#my biggest gripe with these things is the way they spread it out like yes | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

obsessedwvampbois · 3 years ago

Text

𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐋 𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐬

Oh boy so this is gonna make people really mad. I have listened to a total of 52 songs from the Diabolik Lovers franchise (that I could find) and ranked them for the hell of it. For this ranking I will be including all character songs, openings (both anime and game) along with the remixes. I will not be counting solo versions of songs (eg. Gin no bara), soundtrack bgm or the endings themes.

My ranking is based on these things:

how well does the song fit the character/s or game, both in lyrics and aesthetic

the overall production and performance of the song

is the song a bop? would I willingly listen to it again?

Couple of disclaimers: I do not speak Japanese so I will be crediting the translations of each song as I go through them along with any think pieces / essays that I come across. If there is any song I missed, please let me know and I’ll slot it into the rankings, its hard to find one source that has all the songs recorded. Finally, just a reminder because I know I'm gonna make someone mad, this is my list! If you don't like it make your own or ignore mine, I'm only one person and my opinion is not final!

With that in mind, my rankings are below the cut

*Least Best*

These are the songs I will probably never listen to again. I have a few gripes with them that I'll talk about in my explanation.

52. 誓いのカンパネラ (Chikai no Campanella)

Shu, Ayato & Subaru

~translation~

This song is just super underwhelming overall. The guitar is my favourite thing about the song but that's it. There is so much build up for a boring chorus. The lyrics don't have much for me either.

51. 血戦のDies irae (Kessen no Dies irae)

Tsukinami Brothers

~translation~

On the opposite end, this song is so overwhelming. There are so many elements to follow and its hard to keep up. This is the first time I'll bring it up but the volume of the voices is so quiet compared to the backing track, its frustrating. The lyrics is what brings it up a notch as it talks about the day of wrath (dies irae) as the day the founders take over. I was also low key hoping to hear some version of the dies irae song hidden in the background but I couldn't hear any.

50. S.O.S-ΑtoΩ-

Tsukinami Brothers

~translation~

This song just feels so forgettable, I just feel like there isn't much to comment on. There are some interesting lyrics sprinkled out like comparing literal self mutilation to abstinence. Also the actual delivery of 'S ah O ah S ah', I can't take it seriously.

49. Dystopia

Kino

~translation~

This had an interesting start because I hadn't heard anything similar for DL but then after a few lines the tone change was just a nope for me. Again, Kino's voice is super quiet and the constant barrage of all these instruments that don't really gel together its confusing. Overall, it didn't leave much of an impression and I couldn't really visualised DL in the song.

48. 吸愛ラビリンス (Kyūai Labyrinth)

Shu, Ayato & Subaru

~translation~

Praise for the saxophone! Props to that because it shines here and is really the only memorable thing besides that final line of the chorus. The song does give the vibe of the Vandead Carnival with its more playful energy though. The lyrics feel really typical, like there are so many times I read lyrics about drinking blood before I get bored.

47. 極限(UNLIMITED) BLOOD -Remix ver.-

Shu, Ayato & Subaru

~translation w/ original ver.~

I don't think I really need to hear EDM/dubstep and Diabolik Lovers again thanks. It feels super dated and the vocoded singing is a little much for my taste. Good source material and the stripped back vocals at some points is quite nice.

46. 愛しきPain (Itoshiki Pein)

Subaru

~translation~

First off please never let me see Subaru near a fedora again thanks. Overall I felt bored with this song, like its nice, but that it. There are similar sounding songs that just hit home similar themes a lot stronger later on. The best part of this song is the spoken word but it feels weird for Subaru to be singing such a slow song.

45. Luv Apple Juice

Ruki & Azusa

~translation~

Yes, I am counting Ruki's spoken word, its my list. Lyrics are a must read with references to Adam, Eve and Eden throughout. Again, the voices are super quiet and with how fast paced the instrumentals are its annoying. The tempo also backfires because these are two of the more 'chill' characters. The last complaint is that the speed of Ruki's speaking compared to Azusa's singing just isn't right.

44. DIE IS CAST

Kou & Yuma

~translation~

This has to be my least favourite opening to a song, the staccato is just really grating to me. The way I'd describe the chorus is loud, the same note over and over again isn't appealing. The lyrics are an interesting read but nothing feels super important. The highlight of the song is the pre-chorus, thanks production!

43. カレイドナイト (Kaleido Night)

Kanato & Subaru

~translation~

This song is just generic, like overall. The sound, the lyrics, the production. There just wasn't must for me to listen to without zoning out.

*Average*

These songs don't leave too much of a lasting impression on me, but I still enjoy them.

42. 苺の罪 (Ichigo no Tsumi) (strawberry sin)

Reiji

~translation~

First of the generic rock songs! I couldn't really find much in the lyrics of note I think the actual performance of the song is my favourite element here.

41. 真夜中の饗宴( MIDNIGHT PLEASURE) -Remix ver.

Shu, Ayato & Subaru

~translation w/ original~

One the best part of the original is that opening section with the steps, it creates some nice anticipation for the coming song. The chorus this time round feels a little low energy after the hype of the pre-chorus. After watching the actual opening with the remix, I kind of wish they had the voice over, the song is so chill the last chorus could have it to make it feel more grandiose.

40. ZERO

Subaru

~translation~

Second generic rock song, this time it actually suits Subaru's brand! The lyrics do have some hints to Subaru as a character which is better. My sustaining thought is that this sounds like an off brand Arcadia.

39. Bloody★Mayim★Mayim

Sakamaki Brothers

~translation~

This has to have one of the strongest hooks for DL. For how many people sing in the song, it's easy to keep track of and the chemistry between them all is in sync. The main issue is that it feels like its missing some element to make it shine, the lyrics aren't in-depth too which brings it down another peg. The bridge/interlude is the best part though as I can visualise some mini story within the song here.

38. ADDICTED (2) PHANTOM

Ayato

~translation~

This song would be so much higher if I felt like it was more memorable cuz the lyrics here really shine. My interpretation is that this is Ayato questioning where his love stops and his sadistic nature to satiate his desires begin, can he separate the two? He both loves and despises the idea of draining his s/o dry. Another gripe with the song is that its not quite Ayato's aesthetic sonically.

37. Kindan no 666 (Three Six)

Kou & Azusa

~translation~

What puts this song so low is the majority of the instrumental, it takes a backseat here when I feel there could be more added. Props to percussion, drums are great though. After watching the MB opening so many times its hard to not see DL. Lyrics match with this one line here describing Kou in a nutshell:

"Sin spread from mouth to mouth, saying 'I’ll be gentle' pulls the trigger on a casual disaster!"

36. Iolite (アイオライト )

Shu

~translation~

I don't know why the producers associate electro-pop with Shu, I can't really see it much. I think they should have gone full glitch-pop instead considering how the song does a deep dive into his mind and thought process. Again, I think the voice is also quiet here but the instrumentals have some great moments, especially the strings.

35. 常夜KNOW UNDERSKIN

Sakamaki

~translation~

Well this gives Sakamaki vibes, nice guitar! Again, I like how it isn't overwhelming despite the amount of people involved. Lyrics aren't super impactful but super catchy.

34. 冷たい血 (Tsumetai Chi)

Ruki

~translation~

You have to read the lyrics while reading this, please! Its surprisingly wholesome and emotional overall. Again, there is the issue of the voice being way to quiet as the instrumentals swallow him whole after the second clock tick. The delivery is really well timed and production does a great job adding elements that works with the lyrics. There is a subtle echo to the voice that feels super enchanting as he comes to terms with the fact that he has fallen in love. Biggest drawback obviously is that this is just spoken word.

33. KISS♥MARK

Shu

~translation~

This song delves into the more perverse side of Shu, but we haven't really reached the level of Laito (we'll get there). The phone feels a little out of character but it suits that narrative. The straight cut out of music for the intermission was a bit abrasive but the transition back to music makes me forget about that with how slick it is. At least its better than a generic rock song.

32. カモフラージュ (Camouflage)

Shu & Laito

~translation~

What a great match up for subject matter, my interpretation is a denial and inability to accept oneself, ultimately using a mask to hide. So please look up the lyrics for some gems. However, after the 'against the blood' nothing really hit that same point sonically, furthermore its not the most aesthetically fitting for the two characters.

*Great*

These songs I actively enjoy, think about and do listen to occasionally and would recommend you check it out too.

31. >REDRUM<-

Ayato & Subaru

~translation~

This song is full of anagrams in the lyrics, I mean look at the song title. Its super catchy and is hard to forget about. The bridge is the weakest part of this song but it is made up by the distortion of vocals after the final chorus.

30. Fanatic of Night

Sakamaki Brothers

~translation~

Well time to party, talk about a bop and a half! Its just so fun, even though its to exactly DL to me, but that's Lunatic Parade for you. Shout out to the guitarist and percussion once again.

29. Bad Howling

Shu, Ayato & Kou

~translation~

This is super catchy, its nice to hear Kou in the opening song this time round, it spices things up. Theres some really nice elements played with the vocals as they sing over one another that is really well balanced. The biggest peg down is that I don't get super DL vibes and the lyrics aren't the deepest.

28. I.M.I.T.A.T.I.O.N. G.A.M.E

Kino

~translation~

Overall this song is a little generic and doesn't sound like DL but! There is a lot to love here too. Starting off with the performance, I really like the vibrato in his voice and the decent of notes at the end of the chorus is just, yes. It a nice hook and the lyrics are pretty good too. My only other complaint is that the drums mask some smaller elements in the background of the song which would have been nice to hear more in the forefront.

27. 極限(UNLIMITED) BLOOD

Shu, Ayato & Subaru

~translation~

This is where the rankings get pretty hard cuz I wish this was higher but oh well. the dramatic shift from the opening piano to the song is so abrupt but it gets you pumped. The intermission does a good job of changing things up without cutting tension. The lyrics themselves seem to be from the view of the Adam project during more blood and the unquenchable thirst they get in the story.

26. アルカディア (Arcadia)

Ayato

~translation~

Immediately I get Ayato vibes from this song and the rapping does help too with a nice flow that isn't too jarring from the rest of the song. These lyrics are basically Addicted2Phantom on steroids, I can't see anyone else other than Ayato in them.

25. Kekkyoku Night

Ayato

~translation~

Don't know why but the guitar melody just seems like I had heard it before but I can't put my finger on it. The bass is super slick here and I really enjoy it. The vocal distortion at the start of the verse sets a scene for him to hunt down this person and its a narrative choice. The main issue is that I wish there was a little more pizzaz to the chorus.

24. Kaikan DEATH-TRUCTION

Kanato

~translation~

Spoilers but I have placed both a Kanato's songs pretty high up so this was a little bit of a let down after the other two. The main issues here is that I don't really get too much of Kanato in the song and the yelling before the chorus is a little much. This, to me, is a self reflection from Kanato which is a good switch up from his last two songs. Overall, the song is abrasive in a good way that isn't overwhelming and the 8-bit section is my fave.

23. 血濡れた密会 (BLOODY SABBATH)

Laito

~translation~

Oh boy, look these lyrics up for a good time. This song is about his hook up with a women with the song getting progressively darker as it goes on. Nice psycho reference but I don't know if it does much in the end. Really catchy hook and the escalation of the final chorus is just so good. Also I'm just going to leave this line from the song here:

“You wend all out with the rodeo girl play? So then, let’s grind!!!”

22. 幻日理論-Parhelion Logic

Ayato

~translation~

This song is meant to be kind of an open letter to Cordelia and my word these lyrics are haunting. It fits the vibe of Haunted Dark Bridal so well, super strong overall. I just wish there was a stronger performance vocally.

21. 暴言シンドローム (Seiron Syndrome)

Yuma

~translation~

Yuma, to me has some pretty good observation skills and its really highlighted here. The first line just hits the nail on the head in terms of how rough he is both in and out of the bedroom. This song is the best of the 'generic rock' with production being really smooth despite the high energy, it matches him really well. First line:

The pain of your sprained neck won’t subside

20. 蠱惑のParade (Kowaku no Parade)

Reiji & Kanato

~translation~

We got another catchy banger here! This song just screams 'the two of us are here to hunt you down and we won't stop till we get a taste.' I mean this song is super pleasing aesthetically and great lyrics to boot!

19. KILLYOU,AGAIN

Azusa

~translation~

The strings are an immediate attention grabber and its hold it throughout the whole song. Super catchy, and these lyrics are Azusa, especially this chorus. Id be interested to hear what people think about the second verse in particular cuz there's a lot to read into:

"In a worn out state of mind, no matter how many nights we question it... We’ve idealised too much."

18. SQueeze…

Subaru

~translation~

Okay before anything else, the squeeze at the start is goofy, I can't take it seriously. Anyway, I can't help but tap my foot to this song. Third times the charm, finally hitting Subaru's aesthetic to a T. The voice is a little quiet on the track but what takes over just sounds so good. The contrast of the bell and the guitar is just, yes thank you. The pre-chorus is a nice mix up to the status quo and these lyrics are great too.

17. 愛の檻 (Ai no Ori)

Ayato & Laito

~translation~

The opening is a nice tone setter for a haunting head bopper. These voices work together so well, just like how the sirens work with the strings. The singular violin during the bridge is great, praise to anyone who can do that my god. The string motif climaxes at the final chorus and it creates an awesome song!

16. 月蝕(Eclipse)

Kou, Yuma & Azusa

~translation~

Well we have a nice build up ballad here. The opening is a little out of place but I forget about it as it builds to this final chorus with the tempo getting faster and faster. The stripped back production also ends up aiding the song in the end with its punches and message. Speaking of which; I get the idea this is about watching some either currently or in retrospective how their personality changes after turning into a vampire; a loss of innocence. How fitting for the Mukami's.

“Despising the sunlight that filters through the blinds is only inevitable, I suppose”

*Faves*

This is what I think the best of the best is. It reflects the themes, ideas and characters of Diabolik Lovers in the best way possible. When people ask me what music from the franchise to listen to, I point to these songs.

15. Count off

Kino

~translation~

There is so much to talk about here, this is a mix of singing and spoken piece and it works so well for me. The delivery over this contagious beat I can't help but get hints of a k-pop vibe here. The movement to singing then vocoded voice are interesting and fun. The bridge switch up too is great, my only wish is that the choir hand a little more presence in the final chorus cuz its fun the first times round, it would be a nice call back.

14. A Certain Prophet's Fate [とある預言者の、運命 Toaru Yogensha no Unmei]

Reiji

~translation~

I can visualise a Nutella Kookie moodboard with this opening alone. To me, this is Reiji explain his views on women with allusions to Faust too, not the Ikemen version relax. there are some cool allusions to his mother in the lyrics too. The bass is so cool to listen out for and the guitar nodding to the chorus at the end is a nice way to end. I was just hoping for a little continuation to the opening like Reiji finding this person escaping on horseback.

13. CHAOS☆PARTY

Laito

~translation~

Aaaaaand another innuendo song from Laito, what a surprise! The jazzy, circus-pop vibes are super fun and catchy, I love it. It's like an upgraded version of Bloody Sabbath to me. The distortion on the guitar is also great to listen out for.

"Don’t decide where’s the critical point, grind as you feel it,

Till the moon oh, mockingly"

12. Mr.ButterflyMask

Reiji

~translation~

The opening may be cliche but it works so well, this is such a deep dive into Reiji's psyche; his mother, inferiority complex and village burning to name a few. The actual song is easy to remember which makes it even better here, the descending notes at the end of the chorus is a highlight.

"Burnt black, that awful land mark"

11. 真夜中の饗宴 (MIDNIGHT PLEASURE)

Shu, Ayato & Subaru

~translation~

The song to start it all, thank god it's such a highlight. I get so hyped from hearing the opening footsteps; mirroring the prologue with You stepping into the mansion for the first time. I feel so nostalgic for this and I'm hyped to play the game every time I hear this. The spoken section is the high point in terms of the HDB aesthetic but these lyrics maaaannn:

"With a scream that shatters the moon itself I’ll give you this extraordinary pain called “love”!"

10. Guilty×Guilty!!!

Shu, Ayato & Subaru

~translation~

I'm gonna get crucified for putting this above midnight pleasure but my list and this is my fave game op. The only peg down is the lyrics but it makes up so much for the actual sound variation. The unnerving energy from this scifi-y noise, it screams danger with the Tsunami arrival. The variation between the two verses in robs what places it high and the bridge is excellent to boot.

9. Farewell Song

Shu

~translation~

If I had to make one song recommendation outside of DL with this list it is this song here. The lyrics and melody match up the same way and both are strong in their own right. Onto the song, these lyrics really shine wrangling with ideas and the thought process of depression; something that hits close to home for me. With the inclusion of the destructive nature vampires its truely impactful. The sound of the song aids these lyrics too while all sounding like Shu.

Without pause, the drops of a drizzle had begun to weep...

...Comforting the screams of the things you’ve touched"

8. Mr.SADISTIC NIGHT

Shu, Ayato & Subaru

~translation~

This is my favourite opening of all the games and anime and it is the most on theme with the DL franchise, not just the one game. The guitar rifts at the start are just sooooo iconic. The actual line "Mr Sadistic Night" is delivered so well too. I mean the song speaks for itself. I will make the observation though that this song is the epitome of kids unknowingly singing a song with dirty lyrics.

"If I’m so aroused by the snare of your enticing blood

Tonight, as I thrust deep into you, a lust for death awakens from within you!"

7. 悪魔的（Devil's）Spire!!!!

Kou

~translation~

This song is just Kou at his best, I can imagine him singing this at a concert as a debut single. It has all the elements of a catchy pop song with some sinister elements that just reflects his personality. Production has my praise here too. The song seems to be a friends with benefits situation Kou has as he recounts the tale. Also, more innuendos:

"In the deep red velvet sheets, Do you want to taste my forbidden syrup?"

6. Operation X

Tsukinami Brothers

~translation~

Haven't seen these guys in a while! You can tell production had fun adding all these medical sounds in the back like the sirens and heart monitor. The song itself is super catchy too, that bass just hits you at the core! The lyrics look like the Tsukinami's observation of You as she has become entangled with all these vampires and the situation just seems to spiral even more out of control.

"The risk spreads further the deeper you get involved...

...The more you give up, the more that guy mocks you"

5. GRATEFUL★DEAD★MARCH

Kanato

~translation~

Production had fun again, you can tell. It's more upbeat there is still a sinister vibe here. The constant switch ups within the song all flow so well. I feel genuine despair listening to this chorus, like Kanato is mocking or toying with me before going in for the kill. My only complaint is that the slowing down at the end is a bit of a mood killer.

4. 切断★舞踏会 (KIRISAKI CARNIVAL)

Kanato

~translation~

In terms of character aesthetic, this is sheer perfection. There is a narrative within this song that you need to look at the lyrics for the best experience. The sound effects act as a good way to heighten the story as they match the lyrics. One moment to note it both the chorus and pre-chorus as they act as the extreme ends on Kanato's personality and it creates a great dichotomy when placed together.

3. Q.E.D.

laito

~translation~

My favourite solo song, and the one I constantly visit the most. Laito is a complex character and this song does a self reflection in the best way possible.I would also recommend reading this great analysis by everything laito because I can't do a proper analysis justice. For the song itself, the piano is a great mood setter as it acts as if we are approaching Laito as he plays the piano about to go into one of his many monologues to himself. The intercut from the piano to the guitar is abrupt but it works so well as if there are crack in his facade showing through. The change back to the piano is great too and isn't distracting in any way. I also think this is such an emotional performance, like I can feel the sadness and despair along with almost a self deprecating humour to the delivery. Top notch stuff

2. 罠-If You’re Diablo- (Wana -If You’re Diablo-)

Mukami Brothers

~translation~

I want mention first off that the spoken word from Ruki is such an aid here, the pace is slower, more haunting and despair-inducing in tone. The speaking adds a nice break to the vocals. The chorus in particular packs such a punch its kind of nice to lie on the ground and just let the song envelop you. The lyrics give the impression that there is a mutually destructive relationship here with the Mukami's mentioning of betrayal yet they suck the blood of this person. There is also a feeling of hopelessness that the Mukami's know they can never achieve their goal of becoming Adam.

"I'd been resigned to become Adam since who-knows-when...

