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teaandcharchives · 2 years ago

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Ask Skyrim Johnkat - Battlehorn Chapter 4

Fandom: Homestuck, skyrim, the elder scrolls.

Pairing: johnkat, DaveJade, and eventually we’ll be getting into some poly stuff that I hen’t figured out how to annotate yet.

Word Count: 13866

Rating: M, might go up to E later, or I might post those parts either. For now just sexual references.

Summary: More in the realm of “after the happily ever after.” They may have managed to save the world, but can John and Karkat handle the actual homecoming? If that seems like a step down, it’s probably because early modern local government is a lot more complicated than it first appears. Especially because there’s a lot of moving pieces in the Egbert Family once everyone comes home…

Read on AO3 here, or under cut below

Series start

Notes: Let this be a lesson in why you leave comments on old fics - There was one very kind person who read all 260k words of this AU a couple months ago and really loved it, which inspired me to go back and reread it, learn it still holds up (though I did make a couple little tweaks), and realize I wanted to go back to playing in the space. So I did.

I'm not sure how this chapter got to be almost 14k, other than that the only logical splitting point was less than 1/3 in. Besides, if you're gonna come back after *checks watch* four years, might as well do a lot.Because this is just playing in the space, I'm not sure how much more I'm actually going to write, and it's definitely going to be a lot more episodic than the other pieces. But I do have outlines for 3 more chapters ready to go. So there's that lol.

Chapter 4

It’s easier than you thought it’d be to slot yourself back into life at the castle. You were worried that after a full year of wandering around it’d be overwhelming to keep so many tasks balanced, to commit yourself to a schedule. Yet, after a few days it almost feels like you'd never left.

You’ve got Karkat now, of course, but you barely see him, especially compared to when you traveled together. He spends all day with his nose in books, but it’s not like when you were at Winterhold. You were separated all day, sure, but then in the evenings he’d be so animated in telling you about whatever he’d read. Now he just seems drained. You suppose that’s the difference between law or etiquette and shit he actually cares about. You can talk a little bit in the baths and you hold each other once you get back to your rooms, but you don't get much time before exhaustion takes one or the other of you. On Temple days you sit beside him, sure, but it’s hardly a social experience. You just share space as the priest and congregation offer prayers to the divines, and then as soon as services are over you have to hustle back to the castle to listen to grievances with your dad. You admit it was kind of nice to have a bit of space at first. It gave you something new to talk about in your time alone, but now you kind of miss him.

Then, one day in early Frost Fall, your father calls for a house meeting in his study. By the time you arrive, everyone else is there already. Your uncle sits at the desk and your dad stands behind him. You were expecting Karkat and Jake, but are somewhat surprised to see Provenco and Marcellia, the steward and head cook. That means it’s probably not strictly a family problem, but there are still plenty of things it could be. Your mind is racing. Did someone die? Is someone going to die? Are you losing funding? Are the borders changing? Which ones? When you take your place next to Karkat, he quickly grips your hand tightly.

Two pieces of paper on the desk catch your eye. You see broken seals on the top and bottom. They’re clearly letters, but you can’t see enough to tell from whom, just that one was sealed with white wax and the other blue.

A smile tweaks at the corner of your father’s mouth. “Don’t look so stressed. This is good news.”

There’s a collective breath outward. Not a full sigh from anyone, but enough of a release of tension to be palpable.

“Could have led with that,” you hear Karkat grumble. You gently elbow him.

“First,” Your father continues. You’re not sure if he didn’t hear Karkat or is just choosing to ignore him. “Jade is returning sometime next week. And much like John, she's bringing someone home.”

“So she and Dave did get betrothed?” Jake asks.

“According to this letter, yes.”

In some ways that’s even more of a relief. You and Jake look at each other and smile. You wanted to believe Karkat when he said Dave would come home with Jade, but with how little you knew about the guy you couldn’t be sure. But she’s coming! She’ll be home soon! And then if she starts training apprentices too, maybe you’ll be able to have a little more time to spend with Karkat.

“And the timing is perfect, because Countess Olivia Valga will be joining us for the Witches Festival as well.”

“This isn’t a prank, is it, my lord?” Asks Provenco. His voice is firm, and his broad, serious features are set in a neutral expression, but you can see hints of concern in his eyes. “The last time a Count or Countess came for a banquet was your wedding. My staff would only have a week and a half to prepare!”

“You may read her letter, if you wish,” Dad says, lifting the piece of parchment with the blue seal. “I am sorry for the short notice, Provenco. Especially since I know your father handled the preparations last time. However, you have managed this estate for many years now, and you are as skilled a steward as he was, and I have every faith in you, as well as Marcellia,” he adds, nodding to her. “You will have the apprentices fully at your disposal until then. It’ll do some of the younger ones good. John, Jake, I expect you to coordinate with the Pontillas, make sure they have all the help they need.”

You and your cousin nod.

“When is she coming and how long will she be here?” Marcellia asks. “I need to know for menu planning.”

“She plans to arrive the thirteenth and leave the fourteenth. She’ll be bringing one handmaid, but is leaving her husband to manage the city.”

“Did she say why she’s coming now?” You ask.

“She did not, but I imagine it has to do with you. The way most people tell it, you - with or without Karkat’s help depending on the teller - effectively ended the war and dragon crisis by yourself. And furthermore,” Your dad’s gaze turns to Karkat. “She’ll want to meet her future vassal.”

Your fiance inhales sharply, and you gently rub his knuckles with your thumb in reassurance.

“We’ll be switching to a focus on etiquette,” Uncle Joel says, “So you don’t have to worry so much about logistics until after Olivia leaves. The goal, remember, is for you to succeed.”

“Right,” Karkat says. It’s subtle (for him), but you can tell he doesn’t believe it.

“Any questions?” Dad asks.

Everyone looks at each other awkwardly.

“Well, then, let’s get to it. Karkat, John, you stay.”

You and Karkat both tense.

“You’re not in trouble,” your dad and uncle say at the same time.

Jake and the Pontillas leave. Jake gives you a reassuring pat on the shoulder on the way out.

“So…” You say.

“We need to figure out the best way to get Karkat up to speed as quickly as possible.” Joel says. “And we’ll need to work together on that.”

Karkat looks down. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault!” you insist. “You’re doing great!”

“I can’t complain about your progress thus far,” Uncle Joel amits, “But we weren’t expecting you to encounter other Cyrodilic nobles yet.”

“Yeah,” you say, “I mean, sure, we technically invite Liv to every festival, and she always invites us, but that’s just a formality. More of a ‘you’re welcome if you want to show up, but we know you’re not gonna.’ kinda deal.”

“Indeed,” Dad says. “John, I need your honest opinion. I know you interacted with several Jarls in Skyrim. How did he do with them?”

“I mean…” you shift your weight uncomfortably, thinking of how to word it. “It seems like things are less formal in Skyrim. He didn’t treat them much differently than anyone else, but it seemed like that was fine.”

“‘Fine’ may not be good enough.”

Karkat takes a deep breath, straightens his posture, and makes a valiant attempt to put on a proper accent. “Once I realized that John was more proficient in dealing with those of standing, I allowed him to take the lead in those conversations. I… do admit that at times my temper gets the better of me, however.”

“Hey, good more formal word choice!” You say.

He smirks at you. “I’m rather well read, as you recall. My vocabulary has never been lacking.” He drops the accent. “It’s just a lot of times the best word for the situation is ‘fuck.’”

You can’t help but laugh at that. You catch a smile on Dad’s face, but Uncle Joel is a bit more serious.

“True as all that might be,” your uncle says, “I think your accent is unlikely to be solid enough by her arrival next Morndas. It may be better to embrace sounding a bit foreign and focus on learning some of the quirks of Cyrodilic etiquette. It's not uncommon for people of other provinces to take up positions in various courts, and while many never pick up the accent, the manners are indispensable."

Karkat purses his lips for a moment before speaking again, this time with a much harsher accent, identical to his father’s. “If… If you think it would help, I can do this one much more reliably.”

“Yes, that may be for the best. I don’t…” Uncle Joel pauses for a moment. “This is your home, and I don’t want you to feel exoticized, but we cannot risk you making an enemy of the countess. And, though we should not lean into it too much, playing the foreign card may serve to have her accept some things that aren’t at a fully noble level.”

“No, I get it.” Karkat runs his fingers through his hair and goes back to his normal accent. “So what do we do now?”

“Study, same as before, just a slightly different topic.” Dad turns to you. “John, walk him through as much of what he has to know as possible. Show him the actions, and tell him what you know about the Countess and her family. Tomorrow we’ll meet to go over everything. Hopefully by then we’ll have come up with a plan.”

“Got it,” You say.

“We won’t let you down,” Karkat adds, looking directly at your uncle.

He smiles. “I’ll hold you to it.”

Karkat nods sharply. Then, with an air of determination, he turns on his heel and leaves.

—

“Okay,” John says, putting a closed book over the piece of paper you’ve been staring at. “So to review…”

You sigh and lean back in your chair. “Yes?”

“How long has Liv’s family been running Chorrol?”

“Six hundred years. Ish.”

“But?”

“But not always in a direct line. Just before the Oblivion Crisis the count died and his only living child was married to the Count of Leyawiin. After the Crisis, that daughter tried to claim the County, but her… cousin? I can just say cousin right? Or do you always have to specify with you people?”

“In this case cousin is fine. Keep going.”

“Okay, her cousin sued, saying that there was no way for the Countess of Leyawiin to manage counties on opposite side of Cyrodiil, but because the Imperial line just ended everyone was way too busy to deal with it, so the Countess’ mom stayed in charge until she died, then the cousin just kinda walked in and took over. Uh… no one stopped him because… the Count and Countess couldn’t leave the city of Leyawiin because they were fighting Bravil and basically independent at the time. By the time the case actually made it to court, it had been like 20 years or something and everyone was just like, ‘yeah, just let the Valgas keep it.’ The Carros are still bitter about this but have way bigger problems now. Um…” You rack your brain, trying to think of any other details but you’re coming up blank.

“Remember any of the names?”

“...No.” you admit.

“Arriana Valga was the married countess, Alessia and Marius Carro, and the cousin was Horatio Valga.”

“Right, fuck, I kept getting Arriana and Alessia backwards.”

John shrugs. “I mean, the good news is that you can almost always get away with referring to someone using either title-holding or title-family. That reminds me, what do you do when the Countess gets here?”

“Cry.”

He laughs. “No, but really.”

This one you’ve got. It was the first thing he drilled into you. “She’s going to be introduced by a page. When she enters, your dad and uncle say hi first, then you, and then it’s my turn.” You stand and bow. Then in your best Imperial accent you say, “‘It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Countess Valga.’ Then if she offers me a hand I have to kiss it, because humans are gross like that.” John snorts. “If she has more shit she wants to say, I respond politely, then we get out of the way and let Jake go.”

“Good! And knowing her, she’ll probably ask you to call her Liv. And after that, remember-”

“'I'll be there all night running interference.'” You say at the same time as he does. “I know. You’ve told me constantly the entire fucking time we’ve been cooped up here doing this!”

“Right,” He says, running his hand through his hair. “Sorry. I’m just worried.”

“Why the fuck are you worried?" You snap, "I’m the only one who’s really liable to make a skeever out of himself.”

John frowns. “I know I’ve told you this too. Even ignoring the fact that whatever you do is going to reflect on the whole family, Liv needs to know you can behave.”

“Why does everyone here talk about me like that?” You demand. “I’m not a dog or a child!”

“I know that! Dogs and kids have way more time to learn this shit!” He puts his head in his hands. “I’m sorry, Karkat.” He says, after a moment. “I just wish I knew why she was doing this.”

“I just assume she wants me to fail.”

“That’s not like her. Not like the Liv I knew, anyway.”

“People change.”

“I know.”

The two of you sit in silence for a moment. Crows caw in the courtyard and bits of dust dance in the slits of late-afternoon light coming through the narrow windows. You reach through the sunbeam bisecting your little table to cup John’s hand in yours. He looks up at you, sad and confused and it hurts.

“Thank you,” You say. “For everything you’re doing for me.”

He blinks at you and you pull your hand away.

“So the cousin thing,” You say, changing the subject, “I’m still pretty sure you Cyrodilic nobles invented the concept of ‘third cousins’ and being ‘removed’ to either obfuscate or put checks on the ridiculous amounts of inbreeding the counts and emperors are wont to do, especially since arranging marriages is one of the only times it comes up. That and inheritance laws. But since inheritance is one of those reasons, why didn’t it matter with the Valgas?”

“Oh, because it was an illegal seizure anyway. Chorrol should have gone to Alessia and her children by law. But I think they were first cousins anyway, which makes the claim stronger.”

“Is he the cousin that would have gotten it if Alessia died?”

“I think so? I’d have to double check. The rest of the extended family wasn’t that important and it’s been 200 years.”

You laugh. “See, you say that, but Dunmer politics you can see single family heads last that long.”

John pauses for a moment and looks thoughtful. “Huh, you know, I wonder if that’s why you guys don’t need to track extended cousins. Because it’s just like you can’t marry anyone under the same family head, or under the same head as anyone who married into your branch of the family, right? But if that covers like ten generations-”

“Nords also don’t have second cousins.” you point out, “They just have kin, which is just ‘as far back as people can remember.’”

“Yeah, but they settle inheritance disputes by duels,” he counters.

“Keep telling yourself that and just be glad you got born into the ‘let’s get fresh blood in here’ noble family.”

“And yet we’re pretty sure everything wrong with me comes from Dad’s side and not the Skingrad side.”

“Psh, Skingrad’s also new money. The last Hassildor only died 150 years ago. The Lafirias were wine merchants before then. Even with your scandalously short generations, a century isn’t enough time to get well and truly inbred unless you’re really working at it.”

“Oh, so remembering details is easy if it’s to talk shit about my mom,” John teases, sticking his tongue out at you.

“Not your mom in particular, humans in general and specifically Imperials as a whole. Besides, I never said that being from a merchant family was bad. If you are, then you are talking shit about both of our moms, and, while mine does kind of deserve it, I thought we’d agreed after meeting her that she could have been a lot worse.”

“Divines and Daedra, I love you,” John says with a laugh.

There’s a knock at the door.

“Come in,” John calls out.

The younger page, Quinn you think his name is, opens the door. “I was sent to tell you Lady Jade and Sir Dave have arrived.”

“‘Sir?’ Who’d he get to knight him?” You mutter.

John ignores you. “Thanks for letting us know, Quinn, we’ll be right down.”

Quinn bows and leaves.

“You’re not gonna make me dress up in the name of practice, are you?” You ask.

“I won’t encourage Dave and Jade to give you more shit than is necessary.”

You put the proper affectation back on. “You are too kind, my lord.”

“Pfft, never speak to me that way again.”

“You got it, dickwad,” you say, standing up.

“That’s my Karkat.” He gives you a quick kiss before leaving your chambers.

You follow him down the stairs. He pauses for just a moment, clearly trying to figure out where everyone is, then takes off towards the east wing. You hustle just to keep up. Thankfully he keeps it below a run.

Dave and Jade are in the study, talking to John’s father and uncle. John runs right up and embraces his cousin the same way he did in Whiterun. Jade looks exactly like you remember her, but there’s something different about Dave. Part of it is probably clothing. He’s ditched the heavy cloak and thick Nord-style shirt and pants. He still wears a red laced-up vest, but even that looks to be lighter in terms of both material type and color. He’s switched to a white linen shirt and gray pants, rather than the black he wore before. It’s a nice change, you think. It makes him look less washed out. …Or is that it? You remember with a start that his eyes used to glow. Then you realize he’s breathing.

“You’re alive.” You say.

Dave smirks, just barely showing off normal-sized canines. “You’re damn right.”

John stiffens and looks with concern at his dad.

“Oh, don’t worry, I told them ages ago,” Jade says.

“Okay good.” John returns to your side.

“Yeah, and I already got read the riot act from Jade’s folks in the capital.” Dave adds. “Her dad did not appreciate my observation that while the age gap is pretty significant it’s now literally impossible for me to meet girls my age without necromancy.”

“I think he mostly didn’t like the one-two punch of you being biologically eighteen,” Jade says with a giggle.

He shrugs. “Sorry, I can’t help being too old and too young for anyone I’ve been interested in for the last few millennia.”

“Anyway,” John’s father says. “I was just telling them about the Countess’ upcoming visit.”

“It will not be a problem,” Dave says, his accent flawless. “It’s been quite a while, but from what Jade tells me, the rules have not changed too much in the last few centuries.”

“...That’s not fucking fair.” You grumble.

John takes your hand gently.

“I’d been meaning to ask, though,” Dave continues. “Is the dancing still mandatory?”

“More or less, unless you’d like to play the part of an old man like me,”

“Yeah, no, I’d rather keep the ex-vampire thing within the family.”

“Reasonable. Now,” Lord Egbert fixes his eyes on you and John. “How is Karkat’s progress?”

John’s face lights up. “Great! I think he’s just about got the trivia and manners all down. Right?”

“Oh… Yeah.” You say.

John’s father and uncle give you identical skeptical looks.

“I know enough that she’ll know I did the research, even if I don’t have all the details.” Their expressions do not change. “I’ve only had four days!”

“Fair enough.” John’s dad says. “I’m certain she’ll take it into account. We just also want to wow her as much as possible.”

“Right.” Good enough isn’t good enough. You get it. Fuck.

“Do you think there will be time to practice dancing soon?” John asks. “I know everyone else is also busy preparing for the feast, but I am so rusty and haven’t been able to teach Karkat at all.”

“Why don’t we work together?” Jade suggests. “If you still remember how to play the harpsichord we can trade off playing and teaching! Dave is about 400 years behind on dance moves.”

Dave shrugs.

“It’s more I don’t think I know enough to teach,” John admits sheepishly. "I haven't been to a real feast since Liv's wedding."

“Speak to Jake,” Joel says. “The other day he told me that most of our apprentices, even some of those that come from noble families, need a dance lesson. Besides, I’m sure he’d like the excuse to spend some time with the rest of the family. With the three of you working together, I’m sure you’ll get it.”

—

The next week goes by in a blur. Whether it's dancing or studying, you’re exhausted by the end of the day. None of this comes naturally to you; not the endless parade of names and dates, not the imperial dancing with its fancy footwork and next to no movement in the arms or hips, and certainly not holding your tongue and following the strict, hierarchical code of manners. John tells you you’re doing good, but you understood his uncle loud and clear. Good enough isn’t going to be good enough. And, fuck, it feels like the literal children are doing better than you, much less Dave. He almost makes the imperial dancing look good. Almost.

You’re just… you’re tired. You don’t know how much more you have to give. You just want to spend time with John. Preferably doing something other than memorizing a bunch of dead humans’ names or looking like some sort of mentally deficient ground bird as you attempt to dance. You try not to fall asleep too quickly every night so that you can have some time with him, but inevitably you fail, drifting off what feels like mere moments after you lay down. Then, the next thing you know it's the day of the Countess' arrival.

You frantically leaf through books, trying to pick up on something, anything, you've missed. But as soon as you look away from the pages, the facts slip from your mind like fish from a cracked basket.

John comes back from the kitchen with your normal breakfast. As fall has set in, the fruits you enjoyed earlier He smiles at you softly, if a bit sadly.

"Here." He says.

You ignore the food and look back down at the book.

"You should eat."

You give a noncommittal grunt.

He puts one of the scones on a small plate and shoves it in front of you. You give him an annoyed look, and he responds by raising his eyebrows and tipping his head down in a clear, “you’re going to do it, though.” You sigh, roll your eyes, and begin picking at the scone. It’s just not worth fighting over.

"So,” he says, grabbing an apple, “Today, Dad is entrusting me with doing some rounds through the domain, making sure everything is ready for Liv's arrival."

"Good for you,” you reply flatly.

"You should come with me."

"I can't. I'm studying."

He sighs. "Karkat."

"What?"

"Are you even absorbing anything? This is like the tenth time you've read that book."

You freeze and look back up at him, feeling the guilt on your face. "But the banquet…"

He grins. "Come on, I'll be sure to get us back in plenty of time to make you all pretty."

You scoff. "There's not enough time in the world for that."

"Shut up. You haven't seen you in the good clothes. Besides, what if she asks what you think of the barony?"

"That's… not a bad point…" you concede.

"Come on, Karkat. Let's go out, ride around the countryside. I know it's not as pretty now that the wheat has all been harvested but it's a lot cooler out now. We can talk, ride together. Just like before."

Your hand reflexively goes to where your ring hangs under your shirt. You smile in spite of yourself as you finally meet his gaze.

"Let's do it."

You put on your vest, grab a light cloak and one of the apples, and then the two of you are off.

As you descend the castle, you see the Witches Festival fair beginning to take shape in the town square. A couple dozen people are hard at work assembling stalls and hanging banners from the buildings. In a manner of hours, practically everyone in the barony will be down there singing and dancing, trying the sweets and rich pumpkin and sweet potato dishes, with no expectation of decorum or stratification.

From what John said, in a normal year, everyone from the castle would be right there with the common folk. Before the Countess' letter came he'd excitedly told you about everything he wanted you to try: the sweets, the breads, the games and folk dances. After the letter he promised you next year. You just hope you can give him the chance to make good on that.

By the time you reach the stables, Shadowmere and Mouse are already ready to go. Demeem, the stablehand, is mucking out the adjacent stall. He’s a solid man, almost as tall as John and even broader with a wide flat nose and the longest dreadlocks you’ve ever seen, which he keeps tied back with a silk ribbon. His size makes him imposing, but he might be the gentlest man you’ve ever met and the horses love him for it.

He pauses for a moment, tucking a loc that had come loose from his ponytail behind his ear and smiles at the two of you.

"Mornin'" he says. "Got your horses ready. This is where we'll be putting Countess Chorrol's when she gets here. And we got plenty of space for her carriage on the end. Should be able to pull it in straight. Couple of septims and a handful of the village lads were more than happy to help."

"Perfect," John says.

He takes both horses’ reins and leads them outside. It takes a mere moment for the two of you to get into your respective saddles, and then you’re off at a reasonable trot. Though it’s been nearly a month since you’ve ridden, keeping up with John is nearly effortless. Gods, when did that happen? It wasn’t long ago that even being near a horse scared you.

John notices and gets a wicked gleam in his eye. “Well,” he says, “First we gotta make sure that the road’s in good shape between here and the border.”

