#not that women aren't terrifying sometimes but you know

[the-cryptographer]

Am happy I kept on with The Once and Future King if for no other reason because I did, as predicted, really love it’s characterisation of Lancelot. And Gwen too for that matter. Like, I complained about them being weirdo martyrs for no reason in the general mythos but this version really took Lance being a weirdo martyr for no reason and ran with it. Really went all in on the pathology of someone who really hates themself and behaves in ways that are deeply self indulgent and self destructive because of it. I absolutely believe this guy went off and became a hermit in his religious fervour as self punishment for his actions instead of being normal and eloping. Idk, I enjoyed this section of the story a lot.

Will say that the good and the bad are sort of mixed inescapably together tho. Like, the story is sort of in a weird space of clearly seeing Lance's behaviour as pathological and still weirdly romanticising it? I get the feeling the author thinks Lance self-harming is better than the people around him who spend no time tormenting themselves over morality, and that becomes weird and uncomfortable when you hear him tell a story about how he stuck his hand in a briar bush to punish himself for lying to his brother as a kid and God rewards this behaviour with a miracle. And on another note, I do think the Arthur side of this triangle ended up a bit neglected. Not that his actions make no sense as something no human would ever do, but the psychology of them and his relationship with Gwen are terribly underexplored, told more than shown imho. And Elaine and the amount of female on male rape in this story mixed with the author never holding the perpetrators accountable is definitely another thing that is :/

[teaboot]

What are "transmasc" and "genderqueer"?

I just woke up so bear with me, but like

Western society has invented this idea of "man" and "woman", right? And we SAY it's actually real, and based on tangible things like sex characteristics- primary, like dicks n' hoo-has- and secondary, like tiddies an facial hair an cellulite.

Well, it turns out that those things ain't divided "correctly" into the man and woman categories all the time.

People with dicks sometimes get tiddies, people without dicks sometimes grow beards and chest hair, beauty standards like "woman thin and hairless and short with small nose and tiny feet" and "man tall and muscular with a beard and broad shoulders" aren't appearing in nature the way we say they should.

(These gendered standards also change over time, but that's a different post.)

What's more, some people have multiple primary characteristics, and it's not even super rare! (Again, worth a different post, and not one I'm really in a position to make.)

So, we say that we didn't just "invent" two exclusive boxes to sort a wide variety and spectrum of characteristics into by pure brute force, but evidence says otherwise. So do we change the rules of our society to fit that evidence?

No, we pick something else to support our beliefs.

Learning about genes and DNA and chromosomes came much later in the game, so most people's grasp of it is this: Men have XY chromosomes, women have XX chromosomes, and no matter what your body is shaped like, that determines which box you go in. Whatever you look like should be padded or amputated or shaved away until you fit in your box.

Except.... we now know that people who outwardly appear to be the perfect ideal poster children of "man" and "woman" are living full, natural, healthy and unbothered lives totally unaware that they have the "wrong" chromosomes. No visibly "mixed" characteristics at all. So there goes that idea out the window.

Unless we say that no, our invention which is fact still holds up- there's just a few mutants and freaks and dysfunctional anomalies that just sort of happen sometimes, like factory flaws that wouldn't exist if things were running as they should.

So what do we do with factory flaws? We "fix" them. Or pressure them to fix themselves. Or, if they can "pass" one way or another, shove them into that box and tell them to shut up about it. Don't fit into either? Then pick one, and make yourself fit.

But... then, if we can pick... if hairy women with flat chests and small hips can shave themselves down and throw on some padding and powder her face to be accepted.... why can't anyone else?

Or, if that same "woman" went, fuck it, cut his hair short and embraced all the "man" characteristics, went by different pronouns and stepped into the "man" box... wouldn't that be okay, too?

And, he'll, what if they changed nothing about themselves and decided to opt out? We've proven that these "universal facts" don't *actually* exist and exceptions are everywhere, so fuck it, right? "Man" and "woman" don't really mean anything tangible anyways, so why not do what makes you happy?

And since, again, evidence shows that "man" and "women" aren't perfect binary boxes with perfect binary traits- why bother living up to those traits at all? Why can't someone assigned to the "woman" box live in the "man" box with long hair and heels on? If I makes him happy, what's the harm?

We don't like this, though, because when you build two boxes that contain the whole world, and people start escaping, or slipping out to live in the one they like more, or switching, or building their own, people begin to wonder why they're living in boxes at all. If we even need boxes.

And the people who maintain the boxes tell us, it's because the boxes are safe, and the boxes are natural, and the boxes have been here exactly as they are since the beginning of time anyways, and NO, they aren't just terrified of life outside the shelter of the box, you're the weird one.

Meanwhile, if we really looked into it, I imagine we'd find more people who don't fit their box criteria, or don't even like their box, at least as often as we find people who do.

Transgender means "someone who isn't in their assigned box".

Genderqueer means, "someone who isn't in their assigned box", but in a the same broad way that "transgender" is- Maybe a him, maybe a her, maybe both, maybe a they, perhaps a xey, and sometimes some of us move around.

I say I'm genderqueer, 'cause that fits me, but "Transmasc" to me personally means, "I know I'm not a woman, and I'm closer to the "man" box, but I'm happier wandering outside the "man" box than I am stepping fully inside. (Dysphoria is part of that, but again, in my opinion it's not vital to the experience.)

And I'm not one for destroying those two boxes entirely- they bring joy to a lot of people.

Just, you know. Maybe making more, different boxes. And maybe little camps out between them. And not treating people who roam the wilderness instead like rabid animals. Is the thing.

Long answer

[hxrukii]

Hello! I really loved the Pinkie Pie!Reader you did :) I was wondering if you were willing to do anyone else from the mane six; specifically Rarity? If possible can it be with Leona, Vil, Idia and Lilia? It’s cool if you don’t want to, really like your writing ^-^

❝But I've learned that standing up for yourself isn't the same as changing who you are.❞

╭・๑ 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲︰ʚ Some of the NRC student with a Fluttershy!Reader.‧₊˚✦

‧₊˚↷ 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫(𝐬)┊❝ Jamil Viper, Leona Kingscholar, Azul Ashengrotto, Floyd Leech, Malleus Draconia, Riddle Rosehearts. ❞ ⸜⸜*

↷︰ʚ 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞 ‧₊˚✦ Reader is female and is implied to be Yuu. For the second request, I will also be doing a Rainbow Dash!Reader sometimes soon!

╰・𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠(𝐬) ‧₊˚꒰ Some spoilers for book 1, 3 and 4. ɞ‧✦

Will be kind of put off by Fluttershy!Reader's kindness, not something you see everyday at NRC, but there are a few exceptions. (Like Kalim and Silver.)

Thinks that Fluttershy!Reader's ability to communicate with any animal is really helpful, sometimes, when she's free, he will ask her to help take care of the animals in Scarabia. Though this will only be the case after his overblot 'cause I don't think that pre-overblot Jamil will even entertain the idea of being helped.

Helps Fluttershy!Reader carries stuff around when he sees her struggling from time to time. Kind of pissed off by Crowley always taking advantage of her kindness and giving her work all the time.

Will stand up for Fluttershy!Reader when he thinks that someone is taking advantage of her, and encourages her to stand up for herself, though he force her if she's not comfortable.

Once saw Fluttershy!Reader get mad at a student for insulting an animal, was actually slightly scared of her, was also kind of proud of her.

Finds it entertaining to see NRC students get scolded by Fluttershy!Reader's bunny for taking advantage of her. (Secretly encouraging the bunny, much to Fluttershy!Reader's dismay.)

Fluttershy!Reader 100% forgot that she could fly when overblot Jamil yeeted her, Kalim and the tweels to other side of the dorm, and they only realized that she could've easily flown back to Scarabia, though it wouldn't have done much since she couldn't have carried them either way. Jamil was really close to lose his composure and laugh in their face.

Helps keeping Kalim in check when is bubbly personality becomes to much for Fluttershy!Reader.

Very impressed with Fluttershy!Reader's singing and wishes she could sing more, but understands that she's not comfortable and won't force her.

"You should stop being afraid of standing for yourself y'know. Most NRC aren't kind enough to respect your boundaries. Hm? Would I help you if they go to far? Hah, what do you think?"

Well, aren't you a cutie?

Thinks Fluttershy!Reader is really fun to tease, and tease her every time he sees her.

Used to be suspicious of Fluttershy!Reader.s kindness at first, since no NRC are kind without a hidden motive behind, heck, most NRC student can't even pretend to be kind.

Was surprised to say the least when he found out that Fluttershy!Reader is just kind by default.

At first, it would look like he doesn't care when someone messes with Fluttershy!Reader, but the next thing she knows, the person who was being mean to her earlier is now apologizing profusely for their behavior, leaving her confused.

Is slightly annoyed whenever Fluttershy!Reader forgives someone too easily for his taste but doesn't do anything.

Will threaten the crow to give Fluttershy!Reader less work. Though he won't tell her about it since she would probably scold him.

Leona, and the rest of Savannaclaw, actually find it terrifying when Fluttershy!Reader gets mad, since most of them come from Afterglow Savanna where women are more respected and definitely stronger than men.