I continue to hate this fate, my prayers in zero"

1. Gin no Bara

Sakamaki Brothers

~translation~

And we're finally at the end! This song encapsulates everything that Diabolik Lovers is. Vocally, it's really catchy with such a somber vibe, because that's what DL is. It's a dark series but you can see that darkness with each backstory, the actions these characters take and just the overall hopelessness in this one song. The Sakamaki's all singing together packs such a punch too. There are so many gems in these lyrics, to literally acknowledging the pain and suffering their mothers' caused and coming to terms with the actions they have committed as they fall in love.

"The proof remains on your neck while you sleep quietly Even if an eternal curse awaits me beyond those overflowing tears

I now hold this love and pain in my chest"

*SHOUTOUTS*

I want to give a huge shout out to the following people. They have helped immensely with translation and just overall accessibility to the songs because they would be 1000 times more harder to find without them.

Silvermoon249 (Live Journal)

Asyqin98 Creator (YouTube)

S I s o v o l i (Youtube)

DIABOLIK LOVERS (YouTube)

Dialovers otaka (Tumblr)

Starlight voices (Tumblr)

Cannonette (Tumblr) @canonette

The Precious Sugar Chan (Tumblr)

One final note, I would recommend listening to these with headphones because the audio sometimes does that thing where it jumps from ear to ear and it creates the best effect to be more involved in the atmosphere.

#diabolik lovers #dialovers #sakamaki #mukami #ayato sakamaki #sakamaki shu #reiji sakamaki #laito sakamaki #kanato sakamaki #sakamaki subaru #ruki mukami #mukami kou #mukami yuma #mukami azusa #tsukinami shin #carla tsukimami #kino sakamaki

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likeadog · 3 years ago

Text

okay so im seeing people get anons about this and its coming up in friend groups so i think now's actually a pretty good time to tackle the idea of religious (specifically cultic) abuse in media and how we as an audience interact with it

TLDR: dehumanization and sexualization of cult victims furthers the misunderstanding that cults "don't exist now", and RA survivors would feel much safer in fandom spaces if people acknowledged and analyzed the harmful portrayals of cults in media.

cw: discussions of cults, abuse, and sexual assault

also, if you have questions, please shoot me an ask or dm (off anon preferably, though)

let me start this with a disclaimer that i dont think every media that features ra is inherently bad. i think thats a bit harsh and as an ra survivor ive come to terms with the fact that there are going to be depictions of it in ways that maybe dont give it the respect it deserves, and trying to "what about [x]" everything will only lead people to talking in circles with themselves. what i want to address here is how you, as a consumer, respond to and parse out what cultic abuse means in any particular portrayal of it.

*also please don't harass people about their RAS status, like, if you see someone enjoying something with a less than stellar portrayal of cults, don't send them asks or dms like "well are YOU a cult survivor?" reducing the consumption of media to a yes or no game based on identity-- especially an identity that comes as the result of explicit pain and spiritual violation is not only derivative but also degrading to survivors and the people you're grilling. all we want is for people to think carefully about what they spread and portray, and how they think about those situations.

so, i think the first thing to tackle is...what is a cult? This is something that's surprisingly hard to define, especially in fictional settings with fictional cults. For example, (and pardon the use of this example, I don't feel like hunting for others), My Hero Academia has an organization in it that I would say fits the criteria for being a cult, but by and large isn't considered one by fans because it's not explicitly called a cult. (Although numerous cult jokes have been made about it). It also has an organization that IS explicitly referred to as a cult.

So, when you're dealing with how to process what is and is not a cult-- and how to make your presence safe for RA survivors, you have to be able to sift through more than just "did the narrative tell me this is a cult?"

There's a few different models people use; one of the most popular being the BITE model-- but I should clarify that the BITE model is really tailored towards religious and strictly hierarchal cults, but can be applied to other kinds of cults.

(and yes, there are cults other than religious/spiritual ones. corporate cults and wellness cults have been on the rise, and it's good to keep that in mind both when engaging with media and also in the real world.)

However, I'm a religious cult survivor, so a lot of my experience is strictly irt this, so please take what I say with a grain of salt, and know that I don't speak for every cult survivor, every religious cult survivor, or every religious abuse survivor. I am One Guy on the internet.

When it comes to media, I have a few questions I run through in order to figure out if something is A Cult.

1) Fringe Ideas. This one is one of those that most people know-- and often incorrectly use to attribute cult status to other things. However, it is worth mentioning, that you don't become a cult by following mainstream ideologies. BUT. BUT. not every group with weird ideas is a cult! Some groups are just weird and are fine being weird. It's a rectangles and squares situation. All cults have fringe ideas and behaviors, not all fringe ideas and behaviors belong to cults.

2) Hierarchies. Cults always have people in power, at least in my experience. There have been ideas thrown around about "completely decentralized cults"-- but to be honest, I'm not sure how I feel about that concept, and I don't know enough about it personally to say whether or not it's legitimate. If you have any sources, hmu.

BUT. Most cults have a power structure. You're going to have leaders, usually with a handful at the verrrrry tippy top, whose word is law. This can be associated with things like religious ideas (channelling god) or being "a genius", like in corporate cults.

3) Control. I cannot stress this enough; cults are all about control. How you think, feel, behave-- they discourage critical thought, encourage snitching on each other, buddy-group behavior; the BITE model explicitly lists these models of control.

4) Us V Them. Cults will give all those that oppose them or simply don't believe them a bad name. They're uneducated, they're evil-- it varies cult to cult, but you'll see them turning the non believers into a homogenous, frightening group. They want to discourage looking outwards, and they want to viciously isolate members.

Other things of note are extremism, talks of enlightenment, harsh punishments, the cult eating large portions of the member's finances, etc.

However, this post is largely to address FICTIONAL cults. and the unfortunate fact of the matter is that fictional cults are rarely fleshed out in a way that can be held one to one to a model, and, more often, don't even afford the victims of a cult humanity.

and this is one of THE biggest issues you find in cult portrayals. the leader is usually a charismatic, or perhaps menacing, figure, one that usually our protagonists-- who are rarely cult victims, they are typically outsiders (not inherently bad, mind you)-- faces personally, with the hoardes of mindless zombies forming one giant hurdle.

Naturally, this can be...hurtful. There's nuance to who is and is not a victim in a cult (although my rule of thumb is to look at what abuses that person specifically exerts over others-- and you can be both a victim and perpetrator of abuse. to treat them exclusively is lacking all nuance), but the people are the bottom, even if they joined willingly, are people who were preyed upon. Not only that, but many media cults forget that people can be born into cults, and never really had a choice to begin with. To treat these people like they are mindless-- or that they deserve the suffering they are in because they are there-- completely erases all nuance, humanity, and understanding to the cult survivior struggle. Not only that, but it continues to sensationalize and deify cult leaders, which is doing their job for them, really.

The second biggest issue is the romanticization and sexualization of cults, religious abuse, and cultic abuse.

(yes...this is a thing.)

The use of cults as a way to make a character edgy or tragic is one thing, but there's something sinister about using it to project a certain sexual behavior onto that character-- whether it be as the subjugator or subjugated. Sexual abuse is rampent in cults, and ritualistic sexual abuse is used to justify it. To sexualize the idea of a cult(ist) raping and abusing someone is...beyond offensive to anyone who has been in a cult where their sexual safety and autonomy has been compromised. Or, in some cases, the cultist is so naive and sheltered they can be easily coerced and taken advantage of due to their brainwashing.

This is...bad? This is bad. To ignore the fact that these depictions are just as harmful as any other romanticization of abuse is to ignore the real suffering of cult victims.

Really, the larger problem is that people don't really think cults exist, not really. They're all things of the past, or things that exist solely in fiction-- when in reality, every day cults form and continue to grow. If you've ever met a mormon, you've met a cultist. The moment you begin to process and parce the fact that this isn't as bizarre and unusual and fictional as it seems, you take the steps to respecting people who have been in that situation and become better at detecting cults, cult recruitment, and are able to more clearly assess what you take in.

Once again, there's so many bad portrayal of cults that it would be...stupid to call for an immediate disowning of anything with it in it. I personally have come to terms with the idea that I will have gripes about these portrayals in most cases, but rarely do I see people other than fellow RA or cult survivors discussing these portrayals. I'm hoping people can become more aware and willing to discuss cults in a serious and analytical context and criticize how they're portrayed in the things they love.

And once again, cult survivors are NOT a monolith. If a cult survivor expresses they are uncomfortable with something I said here that I'm not, or vice versa, listen to the people who actively surround you and whom you care about.

#nyc knacks #cults #ive been sitting on this for a while but it came up on the dash and i took the opportunity to talk abt it #bc i feel very passionately abt it #ok 2 rb

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calypsoff · 4 years ago

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Twenty Five. Part 3

Robyn moaned into my mouth as I stepped between her spread thighs, gripping her hips and lifted her up and plopped her down on the vanity dresser a few feet away from where we stood. My knees buckled when Robyn reached down and gripped me firmly in her hands, fisting me tightly before leading me to her opening. We both locked eyes as I slid into her with ease. Her wet walls griping me tightly. Robyn spread her legs wide as I held her hands against the mirror above her head, thrusting in and out of her at lightning speed, the dresser making a thumping rhythm as it beat against the wall “damn” I moaned, beads of sweat beginning to trickle down my forehead. Robyn arched her hips out, meeting me with each hard thrust. Her legs tied around my waist, pushing me in closer “yes, Chris .. Deeeee-” Robyn gasped out tilting her head back. I let go of her hands and placed one of my hands on her lower back. Robyn clung to me, her body falling weak with pleasure. Loud gasps and moans filled the room. Her muscles involuntarily clenching around me as I hit her with one powerful stroke after another. “Fuck yes, Chris, just... ahhhh.. Yes” Robyn bit into her bottom lip, her eyes rolling to the back of her head.

I gripped her neck, pulling her head back and placing kisses to her neck, licking my way around her neck, I sucked on her sensitive spot before biting down on her neck hard. I knew a mark would be left, I am obsessed with her neck on my life I am “uhhh poppa” Robyn cried out, her eyes wide with pleasure “baby” I growled huskily, my hips rotating wildly. Still pounding into her, feeling myself coming close. Robyn shuddered and her mouth fell open but only a gentle coo left her lips, her finger pressing down into my forearms as I still rocketed into her. I continued to pound into her, my face screwed up in determination as I fucked her as hard as I could, only coming minutes later, pouring all I had to offer deep inside of her. We both stopped our movements all together. Remaining still as we allowed what just took place to sink in. My hand around the back of Robyn’ neck, pulling her forward as I licked the side of her face “I love you” she mine, and she knows that. This is why she mute as fuck right now.

Feel like a brand new person, I really do. I am a new man, lifting my head up with the biggest smile on my face. Robyn and I really fell asleep holding hands, and I woke up with our hands still connecting, that is love. I adore her so much, pressing a kiss to her cheek. I think Robyn is going to be knocked out asleep for a while now, I think she’s done enough riding my dick. She’s been putting it in a lot of work and now she is just there, not even moving an inch when I kissed her cheek. Lifting my arm up and tried to shake off Robyn’ hand but it still firmly connected to mine, and still yet she sleeps peacefully. I need to go and pee, this mouth breather refuses to let me go. I call her mouth breather because she sleeps with her mouth full wide, like ma’am you are taking the whole air in but she’s cute. I think our hands are sticky from the sweat, so this is why we are so connected “Robyn, let my hand go please” shaking her hand again “don’t” frowning at her “let me go” pressing kisses to her cheek but then she let out a sob “aye” I said furrowing my eyebrows “that was random” I said confused as she let my hand go, she let my hand go but yet was kind of crying, my poor baby. Was it a bad dream, let’s hope not. Let me go and pee and get some breakfast, after all that sex I am so fucking hungry right now. I’ve had other women before, I am not even joking about Robyn, but her pussy is just immaculate, she tastes good, she feels good. Her pussy be having my dick hard forever, like that don’t be going down. She is just the best and I am happy, I’m happy we had sex. It brings us closer together, I love her so much and I will suck her toes forever. Her feet is bomb, that ain’t even a joke either. I can’t believe a goofy ass nigga like me got with Robyn, it even the fact it’s Rihanna but she is beautiful, and she is with me.

Heart shaped pancakes is too much, I think it is but I requested it and the hotel did it for me. Robyn is awake too so I’m just waiting on her to come down, see my twin. I missed my baby’ face so much, and I just saw her in the bed. Crazy, I love her too much. I grinned so wide seeing Robyn come down in a robe “my whole world is here” clasping my hands together smirking “whole world now? You made me sore, your world is sore” I grinned wide watching Robyn, she came over to me and pressed a kiss to my forehead “forehead kisses now? Oh we in love” I chuckled, licking my lips fixing myself in the seat “we are doing breakfast, and a heart shape!?” Robyn spat “that my heart, now you can’t eat it” Robyn rolled her eyes “I will be eating it, forget that. I am hungry as fuck” clearing my throat “so how was last night, oh by the way. You were emotional asleep? Like you started sobbing?” I asked, it was odd “I did? Out loud, I was having a bad dream actually I am just shocked I was doing that out loud, you know” pulling a face “having a bad dream and I was close to you, tell me. I am listening” picking my fork to eat my eggs “I was dreaming of a baby, I know you don’t want to hear it but I was dreaming of being pregnant and having a baby, something that I am currently craving, you know? So yeah. I was having a horrible dream about that” letting out an oh “what was happening in that dream?” that is not nice “just weird, like I couldn’t see the faces but all I know is that I was holding a baby and happy and then the baby is gone, like not there. Maybe it’s me thinking about it but yeah, ignore me” shaking my head “don’t say that baby you are thinking about it. I think you need to let it go with the flow. Shit will happen eventually; you always have these?” I mean it can’t be a one off, maybe it is “I have had another baby dream before. It was again, losing my baby. But I can’t believe I was sobbing out like that” nodding my head, I am sad for her.

Let me change the subject, things have become a little awkward between us now “so the tour, are you excited? What is the tour called?” I mean I should know this “oh you not seen my tour posters huh? You know what, I said to Mel watch Chris not take notice, but the tour is called Diamonds World Tour, because you’re my diamond and uhm, I am pretty excited. I feel like it will take my mind off things, like when I was rehearsing things left my mind about things, and I did enjoy it but the first date is in Buffalo, you going to be there for me?” she said in the cutest voice ever “uhm, I am busy on the day” I lied “asshole, I never even mentioned a date. You better stop that but anyways, will you be there for my first. And then maybe my second until I go Canada? Well three dates and then Canada? Please?” I hate touring shit, I really do but then it kind of hit me that she may be singing that song “of course I will, are you going to be singing that song?” I asked, I hope not but I think she will be “yep” she sighed out saying which made me sad that she was “I got you, you know that. But I will be there, I will come and see you on random dates, I will look at them” I laughed, I am so slow. I should know these things about my girl, where she is going and stuff. Robyn grinned wide, that has made her smile so much “but what is my man going to do without me around huh?” Robyn questioned “find another girl?” I mean that is what she wants to hear “nah, you mine now. Sucking my toes like your life depended on it, nigga bye. Actually poppa, why don’t you housesit for me, Rorrey was going too but he mentioned he wanted to come on the tour, you want too? Would be a great help?” sitting back in the seat, housesitting “uhmmm, can’t you get like someone else? I will be in Texas with my second girlfriend” Robyn pulled a face “California will be good for your work? Fine don’t then” she waved me off “I will, I will stay there for you ok? Just that place is big as fuck, might be a little lonely” I shrugged “and you have NBA players, singers and shit being around, make friends” she has a point I guess.

Robyn climbed onto the bed across from me “I bought son, son over” moving my phone back from my face “that is cute, what is up” locking my phone, something seems to be up because she had a phone call and now she seems to be quiet “just girl thing, you know” Robyn shrugged it off “come on, lay down with me and you can tell me” Robyn crawled over to me “thank you poppa, I am going to leave son, son with you in California” taking the bear from her smiling “sure, I don’t mind it” placing it on the pillow next to me “nothing bad, just that I love Mel I do. And we have been through everything together but recently Mel has been feigning for a relationship and like now she called me and said I was ignoring her when I told her I am with you; I am trying to spend time with you but she is feeling lonely. I think she dislikes I am taken and in love and I don’t give her the attention. I just don’t get it, so yeah she rang and said I was ignoring her, and I goes uh no, I was spending time with my man and then she goes oh but who has been there for you, chile. I am like has your period started, it’s annoying. What the fuck. So yeah, just stressing. Like I have another partner, I hate that she’s lonely” oh here we go “that is her problem” I mumbled “but it is mine too Chris” clearing my throat “how about Barry and Mel? Yeah, good. Now let’s just talk about us” Robyn got up from me smiling “what are you like but I want you to be at home, when you’re in Cali. It is your home” nodding my head “but tell Mel I will give her number to him, so no stressing. I want you to be stress free, I want you to be my country bumpkin” Robyn scoffed “and I want you to be my island boy” Robyn pecked my lips “baby, you going to massage my feet” here she goes “stop it, I don’t have a foot fetish now” I think I do “but I have a neck fetish, your neck and my teeth always meet” Robyn’ neck looks good, full of hickeys.

#Chrianna FF #Chrianna #Chrianna Fanfiction #Fanfic #Fanfiction

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spaceysp · 4 years ago

Note

Whats ur opinions on the crimson arc so far? do you like how its going? any theories in what would happen next? im sorry if its a lot, i just miss your rambling

oooo thank you so much for the ask! its so nice that you actually like my rambling qwq youre too kind!

and YES, the egg arc, i havent really talked about it since the red skeppy arc, but i have been (mostly) keeping up! i am a true unabashed bbh apologist, its so fascinating how persuasive he can be, he manages to keep me rooting for him despite all logical conclusions pointing to the egg actually not being all that great for the smp. i love the way he revealed that he was under the influence of the egg, and that he implied that he gave in to the crimson after skeppy showed no signs of getting better. honestly, my biggest gripe is how the small red skeppy segment played out, there was a perfect opportunity to loop techno into the arc while also not directly facing him with the egg, skeppy becoming another refuge in his cabin like ranboo, and techno trying to figure out whats wrong with him. also, the bathwater solution was... a little confusing, but honestly, i dont blame either of them for red skeppy devolving into an almost comedic side-arc, skeppy doesnt seem to really enjoy that kind of roleplay and bad clearly got too emotional when dealing with those topics, so im glad they changed it up for the sake of their own comfort.

and while i love the arc and how its going, one of my biggest flaws is being overly-critical, so i cant help but be a bit hesitant when it doesnt go the way i think it should. again, totally a me problem, because honestly, its going great even without heading in the direction i thought it should. i love how they bring in lesser focused on “side characters” to the story, giving them development and time to shine, in contrast to how as soon as tommy and tubbo got involved herds of people were ready to call out the arc. in any sci-fi universe, though i enjoy some ridiculous and far-out concepts, at its base i most appreciate it being realistic enough to, in a certain universe or fantasy, it could be real. i like the alien aspects to still follow a set amount of rules, rules that cant be broken without completely skewing the original idea. most of the “rules” for the egg go as follows, you either like it or hate it, it turns blue things red, and red things white, enough time with the egg will convert you into liking it, obsidian and holy water can slow its spread. now, i, like a few others, suspect some of these rules, like the holy water, of being over-exaggerated to bring an advantage to the eggpire, but i think the rest of them are pretty solid and shown in the canon. so, my problem with tommys involvement is that he directly contradicts one of the rules, like every other overpowered mary sue protagonist. i know bad probably wrote this in and there will be an explanation or plot point or whatever, but it still irks me, especially when hes also threatening to break another rule, that the egg cant convert him into liking it. this is obviously setting him up to be the “main character” or “hero” but i honestly hope he just leaves it alone. he wont even take the threat seriously, and there are many better alternatives like puffy or awesam. i know most people are hoping for puffy as the main hero, and it would make sense! she follows all the rules, while also finding ways around the eggpire and trying to stop them.

overall, i love the way they use the environment to their advantage in storytelling, i love how its not another basic man v man conflict that, in the end, depends on how stacked you are and your pvp skills. i love that theres mystery in how the egg even appeared, and how different people are used in the story. some things feel a little hasty, but only small things. not to mention bads incorporation of fanart. its really great and people should be giving it the appreciation it deserves, deffo one of the best plots on the server. again, tysm for the ask, i went on a LONG time about this oops.