“That’s, what, a little over two miles?”

He nods. “Just about. So it’ll take about fifteen minutes at a trot.”

You narrow your eyes at him, not sure where this is going. “Right.”

“See you when you catch up!” He kicks Shadowmere into a full gallop and tears off down the dusty road.

You curse after him and urge Mouse forward. She’s startled and confused, but that makes it easier to urge her into a sprint. From there it’s a race. You haven’t gone further than the little lake at the end of the village since you got here, and John probably knows the way in his sleep. Fortunately, most of the time the local masons have nothing else to do but maintain this stretch of road, and the horses naturally follow the easier path, rather than attempt to cross the fields. Shadowmere is bigger, with a longer stride and the power of Sithis, and he had a head start. But Mouse is slight for a Skyrim horse, and John is a lot heavier than you are. As the fields get rougher and more overgrown, the gap between you and John starts to shrink as Shadowmere starts to tire.

But John knows you’re coming, and the road isn’t that wide. He keeps glancing over his shoulder, nudging Shadowmere left or right so you can’t get around.

“That’s a dirty fucking trick, Egbert!”

He flips you off over his shoulder.

You growl at him, trying to figure out what to do. Fuck, you wish you knew some kind of magic that didn’t involve setting shit on fire. You should have Jake teach you a calm spell. But then you see your chance: the road curves slightly just up ahead. You grin and hold tight to Mouse’s reins, directing her up over the edge and straight across the scraggly grass.

“Eat shit, asshole!” You shout at your fiance as you pass him.

By the time you finish cutting the curve, he has to pull back or he’d plow right into Mouse’s ass. But unlike John, you’re a decent person and keep Mouse galloping at top speed. Or as close to it as she can do uphill after two miles. You’re approaching the border marker rapidly, and a quick glance over your shoulder proves you’re leaving John in the dust.

You crest the top of the hill and cross the border with several lengths between you and John. The horses startle a murder of crows, which fly off a hundred feet or so before settling back down into a freshly-cleared field.

“Who’s the better rider now?” You demand as John catches up.

“Heh, I’ll remember that the next time you ask me to top,” John teases as he slides off of Shadowmere.

“Hardy fucking har,” you say sarcastically, hopping down. “I won and you know it.”

“Still fun, though,” John replies, grinning. He pats Shadowmere’s heaving flank. “We should probably let these guys have a little rest now, though. Thanks for being a good sport, buddy!”

Shadowmere shakes his head, you assume because horses are physiologically incapable of rolling their eyes. You take an apple from your pouch and slice off a large chunk to give Mouse as a treat. After what John put you both through, she deserves something for her trouble. That gets Shadowmere’s attention and so you have to give him the rest. You wonder briefly if he misses being your only horse before you decide that’s stupid. Demonic or not, he’s still a horse.

John sits on a nearby stone fence and looks down into the valley below. You walk over to him and follow his gaze. From here, you can see what you know to be Chorrol’s walls rising in the distance and the Great Forest beyond. The city is scarcely more than a little gray lump sitting atop a golden and brown quilt of fields, woods, and farms, stitched together with stone or wood fences and embellished with cottages and hamlets. The Black Road gently curves down towards the city, disappearing every now and then below the cover of gold and burgundy trees. You know there are guard patrols and carts down there. The Countess is on her way in the carriage right now. But all of those people and horses are nothing more than specks against the gray stone. You’re alone in the middle of the countryside with John, and it gives you more of a pang of nostalgia than you thought it would. You take a seat on the three-foot wall next to him.

“Someday,” He murmurs softly.

“Huh?”

He clears his throat. “Dad says that when he was growing up, our lands looked like that too. I mean, not so much in the west. That was still mostly shepherds. But this side was all farms. Did Uncle Joel tell you that?”

“Right, but then the war happened.”

“Yeah, and the damage and Imperial relocations cost us two-thirds of our people.” He sighs and looks down at his lap. “I know Dad regrets not fighting harder, but what could he do? He’d already lost most of the family.” He pauses, then looks out at the valley with renewed determination on his face. “But we’ll get there. I know we will.”

You take his hand. “We will,” you affirm. “You’ve got a solid start. The population’s gone back up about 50% in thirty years, right? So don’t do anything stupid and even with your evanescent human lifespan you might live to see it.”

He nudges you with his elbow. “See? I told you, stuff is sticking. You just need to get out of your head.”

You scowl, “I need to work on my insults. They aren’t doing a damn thing anymore.”

“When have they ever bugged me?” He laughs. “As soon as I realized you don’t really mean them-”

“I’ll show you meaning it!” You growl, shoving him backwards.

He wraps his arms around you, bringing you down with him. The two of you land on your shoulders, laughing and holding each other. John leans in to kiss you, and in that moment you remember what it is to be young and in love.

When you return to the castle you’re in much higher spirits. John cheerfully reports to his father that their holdings are in the best shape they can be at this time of year. The two of you do a little work helping get the festival ready, and the innkeeper (Mrs. Dralentius, John helpfully supplied) gave you each a couple of candies in thanks.

By that point it’s up to get ready. You and John wash and shave, then John does your hair. He just starts with water and a comb, but then he starts to work in a tiny bit of this thick cream called Uhigris. You didn’t quite believe him when he said it’d make your hair manageable but it does. Your hair isn’t flat, not really, but it weighs the curls down and defines them better, makes them look intentional. For the first time, you briefly consider growing your hair out. There were so many lice problems in the Gray Quarter you’d never dreamed of it as a child, and then when you’d moved out you’d assumed your hair was too unruly but maybe…

Then you have to move out of the way so John can have the mirror to plaster down his perennial cowlick. Instead, you go to the wardrobe and pull out the small cedar chest John gave you. You pull out the clothes and check them over carefully, expecting some horrible stain or tear to have appeared somehow. But no, they’re as perfect as ever, which is probably why it feels so wrong to pull them on. You’ve been sleeping on silk for almost two months now, but somehow having it as a shirt feels different. The way the outfit is cut to be looser around the shoulders and thighs and tighter around the forearms and calves makes it feel like it’s designed for someone else, in spite of the fact that it’s bespoke and that every transition hits the exact right spot on your body. You look down at yourself. This outfit is a costume, and an utterly unconvincing one. You might as well be down with the peasants dressed as a lich or something. At least boots are just boots.

John laces his doublet shut as quickly and easily as breathing and goes to grab his sword and its formal sheath. After he places the weapon on his belt, he looks up at the mirror and smiles.

“Gods,” he breathes, “Look at us.”

You do and… he’s right. John is, of course, radiant. The deep blue doublet brings out his eyes and the gold of the embroidery pops. The paler blue silk of his shirt contrasts perfectly with his dark skin, making him look as warm as his personality and his embrace. Though his body will always be more enticing with less on it, the doublet helps emphasize his shape; the breadth of his chest, the strength of his core. The contrast of looseness and tightness in the shirt and pants gives you just a taste of the muscles hiding below.

But it’s not just John. You… you look like you belong. Your red doublet and black shirt complement your natural colors the same way John’s outfit does for him, and play perfectly with the silver accents. You don’t understand how the same cut of clothing can make you look as lithe and ephemeral as it makes John robust, but it doesn’t matter. It works.

He offers you his hand and you take it in the graceful, dainty way you’d been taught over the last few days, barely cupping it.

“What’d I tell you? You hadn’t seen you in the good clothes.”

You pull the fancy accent on and dressed like this, looking like this, it somehow feels right. “I do not recall that conversation, my darling. But if I did, I’d probably point out that neither of us had seen me with my hair under control.”

He laughs and then puts on his proper accent, “Well then, what say you we bring you to your first official event as a member of House Egbert?”

“I say that sounds splendid.”

Hand in hand, the two of you descend down the stairs without a single misstep.

The rest of the family waits for you in the main hall. The tables have been moved, arranged into a large U shape with the opening facing towards the entrance. A couple of musicians who you think normally play in the tavern glance up for a moment when you enter before turning back to each other and speaking softly.

The men in John’s family wear similar styles of outfits to yours, but none of them match quite the way you and John do. Jake’s is the most similar, but rather than flare out at the hip, his green doublet ends and he wears separate pantaloons. On the other end of the spectrum, John’s father and Uncle have much looser, almost robe-like vests that stop at the mid-thigh. You don’t know enough to say whether that’s an older style, or just viewed as more appropriate for men their age. For the first time, you see John’s father wearing his badge of office, a golden circlet with a large black gem in the center, and carvings reminiscent of Daedric script around it.

Jade’s dress has a similar silhouette to her daily dresses, except she also has the puffed sleeves, but has several different shades of green silk woven into a plant-like pattern. It’s also cut much lower than her other dresses, and you think her purplish-brown bodice might be laced tighter than usual. You make a valiant effort to stop noticing that and the low gold and emerald necklace she wears. She claps and grins when she sees the two of you.

“Aw! You guys look so cute together!”

You feel yourself begin to blush.

And John, seeming to feel every bit as awkward says, “Thanks, um, you too.”

She laughs and loops her arm around Dave’s. If anyone looks out of place here, it’s him. His clothes are closer to a Nordic style, with most of his body covered in a long quilted coat made of burgundy velvet.

“Aren’t you hot in that?” You ask.

He winks, “You’re damn right I am.” Jade elbows him. “For real though, I’m fine.” He reaches down the neck of his shirt and fishes out a silver pendant pulsing with a faint blue light. “Amulet of ice.”

“I need one of those for next summer,” you say.

“400 septims.”

“He’ll do it for free,” Jade says, elbowing him again.

“Listen, if I do one for him, I’ll have to do one for everyone.”

“Make it a wedding present.”

“Anyway, what’s the word on Liv?” John asks.

“She arrived very shortly after you returned.” John’s father says. “I showed her to the room she’ll be staying in. I believe she is preparing as we speak. She knows supper will be ready in about an hour and a half, but I do not know exactly when she’ll choose to join us.”

“So, what?” You ask, dropping John’s hand. “We just wait here?”

“Yep!” John says. “I mean, Dad’s the host, but none of us can really tell her what to do. The food’s gonna be ready when it’s ready, but other than that we’re on her time table.”

“Right.”

“Please do try to hide your disgust with the hierarchy while our liege is present,” Joel says.

“Huh?”

“Has anyone ever told you that you have an incredibly emotive face, Karkat?”

“Shit. Uh, sorry.” You try to put a blank expression on your face.

John chuckles. “Now you look like you have gas.”

“...Man we’re so fucked.” You murmur in Dunmeri.

“Hey, don’t worry. It’s gonna be fine. Remember, just stay next to me, follow my lead, and now… I don’t know, think about puppies or something?”

“I’m not a dog person,” you remind him.

“Yeah, that’s Jade.”

“Hey!” she calls out, but then she grins. You can practically see the wolf tail wagging.

At that point the door opens. Truss, the older page, enters and clears his throat. “Introducing her Excellency, Olivia Valga, Countess of Chorrol.”

John takes your hand less delicately than before as the whole family, with the exception of Joel, rushes into position in a receiving line. The bards quickly begin playing softly. Once you’re all ready to go, Truss opens the door. An Imperial woman glides in. She wears a dark blue velvet dress with silver details. White lace rims every hem, and her arms are heavy with bracelets and rings. Her long black hair is intricately woven into a single massive braid with several baubles inserted. Atop her head she wears a large silver circlet with a sapphire half the size of your fist embedded in it. Behind her walks an Argonian wearing a nice cream gown and veils over her fins. She almost looks familiar. You wonder if any of her relatives work at the Assemblage. Not that you’re likely to get a chance to ask. While the Countess is around, she’s invisible.

“Welcome, my Countess,” John’s dad says. He takes her hand and kisses it.

“Oh Jack, there’s no need for such formalities with me. You’ve always been like an uncle to me. I’m glad to finally sample your hospitality.”

“We’re delighted to have you. I hope you can forgive my brother for not standing to greet you. At seventy, getting around with one leg is enough of a challenge for him.”

“Of course, I understand we all have our limitations” She nods in his direction.

“Naturally, you remember my son…”

“How could I ever forget? It’s wonderful to see you again, John.”

“The feeling is mutual, Liv.” John also takes her hand and kisses it.

“You’ll need to tell me all about your trip to Skyrim! I understand it was quite exciting! And certainly rather rewarding.” She turns her gaze to you. “After all, what Egbertian adventure is complete without bringing home a spouse?”

He chuckles. It’s not the carefree laugh you’ve learned to love, but a lot more restrained, measured. “What adventure indeed? This is my betrothed, Karkat Vantas. I asked for his hand this spring. As is tradition for us, he’s not a noble, but he and his family are well-connected with the Dunmer of Skyrim, and I’ve been teaching him our ways.”

“It’s delightful to meet you, Karkat.”

“Likewise,” Your voice comes out in your attempt at a proper accent, rather than your father’s. Shit. Fuck. Well, we’re rolling with it now. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Countess Valga. John has told me so much about you.”

“All good things, I hope.”

“Of course.”

She offers you her hand and you kiss it as you were taught. “And please,” she says, “anyone so close to my favorite page can call me Liv.”

“Liv, please, it’s been eleven years since I left,” John says.

“I know, but you were so darling! I think it may be because you were the right age to really look up to me.”

You don’t know what to do now. Everyone’s been introducing the next person down the line but…

“Jake,” she says, turning her attention to him. Thank Stendarr. “It’s nice to see you again. How are this year’s new apprentices?”

“Oh, every class has its quirks. But we’ll get them in tip-top shape in no time!”

“I have every faith in you and your family. You know, my youngest brother turns fourteen next year. I understand you must be objective in selecting apprentices, but perhaps we can speak about his prospects.”

“I’d be happy to. Though I’d prefer to talk to the lad too, find out his ambitions and see how he handles himself.”

“Lovely, we’ll set up a meeting. I’m sure my mother will have an opinion as well.”

“And your sister?” She asks, looking at Jade.

“Oh, I’m still getting my feet back under me. I only arrived home last week.”

“Now, I haven’t heard as much about your escapades, Jade.”

“Well, my adventure didn’t involve dragons.”

“I see it also involved finding a man, though.”

“It did! This is Dave, he was instrumental in helping me avoid a proxy civil war in High Rock.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Dave says with his stupid flawless fancy accent. He bows deeply.

“High Rock? Are you a Breton?” She asks.

“No,” he says, “I’m a Nord.”

“Indeed?”

“It’s a long, sad story.”

“I’d love to hear it.”

“Well,” He shifts uncomfortably. “Perhaps suffice it to say my father was a high elf, and my mother was… less than thrilled.”

“Ah. Yes, say no more. I should have realized, such things often happen in the wake of wars and occupations.”

“Thank you.”

“Well,” John’s father says, clapping his hands together, “The Apprentices will be joining us for supper, but we still have a bit of time before that. Now, let’s have some wine, enjoy each other’s company, or perhaps the gardens? They’re starting to be a bit sad, but fall has its own beauty, don’t you think?”

One of the servants, a teenager named Theocus, comes out with a tray laden with pewter wine goblets. John’s father takes the lead, talking about the vintage and this year’s grape harvest and the status of the vineyards here and blah, blah, blah. But still, you’re grateful. If he’s talking, you have less of a chance to say the wrong thing. You need to write to your father. He’ll want to know you’ve overcome your medical inability to shut the fuck up.

Unfortunately, it gives you time to analyze and over analyze everything you do: your stance, your facial expressions, if you’re drinking enough, if you’re drinking too much. You keep looking to John, and every now and then he gives you a little reassurance: a touch of the arm or a little smile. Maybe being his arm candy isn’t as bad as you thought it would be. At least you can feel confident you look the part.

You successfully manage to answer a couple of questions when they’re directed at you, mostly about your opinions of the barony, adjusting to Cyrodiil, that type of stuff. You have your canned responses ready, try to make them sound as good as possible. But, good to his word, John takes the lead and directs the conversation whenever it turns to the two of you. Sometimes he’ll prompt you for your input, give you the chance to respond, and then take back over.

Fortunately (and you’re still not entirely sure how rigid the seating rules are, other than “most important people near the middle”), once you’re seated you have John, his uncle, and his father between yourself and the countess. Even with the music and multiple conversations reverberating through the high-ceilinged stone hall, you’re positive you could make yourself heard, but you have no desire to do so. Instead, you and John mostly wind up talking to Gitmel (who’s technically at the next table, but whatever) about her ongoing research with Ayleid stones. Most of the stuff she talks about with resonances goes over your head, but it’s at least mildly interesting to compare the Aylied with the Dwemer.

It’s almost… pleasant? Maybe the wine is starting to get to you. It’ll be hard to tell until you stand. The food certainly helps. Marcellia prepares a veritable banquet for everyone on a normal day, and tonight she’s gone all out. You understand now why she called so many of hte apprentices in to help her in the kitchens. She’s made an entire young pig, a capon, several pigeons or some other small birds, and at least three kinds of mutton, on top of intricately woven breads, miscellaneous pies, and more local vegetables than you can hope to identify. She’s even put together a multi-tiered aspic. (You try a little bit and though you’re not a fan you at least appreciate it’s a fancy thing that took a lot of work.)

But all too soon, dinner is finished. The moment the last of the dishes are brought back to the kitchen, the bards start playing just a little bit louder and a little bit more intensely. A couple of the teenage apprentices are the first to get up and start dancing, then Jade drags Dave out onto the floor. Jake, who had been sitting beside the countess, says something to her and then the two of them are off. You look at John nervously.

“It’s okay,” he says. “Yanno, if you were actually any good I’d just be dragging you down.”

You can’t help but laugh at that, as does John’s uncle. Fuck, though, some of the kids are good. Their steps are precise, so fast, and they complement each other perfectly. You sincerely hope these are younger noble children, ones who served as pages or maids only to learn that their real choices in life were legion officer or priest. Honestly, you’ve spent such little time with the apprentices you’re not sure.

John stands and offers you his hand the way he did in your chambers a few short hours ago. With a deep breath you take it and rise to your feet. Glancing about the hall, you see that no one is really looking at you very closely. Maybe John’s dad and uncle, but everyone dancing is far more interested in their partners.

It still doesn’t quite feel right, but you have to admit it makes a little more sense in the doublet. Helps you keep your spine straight, anyway. And the softer soles of the fine boots make it easier to keep your steps light and dainty. You hold your own for the first few songs, the old-fashioned processionals and traditional Cyrodilic banquet dances. You’re not great, but neither is John. You’re not the best judge, but either Jake and the countess or those two apprentices who won’t admit they’re dating are probably winning. But you haven’t been told you’re offensively bad, anyway.

Then the countess breaks away from Jake for a moment and approaches the bards. From where you are you can’t hear what she says, but the music pauses for a moment. The bard playing the harpsichord changes the tempo from a 4/4 to a 3/4. As the flute and lyre rejoin, you realize you recognize the style, light and bouncy and elven. This is an Altmer dance, the one you could never quite get right. You take a step away from John.

“Are you thirsty?” You ask. “I’m thirsty. I’m going to get some wine.”

“I’m good,” he says.

You give him a sharp look.

“I’ll come with you, though. Not a bad idea to take a breather.”

Before you’re even back to your seat, Theocus is there with a pitcher of wine.

“Take your time,” you murmur to him.

You’re not the only one who’s bowed out. Most of the apprentices are taking the opportunity to have more water, and many of them are chatting amongst themselves. But that gives the remaining four couples more space. There’s two pairs of apprentices, including the two that started the night, Dave and Jade, and Jake and the countess.

You hate to admit it, but when done correctly the dance is beautiful. The expressive arm movements almost remind you of Dunmeri folk dances, but combined with the same light stepping of Cyrodilic dances. The couples are arranged in a square, and they begin to switch partners, the leads breaking away to circle one another, then the followers. But they eventually always return to the same base corner, walking in a circle with their palms gently touching.

When the first song ends, the pair of apprentices that are totally dating go down and join in, apparently gathering up their nerve. There’s a bit of a shakeup in partners, as Dave steps away. You watch him tap his chest, where you know his amulet is hidden, and walk out of the hall. Jade approaches her brother to take his place, and the countess gracefully nods her head and comes back to the table. She takes a few sips of her wine, and then locks her eyes on you.

She approaches smiling. “John, my dear, you look a bit sad.”

“Oh, not at all. Just watching.”

“Do you remember the choreography my father had everyone learn ahead of my wedding?”

“I think so. It’s been a while, though.”

“Want to give it a try?”

He gives you a worried glance.

You plaster a fake smile on your face. “Go have fun. I’ll be here.”

“Alright.” He gives your shoulder a little squeeze and then takes her hand the way he took yours.

The two walk away, speaking too softly for you to hear. She leads him to the center of the room and everyone else seems to give them a little more space. It seems like everyone is watching them. John notices and looks around nervously.

You can almost hear her words when she looks at him gently. “Don’t pay attention to them. Eyes on me.”

Your stomach clenches and you down your wine. Theocus kind of gives you a look. You glance over to John and the countess. Their eyes are locked, hands lightly touching as they start their dance. Theocus looks at them, back to you, and then shrugs as if to say “fair enough” and refills your goblet.

The apprentices have all gone to the benches along the edge of the hall, just leavine Jake and Jade and John and the Countess. The choreography is a lot more complicated, and requires all four to coordinate. Each of them stumbles at least once, but it doesn’t seem to matter. They’re smiling and laughing and it ties your stomach in knots.

When the first song ends.

The countess laughs and says “Let’s try that again.”

The other three agree. The music starts back up and they try again, this time more assured. Jade is doing this with her brother. It doesn’t mean anything. You know it doesn’t mean anything. And yet… Watching John and the countess look at each other like that.

It’s around then that Dave comes back. He watches the four of them for a moment, then looks up at you. He walks up along the edge of the hall, staying out of the dancers’ way.

He plops down in John’s chair. “You know,” he says. “During dinner Liv spent a lot of time asking about the local flavor in Skyrim.”

“So what? You think they’re just doing that to talk about our trip?”

“Nah, they’re not talking. I’m thinking that this is 3/4 time. So,” he bows and puts the accent back on, “May I have this dance, Mr. Vantas?”

You give him a wicked grin. “Oh, Sir Strider, I’d be delighted.”

He takes you by the hand for real and says, “You can lead since you’re taller.”

