#long night's moon 2017

[irmawrites]

Night encounter

Summary: Living in Dragonstone, claiming a dragon, it all seemed surreal to Ulf. Having a Targaryen princess in his bed all to himself even more so.

Rating: Explicit [18+], MDNI.

Pairing: Ulf the White x Targaryen!Reader (appearance isn’t specified, she's his niece but she could be Rhaenyra's daughter or Alicent's daughter, it’s all up to you)

TW: smut with a tiny bit of plot, fingering, oral sex (m receiving), p in v sex, slight degradation, corruption kink, unprotected sex, loss of virginity, dom/sub undertones, afab reader, not proofread.

Word count: 2017

Author’s note: hi everyone! Not too long ago I received the following request: "I was wondering if you would do one where Ulf is infatuated with the daughter of Rhaenyra and Harwin after meeting her after he claims Silverwing and could it possibly progress into smut?". To say that I was delighted to receive a request for Ulf would be an understatement. I am literally obsessed with this character and I really wanted to write something for him <3 HOWEVER I am incredibly sorry it's filthy, it's inappropriate, honestly I'm almost ashamed I wrote it ahaha

I should probably mention that English is not my mother tongue, so please excuse my grammar mistakes!

From the first moment he saw you, Ulf knew he had to have you. Such a sweet little thing, all soft smiles and happy giggles. A real ray of sunshine. He and you may have been related, but you couldn't have been more different. Uncle and niece like the moon and the sun. Where he was rude and boorish, you were polite and gentle. Where his lack of manners and unkempt appearance worked against him, your tact and polished looks made you stand out among all the inhabitants of Dragonstone.

But while he appreciated your sensitivity and gentleness, he couldn't help but wonder what it would be like when he finally robbed you of your innocence.

And a little voice in the back of his mind kept telling him that it was just a facade, a role you only played in public. You weren't the perfect princess you pretended to be, of that he was almost certain. After all, hadn't he noticed your eyes wandering to his fingers several times while he licked off the meat juices that stained them? And then there was that one evening, during a meal, when your hand had wandered to his thigh. You had gently brushed his crotch, where a bulge was already stretching the linen of his breeches, without even looking at him, too busy laughing with Jacaerys. The older man remembered clearly how he had had to excuse himself in a hurry, feigning sudden fatigue and retreating to the chambers assigned to him. That night he had imagined your lips wrapped around his impossibly hard member, your silver curls between his fingers and your eyes locked with his as he pressed your nose against his pelvis, forcing you to take more, always more. He had come with a loud grunt, painting his palm white, and then swore he would have you. It was almost a matter of life and death for him at that point.

Perhaps the Seven had heard his plight, if they existed, for they soon offered him everything he wanted on a silver platter.

Claiming Silverwing was the achievement of a lifetime, and yet it seemed like a dull moment when he opened the door to his bedroom and found himself face to face with the woman he had been lusting after for weeks. Dressed in an almost transparent silk nightgown, you looked like one of his heated dreams. Instinctively, he even pinched the skin at the crook of his elbow to make sure it was all real and you weren't a figment of his wild imagination. "I couldn't sleep," he heard you say, your voice almost shy, "with this storm." Oh, but he knew that your nocturnal visit had nothing to do with the lightning that tore across the sky, or the thunder that shook the walls of the fortress. If you were there, it was simply because you too were unable to resist the tension between the two of you for a single minute longer. "Come in," his hand automatically came to rest on your waist to guide you inside, "I wouldn't want to keep a princess waiting".

If asked, Ulf wouldn't have been able to explain how he ended up in bed with your body pressed against his. Maybe it was you who had taken his hand and made him lie down beside you. Or maybe it was he who had persuaded you to slip into his arms, into his sheets, to find some welcome comfort. Everything seemed a blur now, especially as your buttocks pressed against his crotch.

You wiggled your hips. Maybe accidentally, maybe consciously, he didn't know, but the effect was the same. He could feel the warmth of your body under the layers of fabric, and he was desperate to show you what happened to women like you in the arms of men like him. It felt like a punishment, forcing himself to remain chaste and not give in to his desires in such a situation. Not to touch you when you were so close to him and his length was already so painfully hard.

He moved his lips to your ear, his breath caressing your skin. His hands slid down your chest and he let his thumbs lightly caress the two small, hardened buds. "Tell me to stop," he whispered as his fingers slid lower and lower, grazing the hem of your underwear in the hollow where your thigh met your hip, "tell me to stop if that's not what you want". "That's exactly what I want," your voice sounded like a breathless moan as your hand rested on his, as if to encourage him to give you more, " and I want you to continue."

The idea that he could take what he wanted, do what he wanted, made his head spin.

Between your legs, his fingers found your wet folds. "You're soaking wet," he breathed as he traced your slit from your entrance to that sensitive spot that sent shivers down your entire body, "we've barely started and you're already soaking wet." It was almost inconceivable that a beautiful, delicate princess like you would agree to give herself to a gruff old man like him. "How does it feel, here?", he asked as he kissed your neck, your back still pressed against his torso as his index finger circled your little pearl beneath the fabric of your underwear. "It's... It feels good", your voice was choked, a broken moan, "warm". Ulf gave an approving grunt. "And here?", his tone became more authoritative, and soon two of his fingers were inside you, stretching you just right. Tired of waiting, he barely gave you time to get used to the new sensation before he started moving back and forth, leaving you breathless. "Answer me". He could already feel you clenching around him, the friction against your inner walls something you'd never felt before. "I can feel your fingers inside me," you finally managed to answer, and to reward you he pressed a little harder against that sensitive spot that made you see stars, "I feel... full." He couldn't help smiling against the soft skin of your neck. "Don't worry, sweetheart," as if to back up his words, he pressed his fingers impossibly deeper, burying them in your wet warmth, "you'll feel even fuller soon."

He withdrew them almost immediately with an obscene noise. That would leave you empty, he knew, but he also knew that he wanted you to come around another part of his body for the first time, and not just on his fingers.

"Undress," the older man ordered, pointing vaguely with his chin at the little bit of clothing you were wearing. A satisfied smile appeared on his lips as you stood completely naked before him, kneeling between his thighs. "Such a pretty body," his voice sounded almost distracted, his fingers busy sliding down your sides as if to show you were to his liking, "a pretty mouth too, I wonder what it would look like around my cock." He saw you bite your lower lip before finally answering, emboldened: "Perhaps I could show you." Your hands rested first on his chest, brushing against the linen of the tunic he wore for the night. Then they slid lower, much lower, replaying a scene Ulf had seen a hundred times in his dreams. Your fingers undid the drawstring that held his breeches together and he had to remind himself not to make you pick up the pace, to give him what he wanted right then and there.

A curse escaped him as your hand finally wrapped around his manhood. It looked so big, massive, between your forefinger and thumb, which couldn't quite touch. And when your lips finally brushed the head, where he was already weeping for you, he threw his head back on the heavy silk pillows. It took all his strength and resilience not to close his eyes from the pleasure he felt from your back and forth movements and the wet warmth of your mouth. "You're doing so well," he growled as his hand made its way to the back of your head, finding refuge in your silver locks, "sucking my cock so well, like the perfect little whore you are." Around his member he could feel the vibrations of your audible moan. It seemed you liked it when people didn't really treat you like the princess you were supposed to be, but more like a cheap slut from a seedy pillow house. A discovery that couldn't have made him happier.

The vision was royal, the sensation divine. He felt like a king, he felt like a god, with a dragon under his feet and a Targaryen princess pleasuring him with her mouth. He had everything that he had ever wished for and yet he wanted more, needed more.

Bloody greed.

His grip on the back of your head tightened, forcing you back a few inches. His gaze fell on your red, swollen lips, glistening with spit and something else that testified to your sinful actions. You smiled at him, obviously proud of yourself, and he couldn't help but kiss you, tasting himself on your tongue. "On all fours," he ordered, right against the skin of your neck, his voice hoarse with desire. The order may have been short, the tone a little awkward, hurried, but you understood immediately what he was trying to tell you. With your face now pressed into the pillows and your hips raised, Ulf could hardly believe that this was your first time, and yet. One of his hands cupped his still aching manhood while the other gripped the flesh at your waist. Captivated by the sight of his member disappearing into your wet heat, his eyes couldn't leave the spot where the two of you were joined for a single second. "Fuck," he groaned as he gave you time to adjust to his presence, "such a tight cunt." Despite his vast experience, he had never tasted, never felt anything like this in his dull life of Flea Bottom brothel escapades and quick embraces with nameless prostitutes. Perhaps it was because he was now living with real royalty, or perhaps it was because your exchange was different, more intimate, almost affectionate.

He withdrew almost completely, the friction against your inner walls agonisingly delicious. Your juices had left his member soaked and glistening, a sight that drove him deeper into you this time, the headboard hitting the wall with a thud. "M... more," you begged as he pulled out again, your voice like a broken moan that made his head spin with desire and possessiveness. The older man was more than happy to comply, quickening the pace of his thrusts. Soon the pleasure became too strong, too great to articulate anything coherent. He wanted to tell you how good you felt, how perfect you really were around him, but the words remained stuck in his throat and only grunts managed to break through the barrier of his half-open lips. But you weren't any better. Beneath him you were a mess of moans and gasps, your fingers gripping the sheets tightly. You were close, he could tell, you had grown impossibly tight around him, and he was tired of making you wait. So, in an act of mercy, he let his own fingers slip between your thighs to briefly rub your pearl and finally, finally, push you over the edge. He joined you almost immediately, his approaching climax accelerated by the rhythmic clenching of your walls around him.

It was probably foolish to pour into you with white ropes, to fill you in a different way this time. But when exactly had Ulf ever been responsible? The sight was simply mesmerising, the mingled evidence of your release flowing from your still clenching hole as he withdrew. So divine that he could hardly tear his eyes away. And as you pressed against him, seeking the warmth of his arms, your noses brushing together in an achingly tender touch, he mused that he was prepared to do many more foolish things to keep a thing as sweet as you by his side.

[her-satanic-wiles]

October 30th

Body Worship, Papa Emeritus II x Catholic!Reader

Masterlist

Words: 4.1k.

Warnings: Body Worship (okay, turned out less body worship and more just worship in general but fuck it, I wanted to write it this way lmao); fingering; vaginal fingering; cunnilingus; marking; piv; vaginal sex; unprotected sex; praise kink; y’all this is soft soft, and I love it; religious symbolism; corruption kink; hair pulling; multiple orgasms;

Taglist: @sodoswitchimage @enchantedbunny @bitchywitchygardener @thew0man @sodomiser @the-did-i-ask @copias-sewer-rat @gehrmansbignaturals @deetz-ghuleh @onlyhereforghost @zombiesnips-blog @saturnhas82moons

Author's Note: This is a continuation of October 3rd, so if you haven’t read that, please go and do so before you read this! Thanks!

Recommended listening: Chase Atlantic with their self-titled 2017 album.

🔞 MDNI 🔞

Under the cloak of night, he crept through the ancient cobblestone streets of Rome, heart pounding in his chest like a drumbeat of impending doom. The Vatican’s towering walls loomed before him, a fortress of faith and secrets. Driven by a love forbidden by both church and society, he had come to breach the sanctum’s impenetrable defenses.