#seth dont look #thank u for the askkkkkkk <3<3<3

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1000roughdrafts · 5 years ago

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It’s My Party - Pt. 2

Summary: You break it off with Dean, and when you do a world of emotions and feelings hits you that you can’t explain. It’s painful, and weird, yet liberating.

Pairing: Sam X Reader

W/C: 3062

Warnings: verbal argument, a curse word, angst and fluff :)

Part 1

The Winchesters rustling around in the kitchen brings you out of a deep sleep. Glancing around, it’s clear that you never made it to the bed. The oddly soft, yet prickly feel of the carpet scrapes against your arms as you bring yourself to your knees. You have no memory of falling asleep, probably a result of the energy spent crying into your dress.

You bring your hand to rub the sleep from your eyes and wince as the rawness underneath them throbs from the motion. Yawning, you stand to your feet and stagger to the dresser to glance at the clock. It’s well after noon and your stomach aches for a meal. You dread even going out to see their faces, let alone the conversation you need to have with Dean.

Moving as quietly as you can, you grab your phone and make your way out of the room. As you reach the end of the hallway, you peer out to see Dean and Sam sitting across from each other at the kitchen table. Books, notepads and coffee mugs are spread out in front of them.

You take sloppy steps into the kitchen and head straight for the coffee, ignoring that they both have eyes on you. Your hands shake as you pour a cup for yourself, and your legs wobble on your way to the table. Plopping down in the chair closes to Sam, you speak only to him.

“Whatcha doin’?” you say so sweetly it nearly convinces them that everything from the night before was just a weird, bad dream.

Sam clears his throat, “uh,” he says, looking down at the notebook full of scribbled words in front of him, “just a local case. We’re thinking vamps.”

He smiles when he looks back up at you, and breath almost escapes you when the smile elicits a reaction they never have in the past. Unbeknownst to you, your eyes widen in shock as you try to figure out why his smile made your heard to that... thing. Your eyes oscillate between his and the longer you look at him the faster your heart pumps.

Dean breaks the momentary silence by clearing his throat and saying your name in a gravelly whisper. Your head shoots in his direction, eyes glaring at him involuntarily.

Heavily sighing, you drop your eyes into your lap, “Dean,” you say.

“Are you,” he starts. “Are you ready to talk?”

“Sure,” you say in a hostile tone. “Why not, right?”

Standing behind the closed door, you look around at all of your items in the room, eager to pull all of them into the spare bedroom. Dean sits on the bed, forearms resting on his knees and his hands folded in front of him. His eyes stay planted on his hands as he moves his fingers around each other.

“Look,” you say in a breath. “There’s nothing to even really talk about,” you say, words descending from a normal projection to a whisper as you go on. You look down into your hands as you bring them together, avoiding the stare he’s put on you. “I just...” you trail off.

“Just what, Y/N?” he asks, the words breaking as they come out.

“I think we should break up,” you say, allowing your eyes to meet his.

“Over...” the confusion on his face is almost humorous and definitely frustrating. “Because of dinner last night? Because I was... nice to the waitress?” he asks, almost in an accusing tone.

“You’re still going to pretend you weren’t flirting with her?” you gripe in an agitated laugh.

“I wasn’t!” he yells, arms flailing.

“Yes, you were!” you match his tone, accidentally throwing a hand in the air. There’s a heavy silence for a moment as you collect your thoughts. “Dean, when you asked me to dinner last night, I was... I was so excited. I had this whole idea in my head that it would be the start of something new with us, something better than it ever has been. I had feelings for you for a long time, ever since Sam introduced us. I think my biggest mistake was building you up so much in my mind that who you actually are kept disappointing me.”

He scoffs, “thanks.”

Ignoring him, you fiddle with your hands, “and we’ve been together for almost a year now, and - and I’ve never felt anything from you. I’ve never felt like you cared, I’ve never felt like you loved me, I have never felt, not one time, that you actually wanted to be together,” you pause. “I always told myself that if you were with me that meant that you wanted to be and I should stop questioning things, questioning myself, but it’s like,” you pause again. “It’s like for me, we were a couple, but for you I was just a live in fuck buddy.”

“What?” he stands, eyes squinting in confusion. “Y/N, I care about you. More than I’ve ever cared for anyone before.”

“Then stop lying to me, damn it! You sure don’t, and never have, acted or treated me like you care, so why start now?” You pause, waiting for a response from him that doesn’t come. His eyes droop to the floor. “I mean, can’t you see the way I have felt for you?” Going off of the script you had in your mind you let your emotions lead the way. “Couldn’t you see it in my eyes? The way I held you, kissed you. The way I looked at you. In everything I’ve done for you,” your eyes dart across the floor as you listen to the words, and something unexpected clicks in you.

Your mind rewinds to the night before. The way Sam wrapped his arms around you without question. The way he didn’t even pressure you to talk to him the way Dean would have. How you heard him fighting with Dean the night before about how Dean treated you at the restaurant. The way he looks at you when you talk to him. He’s always given you his full, undivided attention when you tell him stories, and never cut you off to tell one of his own like Dean would. You’d always thought he was just being friendly, just being the best friend he’d been for years. It never actually occurred to you that he might have feelings for you.

Or perhaps you’re reading too much into the spark you felt earlier. Maybe you have actually had feelings for him and have been so blinded that you couldn’t see it, and maybe now you’re just trying to justify that by saying he could feel the same way.

Zoning back in, you hear Dean giving more excuses about how he was just being nice rather than flirty and something inside of you cracks. Somewhere inside of you, a piece breaks off without pain. You feel liberated, like a weight has been taken off of you and freed you in a way you’ve never been free before.

“Know what?” you say, walking over to sit in the chair across from him. “I don’t love you, and,” you pause with a smile, “and I don’t think I ever did,” you laugh at the realization.

“Why is that funny?” he chokes.

“Because, Dean, all of this time, I was just... I don’t know. I was blind. But I don’t think you love me either,” you scoff, tilting your head slightly. When you look up at him, his eyebrows are turned into each other, his lips slightly pursed. “Well, you obviously don’t given what happened last night. Just admit it, seriously. It’s over between us, so you might as well be honest now.”

He breathes out a hearty sigh, leaning back slightly with his eyes still on you. “Okay,” he says, head shaking slowly as he slaps his hands against his thighs. “Yeah. I don’t know what came over me. I - I got so used to being alone, I - I slipped into old patterns, but Y/N, I will never let it happen again, please.”

“No,” you say, shaking your head with a finger held up in front of you. Standing, you walk to your dresser to pull out clothes for the day, “do whatever you want, Dean. I’m serious about breaking up,” you say, turning your head to face him. “I’m done with you.”

“Y/N,” he whines, standing from the bed and walking towards you.

You take a step back to disallow his arm to reach your back. Turning around to face him, you’re ever more confused by how he’s fighting to keep you.

“You’ll realize this is for the best, Dean. I’m willing to bet that by tomorrow, you’ll be perfectly fine with this, and I’ll have all of my stuff out of here by the end of the day,” you smile and scoot past him with your clothes.

After changing into a cute, long sleeve shirt with overalls, you walk into the kitchen to see Sam in the same spot he was in before. He’s leaned forward, head resting on his arm. With closed eyes, a soft whistle leaves his nose on every breath out and a faint smile rests on his lips.

Grabbing his cup, you fill it with more coffee and tap on his shoulder lightly as you sit in the chair next to him. He jolts up and you let out a soft laugh as his eyes search around him.

“Morning,” you laugh.

“I wasn’t sleeping,” he jests with a small shake of his head. “Just - just resting my eyes,” he smiles, eyes meeting with yours. When that feeling resurfaces, you look down into the coffee mug.

“Sure,” you smile. “Here,” you say, handing over the coffee.

“How was, uh, how was the talk?” he says quietly.

You shake your head, “no, I don’t want to talk about that yet. I want food, you up for that?”

“Just us?” he asks.

“Just us,” you smile.

He glances down at his watch and then to the papers in front of him, “think we can go to the morgue about this case on the way?”

“Sure,” you smile, looking down at your paint covered overalls, “better get changed,” you say, putting a palm against the table to help you to your feet. As you walk away, you call back at him, “don’t fall back asleep, Sam.”

You hear his laugh and a “whatever,” as you walk down the hall and back into Dean’s room.

He’s still there, sitting on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands. You want to yell at him, to tell him to knock it off. He did this to himself. You’d probably still be head over heels for a man who didn’t treat you like you deserved to be treated had you not witnessed him with the waitress last night.

“Are you gonna mope all day?” the words slip out of you before you can stop them.

He says nothing as you collect your more professional clothes, “okay, then. Sam and I are gonna be out for a while,” you smile. On your way out of the door, you call back, “don’t wait up.”

You can’t help the snide comments and semi-rude remarks. You’re happy to be free from a relationship with no destination, and still hurt from the whole situation.

After the morgue brought in more questions than answers, Sam drives the two of you to a hole in the wall diner that he promised you had the best breakfast in the whole town. You walk in and are almost immediately greeted by the hostess. She leads the two of you to your table where Sam offers to take off your blazer before removing his own and bundling them together in the seat next to him. He orders two coffees and turns to you with a smile.

“So, maybe not vampires after all?” you say as soon as the hostess is out of ear shot.

Sam clears his throat, putting his hands onto the table in front of him. His face scrunches up in thought, “yeah, maybe not.” He thinks for a moment, “it’s just weird,” he says, finger tapping on the table. The tapping stops abruptly when he speaks again, “there were two puncture wounds to the neck on each of the vics, but their blood wasn’t drained.”

“Maybe someone - something is mocking them,” you shrug.

“Maybe,” he says softly. “But why? And what?”

The waitress comes to the table with two cups of steaming coffee and sets them onto the table before pulling out a small notepad and pen. You order the breakfast plate that Sam gets and smile as she walks off.

Looking up at Sam, your mind itches with the thoughts from earlier. Then, you were so set on sharing them with him and now that he’s right in front of you, you’re no longer as confident. Swallowing, you look into your coffee.

His voice breaks the silence, “maybe they’re from a, uh, a syringe,” he says, looking at you as he takes a sip of his coffee.

“Maybe,” you mumble, still watching the steam flow from the cup in your hands.

He reaches across the table and places a hand around your wrist, bringing your focus onto him.

“Hey,” he says softly. “You good?”

Clearing your throat, you force a smile, “yeah,” you shake your head, “no, yeah, I’m good.”

“No. I know that look. What’s up?” he nudges.

You let out a short laugh. He knows that look, the one Dean had ignored as he droned on about God knows what at the restaurant last night.

“I, um, I broke up with Dean, and -”

“Oh, Y/N, I’m sorry,” he frowns.

Putting a palm up, you shake your head. “No, no don’t be. I’m fine, really. I just - I realized some things when we were talking that I want to talk to you about,” you say, meeting eyes with him.

“Oh, okay. Like what?” he asks taking another drink of coffee.

“Well, for starters...” you chuckle. “Sam, do you remember when we met?”

He laughs, “of course I do. It was winter in Sioux Falls. I was driving somewhere to get something and saw you on the side of the road. I guess you were stupid enough to try and charge a rugaru on your own and ended up there,” he smiles.

“And you stitched up my stomach in the back of the Impala while I was barely conscious, without even knowing who I was or where I came from,” you smile. “Well, I’ve been thinking about that all day, and I’m - I’m just realizing a lot of things.”

His eyebrows raise, “oh? like?”

You look up at him, “like how I think I fell for the wrong Winchester.”

His eyes widen, and it seems like he stopped breathing. His eyes are planted on yours and he doesn’t move for a moment. All he can make out is an “oh?” before clearing his throat.

“Yeah,” you mumble, rethinking everything you’d said.

When the food comes you force a smile at the waitress. Figuring it’s too late to back out now, you continue, “Dean, he - he was a smooth talker, he was somehow able to get me so enticed and crazy about him, and it’s like... today, because of last night, that spell was broken, and my eyes were opened. And when they did I saw your face. It was like, you’ve been right in front of me this whole time and I just couldn’t see it until today.”

He sets his toast on the plate. His eyes settling deep into yours as he thinks on what you’ve just told him. The start of a smile is seen at the corners of his lips. His head tilts as his eyes squint just a bit.

“Are you - are you saying you have feelings for me?” he says, working hard to keep his smile at bay.

Smiling brighter than you have in a long time, you giggle, “yeah, I guess I am. Is that - is that okay?”

He nods, swallowing a bite of his food. “More than okay. I just gotta admit I was never expecting we’d have this conversation.”

“Me neither,” you smile, “but I’m glad we are.”

He takes your hand in his and gently squeezes it with a smile.

When you finish eating, Sam pays for your meals and drapes your jacket on your shoulder, helping you get your arms through the sleeves. He stalls for a moment, eyes stuck on your face before cautiously wrapping his arm around your shoulder. With a smile, you wrap your arm around his back and walk out to the truck together.

He leads you to the passenger side, opening the door for you like he has always done, but this time he grabs onto your wrist before you can sit and twists you to face him. His eyes look between yours, and you feel a heat fill your cheeks. He moves his hands from your wrist up the sides of your neck and onto your cheeks as he draws his face closer to yours.

With your heart beating faster than it has in a long time, you can’t hear anything other than your pulse in your ears as he brings his lips down to yours. Closing your eyes, you embrace the kiss by setting your hands onto his hips. His hands keep a gentle and firm grip on your face as he deepens the kiss before you both pull away.

Looking into his eyes, you see yourself smiling in the reflection. A smile that makes you nearly unrecognizable, and you let out a giggle. He chuckles before pulling you back into him more fiercely. His hands move from your cheeks and into your hair before dropping onto the back of your shoulders to pull you closer. When he pulls his lips away for the second time, he smiles brighter than you’ve seen from him in a long time. He kisses you on each of your cheeks and then on your forehead before taking a step back and allowing you to get into the truck.

You’d have a lot to talk about, like how to deal with this and Dean, but for right now, you’re just enjoying finally feeling appreciated and cared for.

Forevers<3: @waywardblueshun @81mysteriouslyme

#Sam Winchester #sam x reader #sam x you #sam x y/n #sam winchester x reader #sam winchester x you #sam winchester x y/n #sam winchester supernatural #supernatural #supernatural sam #supernatural x you #supernatural x reader #reader x sam #y/n x sam winchester #you x sam winchester

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menswearmusings · 5 years ago

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Free Product Review—Spier & Mackay Custom Shirt (+Giveaway Announcement)

Spier & Mackay is best known to my readers for their excellent-for-the-price Neapolitan-style jacket cut. But actually, their roots are in custom shirt making. The tailoring, the accessories, the trousers, that all came later. Founder Rikky Khanna (who goes by Rick) asked me if I wanted to give an honest review of their custom shirt program. Intrigued by their multitude of collar styles and what I’d heard was nearly infinite flexibility, I said yes (for my policy on free products and reviews, see my disclaimer page here). With that said, let me dive straight into my thoughts on the shirt and the process.

Pattern is key

I’ve got several online custom shirts from other companies, which I usually make by measuring a shirt I like the fit of and copying the measurements. Over time, I’ve tweaked the measurements here or there to dial it in, and I’ve been happy with the results. But this shirt has changed my perspective a little bit. While none of those shirts fit poorly, something about the cut of this shirt makes it feel like it fits better—using nearly identical measurements. I can only assume it has to do with how the pattern is drafted. I asked Rick about this, and he said that they have a third-generation tailor whose entire career has been in making custom shirts drafting each pattern. He is also apprenticing two younger tailors to take over for him when he retires. Considering the price of these shirts (as low as $80), that’s remarkable.

Collar designs for everyone

While they can make any collar you want based on specifications, their standardized collar designs cover almost all the bases. From point collars to super tall Italian wide spreads, there’s something for everyone (though someone recently did ask in their Styleforum thread for short collars for casual use—a blind spot of mine, since I never wear those). I opted for the large wide Italian spread (“C21” on the website), and then specified a slight increase in front collar band height. It is identical to my favorite dress shirt collar, the Eidos Marcus collar (which is why I chose it of course).

By default, the collars all come with a stiff, fused interlining. Instead of that, I asked about un-fused collar linings. They have four stiffness options: 1) Light (a single layer of un-fused interlining); 2) Unfused lining bonded to a fused lining (which is sewn in; there is no fusing to the shirt fabric); 3) Unfused bonded to a medium fused; 4) Unfused bonded to a stiff fusing. I opted for the second-lightest option and am happy with it. Given that the fabric I chose is a dressy, business-appropriate fabric, it does very well with a tie as well as without a tie, standing up under a jacket. I’m considering doing a super light fused on future shirts (which is how my Eidos dress shirts are made), and will likely also try the lightest unfused option. For sport shirts, such as a washed denim I intend to do at some point, I’ll go completely unlined.

Unlimited possibilities

For customization and even designs, the sky is the limit. For instance, as mentioned above, I requested a small increase in the front collar band height and about doing an un-fused collar lining. But I also talked to Rick about other details like the shirt sleeve attachment angle (a detail Ratio exposed to me as a possibility) or pleated shoulders (a detail found on Neapolitan shirtmakers’ goods, like G. Inglese), and he said it’s all posible. I even asked if I could send him a shirt to just copy all the design details on, and he said this was doable.

I am not a fan of secret menus, so this would be kind of a turn-off for me if I were new to the style game—I wouldn’t know what I don’t know, and would be afraid I wouldn’t think of some critical detail that would take my shirt to the next level. However, the options that Spier does offer by default in their step by step process are enough to make an excellent shirt for most people. And in my opinion, besides a good fit and fabric, most of what makes a shirt special is the collar shape, where they’ve got most bases covered. So, I say if you’re worried about missing out on some secret knowledge, don’t. Just design a shirt with the tools available and you’ll be able to make something special. (I’ve listed exactly what I requested below if you’re interested).

Fast turn-around

The high water mark for quick custom shirt turnaround is Proper Cloth, who has shaved it down to 2-3 weeks. However, I was glad to find out that Spier’s turnaround was only about 4 weeks from the time of my order to delivery.

Some negatives

Not that it’s all roses with the Spier & Mackay online custom shirt program. My biggest gripe is that the fabric selection and descriptions are pretty lame. Their images can sometimes make it hard to know exactly what you’re getting. Maybe I’m just spoiled by Proper Cloth—which has gratuitous fabric images, a full paragraph of copy written about each one, and consistent information like opacity, weave, origin and more—but it feels to me like somewhat of a leap of faith to select a fabric. On top of this, they do not offer the ability to order a swatch (which again, Proper Cloth does). Rick says that’s something they might do in the future, but since their fabrics are all stored overseas in their factory, it is not currently feasible.

I asked Rick what their remake policy is if the shirt fits incorrectly, or you end up hating the fabric. In the event of an issue like that, they will remake the shirt for 50% off, which he feels is fair given the already low prices they’re offering. Compared with Proper Cloth or Ratio, which do free remakes, this makes for a higher barrier to entry for those hesitant to try it out.

As for my shirt in particular, one detail came out wrong: it came to me with the collar cut with curved collar leafs, instead of straight-cut. Some of Spier’s off the rack shirts come cut this way, and other companies do them as well, but I’ve never liked it. I assumed that’s how it was designed, and told Rick I wish I had thought to request it with straight leafs. He told me actually the collar is supposed to have straight leafs, and this was a mistake by the factory. To rectify that, I sent the shirt back, he had a new collar made at their factory in the same fabric, and their in-house tailor attached the new collar to the body of the shirt. It was back to me within two weeks. So, my advice is: if you get a shirt and you don’t like something, definitely ask about it, in case it was an error on their part.

Shop the Outfit: Brown tweed Eidos jacket (similar); Spier & Mackay custom shirt (see details below for fabric and design); Spier & Mackay charcoal flannel trousers (other options from Berg & Berg; SuitSupply; Brooks Brothers; Drake’s).

A couple of things I’d change about the design of my shirt: 1) I’d make it with a one-piece yoke (I didn’t think to ask, and their design tool didn’t offer either. Can someone tell me why the split yoke even exists?). 2) A wider forearm/more pleats at the cuff. They have you measure the bicep and arm hole size, and then you specify the cuff. I copied my favorite shirt for all three measurements, but there are only two darts in the sleeve at the cuff, which means the pattern of the sleeve decreases in width more dramatically than the shirt I measured. It’s a bit tight in the elbow (I’ve never had a shirt blow out the elbow, but this could easily be the first one that will). I’d probably just request they make my shirt with four pleats at the cuff to rectify this.