Having watched the dance once, you know about how far they go, and that most of the U between the tables is safe. You put your hand on Dave’s hip, he puts his on your shoulder and gives you a twitch of a smile. As you begin to dance with Dave, it’s the most comfortable you’ve felt all night. The upper arms of your shirt are a little tight for this, especially when you help Dave do a spin or two, but you actually feel like you know what you’re fucking doing.

Before you know it, the song ends. You and Dave stand there, together for a moment, and then over his shoulder you notice everyone looking at the two of you. You turn to look at John and the Countess, and they’re both staring at you utterly gobsmacked.

You saunter up to the two of them and clear your throat. “Dave told me you were interested in knowing more about Skyrim culture, and thought you might want a demonstration.”

The countess collects herself quickly. “That was… certainly something. I suppose that’s a folk dance?”

“As I understand the Jarls do it as well,” John says, “Not that there was much time to attend proper banquets during a war.”

“Fascinating. Perhaps I should arrange a visit someday,” The countess says. “It is a rather charming dance.” She looks up at John. “So that I’m prepared for such an event, do you think you could teach me?”

You feel your face fall.

John shakes his head. “I… Probably wouldn’t be the best teacher. Karkat taught me actually. Him and his friends.”

“Oh, nonsense.”

“Well, for now, I think I might have been neglecting my fiance a bit too long.”

“John…” She says, a bit of sharpness in her voice that hadn’t been present before.

Dave swoops in Jade and Jake in tow. “Hey,” he says, “These two were interested in learning too. Let me show you all at once, let them have their fun.”

“That’s very kind of you, Sir Strider,” she says. “I’d appreciate your tutelage.”

You smirk and take John back out onto the floor.

“Karkat,” He says, voice low and serious. “What are you doing with all this?”

“Dancing. Showing her I know what I’m doing.”

“You know most Imperials… think this is too close for dancing.”

“Most imperials can suck my dick. You brought home a foreign elf, you told me she wants to know about adventures in Skyrim, let’s show her.”

He sighs. “Karkat, keep it together.”

“I have it together,” you hiss.

You see the countess start dancing with Dave. She’s a little uncertain, and it’s always going to be a little awkward because Dave is leading and he’s half a head shorter than her. But she’s catching on quickly. Too quickly for your taste.

When the song ends, she approaches you.

“Alright, then,” she says. “Mind if I cut in? I’d love to continue our conversation.”

“Come on,” you growl, your accent slipping. “Can’t you just leave him alone?”

“Karkat!” John hisses

“Excuse me?” the countess asks. Her tone is still fairly even but you can hear the threat. And you don’t like it.

“You were on him at the first opportunity and haven’t let up since then! John is my fiance, not yours!”

Her nostrils flare. “You insult my honor and forget your place.”

You scoff. “Yeah, I think we all fucking know my place. I’m not made for this kind of charade and had no time to learn to bullshit may way through properly, since you gave us less than a fucking week before dropping in! Then you needle me with comments about being cute and quaint and monopolize John’s time all night! I don’t know what your game was, if you were hoping to get a rise out of me to prove I’m not good enough, or if your head is so far up your own ass that you have no idea how to talk to people who don’t bow to your every whim, and at this point, I don’t care.”

“That’s enough!” John’s father stands. You think this is the first time you’ve heard him raise his voice. It booms through the hall, and you feel an immense weight in your chest as you realize what you’ve done.

“Fuck.” You whisper. You look back at the countess. Congratulations,” you say. “You win.”

Before the words even leave your mouth you hate yourself for them. You storm out of the hall before you can make things worse.

—

You’d say you can’t believe he did that, but you absolutely can. That might be why you’re the first person to stop gawking after Karkat’s outburst.

“Gods, Liv, I’m so, so sorry. I’m not sure what’s gotten into him! He’s not usually like that!”

In your mind Miraak scoffs. Sure, you also know it’s a lie, but it’s the one you need to tell.

Liv just shakes her head. “My… my goodness. I’d always heard tell Dunmer have a fire in them, but that’s just-” She turns to Jake, “Did you hear the way he spoke to me?”

“I did,” he says. “I, er, think we all did.”

You think the whole county did.

“He’s…” You choose your words carefully. “He is a work in progress. Dunmer, especially those in Windhelm, are a proud people, and Karkat is, if nothing else, fiercely loyal.”

“Loyalty? You tell me about loyalty and he just-” she gestures to the door.

You’re not sure what to say to that, but by then your father is there.

“My apologies for his outburst,” he says, “It shall be dealt with.”

“Wait, what do you mean by that?” You demand.

He gives you a hard look.

“Dad, you can’t just- after all we’ve been through!”

“Well, it is not up to me whether Her Excellency feels it right to forgive him.”

You turn back to Liv. She’s clearly still reeling from shock, but you’re beginning to see anger creep back in.

We can stop them both, Miraak says. Make them do whatever you want.

Until the spell fades, then we’re in even deeper shit.

I’m not proposing using the Shouts. I can perform a very subtle calm spell.

It won’t work on Dad.

What about her?

We can’t risk it.

At this point what else is there to risk?

…You have a point.

Speak, child, and trust me.

“I’ll go talk to him,” you say. You can feel a prickling sensation on your tongue, almost like mint, as Miraak works magic into your words. Gods, you hope this works.

Keep talking. This spell is delicate and precise. It takes time to sink in. Make sure your words would be soothing on their own so that no one suspects a thing. If she knows she’s being manipulated all will be lost.

“He was wrong to confront you on all counts, but it is true that he has not had much time to learn to behave in high society. It is… a significant drawback to choosing our partners as we do, I’ll admit. But if I remember correctly, my father’s first wife also struggled with etiquette when she first arrived, having grown up in Valenwood, and your parents grew to love her, right?”

“That is true…” your father admits. He gets a wistful look on his face, and part of you regrets bringing her up but…

Keep talking! And don’t give them more openings!

“Karkat is a good person,” You say quickly. Gods, you’re so nervous your accent is slipping a little. But you have to keep pushing. “He’s been working so hard every single day to catch up because he didn’t have the noble education we did. I know he’ll get there. He cares about everything more than anyone I’ve ever met. Sometimes too much, I know, but there are benefits to being that passionate.” You lower your voice, making it almost a whisper. “Gods, Liv, you should have seen the way the people in Windhelm listen to his father, the way his friends listen to him. And I know you’re skeptical about the loyalty right now because his anger was so clearly misplaced, but I know he did that because he cares deeply about me. He doesn’t know you well enough to give you his loyalty yet, but he’ll get there. I know he will.”

Just a little longer, Miraak says.

“He lost control, and that’s bad. But, Liv, if you wrote off everyone who lost control in front of you, everyone knows I wouldn’t be here today. Please, let me talk to him, give him a chance to apologize and prove himself to you.”

As you speak the last few words, the tingling sensation leaves your tongue, and you think you see a bit of green flash in her eyes.

It is done.

Liv looks at your father for a moment. His features are expressionless as usual.

“Very well,” Liv says. “Once he has calmed down I’ll hear his case.” She glances around, noticing how literally everyone is staring at you. “Perhaps somewhere a little more private? No need to drag this scene out any further than necessary. Go speak to him.” You jump to follow her instructions. “In the meantime, Jack, I’d like your opinion on his prospects.”

He takes her hand and starts leading her back to the head table. “Karkat is absolutely still rough around the edges, but what John says is true…”

You close the door before you can hear anything else.

I can’t believe that worked, you think.

Why not? Humans are such simple creatures. Noble or peasant, it makes no difference. Elves and the bestial races present a bit more of a challenge, but only a bit. The mind is such a fickle, fragile thing…

And she won’t know we cast a spell on her?

No. No one will. That’s the beauty of targeted emotional manipulation. But it… takes a lot out of me. I’m going to have to teach you.

We’re not doing it again.

Of course not…

He sinks into the back of your mind.

We did what we had to, you think. I did what I had to.

You climb the stairs to your chambers. Karkat hasn’t lit any candles, so you cast magelight. You call out for him but get no response. Maybe he’s not up here? Then you open the door to your bedroom. There’s an elf-sized lump under the blankets and you hear sniffing and muffled sobs. It hurts to see him this upset, but you’re relieved he didn’t just run away into the dark somewhere.

“Hey,” You say softly.

“Fuck John, I’m sorry. I fucked everything up.”

“It’s gonna be okay. Dad's talking to Liv,” You say, sitting down on the edge of the bed. “He'll smooth it all over. But you’re gonna have to apologize.”

“She started it!” He snarls. “She provoked me, climbing all over you like that!”

“She was a little much tonight,” you admit, gently placing your hand on the lump of blanket containing your fiance. “I’m not sure if she was trying to test you and you took the bait, or if she was just playing around. I should have prepared you for it better, but that kind of flirting is all just a game. It doesn’t mean anything to anyone. Liv loves… okay, I don’t actually know how much she loves her husband, but she’s completely loyal to him, and I love you.”

“Then why?”

“I don’t know. That’s just how it’s done. I know you don’t know all the rules yet. If anyone was expecting you to have all of them it’d be a massive dick move. But at the same time, you did… kinda overreact. Like a lot. You can’t just shout at a countess like that. Especially not your countess.”

“It’s fucking bullshit,” he says, poking his head out. “So she’s just allowed to say whatever the fuck she wants and I have to take it?”

“I mean, kinda?”

“It’s not right!”

“I know. But it's not about being right.” You smile sadly down at him. “It's about convincing more powerful people that you're not a threat.”

“Why would I want to do that?!” Karkat snaps. “I was supposed to get her to take me seriously, not make her think we’re her playthings!”

You sigh. “We can't fight every battle. At least not on this level. The cost is too high.”

“So we just let her push us around?”

“Only when it doesn't matter.”

Karkat looks at you incredulously. “How the fuck doesn’t this matter?”

“Because this is just a social call. Who cares if you look stupid or she thinks of you as a toy or a pet or whatever as long as when push comes to shove she'll fight for us? If she wanted she could revoke our title, expose us as daedra worshipers, do anything she wanted. But she doesn't, because she likes us.”

“For fuck's sake, though, can't she give us a fucking ounce of respect?”

You stand. “I… I'm sorry.”

“You’re sorry?” He asks. “For what?”

You walk over to one of the tapestries and begin playing the the fringe. “I- I knew you were stressed. You hadn't been acting like yourself. You were barely swearing, forcing this fake smile all the time.” You glance back at him and he’s got his eyebrows lightly furrowed, a small pout on his lips. He’s listening. “I knew that, so I tried to help you relax earlier. And I knew it wasn’t enough the second dinner started, but I kept telling Liv whatever she wanted to hear anyway. I pushed you too far.”

“John, you-” Then he cuts himself off and his face hardens. “Wait, fuck, you're doing it now, arent you!?”

“This isn’t the same.” You say.

“It absolutely is! I see you do this all the time: you pretend to be dumb and friendly to soothe the situation when people get pissed.”

“I don't do it to everyone, Karkat.” You go back to the bed and try to take his hand but he pulls it away. “I don't do it to people I trust. You know me.”

“I thought I did.”

He might as well have reached right through your ribs and crushed your heart. “I've shown you everything. You've been in my soul. I've been in yours. What more can you want?!”

“I don’t know!” He shouts. Then he wraps his arms around his knees and looks down. “I don’t know.” He repeats. He sniffles and you see candle light reflect off of the tears in the corners of his eyes “I want to be good enough for you. But good enough isn’t good enough. I’m the half-breed son of a disgraced spy and an adultress. I’d have to be perfect, better than perfect just to make up for the crime of being me.”

“That’s not true.”

“It is, though. Your uncle told me.”

“He did what?!” you demand.

“Well…” he shifts uncomfortably. “Not in as many words but… it felt pretty clear. I had to shape up, I had to have her accept me, or you’d have to find someone else. This was my only chance.”

You feel your heart plunge into your stomach.

“No.” You say, standing.

“No?” He looks up at you in confusion. “But you said it yourself-”

“It was going to be. But I talked her into giving you another shot.”

“Really? How? After I-”

“I… Can be persuasive. And I know the rules.”

“What, did you bat your eyelashes at her some more?” he snaps.

“It wasn’t flirty, actually. Just… said the right things the right way, I guess.”

He looks at you curiously. You have to press on.

“We still need to impress her tonight, but the night isn’t over. Let’s get you cleaned up. We’re going downstairs.”

—

The countess waits for you in the trophy room. She stands with her arms crossed squarely behind her back, staring into the fire burning on the far side of the room. John’s ancestors look down at you from their portraits above her. You’re not sure if it’s your nerves or how thin the line between worlds is tonight, but you feel them judging you. You glance over to the first portrait, Colonel Sassacre… Sheogorath. You already have his blessing, but how much does that really help?

“Liv,” John says firmly. He has his shoulders squared and is standing at his full height. “Thank you for waiting for us.”

She glances over at the two of you. John is head and shoulders taller than her, but she’s utterly unintimidated. “I find it prudent to hear my vassals out, at least. Whether or not I take their positions is another matter.”

“I understand.” John replies. “But I was not thinking of this as a negotiation.”

“What is it then?” She asks sharply.

“I’ve come to apologize,” you say, putting on your best accent.

“Indeed,” she replies. Her tone is flat, disbelieving. “Please take a seat.” She gestures to the two large armchairs facing the fireplace.

You look at John. He silently nods and you sit before speaking.

“I… allowed my anger to get the better of me and acted without thinking. In doing so I insulted you, and for that I’m deeply sorry. It was a poor first impression, to say the least.”

John gives you an approving smile.

“That it was,” the countess says. “And among higher nobility, first impressions are everything. What if I had been the emperor?”

“I’m not asking for your approval,” you say. “Not yet, anyhow. I just… Please give me another chance.”

She turns and appraises you, her pale blue eyes, which looked at you and John so kindly mere hours ago, tear into you like an ice wraith’s bite. You’ve combed your hair back down, straightened your clothes perfectly. You’d hold your own in a Tribunal delegation, and you know it. At least until you opened your mouth.

“How long have you been here?”

“Since Last Seed,” You reply. “Most of my training has been in local history and administration. The plan was to pivot to etiquette after Sir Joel evaluated my ability to serve as John’s right hand. We… were anticipating more time before I met you.”

“Liv,” John says, dropping the formal accent. “You’ve known me since I was seven. You know that I know how to play the game. And I believe in Karkat. Out of everyone I met, there’s no one I’d rather work with. He’s who I want.”

“Love is blind, John,” she says.

“But I’m not. And I’m not a kid anymore either. At some point, you’re going to need to trust me to make major decisions. You weren’t in Skyrim. You didn’t see the way he brought people together. The way he fought tooth and nail to save everyone. He had a way out multiple times and he never took it.”

She looks directly at you. “He could be playing a long game.”

“I’m not!” You insist.

“John’s already said his piece on your behalf. Twice now. As did his father and uncle. But I need you to prove the value in those words. Convince me.”

You start to snap back, but kill the words before they leave your throat.

“No,” she says. “Say it.”

You take a deep breath. “If… If I was just in this for the money or status, why would I have called you out in front of everyone? If I didn’t care about John, it would have been easy to sit back and watch you two together. But I just- I couldn’t.”

“John?” She says.

“Yes?”

“Leave.”

“But I-”

“Go. It is nearly midnight, and I believe you have a ritual to perform.”

He looks at you with concern clear on his face, but you nod at him.

“Alright,” he says. He gives your hand a reassuring squeeze and then leaves the office, closing the door behind him.

“You understand that behaving like you did tonight is unacceptable, yes?”

“I do. Which is why I came to apologize.”

“Then why do it? Why jeopardize your status?”

“I… I was jealous,” You admit.

“Of what?”

“John… when he was younger he used to like you. He told me a long time ago. And then seeing you tonight, without understanding the nuances and particularities of courtly interactions, I misunderstood both of your intents. I felt jealous and let it get the better of me. I am working on my temper.”

“Indeed. You, Karkat Vantas, are an unsophisticated brute without the first concept of deference or decorum.” You wince. “And I can work with that. The only thing I truly require from my vassals is loyalty. I need to know above all else that I can trust you. You’ve certainly won over the Egbert family. After you left, John spoke quite passionately in your favor, and Jack and Joel both spoke quite highly of your abilities and character.”

“They did?” You ask. “Like, Joel specifically?”

“This is a surprise to you?” She asks.

“Er…” You snap back into formal mode. “He has very high standards. And I know I still have much to learn.”

“I see. But that does not answer the primary question.” She turns sharply and marches towards you, bending down so your eyes lock. “Can I trust you, Mr. Vantas?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” She sits in the chair beside you. “So, then, while the Egberts channel a dark god, tell me your story. Omit nothing of importance, no matter how it makes you look. After that, I will tell you how you can best be of use to my county. And keep trying with the accent. The practice can only help.”

—

End notes:

So I spent like 2 days doing research on specifically 1400s-ish banquets and feasts to write like 2 paragraphs of details. I then spent a further 2 days researching what went into managing a barony in the later medieval and early modern periods. Like a lot of history, the answer is “idk, it depends *shrug emoji.*” A lot of the sources are about England and France, which the Empire is probably closer to politically, but the climate is all over the place and the names are certainly Latin/Italian inspired. Given its proximity to Hammerfell and being at the foot of the mountains, I’m giving Battlehorn a Near East adjacent climate, but historically that area has a very different culture and style to what appears in Cyrodiil so this is a case of having done a good chunk of research and then deciding to mostly throw it out the window.

A lot of the political background details I’m saving for if they become relevant later (like, for example, the 50-odd townspeople I have now named and given life stories), but some of the feast stuff was kind of interesting, so I thought I’d include some historical notes here.

While I’m using banquet and feast interchangeably, there was usually some sort of difference with the former being fancier occasions. But regardless, the tables would be arranged in a U with everyone seated around the outside so that servants could bring things and take it away more easily (I was not able to confirm, but part of me wonders if this is why everyone is on the one side of the table in the Last Supper painting). In the earlier medieval era, food would be served on bread trenchers to sop up juice. However, by the early modern period, these had mostly been replaced by flat wooden trenchers, which is closer to what we see in the Elder Scrolls games. Music would be playing the whole time, and dancing was a must.

It turns out that there’s actually a lot we know about formal dancing during the Renaissance, since a lot of kings and dukes and such employed dance masters to teach courtiers more complex choreography, and some of these masters wrote and sold dance books (Some of the more prosperous counts and countesses in Cyrodiil probably do this, but the Egberts certainly would not). There were some processionals (think like two lines approaching each other and walking back), but they were somewhat old fashioned by that point. To the modern eye, a lot of the popular dances look really goofy. Because of how stiff the clothing was in the upper body (think like Elizabethan ruffled collars), there wasn’t much movement in the upper body, but a lot of prancing and jumping. (Eventually, these would develop into ballet). By the mid 1600s, minuets had become dominant in England and France, and I like to think that maybe this is a Altmer dance that’s become more popular in Cyrodiil since the Aldmeri Dominion’s influence has grown and a lot of Cyrodiilic nobles try to suck up to them. People Jake’s age are probably the oldest to have learned it, but by the time John was growing up, they were standard.

Waltzes are kind of a weird case. It seems they were invented near Vienna in the 13th century, but it took 600 years for them to make their way to England. In the 1800s when they first showed up, many of the upper crust thought it was scandalous, due to how close the man and woman were. I was purposefully vague on how Nordic dancing worked in the original Skyrim Johnkat, but I’m giving this to the Nords, somewhat arbitrarily but also because it worked and, like I said, we’re playing fast and loose with historical inspirations. Just about everyone who lives in Skyrim adapted the waltz fairly quickly because (just like in real life) any excuse to be good to your cute dance partner is a good excuse. (Also, Nords and Dunmer are somewhat used to sharing dances, as both traditionally practice forms of circle dance, and while the forms are distinct, they share centuries of cultural exchange and adaptation, dating back to before the eruption of Red Mountain). At this point, the Imperials consider the Waltzes to be a northern folk dance, much like Dunmeri and Nordic circle dancing. And while it is viewed as more graceful and refined than the circle dancing, it’s also more scandalous.

But it could be worse, it could be Redguard dancing, which is normally done like a competition between two individuals or groups, and tends to feature stomps or otherwise firmer leg movements and very expressive and often quick movements in the upper torso. Because it is, in many ways, the opposite of the primary form of court dancing, most nobles consider it to be incredibly base. It is, however, the primary form of dancing enjoyed by the Battlehorn peasants, along with Colovian folk dancing, which is similar but does not involve as strong stances and often has slightly smaller hand movements. (Having spent most of his life in Battlehorn and taking part in folk celebrations, these are the forms of dancing John is more comfortable and skilled in. That and the wide, strong stances are closer to how he’s used to moving his body for combat training).

#homestuck #skyrim #johnkat #john egbert #karkat vantas #i lived bitch

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mostspecialgirl · 28 days ago

Text

mercedonius

typical rambling below

felt like i should get some art in this weekend so here’s some little doodles of most of the high calamities. naturally, i’m still struggling to nail down azathoth’s design but i’ll get there at some point im sure. I’d like to say 6, 8 and 9 are ever so slowly coalescing into character ideas… but not really. these are big positions that rightfully need to be filled by the proper ocs. every high calamity might be graded as mercedonius, but not everyone graded as mercedonius is a high calamity, after all. does anyone know what that means. i don’t know if i’ve posted enough rambles yet.

everyone bar trinajm and demi have had their palettes tweaked a bit. i’m happy with where nam nams and demi are at design wise and thank god for that because it feels like it took me a million iterations to get here.

ging

ging’s design is one i can say i’m not that happy with. i like his current design conceptually, but honestly, i feel like i could do a lot better as a whole. i sort of want to play around with what kind of kind of animal he resembles. and also give him a consistent outfit while i’m at it too. someone remind me to draw his shamisen again sometime. speaking of which, it’s one of the imperial regalia grade relics! isn’t that neat?

ptah

i love ptah. so glad i invented him. his new colors are fine for now? maybe i’ll make him more orange? maybe i’ll make him more grey? maybe just his overalls? not sure. i do like him being composed from a single group of samey washed out tones. this is fine for now! he looks so cute! which he shouldn’t!

father

it’s been years since I tried to color father, and it’s let me remember that i’m not really sure what his skin tone is. with viné and asmodeus having demonic skin tones since their descent into hell i’m not all too sure what camp to throw him in. his all black outfits look better in my head so for now i’ve given him his classic lavenderish black look. he looks okay! maybe i’ll have to make him look more like blackjack from blackjack

nayra

i made her purple instead of blue. I’m fucking with it. Gave her an orange top for fun. Go nayra!

qiyama

i really don’t know what i’m doing with colors for qiyama’s design as yama materia. like seriously. i definitely like this red variant compared to the previous blue, but like… I dunno… i’m not sure what to do. he looks good as uncolored lineart for sure but i gotta figure out SOMETHING. This is okay for now. Whatever.

i’m planning on turning these doodles into stickers to print once i get them cleaned up a little. Or get someone else to redraw them. I’m gonna throw em on my phone case!!! And theyll live there forever!!!! Muahahahaha!!!!!

thanks bye

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bubbledumbbinch · 3 years ago

Note

Are your requests open again? Cuz I've been reading your oral headcanons and they are getting me HOT AND BOTHERED 🔥🔥

If you don't mind can I request some oral headcanons for Malleus, Deuce, Jack, Floyd and Crewel(if you write for the staff, you can make the reader his colleague in his case) with a fem reader? Thanks a lot⁄(⁄ ⁄•⁄-⁄•⁄ ⁄)⁄

Hello anon!!! Yes I will do my best to deliver >:) BTW this is like sooo long and I’m so sorry it took so long for me to get to this!