Because of Fouttershy!Reader's affinity with animals, most of Savannaclaw, including him, seems to like having her around. Not that they will admit it though.

Likes to mess around with Fluttershy!Reader's pet bunny, find there reaction to be hilarious, especially their look of disappointment when they are trying to knock some sense into Fluttershy!Reader for not standing up for herself.

Though he is glad that there is someone to defend Fluttershy!Reader when someone is taking advantage of her, even though he won't admit it.

"Oi herbivore, get these annoying bird off of me, can't sleep with 'em chirpin' non-stop."

Before his overblot, Azul would definitely, 100% try to take advantage of Fluttershy!Reader at first.

Was stopped by her pet bunny, still holds a grudge against it till this day.

Was surprised when Fluttershy!Reader actually stood up for herself when trying to get Grim and the two first years from Heartslabyul free from his grasp. Guess she really does loves animals and her friends huh.

After his overblot though, honestly feels a little bad for trying to take advantage of you and tries to redeem himself. Though he feels like Fluttershy!Reader forgave him a little too easily compared to how normal NRC students hold grudges, a win is a win in his book.

He would've gotten the tweels to protect Fluttershy!Reader when someone is trying to take advantage of her kindness, but feels like the tweel's presence would overwhelm her so he takes it upon himself to step in.

Will blackmail anyone who tries to make fun of Fluttershy!Reader.

Azul himself is scared of heights since he is a merman, but he finds it kind of ironic that Fluttershy!Reader, who can literally fly is scared of heights. Though he wouldn't make fun of her for it, since he understands that being made fun of is a horrible thing.

Was surprised by how little Fluttershy!Reader can carry, since he as an octopus merman has quite some strength, Azul was definitely shocked to learn that Fluttershy!Reader can't carry more then two bunnies at most.

Uses his blackmail against he crow headmage to get him to lessen Fluttershy!Reader's workload.

Tries to get Fluttershy!Reader to sing at the Mostro Lounge, though she doesn't seems to like to go on stage so he convinced her to sing backstage instead, where no one can see her. After some consideration, was really happy that Fluttershy!Reader agreed.

"My dear, if a student over bother you, you know that you can always come to me right? Of course I'll help you! After all, Octavinelle is based on the spirit of benevolence of the Sea Witch."

Well, aren't you a cutie? Pt. 2

Floyd loves to mess around with Fluttershy!Reader every time he sees her.

Whenever he's having a bad day, Azul or Jade will bring him to Fluttershy!Reader and his mood immediately brightens up. Though the plans always tend to backfire since as soon as he's forced to leave Fluttershy!Reader his mood immediately does a 360 much to Azul, Jade and Fluttershy!Reader's dismay.

Also likes to mess around with Fluttershy!Reader's bunny, and always finds it's reactions to be hilarious, prompting him to annoy the bunny even more.

Sometimes makes Fluttershy!Reader sing or play music with him, and is always sad when she refuses. But since Fluttershy!Reader is to kind for her own good, she usually makes up for it by conducting a choir of birds instead. Though Floyd sometimes scares the birds away.

Likes to make Fluttershy!Reader fly with him, and found it funny when Fluttershy!Reader, Jade and Kalim (and him) all forgot that she could fly to make it back to Scarabia's dorm faster during Jamil's overblot.

Floyd definitely tends to overwhelm Fluttershy!Reader sometimes without realizing it, probably tries to make up for it but ends up changing his mind midway through.

Didn't really get shocked when one day Fluttershy!Reader yelled him for overwhelming her, instead encouraged her to stand up for herself more and laughed her for apologizing for yelling at him, telling her that he wasn't really bothered.

The only times Floyd seems to listen to Fluttershy!Reader is when she gives him 'The Stare'. But even then his mood swings tends to get in the way of him listening to her.

Ever since Floyd was seen hanging around with Fluttershy!Reader, no NRC students where seen trying to mess with her anymore. Since messing around with her mean suffering Floyd's wrath, and nobody in their right minds wants to go through that. Heck, Even Riddle started staying away from Fluttershy!Reader sometimes, in fear of being caught by Floyd.

"Shrimpy~ that bunny of yours if being mean to me again! Do something about it!"

When Fluttershy!Reader first met Malleus, he ended scaring her so much that she nearly fainted.

At first he thought that it was because of him being the Prince of Briar Valley or something, but turns out, she didn't even know that he was prince.

Proceeded to be confused on why she was scared. Turns out, she was just nervous to face a dragon.

And as they started getting along, Malleus was delighted to see Fluttershy!Reader getting more and more comfortable around him.

Whenever Fluttershy!Reader has a question about dragons, Malleus will happily answer her questions.

Now that most student at NRC knows that Fluttershy!Reader is friends with the Malleus Draconia, safe to say that anyone who dared to mess with her is nowhere to be found. Not that anyone will dare to mess with her ever again though.

Whenever Fluttershy!Reader goes on a rant about all different types of animal from her world, Malleus listens happily, just like Fluttershy!Reader does when he goes on a rant about gargoyles.

Would encourage Fluttershy!Reader to speak out more, but doesn't really have anything against her shy personality.

Sometimes invites Fluttershy!Reader to perform with her choir of birds since he knows that she probably is comfortable with singing.

When he learned that Fluttershy!Reader once turned into a... vampire... fruit? bat, he was intrigued to say the least. What is that? How did it happen? So the bats feeds on fruit juices instead of blood? There a different types of fruit bats? Vampire fruit bats and normal fruit bats? What is the difference?

Malleus finds Fluttershy!Reader's pet bunny to be really interesting, since it's personality seems to be really close to that of a real human, he has never seen a bunny behave like Fluttershy!Reader's bunny does. Would like to get close to it, but is worried that he'll scare it away so he keeps his distance.

Malleus wonders why is it that Fluttershy!Reader has wings but is scared of heights. Is it because of trauma? Is so, then what exactly happened? He doesn't ask though, since it might be to insensitive.

"Child of Man, would you like to go look for gargoyles in the forest behind NRC? Who know' we might even run into a few wild animals."

When Riddle first met Fluttershy!Reader, it is safe to say that she was quickly overwhelmed by the aura that Riddle gave off.

Fluttershy!Reader tried to avoid getting on Riddle's bad side as much as possible and was always very tense around him at first, but started to relax as times went on.

Riddle is often encouraging Fluttershy!Reader to at least speak louder when spoken too, and encourages her to not let other student take advantage of her kindness.

Speaking of kindness, he was also shocked by how kind Fluttershy!Reader can be, especially with how easily she forgave him after his overblot. Not something you see at NRC that's for sure.

Whenever someone tries to take advantage of Fluttershy!Reader or be mean to her, Riddle is the first one to come to her rescue. And will behead anyone who dares mock Fluttershy!Reader.

Seeing how much Fluttershy!Reader loves animals, Riddle often invites Fluttershy!Reader to come see the hedgehog and flamingos. They even take care of them together, he won't let Fluttershy!Reader take care of the flamingos if she's not wearing pink though, that's against the Rule N. 249 of the Queen of Hearts: "Flamingo caretakers are to don pink attire."

Riddle looks like the type of person who was only allowed to listen to classical music or something, so he will probably love to hear Fluttershy!Reader conducting a choir of birds.

When he first saw Fluttershy!Reader, needless to say that he was absolutely terrified. But personally thinks that if you can get even Fluttershy!Reader to get mad, than you deserve to be screamed out. He might be slightly biased, but who cares? Certainly not him. Riddle now makes sure to never say or do something that'll make Fluttershy!Reader get mad at him.

When he first met Fluttershy!Reader's pet bunny, he was conflicted to say the least. On one hand, it is against the rules to bring an untrained familiar at NRC, but on the other hand, the bunny is often the one standing up for Fluttershy!Reader. But since the headmage himself doesn't seem to care, Riddle himself also turned blind eye to it. He is clearly biased some would say.

"Would you like to join me in taking care of the hedgehogs today? Hm? What about the flamingos? Well, it's not your turn to take care of them is it? And also, you are not wearing pink are you?"

꒰ ◁ ꒱┊❝Back to Jamil, Leona, Azul, Floyd, Malleus, Riddle's Masterlist❞

[a-libra-writes]

OKAY random jon snow and robb stark brainrot but yk how cats become way more cuddly and affectionate with pregnant women? like nuzzling against them, being more alert, snuggling more, and staying close to you? what if ghost and greywind were the same? they're much more protective of you and it's a common behavior in direwolves so as soon as ghost/greywind start growling at jon/robb you guys immediately know 😭 i can just imagine waking up with their little heads resting on your belly or staying much closer to you than usual. and maybe the same with dany's dragons? obviously they're not gonna be like all over you but i can imagine them being a bit more protective and caring than usual!! thanks in advance and love ur works

Anon ur so right also this was fun and cute to do <3<3 (also kind of an AU where Jon stayed behind to be a sworn man to Robb!)