Overall, however. I’m very pleased with the shirt. I give Spier & Mackay high praise for their superior pattern making, great selection of collar shapes and extreme flexibility in customization. They need a major facelift on their website, and need to make options like collar linings, cuff linings and forearm fit more accessible in the typical step-by-step design process (instead of being special requests in the comments box). But, all in all, I highly recommend giving Spier & Mackay’s custom shirts a try.

My custom shirt specs

Fabric: “BLUE PENCIL STRIPE – TESSITURA MONTI – 2 PLY 160’S”

Collar: C21 “Large Italian Full Spread Collar”, with the following special instructions specified in the comments box:

Specified with front collar band height increased to 1-7/16”

Specified with unfused lining at the 2nd level of stiffness (unfused lining bonded to a fused lining, sewn in)

Cuffs: Round, conical cuff, which tapers toward the end (a custom option requested in the comments box)

No placket

No back pleats

No front pocket

Mother of pearl buttons with crow’s foot stitching

(Help support this site by buying stuff through my links; your clicks and purchases earn me a commission from many of the retailers I feature, and it helps me sustain this site—as well as my menswear habit! Thanks!)

Giveaway

I’m pleased to announce a partnership with Spier & Mackay to give away a FREE custom shirt, plus two other bonus prizes. To enter the giveaway, see the instructions below.

To Enter:

1- Make sure you’re following @SpierMackay, and @MenswearMusings on Instagram

2- Like this post on Instagram

3- Tag at least 3 friends in separate comments on the Instagram post; more tags = more entries

4- For an extra 5 entries, share the Instagram post to your stories with tags of both @menswearmusings and @spiermackay

Here are the prizes:

GRAND PRIZE: a FREE Spier & Mackay custom shirt

SECOND PRIZE: $50USD off a custom shirt

THIRD PRIZE: $25USD off a custom shirt

The entry period for the giveaway ends Sept. 2 at 11:59 p.m. Central Daylight Time. We will announce winners, who will be chosen at random out of all the entries, within one week after the end of the entry period.

Rules and regulations

Per Instagram rules, we must mention this is in no way sponsored, administered, or associated with Instagram, Inc. By entering, entrants confirm they are 13+ years of age, release Instagram of responsibility, and agree to Instagram’s term of use.

The give-away is open to people from anywhere that DHL or FedEx will ship.

Read more at Menswear Musings

#bespoke shirt #broadcloth shirt #custom shirt #hairline stripe shirt #italian collar #italian style #product review #spier and mackay

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hwhelldayum-blog-blog · 6 years ago

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I Figured It Out (A Gummi Phone Rant)

So I loved Kingdom Hearts 3. It answered a lot of questions I had, reunited the sea salt and the Wayfinder trios, and validated why I spent so much time on my phone playing a mobile game people kept telling me to quit because it would never be part of the whole story. However, something about the story left me unsatisfied. I’ll probably do a post about my feelings on the game as a whole, but there is one specific thing I want to discuss (three guesses based on the title.)

Yes I am talking about the Gummi Phone. Spoiler/not really spoiler Chip and Dale send Sora the Gummi Phone so he can keep in contact with them and Ienzo because plot purposes. Also installed on the phone is Jimimy’s journal, a secret emblem count, treasure count, play games, take selfies and a few other things. But plot-wise this phone is used to contact Mickey/Riku, Chip/Dale and Ienzo throughout cutscenes.

Now being a girl who picks up her phone in the morning before she picks up her glasses I can happily tell you that one of the best features of the phone is the ability to communicate to others knowing that the message would get to the recipient when they had time to read it. Thus time constraints are a second thought when you can text something you just thought of or even life events you cannot wait to share with others. It is why instagram, snapchat, youtube, facebook and tumblr are so prevalent in modern day life.

Speaking of which during the game all of the transitions from place to place have a psuedo-instagram posts. They feature the worlds Sora goes to, Ienzo and Riku being deep, and Mickey trying to humanize his uber-strict teacher. I mention this because when they first showed up I got so excited, but then they just cycled through the same fifteen posts and I was disappointed. I bring up these posts because I feel thy could have helped with communication in another way.

One of my biggest gripes with this still fantastic game is the lack of communication between the main #1 trio of the entire series: The Destiny Trio. When the trailers came out I was so excited to see Sora, Riku, and Kairi rekindle their friendship after being stuck doing things high school students should not have to. Instead they isolate all three from each other and then try to crunch their communication to 2 at a time per character for about an hour and a half of cutscene time. And this is for a game that has about 12 hours worth of cutscenes. Now I believe they could have done an easier way to make sure these cinnamon rolls could have been in constant communication throughout the whole game and it all starts with this gosh darned gummi phone.

Now lets say that there was another button to select on the gummi phone menu. Lets call it... Snapstagram. After some important cutscenes or after completing worlds, you can log into Snapstagram and BAM! Look who is posting. It’s Kairi sending a selfie with Lea about her training and Riku being #plaidbrothers with King MIckey. Finished with Corona? Well guess what? Kairi successfully beat up Lea in a sparring match. Meanwhile Riku revisted radiant garden and reunited with Leon and Cloud for a selfie. But most importantly you have the option of commenting one thing for each post by your two besties. Not only is this a way to keep these three paopu-fruitnuts in constant contact but also lets the players follow Riku and Kairi on their progress with their missions.

Now I know what you are thinking: But wouldn’t that be a lot of programming for the Kingdom hearts team? First off, they had 13 years to work out the details of this game. Secondly THEY HAD 13 YEARS TO WORK OUT THE DETAILS OF THIS GAME. But most importantly they have done something similar to this concept in an earlier game. FFXV.

Check it. Spoiler/You’ve had plenty of time to play this game not spoiler: Noctis and Luna are arranged to marry but since they live in rival areas their only means of communication has been this journal sent back and forth by Luna’s magical dog Umbra. Every time Luna sent Noctis a letter about how she is excited to be reunited with him, Noctis has the option to give one reply to her. Now in FFXV, so far we have only seen Luna and Noctis communicate when they were children in flashbacks, the heartbreaking death scene, and the fully completed are they in heaven post credits scene. If the player has not watched Kingsglaive of FFXV Brotherhood, they do not see Luna for more than 30 minutes of the entire game. But this constant communication between the two lovers give those players enough information to get “Yeah they are a long distance relationship and I should care about the girl my character feels this strongly about.

A common trend I see in the Kingdom hearts thread is the lack of communication with Kairi in particular with Sora and then Nomura kind of hoping the players assume they don’t need communication, but that is my problem. The main theme of the whole kingdom hearts games since number one is that Sora’s friends are his power. I realize that quite a few people believe this means his friendship with Donald and Goofy (And don’t get me wrong if anything happened to either of my disney brothers I would kill all 13 darknesses, 7 lights and then myself in an instant) but the journey started because Sora was separated from both Riku and Kairi.

Now people believe that Riku has so much communication with Sora but I need to remind you that Riku popped up in brief moments of Sora’s life in KH1 while Kairi was a litteral resident in Sora’s heart most of the game. COM Riku’s route only happened after Sora went beddy-bye. No Kairi communication but no real Riku connection either. KH2 Riku and Kairi slipped between Sora’s fingers most of the game until Endgame. So equal communication. DDD No Kairi but Riku also didn’t truly communicate with Sora except for before and after the Mark of Mastery exam. But he was Sora’s dream eater so it makes up for the time Kairi was literally in sora’s heart. So Lack of Communication is pretty equal between all three hot messes.

Now if they were able to have something to keep in touch to make sure the other two were safe that would satisfy the small part of me that turned sour when the other two trios were reunited and the main group got the shaft. The Wayfinder Trio during BBS had constant scenes between them and constantly verbally worried about each other the whole game. The sea salt trio had mostly scenes between duos but they were spread evenly during their game so each character had their own grievances about their breakup. Sora, Kairi, and Riku got the opposite. Equal amount of time in the past games, but this game when it was supposed to be the ultimate reunion story they had nothing until endgame.

With Snapstagram, not only does it give us background on mission progression for the non-player friends, it tells the players who did not play 1 or 2 enough information to go “These are my best friends I would die for them”. When I came to this conclusion a few hours ago I felt a weight lift off my shoulders. I love KH3 and I kept wondering why I was so unsatisfied. If they game had utilized the gummi phone to be more like a regular phone, I think it would have been an easy was to solve some of the story issues that players had with the game.

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luckyspike · 5 years ago

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The Trouble with Nocturnal Ambush Predators - A Good Omens Fanfiction

when I went to post this on AO3 (found here), turns out Crowley’s weird statue has its own tag

shit’s wild guys

anyway crowley and aziraphale make a bet about how shitty crowley’s vision is

nobody but also everybody wins, in a way

count the parks and rec references. also of course i had to make someone a doctor because i live at work i guess idk

Everyone was rather surprised when Brian announced that he would be going to school with plans to become a doctor. Brian, who reveled in dirt and grime, Brian that even at twenty would wear clothes more than once if he thought he could get away with it, Brian that ate food out of takeaway boxes and still left them in the sink. It was startling, the image of Brian, that Brian, standing in a sterile operating theater, scrubbed and gowned and as anti-septic as possible. And yet, this was also Brian that was always there for the Them, who would come the moment he was called if help was needed, who swallowed his pride and rebuked his filthy habits if only for a few minutes, to help his friends and save the world.

It was surprising but, the Them and friends reflected, not entirely shocking. It did make sense, in a sort of way. “I’d really like to study infectious diseases,” he said one night over dinner at the Pulsifer’s, while everyone was still gathered around the table for drinks. It was late, and Anathema had gone an hour or so ago to put her little daughter to bed, even over the child’s protests and desperate clinging to Crowley, who objected much less firmly than any self-respecting demon should have. Well enough then, he told Aziraphale, when the angel had pointed it out, that he was only still a demon in technicalities only.

Pepper looked amused. “You should see him in classes,” she said, for she was in the same class as Brian, with her sights set on psychiatry as a specialty once she’d graduated. “He sits right up front, a real gunner, and every time they ask about some weird bacteria, boom! He’s right there with the answer.” She rolled her eyes, but she was laughing, too. “I think it was all the dirt he always had on him when we were kids - he communed with the germs and they accepted him as one of their own.”

Brian flushed. “I don’t talk to germs. I just think they’re jolly interesting, is all.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” Adam Young said, leaned back in his chair with his hands folded behind his head. “Someone ought to, right? Otherwise we’d all die of cholera or something.”

Aziraphale frowned into his wineglass. “Nasty illness, cholera. I remember the pump outbreak …” He shook his head, putting an end to that reverie, and smiled at Brian instead. “It is fortunate you have such an interest, Brian - the world needs doctors, certainly.”

“So what’s medical school like these days?” Crowley asked, a mirror of Adam, leaned back in his chair with his feet on the table, idly swirling the scotch in his glass. “Last time I tried was, oh, the sixteenth century I think. Thereabouts.” He winced. “Pretty sure it’s got on since then. Hopefully.”

“Oh, yes,” Brian nodded. “Yes, I’d imagine it is. Very structured now, and there’s labs and independent study and practicing skills and all kinds of things, not to mention all the lectures and exams.”

“So many,” Pepper agreed mournfully. “Endless exams.”

“D’you practice on mannequins then?” Crowley looked thoughtful. “I’d imagine they do a good bit with mannequins.”

“Some yeah. And then some - the safer stuff - we practice on each other. Y’know …” Brian thought, waving his hands vaguely. “Listening to lungs and hearts, eye tests, that kind of stuff.”

Aziraphale looked up at that. “Eye tests, you say?” He looked across the table to Crowley, a grin slowly spreading over his lips. “Crowley, dear, we could finally settle the debate -”

“No. No, we can’t.”

Newt, who had been washing up in the kitchen, returned, wiping his hands on his jeans. “Debate? What are we debating, then?”

“Nothing,” Crowley griped. “Angel has been insisting for the past decade or whatever - since you kids were eleven, however long ago that was -”

“A decade,” Wensley confirmed.

“Right, so that long, I’ve had to hear about how I really shouldn’t be driving because snakes don’t have good visual acuity.” Crowley spread his hands. “To which I make my point: if I really couldn’t see, you think I would’ve gone this long with the Bentley without crashing it? Armageddon notwithstanding, that was extenuating circumstances.”

Aziraphale muttered into his wine, “Only thanks to occasionally-gratuitous use of miracles.”

“Occasionally, angel! Occasionally doesn’t count. Not like it’s a daily occurrence.

“And anyway, my vision’s better than a human’s at a distance and in the dark,” Crowley said authoritatively. “Horizontal planes an’ light refraction and all that. Saw a film about it.”

“Listened to a film about it,” Aziraphale mumbled. Adam snorted.

“Wasn’t very nice,” the boy said, although he was grinning.

Pepper laughed a little too, while Crowley presumably glared at Aziraphale - the sunglasses, as ever, made it difficult to tell for sure. “It’d be easy enough to test, if you really wanted to.”

“I don’t.”

“Not even for a wager?” Crowley looked at Aziraphale at that, and a long silence stretched out. The Them and Newt watched, rapt, because they’d only ever seen the two supernatural entities bet on something once before, and that was whether or not either of them could, after two bottles of wine, climb to the top of the biggest tree in Hogback wood without using miracles, wings, or shapeshifting*. They had, if memory served, wagered an entire years’ worth of song-selection privileges. It was, perhaps, fortunate that neither had won the bet, because in retrospect Adam considered it a distinct possibility that an ultimatum like that could only have ended in some kind of argument**.

[* They couldn’t, but no one had paid attention to that, because the entire spectacle was so hilarious that the end result was fairly irrelevant, and Crowley turned into a snake when he thought no one was watching and cheated anyway. ]

[** Crowley and Aziraphale, after the Nahpocalypse, argued very seldom, but being that neither liked to do anything by halves, arguments were usually intensely dramatic, if short-lived. The last argument had resulted in Crowley living in the garden at Jasmine Cottage as a snake for a weekend, and only ended because Newt threatened to call animal control on him if the two didn’t reach some kind of agreement about whether or not Tom or John Barnaby was the better detective .]

The demon was tempted. “What are the stakes?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Something.” Aziraphale shrugged. “Let’s say … oh, alright. You win, and I turn a blind eye to whatever you want to do to your plants for a month before the flower show next year.”

The Them and Newt, like spectators at a chess match, breathed out. “Oh, that’s a good one,” Brian mumbled.

“But if I win, which I will, of course, then …” Aziraphale considered it. “Then …” He thought harder, and then beamed. “Then next time the neighbors want to take a week holiday, you have to take care of their smallholding by yourself .” There were assorted gasps from around the table.

Crowley barked a laugh. “Absolutely not.”

“Because you know you’d lose.”

“No, because I always end up taking care of the smallholding by myself anyway, bloody goats.” Crowley leaned his elbows onto the table and tapped his chin with steepled fingers. “Right, when I win, I’ll … or you …” He brightened. “I get to yell at my plants, and you have to let me move the statue into the living room for an entire year.”

Aziraphale groaned. “Not the statue. No, just the plants.”

“No, the statue is a part of this.”

“When I win,” Aziraphale soldiered on, pretending they were not arguing about Crowley’s infamous Angel Statue that served as a crucial part of every argument and poorly-concealed threat in their relationship, “you have to put the blasted statue in a storage unit somewhere, and you take the speakers off that abhorrent vacuum cleaner."

Crowley looked appalled. “You’d cut out DJ Roomba’s tongue for a bet?”

“I’m hardly -” He looked to Crowley, and then relented, with a sigh. “Alright. No speaker on DJ Roomba for three months. Then you can put the speakers back on.” He seized Crowley’s hand the moment the other extended it, and they shook on it, both with equal enthusiasm and smugness. “I look forward to my three months of peace.”

“Can’t wait to put my statue in the living room and kill those bloody fittonias at last.”

Pepper and Brian exchanged a look, while Adam, Newt, and Wensley were trying to hide their laughter behind their hands. “We should print a Snellen chart,” Pepper said solemnly.

“Definitely need a Snellen chart.”

Newt nodded and stood from the table. “The printer is has bluetooth. Wait for me to be outside before you connect to it.”

Once Newt had vacated the building briefly, it was easy enough to print the eye chart. Adam found a measuring tape in a cookie tin full of sewing supplies***, and they solemnly marked out the ascribed distance. “Never done one of these before,” Crowley said, sobered-up for the endeavor. “What, you’re just supposed to read it?” Aziraphale was standing over his shoulder, arms crossed, looking so smug he might as well have already won. Perhaps he had.

[*** “ Why do you need it?” Anathema had asked him as she rocked Millie to sleep on her shoulder. Adam had explained, and she had nodded. “Oh, definitely,” she’d said. “The sewing kit is still in the linen closet in the bathroom - there should be a tape measure in there. Wait until I put Millie down to bed. I want to be there.” ]

“Yeah, you cover one eye,” Pepper instructed. “Right, and then you read the smallest line you can see. Ready?”

“Easiest bet I’ve ever won,” Crowley said, motioning to Brian to flip the corkboard he’d pinned the chart to. “Right, go for it.” The board flipped, and Crowley blinked. “Well, there’s the big ‘E’ at the top.”

“Everyone knows the big E,” Anathema said, dismissive. “He said read the smallest line you can.”

“Right. Ah …” There was an uncomfortable pause. “Can I try the other eye?”

“I knew it,” Aziraphale hissed triumphantly.

Brian swallowed. “Uh. In a minute. Um. Which … which direction is the ‘E’ pointing, then?”

Crowley frowned. “Whatever way ‘E’s usually point. What kind of stupid question is that?”

The assembled humans and one angel looked at the ‘E’ which was, very clearly, printed backwards. Aziraphale raised his hands to his mouth. “Crowley, you drove us here.”

“So? Didn’t crash, did I?” He switched eyes. “Oh, yeah, the other one’s better.”

“You’re serious?” Brian asked, craning his neck around to stare at the chart. “Seriously?”

“Yeah, so what’s that mean, then?” Crowley stuffed his hands into his pockets and rocked back onto his heels.

Pepper grimaced. “You’re legally blind?”

“No, that can’t be right.” He shrugged. “I drove us here, didn’t I?”

“He drove us here at 100 miles per hour,” Aziraphale added, in a mix of astonishment and terror.

“Right, and didn’t hit anything -”

“This time,” Anathema muttered under her breath.

“And made great time, all here, safe as houses.” He smirked. “Could a legally blind guy do that?”

“Maybe Daredevil,” said Newt, unhelpfully.

“Anyway,” Crowley went on, turning away to stalk across the room, past his horrified angel, and flick off the light switch, instantly plunging the room into darkness, “you’re not looking at this the right way. Move the chart around a bit, med student,” he instructed, the last part said with some disdain.

“You’re not at the line,” Brian protested.

“Just move it.” There was a whisper in the dark as the corkboard started moving in irregular figure-of-eights, Brian waving it around. Had it been light enough to see, his confusion would have been plainly evident on his face. “Right, so you got the ‘E’, which is backwards, then F, P, ah … T, O, Z, er … right, faster, okay, L, P, E, D, and then … Hm. Yeah, not sure after that.” The lights flipped back on, and Crowley put his sunglasses on. “So there.”

All the others looked from Crowley, to the eye chart, and back. “How?” Adam demanded. “You didn’t mess around -”

“Nocturnal ambush predator,” Crowley replied, as if it were obvious. “Plus, the ink’s still a bit warm from the printer. So even easier, really - I’ve got a whole extra sense, even, unless humans can see infra-red.”

“We can’t,” Wensley assured him.

“Right, so what’s that make me, then? I win, obviously.”

Aziraphale jumped in then. “Oh, no, no you don’t. Under human standards -”

“That was never specified.” Crowley grinned, and showed his teeth. Nocturnal ambush predator indeed. “Don’t try that with me, angel, remember which one of us is the demon, here.”

“It was inferred.”

“No such thing in a bet. Has to be expressly specified.” Crowley made a fist. “The fittonias die tonight.”

