

The Forgotten Shounen: Katekyo Hitman Reborn

This is not a “Why you should watch/read khr” or anything like that. This is just me going into the deep dive and throwing my findings at you. I’m making this because khr used to be my favourite series when I was 15 (I had plushees, posters, tradingcards, the art book etc) and now as an adult I constantly find myself baffled at how unknow it seems to be.

1. Okay first what is khr?

Katekyo Hitman Reborn! or just Reborn! is a series by Akira Amano which was published in Weekly Shounen Jump from 2004 to 2012 (with 42 volumes) and got an anime adaption which run from 2006 to 2010 on Tv Tokyo (with 202 episodes and one OVA).

2. What’s it about?

Khr is a parody of the italian mafia and plays in a world where the mafia is heavily influencial. The protagonist is the japanese middle schooler Sawada Tsunayoshi who is known as “No good Tsuna” because of his failing grades, general weak and cowardly personality and weak physics.

He becomes aware of the mafia world when a 2 year old baby called Reborn arrives at his house claiming to be the greatest hitman and declaring himself his home tutor. Reborn was send by the 9th head of the Vongola famiglia who is ready to retire and looking for a new heir. Which of course, is supposed to be Tsuna and now it's Reborns job to shape him into a worthy sucessor.

Tsuna rejects the violence of the mafia world and refuses the position as the 10th. Thanks to Reborn and his general craziness Tsuna meets different people and starts to make real friendships. Reborn wants 6 of those friends to be Tsuna's future guardians, basically a group of people which will be closest to him in the vongola famiglia. Tsuna might have no interest in those positions but the friendships he builds with them become really precious to him.

Reborns arrivial also brings in the enemies of the Vongola family which leads to Tsuna being forced to engage in battles. Generally Tsuna openly avoids fights and prefers to run away but will put himself in danger for his friends' sake or because of something Reborn did.

Through out the series Tsuna matures and gains strenght but he never becomes a power fantasy. He's just a guy with many flaws who grows through the human connections he makes.

Personally I think the relationship between Reborn and Tsuna is one of the best student teacher reltaionships in all of manga only topped by Mob and Reigen from Mob Psycho 100. Especially the last arc really underlines their unique relationship to me.

Furthermore, khr offers a new and unique battle system: The flames. I'm not gonna go into to too much detail but the general idea is that one fights with their dying will flame which basically turns off your the savety switch so you can fight with everything you have. The flames are seperated into different categories such as: sky, storm, mist, rain, sun, lightning and cloud and have different attributes asigned to each one. Tsuna's use of the sky flame and his transformation when using it is still one of my favourite shounen transformations to this day.

3. What happened?

The series did really well and then not so well over the course of its serialisation. After the manga got an anime adaption it increased in populairty and video games, light novels, and other products such as CDs were created based on the series. Reborn is one of the best selling series of Weekly Shōnen Jump and has sold around 30 Million volumes overall. It was and still is very popular in Japan but rather unknown in the west.

According to the article "The Rise and Fall of Weekly Shonen Jump: A Look at the Circulation of Weekly Jump" khr was the 10th bestselling series in Weekly Shōnen Jump, with a total of 7 million copies sold in 2007.

This number increasing to 15 milion in 2008. Which placed khr into the 4th best selling series of 2008 in Japan.

Between 2008 and 2010 those sales declined but still kept strong with khr as the 6th top selling manga in 2009, 8th best selling in 2010 and then 24th best selling in 2012.

In November 2014, readers of the Da Vinci magazine voted khr number 17 on a list of Weekly Shōnen Jump's greatest manga series of all time.

After the anime came to an apprupt stop in 2010 for unknown reasons the manga sells took a visible hit. (Apparently the studio wanted to put the anime on halt because they were busy with other projects and give Akira Amano time to develop her story but I couldn't find any source for this claim) Furthermore, the rushed last chapters of the manga in 2012 declined the popularity of the series even more. There's no offical statement as to why the manga was ended in such a way but it's reasonable to assume that Jump either cut it considering the decreasing sales or Akira Amano choose to end it for personal reasons.

Nontheless, Tsuna not being included in Jump Force (a fighting game where you can play as different characters from Jump) in 2019 even tho he made it in earlier Jump Stars games also underlines the decreased interest in the series.

Rumors on a reboot or anime adaption of the last two arcs surface from time to time but are genereally unlikely. Artland the studio which made khr has gone bankrupt around 2015-2016. It might be taken on by another studio but rather uncommen especially with such an old series.

4. Art style

The khr anime ended over 10 years ago and the old art style might not be appealing to newer audiences.