So between the two direwolves, Greywind is the more outwardly protective and aggressive. It's like he sensed something was off from the start - if you weren't aware you were pregnant, you'd be confused in Greywind's sudden interest in you. He'd sit at the doorway and linger while you went about your business, and would side-eye anyone he didn't like getting too close. You and Robb found it odd, by amusing. It all made sense once you figured out your condition.

While you found your fluffy guard dog to be sweet, it was mildly terrifying to some of the servants ... even the ones who had been at Winterfell at their lives were anxious to see a massive wolf wandering the halls like some little Southern dog. You try sending him out during the day, but in the evening, it's being at your side or bust. He will howl and make a fuss, something Greywind normally only did if he was locked away from Robb. He wants to be right at the bedside or on top of the bed, which again is something Greywind has never done, even with Robb. Greywind has never been the most affectionate of the direwolves (that was Lady), but he'd actually rest his huge muzzle on your legs and accept a few pets. Usually, Robb and Jon were the only ones who could touch him.

Your husband is torn between finding it funny and being baffled. He teases about it often. "What have you been feeding him behind my back? I bet she's given you the butcher's scraps, hm? What's gotten into you, boy?"

(Your handmaidens aren't pleased because if they enter the room while you're still asleep, there's a huge direwolf perking his head up and growling at them. You've never been able to train him out of that ...)

If he really must stay out of the bedroom, then he lurks right outside the door. As much as Robb knows it unsettles the servants and night guards, Greywind standing guard makes him feel better about your safety. He tries to keep the direwolf occupied during the day so the servants don't have to worry so much.

When you're outside, regardless if it's a short walk to the Godswood or heading to Winter Town, Greywind follows you instead. The further along in your pregnancy you get and the slower you walk, the more he stays at your side, like he always did with Robb. There are many people who worry about essentially a wild animal being so close to Lady Stark - and what'll happen when the baby's born? - but you see nothing but protectiveness in Greywind's big eyes. He's always alert and wary around you; sometimes you and Robb worry about him never getting a chance to relax.

Now, if you were with Jon, it was Ghost who would be your little shadow. Which was interesting - he was the most independent of the direwolves, often leaving for days at a time to do his own thing. He began to linger closer to Winterfell, and when you'd go outside, you'd see him several feet away from you, following along. By the time you're a few months along, he was walking right at your side. He never went inside the Keep, so when you went inside Ghost would stay in the yard, acting like ... well, a ghost, waiting for you to come back out.

It gave Jon a lot of comfort to know you had a shadow. He couldn't always be by your side because of his duties, especially if Robb traveled, and he was relieved to know Ghost was suddenly so attached and keeping you safe. The direwolf had always been fond of his wife, but in a distant way - maybe once in a while you could stoke his neck or he'd follow you for an hour out of curiosity ... but that was all. Now he was lingering, pressing his nose at your abdomen and huffing, allowing plenty of head pats and ear scratches. Jon is very endeared by it all. He'd sit right at your side, close as possible, and laugh as Ghost huffs and tries to press between you two. White fur absolutely everywhere.

The direwolves being so close and oddly affectionate means you can get away with a lot more - like, say ... sitting them down and letting you brush them, teaching them to sit or lay down, putting food on their nose and having them wait for the signal to eat it. Robb is aghast that Greywind is actually being obedient (until he gets tired of it), Jon just laughs and doesn't expect Ghost to stick to it. He assumes once you have the baby, his direwolf will go back to his adventurous, aloof self. In the back of his head, Robb is a little worried Greywind will get possessive once the baby is born. He plans to bring Greywind with him on his travels, in case he gets too overly protective of you and the child.

[petrichor-idyllic]

Hi Petri, soooo I just finished Dead man walking and already (not that soon though, cause I know you have many requests to get through) need a part 2 because this is my new favorite thing, I love it, you did amazing (as always <3).

You can do whatever you want for part 2 but I wish you could do a little scene where the reader is trying to figure something about her job out and Gally is there just staring at her, and how beautiful she looks when concentrated,and they're just flirting and having fun. Also please do a lot of Fry teasing them because I absolutely love it.

Yes, absolutely, I can.

Love my boy Gally.

Sorry I've been MIA.

DEAD MAN WALKING PT. 2

MASTERLIST | GALLY MASTERLIST

PART 1 | PART 2

SUMMARY: See above. Continuation from part 1. Time skip to the Safe Haven.

WARNINGS: Inappropriate language, Frypan bullying Gally, awkward tension, you not being sure what to do with yourself, reference to Chuck's death. WICKED being WCKD because movie. Newt's dead. Rip.

The past few weeks have been a blur of chaos and emotion.

You'd arrived at the Safe Haven. But, you were the only person left from the rebels.

Lawrence stormed the City, destroying and setting fire to everything, which was not the plan. And not something you agreed with.

You'd split off and made your own way through the City, managing to bump into Gally on his way to their escape ship. His group had taken some blows.

They'd lost Newt to the Flare. Teresa got swallowed by a burning building. Thomas had been shot. Minho had been deeply traumatised at WCKD's hands.

Life hadn't been easy on these kids. But at least they're safe now.

And so are you, even if you're permanently having some kind of identity crisis due to too much free time and losing your rebellious means.

But, hey, you've still got Gally, at least.

Well, sort of.

Things have been painful awkward since your kiss in the Last City.

It's no one's fault in particular. You've been moving a hundred miles an hour your entire life, and now you get shouted at for finishing your work too quickly, and you're not really sure how to deal with people when you're not bossing them around or being bossed around.

And, Gally is just generally terrible at feelings.

It's actually mildly concerning, sometimes.

Which has led to a weirdly tense friendship where neither of you really know what you're doing.

It's a painful watch.

And you kinda sorta forgot that Gally is still a slightly awkward teenage boy with no experience with women.

It's definitely an experience; but on the bright side, you've become an honorary Glader. Sure, you don't understand the slang still, and you have to remember to not ask too much about the Maze or some of the people because you'll be met with several PTSD induced panic attacks. But, you've befriended them.

Minho is funny and sarcastic and incredibly tough.

Frypan is sweet, and also kind of funny. And he's an excellent cook despite what the other boys say.

Thomas is bold and determined, even taking a bit of a leadership role alongside Vince - even after his well-deserved break.

And whilst Brenda and Jorge aren't quite Gladers, you also like them quite a bit. Jorge reminds you of Lawrence in a way. He's rebellious and bold, but instead of cold and occasionally terrifying, he's funny and fraternal. And Brenda is kind of like you in a way, except she's playful. Which you have severely been lacking in the last few years of your life.

Yet, despite integrating into his friend group, his new home, his daily life - yours and Gally's relationship is still at a weird standstill.

So, you've decided to dive into work. Helping Vince is an easy way to clear your mind, and helping out people who've suffered under WCKS's hands is kind of your speciality.

You prepare blankets, clean, help Frypan in the kitchen, help with building plans, settle petty disputes; you name it, you do it.

And that's something Gally has always admired about you.

"Oi, shank, you're starin' again." Frypan says, snickering as he sits next to Gally, the light from the flames bouncing off his face.

Bonfires are an almost nightly occurrence at the Safe Haven. A celebration of their freedom and security. But, it's a bittersweet experience for the remaining Gladers. Memories of happier times dance in the fires of community. They always thought escaping the Maze would be the end, but they often find themselves remembering simpler times.

You don't share the same heartfelt irony.

"I'm not starin'." Gally grumbles back, yet his eyes still linger on you.

You walk around, handing out drinks and occasionally adding to the fire, making small talk; mainly with Vince, Thomas, and Brenda. You also occasionally take grimances sips of Gally's special brew - another festivity bought from the remains of the Maze.

"Uh huh, sure you aren't." Frypan chuckles as he sips his drink, a beat passing between the boys. "I don't get it. You guys kissed. Like, you kissed an actual girl. And now... what?"

Gally sighs, dropping his head as he speaks in a grumbled tone. "I... I don't know, man. She's... she was my boss. She saved my life. You know she found me in the Maze and-"

"And did everything to patch you up. Took you under her wing. Yeah, yeah, we know, we get it." Frypan rolls his eyes, knowing the story off by heart. "You clearly care about her, so why not actually doing something about it?"

"She hasn't done anything about it."

"Uh, yeah, she did."

"When?"

"When she shuckin' kissed you, slinthead."

Gally falls silent for a moment, eyes landing back on you. It's everything about you; your hair, your eyes, your smile, the way you hold yourself, your passion - everything.

"...I don't wanna shuck it up, Fry."

Frypan's eyes land on his friend, the teasing tone slipping away as he looks at him. "Huh? What do you mean?"

Gally anxiously taps his foot, eyes lingering on you again. He looked at you like you were a Goddess and him a feeble insect, blessed to be in your mere presence.

"Gally?" Frypan presses him, brows starting to furrow in worry.

Gally has never been good with words. He's aggressive, and scary, and dangerous. Even if he has learnt to forgive and become more humble thanks to you, it's not like he's become an expert at this. And now he has...

Feelings.

Ew.

He sighs, running his fingers through his short hair. "...I messed everything up back in the Maze. I was scared, and I acted on my own. I tried to hurt you guys, and I..." He trails off, the sound of the gunshot and Chuck hitting the floor still burnt into the back of his retinas. He shakes his head, clearing his throat. "I don't wanna mess this up, too."