Since the lights had come back on, Anathema had been frowning, her lips moving occasionally as she clearly puzzled something over. She spoke, finally, slowly, and said, “But … but when you hit me with your car … it was night. And I was moving. And you were moving.” She looked at him, frowning. “You should have seen me, then.”

Crowley shrugged. “Wasn’t paying attention. No harm done, anyway.”

“Not after Aziraphale fixed me!”

Crowley scoffed. “Right. Like I said.” He pointed to Aziraphale. “I’m making an entire pop playlist for DJ Roomba just for this, angel.” He grinned even wider. “And I’m moving the statue as soon as we get home.”

“Really, dear boy, I don’t think this is as clear-cut as you say.”

“Oh, isn’t it?” Crowley pointed to Brian and Pepper. “Med students, stop me if I’m wrong -” they wouldn’t “- but the definition of visual acuity does allow for corrective devices, yes?”

“Yes,” said Pepper, while Aziraphale groused, “A moving chart and total darkness do not count as corrective devices, you know they mean glasses -”

“So there you go.” Crowley crossed the room and tore the chart from the board. “With corrective devices I’m … 20/50. So there. Not perfect but I still win.”

Aziraphale’s eyes were narrowed. “That’s cheating.”

“Again, if it’s not specified in the terms then technically it is not cheating. I’ve got books about this somewhere^, Aziraphale.” He spread his hands. “I’ve made a few bets and bargains in my life, believe it or not.”

[^ Books that were, he would not add, written in blood and bound in human skin.]

Aziraphale scowled. “You’re not putting that statue out.”

“Oh, but I am. I won the privilege.”

“You didn’t win anything.”

“Oh, but I did.” Crowley rubbed his hands together. “I definitely did. By the laws of betting.” He clapped Brian on the shoulder. “Thanks for moving the chart, kid.”

“And not letting the ink dry all the way,” Adam added under his breath with a poorly-stifled laugh.

Aziraphale was still scowling at Crowley, arms crossed over his chest. “We’ll discuss this further in the car.”

Crowley made a noise that might have been a chuckle, if there wasn’t just so much infernal glee instilled in it. “You sure you want me to drive home?” The angel’s wine glass miraculously filled itself. “Oh, so you’re going to be like that?"

“That statue is going out over my discorporated body.”

“It’s a very expensive statue.” He wilted a little under the blue fire in Aziraphale’s eyes. “Alright, we can talk about it in the car.”

The angel swallowed the wine in one gulp. “Capital.”

#good omens #good omens fanfiction #anthony j crowley #aziraphale #the them #i wish i didn't enjoy fanfiction so much #crowley is a snake in a human suit #you will never change my mind

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floralseokjin · 6 years ago

Text

A series of hook ups with Kim Seokjin, the college’s biggest fuckboy…

↳ the index [ bonus #5 the request ]

pairing; kim seokjin x reader genre/warnings; smut, oral sex and anal fingering (male receiving) wordcount; 3,828

“Ffffuck. Yes. Ride it.” Seokjin looked like he was having the time of his life, laid back, head softened by his pillows with the perfect view. His jaw was slack, little motivational phrases leaving him like you needed psyching up. You didn’t need to be told to ride his dick when you already were. And doing a good job of it if you did say so yourself. Ever so slowly dragging his dick inside of you, rolling your body in some sort of melodic rhythm. You were getting fancy now.

One of his hands grazed your side, touch gentle, as if he didn’t want to manhandle you. God, you really had Kim Seokjin right where you wanted him – if you wanted him that was.

“You’re heaven. This is what heaven feels like.” He was babbling, pleasure gone to his head. It wasn’t your fault you had a magic pussy. He’d told you that a few times. Pussy was getting quite a ring to it.

“Quit talking and just feel,” you griped.

“You’re right,” he nodded, expression turning serious. “And watch.” His hand found one of your breasts now, palming the soft flesh before his fingertips traced your nipple. The other found your ass. “God, you’re fucking body.” He squeezed softly, you felt a pulse down below and gleed silently when he began to roll you into his cock, surprisingly slowing down your original pace even more.

He groaned. It went on for a while. “Ride it so slow I’ll last forever.”

He didn’t. He came in the next five minutes, body a sheen of sweat and eyelids heavy. It ran down your leg as you lifted up but you’d shower in a moment. There were more important things at hand. Like the way he spanked your ass lightly, pulling you down to lie across his body.

“God, you’re the best.” He praised and your head felt heavy but that was just the sex, right? His mouth met yours and it didn’t make it any better.

“You could ask me to do anything right now and I’d agree, whatever the consequences,” he sighed, pulling away.

Now, that might just do it.

“Well.....” You began without much thought, acting with a clouded mind. “I do have a request...maybe...” He cocked an eyebrow, instantly all ears. You shrugged, rising up a little so you were looking down at him. “It’s multiple questions, a one man consensus of sorts.”

He clutched your body to him. “Ask away, my beautiful, sexy angel.” You rolled your eyes. You admit his exaggerated words got to you the first time, but now it was all just the same. Well, if you continued to refuse to explain the warm glow that settled in your chest. It was there right now, but you’d gotten better at ignoring it.

You continued. “You like my ass?”

“Of fucking course,” he exclaimed, squeezing said body part between his palms. “I like it too much, could get hard again just feeling it...”

You paused, unsure how to continue. This all seemed a little crude now the moment was slowly fading away. You felt unclean, more of his cum leaking out. His fault.

“You like...fingering me ass?”

His body stiffened slightly under you, not expecting that, but he nodded and hummed loudly. “Haven’t done it in a while.” He caught the glint in your eyes, pushing his head back to study you better. That beautiful double chin. You were not even being sarcastic.

“What is this?” His smile was a little unsure. He swallowed and then all of a sudden he was comedically serious. Tone sincere. “If you’re about to ask me to fuck your ass, I need to admit something...” That wasn’t it, but you let him continue regardless. “I’m not emotionally ready to do that. I know I always go on about it but I think I’d actually have an aneurysm if you wanted me like that right now.”

You couldn’t help the burst of laughter that left you, clutching ahold of his head as you nodded it up and down. “Okay, please keep your brain. I need you.” He still looked worried. “I’m not letting you fuck my ass...yet.”

He sighed, exhausted, throwing his head back against the pillows. “I’m hard again.”

He was to, well, semi-hard. If you kept this up he’d be ready for round two in no time, but you feared you were about to kill the mood...

“Let me fuck yours.” You threw the words out before you could get second thoughts, gaze stuck on him. He lifted his head up again, not quite believing his ears. “You know. With my fingers not my non existent dick.”

“What?” He sounded weak.

“I let you do it to me.” You were getting defensive, crossing your arms across your chest. And embarrassed. Perhaps it was a stupid idea... It was only a thought pecking away at the back of your brain. Blame late night (tipsy) conversations with Lina. Never tipsy enough to spill your secret mind you—at least not yet, but she’d inadvertently given you an idea. Y’know, there was nothing like a light bulb moment while discussing prostrate glands.

“Y-yeah but it’s different.” He gulped wearily. “You like it.”

“How do you know you don’t?”

“I...” He trailed off, gaze throwing off to the wall. His cheeks were red. You couldn’t help but lean in to kiss one, nuzzling into his neck then. He was holding his breath.

“Let me make you feel good,” you practically purred.

“Now?” He asked softly, voice small. He sounded like he was about to agree.

“No,” you giggled quietly. “Not right now, another day.” You lifted your head, looking at him hopefully. “So, that’s a yes?” He stayed silent but his eyes were a little unfocused. He needed a nudge. “You said you’ll agree to anything.”

“Well, I wasn’t expecting that.” He was quick to defend but he was also quick to shrug. “But...okay. Yeah. I guess it’s only fair.”

It was you who was left speechless, shocked he’d actually agreed. You still couldn’t quite believe it even when you came back from your shower, Seokjin hopping out of bed to go in after you. He wrapped his arm around your waist as he walked past, squeezing you to him and you couldn’t help but request something else.

“Can I sleep here tonight?”

He said yes instantly, giving you a look that told you: ‘Do you even have to ask?’

You planned for Friday evening. You didn’t mean to make it some sort of event, but you were both busy the next few days and Friday was the start of the weekend you so luckily had off from work.

You did meet up once before that though. He gave you a ride home from Wendy’s and you accidentally ended up fucking in his car. It was your ass that did it. You’d bent over to pick up a penny you’d noticed while dashing to the vehicle and that had set him off. “My broke bitch is sexy.” A Shakespeare with words, truly.

Out of breath and sweaty afterwards you’d cupped his face, tugging on his bottom lip with your teeth. “Still on for Friday night?”

He’d just moaned and nodded, unable to stop himself stealing another kiss.

So here you were. He was butt naked on your bed, you bare-chested, your panties protecting your last bit of modesty. He’d needed some warming up to “calm his nerves”, so your nipples were a little swollen and sticky, as well as your mouth. You’d been making out for forty-five minutes before you could even get him on his back, legs spread a little, just so you could sit right in between.

He looked down his chest, watching you kiss his stomach slowly, hands grazing the inside of his thighs, moving closer to his dick. You’d already jerked him off to complete fullness and despite his obvious apprehension, he was still solid, bobbing against his abs. You looked at him as you took him in your fist again.

“This is disturbing.”

“Shut up,” you scoffed, squeezing the base. He twitched.

“For you, I mean.” His voice was all tense and small.

Fair enough. The position he was in was vulnerable for him. “It’s hot,” you reassured him, smiling. He gave you one back. You were not used to him being this quiet. Not used to him being this nervous. You were nervous too. This was just as new for you. At least he knew what to do.

You shook your head, dispelling the anxious energy, and licked the head of his dick. He hissed, hips jumping a little, and you repeated before wrapping your mouth around him. Your idea was to melt him a little but he was just as tense beneath you.

You came up for air, hands massaging his thighs. “Will you just relax.”

“I am relaxed,” he insisted, sounding pissy.

“Your ass cheeks are clenched.” You informed him, rounding the meat in your palms now.

He jumped. “They’re not. It’s muscle.”

You rolled your eyes. “I’m just sucking your dick, Seokjin.” Your voice was sickly sweet, trying your best to distract him. To distract yourself probably. You took him back in, swirling your tongue around the flesh, flicking it against the largest vein, and he finally began to break, a moan cracking in his throat. You looked up at him, tightening your lips to bob your head up and down before trailing your tongue up the head, pointing it as you flicked off the tip. He groaned, hands coming out to cup your head, holding you tightly as you repeated, getting him as wet as possible. He didn’t break eye contact.

“Look so good with my dick in your mouth,” he said, voice low.

You hummed, pulling off again to lick the flat of your tongue across his balls. His fingers dug into your skull a grunt leaving him. He was as docile as you were about to get him tonight. “Can I get the lube?”

He froze, but nodded his head slowly, removing his hands. “Y-yeah.”

You sat up on your knees to stretch over him and you took one of his hands, wrapping it around his dick, signalling him to move while you slid your drawer open. He listened, the sloppy noises filling the room as he jerked his fist through your saliva. You took the bottle with you and he eyed it with uncertainty as you squeezed some on the tip of your fingers. When you got back down he instantly tensed up, stomach squeezing tightly, hand stopping dead.

“Seokjin,” you murmured gently, holding the back of your hand against his thigh for a moment, to save the lube running down your fingers. You used your other hand to take him in your fist. He let you, dropping his to the side of the bed. “I won’t do it if you don’t want to.” You told him, kissing the head of his dick, hints of tongue following.

“No,” he shook his head, a tiny moan leaving him as you took him in your mouth again. “Want you to. Just nervous.” His honesty touched you. You were nervous too, like you said, but you couldn’t exactly tell him that with a mouthful of cock.

This time you pushed yourself to take him to his entirety, stuffing your mouth until it ached and you were making noises, but it was worth it, just to feel him melt under you. After a minute or so you brought your lube coated fingers to his balls. He jumped but didn’t go to stop you. You thought he might be holding his breath though, waiting for it. Waiting for you.

You didn’t waste any more time. You found his entrance, pushing softly, rubbing small circles, really just copying what he’d done to you in the past. He was completely frozen now, and distracted, you forgot you had his whole dick in your mouth, gaging once, twice, before you had to pull off him, eyes pricking with tears, face probably an unflattering red.

“God,” he groaned, slamming his head back into the pillows. “Even you choking on my dick can’t distract me.” You giggled at that, kissing his hip bone, wriggling your finger against him. “Cold!” He yelped.

“It’ll warm up,” you hummed against his skin, deep in concentration. You wanted to push inside but you were more than nervy now, afraid to cause him pain. You knew the feeling well but Seokjin had always taken it slow and gentle so it never hurt too much. What if you couldn’t be as careful? What if he had a lower pain threshold? He was a man after all…

“Why do you want to do this?” He asked you suddenly, and it took you a moment to realise his gaze had been on you for a while. He sounded curious, and definitely less nervous.

You tilted your head to the side. “Why do you like doing it to me?”

“It’s hot.” He answered immediately – confidently.

“Exactly!” You exclaimed loudly with a laugh.

He just looked clueless. As if this could ever be hot for you. He frowned. “You’re way hotter than me.”

Your chest swelled at that. Goddamnit. And you couldn’t stop your smile, choosing just to go with it in the end, pushing with a little more confidence as you spoke. “I appreciate the sentiment.”

“Oh, fuck,” he gasped, thighs squeezing around your shoulders as the tip of your finger slipped inside him. The lube and your movements had slacked him a little, and he was hot inside. Hot and soft as you went a little further. Second knuckle deep.

“I’ll go slowly. Tell me if it hurts.”

“Doesn’t hurt. Just feels weird,” he grimaced. You looked up at him, his cheeks round and rosy, fringe stuck to his forehead. Poor guy had broken out into a sweat. He looked mouth-watering though. “You can go all the way in.” He told you. It came out in a sort of breathy huff. Your belly dipped, a burning between your legs about to prove hard to ignore.

Before you could listen though, he was cursing loudly. You looked up in alarm. “Fuck. Suck my dick again. I’m going down.” You glanced down, watching as he took it in his fist. He was still hard but it did look a little deflated. You rolled your eyes, swatting his hand out the way to take its place.

“I think that’s normal,” you murmured. Talking in whispers was making this seem much more intimate. Well, it was intimate, but it was still making you feel fuzzy inside, tingling with something that wasn’t quite just excitement. It was hard to explain. “Relax,” you reassured, but you began to slide his dick through your palm, dipping your head to kiss and suck underneath it. It was a foreign sensation, it was bound to shock him.

You took him back in your mouth, hearing him sigh in relief and concentrated on getting him as stiff as you could for the moment, distracting him before pushing inside his ass further. To your surprise he moaned a little louder. You sucked on the tip of his cock to signal your triumph and his hips jumped up.

“I’m fully in.” You spoke aloud. Probably unnecessarily. “Now gotta find your prostate.” Definitely unnecessarily.

“Do you want me to get soft again,” he sighed in annoyance, fidgeting, and he popped out of your mouth. “Stop talking like you’re giving me an examination.”

“Sorry,” you pulled a face, leaning your head back. “This looks good.” You spoke again, really unable to stop. He looked good. Dick hard and wet against his stomach, thighs open, and your hand…your hand between his legs. You experimentally curled your finger. Repeating when he didn’t dispute. “What does it feel like?”

“Like you’ve got a finger in my ass.” He said quietly, but still had the obvious Seokjin sass in his voice. You shrugged a shoulder, tying harder to find the spot. Harder you curled, and finally he gave you something. A groan, his ass lifting off the bed. “Shit.”

“What?” You asked, eyes wide. You hadn’t realised but your heart had been beating pretty loudly in that chest of yours.

“That then.” He jerked his hips, staring up at the ceiling. “Felt nice.”

“Really?” You were shocked but happy you were doing it right.

“Mmhm.” He nodded. “Again.” You obeyed, curling again. He shuts his eyes, a satisfied hum leaving him. “Oh. Yeah.”

You wanted to ask him what it felt like again but you didn’t want to be annoying. Instead you found yourself wrapping your mouth around his cock. He was hot all over and you wanted to make him feel out of this world, but multitasking seemed impossible right now. You were just slobbering on his dick at this point, unable to bob your head and curl your finger at the same time. A true disappointment.

“I feel like I’m learning to give head for the first time,” you grumbled, pulling off him and wiping your chin with your free hand. “Can we change positions?” He looked curious, nodding his head. “I’ll get on my back. You can move.”

You settled for propping your head against a pillow, comfortable as Seokjin knelt over you, dick level with your face and you wasted no time taking him back in your mouth, running back and forth along his rigid member. When you looked up at him he began to rock his hips a little, a choked moan leaving his mouth.

He took your hand, moving it to his ass, and you gripped the flesh. “Are you going to...? Again?”

He sounded a little fucked out, hopeful, and wrecked, and that had your belly dipping and flipping, and whatever else it wanted to do. You shifted uncomfortably, your other hand running up and down his stomach. “I’m really wet.” It needed to be said, pulling off his cock. Just to speak it out loud before you lost your sanity.

“From all this?” He wondered, sounding amazed. You nodded, sliding your fingers between his ass, getting ready to push inside again. This time he took it without so much as flinching, a hand stretching behind him to run down your thigh. “Fuck.” He breathed, licking his bottom lip when you sucked him back into your mouth.

He cupped your head in his hands, smoothing down your hair. “You make me feel so good” You hummed around his dick. “I wouldn’t do this with anyone else.” His words seemed too intimate for what was going on right now. He spoke in whispers, like he was confessing something. You guessed he was.

You pulled away again, kissing his hip bone. “Likewise.” That made him smile. It was true. You wouldn’t be caught sticking fingers in any random ass… You curled mid thought, hearing him grunt, and paused. “Can I add another?”

“Yeah,” he replied quickly, and you rubbed your middle finger against the rim, curious if he could take the stretch. Slowly you began to ease it in, pulling both out to try again. He was tighter now, and hotter, squeezing against your digits. You sucked his dick again and this time he moved for you, jerking his hips in time with your fingers, slipping them in further. You relaxed your throat, concentrating on flicking your tongue and curling your fingers. Your pads found the spot again, pressing down. His cock jerked in your mouth.

“Fuck. It twitched.” He sounded amazed and pulled away, watching with wide eyes. Your chin was wet, drops of your saliva having spilt out the corners of your mouth. You wiped it away quickly and pressed again. His dick jerked upwards. “Fuck.” He moaned. “Keep going.” He pushed his cock against your mouth. “I’ll cum.”

“Mhmm, really? Fuck my mouth a little faster.” You sounded out of breath, excited. “Want you to cum.”

“I’ll try to be gentle,” he rushed, pushing inside quickly. You were too far gone to care, continuing to curl your fingers, concentrating on getting him off. To make him feel good. “Ffuck—you’ve really found that spot,” he chuckled breathlessly, a hand reaching out in front of him for the wall. He hit it with a bang, thrusting into your mouth. There was noises coming from everywhere; the squelching of the lube, slick noises of his cock, Seokjin’s grunts, the moans you made around him…

“I’m gonna. Gonna cum.” He managed to get out, and you pressed against him one last time, hard, feeling him buckle above you. Pants and moans blurring into one. “Yeah. Oh, yeah. Fuck.” His cum coated your throat quickly, hot, and you swallowed it as it came, sucking him dry. The hand that wasn’t against the wall gripped your hair as he slipped out halfway from your mouth, letting his dick settle as it softened. You slowly removed your fingers from him, cupping his ass instead.

He was panting a lot still. Eyes unfocused, sweaty too, his hair curling to his temple. “I can’t see.” He said weakly, and you finally moved back with a chuckle, his dick sliding down your chin. “I don’t think I’ve ever cum that hard before.”

His trembling hands showed that. In fact, his whole body was trembling as he moved back, mattress squeaking under his weight. You sat up straighter, back stiff, legs needing to stretch out. You were pretty speechless right now. He just reached to kiss you. It was easier than talking. Sometimes better.

“Yeah. Might have to just eat you out a lot tonight,” he said apologetically. Maybe for once he’d finally cum enough.

“We have all night,” you murmured, rubbing his side with your clean hand. Right now, despite how turned on you were, you could just chill out. That had been enough to exhaust you. You needed a moment too. “I need to rinse my hands though.”