His leather-soled shoes barely made a sound as he approached the towering stone wall that guarded the Vatican’s secrets. In the moon’s pale glow, he could make out the shadows of security guards patrolling the perimeter. He crouched low, his heart racing with each passing second, and carefully assessed their movements.

Timing was everything. With the precision of a cat, he found his moment when two guards turned their backs, engaged in hushed conversation. In one swift, heart-pounding motion, he scaled the wall, fingers gripping the rough stone edges, and muscles straining with urgency. His breath held, he cleared the top, dropping silently to the other side, where the hallowed ground of Vatican City stretched out before him. It was almost as if he could feel the soles of his feet burning as it touched the hallowed ground, and forced him to move forward quickly.

Silent as a whisper, he navigated the maze of corridors of the Vatican’s residential quarters. The opulence and history that surrounded him seemed at odds with the clandestine nature of his mission. Portraits of pontiffs from centuries past stared down at him from gilded frames, their judgmental eyes seemingly aware of his transgressions.

He moved with caution, avoiding the gaze of any servants or clergy members who might cross his path, clutching onto his Grucifix pendant in his thick hand in an attempt to shield his true identity. His knowledge of the Vatican’s layout was limited, but the urgency of his desire propelled him forward.

Finally, he found himself outside a front door, familiar to him only by the number he’d been given. He knew this was where you resided, his forbidden lover, a cardinal of the church with all the responsibilities but none of the titles or accolades. With trembling hands, he reached for the doorknob, his heart pounding louder than the sacred hymns echoing through the Vatican’s hallowed halls.

The room was bathed in the soft glow of candlelight, casting dancing shadows on the richly adorned tapestries that lined the walls. He had finally found your apartments, and with a mixture of apprehension and longing, he pushed the door open, revealing the inner sanctum of the Pope’s daughter.

Inside, you sat at a writing desk, the dim light revealing the weariness etched into your features. Your modest dress hung off your frame just as pristine as you liked it. You looked up from your work, your eyes widening in shock and disbelief as they met his.

Time seemed to stand still as your gazes locked. Words failed you both, as the weight of your forbidden rendezvous hung heavy in the air. You stood from your seat slowly eyes fixed on the now cocky Secondo whose arms were outstretched as though he wanted you to run to him and welcome him into your home. Run to him you did, but no words of welcome were exchanged.

Your palms reached his shoulders and with a force, you pushed him, anger now taking hold of your body. “What are you doing here!?” You hissed, clearly livid by his intrusion. This was not how he wanted things to go. “My father will be here any minute! What do you think he’d do if he found a Cardinal of the Satanic Church in his daughter’s room?”

Secondo grinned, his black upper lip stretching into a lacivious smile. “Hopefully he’d understand my intensions and close the door behind him.”

Your hand connected with his cheek, a red mark forming instantly. Just as you were about to lay into him, you heard a familiar voice sounding from the entryway. “___?” Your father had arrived.

Secondo’s eyes widened, now understanding the gravity of the situation. Though the Catholic church was supposed to be a pinnacle of moral upstanding, it wasn’t uncommon for Popes to take drastic measures to protect their Papacy, even if it meant defying their God’s wishes. Thou shalt not murder - unless of course they pose a threat to your power and need to be eradicated. Secondo knew that given he was a footsoldier of the Devil, a Satanic rat sent to plague the people with “immorality”, your father would have no problem crucifying him on the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica.

“Hide!” You shout-whispered, your panic even greater than Secondo’s.

Secondo wasted no more time, diving into your bedroom and throwing himself under your bed, thankful that you didn’t use it as storage. He did so at just the right time, because while he couldn’t see your father from his position, he could hear him and he was right where Secondo had stood just thirty seconds prior.

“What are you doing in here?” Your father asked, his tone certainly suspicious. “Why didn’t you come when I called?”

“Sorry, father, I was doing some work. Correspondances.”

Your father hummed in acknowledgement. “There’s a meeting tomorrow morning at ten o’clock. We’re gathering officials to discuss how we’re going to remove the vermin.”

Secondo didn’t need to visit the Vatican often to know that the vermin your father was referring to was the Satanic Church. He rolled his eyes and contorted his face to childishly mimic and mock your father - though he knew no one could see him, it was a knee-jerk reaction and he thought it was funny.

You hesitated before you spoke. “Yes, father.”

“Something you want to say?”

There were, in fact, several things you wanted to say to your father and none of them were kind. After spending as much time as you did with Secondo, you had grown to understand that they weren’t the monsters you used to fear and that the way your father and other members of your church talked about them was terrifying. You wanted to yell at your father for not treating you as you deserved, as well. How you were always promoted within the church, but could never retain the title as “women didn’t hold powerful positions”. But he had no problem using you to benefit his politics and Papacy. But all your thoughts would fall on deaf ears, and so you settled on a, “No, father.”

“Excellent. I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

“See you tomorrow.”

As the Pope finally left the room, you sank back against the door you had closed behind him, your emotions in turmoil. You closed your eyes and took a deep breath, trying to collect yourself. That was the moment Secondo had been waiting for. He emerged from his hiding spot, his presence a comfort and a promise in the midst of your forbidden… whatever this was. The silence between you was palpable, broken only by the flickering candles and the distant echoes of Vatican life outside your apartment. He watched as you composed yourself, trying to calm yourself of the anger your father had left you with only to feel it flare up when you saw the Satanic Cardinal standing in your bedroom doorway.

“Why did you come here?” You quietly shouted at him, anger ever present in your voice. “You know what would happen to you if someone saw you - what would happen to me, too!”

You stood there, lecturing him about his behaviour, hands flailing about the room in your frustration and a small amount of hatred dancing in your eyes. As you unleashed your fury, your words cutting through the air like a storm, he couldn’t help but be mesmerized by the raw beauty of your anger. Your eyes blazed with intensity, your voice resonated with passion, and your fierce determination only made you more captivating. In that moment, your rage seemed to enhance your allure, and he found himself irresistibly drawn to you. Never had he seen a woman before so beautiful than you in that moment.

He thought back to when he first met you, how your anger and hatred towards him had fuelled his lust, and how it forced him to act against his better judgement to take your virginity on a desk that didn’t belong to him in the bowls of the Ministry.

Caught between the tumultuous emotions swirling around them, he took a step closer, unable to resist the magnetic pull of your presence. Your anger had laid bare the depth of your relationship, and he knew that your illicit connection was a flame that refused to be extinguished. As you continued to vent your frustrations, he reached out, gently taking your face into his hands and pressing his lips against yours, silencing you, a fervent promise that he would stand with you against all odds, consequences be damned.

You pushed against him at first, not because you didn’t want to kiss him, but because he had the nerve to silence you when you were talking. But the more you melted into his arms, the less resistance you put up, and allowed yourself to be caught by him as you began to fall from grace. Though your descent from righteousness started when you gave yourself to him, it was that kiss that solidified your feelings, and made you realise that however much you loved your God, you were sure you loved Secondo more.

Passions grew when he pressed you against your door, trapping you between him and the wood. His hands moved from your face, down your arms, and tickled at the bare skin until he finally settled at your hips. Your hands gripped at his cassock, holding on tightly and pulling him as close as he could possibly be to you, but even then that wasn’t close enough. His kisses ignited a fire in you that shouldn’t have been lit in the first place, and had you submitting and bending to his wishes willingly. When his fingers tightened on your hips and began lifting your dress, you let him. When his tongue begged for entrance to your mouth, you let it. When his hand found the gusset of your panties, you spread your legs to allow him easy access. When he dipped below the waistband, and stroked a tentative finger over your clit, you moaned into his mouth to encourage him to do it again.

In this moment, he wasn’t a servant of Satan. He was yours. Your ardent and eager slave, a genie sent to grant all of your wishes even if you didn’t know that he had them. His lips travelled South from yours, roaming over vast expanses of your body in search of a single destination. He moved to your jaw, your neck, your clothed dress, your stomach, hips, thighs. He dropped to his knees in front of you, his glove-covered fingers pulling your panties down with him as he knelt before you. You watched him hesitate for a moment, before wide eyes stared up at you as if to plead with you to grant him permission. His eyes were mismatched and popped against his Cardinal paints, a gentle yet emblazoned fire in his eyes as he waited for you. You couldn’t say no; you simply didn’t want to. You needed him probably more than he needed you. You nodded.

He gently lifted your leg in his hands and kissed it from ankle to knee. The higher up his lips went, the more passionately he kissed, and once more he played using his tongue. But now, in addition to kissing, he started sucking, leaving a trail of numerous dark brown hickeys on your thigh. No one would be able to see them here, but every time you caught a glimpse of your naked body, you would be reminded of them. Of him. Of what he did to you and the shame that was supposed to come with it. Shame that you refused to feel because that would imply you regretted letting him have his way with you. But even when you were worshipping your Lord, when you were in the confessional booth, you couldn’t bring yourself to regret your actions.

He immediately dove in and started licking and sucking at your clit. He forgot to take it easy and instead allowed himself to just take from you what he wanted because he was so desperate and needy for your taste. He was encouraged to continue his movements by the faint and low whimpers that escaped from your partially opened mouth.

“Yes! Just like that!” Due to the strong suction he applied, you whispered, ending your sentence with a particularly breathy moan.

One of your hands flew to his head, gripping onto his hat and throwing it to the side allowing you to rest your hand there, pushing his face into your heat. Your hips bucked in pleasure, riding his tongue and taking what you needed from him. “Secondo!” The hand that wasn’t resting on his head flew up to your mouth, covering your exceptionally desperate moans as you came on his tongue, silencing yourself as much as you could so the Clergy wouldn’t hear your pleasure from the other side of the door.

When your orgasm had completely subsided, Secondo released you from his suctioned hold, his chin glistening with your juices and a small grin on his face. That grin altered your brain chemistry and instilled a confidence in you that you didn’t know you had. You pulled him by his cassock back to his feet and crashed your lips against his, kissing him much harder than before. You could taste yourself in his mouth, your own essence moving onto your tastebuds and heightening your arousal. Your hand gripped onto his and pulled off the first glove, still with your lips attached to his, and once it was off his hand, you threw it somewhere in the room. The second glove met the same fate.

You pushed him away from you and pulled at your zipper, undoing the dress and letting it pool around your feet. Your bra was the next to go, falling to the floor and exposing your breasts to him. You stood completely bare in front of him, looking at his face as his eyes ran over your body, drinking in every part of you he could see and committing it to memory. You then took his hand and walked him to the bedroom.

Before today, all your secret meetings had taken place after or during official meetings between your churches, sneaking off while representatives met to discuss peace or something redundant that both sides would ignore. Your meetings had been limited, but over the course of that week had been frequent. Yet for each of your encounters together, Secondo had taken charge. Despite how much he degraded you, how disrespectful his words were, you had grown to trust him entirely. He would never push you passed your limits, or do something to deliberately hurt you that you hadn’t already asked for or expressed your wish to try. Though he always used his experience to heighten yours, you were very much the pace-setter.

This was never more evident by his willingness for you to push him down onto the bed once his cassock and underwear was on your bedroom floor. How he happily lay on his back and watched you crawl up his body, tongue laving over his hairy stomach and chest and driving you further upwards. In your hubris, as your mouths connected in a passionate kiss, you took his length into your hands and lined him up with your sopping entrance, preparing both of you for the stretch you were about to experience. You felt Secondo’s hands move to your hips, supporting you as you sunk down onto him, taking him inside you in one fell swoop. This motion had you both breaking the kiss, mouths falling open in a perfect ‘o’ and your eyebrows raising while his furrowed, darkening his eyes.