Especailly because the anime adaption follows Akira Amanos old art style which heavily developed within the years. Here a picture comparing characters in the new art style:

A modern anime adaption in the new art style would be aesthetically pleasing. It would probably look similiar to Psycho Pass since Akira Amano did the concept art for this series.

(My personal art student hot take is that both art styles are unique and fun. Up to this day Akira Amano still has my favourite art style and even if the amount folds in the characters clothing is a little extreme I love it dearly.)

5. Criticism

The show is not without flaws and even if I greatly enjoy it it wouldn't be right not to adress them.

Daily Life Arc:

A lot of people view the first 20 to 25 episodes as fillers and quickly lose intererst in the series. This is due to the fact that Akira Amano inteded the series to be a gag manga and focuses the first chapters on world building, character introduction and comical narratives. It's rumored that the decision to develop the story into a battle shounen was made because the sales weren't doing well enough at first. So the first chapters/episodes may seem titidious but are necessary for the story and the development of the characters. The tonal shift from a more gintama like gag manga to a darker battle focused story can also be offputting to some viewers.

Either way a lot of people blame this arc when discussing why khr never got an english dub or didn't end up on Toonami. I've also read that the manga never finished serializing in the north america. However, it finished in other western languages like german and spanish.

Censoring:

The anime censors A LOT. From Gokudera's smoking habit, Yamamoto's whole character arc which deals with heavy themes such as depression and suicidal thoughts. The general bloodiness of the manga was censored and sometimes whole chapters and characters were left out even if those were important to the devolopment of others.

Filler episodes:

Out of the 202 episodes the anime has around 29 filler episodes which makes roughly 14 %.

Sexism:

Even if Reborn was written by a woman most female characters are rather flat and their storylines often tied to a male character in one way or another.

Genereal things:

Khr, like many other long running series, is sometimes criticised for a lack of world building or unpopular narrative choices.

6. Hope?

Khr isn't exactly dead. As stated before the series is still very popular in Japan and still gets new merch pretty regulary. There are also petitions floating around for a reboot or a new anime season but those never get a lot of traction. Furthermore #Reborn2期アニメ化 (#Reborn2ndAnimation) used to get some traction on twitter not too long ago. Last year the Anime News Network did a poll on which anime the readers would like to see a rebooot of and khr placed second.

Either way here's a collection of recent khr things I could find.

- In 2018 a new bluray set was released in north america

- The khr stage play reached yet another new season

- A mobile game was released last year

- Currently ongoing anime cafe event called "Concerto di Vongola"

- Last month there was an event with the former VAs and stage play actors where they discussed their favourite khr episodes.

- There has been an increase in blind reacts to the openings on youtube which might bring in a new fan base. The biggest one I could find had around 90k views and was made in 2019. On this note check out the soundtrack. The first openeing Drawing Days by SPLAY still makes me go insane (but I'm biased of course)

There also renewed hope for a new season/reboot because Shaman King, Inuyasha and Bleach got anounced for new seasons after a long hiatus. It's important to keep in mind that the circumstances for those series are differnt tho. For example bleachs new anime is often tied to the immense success of the gatcha game.

7. Conclusion

Khr is a series which used to be a flagship for Weekly Shounen Jump and is deeply beloved by it's fans, especially in Japan. It influenced other shounen series like bnha. It would be nice to see it gaining a bigger fanbase in the west :)

[giorno-plays-piano]

Crimson Gods

Pairing: vampire!Steve Rogers x Reader

Warnings: non-con, yandere, kidnapping, mentions of death and suicidal thoughts, allusion to breeding.

Words: 2362.

Summary: Living in the world where most lands are governed by the Noble, ancient vampires who shed human blood simply for their own amusement, you try leading a quiet and secluded life along with your mother. Sadly, you aren’t prepared when a vampire comes to your town.

P.S. When I was younger, I really, really loved Vampire Hunter D. I watched the movie again yesterday, and here’s the result ahahah. 

______________

It was way past midnight, but you couldn't force yourself to sleep, tossing and turning in your comfy bed while thinking of your travel tomorrow. You were supposed to leave the town for the first time in years to visit your grandmother who lived in the Northern Frontier Sector, and now you dreamt of how you were going to embrace her, kiss her cheeks despite her scolding you for not behaving properly in public. You hadn't seen her in 7 years. After the incident, you had never even once left the town, and your grandmother could hardly travel so far due to her age. Of course, you kept exchanging letters, but how could a cold letter, though written with great respect, replace a live communication?

While you kept wondering how your encounter would go, all of a sudden it felt cold under your cozy cotton blanket, and you reluctantly got up to take a huge comforter out of your heavy wooden chest. Why was it freezing tonight even with the windows closed? You were just in the middle of September. To be honest, you hardly remembered the last time the weather was so bad as you wrapped a comforter around your trembling shoulders, thinking whether you have to take your winter nightgown instead of light muslin one you were wearing now.