“Oh. Yeah,” he agreed almost awkwardly, moving down the bed. “I should clean up too.”

You followed him, reaching for your tank top. “So. Would you do that again?” You asked curiously, haze beginning to pass as you stretched the fabric over your head. Conversation began to flow again. Seokjin’s voice sounded a little more normal.

“It’s not a definite yes. But maybe,” he replied. “It was intense. Good, but intense. Was it okay for you?”

You understood. It was fine to try something new, but it wasn’t like you were about to make it a regular thing. You’d enjoyed it though. You wanted to show him how much.

“Seokjin, put your hand in my underwear real quick.” You giggled. He just looked at you with confusion. You spread your legs, your sopping underwear sticking to your core. “In fact, you don’t need to even do that,” you added, looking down.

The whimper he gave you told you he’d seen the soaked patch…

Written 2018. Reworked/Edited 2020 Please refrain from posting my work elsewhere. No translations allowed. © floralseokjin 2020

#seokjin smut #bts smut #seokjin fanfic #bts fanfic #floralseokjin:writings #fic:moam

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btsqualityy · 6 years ago

Text

God is a woman

Namjoon x Reader Imagine

So, since it’s officially Namjoon’s birthday according to US time, I decided to post this imagine! I hope you guys enjoy it! 😘

That bon voyage teaser though 😳😫👏🏽

Genre: Smut; established relationship

Word Count: 3.1k

Warnings: Dom/sub dynamics, sub! Namjoon, light bondage, breath play, cum play (slightly), oral (female receiving), and hand job. Basically, definitely 18+.

Inspiration

Life was stressful. Most people would assume that he’d be used to it by now, but nope. Six long years in, and being the leader for what was arguably one of the biggest K POP bands out right now had not at all ceased to be any less stressful.

Now, don’t get him wrong. Namjoon loved his job, if you would have to call it a job. He loved writing and producing music, he loved the boys, and most of all, he fucking loved ARMY. However, dealing the politics that came along with being in the music industry and especially with being the leader, could be a bit much sometimes. That’s why a break was exactly what he needed from time to time.

That is where you come in. Namjoon had met you two years ago, at the party of a mutual friend. Upon seeing you for the first time, he immediately thought you were the most beautiful woman he had seen in his life. You, however, weren’t as interested in him.

Initially, he had thought it was an act. I mean, he was a member of BTS and back then, they were really starting to garner attention so it wasn’t like he was unknown. He had experienced some girls who pretended to not know who he was, as to not seem like a huge fan girl, but he’d eventually find out the truth someway.

You though. You were different. You knew who he was and even acknowledged the fact that you were fond of some of their songs, but it didn’t make him any more special in your eyes than a janitor. This made him even more attracted to you, and he tried his damnedest to get you to go out with him. Being the smart woman that you are, you declined, knowing how messy things could get if his fans found out about it.

That didn’t stop him though. He got your number from one of his friends and proceeded to ask you out, multiple times. Even though you found him annoying, you also thought it was cute how persistent he was. Eventually, you relented and you guys went out on a date.

One date turned into two, two turned into five, and the next thing you knew, you and Namjoon were seeing each other on a regular basis. You two weren’t in a relationship, though. You’d both decided fairly early on that between him always being gone and working with the boys, and your own busy job as a business woman, a relationship would bring more stress than pleasure. And Namjoon found out fairly quickly that you were far more interested in pleasure, whether it be yours or his.

You wanting to dominate him came out in small ways at first. It started out simple, such as you telling him to fuck you harder or instructing him on how exactly to eat your pussy. Him being the type of person who loved making whoever he was with feel good, he’d thought nothing of it. However, when you came to him one day about six months after you’d both met asking if he would let you tie him up, he was definitely surprised.

“You want to what?” He’d shrieked, eyes bugging out of his head. Giggling at him, you reached out and ran the tips of your fingers down his cheek.

“Yes Namjoon. I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t think you’d love it.”

“Tie me up?” He whispered, more to himself than to you. “So, I wouldn’t be able to move at all?”

“Well, that all depends on what you’d be comfortable with trying. I could make it so that you couldn’t move at all, but I know you wouldn’t be comfortable with that,” you replied, to which he nodded in agreement.

“I could just restrain your hands, tie them together at your wrists or to the headboard. Or tie up your legs,” you explained. He bit his lip in contemplation. He had to admit, he did like it when you took control in bedroom or told him what to do. If he was tied up, he’d have no choice but to listen to you.

“Let’s try it,” he agreed, making a small smirk spread onto your face.

“Are you sure Namjoon? Don’t feel like you have to say yes just because you think it’s something I want to do,” you advised him. However, he quickly shook his head.

“No! I want to. I think I’d really like it,” he admitted quietly. That night, Namjoon had the best orgasms he’d ever had in his entire life up to that point. After that, it was as if this unknown submissive came out of Namjoon. He quickly wanted to try more things with you, which pleased you to no end.

Now, a year and a half later, you were Namjoon’s Mistress and he was your baby boy. Even though you two weren’t seeing much of each other these days, due to work, that was something that was constant. His cock would always twitch in excitement at the mere thought of you, or what you had done to him the last time that you both were together.

With that in mind, he had begged you to join him on tour. Knowing how you felt about other people potentially finding out about the two of you, he was able to come up with a lie to explain why you would be joining them. You couldn’t tell him no after he’d told you that, and especially not since you’d been missing him too.

And that leads to now. Namjoon’s day had been....stressful, to say the least. It seemed like everything that could go wrong, went wrong during rehearsals for tomorrow's concert. The boys had also been too playful during rehearsals, which made it hard to get things done and promo that day had run longer than it was supposed to. Last but not least, he had been painfully hard all day because you didn’t allow him to come last night.

“Joon baby?” He heard your soft voice call out, bringing his attention back to you. You were kneeled on the bed in between his parted legs. “Are you alright?”

“Mm, yeah. I’m fine,” he confirmed. You raised an eyebrow and began to stroke his thighs softly.

“Namjoon, what’s our rule when we do this? Well, one of them,” you asked.

He bit his lip as he thought back to the list of rules you both had come up with whenever you engaged in Dom/sub play. “I must be mentally present, to ensure that nothing bad happens,” he recited.

“If you’re out of your head, you won’t realize what’s happening out here,” you gestured around the room. “For example, I just spent three minutes calling your name before you answered.”

“I’m sorry. I was just thinking about everything that went wrong today,” he admitted. “I’m here, I swear.”

“I don’t know Joon. Maybe we shouldn’t do this tonight,” you shrugged. Namjoon instantly groaned at that, pulling lightly on the restraints that bound his hands to the headboard.

“Mm, no. Please. Been waiting all day,” he whispered, making you smile. You moved up and swung your legs on either sides of his hips, sitting on his lap that was only covered by his boxers.

“Alright baby. But if you need to, make sure that you use our safeword. Yeah?” You clarified, making Namjoon nod in agreement. You brought your hands up and slowly caressed his face, making him moan in happiness. “My good boy,” you smiled, making him smile as well. “Just relax and let me take all the stress away, alright?” You whispered. He nodded and groaned as he felt you kiss him.

You pulled away from his lips all too quickly, making him whine at the loss. You made quick work of removing his boxers, sliding them down his legs. His hard cock instantly slapped against his stomach, the tip an angry red color and leaking precum.

“Oh, look at that. My little slut is already so hard, yeah?” You teased, licking your hand before closing it around his cock. He immediately groaned at the contact, hissing through his teeth.

“Told you. Been waiting all day,” he sighed, relaxing into the bed. “Oh God.”

“Oh, baby,” you tutted as you sped up the speed of your hand on him. He began to whine even louder and twist his hips around. He was already embarrassingly close to coming, so he wanted to hold out a bit. However, you knew him like the back of your hand and you could tell what he was doing.

“You’re about to come already? You greedy little thing,” you spat as your other hand joined the one that was already on his cock. You leaned over, letting a small drop of spit fall from your mouth onto the head of his cock. Immediately after that, you began to twist both hands on his cock. His head fell back against the headboard, and he could feel himself about to lose control.

“Mm. Gonna, gonna come M-Mistress,” he choked out, the amount of pleasure he was feeling making it hard to talk.

“Yeah?” You asked, smiling at him. His hips lifted off the bed and he was too close to worry about asking for your permission to come. Just as he closed his eyes and was about to let go, the presence of your hands was suddenly gone and his eyes flew open. He saw you sitting in between his legs, smirking at him.

“Did you really think I was just going to let you come that easily baby boy? Especially when you didn’t ask permission,” you griped, while still keeping the smirk on your face. “That’s the whole reason why you didn’t come last night.”

“Please Mistress. I, I need it so badly. Please,” he begged.

“Begging already baby? You must really need to come huh?” You asked as you rubbed his thighs. He instantly nodded and shifted around, trying to make the feeling of wanting to come subside just a little bit.

“Well, you’re so close to coming but I’m not even wet. Don’t you think you should fix that for me baby?” You wondered sweetly. He moaned loudly at that, suddenly wanting to taste your pussy.

“Please. Want to taste you,” Namjoon licked his lips at you. You quickly rid yourself of your panties before moving to untie his hands.

“Color baby?” You asked as you untied his left wrist.

“Green,” he replied swiftly. After untying his hands, he immediately laid down flat on the bed, wanting you to ride his face. However, you continued to sit on your knees next to him, making him raise an eyebrow at you.

“I’m just trying to decide if I should let you breathe or not this time,” you told him thoughtfully. He closed his eyes, remembering the last time you didn’t let him breathe while he went down on you. He had come almost immediately after you did so he figured that maybe that wasn’t the best thing for him right now.

“Your, your choice M-Mistress,” he whispered. You smiled, leaning down to press a kiss to his forehead.

“That’s right baby. You’re just my little toy to get myself off, right?” You asked and he nodded right away. You quickly maneuvered so that your legs were on either side of his head and your pussy was hovering above his lips.

“I’ll decide how I feel based on how good you eat me baby. If you’re doing good, I’ll let you breathe,” you said. “Think you can make me come in say, 5 minutes?” You looked down at him and he nodded.

“Can I use my fingers?” He asked and you thought for a second.

“I’m feeling nice today so why not?” You shrugged. “Time starts now Namjoon.”

He immediately hooked his arms around your thighs and brought you down upon his mouth. He took his tongue and began to slowly trace your folds, making you sigh. He quickly began to pay attention to your clit, sucking lightly on the bud.

“Fuck Namjoon,” you gasped, and you began to roll your hips over his face. He was beginning to have trouble breathing but he didn’t care. He just wanted to taste more of you.

He removed one of his hands from your thigh and stuck two fingers into his mouth to get them wet before pumping them into you swiftly. You threw your head back at the feeling of his long fingers sliding in and out of you.

“Yes baby. That’s my good boy,” you sighed as your praise encouraged him to work you even harder. Three and a half minutes passed and Namjoon still hadn’t made you come yet. You moved your pussy away from his mouth and looked down at him in between your legs.

“You have a minute and a half left. If you don’t make me come, you’ll be going to sleep without coming for the second night in a row,” you threatened, making his eyes widen. Whenever you chose not to let him come, it was never just a few hours or overnight. You always turned it into a game of trying to figure out just how long he could go before he was begging you to touch him. Even though he loved it, he did not want to have to experience that anytime soon.

“I can do it. Please. I’ll-I’ll be good,” he pleaded. You nodded and lowered yourself back over his face. His lips went straight for your clit while he added another finger into your pussy. He began to pump and suck hard, which he knew drove you crazy.

“Oh fuck yes,” you moaned. “Keep going, I’m gonna come baby.” Your words spurred him on and he continued doing what he was doing. Soon enough, you reached down and rubbed you clit as you felt yourself approaching your climax.

“Want me to squirt all over your face baby boy?” You asked, moving your hips to ride his fingers that were inside of you. He shook his head in agreement, holding his mouth open and extending his tongue. Seeing him like that pushed you over the edge, your orgasm exploding from you in small spurts. Namjoon happily swallowed everything you gave him, while also extremely aware of how hard his cock was behind you.

“Oh my gosh,” you groaned as you moved away from his face and perched yourself in his lap. You immediately kissed him, tasting yourself on his tongue. Suddenly, you felt his cock slap your ass and you giggled.

“You did so good baby,” you smiled at him and he replicated your smile.

“Your-your good boy?” Namjoon asked hesitantly as he looked up at you. You held his face in both of your hands and traced his bottom lip with your thumb.

“Absolutely. You’re my amazing boy,” you praised and he preened at the attention. “How you doing baby? Color?” You checked in.

“I’m a little hazy,” he admitted. “But still green.”

“The haziness is probably from you being so hard, yeah?” He nodded and you pecked his lips with yours. “I’ll let you fuck me now baby. Come on, up,” you instructed as you tapped his face. You moved off of him and he sat up, as you both traded places. You laid down, spreading your legs wide and he instantly slotted himself in between them.

He grabbed the base of his cock and groaned at the contact. He lined himself up with your hole and looked back up at you. “Can, can I?” He wanted to ask one last time, wanting to keep being your good boy.

“Go ahead baby. Fuck me,” you nodded and he wasted no time in thrusting inside of you. He whined from how tight you were and began to pump in and out of you.

“F-fuck,” he mumbled through gritted teeth. He could feel himself just as close to coming as he had been when you were jacking him off, but he didn’t want to come so soon after he’d started fucking you. However, you had different plans.

“Come on baby. I know you’re so close. Come inside of me Joon,” you encouraged him. He opened his eyes and saw you biting your lip as you looked into his eyes. He glanced down and noticed that you were also playing with your nipples, which he loved. He sped up his thrusts, moaning loudly how at you felt around him.

“Go ahead baby. Let it go,” you told him and that’s all he needed to hear before letting go and spilling himself inside of you. The force of his orgasm was so strong, his body went limp and he fell on top of you with his head on your chest. Chuckling, you began to run your fingers through his hair that was damp with sweat.

“You alright Namjoon?” You asked and he nodded sleepily. “Come on baby. Pull out,” you tapped his shoulder. He reluctantly lifted himself onto his knees and slowly pulled out of you. He watched with hooded eyes as his come began to trickle out of you. Taking one finger, he scooped it up and thrusted his finger into you, not wanting any of his come to be wasted.

“Shit,” you moaned as you watched him. He pulled his finger out of you and licked it clean, smirking at you. Rolling your eyes, you got off the bed and grabbed a water bottle from the mini fridge. You handed it to him and watched as he drunk half of it in one go. After making sure that he was hydrated, you gently pushed him onto his back. You crawled back into the bed next to him and held your arms open. He immediately cuddled into you, loving the warmth you provided.

“You did so good my baby boy,” you praised, wanting to make sure he came down for sub space safely.

“Really?” He asked, nuzzling his face in your neck.

“Absolutely. Always so good for me,” you ran your hand over his head as you felt his body relax. “Sleep Namjoon,” you whispered but he had already began to doze off.

Needless to say, when Namjoon showed up at rehearsal the next day, he was so relaxed that he even surprised the boys.

“What’s up with you today?” Yoongi asked.

“Yeah. You’re super...chill?” Hobi added. “You were about to blow a damn gasket yesterday.”

“I just, I did some meditation and prayer last night,” Namjoon replied with a large smirk on his face.

#bts imagines #bts scenarios #bts reactions #bts namjoon #bts namjoon smut #bts rm smut #bts rm #bts rm x reader #bts namjoon x reader #bts smut #bts #btsqualityypost

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greetingsfromrivain · 6 years ago

Text

All Things That Are Left To Do

There was still smoke in the air two days after the archdemon was slain.

Alistair could see it, sitting at the sill of a palace window, as the smoke turned already grey Ferelden skies shades of greyish-brown.

Somewhere below, his companions were spread around the city still in crisis. Leliana had gone to the chantry, no doubt, likely offering kind words to go with rations of food and blankets. The Queen’s army had requested Sten, Oghren, and Shale for help to round up and kill remaining darkspawn near the city, an offer they took with enthusiasm.

Alistair had been requested as well, but he was needed elsewhere.

He took a deep breath, the smell of ash and death still in the air, intermingling with the slow but valiant attempt of the sea to bring the taste of salt and life back to Denerim. And yet he prefered it to the smell of the room, a guest room repurposed for healing, the stale smell of balms and medicines, and the lingering static of healing magic.

He turned around and looked back at the bed where Luna lay, still unconscious as the moment after the final blow. It played in his head whenever he shut his eyes: she deals the final blow, there is an explosion, she’s bleeding, it’s so much blood, if Wynne hadn’t been there....

He shook his head. Wynne wasn’t there now, which was only a good sign. “She just needs rest,” she said just that morning, “But there are more wounded to be tended to. Watch over her, Alistair.”

Alistair made his way back to her bedside, sitting in the too-small chair at her left. “Wynne said I’m supposed to talk to you,” he started, “But I don’t know, I think you deserve a little peace from me talking after saving the world, don’t you? Least I could do.”

Luna laid there still, the gentle rise and fall of her chest the only sign of her still living. The thick braids that normally framed her face had been taken out, as well as the ones keeping half her hair up, leaving her dark, fluffy auburn curls fanned around her head. Her skin, bearing many small scrapes and scars, no longer had the greyish tint it did on the battlefield, with reddish color slowly returning to her reddish-brown skin. Her neck had a large bandage over it, the biggest parting gift from the killing blow.

He took another deep breath of the stale, medicinal air and continued. “You’d chide me for saying that if you were awake. You like when I talk. And you think I should like when I talk. And I do, when I’m with you. That counts for something, doesn’t it?”

The room is too still, it’s why he had gotten up to look out the window in the first place.

“I think it’s why Wynne wanted me to stay. Play to my strengths, and everything. I think she knew that I wouldn’t want to leave you anyway. It’s always ‘save the world, Alistair!’ but you-”

He laughed a little at himself.

“You know, I was just about to say something very sentimental, and I bet you would have woken up right when I said it. You’d never let me hear the end of it. There’d be no winning an argument with you ever again.”

She laid there still, no expression to give any sign of waking.

“Ah, to the void with it.” He took her hand in his, limp though it was. “It’s funny, we’ve only know each other for about a year. And yet...I can’t imagine a world without you. Is that strange?”

Only silence answered him.

“Ah, well. I half hoped you’d wake to tease me. That’s how it happens in stories, right? I guess I’ll have to think of something else.”

He went on, anything that would come to his head. He told her about their friends pacing and griping at each other while she was being healed, until Wynne came from the room, bloody with her silver hair escaping ponytail, but with only a look of relief on her face. He told her about how Queen Anora somehow managed to look both relieved and disappointed at news of her health. He told her about how Zevran kept watch outside of her room, how he was unsure if the man ever slept.

He told her about how brown and grey skies seemed almost warm and welcoming when compared the the blood red of the sky during the battle, and how even the smalled scrap of blue seemed foreign and almost wrong, as if somehow there could be blue skies, even after all of this.

The shadows of the room shifted, his throat become more dry, but he barely paid those details any attention.

“And then of course,” he went on, “I’ll have to figure out how to tell you about poor Stormbringer. I’m sure Wade will be happy to make you another one. Herren, on the other hand...”

“Mmmm...”

“Yes, he can be a little touchy, if you ask me-” Alistair did a double take.

Luna’s brows were furrowed. She began to turn her head towards him, and then winced in pain, her hand grasping his reflexively. Relief welled up in him, a feeling of overwhelming warmth and gratitude to the Maker or to Andraste, but most of all to Luna.

“Hello, love.” he choked out, unable to care how he sounded.

Her eyes were only barely opened, but she smiled gently. “Alistair,” she whispered, her voice raspy and light. Her smile faded, and she closed her eyes again while taking her hand from his. Before he could ask, she put her hands against the blankets and gripped them, taking a deep breath, then another, then a third. She put her hands on her chest, as if to feel a heartbeat, and then to her bandage, where she winced in pain again despite the attempted ligthness of her touch. He remembered then; he’d seen her and other mages do this before.

“I...” she took another deep breath, “It’s real. I stabbed the archdemon, and it fell, and then I fell, but...” she opened one eye, it seemed it was all she had energy for, “but it’s real.”

“Yes, love.”

“Are the others...?” Luna closed her eyes again, as if steeling herself.

“They made it. All of them.”

A sigh of relief. “Thank the Maker.” she whispered, putting her hand back out for him to hold, which he gladly took. “And...Morrigan?”