You sat up, taking him even further down, and when you bounced for the first time, you ripped a growl from his throat. His back arched, his fingers tightened their grip on your hips. “Fuck!” He gasped when you did it again.

Your inexperience made it difficult for you to find a rhythm, your hands falling to his stomach to support you but failing to give you both the pleasure you needed. Secondo changed your motions for you, instead of helping you bounce, he used his hands to move you back and forth. “No, grind on me, little lamb.” He told you. You found a rhythm pretty quickly. “Just like that. Good girl.”

This position had your clit rubbing against his pubic mound and his cock moving inside you perfectly. The slight upwards curvature of him meant that each time you moved back, he hit that sweet spot inside you and caused you to cry out.

The more you moved, the more confident you became in your ability and allowed you to relax and just feel him - feeling the way he felt inside you, hitting your walls with each movement, his hands gripping onto you tight enough to leave more marks for you to admire later. While your eyes were closed in pleasure, his were wide open, drinking in every inch of your body and admiring you from below. He got to see you in your full glory, breasts bouncing with each thrust, thighs jiggling, mouth agape in ecstasy. The placement of your bed in the room in contrast with the overhead light created an ethereal glow, almost giving you a perfect halo around your head.

An angel.

You were an angel - you were his angel. The once good, Catholic girl who he loathed to look at, who made his life Hell in all the wrong ways. The righteous child who preached to those who didn’t want it, who was so sure in her decisions being the right one, now warmly accepting her mortal enemy into her body without much of a second thought. Now giving into temptation and pleasuring herself, against the will of her Lord, with the very man her book warned her about. The daughter of God using the son of Lucifer to commit sin after sin within the walls of the most hallowed building. It was almost as if he could feel your soul tainting with each thrust of your hips, your purity disintegrating along with his willpower each time a moan fell from your lips.

“Please,” you whimpered, “talk to me. Like you normally would.”

Degrade you? Now? He couldn’t possibly. He couldn’t find it within himself to tear you apart when you looked as you did: red-faced, sweating, panting and gasping for air as you felt him all the way up in your stomach. “I can’t.”

“Please.”

“No.”

“Why?” He didn’t answer at first, hoping you’d drop this crusade. But you were determined to get what you wanted and so, you stopped moving. “Why?”

“Little lamb, move.”

“Why?”

He lifted your hips a little more and tried to thrust into you, but you fought against him. “For fuck sake!” He sat up, his nose mere centimetres from yours, his eyes burning with anger and lust, pupils blown so far out the colour had disappeared entirely. His hand moved to the back of your head and pulled at the roots of your hair, lips brushing against your neck as he spoke, “Because you are divine. Move, please.” When he lay back down you picked the pace back up exactly how you did before you stopped, working towards your orgasm. His eyes remained on you the whole time. “You want me to tell you how sinful you are, hm? How much of a bad girl you are for defying your Lord?”

“Yes!”

“I won’t. I won’t use the same words that they do. Fucking shit! I can’t use those words when Lilith herself blessed you with ethereal beauty. When she placed her most beautiful creation on this Earth to walk amongst the mortals; art amongst the rats. I will not degrade one who was made to conquer men.”

You were breathless, both from the exertion and his words. “I c-conquered you?”

“Body, mind, soul,” he gripped hold of your hand and pulled it to his rest on chest, “and heart.” Your eyes met his in surprise, and your body shook as though electricity was running through it. “Conquered and enslaved. I will forever be yours, and worship you like the goddess you are.”

His large hand that had completely covered yours moved up your arm and began to rub both of his around your body, gripping onto pieces and stroking gently.

“Secondo!”

By the way your walls were fluttering around him, he knew you were almost at your peak. “Cum for me, little lamb. Bless me with your holy water.”

This orgasm was much more intense than your first, your body shaking and your eyes glazing over. Your back arched as it washed over you, your fingers digging into his arms and leaving half-moon prints in his skin. “Fuck!” You screamed softly, like your body had just been plunged into cold water.

“That’s it. That’s right. Give it to me.”

“Secondo! Oh my God!”

He pushed you off his cock and put you on the bed beside him, turning you to lie flat on your stomach. Your hips were lifted just enough for a pillow to sit below you, then you felt him mount you from behind, draping his entire body over you. His lips found their way to your ear as his cock lined up with your hole once more. “Your God doesn’t deserve you.” He told you as he entered you again, pressing you against the mattress. His hand found yours and interlocked his fingers with yours as he began to thrust into you, moving at a similar pace to when he usually fucked you. Hard, fast, dirty. But this time there was something new, something tender in the way he touched you, the way his other hand rested atop your hip.

“I will forever get on my knees for you,” he told you between grunts, “and worship between these hallowed walls.” He kissed your shoulder blades. “I will thank you for all that you give me. I am yours.”

“I’m yours, Secondo.” You turned your head to capture his lips and give him a deep kiss, his tongue sliding into your mouth as his cock continued to slide in and out of your tight, wet heat.

He surrounded you, every inch of his body running against yours and trapping you between him and the mattress in a way you’d never felt before - making you feel safe. His words told you that you were loved, despite the violent speed they ran through your head as he occupied every inch of your mind. His scent, woody and musky, filled your nose. His grunts and growls swallowed by your mouth in your unbroken, needy kiss. He loved you. He’d risen to catch you as you’d fallen for him. In that moment, nothing else mattered. God and Satan be damned. They’d ruled your lives too much, you both deserved this.

“Cum for me.” You whispered into his lips. “Give it to me, give me everything.”

“Where can I cum?”

“Inside me. I wanna feel you inside me.”

“Fucking hell!”

His hips snapped faster and more erratically until eventually he pushed himself as far as he could inside you, painting your walls with his cum. His eyes were tightly shut and a growl escaped him. He could feel his heart in his throat. His fingers tightened around yours when he came, gripping onto you and never wanting to let go.

As he came down from his high, he peppered your skin with kisses, black Cardinal paints very much wiped away at this point and his body exhausted from the exertion. He stayed inside you, softening with each passing second but not wanting to leave the warmth of your body just yet. You didn’t want him to, either. But it had to happen eventually. He rolled off you, but kept his hand on your hip as he did and rolled you with him, wrapping you up in his capable arms and holding you close.

The later into the night it got, he knew he’d have to leave the Vatican and wait to see you for who knew how long, and that thought hurt him more than he could possibly. He did everything he could to commit you to memory; how you looked, felt, smelled. He needed something to see him through until the next time you managed to see him. And so, he held you close, doing his best to fight off sleep.

That was until your voice broke the silence. “How would the Ministry feel if I left with you tonight?”

Previous Day ⛧ Next Day

[writingmochi]

i only said | a visualizer and a teaser

cast: soobin ✗ fem.reader

synopsis: as you stood on the crowded train while making eye contact with the boy from the neighboring school. light shines into the dim train car as it becomes empty and filled with sand. approaching you is a humanoid figure, who calls you the king and queen of viliya—the island kingdom that is plagued with nightmares that haunt its people which you and the boy are also not immune to

genre: two lost souls find comfort, silent lovers, magical realism, meet ugly, hurt/comfort, adventure, thriller, coming of age, romance, high school au (both are 19 and in senior year), late 2010s au, modern royalty au, angst, fluff, mature content (phobias, trauma, war, explicit smut)

inspired by: music my bloody valentine's "i only said" (1991), txt's 2019-2020 star seekers music videos ("nap of the star", "magic island", "eternally"), and movies bridge to terabithia (2007) and tigers are not afraid (2017)

word count: 361 (teaser)

release: will not write so i can shock you ;) but it's going to be in 2024

message from the moon: i've been noticing a drought of epic and fantastical txt fics lately. so, i'm gonna do it myself :]

p.s. yes, late 2010s are already nostalgic enough that it can be its own au with its own style and tech

part of the loveless anthology

you always experience something weird when the train is nearing cheongdam. it is as if your senses are being attacked in a sweep when goosebumps form in a wave before it calms down. then it starts again as the train approaches the outdoor part of its journey to cross the body of water. the lights inside start to flicker as you see outside to view the han river from under the bridge, yet sometimes, it's not a river, but a beach.

the sky is the clear turquoise blue that reflects the seawater. the view of the river bank turns into sand that's lining the barrier of land and sea. you could sometimes hear the sound of crashing waves from it even if you only see the setting sky as it changes from day to night. though now, that turquoise sky is getting darker and darker, even darker than the sunset you usually see when you cross on the hanging tracks from the cheongdam bridge to ttukseom park.

then you see it: the visions.

quick timelapse of the neon street, crumbling buildings crashing down as their support couldn't hold on, humanoid beings who can fly as they attacked something dark. only the color orange highlights everything before you see flickers of a woman with long platinum blonde locks and white dress, calling out your name as your eyes are trying to focus on her heterochromia ones.

you've always held onto the nearest surface as you glance at the dots turning red between cheongdam and ttukseom park stations, breathing in and out as you felt your palm getting sweatier when you felt the whole compartment seemed to shake more and more as you approached the bridge and let the light from outside coming in. recently, the shakiness is getting rougher and the vision more frequent. but, you've always try to comfort yourself and see the boy across from you if he is okay.

because it seems like you're not the only one to notice all the things you've experienced, especially when you see him mumbling whilst staring at the red dots lighting up on top of the door when the train approaches the bridge.

taglist: @raeyunshm @leilasmom @evidive @boba-beom @kwiwin @heesw1fe @aloverga @endzii23 @fluffyywoo @camipendragon @hiqhkey @wccycc @cha0thicpisces @y4wnjunz @yeehawnana @beansworldsstuff @kimipxl @blurryriki @amazzwon @stayzentiny @rebsmoonn @angelbythewindow @ttyunz @itzzz-yerin @shinrjj

© writingmochi on tumblr, 2021-2024. all rights reserved

[jbaileyfansite]

Bridgerton’s Jonathan Bailey is to play Richard II in a new production of Shakespeare’s history play directed by Nicholas Hytner at the Bridge theatre in London.

It will reunite the star with Hytner, whose version of Othello at the National Theatre in 2013 featured Bailey as Cassio. Bailey also played Edgar opposite Ian McKellen’s King Lear at Chichester Festival theatre in 2017. But the part of the Plantagenet monarch will be the highest profile Shakespeare role to date for the actor, who is best known for playing Lord Anthony Bridgerton in Netflix’s blockbuster period drama. Performances will begin at the Bridge on 10 February.

The question asked by Shakespeare’s Richard II, said Hytner, is: “What do you do when a ruler is absolutely inadequate? How do you get rid of the rightful leader?” The play has an ambiguity characteristic of Shakespeare, who does not “give us his own opinion”, said Hytner. “On the one hand, the play endorses Richard’s right to rule and on the other hand it appears to endorse [his adversary] Bolingbroke’s greater capacity to rule.” The production will reveal “a feudal world on the cusp of modernity” he said.

It will be designed by Bob Crowley and staged in what Hytner described as “a cross between in-the-round and traverse”, rather than the immersive, promenade style of Hytner’s Julius Caesar and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which brought audiences up close to the actors at the Bridge. “Richard II has a delicacy and interiority that isn’t going to respond to that kind of treatment,” he said, adding that the theatre – which opened by Tower Bridge in 2017 – is a very flexible space.