Pairings: Malleus x Fem! Reader, Deuce x Fem! Reader, Jack x Fem! Reader, Floyd x Fem! Reader, Crewel x Fem! Professor!Reader

This piece of writing is strictly for 18+ audiences. NSFW under the cut. Minors do not interact!!

Warnings: dubcon ish for Floyd? Slight voyeurism too for his receiving, sub/dom elements for Crewel

Malleus Draconia x Fem! Reader

Giving

Malleus is into making things like a ritual - including lovemaking of any kind.

He would probably take you to a forest where flowers are laid out gently onto the soft grassy floor, glowing fireflies illuminating the sky with the moon.

Gently, Malleus would lay you down and kiss you from head to toe, literally. Giving praises, telling you how beautiful you are, etc.

Malleus would strip you bare naked and lick his lips. You feel his glowing green eyes trailing across your skin giving you goosebumps.

When you feel his long tongue against your cunt for the first time, you arch your back in pleasure and a soft moan comes out, making the horned man shudder.

Malleus always cares about not hurting you, making sure you’re okay, he wants you to be vocal.

Lord please don’t grab his horns. Grab his horns. He turns into a BEAST and will probably overstimulate you.

“Nnh- M-Malleus..!” You keened under his touch. Malleus’s fingers grazed your skin lightly as you laid on your back, his head currently in between your thighs. He brought his head up and licked his mouth of your juices. “My child of man, please, tell me if I’m hurting you.” He spoke softly. “N-no, it feels so good… Please, keep going…” you hid your face in your arm, too embarrassed about the situation the fae male had you in. You lightly stroked his horns as soon as his head dipped back down.

Suddenly, Malleus released a growl and his fingers dug deeper into your skin, nails close to breaking your skin. “Mm, Y/N… you know what that does to me.” He lowly spoke. His eyes were now trained on your own as he sucked hard on your clit, tongue abusing the bead. You screamed as he continued his ministrations - you were gonna be here for a while.

Receiving

Malleus would be walking with you near Ramshackle dorm when you see a bench in the distance and lead Malleus to it. When he sits down he expected you to join him, only for him to see you drop down to your knees in between his legs.

You want to treat Malleus for being a lovely boyfriend!! Praises and eye contact is not necessary but makes him go crazy for you

When receiving oral, Malleus isn’t shy but something inside him lets butterflies go absolutely wild in his stomach. The fact that it’s his favorite human servicing him makes him all the more excited too!

Malleus’s thick cock would be hard to take in all at once, so you opt to use your hands to pump the base with your fingers.

Malleus has a lot of stamina, you’ll definitely be there for a while. Moaning onto his length and staring into his eyes with lust will make him come closer to climax though!

He would stroke your hair and tell you how beautiful you are and how good you’re making him feel~

Instead of moaning and being loud, he grunts and hums.

Would want to repay your kindness as well if you know what I mean 👀

The dragon fae hummed in approval as your tongue worked his cock. Malleus’s fingers made its way to your hair to massage your head, making you moan.

“My little child of man, I’m getting close… you’re so beautiful.” Throwing his head back, his thrusting into your mouth was becoming faster and sloppier. When he looked back down at you, he swore he could see hearts in your eyes as you stared back into his green orbs. That and the combination of your lewd slurping sounds and the pleasure you were bringing him brought him to release. You squealed as Malleus’s seed shooting down your throat. He watched in wonder as you swallowed, licking your lips. “Tasty, my prince…” you teased Malleus, kissing his thighs.

Deuce Spade x Fem! Reader

Giving

Deuce has little to no experience, let’s be real. He was a bad boy who wasn’t very popular turned into a wanna be good boy. However, he is very eager to please.

What Deuce lacks in skills he makes up for with determination. Maybe it’s the way he aggressively licks up and down your cunt that turns you on, maybe it’s the way he’s trying his best!

Before you can even say where he should focus, he licks on your clit. Deuce notices how much louder you moan when he does that, so he learns quickly that THAT’S the spot for you.

Deuce would definitely moan when he’s eating a good meal 😋 the vibrations from his moaning goes straight to your clit as he’s sucking and slurping on your wet pussy.

Deuce would also want to use his calloused fingers on you in some way - be it fingering you, tweaking your nipples, or even having you suck on them.

“Deuce, th-there, more, please..!” You moaned, hands flying down to his soft navy blue hair. “You really like it, huh?” Deuce’s soft voice was inquisitive but also you heard joy behind it. You wiggled your bottom closer to his face and whined with the loss of touch. “Then, I’ll keep going.” He dove down once again and licked and sucked with more aggression, knowing exactly how to please you. Sweat dripped down his face as you pulled tufts of his hair, grinding your pussy against his mouth.

Receiving

After tutoring Deuce for so long in preparation for an exam, your efforts would come to fruition as he emerges from the classroom with a good grade.

You wanted to reward your boyfriend for doing so well! Take him back to Heartslabyul and deep into the gardens where you knew barely anybody would be at that time. Roses were painted, animals were fed, etc.

Deuce would be confused but blushing profusely when you offer to reward him by sucking his dick, but he doesn’t say no.

When you lay him down and pull down his pants and underwear, his cock springs to life with a bead of precum already leaking from it.

You like to tease Deuce with your fingers first - rubbing the bead of precum all over the tip with your thumb.

Deuce’s moans are heavenly when you finally use your mouth and tongue on him, softly thrusts into your mouth

Once he’s close though he lets his bad side come through - he’s thoroughly facefucking you while talking dirty, calls you names, etc

Wants to cum on you instead of in you, likes to see the way it paints your body!

“Mmh, Deush.!” You slurped and tried to talk while his cock invaded your wet cavern. “Y/N, I’m gonna- I’m so close..” You sped your movements up, the lewd squelching of your mouth becoming louder. “It’s almost like you want us to be caught, filthy slut.” Deuce’s attitude changed while he barked out his words, making your pussy throb. “Yeah? You want me to cum all over your pretty face? I wanna see you covered in my cum.. fuck!!” Deuce pulled away from your lips with an audible pop, pumping his hot cum all over your lips and cheeks. The sight of your puffy lips and blushing with your messy face made his cock twitch again.

Jack Howl x Fem! Reader

Giving

Jack is a more romantic type, prefers to be in a bedroom when he makes love with you, and certainly wants to give you a good time. He wants it to be private because he doesn’t want anybody else to admire you the way he should!

Jack would have you fully naked laying down so he can fully admire your beautiful body.

Leaves a lot of lingering touches all over your body with his fingers and tongue, loves to taste you~

Jack is skilled with his tongue, aggressive too. He uses his fingers and tongue at the same time to please you

Secretly loves if you reach down to pet his ears and head while he goes down on you - sometimes you can see his tail wag 🥺

Leaves marks all over your thighs close to your sex because he wants to show you’re his, but also has enough restraint to put them in places only you both will see.

Jack lapped up at your pussy, lewd noises filled your silent room. You gasped as he flicked your clit with his fingers, adding more pleasure to your body. “J-Jaack.!” You whined at the loss of feeling when Jack pulled away. “Use your words, Y/N…” he whispered, staring into your eyes. You gulped when you saw his entire mouth and chin were glistening with your juices. “Please, Jack, make me cum, I-I’m so close..” you hid your face away in embarrassment. Jack’s cock twitched in his pants and blushed heavily, his tongue going back to work on your cunt. He’ll prove to be your perfect mate.

Receiving

You and Jack would be finishing up a morning jog, a rare occurrence since Vil couldn’t make it this time. After going pretty far out into the woods, you get tired and decide to pause and stretch.

Jack sees your sweat making your skin glow under the early sun accompanied by your panting from being worn out. He turns to look away, but he can’t hide the growing tent in his pants.

Once you take notice you mischievously start to tease him and take off his pants. He’s flustered because, what if someone comes by?! You tell him not to worry since it’s so early and you were pretty far out.

Back resting on a tree, Jack stands while you’re on your knees looking up at him with doe eyes. You lightly palm his heavy cock until it’s fully erect, making eye contact the whole time while putting it in your mouth.

Jack knows you can’t fit the whole thing in there, and he’s usually really considerate of what you want never forcing it to go further down your throat.

Jack likes it if you fondle his balls as well while you use another hand to pump his base.

Whines slightly when he’s close, also begins to wag his tail!! Good boy!!

Also loves to see you with cum on your tongue, whether you wanna swallow or not is up to you~

Grunting and feeling the rough bark on the tree, Jack is preoccupied with the way your mouth takes him so well. You stare up at him with droopy eyes, tongue swirling around the tip, playing with the slit on his cock. When you combo that with playing with his balls, Jack feels something snap inside him. He’s grunting and snarling lowly, thrusting faster into you, eliciting gags and moans. “I- I’m close, Y/N. I’m gonna cum…” Jack’s voice only made you work faster, pumping harder on the base. You opened your mouth and stuck your tongue out, his milky seed exploding onto your tongue not a second later. A series of grunts and followed, as well as kisses and “I love you”’s exchanged between the both of you.

Floyd Leech x Fem! Reader

Giving

POV you are working at the Mostro Lounge and you are suddenly pulled away by a tight grasp around your arm or waist. It’s Floyd, your boyfriend!

Floyd tells you how delicious you looked while working and how he could smell you from the other side of the lounge (bro how?)

You know what he means by “taste you” when he drags you to either the nearest closet, storage room, or maybe his dorm room. You’re flustered and telling him to let you get back to work! Azul would be pissed knowing you both left out of nowhere.

Floyd’s grip tightens on your pants as he pulls them down, and he sees your wetness pooling in your panties already. I imagine Floyd would have no patience and start licking up aggressively up your panties, making a bigger wet spot

Floyd would either rip your panties or just eat you out while pulling them to the side - he’s too impatient and he just NEEDS to taste you

His droopy heterochromatic eyes are TRAINED on yours, he loves seeing the way your body reacts to him!

Squeezes any part of your body he can, your tits, nipples, ass, thighs, etc

“Shrimpyyy~ you taste so good! I knew it was a good idea to ditch work to lick you up~” he giggles furiously, licking again on your swollen clit. “F-Floyd! You, you shouldn’t leave work so suddenly like th- Aaahn~!” You keened, back arching off of his bed. Floyd was now squeezing your nipples between his pointer finger and thumb. The stimulation was becoming too much. “Floyd, Floyd!! I’m gonna cum!!” You started moving your hips on your own while hearing Floyd’s laughter resonate on your cunt. “Mm, Shrimpy is becoming so enthusiastic! Cum on my tongue then! I’ll be sure to lick it aaaall up~”

Receiving

Sometimes, when Floyd is in a bad mood all of a sudden, he doesn’t know why. You don’t know why, either. But you do know a way to make him feel better!

When you whisper in his ear, offering to help him, he doesn’t really know what you mean at first. When you explicitly tell him you want to suck his dick, his face immediately brightens! He’ll grab your arm and almost skip on over to a private garden around the school.

When you’re both comfortable, you pull his pants down and his cock bounces back up, already twitching and leaking precum.

Floyd is loud but he does not give a damn. Let people hear how good you’re making him feel! If someone were to stumble by, Floyd would make direct eye contact with them and smirk

Floyd also wants to facefuck you - pulling your head down and thrusting into you when he gets close! He loves the way you slobber and gag all over his cock

He is down to cum anywhere when he’s receiving oral, because he loves cumming in your pussy the most. But when he’s not doing that then anywhere else would suffice!

“Mm!! Floyd, what if someone sees us?” You muttered, suddenly feeling very nervous. You stroked his dick which was covered in a mixture of your saliva and his precum. Floyd suddenly pulled your mouth back onto his cock and kept thrusting, making you squeal in surprise. “Don’t worry, Shrimpy!! I’ll protect you, and besides, I think they should see how well you’re taking MY cock!” As you closed your eyes and kept suckling on his length, Floyd’s eyes narrowed dangerously towards the rustling sounds coming through the bushes. “And, I’ll deal with them accordingly.” Floyd’s tone was suddenly very serious, reassuring you as you kept working on pleasing him.

Divus Crewel x Fem! Professor! Reader

Giving

Your relationship with Crewel was only a rumor amongst students, two teachers dating is pretty taboo even in the magical world! When asked if you two were an item, both of you waved off the question and denied all rumors, saying you were only friends.

After a particularly stressful day of grading exam papers and dealing with unruly students, you go to Crewel’s office after classes are done to unwind, simply to rant.

Crewel offers a more… physical way to destress. He snakes his gloved hands up your thigh inch by inch, fingers trailing closer to your lacy pair of underwear that he bought you himself.

After locking his office door, Crewel seats you on his desk, using some accessories on you. He would blindfold you, tie your hands, etc!

Hiking up your skirt he gently removes your panties and rips a hole in your pantyhose if you’re wearing any 👀

Crewel wants you to use your words~ he loves hearing his favorite professor beg for release, loves watching your face contort with pleasure because of him

He loves your noises and actually would punish you if you tried to hide them!

I wouldn’t be surprised if he liked using toys on you to further your pleasure~

Gives you the sexiest eyes and smirks when you tell him you’re going to cum

“Oh- oh Great Seven, Divus…” you moan. Your arms were tied behind you as Crewel’s signature red tie obscured your vision. As he flicks his tongue over your clit with fervor you can feel how his fingers scissor open your wet pussy. “Oh, haaanh, shit!!!” You closed your legs instinctively, and gasped when he forces them back open. He tsks and stops altogether, eliciting a pained whine from your throat. “Now now darling, you know what happens to naughty girls, right?” You knew. He wouldn’t let you cum, at least not for a while. “N-no, master, I promise I’ll be good, I’ll be so good! Please, please let me cum, I’ve been a good girl for you, master Divus..!” You whined, tears staining his red tie. Crewel knew how stressful your day was so he decided to let you off the hook. “Mm, fine pup, you’ve had a stressful day. Cum on my tongue, if you so wish~”

Receiving

As much as Crewel loves giving oral, he LOVES receiving from you. You would be crouched down under his desk after hours while he’s grading papers.

It all starts with him texting you about how he “needs help grading.” You don’t expect THIS kind of help, but the idea gets you excited nonetheless.

Crewel would be sadistic - stuffing a vibrator into your pussy or ass while he’s having you service his cock. It’s not necessarily for your own pleasure but more for the idea of him controlling your orgasms and seeing you fall apart under him.

Has a remote that controls the speed and intensity of his toys~

Has a poker face the majority of the time when you’re doing it in his office until he’s close~

Oh! He also likes putting a choker and leash around your neck to see how obedient you are ❤️

Divus pulled lightly on the leash around your neck, signaling he wanted you to go deeper. You obliged, moaning around his cock. The vibrator that was plunging into your cunt had you practically dripping onto the floor beneath you. Your bottom half writhed in pleasure as your noises sent vibrations through to Crewel. “My beautiful pet, I’m getting close… be a good girl and cum with me, won’t you?” He suddenly grabbed a remote and raised the intensity of the vibrator to max, causing you to scream around his cock. “Mmph!!” You began to suck harder, tears rolling down your face onto his thighs. When Crewel finally saw your eyes rolling back he suddenly released his hot seed into your throat, making you sputter and gag. You swallowed and proceeded to open your mouth to Crewel who was pleased with your empty mouth. “What a good girl for me…”

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floral-poisons · 3 years ago

Text

twst cast as parents

we’re gonna ignore the fact that in my “would the twst characters have children when they’re older?” post, i said a majority of them would probably be childfree. supernanny’s available to watch. i eat that show up and hence this post. so enjoy!!

NRC STAFF

dire crowley

crowley’s the working parent who probably sells himself better than he actually is. don’t get me wrong, he’s still a decent parent. he feeds his kid and whatnot. but has there been one or two occasions where he accidentally left his kid at the grocery store? yes. he apologized afterwards though. and it’s cute to see him walk around nrc with his kid at his side.

ashton vargas

ashton has a strict routine. he’s big on health and physical fitness so he definitely passes this onto his kid. he doesn’t start this though until his child is older if they wanna work out. he’s definitely going to be at whole foods all the time for the organic groceries.

mozus trein

mozus already had kids. but i’m guessing he’s definitely big on media literacy and his daughters being well read. he probably made them read a lot as children and had them read for a certain amount of hours every day when they were kids. nevertheless, he prioritizes his daughter’s intellect over everything else.

divus crewel

divus is an invested and fashion forward parent. his child is going to be the best dressed child even if it’s a friendly dinner. he’s encouraging of his child’s behavior. but damn he would be the worst parent to break rules to. he’s big on discipline and he has a lot of rules. he’s pretty strict in that way and it would be hard to convince him to loosen up.

sam

sam is a relatively chill parent. i believe he would follow the saying of that it takes a village to raise a child so that’s a philosophy he follows. he doesn’t hesitate to ask friends for advice and to consult his parents and even grandparents and other people in his community. it does take a village to raise a child. plus he’s just super supportive and it’s so cute to see him teaching his kid how to cook when they’re like three.

DIASOMNIA

malleus draconia

this child is like the BIGGEST deal ever. it’s the child of malleus draconia, the prince. so of course like it’s the most amazing thing ever. this child is getting spoiled like no tomorrow. plenty of maids and butlers, plenty of gigantic ass parties to celebrate little milestones (for example, a 100 days party that’s just like over the top i use 100 days as an example because i am a chinese person). malleus loves his kids so much. i feel like he would have a hard time disciplining which would be up to you or lilia. and his child definitely loves holding onto his horns.

lilia vanrouge

lilia’s been through the ringer already. he knows exactly how this type of game goes. parenting is something he’s done with malleus and sebek and silver. so he has a set schedule, set rules, set structure that works and he makes tweaks for the kids. overall though, lilia is a fun dad. he loves playing games with them and loves doing baby talk with babies. toddlers though? he kind of wants to skip that phase because they just come with so many things he needs to take care of even if they have great things to offer.

silver

silver is quite the gentle parent. he definitely follows gentle parenting and he’s not the biggest fan of discipline (leaving it up to lilia or sebek or you). he would definitely need to help get his energy levels up because taking care of a child is very energy consuming. it’s pretty great to be his kid though. play with a lot of animals, have a lot of pets, basically have a prince as your dad.

sebek zigvolt

sebek is indoctrinating his child into the greatness of the prince malleus draconia. i’m joking but he definitely has to tell his child about the greatness of prince malleus. on top of that, sebek would be quite a strict parent. he has a set schedule and a set structure and he’s firm with discipline. he definitely doesn’t need lilia’s help.

HEARTSLABYUL

riddle rosehearts

there’s a common belief that when kids grow up and become parents themselves, they’ll either become like their parents or be the exact opposite and this is particularly seen with adults who had strict parents. but riddle doesn’t fall into either. he got well needed therapy, probably went low contact (or even no contact) with his mother, and then became a parent. it took a long time for sure. but it’s for the betterment of his child in the long run. there’s still structure and discipline, definitely, but he’s a lot more laxed than his mother. sometimes he can be really harsh but he has no problem apologizing to his child if he hurt them (not physically).

trey clover

trey is honestly the most chill dad ever. and i believe he’d be a stay-at-home dad (and if he’s running his family’s bakery then he’s also doing that). he does the lunch boxes and cooks all the food and all of his kids’ friends want to come over to the clover house because his food is just that good. he does plenty of disciplining but he doesn’t overstep his boundaries as a parent. he’s attuned to his children’s needs always and will provide support for them regardless.

cater diamond

cater is an instagram mom. i don’t know what else to say about it. for the most part, his parenting style is pretty laxed. he’s definitely doing gentle parenting and once in a while he posts cute baby moments that are hilarious. he mostly does a lot of parenting content without showing his kid.

ace trappola

i don’t trust this man with kids. he wants to be a dad but even as an adult, i believe he would still be too emotionally immature to have kids. has that stopped him? absolutely not. ace is a fun dad but he most definitely lacks structure (which riddle always scolds him for because kids do need some sort structure). i would also believe he’s arrogant enough that if he hurt his kid, he wouldn’t apologize and it isn’t until his kid is older that he realizes his mistake.

deuce spade

deuce would be as good of a parent as he possibly can be. he definitely goes to his mom. calling her at two in the morning to ask her how he could possibly put his child to sleep? he’s doing it. he keeps an organized structure for his child and is laxed, but isn’t afraid of discipline when needed. he particularly pays attention to grades and his child at school because he doesn’t want his kid becoming a punk like him.

POMEFIORE

vil schoenheit

i said this in the twst children post, but vil would be a strict parent if he had a child. he has a reputation to uphold so his child, therefore, would need to maintain a certain image. he’s not exactly a bad parent, but there are a ton of things he can improve on. what’s certain is that he isn’t going to force his child into show business or anything. if they want to enter it on their own, then they are free too. on top of that, vil would encourage self expression through fashion and makeup. he would be more or less strict in terms of rules around the house and having his child follow certain etiquette rules and such.

rook hunt

rook being ever so observant means he’s extremely attuned to your child’s needs. it’s quite miraculous with just how great he is with kids. rook is most definitely doing most of the child rearing and he could be a stay at home dad! he’s fun and he listens to his kids. your children trust him and honestly, there’s nothing more you could ask. he can be firm when he needs to be but overall, he loves his kids and he’s just such a great dad.

epel felmier

epel is not the best with kids. he would need to work on his temper before having children because children require emotional stability and his temper would not be good for them. he most certainly doesn’t give a fuck about swearing or brash language. if his four year old curses, he’s giving them a snack. and he doesn’t care about other people’s opinion when it comes to his parenting which kind of makes him a great parent. he’s confident in his parenting and he knows he did as good of a job as he could.