He shrugged. “Gone, it seems. Haven’t seen her since we left the gate.”

Luna sighed, but said nothing else about her. She took another deep breath, and squeezed his hand.

“What...” She moved her head to face him again, more slowly this time, and only winced slightly, “What were you saying before?”

Oh, Maker.

“Saying before?” he said airily, almost too innocently.

She opened both of her eyes to a squint. “You were saying something when I was waking. I...I think you mentioned Herren?”

He sighed. “Well, best to get it over with.” He gently placed her hand back on the bed and reached behind the bedside table for Stormbringer. Or, at least, what was left of it. Though the hilt was mostly unscathed, the blade itself had been broken, leaving less of a blade and more of a jagged edge.

Luna frowned, then closed her eyes while taking a deep breath. She opened her eyes again, along with her mouth to speak, but before she could Alistair started to laugh.

“What-” she frowned more, “Why are you laughing?”

“You’re pouting,” he said, his voice more sing-song then he intended.

“Excuse me, I do not pout.” Luna, said, her eyes narrowing, and her pout growing more pronounced. When he laughed more, he looked over at her, where she was valiantly trying and failing to not laugh, her pout twitching almost into a smile.

“Either way,” she attempted to lift up her chin in the lofty way she did, but the pain of it seemed to stop her, “Much to be done. I’ll need to talk to Wade. We’ll also need to send some sort of missive to other grey Wardens, won’t we? And then-”

“Whoa whoa whoa,” Alistair shook his head, moving his arms widely in front of him “What you need to do is rest. You can barely even move properly.”

“But-”

“No buts,” he countered, “I’m immune to your pouts, woman, and your Mabari eyes.”

Luna snorted. “You’re just lucky I can barely keep my eyes open.”

“You’re proving my point, dear.”

She turned to him slightly, eyes dreamy and gentle, smile filled with warmth. He cleared his throat. Maybe not so immune after all. He rubbed his temple before running his hand through his hair, chuckling and shaking his head as he stood up.

“The others aren’t here, but Zevran’s outside. I’ll go tell him you’re awake.”

Halfway to the door he heard Luna’s voice. “Alistair?”

He turned around, and she was still smiling.

“I love you.”

He could feel his ears turning red. It wasn’t anywhere near the first time she said it, and yet...

“And I you.” he said, rolling his shoulders as he left, the tension in them all but gone.

On the other side of the double doors lay a long, drafty pallace hallway. To the right of the door was Zevran, not-so-casually sharpening a blade. To the left was Sunny, who sat still and at attention, making him look like one of the many mabari statues spread across Ferelden.

Zevran looked at him, alert, but with telling bags under his eyes. Sunny stayed still.

“She’s awake-” Alistair said, but before he could say anything else Sunny’s whole demeanor shifted. He barked, wagging his tail, and ran past Alistair, nearly knocking him over.

“Sunny!” he heard Luna exclaim, before the telling thump of a large dog that believes himself a lapdog, and an undignified groan from Luna.

“Good...boy...” he heard her murmur.

Alistair snorted, shaking his head. “As I was saying, Luna’s awake, but she’ll probably need some more sleep soon.” He watched Zevran yawn and stretch, blade still in hand.

“And she might not be the only one.” Alistair added. “Not to sound ungrateful, but I don’t think she was in much danger. At least, she wasn’t alone in there.”

“Two are better than one, yes?” Zevran said, putting his knife back in its sheath, “Besides, we have a saying in Antiva. ‘The more the light shines on a man, the more shadow he makes for a blade to hide.’”

Alistair wrinkled his nose. “Really? That’s a thing you say regularly?”

“Well not regularly,” Zevran said with a shrug, “But it is known that many people benefit from the end of the world, even if only in the short run.”

Alistair laughed bitterly. “Well, if the blight has taught me anything, it’s that that’s true in Ferelden too.”

“That’s the spirit.” Zevran patted Alistair on the shoulder. He peaked into the room, watching Sunny lick Luna’s face. Alistair watched the man, how much younger he looked now than when they had first met. It seemed it took less than a year for Zevran’s world to shift entirely too.

Alistair put a hand on Zevran’s shoulder, “I’ll take your place on watch. Go ahead.”

Zevran smiled, a small expelling of breath that was either faint laughter or a relieved sigh. “Thank you, my friend.”

The last thing he heard before the door closed was Zevran’s overly chipper voice, “And so our lovely warden wakes!”

With the doors shut, the pallace hallway became silent, leaving Alistair alone with his thoughts. He thought of Luna, awake but barely, already making plans and to-do lists. What had she mentioned, a missive to the nearest wardens? Perhaps if I could get started on that, he thought, she might actually rest.

He began to write it in his head. How would Duncan have written it? Letters Duncan wrote tended to be casual, perhaps because Alistair was his subordinate. Besides, he didn’t know the name of the Warden-Commander of Orlais, anyway.

“’To whom it may concern...’ yes that will do,” he muttered to himself, “Equal parts respectful and passive-aggressive. The true warden way.” It was a start.

Much to be done, after all.

DA100 #13: The End (?)

#da: o #dragon age: origins #da100 #alistair #warden #warden amell #luna amell #zevran arainai #sunny the mabari #warden x alistair #a shield for the blow #the ballad of the sun and the moon #my writing #title comes form hozier's 'wasteland baby!'#which reminds me of dragon age romances *a lot*#and nothing lights a creative fire under your ass like music (as everyone who has ever written a songfic will attest to)#me: *tears off my shirt to reveal another shirt with 'ART' written on it* I WANNA CREATE

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thedeviltohisangel · 6 years ago

Text

How The Night Changes//8//Takes One To Know One

Duncan & Olivia face the idea that she might be pregnant.

masterlist in bio!

requested by @tickled--pinkmoodpoisoning love her so please go love her as well!

send any requests for these two my way!

“I feel like a literal whore, Duncan. Like you only have to pay a dime to get your dick sucked by me.” The man in question chuckled from where he was still lying in bed, watching Olivia struggle to put her heel from last night back on while balancing on one foot.

“You’d be a horrible stripper, my love.” The meaning behind the look she gave him was clear and required no clarification.

“I can’t get my hips to move sexier if you won’t let me ride you every once in awhile.”

“It’s very hard for me to not be in control.” It wasn’t that Duncan didn’t like the visual of Olivia’s breasts bouncing in his face as she rode him like it was a rodeo, he did like that visual, but he could never keep his hands from gripping her hips and flipped her under him as she began to clench around him.

“You’re making yourself hard with whatever it is that you’re daydreaming about,” she muttered as she sat on the bed and looked through her clutch to make sure everything from the night before was in there before she left Duncan’s.

“Thinking about your boobs.” That at least got a smirk from her. Sometimes Olivia found herself forgetting that, no matter how put together and powerful Duncan was, he was still a male. Just as same as the rest of them. “When am I gonna get to see you again?” He sat up and leaned over he could press kisses up and down the skin of her arm. Duncan was an addict. Everyday that they weren’t public was another day that he didn’t get to see her for nearly as much as he needed to in order to survive.

“I’m not sure. I have a recital tomorrow night, you should come.”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” She looked at him over the shoulder and he took the opportunity to lightly tap his lips against the tip of his nose. Olivia had started volunteering at a local studio and her little toddler ballet group was participating in tomorrow’s recital. Duncan didn’t have a particular proclivity to dance or to children but wanted to be there in support of her and this future endeavor.

“Okay, well let me go find a makeup wipe or something so my team doesn’t think I got gangbanged by raccoons last night.”

----

“Miss Olivia you don’t look so good.” Her dancers were always extremely honest with her, even when it was not appreciated.

“I’m just a little tired, Stella, but thank you for worrying about me.” Olivia cupped her cheek gently in thanks and smiled as she ran off to join the rest of the group that was chatting together at a table in the makeshift green room.

“Stella’s right. You okay?” She turned to see Lillian, the director of the studio coming up behind her.

“Yeah I’m getting my period soon so I am veering towards out of whack with every passing hour,” she replied with a chuckle.

“Well I just wanted to thank you personally before the show. I’ve heard nothing but rave compliments from the girls and their parents about how wonderful your classes have been. Not to mention your endorsement has made us sell out the dance hall!”

“I had some people invite some people and spread the word. I know you guys were struggling with the budget last month so anything I can do to help, you just have to let me know, Lillian. I want my platform to help the people who really need it.” Olivia looked to the table where her group of dancers were sitting and felt her heart warming. She would do anything for those little girls, absolutely anything.

“I’ll keep your offer in mind. Thank you, Olivia.” Lillian squeezed her hand gently before moving to talk to the next group of people that resided backstage. Olivia walked over to the table of mini ballerinas and took a seat in the middle of it all.

“What’re you girls laughing about over here?”

“Lorelai was saying that she thinks you’re a real life princess or fairy. Are you, Miss Olivia?”

“What made you say that, Lorelai?” Olivia directed her question at the giggling little brunette that was trying to shield her laughs behind her hand.

“You’re so pretty!”

“But where’s your prince, Miss Olivia?” That question had come from Juniper. It didn’t surprise her that she was the girl to ask such a question, her mother was the biggest gossip of the whole studio.

“He’s in hiding.” All the girls gasped and leaned a little bit forward as if they were waiting for the rest of the story. “He’s hiding because the wicked witch wants to find me and if he stays away from me, then she can’t find me.” It wasn’t that far off from the truth.

“Oh but, Miss Olivia, can’t he get rid of the witch? So you can get married?”

“One day will be the right time, Lorelai, but he has to wait for the perfect time.”

“We’d help him!” All the girls nodded in agreement that they would help her prince slay the witch so Miss Olivia could be with him and be happy. They were like her own little dwarves in a way.

“What if I told you that he’s here to watch you girls tonight? To make sure you’re good enough to help him some day?”

“We’ll dance perfect for your prince, Miss Olivia!”

“Promise!”

“Okay well, we have to stretch in order to do our best. Let’s group hug first though!” Olivia stood up and held her arms open, all the little girls crashing into her with giggles and squeals of excitement.

----

“I would like to welcome a very special guest to the stage, First Daughter, Olivia Underwood!” Olivia waved as she walked across the stage to accept the microphone from Lillian. She spotted Duncan easily, he was whistling from where he stood in the audience.

“Thank you for the warm welcome, everyone but let’s hear one last round of applause for all of our dancers tonight! Such beauty and talent at such young ages, I expect greatness from all of them.” She paused as the audience cheered, Olivia becoming acutely aware that there was massive amounts of press lining the walls of the auditorium and suddenly felt a wave of nerves hit her. “I want to especially thank all of you for coming helping us raise some money for a bunch of continuing education projects we have going on around the studio this year. Also thank you to Lillian for inviting me to participate not just in teaching classes but in the organization of this event...and...lastly…” The distinct feeling of needing to throw up was beginning to rise in her throat. She was afraid to open her mouth to finish the rest of her short speech, the room beginning to spin under the heat of the lights. It was when she became aware of Duncan standing in his seat and moving towards the stage that she realized she must be looking as bad she felt. Olivia quickly extended the microphone back to Lillian before sprinting off the stage, the sound of a thousand cameras clicking the only thing she could hear.

----

“You didn’t have to spend the night with me,” she murmured as she took a sip of her coffee the following morning, Effie curled in her lap and Duncan gently massaging her feet.

“Didn’t want you to be alone if you got sick again. I know what a horrible feeling that is.” Effie woke up and moved down Olivia’s legs to begin to nudge her head at Duncan’s hand, wanting his attention as well.

“Wow. What a betrayal,” Olivia griped at the two of them as Duncan answered her cat’s call for attention.

“Sorry babe.” Effie crawled under his chin and curled back up in her little ball there, falling back asleep with ease. “I wanted to stop by cause I’m going to Vietnam with my friends for the next two weeks, remember?”

“Yeah but I was trying to not think about it. What am I supposed to do with myself in that time?”

“Send me sexy Snapchats.” One of her throw pillows solidly hit his thigh. “I’m sure the time will fly by, Livvy. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”

“Your friends aren’t really known for behaving...are they gonna be suspicious of you not flirting and fucking your way through Vietnam?” He opened his mouth to say that’s not what his friends expected from him on vacation but then closed it when he remembered that it was. And that it was warranted.

“I’ll think of something. I have my Master’s, Olivia, I’m pretty smart.” She cackled in spite of herself and moved she could rest her head on the little bit of his chest that her cat had left open.

“I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too...I’ll call you whenever I get some alone time.”

“Okay, Donut. I love you so much. Don’t forget that.”

“You’re my whole world, Olivia, don’t you forget that.”

----

Three days later, when her period hadn’t come, she started to think. She had PCOS which meant that she had had irregular periods before but birth control had been prescribed to her to fix that. And it had. Her period had come and gone like clockwork every month ever since. Except for this month. Something was wrong.

“Henry?”

“Yes, Miss?”

“Do you think one of your agents could run an errand for me?” And that was how she sat with every brand of pregnancy test that CVS carried laid out on the countertop in front of her. She didn’t know how long it would take for a pregnancy to show up on a test but she also couldn’t pinpoint the exact time she had had sex with Duncan without protection. So, just to be safe, she peed on all of them and then paced around her room in a loop until the timer went off on her phone. Three of them read positive...and three of them read negative. “Well, fuck you.”

She knew she couldn’t Duncan and tell him that she might be pregnant because the tests couldn’t agree. She needed a plan of action. He was always wanting to take control but this was her and her body and her health so she had to make it her duty. It was her doctor that she called first, explaining the inconclusive tests and asking if she could come in for an ultrasound or blood test to get a conclusive answer.

“How about we wait another couple of days, Olivia, and then I can have you come in for both?” Dr. Haines spoke. Olivia was always patched through directly to her doctor to prevent any lower level employees from hearing anything confidential and being vulnerable to media inquiry.

“Okay that works for me. I’m sorry I can’t tell you an exact date…”

“Don’t worry about it. We will get it all figured out, I promise.”

“Thank you. Dr. Haines, I’ll see you Wednesday.” Once she hung up she figured there was one more important phone call that she needed to make. Duncan. She dialed the number he had given to reach him at for his trip.

“Hello?”

“Duncan?”

“Hold on.” She heard his voice get muffled, something said to his friends about it being his mother. “Sorry. Wanted to be alone so I can actually say your name.” He chuckled.

“I’m glad you’re alone. You should sit down. I have to tell you something.”

“Are you going to break up with me while I’m all the way in Vietnam?” She heard him chuckle but knew a piece of him was actually nervous that was happening.

“No the opposite actually...I think...I might be...pregnant.” The silence sat between them for a few beats, Olivia biting her lip so hard that a copper taste began to spread on her tongue. “You don’t have to say anything or do anything. I’m taking care of it, I-”

“Have you...have you done tests and stuff?” It sounded like something was stuck in his throat. Like he was choking on the words as they were trying to come out.

“I wouldn’t have called you all the way in Vietnam if I hadn’t. I took six. They were split negative and positive.” He groaned in frustration from the other side. “I’m going to my doctor’s on Wednesday to get some more conclusive answers. I’ll call you then.”

“You get squeamish when you get blood work. Is someone going with you? You fainted last time.”

“I’ll have Henry or someone else on my team hold my hand. I won’t be fully alone.”

“Okay that makes me feel a little bit better...What do we do if you are pregnant?”

“I...I’d want to keep it. We can go public or...or we don’t have to and you can be involved as much as you want...or not at all.” They had only had one conversation about kids in their time together. Olivia didn’t want to assume that Duncan was immediately on the same page on her, that he wanted to be a Dad. It would break her heart to have him leave her life but she would do it for their baby...her baby.

“I would never...I would never not be involved, Olivia. A baby that’s half you and half me...How could I not fall in love with it? Do you know how cute our kids would be? Will be.” Her heart began to sing at his words and she wished he was there with her now. It should be a crime for the one you love to make you feel this way when they weren’t physically there to receive your affection.

“I love you so much, Duncan. You make me so happy and I...I can’t imagine my life without you.”

“You’ll never have to. I’m going to be with you forever, regardless of how it happens and who knows and who cares and...you drive me fucking crazy. I’m tearing up in a Vietnamese forest thinking about how much I love you.” She almost cried to when she heard his little sniffle.

“I’ll call you Wednesday after my appointment. Try to have fun and not let this distract you too much, okay?”

“Okay. Love you, baby.” For the rest of the day, Duncan found himself zeroing in on the children playing in the streets as he drove by them on his way to the next tourist site. His mind kept wandering to the fact that he might be having his own kid. And he kept thinking about how he already was in love with the idea of being a partner in this way with Olivia. They really were two halves of the same whole and his heart called to be with her for this journey. From start to finish. He feared he had already missed too much by not being there when she took the test. At dinner, while all his friends were laughing and drinking about deciding what bar they would haunt tonight he was thinking of Olivia. Of her growing round with his child. Of picking out nursery paint colors. Of learning how to swaddle. Of crying over a little prune faced baby calling him dada. He knew what he had to do.

----

Olivia hadn’t gotten any sleep the night before her appointment. She was too nervous of not only the result of her tests but of the fact that she thinks she’d be mildly upset if she wasn’t pregnant. The past couple of days had given her a lot of alone time to think about what she would do depending on each outcome that the day could take. If she was pregnant, then her and Duncan would have to speed up all the plans they had made. They’d have to go public. Come clean to those that were in power. Maybe he would insist they got married. But Olivia wouldn’t want it to be a big affair. They would have something small and intimate with just them and her Secret Service as witnesses. They were the only people who had supported their relationship thus far anyways. And then in nine months they would have their little bub. And they would be so happy. And they would be a family forever. And eventually have the massive wedding Olivia had been dreaming about her entire life.

If she wasn’t pregnant...then she would be sad. But she would get over it. And everything that would have happened if she was pregnant would eventually happen on its own anyways. She would just have to wait a little bit longer for all of her dreams to come true.

It was a knocking at her door that made her finally think to get out of bed. It must be one of her agents needing to use the bathroom.

“Nadim, I swear you have the bladder of-” But it wasn’t him when she opened the door. It was Duncan. A bit scruffier and his hair was a bit curlier and his skin was a bit tanner but it was him.

“Hey.”

“What are you…”

“I thought about it. And thought it would be pretty shitty if I missed an ultrasound this early on so…”

“Duncan,” Olivia took a deep and shaky breath as the tears began to run down her face. “You didn’t have to fly all the way home for this.” He quickly stepped into her home and shut the door behind him, placing both of his hands on her shoulders.

“Even...even if you are not pregnant, I’m doing this right. By you, by our child.” He let out a watery laugh as his own emotions began to get the best of him. “I never had one so I’m going to be one. I’m gonna be a good fucking father.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him like her life depended on it. And in a way, it did.

----

She managed to survive the blood draw without fainting this time, Duncan thinking she might have broken his hand from how hard she had squeezed it.

“That will be nothing compared to labor so you better start doing some hand strengthening exercises.” Duncan bopped his nose against hers from where they were waiting in an exam room for her doctor to see them. He was feeding her bits of a Hershey bar he had gotten from the vending machine, Olivia having not been able to eat in preparation for her blood draw that morning. “I’m gonna wet my pants if she doesn’t come soon.”

“Let’s think about something else instead then. Like all the cool ways we can announce our relationship to the public and really anger our mom’s and my uncle.”

“That’s evil, Mr. Shepherd, though it’s kind of turning me on.” Duncan hummed as he kissed her lips.

“All Shepherds have villainous blood, I thought your parents taught you that.”

“Villains don’t cut their vacation short to be with their girlfriends for doctor’s appointments.” She pushed a loose strand of hair off his forehead and then dragged her hands down to cup his cheek.

“I told you. I want to be here for every step of the way. No matter how inconsequential those steps might be.” He laced his fingers through his and then brought them to his lips. “We might be having a baby.” They both giggled.

“I’m glad we are in a happy mood.” It was Dr. Haines and to her credit she kept her surprise at seeing Duncan Shepherd in her exam room to a minimum.

“Trying to keep everything light. Don’t want our baby, if there is one, to be announced in a negative environment,” Olivia reason as she wiggled around to get in the right position for her doctor.

“Dr. Haines, I’m sure we don’t have to ask but-”

“You have my discretion, I promise.” Duncan smiled at her gratefully before turning back to Olivia.