Richard II will follow Guys and Dolls which has run at the venue since March 2023 and will have its last performance on 4 January. “We didn’t think it would last as long as it did,” said Hytner, who explained that the long run of the widely acclaimed musical had given the theatre “a bit of financial stability”. He wanted to stage a musical in the same spirit in which he had done Julius Caesar and A Midsummer Night’s Dream: “Guys and Dolls was the right choice for that kind of treatment, because it has a big, robust heart and there’s a direct appeal to the audience, a connection that allows you to plunge straight into it.”

The Bridge is the flagship venue of London Theatre Company which was founded by Hytner and Nick Starr. Its other space is Lightroom in King’s Cross, where an immersive David Hockney exhibition has returned for another run, alongside a multimedia experience about the Apollo Moon landings. It will eventually host live performance too. “The very long term plan is that it’s a theatre, but it’s working so well and we have so many things in the pipeline in that [multimedia] form that I can’t say when,” said Hytner.

Richard II will be at the Bridge theatre, London, from 10 February to 10 May

Source

[book--brackets]

Dragonkeeper Chronicles by Donita K. Paul (2004-2008)

When Kale, a slave girl, finds a dragon egg, she is given the unexpected opportunity to become a servant to Paladin. But on her way to The Hall, where she was to be trained, Kale runs into danger. Rescued by a small band of Paladin's servants, Kale is turned from her destination. 

Feeling afraid and unprepared, Kale embarks on a perilous quest to find the meech dragon egg stolen by the foul Wizard Risto. But their journey is threatened when a key member of the party is captured, leaving the remaining companions to find the Wizard Fenworth, attempt an impossible rescue, and recover the egg--whose true value they have not begun to suspect.

Clocktaur War by T. Kingfisher (2017-2018)

A paladin, an assassin, a forger, and a scholar ride out of town. It's not the start of a joke, but rather an espionage mission with deadly serious stakes. T. Kingfisher's new novel begins the tale of a murderous band of criminals (and a scholar), thrown together in an attempt to unravel the secret of the Clockwork Boys, mechanical soldiers from a neighboring kingdom that promise ruin to the Dowager's city.

If they succeed, rewards and pardons await, but that requires a long journey through enemy territory, directly into the capital. It also requires them to refrain from killing each other along the way At turns darkly comic and touching, Clockwork Boys puts together a broken group of people trying to make the most of the rest of their lives as they drive forward on their suicide mission.

The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon (1988-1989)

Paksenarrion — Paks for short — is somebody special. She knows it, even if nobody else does yet. No way will she follow her father's orders to marry the pig farmer down the road. She's off to join the army, even if it means she can never see her family again.

And so her adventure begins... the adventure that transforms her into a hero remembered in songs, chosen by the gods to restore a lost ruler to his throne.

Here is her tale as she lived it.

Paks is trained as a mercenary, blooded, and introduced to the life of a soldier . . . and to the followers of Gird, the soldier's god.

Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica by James A. Owen (2006-2016)

An unusual murder brings together three strangers, John, Jack, and Charles, on a rainy night in London during the first World War. An eccentric little man called Bert tells them that they are now the caretakers of the Imaginarium Geographica -- an atlas of all the lands that have ever existed in myth and legend, fable and fairy tale. These lands, Bert claims, can be traveled to in his ship the Indigo Dragon, one of only seven vessels that is able to cross the Frontier between worlds into the Archipelago of Dreams.

Pursued by strange and terrifying creatures, the companions flee London aboard the Dragonship. Traveling to the very realm of the imagination itself, they must learn to overcome their fears and trust in one another if they are to defeat the dark forces that threaten the destiny of two worlds. And in the process, they will share a great adventure filled with clues that lead readers to the surprise revelation of the legendary storytellers these men will one day become.

Dragon Jousters by Mercedes Lackey (2003-2006)

The first book in this thrilling new series introduces us to a young slave who dreams of becoming a jouster-one of the few warriors who can actually ride a flying dragon. And so, in secret, he begins to raise his own dragon...

Frontier Magic by Patricia C. Wrede (2009-2012)

Eff was born a thirteenth child. Her twin brother, Lan, is the seventh son of a seventh son. This means he's supposed to possess amazing talent -- and she's supposed to bring only bad things to her family and her town. Undeterred, her family moves to the frontier, where her father will be a professor of magic at a school perilously close to the magical divide that separates settlers from the beasts of the wild.

In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan (2017)

The Borderlands aren’t like anywhere else. Don’t try to smuggle a phone or any other piece of technology over the wall that marks the Border ― unless you enjoy a fireworks display in your backpack. (Ballpoint pens are okay.) There are elves, harpies, and ― best of all as far as Elliot is concerned ― mermaids.  "Serene," said Serene. "My full name is Serene-Heart-in-the-Chaos-of-Battle." Elliot? Who’s Elliot? Elliot is thirteen years old. He’s smart and just a tiny bit obnoxious. Sometimes more than a tiny bit. When his class goes on a field trip and he can see a wall that no one else can see, he is given the chance to go to school in the Borderlands. It turns out that on the other side of the wall, classes involve a lot more weaponry and fitness training and fewer mermaids than he expected. On the other hand, there’s Serene-Heart-in-the-Chaos-of-Battle, an elven warrior who is more beautiful than anyone Elliot has ever seen, and then there’s her human friend Luke: sunny, blond, and annoyingly likeable. There are lots of interesting books. There’s even the chance Elliot might be able to change the world. In Other Lands is the exhilarating new book from beloved and bestselling author Sarah Rees Brennan. It’s a novel about surviving four years in the most unusual of schools, about friendship, falling in love, diplomacy, and finding your own place in the world ― even if it means giving up your phone.

Iron Butterfly by Chanda Hahn (2012-2014)

Imprisoned, starved and left with no memories, Thalia awakens to find herself at the mercy of an evil cult known as the Septori. Their leader has chosen Thalia as the test subject for a torture device of untold power, designed to change and twist her into something that is neither human nor Denai.

Escaping, Thalia finds an unwilling warrior to protect her and an unlikely Denai to befriend her. After finding a home at the Citadel as a servant, Thalia’s worst nightmare comes to life and she begins to show signs of power. Scared and unable to control her gifts, she tries to hide her past to fit in among the Denai. But the Septori want their latest test subject back and will stop at nothing to retrieve her, dead or alive.

Old Magic by Marianna Curley (2000)

Jarrod Thornton is mesmerizing, but Kate Warren doesn’t know why.

Jarrod is the clumsy new boy at school that Kate can’t take her eyes off, and it’s not just because he has amazing eyes, but because she senses something different about him, and when he inadvertently blows up the classroom, she knows exactly what it is. He has powers like her, except he doesn’t know it and Kate sets out to show him. On their journey of discovery Kate learns Jarrod has an ancient curse on his family that will keep hurting his little brother and parents if they don’t do something to remove it.

Faerie Tale by Raymond E. Feist (1988)

Successful screenwriter Phil Hastings decides to move his family from sunny California to a ramshackle farmhouse in New York State. The idea is to take some time out, relax and pick up the threads of his career as a novelist. Good plan, bad choice. The place they choose is surrounded by ancient woodland. The house they choose is the centrepoint of a centuries-old evil intent on making its presence felt to intruders.

[talonabraxas]

Pisces Portal Talon Abraxas Pisces Super Moon Lunar Eclipse September 2024

September 17th, 2024, brings both a Lunar Eclipse and a Super Moon, making it a rare and special Super Moon Lunar Eclipse! This will be a partial Eclipse, so we will still be able to see the Moon bright and strong in our night sky. Take a moment to look up at Mother Moon in all her strength – what message is she sharing with you?

Themes of the Pisces Super Moon Lunar Eclipse

Falling at 23 degrees of Pisces, this Lunar Eclipse holds the theme of breakthroughs and endings. As Pisces is the last sign of the zodiac, we may see this mirrored in our experience of it. Something may come to an endpoint in our lives, or we may find that something is illuminated, allowing us to see things we didn’t see before. Alternatively, we may reach a point of wholeness, allowing us to recognize the full story or cycle of whatever we have been going through.

Lunar Eclipses tend to close doors that we have had difficulty closing ourselves. Sometimes, the endings they bring come as no surprise and simply give us a little push in a direction we were already hoping to travel. Other times however, they can bring swift endings that shake up our lives in an unseen way!

As this is a Partial Lunar Eclipse, and one of the weakest Eclipses we can experience, for most of us, the ending we experience may be one that we have seen coming for a while. Any breakthroughs are also likely to point us in the direction of closure, even if things feel uncomfortable at first.

It’s always worthwhile remembering that Eclipses tend to bring fated events and always put us where we need to be, even if we don’t like it at first!

As Pisces is ruled by water, we may be feeling extra emotional and sensitive at this time. Whatever unfolds under this September Eclipse may also result in a deep and long healing period, where we will have to be patient and allow things time to regenerate.

Pisces energy moves slowly as it works on the deepest fabrics of our being, so there is this sense that whatever unfolds will take time to process and digest.

Welcome to a New Eclipse Cycle

The position of the Lunar Nodes is what gives us our Eclipse cycle. Since 2023, the Lunar Nodes have been traveling in Aries and Libra, giving us Eclipses in these two signs. But this September Eclipse doesn’t fall in alignment with the Nodes, instead it falls in Pisces.

This happens when we are at a transitionary point. We are now wrapping up the Aries-Libra Eclipses and getting ready to enter the Virgo-Pisces Eclipse cycle.

While this Virgo-Pisces Eclipse cycle won’t really spring into action until next year, this is our first taste of what’s to come.

The last time we experienced the Virgo-Pisces Eclipse cycle was back in November 2015- May 2017, so you can think back to this time to see what themes may have been showing up for you. Remember, it’s not that the same things will happen again, but you can think of it as reaching a new evolution of whatever was going on for you at that time.

While this Eclipse is connected to the Eclipses we had back in March and April of this year, it is more of an introduction to what is ahead for the new Virgo-Pisces Eclipse cycle, which will run until February 2027.

The Virgo-Pisces Eclipses tend to stir matters relating to our health, wellbeing, and spirituality. We are guided to focus on the finer details and to get organized. It is also a highly creative Eclipse cycle that can stir new innovations, inspirations, and visions.

A Super Moon Eclipse is our Portal to the Divine

Super Moons happen when the Moon is nice and close to Earth, and we feel the lunar effects more strongly. Partial Lunar Eclipses are the weakest type of Eclipse we can have, but with the Super Moon in operation, we are getting a strong boost of lunar energy.

The Moon represents our feelings of safety and security, but under an Eclipse, we may feel exposed or vulnerable. Our sense of security and safety may be challenged in some way, or we may feel unsure of ourselves.

Working with the Pisces energy, we can come back to our intuition under this Eclipse. Our intuition, that soft, still voice within, is what we can rely on. That is where we will need to turn for our strength and reassurance.

Lean in to your spiritual connection, remember that you are connected to all and that there is a Divine plan at play.

Having a Super Moon and an Eclipse together is a rare and magical interplay of lunar energy to work with that can really allow us to feel her power! Full Moons, but especially Super Moons, have a way of drawing things out of us, so draw out your intuitive powers! Draw out all that you no longer wish to hold.