Throwing a glance at your window, you saw the frosted panes and furrowed your brows, refusing to believe it. Dear Lord, you lived in the Western Frontier Sector, not far to the North! Was it really going to snow out of nowhere tonight? As you moved closer to look at an empty street, you realized that a huge cross on top of a building on the other side started crumpling with a disgusting sound as if it were made of paper, not pure silver to protect citizens from the creatures of the night. Several crosses on the buildings down the street had been destroyed, too. Quickly, you looked down only to find the flower beds withering within seconds despite your beautiful roses blooming just a couple of hours ago. Now they all turned black.

You stilled on the spot, unable to believe your eyes and covering your ears from that horrifying noise. You had only seen something like that once, and it was the time when most villagers had already been dead, turned into beasts without a soul who craved for blood as much as their masters did. That night you had lost your beloved father as you fled your house in a rush, just a little child back then, and, once you arrived in the town, had never even once left your new home.

The crumpled crosses, dead flowers and a sudden temperature drop could mean only one thing: a vampire had come to the town. It wasn't some upyr, oh no, it was one of the Nobles, maybe even an Elder if you were unlucky.

Dear Lord, what a Noble wanted in a peaceful town like this? There were neither treasures nor mechanisms of the ancient, nothing that could potentially interest a Noble. Except that they might be simply eager to shed human blood for their own amusement...

Before you screamed at the top of your voice to wake up everyone around, you heard the sound of a large mirror in your room breaking, and then felt somebody's strong grip on your throat despite no one being in front of you. The world turned black before you uttered a single word.

_______________

Moving a heavy crimson curtain a bit so you could look out the window, you gasped, watching the corn fields far beneath looking like neat pieces of cloth. The view was incredible! You had never seen anything like this before, though you certainly didn't remember travelling in such fine carriage ever before either. It was truly stunning, made of black steel, shining in the sunlight as if it only been made yesterday. Steven laughed when you said it out loud, explaining that this carriage had been more than a century old. Apparently, the Nobility's carriages were miraculous since you couldn't find even a single scratch on the surface.

"Be careful, sweetheart." The man behind your back said, gently bringing you closer to him and further from the window, curtain falling back and hiding the two of you from the outside world. "Night does not fall yet."

"Forgive me my curiosity. I have never seen anything as magnificent." You smiled sheepishly at the handsome blonde-haired, blue-eyed man in a long black cape with red lining.

He let out a low chuckle, taking your hand and kissing it briefly while you forgot how to breathe for a second, deeply embarrassing by such outpouring display of affection. You lead a rather quiet secluded life in the town, pretty much never being around men of your age: your mother was going to choose a respectable husband for you herself, so you never worried about it before. Now, however, you felt ashamed for being so close to a man despite loving him dearly. Oh, what would your mother say if she saw you now? Wouldn't she be worried? Would she approve of your marriage to a No-

You blinked as you stared at the handsome man's pale face, feeling all your worries fading away. As long as you stayed with the love of your life, nothing else mattered, right?

"If that is what you wish, we will travel by air a lot more right after I present you at Western Frontier Court, sweetheart." His deep, silky voice made you let out a nervous chuckle as you felt your cheeks growing hot. "My, aren't you adorable?"

"Please, Steven, stop it!" You furrowed your brows as he grinned at you, baring his sharp fangs you paid no attention to. "I cannot believe I am getting married to you so soon. It feels... strange. A little unsettling."

"And why is that?" There was some wariness to his voice.

"It's just... I have never imagined myself being married to anyone. Surely, I thought of having a family at some point, but it was so distant. I have never even pictured myself close to a man, let alone a High Lord like you." You admitted honestly, biting your lower lip and averting his gaze. "You have never been married before, too, have you? Aren't you frightened even the slightest bit?"

"A little." He answered too soon, yet you disregarded it as well. "But I have no doubts we will make a good couple, sweetheart. I will cherish you like no other man ever would."

Embarrassed to the point your face was on fire, you decided to drop it, not knowing how a nobleman like Steven Grant Rogers could have an audacity to say such things. He was completely shameless! You hoped he was going to be more reserved while presenting you at court; you pictured your grandmother fainting if she heard him speaking like now.

What was Western Frontier Court like? You had never been there, not than any human ever could: as far as you knew, not even all vampires could serve the Nobility living in the high castle surrounded by mountains. You heard its peaks were covered with snow all year round.

"Have the king ever visited your castle?" You suddenly asked, back to your curious self.

Steven's face became even paler. "He did on several occasions, but it was a long time ago way before I was even born. I have only seen him once, and I do not think I will ever forget this encounter."

"Oh, is he as frightening as the legends say?"