“Hey, before this all starts, whatever happens, I love you. And if there is a baby, we’ll figure it out and be kickass parents and they’ll be in most loving home in history. And if there isn’t then know that one day, there will be. I promise you.”

“I’d like that,” she whispered back to him, feeling molten under the heat of his gaze. They kissed one last time, before everything changed forever. Duncan took his seat next to her head, hand still holding hers and eyes fixated on the screen like he was a little boy waiting up for Santa on Christmas Eve.

“Let’s take a look.” Olivia held her breath as the doctor moved around her stomach and the grainy screen came to life. “Well, Miss Underwood, Mr. Shepherd, I’m not seeing anything. And your blood work didn’t lead me to believe that I would have so I can say with confidence that you are not pregnant.” She smiled at the couple, beginning to pack up her things and wipe down Olivia’s stomach.

“Thank you, Dr. Haines. Have a nice rest of your week,” Duncan spoke as she patted him on the shoulder and left the room. He looked down at Olivia, who was looking vaguely shell shocked.

“I just...I just really thought.” She didn’t have to finish her sentence, he knew. He understood. He had felt the same. “I’m sorry you took a plane just to be told I’m not…” Duncan shushed her gently.

“It was worth it, baby, you don’t have to ever worry about disappointing me.”

“Take me home?” She suddenly felt very exposed under the harsh lights of the room and cold under the flimsy gown that she had been given to put on. Duncan had to take a step back as she abruptly sat up and threw her legs over the side of the table.

“Of course. You hungry? We can stop for something on the way home.”

“Just get me out of this goddamn room, Duncan, please.” Angrily, she rubbed at her eyes and then pushed past him to where her clothes sat in a pile.

“Okay,” he was approaching her with a measured cautiousness, “I’ll go ask Henry to pull the car around.” She was quiet the entire care ride, he kept his hand open in between them and she didn’t take it. He just wanted to talk to him, to tell him what was bothering her so he could fix it. Smooth over all the worried creases in her forehead. Nevertheless, he kept his hand there and kept it open because he would always be there for her, no matter how long it took her to come to him. He’d wait forever.

When they were lying in bed that night, he was on his back staring at the ceiling while she had turned her back to him on her side and curled into a ball.

“I was stupid to think that people like us get to be happy.” His head whipped in her direction. It was the first he had heard from her in hours.

“We’re happy when we’re together, aren’t we?” She rolled over so she could look at him.

“We are. But we’re not always allowed to be together and that breaks my heart. I was so happy today. You were so happy today. We were so happy to think we could be parents. Right all the wrongs that had been done to us. Love a child who was made from our love but...but people like us, Duncan, people like us don’t get to be happy.” The words were coming out of her mouth like venom. He could taste the ashes of her tongue as the burning words entered the atmosphere.

“We do. We’ve earned the right to be happy, Olivia. You make me so happy. And, yes, being a secret sucks sometimes but it’s not forever. Just because it feels hopeless right now does not mean that it always will feel that way. I promise you with every breath I have left in my body that you will always feel loved and be happy because you fucking deserve it.” Almost harshly, he pulled her against his chest as if the force of crashing her against his chest would force the words to be absorbed into her. “I wanted the baby too but it wasn’t meant to be. One day it will be. And you’ll be the most amazing mom like I know you will be.”

“You’re gonna stick it out with me for that long?” she sniffled as she traced her finger in the shape of a heart where his would be.

“I don’t think you ever get to love someone like this more than once. It scares me sometimes but I would do anything for you, Livvy, be anything you needed me to be.”

“Well, right now, I need you to sing me to sleep.” He smiled at her, happy that she seemed to be back to her usual self. Duncan hated his singing voice but one night he had sung in his sleep and Olivia had found it to be extremely comforting.

“Get comfy, little one.” He released her from his arms for just a moment so she could adjust into their favorite spooning position, Duncan clasping his arms back around her once she was settled. To the sweet lyrics of “You Are My Sunshine,” her tears disappeared and Olivia drifted off to a peaceful sleep, visions of cherubs in her dreams.

Tags:

@avesatanormalpeoplescareme

@aveiangdon

@langdonslove

#duncan shepherd #cody fern #house of cards #michael langdon #jim mason

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happymetalgirl · 6 years ago

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Demon Hunter - War & Peace

I don’t remember exactly where it was, but I have seen the sentiment echoed on the online metal discussion sphere (and I’m possibly also thinking of my own thoughts as well), that Demon Hunter are basically just the Christian Five Finger Death Punch, at least lately. And I don’t know why, but I do feel the need to address/debunk this before talking about their double release here this year, mainly because it was when Five Finger Death Punch tried their hand at a two-volume album release that I felt them really starting to go south.

Anyway, first-off, like I said, I have had this cursory comparison enter my mind, so I understand the reasoning behind it. Five Finger Death Punch has been for the past few years, unfortunately, probably the biggest (in terms of success) representative of modern groove metal and alternative metal, even if it’s just in name only at this point. Demon Hunter play a similar style of groovy, melodic metalcore and alternative metal to what got Five Finger Death Punch on the map (though Demon Hunter predate Five Finger Death Punch by five years and three full-length studio albums), and of all the “Christian bands” doing it, they’re definitely the biggest right now, and have been for a good few years as well. Ivan Moody’s and Ryan Clark’s aggressive mid-treble growls and melodic vocal deliveries are pretty similar, and they could both easily sing for the other’s band. And both bands are not shy to give one or a couple power or acoustic ballads a shot per album, which Demon Hunter definitely have a better track record with (see “My Heartstrings Come Undone”, “Carry Me Down”, the acoustic version of “The Tide Began to Rise”, “One Thousand Apologies”, and “Driving Nails”). And perhaps the most unnerving aspect, both bands are definitely not making their best work right now with Demon Hunter peaking at The World Is a Thorn and Five Finger Death Punch continuing to nosedive since War Is the Answer. At least Demon Hunter had a period of relatively consistently good output and more than one and a half really good albums under their belt. But that’s really where the similarities end: their similar genre styles and their respective successes.

What makes being compared to Five Finger Death Punch such a hypothetically inauspicious sign for a band, such as Demon Hunter, doesn’t really apply to Demon Hunter. Yes, while they’ve struggled for form for the past few years, it’s nothing compared to the absolute trash fire Five Finger Death Punch have made of their career only worse as time goes on from an artistic standpoint. Last year’s And Justice for None was undoubtedly the most corporately managed and phoned-in sellout project ever from them. And while I thought Demon Hunter’s Outlive in 2017 was below their potential, it didn’t make my bottom ten like And Justice for None did the next year. But what really makes Five Finger Death Punch such a despised name has a lot to do with the attitude. Ivan Moody behind the microphone and on the lyric sheet is juvenile and cringe-worthy to put it nicely, and his ugly enough prima donna antics on-stage and behind-the-scenes have leaked into the band’s music as of late to provide an utterly unattractive attitude to the band’s sound, a problem Ryan Clark and Demon Hunter definitely do not have to a degree even close to being worth mentioning. For them it’s just putting in the honest compositional work they always have, and singing semi-ambiguously about their Christian faith. Demon Hunter have also not terminally infected their sound with radio pandering and butchered production to nearly the same degree that Five Finger Death Punch have. On a very superficial level, yes, there are some similarities between the two, but where it really matters, Demon Hunter is not nearly the rotten eggs Five Finger Death Punch are to their respective spheres of metal.

Okay, that took way too long, but with it out of the way, on to the matter at hand: War and Peace (the two Demon Hunter albums, not the famously massive Leo Tolstoy novel). The pair of albums are intended to explore the band’s self-attributed stylistic poles on their own respectively, with War focusing on their groove metal and metalcore roots and Peace focusing on the more alternative hard rock forays they often go off on. Yes, while the prospect of ninety-eight minutes’ worth of music spread across two albums from a band in much less than optimal shape as of late certainly wasn’t a great sign going into these albums, the results were much better than I expected and not quite as watered down as so many projects of this type tend to get. Both these albums bring about a surprising upturn in Demon Hunter’s compositional form.

Of the two, I think Peace is actually a little more solid, only because I think the band better represented that side of themselves than they did their heavier side on War. War isn’t quite the stark contrast to Peace it really could have been if the band tapped deep into the creative well that produced their fastest, thrashiest, and most punishing songs like “The World Is a Thorn”, “LifeWar”, “Storm the Gates of Hell”, “Not I”, and “Beheaded”. Demon Hunter do indeed tap into their metalcore style pretty well, but for my personal preference, I think I would have liked to hear the band less reliant on melodic choruses and melodic vocal sections in general throughout, especially since Peace, meanwhile, finds the band more easily and naturally channeling their less overtly aggressive side. Though War does have a good few highlights worth noting. “Cut to Fit” opens the album with sufficient direct melodic metalcore force comparable to what the band have built their name on. The shortest and fastest track on the album, “Ash”, captures the direct-thrash-assault approach that makes so many of the band’s short title tracks on past albums such bangers. The band do showcase some respectable versatility as well as the song “The Negative” captures a harsh, revolting metalcore feel with Ryan Clark’s scratchy hardcore snarls backed by lone snare battering and its menacing bridge, while “Lesser Gods” finds Clark channeling Randy Blythe a bit during the more grandiose-minded song’s heavy choruses. The closing track, “Gunfight”, is perhaps one of the band’s most directly furious, yet phenomenally ambitiously structured metalcore thrashers. Songs like “Close Enough” and (to a lesser extent) “Unbound”, however, that base their core on basic rock drum beats and typical structuring do indeed (after all my arguing to the contrary) remind a little too much for comfort of Five Finger Death Punch, and mar the album unnecessarily.

Overall though, War is actually a significant upswing from the past two or three releases, and even if it could have gone heavier, it was great to hear Demon Hunter really centrally focusing on the heavy side of their sound that got them where they are. Its weaknesses are minor, if not only fleeting, and the band show that they still have plenty of gas in the tank to keep their fire going.

Peace, on the other hand, the rockier album of the two, if you will, isn’t completely neutered at all, just more of a rock-focused album with some alternative metal tinges still held around to spice things up. Ryan Clark’s clinical melodic clean singing takes center stage of the songs on here. This is not to say the rest of the band don’t shine; they do lay back and maintain the vibe of the songs for a greater portion of this album than War, but Peace certainly has its unexpectedly adventurous and even heavy moments.

The opening track “More Than Bones” keeps the allegro pace and the metallic guitar distortion dialed in from the previous album. It’s really the most classic-rock the band get for the entire album, and it might have served better somewhere in the middle to break up the rest of the hard-rocking material. But its placement is only a minor potential gripe. The hardness with which the rest of Peace rocks is kind of surprising, with “Bet My Life” even featuring a downtuned nu metal guitar breakdown of sorts near its closing moments. The song “Time Only Takes” also rocks pretty thoroughly hard through some slow, but crunchy, palm-muted guitar grooves. The similarly crunchy metallic verses on the song “Loneliness” sound like some old-school, actually cool, Five Finger Death Punch, while the more subdued acoustic choruses provide an unexpectedly hair-raising juxtaposition.

“Rescue Myself” sees the band directing themselves toward making one of those famous power ballads of theirs, with some ethereal choir vocal backing being one of the primary highlights of the song, which isn’t much to write home about compositionally. The results are decent, but the song “Peace” is perhaps the most fully realized upbeat somber ballad the band have ever made, and its sheer soulfulness and sing-along infectiousness is unrivaled on the rest of the album. The stripped back piano balladry of “Fear Is Not My Guide” comes pretty close, though. It’s a nice breather track for sure, but I think I still would have liked to hear some kind of extra instrumental or compositional ambition of some sort on it.

Like I said, I think Peace is just the slightly more consistent of the two, if only for its fewer moments of actual Five Finger Death Punch reminiscence. It’s by no means a take on the band’s “soft side”, but rather a focused exhibit of the band’s other main style of song-writing, which they do well to spice up regularly enough on here to keep it interesting.

After sitting with it after a several good listens though, still enjoying it, I have to say this was a risky move that paid off with what will likely be a sleeper hit for the band. I wouldn’t have put money on them bouncing back a bit with more material so soon, but the centrifuging of their styles seems to have helped bring the best out of them for both sides of their sound, and that’s great. I think being able to commit fully to one approach and one focus one one project and commit fully to another focus and approach on another project both helped the respective albums flow more smoothly and helped the band not worry so much about the balancing act they’ve had to maintain between the two throughout their career. Of course, the question is where to go from here. Do Demon Hunter do split-up or double releases for the rest of the foreseeable future with this style? Probably not; it sure must be exhausting for the band, and even as well as this one came out, I don’t think I’d bet on a repeat being similarly palatable in the near future. I don’t know, most bands that have tried this kind of double album thing usually don’t do it twice in a row unless long, winding compositions make their albums long as hell to begin with (i.e. Swans, Sunn O))), Prurient). Opeth just did Ghost Reveries after Deliverance and Damnation. Periphery did their third eponymous album after the Juggernaut double album. And Five Finger Death Punch shat the bed even worse with Got Your Six after their double album snooze party. So I guess it’s more likely they go for a more traditional single LP next, which will mean probably recombining everything that did so well split up on these albums. Hopefully the time apart the styles got here and the vitality the band found in their approach keeps the upward momentum going for their next album. For now, I’m rather pleased with how this came out. Definitely the best offering of alternative metal I’ve heard all year.

Good job Demon Hunter, my review is as annoyingly long as the book you named your albums after/10

#demon hunter #war #peace #groove metal #alternative rock #alternative metal #metal #heavy metal #new music #new album #album review

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bgn846 · 6 years ago

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FFXV Fic - Blue Skies

Nyx finds out how enlightening it can be going on a picnic with his girlfriend's uptight brother.

A fic I did for the Final Fantasy XV White Day Exchange

Here is the link for AO3 if you prefer.

Luna looked practically divine stretched out on the blanket that was spread on the grass. The wind picked up for a brief moment moving her hair in a gentle sweeping motion causing Nyx to smile. He loved that she was finally relaxing after a long day.

Not everyone was comfortable taking naps in front of other people. Granted it was just him and Ravus but Luna still looked amazing. Unlike a certain someone they both knew who would nap away with their face smashed into a pillow complete with a line of drool. Noctis would always deny he did this but they’d all seen it at one point or another. The royal had a penchant for taking naps and it didn’t matter where he was either.

Saving the world saps your energy for sure, Nyx had seen as much with Luna. It’d been nearly a year since all the daemons and Ardyn had been cast away. Peace was finally the only thing rampant throughout the world instead of the scourge. Enjoying a picnic a year earlier would have seemed like a ludicrous idea but here they were soaking up the sun and being lazy.

Even Umbra and Pryna were flaked out beside Luna. Umbra was on his back with all four legs up in the air. Nyx assumed running around a giant field chasing them earlier had done the trick. Pryna looked a little more dignified and was snoring lightly.

Nyx was seriously debating about lying down next to Luna but he could already hear Ravus whining in the back of his head. He needed to loosen up, they’d been dating nearly two years but that didn’t stop her big brother from being a total bummer sometimes.

“Oh just do it already.” Ravus sighed from the corner of the blanket he was sitting cross legged on.

“Why so you can gripe about it in the background. No thanks, I’ll keep my cuddling efforts private.” Nyx huffed.

“That’s not what I was talking about.”

Nyx was confused now, what the heck was he going on about. “You’ll have to elaborate there for me I’m not following.”

“I know you have a ring for her, I’ve seen the box. Why haven’t you asked yet? You’ve had that box for nearly two months now.” Ravus asked with a serious face. “Do you not think my sister will make you happy?”

Nyx was stunned, the last thing he was expecting was for Ravus to be questioning him about his future plans with Luna. Finally his thoughts ordered themselves in some semblance and he responded. “Ravus I love Luna with all my heart and she’s already made me the happiest man alive. Honestly I haven’t asked her yet because I couldn’t figure out how to get your permission first. You can be a bit of a tool sometimes.” He finished with a smug look.

“Hmmphff, I hadn’t considered that.” He huffed. “Well then ask me.”

“What so you can say no!” Nyx whined.

“So If I honestly told you no you would stop dating my sister?” Ravus asked with a look of shock.

“Um – not quite but it would seriously put a damper on my future plans.”

“I repeat again, ask me.”

Taking a deep breath Nyx sat up a little straighter from where he was sprawled on the blanket. “Ravus, I would very much like to marry your sister and take care of her for as long as I live. I would be eternally grateful if you were to give your blessing to our union.” The glaive finished with a somewhat shy look. Ravus was correct and if he said no Nyx would still be with Luna but it would change the vibe, that wasn’t something he wanted to have happen.

Ravus took nearly a minute to respond he was clearly enjoying torturing Nyx with the delay. “I’ll have you know that if you ever make my sister unhappy I will personally come find you and destroy you.” Pausing for effect more than anything he finally continued. “I will however grant you my blessing. Though I am loath to admit it I believe Luna truly does love you.”

The squeal that erupted from behind Nyx caused him to flinch and yell out loud. Luna shot straight up from where she had supposedly been napping with the biggest smile Nyx had ever seen on her shining face.

“Do you mean it Ravus?” She asked while waving her hands around like a little girl. “You have to walk me down the aisle and I will want to dance with you as well. Oh please tell me you are being serious!” Luna pleaded.

Umbra was up and barking since Luna was so excited. Pryna lifted her head and after licking her chops decided that napping would be a better choice and promptly returned to that activity.

“I wouldn’t joke about something like that Luna. I want you to be happy as well.” Ravus added with a frown. “If this glaive makes you feel that way then I will of course be more than willing to do as you ask.”

“Eeeee I’m getting married!” Luna breathed excitedly.

Nyx felt a little out of the loop as he sat and watched them discuss his proposal that hadn’t even happened yet. Surprisingly it was Ravus who held his hand up and motioned to Nyx. “I believe you may be getting ahead yourself Luna. I think Nyx has to ask you something first.”

Luna closed her mouth so quickly her teeth clicked. Nyx would swear later when he retold the story to all his friends that Luna was actually vibrating in place with anticipation. Taking a deep breath he dug into his pants pocket and pulled out a small blue velvet covered box. It only took a moment to reposition himself on one knee in front of the oracle. She was wide eyed and shaking slightly. “Luna, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife? Will you marry me?” He asked with a calm voice.

“Yes! Of course I accept!” Luna squealed as Nyx took her hand and placed the ring on her finger. The second the ring was in place Luna threw her arms around his neck and started kissing his face. “I can’t believe this is happening to me right now.” She breathed in between kisses.

“Get a room.” Ravus added dryly but his smile betrayed his true feelings. “Perhaps when you are both done sucking face we could eat the food we brought. This was supposed to be a picnic wasn’t it?”

“I might need a nap first!” Nyx exclaimed. “You two and your antics wore me out!” For the first time in the history of Eos Nyx witnessed Ravus and Luna laughing at the same time. They both honest to gods giggled and it was almost too much to bear.

Ravus took pity on him and stopped teasing them. He instead began setting up the food as they came down off their high. Soon enough the three were silently munching away on cute sandwiches and chips. Luna perked up after a few minutes with a devious look in her eyes. “I think I know who would make the perfect ring bearer.”

“No.” Ravus cut in. “That is silly.”

“What is? What are you two talking about?” Nyx asked trying to catch up.

“Oh come on it would be so cute.” Luna trilled.

“Who are you talking about?” Nyx asked again.

“Umbra obviously.” Luna offered like it was the most normal thing on the planet.

“What if he decides to time hop while walking down the aisle?” Nyx asked horrified.

“Don’t be such a stick in the mud babe; Umbra wouldn’t do that to us. Right?” She asked while looking at the dog in question. Umbra simply barked and wagged his tail.

“Ravus help me.” Nyx pleaded with a small smile. “Isn’t that what brother in laws do?”

Ravus to his credit did try and talk his sister out the idea but in the end Luna had only added Pryna to the mix. Claiming two dogs were better than one so both men gave up and decided to take a nap instead.

Lying on the blanket and staring at the clouds going by Nyx couldn’t wait until the big day. He was so happy that Ravus had given them their blessing and that Luna had said yes! Now the only thing left to ponder was whether their magical ring bearing dogs would be coming on the honeymoon.

#ffxv #fanfic #lunanyx

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