Following this Pisces Lunar Eclipse, we have a Libra Solar Eclipse on October 2nd. This Eclipse is the stronger of the two and will be the one we are likely to all feel a little more. Stay tuned for this Eclipse and what you can expect!

[boymanmaletheshequel]

Symbolism of Artemis

🦌🏹🦌🏹🦌🏹🦌🏹🦌🏹🦌🏹🦌🏹🦌🏹

The twin sister to Apollo/Apollon, daughter of Leto, Artemis is the sacred goddess of virginity, hunting, foraging, feminism, childhood, and the forest, as well as the lady of the moon and the hearth. A goddess known for her fierce mood swings, strict and convicting chastity, and disdain of traditional and toxic masculinity and human perversion, She is among the three virgin goddesses of Hellenic mythology. She was known to take the appearance of animals, such as boars and deer, often favoring them to her human form, which she almost only ever utilized while hunting or bathing in her sanctuary. Although she is inclined to women, she loves all her followers, including her non binary and male followers such as myself. Let’s go over some of her sacred symbolism:

🌈 colors

* In Hellenic Mythos, Artemis is a goddess of the forest and the woods, as well as a generally nature bound goddess, often depicted wearing or represented by shades of green, brown, and muted blues, all colors often associated with the woods and the earth.

🌸 flowers

* red amaranth: known by its taxonomic name of amarantos, Amaranths are the most commonly associated flower with lady Artemis, seen as a symbol of the immorality and violence of nature, as well as their relation to her name in Latin, meaning “unfading” representing her chaste virginity.

* red Carnation: another major flower iconic of Artemis is the carnation, as in Hellenic mythology, it is said that red carnations sprouted from the ground after she gouged out the eyes of a Shepherd who had dared to gaze upon her naked while she was bathing.

🦌 animals

* Stag/Deer: arguably the most well known animal associated with Artemis, and a creature she was known to assume the form of commonly, is the deer. It is said that some epithets of lady Artemis displayed great horns or antlers upon her head. Deer and their venison were also a major source of hunted food in Ancient Greece amongst the civil class.

* Boar: often associated with Artemis’s animalistic fits of rage, boars are one of her more sacred animals, often seen as a facet of her more violent tendencies. They were also an animal she loved to hunt.

* Bear: in the story of Callisto, a faithful devotee of Artemis who had promised her chastity to her, Callisto is seduced by zeus who causes her to break her chaste, infuriating Artemis who turns her to a bear and cast her into the woods. Later, in a plot by her own son to murder her, Zeus had mercy on them both and cast them amongst the constellations as Callisto to Ursa Major (great bear), and her son to Ursa Minor, (little bear).

💎 Gemstones

* emerald: The beautiful green hues of emerald are iconic of natures infatuation and affinity for the color, and as a goddess of nature incarnate, it is therefore often associated as the primary gemstone or crystal associated with lady Artemis.

* Moss agate: Named for its intricate dendrites that mimic the appearance of wild mosses, moss agate is a stone of nature and mystery, both aspects often referred to Artemis by. This makes it an easy, affordable choice of a stone to dedicate to and associate her with, especially for pagan wishes who may wish to decorate an altar for her!

* Moonstone: The stone of the moon, known for its Labradoresence and beautiful muted tones, it makes since that a stone named for the moon would be heavily associated with Artemis. It is also one of the stones associated with Virgo, the astral sign most widely connected to lady Artemis. (I too am a Virgo!)

🪐 Planets:

* The moon: Artemis is the patron saint of the earths moon, known for her affinity for her sacred night hunts, and has long inspired stories of lunar exploration. In fact, in 2017, NASA began work on the Artemis program, a plan to construct and launch a space shuttle that is to be used to land on the moon, delivering the first female astronaut ever to its surface!, and mark the first time a human being has set foot on the moon since 1972 when it lands there in 2026

🌟 Astrology

* Virgo and Cancer: Artemis, a goddess associated with various characteristics, is most often associated with two signs in traditional astrology, the first is Virgo, due to her inherent connections to the earth and virginity, and the second is cancer, due to her connections to the moon and her unique independence in Olympian society.

🏹 other iconography

* Bow and Arrow. Ever since I was a little one, I LOVED the idea and character of katniss Everdeen of the hunger games universe, and I would go into the woods and create my own bow and arrows, and set up targets to shoot! I now realize that’s one of the many reasons why I’ve always been drawn to Artemis! She is the ultimate expert with the bow and arrow, her sacred symbol and weapon of hunting.

🏹🦌🏹🦌🏹🦌🏹🦌🏹🦌🏹🦌🏹🦌🏹🦌

What things or moments so you associate with lady Artemis? She is one of the many more intimidating goddesses I’ve come to adore, but as the first god I ever worshipped after leaving Christianity, I’ve found her more forgiving and patient than one might expect!

[charliedawn]

Hello!! So me and my friend are part of the therian/furry community it got me wondering how the slashers would react to their s.o being a therian/ furry

Slashers I had in mind (pennywise 2017 and 1990 mainly but feel free to add any you see fit!!) :3

(Apologies if I’ve asked this before I can’t remember)

Author: I think I already did a request with Pennywise and Penny about that, but I can’t find it so…Here you go ! Hope you like it. 👍

Pennywise *looks you up and down* : "Welp. That’s not something you see everyday."

Pennywise laughed, but he appreciated and understood the concept quickly. He was happy to see you happy and got into it quite fast. Besides, he never liked humans all that much. And being a shapeshifter himself, he wasn’t all that bothered by your sudden shift and was just happy chilling with you in the woods.

Barry helped you design your fursona. He got all his designer genius into making you the perfect fursona that would fit you. He got your favourite colours and the best materials he could find and got to work right away. He spent nights on it and made sure to get everything you wanted in it so that it would be as comfortable and lovely to wear as possible.

Barry *once he sees you in it* : "YES ! Wow. Gorgeous ! Absolutely stunning, darling !"

Brahms was excited when you told him—but he didn’t really know what it was at first. You had to explain it to him and slowly, he got the idea. He also tried to do animal stuff with you like running on four legs and take regular trips into the wilderness. He broke his arm as a result, but it was worth it. He was happy having fun with you. He is supportive.

A client *sees you* : "Hum…What’s that ?"

Norman *smiles at you* : "That would be Y/N. Come in, sweetheart. Say hi to the new client."

Norman was surprised at first, but he got used to it. He—himself—would take long strolls in the forest and be with you in spirit while you do your own thing. But running on all fours and howl at the moon and dig mud and rocks ? I don’t think he would do it. But he would be supportive and spend time with you nonetheless.

Jason would understand and respect your decision. He prefers animals over humans anyway. He would be more than happy to return to Crystal Lake with you so you may both have some fun near the lake or run between the trees. He is a free spirit and he loves nature. You would get along just fine.

Michael *nods in silent approval*

Our open-minded king. You could come up to him and say you are a wolf or an earthworm and he would be nodding understandingly and give you a thumbs up. If that’s what you are ? Then that’s what you are. No judgment there.

Penny *excited* : "Hey ! Do you want us to go run in the forest ?"

Penny is a shape-shifting creature. He could turn into a wolf and be right beside you when you both go into the forest and howl at the moon or even hunt together. He would also have NO problem biting you or scratching you or acting like a real animal with you. No questions asked.

Freddy Krueger: "…That a sex thing ? Cause I am digging it."

Freddy wouldn’t understand, but he wouldn’t really care either. That man is the definition of ‘you do you, bud’. He would be nodding and laughing, maybe do one or two jokes at first, but nothing real mean. He would then let you do your thing and even assist in one or two activities with you (howling at the moon or run after you). He would be pretty chill about it.

Five *sees you and looks down at his glass of wine* : "I knew that wasn’t a good vintage but still…"

Five wouldn’t understand.

He likes reason and science. But, he would respect you for being yourself and to see you have some fun. He would eventually support you, but you would have to give him time to get used to the idea.

[cuntycheol]

(Teaser) Shadows of Rememberance (K.MG)

Idol!Mingyu x Reincarnated!(afab)Reader

Summary:

In 2016, your first love Mingyu's hardwork and a couple of years worth training finally turns to fruition when he sets to debut the next year and hopes to have you by his side. Difference is he debuts, and he has 12 members beside but no you. 4 years later, smaller in size, you got paws for hands, a tail, and limited time to solve your own death. So how do you exactly get to your boyfriend?

WC: TBD (teaser wc is 500)

Genre: more of like fantasy romance? With a small thriller into it?

Theme: lovers!au(childhood sweethearts) typical idol training au (we do not letting the green room slide by :) ) in the beginning, my style of writing is a bit 2017 :3 , flashbacks and transitions(I'll try to make it less confusing as possible), humor, some murder mystery, angst(major), implied smut (no details) Tsundere!Mingyu but eventually turns a new leaf in attitude, alterated seventeen debut timeline (they debut in 2017 with DWC)

A/N: hello readers, carats and gyuldaengies! This one is for you! Not too long ago, I finished See you in my 19th life and you know the phase where you're unable to get out of a particular fantasy-romance lore for a while! Its basically what inspired me to create this whole Korean setting of sojus and starry nights :) I'm actually enjoying the showcase of my work on tumblr even though it's just the beginning but thank you so much for reading my work and liking it! Unconditional gratitudes 😔💙 here's a small teaser from somewhere, in the fic. Feel free to drop comments/or if you're interested for a tag!

From the twelfth-story vantage point of his dormitory building, Mingyu stood on the balcony, his thoughts mirroring the expanse before him. "Is this how the height felt that day?" he wondered, his gaze drawn to the distant city lights that spread like a sea of stars. Beside him, Wonwoo, his roommate and fellow member, along with Seungkwan, offered silent companionship, their presence a comforting assurance.

"You'll only hurt yourself, so cry as much as your heart has always desired to, Mingyu" Wonwoo's voice, soft and understanding, carried the weight of empathy. The full moon hung in the sky, its luminous glow casting light on the scene below. A subtle shift in the atmosphere seemed to whisper that this was an opportune moment to unburden himself, to relinquish the facade he had worn for so long.

And so, within the embrace of the moon's radiant embrace, Mingyu let his emotions cascade forth. A torrent of feelings, suppressed and concealed behind his persistent smile, surged from the depths of his being. His tears flowed, an uncontainable torrent that mirrored the city's night lights, shimmering with raw vulnerability. Each teardrop he shed resonated within you, a mirror of the emotions you felt, transcending the boundaries of species.

Unbeknownst to Mingyu, the same Calico who had been jumping in and out of the balcony railings, silently witness Mingyu's vulnerability of the misunderstood turmoils he's being put into. He leans on his members, and let the tears paint his pain more vividly than words could.

Your feline instincts yearned to leap across the balcony and into his arms, to nuzzle against him and purr your concerns and comfort him. But the confines of your new existence held you captive. A silent observer.

"Trapped within these fur and paws, I long to bridge the divide, to whisper words of understanding to you, Mingyu" even if you're in your feline form, your heart and mind worked as how it used to when you were a human. But it was this very struggle that fueled my resolve. You couldn't stand idly by, separated from him by a veil of existence. You yearned to show yourself, to bridge the divide that separated our worlds and provide him with the reassurance that he must overcome you. He must live.

Yet, the question of how remained a daunting puzzle. "How could I convey my presence, my empathy, without words or gestures he could perceive in the conventional sense?"