SAVANACLAW

leona kingscholar

again, leona would most likely be childfree. but if he somehow had a kid, he’s not exactly going to be an active parent. he definitely is the disciplinary parent when he needs to be. but for the most part, he’s quite chill. his parenting style is just very passive and you’re most certainly going to need to do most of the child rearing.

ruggie bucchi

ruggie’s a pretty great dad. he does have a lot of anxiety about his children being healthy and fed. but it’s easy to see that he cares for his children. he also has no problem doing the child rearing or even being a stay at home dad. the women of the sunset savanna are renown for their strength and are usually the breadwinners so it makes sense for ruggie to be comfortable with more domestic activities. besides, his grandmother would never let him live if she learned his partner had to do the child rearing and he wasn’t helping out.

jack howl

jack is certainly a sports dad. he’s definitely the dad that encourages his kids to do sports and will be the soccer mom, driving everyone places and everything. stay at home dad too? he has no problem with that. he is from the sunset savanna after all. he’s an encouraging father who loves his kids and definitely a little rough too. but that’s okay.

OCTAVINELLE

azul ashengrotto

azul’s gonna make a mini-me essentially. like he’s all about his child being similar to him and honestly, the kid probably does end up similar to azul. the best part though is azul’s willingness to crush other people. is your child bullying his kid for being plus size? you’re getting it. azul will ruin you and he has no shame. and he’s smart so he won’t get caught. he wants his child to feel protected at all costs. and no he isn’t going to be overprotective. but you’ll be damned if you hurt his kid.

jade leech

i don’t see jade as being a parent but if he were one, he wouldn’t exactly stand out. he makes sure to do everything needed to take care of his child, provide extra love and care. he doesn’t mind doing domestic work either, probably prefers it. his child is definitely getting spoiled by floyd and falls under azul’s protection plan too.

floyd leech

floyd would be an...interesting parent. it’s quite tough for him to be a parent because he does get bored easily and he has mood swings. so he’s going to need to get those things under control. thankfully, jade helps around often. floyd is definitely the type to spoil his child and tease his kid. a lot of people would also note that floyd is basically his kid’s best friend and it’s a focal critique but he couldn’t care less. and yes floyd’s child also falls under azul’s protection plan.

SCARABIA

kalim al-asim

kalim is not too serious of a parent. he has no problem with child rearing but also he believes in sharing responsibilities with child rearing and said responsibilities are most certainly going to be shared with his mom and dad too. kalim also definitely needs to be restrained from spoiling his kids. and that would have to be you because hell no. you’re not going to let your kids become spoiled, entitled brats.

jamil viper

great seven forbid that jamil becomes a parent because then it would mean they would be born into a life of servitude for kalim’s children. but if he was a dad, jamil is pretty good. he keeps his cool all the time. he almost appears to never get angry with his kid. sometimes he gets annoyed but that’s it. his child knows they messed up if jamil gives him the “i’m disappointed in you” look. or worse, “you know better. i know you’re smarter than this” look. jamil’s cooking is also comfort food as well.

IGNIHYDE

idia shroud

it should be noted that idia is an anxious parent. he’s extremely anxious about being a parent and has fainted on occasion after being exhausted by his child. he has no problem with children, particularly seen with ortho. but idia’s worried about everything. going outside, his child getting hurt, sick. i know he’s a gamer boy but he is definitely very clean and his child will also be very clean. he’s giving his child a mask to wear to school even when there’s no pandemic and he’s thorough in making sure his child washes their hands and everything. idia knows all his child’s allergies, blood sugar, any accommodations they need.

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wolferine · 3 years ago

Text

Gravity

Natasha Romanoff x Reader

Summary: Twilight: Breaking Dawn AU. Werewolf!Reader imprints on Natasha.

Warnings: Violence, blood, language

Word count:��2637

Request from anon: After reading your Twilight/Eclipse fic (WHICH I FELL IN LOVE WITH!), I couldn’t help but think of this and if you would accept this request: It doesn’t have to do with the previous fic but a different scenario in the same AU. A Natasha x Avenger Werewolf reader

What if Reader was part of a wolf pack but was recruited by Fury to join the Avengers! So when Fury introduced Reader to the team and the first time Reader saw Natasha, she imprinted on her! So during the time, Reader is very protective of the red headed assassin but won’t tell anyone she imprinted on Nat.

But then the wolf pack decides to go after the Avengers for influencing Reader to leave the pack. It’s kind of like that Breaking dawn part 1 scene JUST MINUS THE BABY THING😂 And that is when Wanda mind reads Reader’s mind and reveals that Reader had imprinted on Natasha, which leaves the Red head surprised! (Basically its the scene when Edward tells everyone Jacob imprinted on Reneesmee)

And at the end, Natasha reciprocates her feelings for Reader too!

AN: I made some tweaks to the introduction of Y/N because I just did another fic where they were also recruited by Fury. Hope you don’t mind. Enjoy!

(Also, despite that I wrote another Twilight-inspired fic, this one is not set in the same universe.)

“It’s a dog the size of a bear!” Coulson’s frantic voice rattles in Fury’s earpiece.

“A dog? The size of a bear?” Fury repeats with hesitance. “Have you forgotten that we are in the middle of New York, Coulson? And that the zoo hasn’t reported any missing animals—”

“Please hurry, sir! I swear I’m telling the truth!” Coulson pants like he’s chasing after something. “We’re gonna try to corner it on Mosholu and Webster!”

Shaking his head, Fury slams his foot on the gas, racing down the street at breakneck speed. Fortunately, it isn’t difficult for him to locate the half circle of unmarked black SHIELD cars surrounding what looks to be…an enormous dog roughly the size of a bear.

“What the hell?” Fury gets out of his vehicle, wondering if his eyepatch is preventing him from seeing properly. The dog, whose shoulder is even higher than his head, looks a little more like a wolf, in Fury’s opinion. It cowers against the wall, bloody teeth bared. Fury can see the whites of the animal’s eyes and the way it has its tail tucked between its legs, hackles raised in alarm.

“Everyone needs to back up,” Fury commands, pushing SHIELD agents aside. “Coulson, get the tranq.”

“I don’t know if it’ll work on an animal that size, boss,” Coulson mumbles.

“Then we’ll shoot it twice. Get it ready.” Fury approaches the snarling beast carefully, raising both hands. “Easy, easy,” he says.

The gigantic wolf snarls, the thick fur on the back of its neck standing up. Fury sees a large patch of blood on the wolf’s left shoulder and more dripping from its stomach.

“We’re not gonna hurt you, okay?” he says.

The wolf dips its massive head, flattening its ears.

“Now, Coulson!”

Coulson squeezes the trigger multiple times, firing off every available dart in the tranquilizer gun. They stick into the wolf’s pelt and it roars in anger. However, it only takes seconds for the drugs to take instant effect and the massive creature slumps onto the ground.

Suddenly, there is the sound of creaking bones. Before Fury’s eye, the wolf flops and twists as it begins to shrink. Its fur disappears to reveal skin and the wolf’s paws turn into human hands and feet. After the transformation, the wolf is gone. In its place lies a human being.

Coulson stands next to Fury in disbelief.

“That’s definitely not a normal dog,” he mutters.

***********************************************************************

You wake up on a soft bed and groan as you open your eyes. Your surroundings smell unpleasantly sterile, and as you roll over to your side there is a painful pull in your left shoulder.

“Careful,” a voice says. Your head turns slowly to look towards the sound. A man sits on a chair turned backwards, his arms bare in the vest he’s wearing to reveal the dark tattoo sleeve he has on his left arm.

“Where…Where am I?” you croak, examining yourself. You’re dressed in a flimsy hospital gown, and your entire left shoulder is wrapped in bloody gauze. You can also feel a patch wrapped around your stomach and right thigh.

“Let me ask the questions, okay?” the man says. There’s a bow propped up on the wall next to him. You shudder at the memory of being hunted with arrows by poachers. “What’s your name?”

“Y/N.” You’re tired and in no mood to play around with him.

“And you can turn into a giant dog?”

“Wolf, actually,” you correct.

“Same thing.” The man shrugs. “Is that like, an at-will thing? Or only at the full moon?”

“I can change whenever I want. Including now,” you threaten.

The man stares at you with a raised eyebrow. “Cool it, White Fang. I have a co-worker who can turn into an uncontrollable rage monster, so you don’t scare me.”

“Whatever,” you mumble.

The door to your room opens and a redheaded woman walks in. As soon as you see her, something inside of you snaps. Your anxiety at being held captive melts away. This woman is glowing, like nothing you’ve ever seen before. Your wolf whines in her presence, in awe and submission.

It feels like you’re no longer being held down by gravity, but by her. She is the person you are meant to spend the rest of your life with. She is your soulmate and partner. You would do anything for her, be anything for her. Whatever she needed, you would be happy to provide her with. And in return, she would love and take care of you.

The only problem now was that this woman—whose name you don’t even know—doesn’t know about a wolf’s imprinting, nor does she know that you just imprinted on her.

“Um, hello? You still there, Y/N?” The man waves his arms in front of your face, blocking your view of the woman and you growl. “You’re not about to change on us, are you?”

“No,” you sigh. The woman looks at you, curiosity filling her gaze when she wonders why you are staring at her so intensely. It makes her uncomfortable, which you sense right away, and force yourself to look away.

“I’ll take over watch,” the woman says to the man, and he gets up, grabbing his bow on his way out.

“See you around, Lassie. Try not to give Nat any trouble.”

Nat.

The name fits her well. The woman takes the man’s seat, crossing her legs and staring at you. She doesn’t say anything, but she doesn’t have to.

You’re already unconditionally and irrevocably in love with her.

***********************************************************************

Once you’re cleared from the medical bay, the first thing you do is ask Fury for a job. Although you have a pack you once belonged to, tensions had been difficult lately. In fact, they were the reason you ended up in New York in the first place, having barely survived an attack by your own packmates.

Besides, you couldn’t just walk away now knowing that you had found your mate. She still didn’t know, and you weren’t sure how you would break the news to her either, but you would cross that bridge when you were ready.

Due to your shapeshifting talent, Fury approves of your hiring immediately and lets you join the team. You’re determined to show your worth (and especially look good in front of Natasha). But you can’t fight your anxiety every time you’re around her. There’s a lot of pressure to make the first move, or reveal your true feelings, but you know it’s too soon. As much as it pains you to wait, you have to build your trust with her first.

But slowly, Natasha begins warming up to you. You’re thrilled every time she initiates a conversation, although more often than not you catch yourself staring blankly at her, not even listening to a word she’s saying, totally smitten by her presence.

You try to spend every waking moment with her without it looking suspicious (a feat that is practically impossible). But as the newest member of the team, you have a lot of excuses to use: physical training, team-building exercises, meetings, public relations conferences, and the missions themselves.

One mission finds you racing through snow faster than cars traveled on the freeway. Your tongue lolls in the wind as snowflakes land on your pelt. You could literally care less about the conditions as you release your energy to destroy HYDRA robots left and right.

You grab the torso of one in your bone-crushing jaws and easily snap it in half as it gives a whirred cry and powers down. Another robot is pinned under your massive paws and you tear its head off, tossing it away with a howl of triumph.

Natasha fights nearby, holding her own, but when you see a group of robots head for her, you spring into action without hesitance. You wrap yourself around her protectively, your tail brushing her shoulder.

“Oh, hey,” Natasha says.

The robots circle both of you, and Natasha responds by firing her Widow Bites at them. As you don’t have any long-range weapons, you raise your hackles and growl at the robots menacingly. Although they don’t have emotions, you sense that they would rather turn and run than deal with you, if only for the better chance of survival.

You and Natasha take down a handful of robots, but more appear on the horizon, a never-ending army.

You bark at her—hoping that she’ll understand your intentions—and lie down. Natasha stares at you, confused. You bark again, lowering your head and thumping your tail against the ground impatiently.

“I…I don’t understand,” she says.

“Woof,” you repeat, using your head to beckon her closer.

“Oh!” She finally nods and swings her leg over your shoulders, leaning over your neck to press her face into your fur. You stand up, pushing off with your hind legs with such power that you soar over the heads of the robots, their blasts singing the hair on your stomach.

You feel Natasha’s fingers tighten in your fur as she holds on, but you would never let her fall as you run through the forest once more. Your heart bursts with happiness at the opportunity to share this intimate moment with your mate, and you wish you could voice your happiness to her.

When you regroup with the rest of the Avengers, you lie down so Natasha can dismount safely.

“Thanks,” she whispers, scratching you between your ears. A purr rumbles in your chest and you lean into her touch, breathing in her scent and closing your eyes in utter bliss.

***********************************************************************

During one particular movie night bonding with the rest of the team, you’re tasked with making popcorn on the stovetop. Everyone settles on the couches in front of the television while you stand in the kitchen. Bruce plops himself next to Natasha and casually throws an arm around her shoulder.

Your wolf stirs inside of you and whines uncomfortably. Your jaw clenches to hold back from showing a visceral reaction—or worse, accidentally transforming—to Bruce’s close proximity to your mate.

Your enhanced hearing picks up the conversation between the two, and you’re happy Natasha isn’t pleased with Bruce’s flirting either.

“Yeah…no.” Natasha removes his arm from around her shoulder and scoots a whole cushion away.

“What?” Bruce chuckles, oblivious to her discomfort.

“Just…keep your distance, Banner.”

“Hey, Balto.” Clint, the archer of the team, has never eased up on using dog-related nicknames for you, but now that you know him, you don’t mind at all. “You’re about to burn the popcorn.”

“Huh?” You tear your eyes away from Natasha and Bruce and finally notice the smoke steaming from the popcorn pot. “Oh, Jesus—” You quickly move the pot to an empty burner and open the lid. Fortunately, Clint caught you in time and the popcorn is fluffy and unscathed. “Sorry,” you mutter, pouring the popcorn into a bowl Clint offers.

“You okay?”

“Making popcorn is hard work,” you lie, but Clint sees right through you. Your low-key infatuation with Natasha is not as low-key as you intended. He’s seen how protective you are of her on missions, and how annoyed you get whenever Bruce tries flirting with her. He doesn’t want to interfere though, and only hopes that you’ll ask her out soon.

After the last bowl of popcorn is made, you take it over to the couch and Tony begins the movie. You sit between Natasha and Bruce, careful to keep your distance from both of them, but Natasha moves closer right away. Her hand dips into the popcorn bowl on your lap and she winks at you.

***********************************************************************

“Uh, I think you all need to come see this.”

Even before Clint said anything, you sense something is wrong. You race over to the window and look down. Ten gigantic wolves—your packmates—growl and snarl at the foot of the Tower.

“Someone call animal control,” Tony says.

“Don’t bother,” you dismiss. “I know them. All of them.”

“You called them here?” Steve asks.

“Of course not.”

“Then why are they—”

You don’t even hear the rest of Steve’s question because you’re racing for the stairs. Everyone else is wise enough to take the elevator, but you can’t risk wasting any time. Naturally, you reach the bottom floor before anyone else and burst out the door, leaping and transforming into your wolf mid-air.

You land on your paws, taking a defensive position and snarling. Your former pack leader, Sam, approaches you from the circle of wolves. He is the biggest of the pack, bigger than you even, with fur as dark as the night and eyes a golden yellow.

“Y/N,” he says, and you hear his voice in your head. In your wolf forms, you were able to telepathically communicate with each other. It had been months since you’d heard another person’s voice inside your wolf’s head. “You’re alive.”

“No thanks to you,” you say, hearing the rest of the Avengers file out of the Tower and cautiously wait behind you. “Why are you here?”

“To finish what we started.”

“You’re not gonna try anything tonight,” you snarl.

“Why not? You think those petty humans can take us on?” Sam teases.

“Some of them are less human than you and me,” you say.

Meanwhile, Wanda tries to read your mind to translate the interaction to the rest of the group.

“The black wolf says they’re here to ‘finish what they started,’” Wanda says, closing her eyes as she concentrates.

“And what exactly did they start?” Bruce asks.

“A fight?” Wanda guesses from the context. “It’s how Y/N ended up being found by Fury on the street.”

“But you’re not fighting anyone tonight,” you tell Sam.

“Why not?” He begins advancing on you, but you have no reason to shrink back. You think of Natasha, and Sam and the rest of the pack see your soulmate.

“Oh, my God,” Wanda gasps. She is almost blinded by your thoughts and the way you project Natasha. “Oh, my God.”

“What? What is it, Wanda?” Clint grabs Wanda’s arm to steady her.

“Y/N…Y/N imprinted,” Wanda says.

“Imprinted? What does that mean?” Natasha asks.

“It’s…It’s like this unbreakable bond a wolf has with someone else—their mate,” Wanda explains quickly. “When a wolf imprints on someone, they’re meant to be partners for the rest of their lives.”

“And who did Y/N imprint on?” Natasha asks.

“You.”

***********************************************************************

“You sure know how to pick them, Y/N,” Sam says, with the wolf equivalent of a chuckle.

“We have no control over who we imprint on,” you say.

“Very true.”

“But the imprint also means you can’t hurt her, or anyone in her family,” you remind Sam of the sacred oath followed by the entire pack—whether or not the wolf was a current member.

“Also true.” Sam snarls in annoyance, but there’s nothing more he can do to you, Natasha, or your new family.

“So get the hell out of here,” you say.

Sam says nothing, shaking his head and backing towards his pack. The other wolves look at him with worry, confused why he would give up so easily. Sam barks orders to them and they slink back across the streets.

Once they are gone, you morph back into your naked human form. Natasha runs up to you, giving you her jacket to wrap yourself in.

“Thank you,” you whisper, dipping your head and brushing your nose along your cheek.

“Wanda said…you imprinted on me?” she asks.

“Yeah,” you answer, suddenly feeling very shy.

“So, what does that mean, exactly? Wanda’s explanation was a little rough,” she says.

You shrug, wanting to provide her with the simplest explanation possible. “It means I love you.”

“Well, that’s perfect.” She holds your arms and draws you closer, gently touching her lips to yours. “Because I love you, too.”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tags: @norwaynatasharomanoff @simpfornatasharomanoff @magically-queer-stuff @thewidowsghost @sillyroadstudentflower @marvels-bitch-boy @when-wolves-howl @acertainredhead

Click here to join my taglist!

AN: Ta-da! I didn’t expect to get another Twilight request, but hope you all enjoyed it. Fun facts:

-All the nicknames Clint gives Y/N are references to famous wolves/dogs -Sam’s character is taken directly from the Twilight series

Thanks for reading, and until next time...

#natasha romanoff x reader #natasha romanoff #black widow x reader #black widow #natasha romanoff fanfic #black widow fanfiction #natasha x reader

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navyinks · 3 years ago

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painting tips pt1: brushes

These are a collection of questions i’ve received & observations i’ve made. If anything’s unclear, feel free to hmu and I can elaborate ^-^

Disclaimer:

not a tutorial & i’m not a professional.

these are just my opinions, art is subjective

not comprehensive - i’m only gonna mention things i don’t see get mentioned in other tutorials. Do your own homework and read from a variety of sources :)

My general opinion is that brushes are both overused and underused. They’re not a replacement for learning the fundamentals. If you can’t paint well with the default round brush, it’s unlikely fancy brushes will do much beyond making your painting messy. In the example above I use a variety of brushes - but only because they contribute positively to the painting, not because i need them.

Brush settings: these depend on what kind of brush i’m using. I think of brushes as two types: ones that blend and ones that don’t:

For blending brushes, the settings you want to look out for are the amount of paint, density of paint and colour stretch. Play around with these until you’re satisfied with the results. Most of the time I prefer to tweak these settings on the same brush instead of making a new brush with a slightly different setting. These are the current settings on my watercolour brush in csp:

For non-blending brushes, opacity is the only one that that I change, though usually I paint on procreate at 100% opacity and set density sensitive to pen pressure. Most of my brushes are non-blending brushes. In the example above, only “sai water” is a blending brush.

Once you get to know what each setting does, you can even make your own brushes. Here is an anime brush I made - I still unironically use it because it has straights and curves, so the shape is interesting xD

On that note I thought I’d mention that I have the same opinion for art programs. Yes they are different and yes you should really get to know them properly as they are your workspace, but most programs have more than enough tools for you to make a digital painting.

Traditional painters buy new paintbrushes & play around with materials, so I think it makes sense for digital artists to do the same. You can get some for free or very reasonable prices on gumroad! For example, jin has a free set of textured brushes, and also a complete collection for the price of a takeaway. It’s a very good investment imo (I’ve purchased these and can definitely vouch for their quality) ^-^

I feel textured brushes are underused in the sense that people like to use them for rendering/blending and not much else. Here are a few ways I use textured brushes (full piece here)

I think textured brushes are especially cool when they replace using textures or even scatter pattern brushes. For example:

Bottom line - go crazy, think outside the box, work your brushes in every way imaginable. You don’t need very many, but you need to know them well.

Stamp brushes: imo these get overused, especially ones that come with popular programs like procreate & csp. The worst one is probably the cherry blossom brush on csp. Don’t just use them as they come - a little rendering goes a long way!! Remember that just because a brush looks a certain way doesn’t mean it has to look like that in your painting

Again, these are just my opinions and it’s a subjective matter. If there’s anything unclear or something i haven’t touched on feel free to come and ask :) Hope these tips are somewhat helpful! Part 2 will be about form & rendering, Part 3 probably about colour & light, but also lmk if there’s anything specific you’d like to see ^-^ Thanks for reading!

#art tips #procreate #clip studio paint #not a tutorial more just a bunch of my own pet peeves #idk nothing is planned out i just wanted to write these out because i've been asked about them regularly #hopefully someone finds these helpful lol

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drustvar · 2 years ago

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Catgirl on Catgirl violence

Portia and Rosie have some fun in private.

For Day 5 of the Midsummer Masquerade, toys and praise

Contains: some light dom/sub dynamics, toys, teasing, praise, vaginal fingering and penetration, multiple orgasms, playful wrestling and banter Pairing: Portia / Rosie WC: 2,728 .... i went a lil crazy w the dialogue sorry AN: Today was a little more difficult to write for, not because of the prompt but because I had almost too many ideas! This was fun, I love the gorls.