Frypan looks at him for a few seconds, before smacking him on the back of the head.

"Klunk-! Fry! What the shuck, man?" Gally grumbles as he rubs the back of his head.

"Are you hearing yourself, shank?" Frypan leans forward on his knees. "That girl over there brought you back from the dead. She saw the potential in you and made it work. Without you, we would've never been able to save Minho, we would've never stopped WCKD - hell, we probably wouldn't even have made it here, man. Get a grip. You ain't that same sissy that spent his time buggin' out around the Glade, terrified of change. You're a hero and a rebell who risked his life for change."

Gally looks at his friend, a small smile tugging at his lips.

"And the only way that you're shucking this up, is if you sit you shank-ass here and do nothing." Frypan continues, letting the statement hang in the air for several moments.

Gally nods, churning the words over in his head.

"I'm right. Am I right, or am I right?" Frypan grins.

Gally snorts, shaking his head slightly. "You're right."

"'Course I shuckin' am." Frypan grins, patting his long-time friend's back. "Now, are you gonna sit here, wasting your breath yappin' my ear off - or are you gonna go get your girl?"

Gally struggles to hide the smile playing on his lips.

His girl.

He likes the sound of that.

"I'm gonna get my girl."

Whilst Gally gets his heart to heart (lecture) from Frypan, you've taken to cleaning up cups and desperately trying to stop drunk people from falling over. It's not a pleasant way to spend your evening, but it takes your mind off your boredom and constant speculation about your relationship with Gally.

"Hey, Boss." The familiar voice pulls you away from your thoughts, landing on the broad boy.

"I told you you don't have to call me Boss anymore, Gally." You roll your eyes slightly, continuing to pick up glasses.

"Yeah, sorry, force of habit." Gally rocks on his heels, anxiously looking at you.

"...You good?"

"Uh, yeah - uh, can we talk?" You raise an eyebrow at his words, a bubble starting to form in the pit of your stomach. "Like.. in private?"

"Sure. 'Course. Uh, wanna walk along the beach?"

"Yeah." He smiles slightly. "Sounds good."

You put the glasses you've collected down, nodding for him to follow you as you both head towards the waves, starting to wander as the waves just miss lapping up your feet.

Gally doesn't look at you for a while. His eyes fixed on the endless sand ahead of him; it's a heavy silence.

You don't push him. Sure, you spent months pushing him to his full potential. But when it came to talking, it was better to let Gally take his time.

After about ten minutes of walking, he finally takes a deep breath. "So, uh... I spoke to Fry.."

"Oh, yeah? What did he have to say this time?"

"He basically called me a useless slinthead." He chuckles dryly, glancing at you.

"Slinthead? That's like a dickhead, right?" He grins slightly; you're still getting used to the dumb slang of the Glade - it really doesn't help that every group of Maze escapees has their own set of personal curse words.

"Yeah, basically." He chuckles.

"...why'd he call you a dickhead? Sorry- slinthead."

He can't help but shake his head at you, that smile still on his face. "Well, uh, I've been a massive diaper-klunkin' sissy, basically."

You blink. What the fuck does that even mean?

He laughs at your confusion before composing himself, stopping to look at you, which makes you stop, too. You face him, brows furrowed slightly as nervousness starts to feel heavy through your inside.

"...remember before the Last City fell? When you kissed me?"

You freeze, embarrassment heating your face as you'd began to start cringing at the memory when you fall asleep. "Honestly, I thought you'd forgotten that." You attempt to joke to lighten some of the tension.

He scoffs. "Yeah... I've been a bit of an idiot." He sighs, rubbing the back of his neck. "I just... I was worried about ruining things between us, yanno? I'm so used to messy everything up and-"

"You don't mess everything up." You interject, immediately prepared to defend him against himself.

"Yeah - I know; Frypan already gave me the lecture." He grimaces slightly, almost like he's cringing at himself. "But... I like you. Like, I really shuckin' like you. And... we're safe here. I wanna stop being such a pussy and just..."

It takes a second to sink in what he's saying, your skin feels warm and tingly, butterflies erupting in your stomach. "...just?"

"...I just wanna ask you if... you'd... like to be my girlfriend?" His confidence falters with every word, voice raising in pitch, scrunching his face as he finishes his question in embarrassment. "That sounded shuckin' awkward." He sighs. "Listen-"

You don't listen, because he has no time to speak. Adrenaline takes over as you step towards him, hand coming to cup his cheek as you press your lips against his once again.

The kiss is short and sweet as you pull away, meeting his half-lidded eyes and wide grin. "Take that as a yes?"

"Yes, Gally, I'd love to be your girlfriend. Took you fuckin' long enough."

He snorts. "Yeah, yeah." He leans back in, kissing you again, this time deeper and with more passion, his fingers creeping around the back of your head and into your hair.

"Shuck yeah!" Both of you pull away from each other, seeing Frypan shouting from half way down the beach. "Told you she's your girl!"

You look at Gally. "The fuck is he on about?"

"...Don't worry about it."

So, I'm back.

Again.

And back with a part 2, nonetheless. Sorry for vanishing, lads, I've had some wicked lack of motivation and I feel like a bit of a dick about it.

Yanno... since it's been literal months.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed :))

[noroi1000]

Hiii!! Hope you're having a good day! I really enjoy your work 💖

I'm curious about this...can I request a one shot, please uwu? from Suguru werewolf (Yandere soft), after of so many years he finally found his mate... she's a witch who is already engaged in marriage whit someone else, maybe a stupid sorcerer like Naoya (?) What will Suguru do to always have her by his side? maybe mate with her (NFSW) and kidnapped before the wedding...it's the only way to prove that she belongs to him.

Only if you want and if you like the idea 💡! If not it's ok. Have a good day, and thanks for your time.

The day you became his mate

paring: werewolf!light yandere! Geto x reader

warnings: smut(breeding, rough sex, half-agreed sex), kidnapping.

Words: 3,8k

Being lonely, it was hard to keep all your needs in check. Not having a partner for a werewolf is unbearable. Painful because there is no love in life. No hugging or kissing. There is no closeness of another person. Alpha would always miss an omega. The earth would miss water. The plants would miss the sun. He misses a partner.

He doesn't care if his partner is like him, a werewolf, or a different human. It does not matter. If his partner was a werewolf, it would have to be omega. Because he chose to be a loner. He lives alone, he has no partner. He doesn't stick to his relatives. He doesn't stick to his group. He's an alpha, werewolf, loner. He is independent and did not care whether someone is with him or whether he is alone. But still, the more and longer he lived like that, the more he felt the desire to have a mate. He was already 27 years old. And he never had a mate in his life. It never felt real. That's why he already wants to have someone in his life…    Werewolves aren't ugly. You knew it well. You, when you were learning about different ethnic types and different species, you knew that as a witch, as a female sorcerer, you had to learn more than what was written in the books.

You've met a few werewolves, you've seen them. Werewolves are not large dogs, as they are described. Werewolves were people. They just had more features that weren't originally human. Better senses, higher physical fitness, sometimes there may be a tail and ears on their body. But that's all. Only this. They don't have fur.

You've noticed that werewolves are really beautiful creatures. The men are tall and handsome. Muscled. Women are beautiful. Their eyes are soul piercing. Strong bodies, sharp teeth. In your opinion, they really are majestic. But their hormones scared you. their behavior because of it. Werewolves don't need a partner of their own species. It can also be an ordinary person. The only thing that matters to them is that they feel a partner in another person. Then their hormones will work on a human anyway. The alphas in their hierarchy choose a mate for themselves. Or rather, it is fate that chooses them. They feel that someone is made for them.

You've always been terrified of this behavior of alphas who feel omega. Werewolves are aggressive when they have to. They don't kill for no reason. But their aggression also shows up in moments of closeness to a partner. Even though the dominant partner doesn't want to hurt their mate. You heard about it, and you knew you wouldn't get the feeling. You could enjoy it, but also regret it. It would be nice to hear that you have been chosen as a life partner for someone, and they love you unconditionally. For ever.

But your partner is no werewolf. You're getting married soon. Even though it is a marriage of duty and coercion. Your husband will be a man. An ordinary sorcerer from an influential family. With him, you can do whatever you want. You will be able to live peacefully. You'll even be able to look at books, learn more. Watch to understand more. Read something interesting. Even though your life with this man may not be as nice as it could be if you loved him.

You know that there are people living in a relationship with a werewolf. Even though others think it's dangerous. It's the same risk as always when a human is with a non-human. People's bodies are different from their bodies. And that's why they consider it dangerous. But nature cannot be blocked. If a werewolf feels a life partner in a human, it should not be resisted. After all, a werewolf can only have one true partner.

Only one with whom he will be connected forever.

You walked through the small shop, looking through various books. You were looking for something you like. Some title or genre of the book. Even supernatural romances or something like that. Even werewolves. You were looking for anything to kill your slow, boring time.

That's where you met him.

Who would have thought that a small shop on a street corner would be something that would change your life so much.