Another glance at Mingyu, your heart beats with a fierce determination. You knew that time was of the essence, that the threads of fate were aligning in a way that demanded action. The moonlit night seemed to hold a promise, a promise that if you could find a way to breach the boundaries that constrained you most certainly could offer him the comfort he so desperately needed. And that's when you muster your courage, in the same moonlit of mystery and determination.

《《______________________________________》》

[mizugucci]

onf in chicago

hi yall im finally posting my account of seeing onf in chicago!!!! its only like 4 days late... like i said best day ever!!! below are all my notes + a bunch of photos, please forgive what i look like lol but i was so happy :)

for those that know me, know this was a HUGE deal. so of course this is going to be very long and detailed. luckily for most of my followers ill be putting it under a readmore <3

so i bought the highest tier ticket for obvious reasons, so ill just so chronologically:

first was sound check and they did ugly dance and i could NOT believe i was seeing onf in the flesh. im pretty sure i died and went to heaven then and there

once they were done with soundcheck, they did the hi-touch and group photo. the actual practice was messy but it was fun so i don't think people minded. i dont remember anything except that for whatever reason, i was legitimately the FIRST PERSON and it was a lot lmao

additionally during the group photo i had wyatt to myself lol i froze for a second but he was so kind and polite, he asked what pose i wanted to do and i dont remember if i responded or not but we did a little heart together <3

then the fansign happened and i dont remember the majority of it, partly bc i was a flustered idiot lol but i got my complete album signed!!!! life goal met for sure. wyatt i remember specifically thinking again how kind and polite he was, idr seungjun/etion but i got to hyojin and he had his hand up kind of for a highfive and i gave him the album and tried to high five at the same time it was. very awkward LOL he thought it was funny (i hope) then yuto complimented my kitty cat ears!!! i remember saying something stupid and being an idiot in front of minkyun too but. what can we do

finally was the long anticipated fanchat!!! i had my fanchat with yuto obviously and it was nerve wracking as hell but i love him so much i powered through and i hope he got something out of our conversation

the photo that we took & he signed was my best one of the night, so im really happy with how that turned out. its going to be my treasure for a long time to come:

anyway first thing i want to note is that we were sitting at high tables for the talk, but he couldnt even sit without the table dwarfing him so he stood the whole time LMAO my short king i love him so much

so after we took the photo i sat down and honestly im not sure how much he understood the first half, bc he didnt react/respond and he was slightly confused about english in the 2nd half but ANYWAY i told him i was so so proud of him, how far he's come and especially weathering the time of being alone during military era... lots of gushy stuff lol

then i asked him what b-side he liked dancing to the most and he was SO CUTE when he cocked his head and went "b-side?" so it took a moment to get my point across and he was like ohhhh, umm fly me to the moon! and i almost made a total fool of myself reacting LOL bc as some of you know, fly me to the moon is literally my favorite ONF b-side. of all time. and partly due to yuto's center dance break with the saxophone.

yuto was confused but excited when i reacted (like i audibly gasped) and i said omg thats my favorite too!!! and he got so happy and i even proved it further being like, *points to u* dance break center! saxophone! and he nodded a bunch and was so excited lmao

i think he was also surprised at being a favorite, especially when he asked me when i became a fan and i said end of 2017 (which was true i was a fan, but became a stan in jan of 2019) and he seemed impressed! then our chat had ended there and i almost passed out afterwards haha

then we all had to leave the venue again before the concert started. i met a lot of really cool people that day so some of us went across the street to dunkin. had fun lmao

the concert started and my GOD minkyun's mic was on!!!!! and how does he always have so much energy??? also i had the lightstick and was having the time of my life screaming along lol they were fantastic incredible showstopping etc etc i tried to take some videos but i was just vibing (and shaking) too much i had to give up. but it was so nice to finally go to a concert that i had the lightstick for

went into the concert with solid 3rd bias (etion) and came out of it 3rd bias as seungjun lol. theres a lot to talk about song-wise but ill save that for later. in short, i almost cried when they did bye my monster. and tmwl. and byubyu.

also elle i did record asteroid for you (not that its a good video, or one that ill share...) but it did remind me of you lol! they did difficult & moscow moscow which were both surprises to me but very welcome. all day as well was fantastic!

about halfway thru the concert (but not the ballad section) i had given up on videos so i was just rocking out w the lightstick & i pretended to hit hyojins high note with the lightstick as a microphone until someone that i met nudged me & looked up to see seungjun staring at me

it was sooo funny the facial expression he was making. i cant even describe it but once we made eye contact it was like he smiled slowly literally like the grinch and went 'hehe' to make sure i knew he saw me doing that LOL

so i knew i had to get a snapshot with him that showcased the lightstick:

theres so much more about the concert but its all mainly about the songs & the fact i finally saw them live. but i do need to mention the fact goosebumps was practically a rave lmao loved it

after the concert was the group photo selfie which was really cool but would be better if my phones camera wasnt absolute shit & they did a more flattering angle...

dont let this photo fool you, they are short kings (im as tall or taller than multiple of them, minkyun & wyatt are the only ones i remember being taller than me. wyatt was surprising)

i didnt really say anything memorable during snapshots bc i was just so star-struck, but i do remember wyatt going out of his way to be nice lol also i saw yuto multiple times & i was sooo mad there was only a few of us that bought premium snapshot for him. i also got along well with minkyun and highfived him again. i let most of the members choose their poses. yes i got multiple mks. yes i made him do cat ears.

and here are all the others. i got at least 1 type of snapshot with each of the members

anyway tl;dr best day of my life, its only downhill from here! unless they announce another tour... we shall see... im so glad they're getting so much love from fuse, i know we (both onf and fuses) have been waiting for a long time

im also very happy that there really is no reason NOT to have overseas tours... we've already beat the 7 year curse & completed military. the world is onf's oyster and i cant wait to see what they do going forward <3

[dangermousie]

10 Characters That Make Me Feel Things

tagged by @imlivingformyselfdontmindme

Since I am tagged by a cdrama buddy, I am gonna limit it to cdramas.

Wolfie/Chu Youwen, The Wolf (2020). I enjoy drama characters often, but I never lust over them. Meet close to the sole exception. Anyone who was following me when this drama aired, remembers the insanity. I finally understood what groupies are on about.

Xiao Qi, The Rebel Princess (2021) - the ur drama general, as far as I am concerned.

Awu, The Rebel Princess (2021) - I would fight through insurmountable odds to get to her also.

Jiang Xiao Yuan, Derailment (2023) - I am with @imlivingformyselfdontmindme she is everything and I am totally a JXY defender!

Xiao Yao, Lost You Forever Part 1 (2023) - my FL of the year. She would be terrible as a partner and insurmountable amount of work but I can totally get why all these people chase her, I would too.

Tushan Jing, LYF 1 (2023) - I want to make him sandwiches, give him a number of a great therapist and a genetics counselor and also some paper so he can scheme to help his girl's cousin take over the world as some sort of valentine's day present.

Ji Ye, Novoland Eagle Flag (2019) - murder more people in the streets, I love you pls!

Fan Xian, Joy of Life (2019) - mmmm

Yi Xiao Chuan, The Myth (2019) - let me weep in peace. The power of overwhelming will and brain and decency. Being not enough to save a damn thing.

Eighth Prince, Gong (2011) - the terrifying start of my finding queues sexy!

Xiao Yi Qing, Listening Snow Tower (2019) and Su Mengzhen, Heroes (2022) - nobody's ever coughed this beautifully while slaughtering as these two.

Yu Sifeng, Love and Redemption (2020) - duh

Ren Ruyi and Ning Yuanzhou, A Journey to Love (2023) - of course.

Shen Minglan and Gu Tingye, The Story of Minglan (2018) - my n1 drama and my n1 couple.

Ning Que, Ever Night 1 (2019) - young killer with infinite softness for one tiny world-destroying servant. I loved this character.

Ning Yi, The Rise of Phoenixes (2018) and Ye Hua, Three Lives (2017) - long hair obsessions.

Tantai Jin, Till the End of the Moon (2023) - I've already talked war and peace amounts about this man.

Yuan Hong in any drama.

This is way more than 10 so gonna stop.

[vintage1981]

Actress and Author, Lara Parker, of Dark Shadows, Passes at 84

Lara Parker, who found the role of a lifetime at just 28 years old when she was cast by Dark Shadows producer Dan Curtis as the beautiful, vengeful and altogether evil witch Angelique Bouchard Collins, died October 12 in her sleep in Los Angeles following a battle with cancer. She was 84.

Her death was announced by producer Jim Pierson of Dan Curtis Productions, on behalf of Parker’s family.

“I’m heartbroken, as all of us are who knew and loved her,” said her Dark Shadows co-star and longtime friend Kathryn Leigh Scott in a statement. “She graced our lives with her beauty, talent and friendship, and we are all richer for having had her in our lives.”

Parker was born Mary Lamar Rickey on Oct. 27, 1938, in Knoxville, Tennessee. Her father, Albert, was an attorney, and her mother, Ann, was active in civic groups.

She graduated from Central High School in Memphis and attended Vassar — she roomed with Jane Fonda there — and Rhodes College in Memphis, where at 19 she served as Wink Martindale’s assistant on his WHBQ-TV show, Dance Party. She then earned a master’s degree from the University of Iowa.

Parker, who also authored four popular Dark Shadows-related novels from 1998-2016, arrived on the supernatural soap opera in 1967, not long after Canadian actor Jonathan Frid had been cast as vampire Barnabas Collins. Frid’s storyline changed the show from a moody, Gothic Jane Eyre-type serial into a flat-out horror show.

During breaks in production, Parker acted on Broadway in September 1968 in Woman Is My Idea, which lasted just five performances, and in the early Brian De Palma film Hi, Mom! (1970), starring Robert De Niro.

And toward the end of the daytime serial, she and fellow castmembers including John Karlen, Kate Jackson, David Selby and Grayson Hall appeared in the poorly received MGM film Night of Dark Shadows (1971).

In 1972, Parker relocated to Los Angeles and went on to appear on episodes of such shows as Medical Center, Kojak, The Rockford Files, Police Woman, Kolchak: The Night Stalker (as a witch) and The Incredible Hulk, where she played David Banner’s first wife in a flashback sequence in the pilot.

In her later years, Parker turned to writing and teaching — her novels include Angelique’s Descent (1998), The Salem Branch (2006), Wolf Moon Rising (2013) and Heiress of Collinwood (2016). The books proved popular among Dark Shadows‘ still-devoted, conventions-attending fan base, as well as devotees of romance and horror genre novels.

Parker kept in touch with her co-stars including Scott, Selby, Roger Davis, the late John Karlen and others throughout her life, particularly once the conventions became annual events in the late 1980s through the 1990s and up to the 50th anniversary celebration in 2017.

Many of the original cast, including Parker, recorded a series of Dark Shadows audio dramas in the 2000s released by Big Finish Productions. They also reunited for a “Smartphone Theatre” Zoom-style, Covid-era performance of A Christmas Carol in 2021 and, on Halloween night 2020, a YouTube/Zoom Dark Shadows cast reunion.

Parker is survived by second husband Jim Hawkins, daughter Caitlin, sons Rick and Andy, and their wives Miranda and Celia; and grandson Wesley.