Full text under the cut! Will also be posted to ao3 later~♥

Rosie laughed as Portia pounced on her, sending them both tumbling to the ground. The red head grinned and giggled as she held herself above her, hands pressing into her shoulders to keep her down.

“Do you think I’m as much of a pushover as some of your other little friends?” Rosie asked as she ran one of her nails lightly over Portia’s freckled cheek.

“No, but I know you like to be my good girl,” Portia said as she wrapped one of many blonde curls around her finger.

“I’m nobody’s good girl!” Rosie growled playfully as she flipped Portia over, both women laughing as they rolled around on the plush rugs all over the floor. Portia’s cat ears had come askew and were only barely still sitting in her crown of auburn hair. She had been dressed in shades of red and pink, soft furry bracelets and anklets only added to the feline illusion given by her ears and tabby mask. Rosie’s attire was as equally disheveled as they wrestled; and although hers was more subtle, the aesthetic of a lioness was still apparent: from the shiny, tawny colored corset she wore to her hair to her long nails, which she had teasingly said she had spent time sharpening just for the event. It was no wonder why any time they had been near each other during the night there had been jokes made about cat-girl on cat-girl action.

But Portia knew Rosie was shyer than she seemed. If they were going to play, it was going to be for a very limited audience, if any. As of right now, the only audience they had was one another.

“Oof, naughty!” Portia scolded as Rosie lightly nipped her hand. She shook her finger in the blonde’s face, narrowly avoiding being nipped again. Rosie just grinned and purred as she squeezed Portia’s thighs as she sat straddling her.

“You know I’ve got to be, just a little bit,” Rosie said, batting her lashes. “I’ve got a reputation, you know! I cannae let it get out that I’m a sweet little sex kitten for jus’ anybody,” she said as she pressed a kiss to the back of Portia’s hand. “You’re special.”

“I know,” Portia winked as her hands started to unlace Rosie’s corset. “Oooh, I heard you practically mauled a certain nobleman earlier in the night. Really gave him the business.”

“O-oh you heard?” Rosie’s face flushed and her cocky demeanor became more demure. “And he told me that room was sound proof!”

Portia laughed and waved her hand as she tossed the corset aside. “Not literally, don’t worry! But it would be hard not to guess what had happened when he slunk back into the ballroom later covered in scratches. I think milady was worried that one of the menagerie animals had escaped and gone on a rampage.”

Rosie cackled, her teeth gleaming in the amber lights cast by the room’s lanterns. The amulet that rested between her breasts matched the gleam, the tiger's eye stone matched the paint on her nails. Portia couldn’t help but start laughing too as she trailed her hands down Rosie’s chest.

“Well,” Rosie said as she threaded her fingers in Portia’s as the latter squeezed her breasts. “After that viciousness that I in no way claim any responsibility for, I dunnae think my hip is gonna be very happy with me if I get railed on the floor, no matter how soft these rugs are. Can I get on the bed?” She nodded at the canopy bed in the corner. It was the same kind as the most throughout the palace, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t comfortable or nice to fuck on.

“Oh the viciousness?” Portia giggled as she tweaked one of her nipples. “The absolute savagery?”

“The unadulterated violence, even!” Rosie laughed as she propped herself up on her elbow. “I have to stop hanging around your brother, what the fuck is happening to my vocabulary?”

Portia just laughed and shook her head as she pulled her to her feet, her hand playfully squeezing the other woman’s rear as she guided her to the bed.

“You just sit tight for a minute, I’ve gotta grab some stuff.”

“Some ‘stuff’?” Rosie raised a brow as she sat back and brushed Portia’s leg with her foot. “Oooh, am I going to be in trouble?”

“Oh big time, missy,” Portia laughed and ruffled her hair. “Be a good girl and finish getting undressed for me.”

Portia stepped away and started rifling through the large, ornate chest against the wall. It too, was similar to the ones found throughout the guest rooms of the Palace on this night, filled to the brim with a variety of sex toys and oils and any other matter of salacious item one could think of needing. She remembered how very specific The Countess had been about the commission of the chests, about what woods and plating would look best on them as they were as much a part of the atmosphere of the masquerade as anything else. The chests themselves could be easily cleaned and reused, but what on earth were they going to do with the hundreds of toys? That was a lot of rubber dicks to get rid of.

“Portia,” Rosie’s voice was a teasing sing-song from across the room. She looked over her shoulder just in time to be hit by Rosie’s underwear as she sling shot them at her.

“Oh, that ass is mine!” Portia grinned as she slammed the chest shut and hurriedly made her way back to the bed, being careful to conceal what she had taken in a silky towel. Rosie cackled as she jumped up next to her, twirling her hair around her fingers.

“What’s in that thing anyway,” she asked, nodding at the chest across the room.

“Sex toys. Lots of ‘em.”

“Oh, duh…aren’t I smart. Well lemme see what you grabbed!” She made grabby hands at the bundle but Portia shook her head and clicked her tongue.

“One at a time, one at a time. I wanna see you get so excited you can’t help but wriggle that cute butt of yours.”

One by one, Portia showed off the toys she had picked: A feathered teaser, a wand vibrator big enough that they could share if they angled their hips just right, and a set of three dildos, each longer and thicker than the last. She couldn’t help but grin at the way Rosie bit her lip and stifled a whimper when she saw them.

“Oh, and this of course,” Portia said as she held up a lacy harness. “But that’s not exciting as the other stuff, it's just the supporting role,” she said as she ran her fingers over the sculpted veins of the largest toy.

“It’s cute, can I?” Rosie leaned forward, ready to fasten the harness to her but Portia just shook her head and gently pushed the blonde back by her shoulders.

“In a bit. I told you I wanted to see you get real worked up for me first.” Portia grinned as she twirled the feathery teaser in her fingers. “Lay back and spread out for me.”

Rosie obeyed and laid spread eagle, relaxing into the soft blankets and pillows of the bed, watching through half shut eyes as Portia crawled over her.

“Good girl,” Portia cooed as she pressed soft kisses to Rosie’s throat and chest. “You’re going to be the best girl for me tonight, aren’t you?”

“You know I will,” Rosie said, shivering as the teaser brushed against her thighs. Portia whispered tauntingly dirty things in her ear as she dragged the tool over her, drifting over her tits and between her legs. At some point she eased her fingers into Rosie’s mouth, careful of her teeth and being sure to whisper praises as she sucked on them. She grinned as Rosie mewled and rolled her hips when she brought the tool to rest between her legs, the weight of it applying a teasing pressure.

“Give me a kiss.”

Rosie eagerly obeyed and pressed her lips to hers, whining softly against Portia as her hand slipped between her thighs, moving the teaser aside.

“Do you want me to touch you?”

Rosie quickly nodded and rolled her hips. “Do you even have to ask?”

“I like hearing you ask for it. You’ve got a pretty voice, especially when it's being used to beg,” Portia grinned as she gently pressed against the folds. She was already wet.

“Please dunnae make me,” Rosie whimpered as Portia’s thumb ghosted over her clit. “You know I’ll be a good girl. You know I’ll be your good girl.”

“Oh, you’ll be begging for me at some point, one way or another,” Portia grinned at the way the blonde whimpered and rolled against her hand as she eased her fingers in. Easy, steady pumps just to watch the way Rosie’s eyes fluttered shut and she sighed. Portia took one of Rosie’s hands in her free ones and pressed it to her breast, guiding it to knead.

“Your titties are so soft,” Rosie murmured. “I’m jealous.”

“What have you got to be jealous of?” Portia asked, grinning as she curled her fingers and made her squirm.

“Mine have more muscle underneath them. They aren’t as soft. They’re comfy but they’re not…” she bounced Portia’s breast gently. Portia chuckled and shook her head.

“Sit up against the pillows for me,” she said as she slowly withdrew her fingers and reached for the wand. “I really hope this works, and I really hope neither of our legs cramp.” She hooked one of her legs over Rosie’s hips and scooted close until they were almost touching.

“Even if they do, I think it’ll be worth it,” Rosie purred as she eyed the wand in Portia’s hand.

“You think so?” Portia asked, her eyes gleamed with mischief as she watched Rosie bite her lip as she lowered the wand between them. “I want you to try and stay still for me.”

“I thought you wanted to watch me squirm.”

“Oh I do, but I wanna see you break, too.” She grinned at the way Rosie groaned as the wand buzzed to life between them. It took some adjusting, but soon both women were rolling their hips against one another and making pleased, needy noises.

“Please,” Rosie panted, her head lolling back against the pillows. “Portia, please.”

“Are you close?”

Rosie just moaned in response.

Portia grinned. “I am too. You’d better cum with me or you won’t get to at all yet,” she turned up the vibration as her partner hissed needily. She let out a surprised moan as Rosie suddenly looped an arm around her and pulled her close, the only thing separating their bodies now was the head of the wand pressed flush against them. It only took a moment like that for them both to finish, panting heavily and trying to untangle enough to shut the toy off.

“Good girl,” Portia said as she pushed her hair back. Rosie laid back panting, sweat dewy on her skin. “I’m not done with you yet though.”

“I didn’t think so,” Rosie said, opening an eye to stare at the dildos that still lay patiently waiting.

“Put this on me.” Portia instructed, handing her the harness. Rosie leaned forward and started fastening it, all the while Portia hummed and pet her hair. “Now then,” she paused, tilting Rosie’s chin up as she tucked a pale curl behind her ear. “I want you to turn around and get on your knees and present for me.”

As Rosie nodded and did as she was told, Portia took the first dildo and secured it to the harness.

“You’re so red,” she said as she brushed the head of the toy against her entrance. “And all from some fingering and a few minutes with the wand?”

“It felt like a lot longer than a few minutes,” Rosie said. “That and I had a sexy friend to help.”

“Aren’t you sweet,” Portia said as she gave her rear a gentle pat. “But if you thought that felt like a long time, you have no idea what I’ve got planned.”

Before she could respond, Portia rocked into her and started to thrust, strong and steady. She kept the pace even, even when Rosie whined for her to go faster.

“If you want it faster you’ll have to take it bigger, too,” Portia said as she pet Rosie’s flank. “Do you want more?”

“Yes.”

“Yes what?”

“I want you to fuck me with the other cock. The bigger one, please.”

“Very good!” Portia patted her hip as she withdrew and replaced the toy with the next size. “See, begging isn’t so bad when it's for me, is it?”

“You’re nice about it,” Rosie said between whimpered moans as Portia started to thrust into her again.

“I’m only nice because you’re so good for me,” she leaned forward enough to press a kiss to the middle of Rosie’s back. “You haven’t given me a reason to punish you. Yet.”

“No, I’ll be good I promise!” Rosie yelped as Portia slammed to the strap’s hilt. “Please, I’m already close again. Please don’t make me wait.”

“Aw, already?” Portia pulled back and slammed back in, winning a pleased whine. “That’s okay, but I’ll want you to cum again on the next one, too.”

“The next one?” Rosie looked over her shoulder at her.

“There were three, remember? This is only the second,” Portia’s grin was intoxicatingly warm. “I said I wanted to see you squirm.”

“How much bigger is it?”

“Oh, you’ll find out,” Portia said as she gently pressed Rosie’s face back down and started to thrust harder and faster. Soon enough the blonde beneath her was wailing and rocking her hips back just as hard and fast as she was pumping them forward.

“That’s it, that’s my good girl,” Portia pulled out slowly as she continued to murmur soft praises. “Here,” she grabbed one of the pillows and helped Rosie place it underneath herself, taking some of the strain of holding herself up off her knees.

“You ready for the last one?” She asked as she brushed hair out of Rosie’s eyes.

“Can I see it first?”

“Well, since you’ve been so well behaved for me,” Portia reached behind them and grabbed the final unused dildo. “What do you think?”

Rosie’s pupils rounded as she stared at it and bit her lip. “Yeah. I can take it.”

“That’s my girl!” Portia grinned and patted her head before she resumed her place behind her. She poured a generous amount of oil on the length before she slowly eased in, until she nestled to the hilt.

“Fuck, it’s deep,” Rosie hissed, her nails digging into the sheets.

“Is it too much,” Portia’s voice was gentle as she watched her reaction.

“No, it's good. But be gentle with it, please.” She opened her eyes and looked over her shoulder as she felt the toy withdraw.

“Go ahead and roll over,” Portia said as she pressed a kiss to her shoulder. “You’ve been so good for me so I think you deserve to be cuddled. That and my knees are starting to hurt, too.”

They paused to rearrange the pillows before Rosie laid back, arms wrapping around Portia as she eased back in.

“I be you anything all those people would have wanted to see us tear each other up,” Rosie murmured as she placed soft kisses to Portia’s collar. “I like this a lot more. I like the way you handle me.”

“You like the way I handle you or the way I handle this?” Portia gave her hips a small jerk, just enough to win a surprised gasp.

“I think you know my answer,” Rosie murmured as their lips met. “I like anything you give me.”

“Especially strap, huh?”

They both laughed before nuzzling one another and falling into an easy, gentle rhythm. Rosie met her thrusts, each time making the softest of whines that Portia absolutely loved to hear.

“That’s my girl. That’s my good girl,” Portia murmured as she peppered kisses across Rosie’s neck and chest.

Tangled legs, soft words and giggles shared like this, just between the two of them, seemed to be a perfect way to end the night.

#midsummer masquerade #vesuvia after dark #portia #portia devorak #rosie #lemon #mine #rosie seems like a bit of a sizequeen here but you know what if youre hooking up with muriel in at least one timeline i feel like u gotta be #my gorls my gorls my gorls #sweet apples and wild strawberries

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telehxhtrash · 4 years ago

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A masterpost on Togashi’s gay subtext and why it’s intentional.

Hi ! After seeing so many posts about Togashi dropping subtext about Killua's possible romantic feelings for Gon, I thought it'd be a good idea to make a sort of "masterpost" with all the subtext that Togashi has included into his work.

I usually see a lot of people trying to say that HxH isn't about romance and that Togashi isn't interested in writing romance into the manga, but when you analyze all the subtext that's been going on the further Gon and Killua's relationship progresses, I think it's incorrect to say that Togashi has never hinted at the possibility of romance in HxH.

This is going to be a long post, enjoy your read!

Also, please note that I will only base this analysis on the manga, so there can be no mistake that "maybe this is just something the anime made gayer" : i want to prove that the subtext is 100% intentional on Togashi's part.

I'd also like to mention, although I will analyze it further after listing the subtext, that Togashi is a VERY smart man. There are always little details in the story and/or foreshadowing that are easily missed at first but when you notice them, it truly makes you understand how much attention and care Togashi puts into his work. There are countless details and symbolism that are analyzed daily through wonderful meta posts, from the main 4′s birthdays and their link to their character or the religious symbolism in Kurapika’s story arc.... Togashi loves to foreshadow and plant little details into his work, so when Togashi plants subtext, I'm sure he 100% knows that he's writing it, and it can't be seen as unintentional.

I'll also link all my references for this post at the end of it, so feel free to read all the additional textposts and content if you want to know more.

Well, let's get into it!

EDIT : i can’t believe this post is still being used as a reference it makes me so happy... thank you so much !!! i edited this to tweak it a bit because i wrote this a while ago and the phrasing seemed off to me, so if you’re reading or re-reading this post, hi, welcome to masterpost on gay subtext 2.0 !

GREED ISLAND ARC

Greed Island is to me the arc that lays down the nature of Killua and Gon's relationship. It's during this arc that we get to see a bit more of what Killua thinks, how he's lucky to have met Gon and that he feels really grateful. Gon’s behavior in this arc is also very affectionate, with him always reassuring Killua about his place next to him. While the scene where Killua thinks "You've got it backwards, Gon, I'm the one that's glad I met you." can't be considered as subtext, I think it's something that lets the reader know a bit more about how Killua feels towards Gon.

But other than this scene, which can clearly be dismissed as platonic, there are 2 more moments in the Greed Island arc that are layered in subtext.

• The Rainbow Diamond (chapter 151)

During their time in Dorias, Killua uses Risky Dice to gain cards from the slot machines. The first card that Killua gains is called "Rainbow Diamond", the description of the card being "A diamond that shines in a rainbow of colors. Propose with this diamond and she is guaranteed to say "yes"".

There are 3 different things we can take from this panel. First, the card is a marriage proposal card, so it's obviously romantic in nature. Second, the object is a RAINBOW diamond. And third, Killua, wanting to keep the card safe, gifts it to Gon.

In short, Togashi sat down at his desk, decided to draw Killua winning a MARRIAGE PROPOSAL CARD (it could've been any card, but Togashi CHOSE to make Killua win a marriage proposal card) that has a RAINBOW diamond on it and made Killua gift it to Gon.

While I personally don't think that subtext can be used to 100% ascert that Killua has romantic feelings for Gon, I think it's a funny little touch from Togashi, and I'm even gonna say a sort of hint towards how Killua's feelings for Gon are going to evolve in this arc and the next.

• “It has to be Killua” (chapter 166)

Now this is a scene that I've never seen anyone talk about, at least on Tumblr, but when I read a bit of analysis on it I was 100% convinced this was intentional subtext. I'm basically quoting here what this article explains, so if you want more detail, I recommend reading it.

As you probably recall, during their deadly dodgeball game against Razor, Killua decides to sacrifice his hands to ensure that Gon could use all his strength. When confronted about it, Killua insists that it's nothing, and Gon shocks him by saying that he knew all along that he was hurting himself for his sake.

Gon then says that it can only be Killua holding the ball, and that it has to be Killua, resulting in Killua being absolutely awestruck and embarassed. I'm also going to talk about the anime adaptation for this one, because it's perfectly executed and translates extremely well the nuance that the second sentence bears. If you want to rewatch it, this scene happens in episode 70. It's worth noting that in the anime, we see Killua not reacting to Gon's first sentence, but losing his composure entirely when Gon says the second sentence. But why ?

The reason was lost in translation. His exact words are "Booru wa Killua ga motte-kurenai to. Killua ja nakya dame nan da.". Both sentences basically say the same thing : It has to be Killua holding the ball. That second sentence can be translated literally as "If it's not Killua, that won't do." However, the second sentence, in a different context, can also be used to say a totally different thing.

While it's certain that Gon used this sentence in the context of the dodgeball match, the sentence "~ja nakya dame nan da" also serves as a confession of one's feelings in japanese. It's basically the equivalent to "you're the one for me". When you google the sentence, it turns up romantic songs, forum posts asking what it would translate to in English and posts on how to confess to someone.

The sentence basically drowns in romantic subtext. As mentioned before, Killua has no reaction to the first sentence "Booru wa Killua ga motte-kurenai to.", but loses his composure at the second one, and I think that was a very deliberate thing Togashi wanted to convey : this sentence has an additional layer, and clearly Killua is taking it to heart.

I will come back to this specific subtext in a bit, because we can parallel it with another subtext-y situation, so please keep it in mind for now.

CHIMERA ANT ARC

Now onto the sad gay arc! This arc is so RIDDLED in subtext and parallels that it's making me lose my mind.

• Gon, you are light. (chapter 199)

This scene is just... So romantic in nature. I’m not too objective on this, but I really do believe that this moment is the exact moment Killua fell in love with Gon and started to realize he felt a bit more than friendship towards him. It’s Killua respecting Gon for who he is, realizing that he’s light and he’s always been, he’s the one who saved him and who’s always been so bright and optimistic and always makes the best out of any situation. In this scene, Killua lets himself drown in Gon’s light, allows himself to feel this “wow” moment of pure admiration and love, and it’s absolutely beautiful.

It's extremely important to take the context of this scene into account. What happened is that Killua, who has been struggling mentally for the entire series with the fact that he's always running away, ran away once more, leaving Kite to die with Pitou. This ENTIRE chapter is literally adults absolutely DESTROYING Killua, first Kite's troupe bashing him for leaving Kite behind, and then Netero, Morel and Knov coming in like icing on the cake telling Killua that "After all, he's just a kid", and that he should hurry up to his mommy.

Killua is beating himself up for running away again, got destroyed by Kite's team and 3 extremely strong pro hunters. His morale is down in the drains right now. He expects Gon to be mad at him for betraying Kite, for running away once again, for leaving Kite to die alone and ripping Gon away from Kite : he expects that he'll lose Gon for his cowardice.

HOWEVER, the first thing that Gon says to Killua after having been passed out for god knows how many hours is "Thank you".

Gon woke up and instantly eased up all of Killua's fears : he wasn't a loser for running away, and Gon was actually thankful for him. Gon, at this moment, was the only one that showed kindness, understanding and gratefulness towards Killua. Gon even goes so far as saying that he knows that Kite isn't dead, and that they have to help him. At this instant, Gon is truly Killua's saving grace. He's the one that trusts him with his entire heart, and believes in his choices when even he can't believe in himself. Gon is truly Killua's light at this precise moment, because he was the only one who supported him, trusted him and reassured him in this awful situation.

How can someone shine so bright in such a terrible situation ? How can someone be so positive that nothing bad will happen ?

Gon asserting all of this makes Killua respect him a lot. Keep this word in mind, because it’s going to be important in the next piece of subtext I’m analyzing, because those two scenes canonically follow each other and are basically Togashi highlighting that something special happened when Killua called Gon his light, and that his feelings deepened.

• Introduction to Palm's character (chapter 200)

This piece of subtext is very very easy to miss but it's one of the most important subtext-y scene, because coupled with the “Gon, you are light” scene, it’s very clear that this dialogue is deliberately highlighting Killua’s feelings.

This chapter introduces Palm's character (which, imo, is a character introduced for the sole intent of being a catalyst to Killua's feelings towards Gon, but I'll talk about it in my post talking about the CAA parallels) - edit: i talked about this briefly here.

So, Killua having looked into Gon's eyes for like 10min straight and concluded that Gon was the light of his life a chapter ago, is now chilling with Gon as they meet Palm.

Palm takes them to a café and STRAIGHT OFF THE BAT harasses them about how much she's in love with Knov. Like when I say harassing, it's literally a whole page of her explaining her feelings towards Knov.

There are two interesting things that can be drawn from this interaction.

First, it's extremely easy to draw parallels between Palm's situation towards Knov and Killua's situation towards Gon. Palm starts by saying how amazing her master is, that she probably has special feelings for him but the most important thing is to respect the other person. Remember how I talked about how this last scene was Killua having a surge of deep, deep respect for Gon ? Palm makes sure to highlight that special word, that it’s important to respect someone when it comes to love.