There was a lot in this store, and you wondered what he really came for when he didn't seem interested in anything.

He appeared when you couldn't reach the book on the last, highest shelf. No matter how tall you were, you couldn't reach it. The shelf was just too high.

Leaning on the cupboard with your hands and chest, you extended one hand once more.

There was no staff to help you because sometimes they disappear into the back room, leaving the shop alone for a while. But why at a time like this if you need help now? Or you just need a stool or ladder to pick up the item you want…

You felt your fingertips run along the spine of the book. And you hoped this was the book you wanted.

You grabbed the bottom and slowly pulled it out. You still can't see what you're doing because it's still so high… Where are all the tall people to help you…

You felt the book begin to wobble under your fingers. You swallowed that shelf under your breath. You continued to pull the book lightly towards you, even if it might fall on your head.

You won't die from a book falling on you… You'll protect your head and you'll be fine.

But the moment the book fell off the shelf, you saw that it wasn't the book you wanted at all, and you closed your eyes in annoyance.

The book flew out of your fingers, but before it could fall on you, something stopped it.

You opened your eyes to see a man's hand holding the book.

You looked at him. He was definitely tall. This answers your question. Suddenly, a tall, handsome man appears next to you and saves you from the attacking book… How strange that sounds. Your knight in shining armor on a white horse who saved you from colliding your head with an angry, aggressive book that fall on you from the shelf…

What an unusual and strange meeting…

Besides, if he was normal, he wouldn't come here…

People just watch what happens to others, record it, and share it as funny mishap videos…

Or they just watch and don't care.

This man here was a little different because he approached you.

And his reflexes were amazing because he caught the falling book so quickly and accurately. By one hand.

It's amazing. You wonder how many people are with such reflexes?

Or is he not human at all? After all, there are so many non-humans in this world.

"are you okay?"

You looked at his face.

What if you were right about him not being human?

When you saw the piercing purple of his eyes, you felt like you were standing under a predator…

You felt as if you were overwhelmed by his aura alone…

Is this what it's like to be a victim? Is that what it feels like?

After a while you realized you had to answer.

"Yeah… Thanks…" you said uncertainly as you stared up at the sky.

Even though it might look silly to others, it was something else to you. You couldn't take your eyes off its beauty.

He was definitely not a knight in shining armor on a white horse…

It was a dark, mysterious but kind knight with piercing purple eyes that flooded your senses and you couldn't look at anything else but that.. His hair was half pinned up like a black wave floating down his back and shoulders.

Suddenly you saw his hand move and he handed you the book which was falling on you. Keep looking into your eyes. Watching your every move. Every breath that came out of your sweet lips.

It wasn't normal…

"Uhm… Excuse me, could you pass me the book that was next to this one?" You asked quietly, blushing a little in embarrassment.

It was embarrassing that he was saving you from the book. It was embarrassing that you even asked him to help you because you couldn't handle it.

It was embarrassing that he was so close, and he was looking at you like that…

He smiled slightly and moved closer to you, reaching for another book.

As soon as he entered the store, he felt different than usual. He felt something pulling him inside. Something that makes him stay inside.

His body led him to books and stationery where he looked at things, then looked at other things.

He didn't need anything from the store, but he felt he had to be there. He didn't know the reason. It was just a feeling…

But as he went to the other shelf, he saw one person a little further away.

When he saw you, his body made his pupils dilate.

When he saw you, his heart sped up.

His body started working differently.

For every werewolf, there is only one such moment in life…

The moment he meets his mate…

When he noticed that you needed help, he came over and helped you. He wanted to be nice and also to get close. He wanted to know if his senses were deceiving him.

When he grabbed that book and looked at you, he felt there was no mistake.

He was suddenly worried that you might be injured. That something could happen to you. That's why he looked and asked if you were okay.

He was so glad you were okay.

He had never felt such relief before.

Even when he doesn't know your name.

When you asked him if he would give you the book, he couldn't refuse.

When he could move closer, he was so pleased with it.

As he felt your scent even more in his nostrils, the instincts that werewolves have when they smell their mate awakened in him.

He immediately felt that he had to protect you. He felt he had to keep you by his side.

He felt he had to mark you.

The best way, and also the only way, is to mate with a partner.

He just met you, but he felt it was the right thing to do.

His rational thinking tells him he can't do it now… After all, it wouldn't be moral for you to mate by force.

He didn't want to do this to you.

Can you give him more time? Maybe you'd like to meet him?

Just a few meetings before that happens…

You think to be his…

You are his soul mate…

The only mate he'll ever have…

You are the chosen partner for him.

You must be his… No matter what happens… You must be his… As his partner, one of a kind.

You must be his because he wants you both to be the most important thing to you. He's waited too long to let go of this opportunity now…

You won't get away with this…

You have to because he wants it.

You must, because the world has decided so for you…

You will be partners forever….

Even if he doesn't know you're going to be involved with someone else soon… 

Your friend, your best friend, your protector, your soul mate, Geto Suguru.

None of you expected that your meetings after such an unusual meeting would be so frequent.

You agreed right away

And he proposed it.

Who would have thought that in less than a month you would become his friend.

He is your friend. You two get along perfectly. That's why you think you're soul mates. Even if that's not possible in humans.

However, it didn't even surprise you when he said he wasn't human… After all, he looked different from the others…

He was a werewolf.

Now you could be glad that your best friend is someone who isn't even human.

You saw how his behavior changed when you were near him.

You saw how his pupils changed shape.

To go from sharp and small to suddenly round and wider as he looked at you.

You don't know what that means for werewolves, but you do know that people's pupils dilate when they see something they like.

You wonder if your pupils are also dilated when you look at him.

You are happy to have him near you because he is your friend. Someone you can always trust.

But he acts weird sometimes…

Weird behavior that sends shivers down your spine…

He's possessive and the most jealous of any friend you've ever had…

No one can get close to you when he's around, because he's around.

His eyes then change. Then you see how his teeth are sharp. How his body looks like he's getting ready to attack any human… It wouldn't make sense if he was human… Unfortunately, he's a werewolf.

You knew werewolves were territorial and protected those who mattered to them.

Exactly.

But you didn't expect such a reaction when you told him you were inviting him to your wedding as your best friend.

Then you saw how his face changed. From cheerful to petrified. His eyebrow twitched. His eyes have changed. His aura was completely different. You were beginning to be afraid of him, of what he might do to you…

You still wonder why he is like this from the beginning… As if his feelings express something other than friendship.

"Suguru, is something wrong?" you asked seeing his serious face.

"Are you getting married?" he asked suddenly, in such a cold voice.

"…Yeah. In a few days…I want you to be my guest."

"Who are you marrying?! You love him?! Why?!"

You backed away a bit, knowing you had angered him. You don't know why, but he was angry. His voice was cold and dry. A cruel scream bursting from his throat as he couldn't control his emotions. Not now…

"I'm marrying him out of necessity, but I don't mind. You probably don't know him. Zenin Naoya. He is a sorcerer. I'm marrying him because he comes from a powerful family." You said as your smile faded.

"Are you marrying him even though you don't love him?!" he shouted suddenly standing up.

"Suguru?"

"If you don't want it, just don't do it… You think I'm going to let someone else have you…?!!"

"Sugu…?"

"You think after so many years of being alone, I'm just going to let go of the person who's meant for me?! I won't let my mate go! No one will take you away… Even if I have to have you by force…"

He suddenly left.

Left you confused…

What did he say?

Are you his mate?

That's why he acted like that?

Are you made for him because you really are his soul mate?

Are you meant to be his partner?

He, as a werewolf, felt it, didn't he? But why didn't he tell you before?

You felt a bit scared after he said he would have you by force…

How can you not be afraid of this?

That's why he left.

He kept the last bit of his sanity, he left before he did anything he would regret…

If he had stayed there with you, his emotions would have made him hurt you.

That he would bond with you by force…

But is there anything wrong with binding you to him by force?

You have to be his anyway… That's why… Is there anything wrong with that?

You felt bad for the next few days.

It was your last night before your wedding…

You were supposed to enjoy. You were supposed to get ready and rest before this important day.

You wanted to see Suguru. You wanted him to come and support you on this day… as your best friend…

But you don't know what to think about it, since he told you something like this…

You are his mate…

Could something that was scary for you at times really be true?

It would be really nice to have someone who loves you always. No matter what. It doesn't matter what you look like. It doesn't matter who you turn into…

A werewolf's true love will never fade away. Because he will be with you forever.

You you were chosen for Suguru… Can you break his heart…?

If only you had a choice…

You'd like to apologize to him. Because there's nothing you can do alone to prevent this wedding…

You can apologize to him now…

You didn't want to hurt him… You didn't want to deprive him of love…

You didn't want to break his heart…

Combing your hair while I was sitting in the chair by the mirror, all you see is how your eyes have gotten darker. Lustreless. Your eyes didn't sparkle because you couldn't see Suguru's eyes.

Gently running the brush through your hair, all you thought was that a warm bath and going to bed might relax you.

  The moment the door to your room suddenly opened, you jumped, quickly getting up from your chair.