"You cannot describe it with words, sweetheart. But do not be worried, he had been asleep for more than a thousand years now, and he surely won't wake up just to attend some Noble's marriage." A faint smile twisted Steven's lips as he drop a soft kiss to your forehead. "Actually, please do not refer to him as a king. The Nobles call him the Great One."

"Oh, I see. Thank you." Nodding, you turned your face back to the window covered by a crimson curtain, biting your lip again. "Can I watch the sunset a little? I won't be long, I promise."

"As you wish, sweetheart. Please come back to me once you are done, it is going to be a long night."

Gesturing to the large black coffin laying in the middle of your carriage, the man brushed his cold soft lips against your cheek and got up from his seat, smiling at you watching him. You remembered being very unhappy once you learnt there was only one coffin: you had never thought you would lay close to your betrothed with your head on his chest before your marriage. How terribly bold it was of Steven to make you sleep so close to him! However, you were content he had never even once tried touching you inappropriately, always treating you with respect: he said he admired your purity and innocence while not many Noble women were bothered by them.

Once he got inside the coffin, you lifted the curtain again, squinted as rays of bright light pierced the darkness of the carriage. Oh, how incredibly beautiful was the sunset in front of you. You had seldom seen such lovely sight as this. Would you miss the sun once you reach the high castle? You surely would, you thought. Hopefully, your betrothed would keep his promise to travel with you, and when he fell asleep during the day, you would walk in daylight all by yourself.

As you kept staring at the bright sky coloured in orange and pink, all of a sudden you thought why did you have to live in the high castle with Steven while your home was far away from the white mountains, in a little human town where you spent the last several years. Oh, right, you were engaged to the Overseer of the Western Frontier Sector, the highest Noble guarding the lands where you were born and raised. He was a peerless warrior and a fierce leader, a vampire respected by other Nobles.

A vampire? Steven was a vampire? Why would you be engaged to a vampire, let alone the Noble? The Overseer of the lands you were born and raised, the one who had taken advantage of those poor humans living in the Western Frontier Sector and let other Nobles ravage your cities and villages, destroying everything on their way.

You were engaged to the vampire overlord, a ruthless, cold-blooded being who could wipe out every human in these lands if he desired so. No, he was not your betrothed, the man you promised to marry willingly. He was the one who kidnapped you from your own bed at night, casting some spell over you to make you forget who you were.

You clamped a hand around your mouth to stop the pathetic sounds you were making as you cried, hot tears streaming down your cheeks. Dear Lord, why was the Overseeker doing it to you? What could he gain from this cruel game? Seemingly nothing, except for having some fun with a silly human girl. But that what the Nobles were doing once they got bored, wasn't it? No, you wouldn't give him the satisfaction, you thought, happy you were given a chance to escape - even if it cost you your own life, it was still for the better.

"The Overseeker of the Southern Frontier Sector did, not that I expect you to know. Now, please, come back here. You had enough time watching the sunset."

You couldn't believe your eyes, watching him say it with such confidence. Was he willing to keep playing his twisted game even when his sweet facade fell?

"Why do you pretend as if my death matters to you? You will kill me soon anyway. Does it bring you so much pleasure to murder one more pathetic human?"

"I won't kill you, sweetheart. It has never been my intention."

There was something to his voice, some emotion you struggled to describe that made you feel bitter and regretful. Was it all truly going to end like this? You were so young, supposed to have your whole life ahead of you, now faced with a choice to either let a vampire consume you or jump out the carriage and fell to your death.

"Than what was it? I assume you have been living for more than thousands of years. Aren't you a little too old for playing these games still?" You chocked on a sob, barely containing your tears as you trembled in front of the Overseeker.

"I am not playing a game." He admitted tiredly, suddenly taking the black glove off his hand. "All I wish for is a loving wife who can bear my children and bring peace to my lands. I have been wandering human cities for a great while before I found you, strong enough to carry a dampiel after a few genetic enhancements. Please, do not struggle. I have not come to make you suffer eternal torment."

For a couple of seconds you stared at him with your mouth slightly open, unable to utter a single word. You had expected the vampire to say anything but this. Was it still a game? Now you hoped it was because even being drained till the last drop of blood was better than carrying a dampiel, a child of both vampire and human, feared and loathed greatly by both races. When you recovered, however, you quickly turned the door handle and pushed the door, willing to wait no longer.

But the door did not give to your pressure. To your horror, it stayed still as if it were a solid piece of steel.

Feeling the iron grip of the Overseeker's fingers on you shoulder, you yelped as he dragged you back to his coffin with force, closing the lid before you had a chance to escape. The next second his fingers were on your neck, suffocating you before you lost consciousness just like the night when Steven Grant Rogers kidnapped his human beloved.

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