She then goes on to say that she hasn't said anything to Knov, and never will. All of this adds nothing to the story, it's empty dialogue, Togashi could've introduced Palm in virtually any other way possible, but he chose to drag her and the gay duo to a café and make her have a monologue about love RIGHT after the extremely emotional panel of Killua declaring that Gon is his light just a chapter ago.

But there's more. Not only does Palm monologue for a while about love, but after finishing her monologue, this happens :

This panel features ONLY Palm and Killua, her looking at him like the psycho she is, and straight up telling him that "love can suddenly spark out of nowhere, don't you think so?".

What's so interesting about this is the fact that Togashi made the deliberate choice to have Palm say this to Killua and Killua ONLY, which after the gay existential crisis he had last chapter, can very much be applied to his situation. Love DID spark out of nowhere, and Togashi wants you to notice. Togashi could've made Palm say this to herself, with no distinct listener like the last panel, but he made the conscious choice to draw this panel with Palm adressing herself to Killua SPECIFICALLY.

Those two pieces of subtext, that fit perfectly together, make me believe 100% that Togashi knows what he's doing and he's not unintentionally planting gay subtext in his work. The fact that Togashi sat at his desk, drew Killua calling Gon his light, and then followed this scene with the introduction to a character who picks Killua apart to tell him that "love is something that just happens, don't you think?" is 100% proof that Togashi knows what he's doing.

• Date with Palm (chapters 217 and 218)

I think this situation has many layers, but many people still dismiss it as bro behavior so I'm gonna try my best to counter argue. First of all, and although that's not proof of anything, Killua looks EXTREMELY distressed by the prospect of Gon going on a date with Palm, but that can be counter-argued by saying that Killua is just worried because Palm is completely crazy.

What I want to talk about is the scene that happens right after, when Gon and Killua go to the gym (because theyre DUDES YEAH WE WORK OUT NO HOMO), and the conversation casually drifts to Killua asking Gon if he's ever been on a date before, valid question considering what just happened previously. There are multiple things here :

1) Killua seems distressed that Gon has been on dates before. While it can be argued that it's a normal reaction because Gon has and he hasn't, I believe that Killua - who is in no way a normal person who would get flustered about "not having been on dates before a certain age" - would not feel uncomfortable that his friend is more experienced than him - especially when literal seconds later, he monologues about how he doesn’t care about dates and just wants to stick with Gon.

2) Gon then proceeds to ask Killua if he's ever been on a date, to which Killua responds :

What I want to highlight is the panel where Killua says "And the truth is, I want to stay by your side... Always...". Basically, what Killua is saying, is that he doesn't care about dates, all he wants to do is be with Gon.

I don't think this can be counter-argued as bro behavior, but with all the subtext I've explained before, this right here is pretty gay. Togashi put this panel deliberately to show that Killua doesn't give a crap about dates when he can stay with Gon, and with the "gon you are light" scene and everything in mind, this is another intentional subtext.

There's also the fact that Killua stalks the date like a jealous girlfriend - but I'm not gonna count that as subtext because it can be argued that he's just worried about Gon because Palm is insane.

• Gon is my best friend ! (chapter 219)

Remember how I told you to keep the "It has to be Killua" subtext in mind because I was gonna come back to it later ? Well.

During Palm's date with Gon, Killua runs into Rammot, who would definitely have ran into Palm and nenless Gon. Killua is forced to confront his worst fear : this is the moment where he knows that if he runs away again, Gon WILL die. Killua is literally overcoming his "programming", the physical representation of years of abuse out of love and care for Gon. He's ripping out the needle from his forehead out of pure, genuine care for Gon, because if he doesn't, then he'll lose him forever.

Now, what I actually wanna talk about is this panel :

What we see is Killua thinking happy thoughts about all his adventures with Gon because he can't - won't - doesn't want to run away anymore, and all this for his sake. But what I wanna draw attention to is the dodgeball panel that's bigger than all the others, and the only one where you can actually clearly make out what's written : "Killua ja nakya dame nan da".

Now, isn't that interesting that the panel that takes a bigger place in the whole panel is the one with this particular sentence? Remember what I talked about a bit earlier, about how "~ ja nakya dame nan da" is a sentence with a lot of romantic connotations (would pretty much equal to "you're the one for me" in English). Clearly this particular sentence stuck with Killua.

I'm not completely objective on this matter since I firmly believe that at this point, Killua has romantic feelings for Gon, but I interpret this as another deliberate thing Togashi did : putting the panel bigger so we can see that it has a particularly significant importance to Killua, and Killua's state of mind right now (not wanting to lose Gon).

In my opinion, two things happened here: One, Killua remembers this specific interaction because he knows how much Gon trusts him and he doesn't want to betray his trust. But I also firmly believe that Killua remembered this specific interaction because of the romantic connotation the sentence "Killua ja nakya dame nan da" has. Those words clearly shocked him, and I think he remembers them in this life-threatening situation, after the "gon you are light" scene, Palm talking about "love just happens", the "i want to stay with you, always" because he realizes that he wishes Gon would say that sentence in a romantic context, and not in the context of the dodgeball match, thus leading him to surpass himself to prove his love and perhaps live to see the day where Gon could say those words in that romantic context.

Now, of course, all of this is my interpretation, so it's really up to debate, but I really wanna highlight the fact that Togashi deliberately CHOSE to highlight this particular interaction between Gon and Killua, this sentence with romantic subtext, to lead Killua to finally break his chains and be able to be protect Gon fully. It’s also interesting to note that the 2011 anime adaptation also makes it a point to emphasize how deep these words stuck to Killua by making it the last flashback that makes Killua effectively rip out the needle out of his head.

Also let's quickly mention the irony in the situation here : while Gon is on a romantic date, Killua fights to protect him, overcoming his weakness to prove his love. It’s not Palm who deserves that date, it’s Killua.

• A lovers’ suicide (chapter 286)

Now, onto the most important piece of subtext, that can not be counterargued as platonic in any way, shape or form. During the palace invasion, Killua leaves Gon's side, proceeds to go kick Youpi's butt only to have to fall back because he used up all his electricity nen. When Killua is charging up, he meets with Meleoron, and tells him that once he's done charging, he'll go back to Gon's side.

They briefly exchange information about the battle, and then Meleoron proceeds to ask Killua what's the plan for him and Gon. That's when Killua explains that "Once Gon is like this, he won't budge an inch. Worst case scenario, it'll be a double suicide.". At worst they both die, cool. They “go down in flames together”. It’s actually much, much more meaningful than that.

The specific word that Killua uses for double suicide is "心中" (shinjuu), which is a heavily romantically connotated word in japanese. Shinjuu, also translated as "lovers’ suicide", is when two people die out of love, by the same method, because there's a belief that this'll allow those two people to spend eternity together. Shinjuu is a major theme of Japanese literature, and it is always used romantically. It's a very uncommon word to use to refer to two people dying together, because of its heavy romantic connotation, and because it always refers to double suicide committed by people bound by love. In literature, it always refers to two lovers, in love. If you want to read more on shinjuu, i suggest this and this, those articles explain its historic roots and the definition, also emphasizing the feeling of "oneness" that characterizes shinjuu. If you’re interested, I also suggest reading the japanese article that defines shinjuu, and hitting the google translate button, it has some pretty interesting sentences like “Shinjuu is traditionally committed by men and women out of mutual love, in the hope that they will be connected in the afterlife because they can't be together in this world.”

So basically, what Killua is saying is that he wants to go back to Gon's side to die with him, committing a "lovers’ suicide" because he doesn't want to leave Gon to die alone, and wants to die with him.

I also want to emphasize how special this word is to Killua, and that he and everyone around him know the special meaning of this word - In chapter 300, Ikalgo literally says "We were... No, KILLUA was ready to commit shinjuu with Gon". Ikalgo is really highlighting the fact that this word holds special meaning, especially to Killua, and that it was HIM who was willing to commit shinjuu by staying with Gon. Ikalgo and company dying with Gon wouldn't be shinjuu, but Killua dying with Gon would be, and Togashi emphasizes this through Ikalgo's thoughts.

This is pretty much the gist of it, but I suggest reading the wonderful post I linked in the references below if you want to know more about this specific subtext.

(edit : i actually wrote a post going a bit more into detail on Killua’s shinjuu wish if you want to read it here ! :3)

• “The one that Gon needs the most is you” (chapter 294)

I will go into this subtext more in details when I write the post about parallels in CAA, but I still want to talk about it briefly here.

Like I said before, to me, Palm was introduced as a catalyst for Killua's feelings towards Gon. Togashi purposefully wrote Palm as having romantic feelings for Gon to foil Killua's feelings for Gon and make him show jealousy towards Palm.

To Killua, Palm is someone who stole Gon from him, he sees her as a threat because maybe she'll make Gon happier than he does ? (ofc we all know thats not true but Killua is baby) - Basically, Killua thinks Palm might be more important to Gon than Killua is, because he believes they are romantically involved. That's why when he sees her again later on, after Gon rejected his help, leaving Killua helpess as to how to save his dear friend, Killua sees Palm as a saving grace.

He knows that if Gon sees Palm as a chimera ant, he will spiral down even more, so he tries to reason with her to get her to be gentle to Gon, because if not her, then who could? Palm would clearly be able to comfort Gon, with whom Killua believes is romantically involved with, better than him, right ? If Gon rejected Killua, then clearly Palm could help, since she seems closer to Gon (BECAUSE HE BELIEVES THEYRE DATING), right?

This confrontation between Palm and Killua closely ressembles a situation like an ex confronting a new girlfriend - and I think this is exactly why Togashi wrote Palm this way. He wanted Killua to confront who he thought was a threat to their relationship, making him believe that this person who's """"dating"""” Gon is more important to him than himself, only to have her openly admit that she means nothing to Gon. The only one Gon needs is Killua.

And that, my friends, coming from someone you believe is romantically involved with your best friend (who you probably have a crush on), someone you're jealous of, the one you thought was the person most important to him, that's a pretty meaningful statement.

Basically, what's happening, is that Palm reaffirms that Gon holds Killua closer than a potential romantic partner. And that's why Killua is so, so happy to hear that. He was questioning his entire relationship, questioning if Gon even cared about him, because he rejected him a few minutes before, but then his "rival" comes in and reaffirms that even she knows that no one comes close to Killua to Gon.

I also want to mention that this act of pure love (Killua only thinking of saving Gon when in a life threatening situation) is what made Palm come back to her human senses. d'awwwwww

• Illumi and Hisoka’s parallel on lovers who die of Alluka’s requests. (chapter 323)

Now onto the final significant subtext - while I don't particularly think of it as subtext-y, I know a lot of people have so I still want to include it here.

When Illumi explains Alluka's powers to Hisoka, he explains that there are two different types of linked deaths when a request is failed : 1) the person who failed + the person they love the most 2) the person who failed + the people they spent most of their time with.

When applied to Killua, Hisoka naturally comes to the conclusion that no matter the outcome, Gon would always be the one dying with Killua, because he's spent so much time with him, and because he's the one that Killua loves the most. In the panel where Illumi explains this, we see a romantic, heterosexual couple demonstrating the effects of not completing one of Alluka's requests, and thus the "most important person dying".

While not making any true parallels, the fact that Hisoka, and the readers, are drawn to compare a heterosexual, romantic pairing to Killua dying with Gon because he's his "most important person" is an interesting piece of subtext.

_______

I want to finish by talking about Killua's birthday and how significant it is in my opinion. All the main 4 characters have birthdays that fall on specific dates, related to Japanese tradition, and often with events that can be associated to their character. Gon's is 5/5, which is Children's Day. Kurapika's is 4/4, the number 4 being considered an unlucky number, and this being an unlucky day to have a child. Leorio's is 3/3, Hinamatsuri (not really any main parallels here but still). But Killua's birthday is 7/7, and is the Japanese day to celebrate Tanabata.

If you are not familiar with Tanabata, the story is as follows : Orihime is a princess who works for her father, working hard and well, but she laments the fact that because of her hard work she can't meet someone and fall in love. Her father arranges for her to meet Hikoboshi, allowing Orihime to leave because he expects her to come back to work for him, but the two immediately fall in love and get married, and she never returns. I won't get into the rest of the story as it's this part that interests me the most, but if you want to read more about Killua and Tanabata I suggest reading the post I referenced below.

Does the story of Orihime remind you of anyone ? Killua also works for his father, but laments the fact that he can't go outside and meet someone. His father then lets him go, saying, and i quote: "he will come back, because he's my son". Doesn't this remind you of the tale of Tanabata ? Killua's story references the tale of Orihime perfectly, and I believe this is intentional : Killua's birthday isn't of any importance to the plot, so why make it Tanabata, a day that celebrates a love story that closely ressembles Killua's story ? The answer is simple : subtext.

With all this in mind, I think it's pretty clear that Togashi is writing intentional subtext to hint at Killua's feelings being romantic in nature. Togashi is a master writer, he has years of experience, and I strongly believe he knows what he's doing and not planting unintentional subtext. He's a very smart man, and knows how all of this can be interpreted.

I will finish by saying that Togashi is NOT an author that would deliberately queerbait his readers. So many people dismiss the possibility of having gay subtext leading onto an actual canon gay relationship because "it's not like the author would ever have gay main characters". While this holds true for a lot of manga authors, especially shonen manga authors, it does NOT apply to Togashi.

Togashi has always displayed interest in queer subjects and queer representation, putting trans characters in all of his major works (Miyuki in YYH, Mikihisa in Level E and Alluka in HxH). There were also canonically gay characters in his previous works : Itsuki in YYH, and a character named Kuramoto in Level E.

Togashi also always had interest in mangas having BL elements, citing Maya Mineo's "Patalliro!" as a manga he was attracted to during High School. If you're unfamiliar with Patalliro, the story focuses on the main character's love life as a gay man. He also admitted to basing Hiei's (YYH) design off a character from that manga.

Last but not least, Togashi mentioned in a note included in volume 1 of YYH that he wanted to write a sports manga, called The Trouble Quartet, where basically all the characters are gay. Togashi said he based it off his own interests as a writer, and that while it was refused by Shonen Jump, he got deeply attached to the project and that he would love to explore this project in a different shape once he made a name for himself. I suggest reading this post because the parallels between The Trouble Quartet and HxH are HILARIOUSLY accurate.

In short, Togashi has always had interest in queer matters, and was always interested in putting queer representation in his work. After YYH, which was a terrible experience for Togashi as a writer, he managed to snatch a contract that basically allows him to do whatever he wants with HxH. Having always held dear BL matters but never being able to explore it to his full intent, I believe Togashi is exploring queer identity further with HxH, because Shonen Jump basically lets him do anything.

To conclude, with Togashi's past experience and skill, his interest in queer representation, and the amount of subtext surrounding Killua, I honestly believe that Togashi is trying to explore further queer representation, and I wouldn't be surprised if HxH ends with Gon and Killua becoming a canon pairing, whether it be delivered in an ambiguous manner or not.

Edit : I actually wrote a post on why I believe it won’t be ambiguous, and that it’s truly never been ambiguous, just developing : here.

I hope you enjoyed the read, thank you for reading all of this, and feel free to show this to anyone who denies subtext in HxH !

REFERENCES

- "It has to be Killua" - Medium article, "Impossibilities in Translating Queerness : The Dodgeball Dilemma"

- Palm's Date Scene - Reddit post, "Togashi's love of Ambiguity: Chapters 217 and 218"

-A thematic analysis of Palm’s character : ”The Issue With Palm”

- Shinjuu - Tumblr post by hunterxhell, "A lovers' suicide, I guess." : + the post that mentions Ikalgo talking about shinjuu

- An analysis on different subtext-y situations

- Illumi and Hisoka’s parallel : here and here

- Killua’s birthday : "Killua, July 7th, and the significance of his birthdate”

- Togashi's interview mentioning Mineo's Patalliro

#hxh #hxh meta #hunter x hunter #killugon #meta #my posts #my meta

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not-the-tie-youre-looking-for · 3 years ago

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Something that's been bugging me for years since the Legends finale. If Zhan had been the writer for Rebels, do you think he would have had Thrawn bomb Lothal to bring Ezra out? On the one hand, from Legends Thrawn's portrayal I imagine he would without a second of hesitation. On the other, Canon Thrawn has been much more... restrained? And on a third point, there's the fact that Legends and Canon Thrawn seem like they really could be the same person just at different points of time. cnt in next

...I'm just curious if anyone else was curious if Zhan agreed with that direction taken. Which, on that note, did Zhan ever say anything about his thoughts on how Rebels handled Thrawn? Both from a writing standpoint as well as an acting and musical one (Thrawn's various leitmotifs)?

Oh man. Ohhhhhhhh maaaaan. My friend, you have asked exactly the right person this question, because not only have I wanted to talk about this multiple times before, but I also have ~receipts~. 👀

⚠️Spoiler warnings for Star Wars: Rebels, The Mandalorian, the canon Star Wars novels Thrawn, Thrawn: Alliances, Thrawn: Treason, Thrawn Ascendency: Chaos Rising, and Thrawn Ascendency: Greater Good, and the legends Star Wars novels Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, The Last Command, and Outbound Flight.⚠️

Oh man. Where to begin.

Lets start with who Thrawn is, because depending on who you ask, you're gonna get different answers—whether you're strictly a Legends fan, Dave Filoni, a guy who's only seen Thrawn in Star Wars: Rebels, Timothy Zahn, or just a writer/artist fan like me.

To Timothy Zahn, the man behind our favorite chiss, Thrawn is a character that is constant in both attitude and personality throughout all of his content. In multiple interviews, ranging from Thrawn's debut in Rebels to the latest about the writing of the Ascendancy Trilogy, Zahn states that Thrawn in canon and Thrawn in Legends are indistinguishable.

And so I present the receipts:

In a 2017 interview with The Verge on writing the first canon Thrawn book Thrawn, Zahn is asked the following question and responds as such:

How do you navigate bringing back a character who already has an extensive backstory and audience expectations, with telling a new story that fits in the new continuity?

Actually, I didn’t find that to be a problem. I’d never written Thrawn in this part of the Star Wars timeline, so it was simply a matter of bringing him into the Empire and chronicling his rise through the ranks. It’s still the same character as in the 1990s books, just a decade or two younger and in a very different military and political environment.

In another interview with The Verge in 2018 (a few months after the finale of Rebels aired) about writing Thrawn: Alliances, he repeats this sentiment twice:

Thrawn feels like if it had been written before the canonization purge a couple of years ago, or if you squinted a bit, it would serve as a perfect setup for Heir to the Empire.

Oh, I don’t think you need to squint at all. I wrote him in these two books to fit in with everything else I’d done. So if someone at Lucasfilm snapped their fingers, and suddenly all of my other books were canon, and there would be no real retrofitting that would have to go in. It would all fit together.

Thrawn: Alliances feels more at home in the new canon, especially because Thrawn has been fleshed out a bit more in Rebels. Was there any adjustments for that?

Not really. I’m getting to play with more canon characters like Vader and Padmé and Anakin, but the character himself, I still see him as the same person. He’s got goals, and he won’t necessarily share them with you, but he as long as you’re going the same direction, he’s happy to cooperate and assist along the way.

...and this is referenced again in a 2020 interview with Polygon about writing Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising:

Along with Thrawn’s appearance in Rebels, Zahn would pen a new novel, Thrawn, that chronicled the character’s early days as an Imperial officer. Zahn didn’t have to change anything with the character, telling me in 2017 that “he’s like an old friend who I understand completely.” While Heir to the Empire was no longer canon, a reader could easily read Thrawn as a precursor to that classic novel. Thrawn went on to become a major presence in Rebels, and Zahn continued to explore his origins in Thrawn: Alliances and Thrawn: Treason.

The next day, an interview with IGN was published on the same subject:

Thrawn is an especially unique case because Zahn has been able to effectively continue the work he started way back in 1991 with Heir to the Empire. That novel may not be a part of official Star Wars lore any longer, but as Zahn explained, Thrawn himself is basically the same character regardless of continuity.

[....] The closest comparison between Chaos Rising and Zahn's earlier EU work is probably 2006's Outbound Flight, which is set during the Clone Wars and details the first encounter between Thrawn and the Galactic Republic (while also retroactively laying the groundwork for elements of Heir to the Empire). That novel is no longer canon, but Zahn told us he prefers to operate as if it were. He's making a concerted effort not to retread the same ground as Outbound Flight and to avoid contradicting the events of that novel as much as possible.

So yeah. In Zahn's opinion, Legends Thrawn is Canon Thrawn is Book Thrawn, and there is no difference whatsoever between Thrawns in, say, Outbound Flight, Heir to The Empire, Alliances, and Chaos Rising. I wholeheartedly disagree, but lets move on.

Now that the books are out of the way, its time for Rebels.

In July of 2016, after the trailer announcing Thrawn's canon debut aired, Dave Filoni had the following to say about Thrawn's character in regards to Timothy Zahn:

“I was pretty adamant with a couple of people saying, ‘Listen, we need to have Tim sign off on this. This is kind of a waste of time [otherwise],'” says Filoni. “We, of course, can do what we want with a character that Lucasfilm owns, but without Tim’s okay, what does it mean? That’s not going to be good. Once we had some stuff, we wanted to do what we thought was right and make the character. Then we brought him in. We had the production fully prepared. I said, ‘Look, if there’s something that Tim says that I think is really valuable, even if it changes something dynamically, we need to be ready for that and see what we can do.’ I wanted to make sure we did this right by everybody. We brought him in and we didn’t really tell him why. We just flew him up to Lucasfilm and sat him down in a theater and said, ‘Hey, we’re bringing Thrawn into the show.’ He was like, ‘Wow.’ and I said, ‘Yeah, wow. And I’m going to show him to you right now and you let me know what you think.'”

(Before we continue, keep that first highlighted sentence in mind for future reference. I'm going to come back to that later.)

Fortunately, Timothy Zahn was delighted at the show’s approach to the Empire’s imposing blue-skinned Chiss.

“We showed him some of the scenes with him,” Dave Filoni recalls. “He looked like a kid in a candy store. I think it meant a lot to him not just because it was his character, but because you have to imagine what he went through when it was announced that everything is Legends now, not Expanded Universe. I get that and I’ve always appreciated the work that goes into the Expanded Universe… For Tim, I think it was us saying, ‘No, no, no. We really like your character. We want him to be part of the real thing. The canon universe.'”