Holding the brush in front of you as if it were a knife.

Whatever defense you have with you.

You saw a familiar face and tall figure as he emerged from the hallway. Coming into your room. Closing the door behind him. Slamming them sharply against the doorframe in the wall.

"Suguru…" You grumbled as you put your brush down on the shelf and slowly walked over to him.

But you stopped the moment you saw him starting to take off his hoodie.

Staying in a black t-shirt.

"I knew that only one thing could keep us both together…"he said as he untied his hair. Letting them fall on his back completely.

"What???"

"I knew from the beginning that you would be my partner forever… But for all this to happen, I'd have to do something… There's nothing wrong with forcibly marking you… Right?"

You took a step back when you saw his eyes.

Predator looking at prey.

"If you give up, it will be easier for me as well as for you." he said as he took off his shoes and then pulled his shirt over his head, showing you a muscular torso.

You blushed slightly and took a step back.

"It will be better for you if you approach me politely now and let me do whatever it takes."

You looked at him as he stopped.

"Because no matter what you do, you'll still be mine. Since we met. And since I walked into this room, there's no way you're leaving this house without being marked by me. I'll be softer if you come now."

Your body was paralyzed.

You couldn't move because of the stress. You knew what was about to happen…

You have no choice anyway…

He'll do it anyway… No matter what you choose…

You took one small step forward.

"I'll take that as a half answer. I'll be softer than I was meant to be…" he said as he suddenly appeared in front of you, pressing your lips hard against his.

Something happened that always scared you…

Alpha partner aggression towards omega partner…

Even though a partner doesn't want to hurt the other partner…

His body works like this…

He, feeling his partner's body, just couldn't help himself.

Something that used to scare you all the time is actually so good…

He's brutal, you have to admit it. But there's a subtlety to it. Also the way he kisses you and hugs you sometimes.

How he says sweet words to you as his hips hit yours.

With brute force, with hellish pace. Not allowing you to breathe normally.

His hands squeezing your hips and waist as he slammed his cock into your insides. Like it's about to tear you apart.

Tears flowed from your eyes, saliva flowed from your mouth. You cried through the overwhelming emotions and all the feeling.

A pain that fills you with such pleasure that you can't think straight.

The knowledge of the words suddenly disappeared from your mind, and all you could do was moan his name.

Your whole body was bitten and aching. Your wounds stung.

However, what was supposed to be painful and horrible was actually so good…

Your body reacted to it…

When you lay on your stomach with your ass up for him, you couldn't move. Your body was so soft. All the nerves in your body were burning with pleasure.

You don't know how long it lasts. But you know you're not going back to your normal life after all this.

You feel him entering you again and again. Feeling everything as he uses your body for pleasure. Giving you pleasure too. Letting you feel such an overwhelming feeling that it didn't feel like you were having normal sex.

So that's the point of their bodies not being the same as human ones…

His body can give you much more pleasure. And through it all, you're melting under his hips. Feeling hotter every time his hips hit your ass. As he entered you so deeply each time. So precisely hitting all sensitive points.

So much so that you came on his big cock, milking him, encouraging him to come inside you. Even though that's what he wanted to do with you.

Pour his semen deep into your womb and breed with you.

He wanted to mark you as his mate, forever.

With his length kissing your cervix every time, he was hugging you, and all he wanted was for you to moan his name.

What a sweet partner for him that he loves so much.

You will stay for him forever.

"Fuck… I love you… You're… You're mine…"

He wanted others to see that you were gone. He wanted others to see that you weren't in the room and that you weren't coming to the wedding.

Once you're marked as his, you won't go back to your old life because you're going with him.

With his cock moving in and out of your pussy again and again, you felt your body becoming so sensitive.

Until finally you felt even more hot as you wrapped yourself around him. As your body melted under his thrusts and kisses. In his arms.

He didn't mean to hurt you. And since your body was taking it so well… It's not bad for you.

You're his partner, That's why you won't leave his side.

You will live with it. You will not leave his house. You'll never come back.

He won't let him lose you.

His only partner. The person he loves. His mate.

[tyrantisterror]

My Personal History with My Good Friend, Satan

My first encounter with The Devil - that I can remember, at least - came when I was about three or so. My mom liked to borrow VHS tapes from libraries to show me and my siblings a lot, and one of the libraries she used was the one at our church. It was a small and obviously very religion-centric collection, but it left a notable mark on me - like, that's where I saw this weird, kinda shitty cartoon version of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe which might be responsible for irreconcilably fucking up my taste in women? I just have this distinct memory of watching the scene where Edmund is tempted by the White Witch and thinking, "Yeah, he's making the right call." If anything I was frustrated that he hesitated - three year old me was already simping for this woman. Just imagine a child channeling Ernie Hudson in Ghostbusters and growling, "When a terrifying and beautiful woman offers you candy and a private sleigh ride, you say YES!" and that's basically me as a kid.

Where was I? Right, Satan. So, the other video from that library I remember was this cartoon retelling of Bible stories, and really I just remember the Adam and Eve part. The temptation scene had this huge, super gnarly-looking demonic red snake in it, and he was so cool and badass and I was already predisposed to like snakes anyway, so of course he was my instant favorite. But, like almost all media featuring reptiles that captured my little child heart, he turned out to be the bad guy - literally The Devil, in this case - and was punished at the end of the story. And that pissed me off.

Sometime shortly thereafter - or at least that's how I remember it, this was over thirty years ago so things might be smushed closer together than they really were by the fog of ages - some of the kids in my preschool chastised me for liking snakes. "Don't you know the devil is a snake? Snakes are evil!" I remembered the movie, and it made me angry.

Because snakes aren't evil, and as a kid I knew that because my parents taught me it. Snakes were just animals, they don't know right from wrong, and to call them evil it to judge them for what they are, not what they do. That experience taught me a very important lesson: The Devil is a tool to make people hate the innocent. And as I'd later learn, snakes were far from the only innocents people would vilify because of a demonic association.

The second time I met the devil came a few years later, when I was six or seven or so. My Grampa and Grams liked to take us up North to Mackinac City and the Upper Peninsula each summer, and I have a lot of fond memories of those trips, but there was one in particular that's relevant to this discussion. We saw a sign for a "laser light show" in the shopping district, and I got to stay up late to see it with my family. The show in question was basically a cartoon projected into the night sky adapting the song The Devil Went Down to Georgia. It was super primitive and hokey and cornball and terrible and I loved every second of it. I was enchanted, absolutely delighted with the spectacle and the silly song where the devil was less a force of evil and more a comically bumbling inept supervillain - one of my favorite archetypes, even back then. So that's the second lesson about the devil I learned: The Devil can be fun sometimes.

Now, Godzilla, one of the few reptile characters I encountered as a kid who didn't end up a villain (at least not in the first movie of his I saw, Godzilla vs. Megalon), had already set me on the path to loving monsters of all stripes and, by extension, horror fiction in general, so as I grew up I had many more encounters with the devil. But while I warmed up quickly to most monster archetypes, like vampires, zombies, werewolves, etc., I always felt dismissive of demons. It kind of coincided with me becoming disillusioned with Christianity as a whole, in fact. A story about fighting evil, Christian-style demons is ultimately an allegory for fighting evil as defined by Christianity, and Christianity's definition of what evil is, well, sucks. It's bad! They got some things right, but some things horribly wrong. The devil is the tool Christianity uses to make you hate the innocent, and I struggled to enjoy a lot of demon stories because of that. Still do with some, in fact.

There were exceptions, of course - I loved The Evil Dead series as soon as I saw it at too-early-of-an-age, but then, the demons in it aren't super Christian. They aren't repelled by holy water or crucifixes or prayer, and in fact God and Jesus barely get mentioned in the series and never come up as a potential solution. They're kind of secular as demons go, and maybe that made them easier to stomach. But overall, demons ranked pretty low in the hierarchy of monsters to me - they were too tainted by the religion that spawned them for me to enjoy.

Until college, anyway. I quietly renounced my faith during my Freshmen year, and then, as if seeking one last chance at redemption in my eyes, the devil came to me again the following year. That's when I had a class on Medieval literature, and was exposed to far older devil stories than I had ever seen before. And Medieval devils kick ass. They have so much more personality and variety than I had come to expect, and some are downright affable, even sympathetic to a degree. It was one of many moments in college when I realized there was much more to a topic I'd previously written off as boring and trite.

This is when I read Dante's The Divine Comedy and Milton's Paradise Lost and Marlowe's Faust and Ben Johnson's The Devil Is An Ass. It's when I read early Gothic Horror novels like Matthew Gregory Lewis's The Monk, and dived into The Twilight Zone, which has more than a few episodes that are updates of medieval-style devil folktales in a more modern (i.e. 1960's) setting. And so many of these works presented the Devil not as a stand-in for everything Christianity hates, but as a person - a deeply flawed person, yes, but a person with actual wants and feelings and thoughts of his own, a person who was interesting and compelling - and sometimes funny, and sometimes charming, and sometimes really sad. There was, dare I say... sympathy for the devil growing in my heart.