[dustedmagazine]

Mope Grooves — Box of Dark Roses (12XU)

Box of Dark Roses presents the final 27 songs written, arranged and recorded by trans activist and musician stevie (Pohlman), a massive two-LP set that showcases her DIY art, passionate engagement and close links to other trans advocates, poets and revolutionaries.

Mope Grooves emerged in Portland, Oregon in the late teens, with a brash but vulnerable guitar rock sound and a message, from the beginning, about gender identity, inclusion and mental health. Their early albums, Joy and Vanished from 2017 and 2018 respectively, bristled with punk energy, with shouted anthems and loose-slung, infectious melodies. Dusted’s Jason Gioncontere called Desire, the band’s fourth album, “their most cohesive set yet,” late in 2019. And Portland’s Ben Parrish who caught them early and fell hard, wrote of an early show, “And Mope Grooves—Pohlman’s band—broke my brain. Imagine if somebody ran records by The Raincoats, The Clean, Beat Happening, Tyvek, and Marine Girls through a wood chipper and glued the pieces into a new super-record.”

Musically, Box of Dark Roses is more keyboard- and synthesizer-based than Mope Grooves’ earlier album, an uneasy sweetness percolating in its gentle melodies. The soft pretty songs are, in some ways, the most disturbing. “Forever Is a Long Time” pits tootling organ riffs against a sing-song melody, but sharpens the edge with rattling, off-kilter drumming. “Aileen” floats hauntingly graceful vocals over space-video-game pinging and rushing drums. “They’ll tell you you’re a criminal for paying them back in kind, but in the dark, in the wild, in the heart of the night, it is right to fight,” sings band member Lee. It’s a bracing sentiment in a song dedicated to Aileen Wuornos, a sex worker from Florida who killed seven of her clients, purportedly in self-defense. And “I’m Tired All the Time,” with its music box chimes, spiraling fiddle and slapping, just-behind-the-beat percussion, is a lullaby or a suicide note, depending on how you hear it.

Politics turn more explicit in the tracks with extensive spoken word incorporated. Marilyn Buck, the poet and May 19 Communist organization revolutionary best known for freeing Assata Shakur from the Clinton Correctional Facility for Women in New Jersey, speaks on a handful of cuts, including the opener “Controlled Burn” and “Here Comes the Moon.” The song “Continuity and Intensity,” tells the story of the Black Liberation Army’s Kuwasi Balagoon, who, when put on trial, declared, “We have a right to resist, to expropriate money and arms, to kill the enemy of our people, to bomb, and do whatever else aids us in winning, and we will win. The foundation of the revolution must rest on the bones of the oppressors.” The song “Dora” recites a detailed account of gender oppression in Weimar, Germany and the suppression of Magnus Hirschfeld’s Institute for Sexual Research.  The ratio of polemic to hook is pretty high on these tracks, but these were issues that mattered to stevie, and, as such, they belong here.

Box of Dark Roses was made near the end of stevie’s life (she killed herself in 2024), after a long struggle against gender dysphoria, physical and mental health issues, poverty and sporadic homelessness. In a lengthy, revealing essay included as liner notes, she writes, “I funded the recording process and the deposit on my surgeries by submitting my body to hyper-exploitation. I worked vanilla jobs 40-70 hours a week most of the time before relying increasingly on the informal economy. I was frequently in severe pain and losing work from chronic disabling illnesses that are aggravated by intense labor.”

And yet, though her suffering was real, she never lost sight of how much worse off others could be, particularly black and brown trans people. Before her death she stipulated that all profits from Box of Dark Roses should go to “gender marginalized survivors incarcerated as punishment for defending themselves, either directly to their fundraisers/commissary funds or thru the Survived and Punished NY mutual aid fund.”   This is a difficult, important record, a whole different experience from Mope Grooves’ earlier lo-fi garage albums, but well worth making time for.

Jennifer Kelly

[hannahwatcheshorror]

GERALD'S GAME (2017)

I won’t lie, this movie is a heavy one, the subject matter is tough, but if you are able to handle it this is a phenomenal film. I don’t know how Stephen King can write so well for women, but he slips into the role like Buffalo Bill into a suit made of women's skin. This movie is very true to the book, not making the mistakes of other King movies that deviate greatly from his writing and try for a new way of thinking. Gorgeous scenes of the eclipse that flood your senses as they would have Jessie’s. Really an excellent film.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

(Trigger Warning Sexual Abuse, Child Sexual Abuse)

To try and fix their marriage Jessie is handcuffed to the bed in their remote vacation home but the thing is, ladies, gentlemen, and otherwise, you gotta talk to your partners before employing crazy sex stuff because Gerald’s Game freaked Jessie right the fuck out and it wasn’t safe at all!  “We might die here today because of Gerald’s five inches!” Very quickly into Gerald's untimely death and Jessie’s subsequent imprisonment Prince the dog smells the blood and stops by for a bite. This drives Jessie into a madness where she envisions versions of Gerald and herself talking to her (and it is very well done).

Our first night is coming quickly and our best girl uses some quick thinking to get a drink of water before the lights go out. She wakes up to a spooky visitor and we cannot tell if he is real or in her imagination though and her imaginary husband posits that if the spooky visitor is imaginary then why did the real dog leave? This was very chilling. We also got to see what inspired Talk to Me’s foot sucking action, who knew demons loved toes? (We all did, that's why we never dangled our feet out of the covers)

We are brought back to Jessie’s past, the day of the total solar eclipse, the day her father sexually abused her. Then her horrible father tricks her into thinking that telling anyone would make her look bad so she promises him she won’t ever tell anyone. At this point she is convinced that the man she saw in her room last night is Death (or the Moon Man) and that he is coming back tonight to kill her so she has to act NOW. She remembers something else from the day of the eclipse, cutting her hand, which gives her an idea…

THE DEGLOVING SCENE IS SO BRUTAL. I have not been made physically ill by a horror movie in such a long time but here we are. My LANTA was that AWFUL. I had to pause it to take a break because I was thrown off by this scene, it was very well done but excruciating. (I don’t want to go back until the scary lady with the half hand is gone) I was trembling by the time she got the key to the cuffs and was getting a well earned drink from the tap.

She sees the Moon Man on her way out and gives him her wedding ring as a sort of payment, sort of like paying a coin to cross the River Styx only she gets to live. She drives her car, crashes it, but that leads people to find her. She recovers well but it is only months later that she discovers the spooky visitor she saw was a real man after all who was caught for robbing graves. She goes to his hearing and confronts him, telling him he looks small. She goes on to start a foundation to help anyone who has gone through sexual trauma like she did and tells her story everyday.

Um, this was incredibly true to the book and I loved that about it, they only did a few little things here or there to make the story flow a bit better but holy moly if they didn’t stick to the book! I am very pleased! The only thing that I would have LOVED is if she would have taken Prince the dog on as a pet but that wasn’t in the book and in fact they usually have to destroy dogs that have a taste for human flesh so… yeah… but I like to imagine it would be a very powerful move for Jessie to take the dog that terrorized her and have it become a companion cause the dog was just doing what it needed to to survive but maybe that is just me. Brilliant book, brilliant movie. Great job all around to everyone involved!

[yoomiwrites]

Sugar Rush¹²

Summary: Reader has been working directly under the Admirals, Kuzan, Kizaru and Akainu for years. Little by little, the dynamic changes and friendship (and more) develops. These are all small stories that build on each other. The work is from 2017, not revised and the prologue of Aromatic Rush & Salty Rush.

Note: Aaaand that is all for today.

The day had been exhausting, but that was nothing new. Paperwork, reports, meetings—the usual routine. Akainu had been his stern self, Kizaru surprisingly quiet, and Kuzan was off on a mission. It had almost been peaceful. Almost. I was returning from my afternoon break, my mind focused on the tasks I still had to finish before the end of the day, when something caught my attention at the docks.

A ship had just set sail, carrying fresh Marine recruits off to their first assignments. As I glanced over, something—or rather, someone—made me stop in my tracks. My heart nearly leapt into my throat when I recognized the familiar face among the new recruits. My brother.

"What the hell is he doing here?" I muttered to myself, my feet already moving toward the edge of the pier. I hadn’t seen him since my free days, and the last I heard, he had no intention of joining the Marines. Yet here he was, standing tall in a Marine uniform as the ship began to pull away from the dock.

Just as I was about to call out to him, I felt the heavy presence of someone beside me. I turned my head to find Admiral Akainu standing there, his arms crossed, his gaze focused on the departing ship.

“He begged to join,” Akainu said flatly, not bothering to look at me. His voice was laced with disdain. “Pathetic, really.”

I blinked, confused. “Begged? That doesn’t sound like him.”

Akainu’s eyes flicked toward me, his expression hard and cold. “Weakness runs in your family, doesn’t it?” His words hit like a punch, cold and cutting. “He begged for a chance to prove himself, but from what I can see, he won’t last long. Just like most of the weaklings we send out.”

I clenched my fists, biting my tongue to keep from snapping back. As much as I wanted to defend my brother, arguing with Akainu wouldn’t end well. He wasn’t exactly known for his compassion.

“I’m sure he’ll do fine,” I said quietly, more to convince myself than anything.

Akainu scoffed. “We’ll see. But don’t expect any special treatment just because he’s your blood.” He turned on his heel and strode away, leaving me standing there with a storm of confusion swirling inside me.

I watched the ship fade into the horizon, my heart heavy with questions. Why would my brother join the Marines? He had never shown any interest in it before. And the idea of him begging for a place didn’t make sense. Something didn’t add up, but I didn’t have time to dwell on it. Work still needed to be done.

The rest of the day passed in a blur, my mind constantly drifting back to the sight of my brother in uniform, Akainu’s harsh words echoing in my head. I stayed late at the office, trying to drown my thoughts in paperwork, but by the time the moon was high in the sky, I couldn’t focus anymore. I needed sleep, and more than that, I needed answers.

As I walked through the quiet streets of the base on my way home, the cool night air did little to clear my head. I turned a corner and nearly jumped when I saw someone leaning against the wall, bathed in the dim glow of a streetlamp. It was Kizaru, his lazy posture and calm demeanor unmistakable.

“Well, look who’s out late,” he said, his voice carrying that familiar teasing tone. “You look troubled, (F/N)~”

I stopped in front of him, too tired to dance around the topic. “I saw my brother today. He’s one of the new recruits.”

Kizaru raised an eyebrow. “Your brother? Hm… didn't know you had one in the Marines.”

“That’s the thing,” I replied, my frustration bubbling to the surface. “He’s not supposed to be. Akainu said he begged to join, but that doesn’t sound like him at all. I don’t understand what’s going on.”

Kizaru tilted his head, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully. “Begged, huh?” He chuckled softly, pushing off the wall and straightening up. “That’s an interesting way of putting it.”

“What do you mean?”

Kizaru sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets as he stepped closer. “Your brother didn’t beg to join. It was Sakazuki who ordered it. He handpicked him, actually.”

I blinked, stunned. “What? But why? Why would Akainu—”

“In his own, harsh way, Sakazuki was trying to help,” Kizaru interrupted, his usual playful tone subdued. “He knows about you, (F/N). He’s seen how hard you work, how loyal you are to the Marines. And, well, he thinks he’s doing you a favor by bringing your brother into the fold. He thinks it’ll make you both stronger.”

I stared at him, trying to process his words. “But why didn’t he just tell me that?”