So in 2016, before we even saw Thrawn in action beyond a trailer, we were told that Zahn gave the OK, and he was chill with the way Thrawn was created in the show. In 2017, he gave a little more of the background of this process in an interview with FANgirl Blog:

The events of Thrawn dovetail closely with Rebels and shed light on some of Thrawn’s more seemingly surprising actions on the show, like when he appears to lose his temper and yell at Lieutenant Lyste. What was it like to see Thrawn come alive onscreen? Is he how you’ve pictured him in your head?

I don’t see my characters in terms of voice or appearance, but rather as personality or attitude. That said, I very much enjoyed the way the Rebels team brought him to life, in his appearance, voice, and actions.

I also appreciated the freedom I had to tweak certain incidents, such as the one you mentioned, and give additional or alternate explanations for the viewers who may have thought those were somewhat out of character for him.

He doesn't really elaborate on this, but we can assume he had SOME creative input on Thrawn's character, and he was overall pretty happy with the choices made in the show.

But then, we have this from that earlier 2017 the Verge article:

When did you learn that Dave Filoni was intending to bring Thrawn to Rebels, and did you have any input into how the character would be handled?

[...] I didn’t have any real input into how Thrawn was going to be handled, mainly because the lead time of an animated series is so long that much of season 3 had already been finished. But I trusted Dave and the team to do the character right. After all, why bring him into Rebels if you were going to drastically change him? Having seen the entire season now, I think we can agree that my trust was completely justified.

So... he didn't have "any real input," but was satisfied with it in the end? I guess? I don't know. We're getting into some contradictions now.

The last thing I've got in regards to Rebels is an interview Zahn did with the YouTube channel Star Wars Explained after the finale aired, where he responds to the following:

“So, maybe let's jump over to Rebels for a little bit. Now that it has wrapped up, how do you feel Thrawn was represented in Star Wars: Rebels?”

“They did a really good job—they not only understood the character and how to write for him, but they also understood the meta around how you defeat him. The only way to defeat Thrawn is to throw something at him he can't control, or can't anticipate. Given perfect knowledge and control, Thrawn will always find a way to win. But they understood, this is how you defeat him, these are the things we can use against him... so his portrayal in general, is very good; he's smart, he's anticipating, he's a step ahead of everybody, he's looking at clues and picking up on them, so I was very pleased with how the Rebels team handled the character."

I think these quotes answer many of your questions, so to answer your initial question: If Zhan had been the writer for Rebels, do I think he would have had Thrawn bomb Lothal to bring Ezra out?

Yes—but ONLY because at that point, the only established™️ Thrawn content was found in Legends, where Thrawn was a ruthless and calculating warlord.

However!

I do believe that if given the chance to re-write the Star Wars: Rebels finale using his now-canon novels as a solid background TODAY, Zahn would choose to not let Thrawn bombard Lothal's Capital City.

I believe this because he made one single very interesting creative choice when writing Thrawn that completely overwrote Thrawn's pre-established Rebels character: Thrawn was not responsible for the civilian deaths on Batonn—Pryce was.

And that's that on that.

A few months ago I would have ended it there, but today, Thrawn's story is no longer just contained in the novels and Rebels, but also in that of The Mandalorian.

This is where I will proudly say I have no idea what the fuck is going on. Before The Jedi aired, I was 100% sure that the next time we saw Thrawn, it would be nowhere NEAR the Empire, because Zahn was pretty adamant in the novels that Thrawn was only in the Empire to help. His. People.

So now he's apparently doing fuck-knows-what in fuck-knows-where and is STILL associated with the Seventh Fleet and Imperial Warlords???

Huh??? Despite the fact that he held no true loyalty to the Empire or to the Emperor??? It's been months and I'm still confused as fuck. Add to the fact that Zahn also doesn't know what the fuck is going on to the equation and we get a big fat question mark with one pretty clear answer that Filoni said himself that we have to keep in mind:

"We, of course, can do what we want with a character that Lucasfilm owns."

So I don't think Zahn has much control over Thrawn as we would all like to think. We can hope he gives us the crazy Thrawn and Ezra Space Adventure™️ novel all we want, but ultimately, Thrawn's fate does not rest in his hands.

If you guys have more to add please let me know!!! This is, obviously, a topic I am very passionate about, so I'd love to hear your thoughts!

#tye answers asks #not the post youre looking for #thrawn #timothy zahn #thrawn trilogy #legends thrawn #star wars #rebels #lothal #star wars rebels #dave filoni #thrawn ascendancy #chaos rising #greater good #thrawn alliances #thrawn treason #thrawn books #wow this took a while #but I like the way this is looking

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stuff-from-the-void-matron · 4 years ago

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Laurel Wreaths & Animal Teeth (4)

(c!Technoblade x fem!Reader)

(people seem to like this for now but remember, no reblogs/comments then i’m gonna assume people lost interest. so show u enjoy this please!! <3 also someone drew fanart of Reader, check it out at the bottom! :3c)

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“Come ON Wilbur! Come with me to check out the huge village I found the other week!” shouted Tommy while making sure to get in his older brother’s way as much as possible. He figured if Wilbur was focused on him and not whatever ‘super important’ shit he was busy with then he’d join him.

Wilbur meanwhile was doing everything he could to sidestep and ignore said younger brother. Now usually he’d humor the much younger boy but Wilbur was sorta busy at the moment. There’s been murmurs of unrest within the L’manburg territory lately since new faces have joined their country.

Apparently they weren’t happy about the fact that Wilbur was a self appointed president, and likened him to a dictator because of it since no one got a say in his leadership role. Which Wilbur thought was highly unfair. He’d fought tooth and nail for his country, so they could have and enjoy all the freedoms to do as they pleased without Dream and his cronies breathing down their necks.

Everything he did he did for his country. But he didn’t want them to see him as some unsympathetic tyrant who didn’t listen to his people. He’s not Dream, he actually listens when they speak, even when they say they don’t like his self appointed role as president. So yes, Wilbur was sort of busy with more important things than goofing off and finding some random village. But instead of snapping he just sighed and said,

“Tommy, I’m working. We’re supposed to be running a country, remember?”

The aforementioned boy let out an aggravated sigh, he knows they have a duty to L’Manburg, he’s not stupid! But he also knows they need to be allowed to have some fun now and again too! Or they’ll go crazy! And Tommy was sure Wilbur would go mad if he stayed cooped up inside all the time working! So this was his way of dragging his brother out for his own good.

But Wilbur was being especially stubborn (wonder where Tommy got it…) and was refusing to budge.

“I don’t have time right now Tommy! Ask Tubbo or Fundy to tag along. I’m sure they’d love to go vandalize a village with you,” Wilbur distractedly said as he wrote down some notes in one of his books.

Tommy was tired of fighting Wilbur on this and decided to hell with it, he’d just take the L this time. So he scoffed and said “Whatever” in the most pissed off teen voice he could physically summon and turned away from Wilbur and stormed out of the brunet president’s house, making sure to slam the wooden door as hard as he could on his way out.

It seemed like all Wilbur did was mope around and WORK since they’d won independence from the Dream SMP. What the hell was the point of even FIGHTING for said freedom if Wilbur wasn’t even going to enjoy it??

Tommy pushed those thoughts away and went to search out Tubbo, he could always count on his best friend to follow him into some mischief! Unlike SOME people. And thankfully it didn’t take the rambunctious blond long to find his friend, and with a grin he ran and jumped on the shorter boy, making him yelp in shock and nearly fall. But then Tubbo saw who it was and started laughing and shoving the taller boy away half heartedly. But after goofing around a bit Tommy remembers why he’d searched out Tubbo in the first place.

“Oi Tubbo, come with me to this weird village I found the other week. I was gonna explore it when I found it but Wilbur said there was an emergency and I had to leave before I could,” he said as they both walked along the main path.

“Yeah sure, but why was it ‘weird’? Was it one of those ones that’s built somewhere stupid like half on a cliff?” Tubbo asked with a laugh.

The two laughed and Tommy explained that the village just looked different? Like there was no cobble! Which was ridiculous because in his opinion that was the best part of villages was all the cobble buildings. Not that he was biased or anything like an American.

But Tubbo just laughed and said sure, they could go check it out. He didn’t have anything else important to do today anyways. Tommy gave a triumphant ‘yeah!!’ because at least he got ONE of his friends to not be a total loser and go out to have some good old fashioned fun with him.

Tubbo told him to lead the way so they were off.

-0-

Many blocks away in your village you were getting out of your ‘shower’, which was really just a waterfall hidden by thick trees and hanging vines behind your temple home. But it was the best shower you’d ever used thanks to how the water fell over you in huge sheets. You’d honestly stay in it for hours if you didn’t hate being bored just standing there. But you did get bored, so you got out and began drying off.

Once you were dry you started getting dressed in your usual outfit, then once done you paused before reaching down to grab the newest item of your outfit..

Your mask.

...

After your… horn discovery the week before you’d just laid in bed all day for a couple days. Not leaving your temple for any reason, not even to shower or eat. You’d have been feeling worse if you’d actually needed food but thankfully you didn’t, so when you finally got your ass in gear and got up to bathe you only felt marginally like shit. At least you had until you went to go bathe…...

But on that first day up you’d just stared at yourself in the reflection of the water and sighed. You didn’t have the urge to cry anymore, so that was a good thing. But you also weren’t a fan of the new horns or glowing eyes you’d had since ending up here. You weren’t even sure what KIND of horns these were?? And… call you crazy but you SWEAR they were bigger than they were before your stint laying in bed..

They’d only been little nubs before, not even as big as your thumb! But now they were at least five inches long and sort of splitting at the tips? It looked weird and honestly felt even weirder what with that velvety texture covering them. You made the foolish mistake of grumbling to yourself,

“Things couldn’t get weirder, right?”

And as if the universe heard you… you discovered a new ‘appendage’ on your body while you started to wash your body off. You’d been lost in thought, just scrubbing yourself with a soapy washcloth when you’d started reaching around to wash your back, your washcloth brushed against something protruding from the base of your spine, right above your ass. This time you didn’t start panicking, you think you were still worn out from the days previous, so instead of freaking out you just slowly craned your neck around to see if you could glimpse the...thing.

A tail.

You blinked, shocked but also.. confused? What in the absolute fuck? Why? When?? This time there was no sobbing or breakdown, you were honestly just puzzled. Are you ever going to STOP growing animal traits or what? Under any other circumstances you might even call the tail cute. It was small, probably just smaller than your hand and about the same shape too. And the majority of the top of it was the same color as your hair, but the sides (and underside after you got curious enough to look under it) were a soft white. With how you were in water the tail looked rather unimpressive and you couldn’t identify what kind of tail it was, but if it was at all connected to the horns then maybe deer? Or caribou? Reindeer? The last two seemed more likely since those animals’ females actually grew antlers you think.

Having to adjust to all this new shit practically every other day was giving you a headache. With a tired sigh you rubbed the area around the base of your antlers, soothed slightly by how the action dulled your headache. But you couldn’t ignore the issue at hand, so you swallowed down your unease and instead just decided since you couldn’t control these… unnatural features then.. well, you’d just cover them up or since that wasn’t possible for the horns now you’d just disguise them?

You’d been stumped for a while on how to even DO that but eventually you’d gone down to the village to feed the animals and you’d watched the armorer leave his house to get started working for the day. And you’d noticed the mask he wore pushed up on his forehead. That’s when the idea for a mask hit you. But you didn’t know how to make or even craft a mask, so you’d gone to the armorer and asked him about it. It was hard to grasp what he was saying clearly but after the months living with the villagers you’d picked up some stuff and could understand them some.

So you let him show you how to make a standard iron mask like his, though the first one he’d made hadn’t fit you in the end so he’d made a second after tweaking the size a bit so it’d fit your face right, since your face shapes weren’t the same. But you were thankful and said so after you put it on. Though the eye holes still revealed your eyes, which you didn’t like. You asked how hard it would be to put reflective lenses in them to prevent your eyes from being seen.

That question turned into the armorer calling over the cartographer, the stonemason, and the shepherd oddly enough to help him out. They were murmuring and crowding around the armorer’s workstation while you watched from the edge of the porch where you sat idly. You didn’t want to hover over them like some busybody, so you sat patiently to see what they came up with together.

And after a while your patience was rewarded when they came over to show you the fruit of their collaboration. And it surprised you how gorgeous it was, which wasn’t fair since you had 4 skill masters working on it together for you.

The mask was actually very beautiful.

It was a white half mask that only covered your eyes, forehead, and upper nose/cheeks but left the lower half of your face bare. And you think it was simply painted white because it felt about as heavy as iron, but the part that amazed you was how it almost looked Venetian in design. On the forehead of the mask was a golden sun, and golden floral swirls came from the corners of the mask and curled near the cheeks and sides of the sun on the forehead, making the mask look elegant and almost vintage.

But the best parts in your opinion were the glass lenses in the eye holes. They were reflective and the same colors as your banner! You don’t know how the villagers did it but the edges of the lens were a goldish orange and the color faded into a violet in the center. You worried you wouldn’t be able to see through them but when you put the mask on you realized the lens only gave things a VERY slight blue/grey tint. So slight in fact that you could fully ignore it if you wanted.

And the second best part was some of the floral swirls actually swirled UP past the top edge of the mask and rested against your horns, giving the illusion that they were somehow part of the mask. Actually with the mask on you could almost trick yourself into thinking you were just wearing a cool looking Mardi Gras mask!

You clapped your hands in glee and couldn’t help the excited sound you let out as you gushed and told them it was perfect! They all let out bashful happy murmurs and generally looked shyly pleased with your praise. You tried to give them each some emeralds but they refused to take them, grunting and shaking their heads each time you attempted to push the gems towards them. Eventually you gave up and resigned to accepting the mask as a gift, but you’d definitely do something nice for them later, to make up for their hard work.

…

You’d taken to wearing the mask at all times when not in the privacy of your temple. Which wasn’t very hard to get accustomed to. The mask was lightweight and the lenses honestly helped shield your eyes from the glare of the sun so win/win. And it also made your horns, in your opinion at least, less in your face. Which was good because they were definitely still growing. You could tell. And the split in the tip was now more pronounced, making you wonder if they were like… reindeer antlers? It would fit with the tail currently growing out the base of your spine, said tail that now looked REALLY like a fluffy little deer tail since the hair/fur on it had dried.

One good thing was that your tail wasn’t long or huge and could actually be hidden relatively easily under a shawl you tied around your waist. So that was one less thing to worry about. Though your life would infinitely be easier if you didn’t have to deal with all this inhuman bullshit. But you supposed life wasn’t fair and expecting it to be was foolish.

“At least I’m not part some weird animal like an aardvark or something…” you mumble to yourself, trying to view this whole thing in a ‘glass half full’ sort of way.

You’d decided to relax and unwind from your recent discovery by just taking things easy for a while. First day since you got the mask and such you just chilled and started a small farm for yourself. You didn’t need the food but the process of building the farm and toiling the earth and then sowing the seeds was actually pretty therapeutic. The repetition of it all was pretty calming. Just you, your gardening tools, and the earth beneath your feet.

The days following were pretty much the same. You’d tend your garden first thing in the morning after your shower, then you’d go off to find something else easy to fill your time. You took up feeding the animals, making flower boxes and planters around the town to make it more colorful, potion brewing, and even fishing. Which was what you were doing right now actually.

You were sitting on the edge of the pond next to your temple, bare legs in the cool water and your back resting against the side of another grass block, an enchanted fishing rod you’d traded the town fisherman for sitting stuck in the ground next to you while you relaxed. The day was actually quite beautiful and nice. Sun streamed down over you from between the bamboo behind you, fluffy fat bees buzzed overhead as they hunted lazily for pollen, and you were close to dozing off.

“Hnn! Hnn! Hnnn!!”

At least you would have dozed off if you hadn’t heard one of the villagers sorta freaking out. You looked up and saw one of the farmers panickedly shuffling about at the top of the small hill to your left. You wondered if zombies got into the village again? But no it was sunny out, they’d be burning if they did. Illagers maybe? But how would they have gotten around the bamboo and prickly berry bushes?? Well there wasn’t anything else for you to do than do see what was wrong.

You put away your fishing rod, got up and dusted yourself off before hurrying up the hill after the villager. You trailed after them down the lantern lit path but so far didn’t see anything, but you perked up when you heard telltale sounds of one of the iron golems fighting something and taking damage. That put some urgency in your gait and soon you were running to see what was going on. You rush past the fletcher’s home and then the cartographer’s right after but nothing. Then you finally round the corner where the market is set up and see at the very end of the path next to the cleric’s church is the altercation.

You sprint down the path, yelling for the villager’s to stay inside until you ring the town bell as you run past them. You hear the doors slam closed behind you and you manage to get to the problem right as your iron golem gives one last cry before getting poofed. You gasp sadly and then glare when you hear cheering. A blond boy that was shorter than you hopped down from a dirt block tower and scooped up the fallen iron ingots the poor iron golem dropped upon its death.

You were so pissed that you ignored the nagging feeling in the back of your focus that said this kid looked familiar. It wasn’t until he finally turned to look at you that it hit you. Holy shit this kid looked… and sounded.. like that minecraft youtuber, TommyInnit.. Like eerily so. You’re glad you’re wearing your mask so he can’t see the deer in headlights (*ba-dun-ts*) look on your face at the sight of him. And your shock didn’t fade with him speaking. If anything it reinforced the idea that this kid was weirdly reminiscent of that youtuber.

“Holy fuck! You are a MASSIVE woman. Wait, who the fuck are you?!” he said in a loud tone of voice as he looked up at you. It made your eyebrows furrow. You were NOT that big! He was just short! You even crossed your arms and told him so, which earned a snicker from the little brown haired boy in dark green overalls next to him. The blond boy scoffed, looked fully offended, snarked back that you were about the same height as a ‘bloody fuckin’ iron golem!’ so yes you were huge.

You glared at the little TommyInnit look alike and instead of arguing about your height you started scolding both boys, which they hadn’t really.. expected? At least from the surprised looks on their faces (which still had the roundness that came from baby fat). The brunet rubbed his elbow and sort of toed the dirt under his feet while the blond crossed his arms and almost looked to be pouting from the scolding.

“My height isn’t the issue here! The issue is you two barging into my village, killing one of my iron golems, stealing the loot from it, and scaring my poor villagers!! What in the hell were you two thinking?”

The blond tried to cut in, to defend himself but he barely got out the first syllable before you held up your hand to signal for him to silence himself as you snapped,

“I do NOT wanna hear it! You treat others this way?? Like they’re nothing, like their possessions and peace of mind don’t mean a damn thing?! Shame on you both!!”

By the end the two boys looked properly scolded. The brunet wondered if THIS is what it felt like to get scolded by one’s mother, and if it was then he’d like to avoid it for the remainder of his life. And the blond meanwhile actually didn’t have anything to say, or more accurately he didn’t know what to say to not feel like he was in massive trouble.

You meanwhile were just annoyed at this point, so you held you hand out (causing both boys to give you wondering looks) before you demanded the iron ingots that the blond stole from your slain iron golem. He got all in a huff, saying he earned them and they were just ingots- but you slapped that train of thought down with an angry,

“EARNED?? More like STOLE! After you killed my iron golem! Now give them back! I have to use them to make a new golem to protect this village.”

The blond sputtered, face blooming red at being blatantly called out on his theft, before muttering in embarrassment and pulling the ingots out and practically tossing them at you. You caught them and returned them to your inventory before shaking your head at the two and saying they should leave if their only goal in your village was to kill and destroy property. The small brunet quickly spoke up and said,

“No wait, we didn’t come just to mess stuff up! We came cuz Tommy said he found this place last week and it wasn’t the usual village so we wanted to explore it.”

Your stomach churned at the name.. Tommy. This was getting weird again. Way too fucking weird. But you resisted clenching your teeth anxiously like you wanted, instead you raised an eyebrow they couldn’t see and shot back,

“Oh yeah? And how did that escalate into killing my iron golem?”

This time it was ‘Tommy’ who cut in and said it had been an accident! They’d apparently been looking around when Tubbo (you felt queasy now after hearing that name too…) started fighting a spider and Tommy came over to help him, but in the process he accidentally hit the iron golem, who got pissed and smacked him.

“I ran from the thing and towered up three blocks! I knew it wouldn’t let up so I had to kill it! S’not my fault the bastard was holding a grudge!!” Tommy said heatedly, arms still crossed defiantly.

You wanted to rub your temples in exasperation but couldn’t without removing your mask. And like hell you were showing these kids your weirdo inhuman eyes. Though… if they really were the characters from.. the videos you got hooked on? Honestly this whole thing was 10 times weirder than the stupid glowy eyes or even the horns or tail.. Like this has to be proof you’re really dreaming or in a coma or something. What other logical explanation could there BE? These kids aren’t real. Nothing here is. It CAN’T be. The real people behind these… minecraft characters? They’re not here. In this place.

Before you could do a kickflip off the edge of your sanity into a full on mental breakdown you took in a calming breath and pushed those thoughts away until you were alone to give it the proper attention. And maybe so you could have your panic attack in peace and quiet. But right now you had two kids causing ruckus in your village. So you just said,

“Yeah alright, fine. I’ll forgive you both THIS TIME. But don’t make a habit of causing trouble in my village. And you can look around and explore, just don’t steal anything or hurt any of my villagers or animals. Got it?”

The two boys nodded, happy to not have you giving them that Angry Adult Tone anymore. So you turned and started walking back to the middle of the village, calling for them to come on. You had to ring the village center bell to tell everyone everything was okay.

Both boys shared a glance before Tubbo smiled and started jogging after you, Tommy right behind him, both curious about you and your village.

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(a/n: YOOO SOMEONE DREW READER FANART AND IT’S FUCKING BOMB DUDES CHECK IT OUT!! (Reader looking heavenly~) uwu)

@salinesoot @lady-bee-fechin @kacchasu @putridjoy @lunawritesstories @galaxypankitty3030 @paradigmax @zachariethememerie @killmewithafanfic @trinity-1002107 @hufflepuff-demigod @truthdaze @exorcisms-with-elmo @redbloodtea @heythereimhaylz @olyink @jackalopedoodles @nikkineeky @artsimatsu

#technoblade x reader #technoblade #c!techno #dream smp #dsmp #mcyt x reader #c!tommy #c!tubbo #c!wilbur

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