In the last year of my undergraduate studies, I attended my college's yearly Medieval Studies Congress, where people from all over the world came to Kalamazoo just to share their research papers on medieval history and literature. One girl's thesis paper was on the subject of "rueful devils," i.e. depictions of demons in literature where they wanted to repent their sins and redeem themselves, which uniformly ended with the devils' hopes being dashed as they could not fully repent. This idea... possessed me. The idea that the devil could repent, or at least try to - that there could be hope even in the most debauched sinner. It was such a good narrative trope in my eyes - why did it die out centuries ago?

Well, because the church didn't like it, you see. If the devil can repent - if the Absolute King of Evil can choose to become a good person - then he's not very useful as a tool to make people hate the innocent anymore. The devil MUST be "pure evil" to work as intended. A rueful devil, a repentant devil, a devil that can be redeemed, forces us to be more forgiving and kind. It forces us to be better. It prevents us from hating people because an old book says so. And some people just couldn't have that, and so the trope died.

...

After I got my bachelor's degree, I entered the job market and, after applying to fifty different places or so, was finally hired as a high school english teacher about two weeks before the school year started. Said school year was the worst year of my life. Like, I've had extreme self loathing issues and suicidal ideation since, like, sixth grade, but holy shit it was NEVER as bad as it was in that nine month stretch between 2012 and 2013. There was this bridge I had to cross on the way to work each morning, and about two months in the job was so stressful that part of my morning routine was thinking, "You know, if I just swerve to the right, this can all be over and I'll never have to worry again." About halfway in I began drastically losing weight despite not changing my diet or getting more exercise and it was so traumatic that to this day whenever my weight starts to drop my initial reaction is dread rather than excitement. I impulse bought the first two Kung-Fu Panda movies and, after watching each for the first time and crying hideously, proceeded to watch them on repeat for an entire weekend while sobbing myself hoarse for reasons I couldn't comprehend at the time.

I was in Hell. And the devil met me there.

I started writing a story during that year. I didn't get very far, just a couple chapters, but it was one of the few things that gave me a sense of accomplishment. Despite all the stress and sadness and misery, I made something. It was a story about demons, and Hell, and trying to make your life better even when the world around you seems deadset on making you suffer as much as possible.

When my bosses called me into their office at the end of that year and told me that I had to quit my job so the assistant principal could take my teaching position and survive the downsizing they'd get next year, and that if I didn't quit they'd give me the lowest teacher evaluation they could and make it supremely difficult for me to get hired elsewhere... I was relieved. I'd been let out of Hell. After a handful of months left to finish out the year, I was free.

And then I went home, with nothing. No job, no desire to pursue the career for which I'd spent five years and an ungodly amount of money getting a degree to pursue, no nest egg, nothing. Nothing except a few chapters of a book.

The years that followed were hard. I did a lot of temp work, it took me a very long time to find something that worked for me. I may have left the worst year of my life, but there was still a lot of misery waiting for me. And through it all, I felt the need to accomplish... something, ANYTHING. I had to make something to prove I had a reason to exist, even if it was something that only had value to me.

With three years of work, those chapters became my first novel, No Sympathies: A Tale of Those Who Trespass Against Us. It was about the devil, and Hell, and finding salvation even when things seem inescapably bleak. It was my first novel, and now, eight years later, it's the first of five.

The devil saved my life. He saw me at my lowest, lifted me up, whispered, "It'll be ok. You have to keep going. I'll be with you, but you have to keep going," and goddammit, he kept me from swerving right.

That's when I learned the greatest truth about the devil, at least to me. The devil is a tool to make people hate the innocent, yes, this is true, but because of that, the devil can be a savior for the broken, the beaten, and the damned. You can feel like you're worthless, wretched, and doomed. But if the devil can rise from Hell, if the devil can choose to change, if people are willing to pray for the one sinner who needs it most - then there's hope for you too, isn't there?

Demons are creatures of rebellion - against God, against nature, against the powers that be, against doom and damnation itself. They were made to be a tool to hurt the innocent, but that's not what they have to be. Devils can lift us up, because no matter how far you fall, no one can say whether it's the end for you except you.

...I would like to point out that I am being figurative here. The devil does not literally exist, at least not in my view of things. He's a fictional character, nothing more. But he's a prolific fictional character, and how we portray him can say so much about us. And, to me, he is a dear friend, despite being imaginary, because the devil was there for me when I was low, and it was on his wings that I rose from doom.

...again, figuratively, not literally.

[vanfleeter]

Black Smoke: Chapter 9

A/N: Woah.. We're back with another installment with photographer!Jake. Characters: Jake Kiszka x F!Reader Warnings: 18+ || Angst. Worry. Concern. Anger. Confusion. Fluff. Wedding. Mentions of pregnancy. Smut. Allusions to nude photos.

Black Smoke Masterlist

Even though Jake still has the next two days to finish the photoshoot, you got over your jealousy and pushed your feelings to the side. But he did catch you rolling your eyes a few times when Angelica would try flirting with him. But he had other ideas up his sleeves. Whenever she would try to flirt with him, he would kiss you whenever he got the chance. Sometimes smirking when Angelica would scowl.

“Must turn you on to see two women fighting over you.” You tease as you tuck a lock of his hair behind his ear.

“Would you be angry if I said it did?” He says as he peers at you over the top of his sunglasses.

You shake your head and wrap your arms around his neck. “Not one bit.”

“Well good,” He says. “Because in three hours, this shoot will finally be over and I will finally be all yours and no one else’s.”

“Until we get back home and you’ll be editing until the end of time and staring at her all over again..”

“Uh uh uh,” Jake says as he cups your chin in his hand. “None of that.”

“Well…”

“Well.. Nothing.” He pecks your lips and pulls out his phone. “As soon as I edit them and send them off, I will never be seeing her again. Just please let me finish this with no..more..eyerolls.” He says as he kisses each cheek.

“So uh.. While you were busy at the castle, I went to the drugstore to buy..you know..”

“Oh yeah? Did you take it?”

You shake your head. “I wanted to wait for you.” You say. “I didn’t want to take it alone.”

“Are you scared?” He asks.

You slap his arm and he groans. “So what if I am?”

Jake smiles and pulls you close to stand in between his legs. He runs his hands up and down your arms. “I’ll be right there beside you.”

“Jake, are you ready to crank out the last two hours?” The manager asks as he pokes his head into the wall.

“Let’s get this over this,” Jake says to you as he gives you one last kiss before making his way back out to the studio.

-

Back at the hotel, you sit on the bed and hold the box in your hand. Jake steps out of the bathroom and dries his hair with a towel. He stops when he sees you completely looking out into space. Dropping the towel in the chair, he walks over to the bed and sits down in front of you. “Are you okay?” He asks.

“Will you still love me even if I’m not pregnant?”

Jake smiles and nods his head. “I will love you if you’re not pregnant and I will love you if you are. My love for you never changes.”

You sigh and toss the box to the side. “I can’t do it..”

“You don’t have to,” He says as he pulls you into his arms. “We can find out later.. And who knows, maybe you’ll start your period like you said you were and we can save this test for later.”

Jake happened to be right and you had started your period just the next morning so you chalked up your whacky hormones to just that. No baby in sight and you actually felt relieved. It wasn’t that you weren't ready to have a baby, you absolutely felt like you were ready. You didn't know why you were so terrified to take the test. Could it just be that it was happening all too fast and you couldn't keep up? Whatever the reason, you did feel that relief as you got changed the next morning even though just a tiny part of you was disappointed that you aren't pregnant.

Jake comes up to you from behind and wraps his arms around your waist as you finish folding your clothes to pack away in the suitcase. “Are you feeling alright?” He asks. “Do you need anything?”

You shake your head and drop the folded shirt into your bag and reach for the next article of clothing in the pile to fold and pack. He hums lightly and kisses the top of your shoulder before pulling away to go pack his toiletry bag in his suitcase. It was a quiet trip back home, neither of you feeling up to holding a conversation. Even the drive from the airport to the house was quiet. He had an inkling that you were slightly disappointed but he didn't dare speak of it.

Though he did while on the phone with Josh while he edited the photos from the shoot.

“Sam is going to be highly disappointed that she wasn’t pregnant from the squeaky bed,” Josh chuckles. “He owes me twenty bucks.”

“You two are impossible..” Jake grumbles. “I can’t believe the two of you made a bet on that.”

“Can you blame us? Jake, the bed was squeaking so loud we thought you were going to break it.”

“Oh shut up..”

Josh howls a laugh. “Okay, okay.. I’m stopping..” After a beat of silence, he speaks up again. “So you’re thinking she was disappointed?”

“She was terrified to take the test so I told her we would wait.. She mentioned starting soon so I wasn’t getting my hopes up and when she did start that morning, I don’t know.. Her whole demeanor changed.”

“Well she is on her…that thing.. Maybe it’s just her mood swings. You know how women get when their thing starts. Our sister for example.. She was such a bitch that time of the month.”

Jake chuckles and leans back in his chair. “Yeah I know, but.. It didn’t feel like this. I’ve never seen her act like this before..”