Kizaru shrugged. “That’s Sakazuki for you. He doesn’t explain himself, and he definitely doesn’t like to show any kind of softness. But trust me, this wasn’t done to punish you or your brother. He genuinely believes that putting your brother in the Marines will be good for him. He just has a... brutal way of showing it.”

I exhaled, my shoulders sagging in relief mixed with lingering confusion. “I don’t know what to think.”

Kizaru smiled softly, reaching out to pat my head in a rare display of gentle affection. “Don’t worry too much. Your brother’s in good hands. And as for Sakazuki, well… he might be a hard man, but he’s not heartless. Not entirely, anyway.”

I let out a small laugh, the weight of the day slowly lifting from my shoulders. “I guess that’s reassuring.”

Kizaru’s grin widened, a glint of amusement returning to his eyes. “Now, how about you get some rest? You’re no good to anyone if you’re running on empty.”

I nodded, feeling a little lighter than before. “Yeah, you’re right. Thanks, Kizaru.”

“Anytime, (F/N)-chan. Anytime.” He waved lazily as he turned to walk off, his figure disappearing into the night.

As I continued my way home, I couldn’t shake the strange sense of comfort that Kizaru’s words had brought me. Maybe things weren’t as simple as they seemed, but at least now I had a better understanding of the situation. I’d have to confront my brother eventually, but for now, I felt a little more at peace.

And maybe, just maybe, Akainu wasn’t as bad as I thought.

[ruiniel]

In Aeternum - II

Fandom: Castlevania series (2017-2021)

Relationship: Alucard x Reader

Count: 1.9k

Rating: M

Tags: Pining, Alternate Universe, First Meetings, Dark Romanticism/style, Castlevania References, Reincarnation, Post-Castlevania 2017-2021, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, F!Reader, Herbalist Reader, Magic, References to Speakers, Creatures, Shapeshifting, Second Person POV, Adventure, Alternate Universe - canon divergence

Part I

Summary:

Alucard centered story, where his s/o in ~1476 is a herbalist who eventually dies of old age. Fast forward to the 1790s, Alucard stumbles into you: a herbalist and magician, with the same appearance of the one he knew long ago.

II.

You close the door behind you, wondering what had just happened, more than a little unsettled by the abrupt departure of your new acquaintance.

Why? 

Another part of you is, in contrast, more than a little intrigued. It was as if he could sense your concern about the eavesdropping townsfolk, but that's not necessarily unusual if he's one versed in reading people. You lock the door still pondering on this, on how you nearly died today for the first time in a long while, on how fortuitous his presence had been.

The act of unwrapping the herbs and roots you collected then laying them to dry helps to quiet the mind and alleviate those constant, flowing questions. Somewhat.

You take your time, and the hour is late when you finally set to wash and change. Your feet hurt as you climb the old set of stairs leading to a cramped little attic room you use for a bedroom.

Crawling into bed, you notice the moon is still up in the sky, its silver face shining through the long, tilted window.

Bundling yourself in an old throw and lying on your side, you can’t shake the memory of a warm gloved hand helping you to your feet, and a lingering scent.

Lavender… the thought occurs, inescapable, the last as your eyes close.

That night, you dream of running through a shadowy forest to catch the dawn, your feet bare and dewy, chasing a white wolf and laughing as castle spires rise beyond ancient trees.

The next day passes, uneventful; as does the following, and the one after it. There are rumors and unrest seeping through the fabric of life as you and others know it, but for now, they amount to nothing more than words and sometimes worried, sometimes hopeful predictions.

There is but one certainty you feel in your bones as others do: change is coming.

You rub at the back of your head, then at your eyes, still nibbling on a crust of bread well past the time for a midday meal—your sales had never been bountiful, but in the past two years especially, they all but sank as prices soared and folk became more and more impoverished.

It’s not until late afternoon that you sigh, thinking to close up for the day, but not before there comes a knock on the window of the apothecary shop.

You turn, and smile without thought.

“Well met, Martin,” you open the door, meeting a pair of blue-green eyes.

“Miss,” the young man smiles back, “How did it go, today?”

“… so and so. And you?”

Martin shrugs, shaking his head. “Interest in poetry has dwindled, but the cobbling business still goes, for better or worse.”

Since you’ve known him, Martin has always kept a buoyant outlook on life and sees the full side of the glass no matter if it’s water or poison. And yet, he is no fool. It is, perhaps, one of the reasons he’s become your friend—of the few you boast in this place.

Even now, with his clothing ragged and the gauntness in his cheeks more prominent, he smiles at you.

“How is your father?” you ask, biting your lip.

“Oh,” his smile fades. “He’s been better, but the joint pain keeps hindering his movement, and—where are you going?”

“Wait here.” You’re gone inside only to return, producing a small jar. “I had this ointment freshly made yesterday. He can try massaging the sore area with this twice a day. It should alleviate some discomfort.”

Martin gazes down at your offering, his brown curls falling into his face; he looks uncomfortable. “I… you know I can’t pay for this,” he pushes your hands away.

“Martin, don’t.” You take his larger hand and press the glass receptacle into his palm. “I know, all right? Just take it.”

He looks down at your hand over his, features scrunching. “It should not be this way, you know. All of us, struggling to get by.” He looks up at you, all mirth gone from his face. “Have you eaten today?”

“Of course,” you smile now, but you know he’s right. Just as you know he came to see you now, before the end of your day, because he cares; and so do you, though perhaps not in the same way. “Go rest, Martin.”

“Only if you promise to do the same. And to ask once again that you don’t head out into that damned forest alone, as you used to. There's... been another disappearance. I heard about it at the tavern on my way—that’s what I came here to tell you. Be careful.”

Heart beating faster, you nod. “Of course, thank you, same goes to you.”

Half a crooked smile shows he’s satisfied—and with a last friendly nod, pressing the gifted ointment jar to his chest, he walks away. “Until tomorrow.”

“Until then…” your words fade in your mouth as you turn back inside, wondering what the world is coming to.

You remove your apron just as the door creaks, signalling an arrival.

“We’re closed for the day,” you say, placing the apron on a chair.

“Oh. Should I come by another time, then?”

You freeze. Your body jolts at the mere inflection of that voice, and slowly you turn, meeting his eyes.

Adrian stands there, unassuming, wearing black as usual, his long coat trimmed with yellow. He looks much too pale in this light, but then the ghostly allure does something for him. His face changes into a dim smile; his bright eyes are smiling too.

Running, barefooted… the wolf stares back, ensuring you follow.

You shake your head, realizing you’d been wordless for too long. “No, I’ll make an exception. I mean—for you, of course I will. Come, come,” you urge, going behind the counter and donning a near-professional manner. “Let’s see, then. What can I help you with today?”

Adrian nods, and only then steps forward, reaching inside his coat. He retrieves a piece of paper, showing it to you.

It looks yellowed with time and use, and you’re wary of touching it for fear the frail-looking parchment might disintegrate between your fingers.

But he’s handing it over with no apparent concerns and before your hesitation turns to embarrassment, you gingerly take the paper to glance at the etchings.

“Hmm… this script is...”

“Old?… Yes.”

You look up at him briefly, finding his gaze intent on the torn slip.  “Valerian root,” you read the first word, turning to the shelf behind you. “... evening primrose,” you head over to another shelf, this time going around Adrian, your attention focused on the items. An unusual meld, and you wonder what kind of concoction this may be. “Bloodroot,” you say, frowning as you skim over the next item scrawled in a flowing hand. “... Frankincense.” You turn around, meeting the eyes of your last minute customer. “I don’t keep stock of this,” you add, but then the list does look quite out of sorts with everything else on there. It’s also very unlikely he wrote it, but you resist the urge to ask as you hand him back the note.

“No, of course not,” Adrian gently reaches for the paper and tucks it back inside his coat at his chest. “The rest will do.”

You nod, and after pulling on a glove, take the quantity required of bloodroot from one basket at your feet. You look down in earnest and carefully wrap the herbs and roots requested. The sun has dipped low enough to beam through the window, splashing light over your working fingers. You raise your head.

Sunset looks good on him, too; enhancing the shimmer in his hair, setting a pale flame to his eyes. “What spells are you up to, Mr. Țepeș?” 

You smirk around your question. You don’t mean to be nosy, and it’s none of your business after all to know what strangers go about doing in their spare time. Even if said strangers are unreasonably strong shapeshifters that prevented your demise.

Too late to bite your tongue, anyway. 

“Adrian, remember?”

Heat pulses through your body, warming your cheeks. “Adrian.”

Adrian shakes his head, and his face softens in another smile; one that comes easier this time, warmer and more sincere. “Nothing that should worry anybody,” he replies, sliding into an assured, simple manner. “Thank you.” And he reaches inside his pocket, at which point you realize he wants to pay and so begin shaking your head and wagging both index fingers at him.

Adrian regards you with owlish confusion, comical on his otherwise dramatic features.

“Please, no need,” you gesture for him to place his satchel on your small counter. “You saved my life, remember?”

Adrian pauses with his hand inside his coat, a bemused frown on his face.  “... henceforth, I have earned an unlimited supply of free herbs?”

You scoff, “Well… why not? I mean, I... I suppose?”

He’s laughing before you know it, head falling back in delight; the sound is so unexpected, so lively and musical in this red sunset that your smile freezes on your face, and that feeling from the woods slithers right back between your ribs as if it never left. There is magic on him again. Something unrevealed. Its arcane flickers speed towards you and your own strength, recognizing another conductive vessel.

A glamor. You can’t quite grasp what it shields, but it lacks any form of malice, and so fails to worry you. For now.

You cross your arms as a strangeness rises at the back of your mind again, pulsing like something strong and familiar and warm, eager to break its bonds.

You’re staring as Adrian simmers, tilting his head slightly to one side with a contemplative air. “Forgive me, I am not laughing at you, it was… just the way you said it.”

“How about this?” You offer back the satchel. “Whenever you need supplies...” you add in a faux affected tone, “... henceforth, I’ll do my best to provide you with what I have on stock. Without charge.” Before he can protest, you add quickly, “My trade, my rules.”

Adrian retrieves the satchel you’ve filled with the herbs, bringing it over one shoulder. “I appreciate it, but I don’t know if that’s necessary, especially considering the proven risks you take to gather these.”

“Nonsense,” you say, foolish in your sudden excitement. Perhaps it’s the idea of being able to do something for him that has you so riled, so drunk on this exchange. Perhaps you’ve simply been lonely, and welcome the interaction. It makes you bolder, and before you know it, your traitorous tongue goes off. “Why did you leave so suddenly last time?”

Adrian taps a gloved finger on the wooden counter, his expression unchanged. “I… did not realize I had. I am sorry if I did. I truly am.”

You want the floorboards to swallow you whole. “There’s nothing to apologize for, I’m sorry it was not my intent to pry this way, I—” 

The crash is so loud, so deafening, you lose balance, your back striking the shelves. Adrian rushes over and you grab at his arms to steady yourself against the pain as a second blast hits somewhere outside, causing the windows to shake. 

“What now!?” You release him, turning to the door. 

“Wait!”

You don’t hear him, cannot see the muted desperation on his face as you throw the door open, as you run into the street thinking of Martin and how he was on his way home, as flames burst to engulf you.

The last you see is red: red beams, red lightning, cutting between you and devouring fire.

MASTERLIST: CASTLEVANIA SERIES x READER

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