“Act like what?” Jake looks up towards the door of his office to find you standing there. You were carrying a couple small takeout bags of food. “Are you talking about me?”

“Josh, I gotta call you back,” Jake says before hanging up the phone.

“Why were you talking about me to Josh?” She asks as she sets the bags of food on his desk.

“It’s nothing, really.” He says.

“But what did you mean you’ve never seen me act like this before? Act like what? Quiet? Disappointed? A little let down? Worried?”

“(Y/N), I was only concerned..”

“Well if you’re so concerned, then why didn't you just come to me?”

“I don’t know.. I guess I felt like you might not want to talk about it.”

“It’s not like I lost a baby, Jake..” You say.

“No, I know but.. You did seem a little let down.”

“Well of course I was!” You exclaim. “I mean.. I knew my period was due to start soon, but I still had a little sliver of hope that maybe that might change.”

Your eyes begin to water and he immediately gets out of his chair. He pulls you into his arms and kisses your forehead. “I know you did.. But we have plenty of time to have a baby, and plenty of time making it..” He feels the lift of your cheeks against his chest as you smile. “Plus we have the wedding to plan, so don’t try to rush anything. We will have a baby when we are meant to. There is a time for everything.”

You pull away and look up at him. He wipes the stray tears off your cheek and pecks your nose.

“Now go find me the most ridiculous tuxedo to wear for the wedding.” He pats your ass before turning you around and walking you back to the door of his office. “And it better have huge ruffles or I’m not wearing it.”

“You seriously want to wear all that?” You say, cocking your eyebrow.

He shakes his head. “Not at all.”

You can’t help but to giggle. He smiles and pulls you back for a kiss. “There’s that little laugh I’ve missed.”

“Ruffly tuxedo in what, a bright baby blue color?” You smirk.

“Oh you think you’re funny,” Jake says as he nudges you down the hall. “Then if I have to wear that then you have to wear a poofy pink dress with shoulder pads.” When your face scrunches up, his head falls back into a bellowing laugh. “Give me like five more minutes and we can look through tuxedos.”

“Seriously, don't trust me?”

“Five. Minutes.” He says pointing a stern finger at you.

-

“Camera.. Camera.. Camera..” Jake mutters as he spins around in a circle. “How do I misplace a camera?” You step into the study as he’s rummaging through his camera bag. “Dammit, where did I put it?”

“Lose something?”

He leaps from fright and turns around to face you. “Geez, don’t sneak up on me like that.” He sighs and leans against his desk. “I can’t find my film camera.”

“Which one?”

“The green and black one.. The one I used in London.”

“That camera? You mean.. T-The one you used when we.. When we were..”

Jake slowly nods his head. “Yes, that one.” Scratching the back of your head, you slowly step back towards the door. You know exactly where that camera was and you know exactly who has it. “(Y/N).. What do you know? Do you know where my camera is?”

“Well..” You squeak.

“Where..is it?” He says slowly as he pushes off the desk.

“Umm.. You know when Sam asked for a film camera for his and Hailey’s trip this coming weekend?”

Jake’s eyes nearly double to the size of golf balls. “Please tell me you didn’t give me that one.”

“You said to give him a film camera, you didn’t say which one so I grabbed the first one that I could find. Didn’t you change out the film like you always do?”

“Not yet! That’s what I was going to do today. I planned on it once I finished editing the shoot photos.” Jake exclaims. “Oh god.. You have to get the camera back.”

“Me? But–”

“You gave it to him–you get it back.”

“Jake, that’s going to be humiliating.”

“Not as humiliating as will be when he gets the film developed and sees those photos.” He runs both of his hands down his face.

“Okay, okay. I will go get it back and give him a different one.”

Rushing out of the room, you quickly run downstairs and grab your keys off the hook on the wall. Throwing open the front door, you start to go out but stop when you find Sam standing on the front porch with the camera in one hand and an envelope of photos in the other.

“Oh hi, Sam!” You greet him. “You brought the camera back?”

“Uh yeah..” He awkwardly chuckles. “I uh, I noticed the film was used so I thought I’d be nice and get the photos developed and replace the film and well.. Yeah..” He hands over the photos and the camera. “I saw nothing and I know nothing..”

“Sam, gosh I’m so sorry.”

Jake bounds down the stairs and comes up behind you. “Sam!” He exclaims with a fake smile. He sees the envelope of photos in your hand and his smile fades. “So about that..”

“Nope..” Sam waves his hand in dismissal. “I don’t want to discuss it. What the two of you do is staying between the two of you.”

You can see Jake’s cheeks flush red. “It won’t ever happen again.” He hands over a different camera. “You’re safe with this one, I promise.” He says. “Have fun on your trip!” He quickly closes the doors and turns to face you.

“So maybe it wasn’t just for your eyes only..” You innocently smile.

“You have a five second head start to get your ass upstairs.”

“Now remember,” You say as you cautiously back yourself up towards the stairs. “I am very delicate.”

“Oh we’ll see how delicate you are in a few minutes..” Jake cocks his brow and folds his arms over his chest. “One…” He starts to count, prompting you to start running up the stairs. “Two-o-o!” He starts to ascend the stairs, carefully listening to your foot fall on the hardwood floor. “Three!...”

–2 weeks later–

“This has got to be the fastest engagement ever,” Josh comments as he helps Jake adjust the tie of his suit. “My little brother is getting married, who would have imagined?”

“Little?”

Josh winks and chuckles. “Doesn’t matter what you say, Jake, I still came out first.”

“Need I remind you that I shoved you out first. Five minutes of peace that I’ll never get back.”

Josh playfully pushes Jake’s shoulder, making him laugh. “Asshole.”

Three knocks sound on the door and Sam pokes his head in. “I just finished taking her photos, are you ready for the first look?”

Jake nods his head. “Yeah, I’m ready.”

“Great, I’ll see you outside then.”

Once the door closes, Jake turns back to face Josh. “Swear to me I look alright.”

“A little pale, but that’s always expected on the wedding day. Aside from that, you look great.” Josh says as he straightens out Jake’s suit jacket. “Perfect. Now let’s go.”

The walk through the hall towards the door that led outside felt like the longest walk that Jake has ever taken. He could feel the sweat collecting on the palms of his hands. This isn’t even the real thing yet and he’s a bundle of nerves just waiting to explode. Josh pushes open the door that leads out to the courtyard and they both step out into the chilly air.

“I’m surprised you trust Sam with your wedding photos.” Josh says.

“He’s got an eye for photos.” Jake says. “He hasn’t let me down yet.”

“Alrighty groom,” Sam says as he walks over. “Step up right over here and keep your back turned towards the doors.” Once he has Jake situated, he signals for you to come out. You had just seen him for the first time in his tuxedo and you’re already fighting the tears that threaten to fall.

Carefully walking down the few steps, with Josh and Kylie making sure you don’t trip on your dress, you walk up behind Jake and raise your hand to gently tap his shoulder. The shutter of the camera can be faintly heard over the pounding of your heart in your chest. You weren’t nervous to see him or nervous about the day in general, you were nervous to spill the news that you have been harboring for the last week and half.

You thought you were crazy when the same symptoms started presenting themselves again. The nausea was back, the crazy hormones. Your period was finished so you knew it wasn’t–couldn't be–that. But then trying on your dress, the dress you fell in love with the second you had tried it on, it didn’t fit the same. The zipper came up just halfway and wouldn’t budge after that, no matter how much you sucked in. The zipper just would not move.

You didn’t want to get your hopes up, nor Jake’s, so you snuck around to take a pregnancy test. When it came out positive, you nearly threw up from the sight of it. So you scheduled a doctor’s appointment as soon as you could and went in to be seen. When the ultrasound became clear, you couldn’t believe your eyes. Your doctor told you that you were exactly eight weeks along, which put you back to Michigan. Guess Josh will have to give back the twenty dollars to Sam.

Three…

So now here you are, nearly ten weeks pregnant and have been harboring this secret for a week and half, just unable to find a way to tell him. You figured getting a new dress–one that fits–he’d be suspicious and ask you about it. You were right..

Two…

“You look so beautiful,” He says as he carefully spins you to get the full three-sixty angle of your dress. “But you changed dresses? Not that this one isn’t just as stunning but..”

One…

You grab his hands and step up close to him, close enough that you can whisper into his ear. “I’m pregnant.” You can feel his jaw loosening against your cheek and his hands grip yours.

“No way,” He says. “Are you for real?”

You nod your head, “Josh may have to give back the twenty dollars to Sam.”

“Wait.. Seriously? That rickety old thing?” You giggle and nod your head again. “Oh this is the best news ever!” He wraps his arms around you and spins around in a circle. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too.”

“What news?” Sam says as he lowers the camera after taking several shots.

“Josh, remember the twenty bucks Sam had to give you?”

Josh’s brows knit together before realization sets in. “Shut up!” He exclaims. “Are you serious?!”

“I told you!” Sam exclaims. “But gross, I heard that baby being conceived…”

Kylie rolls her eyes. “Did you have to say that?”

“This is fantastic news!” Josh exclaims as he pulls you both in for hugs. “Wasn’t I right when I said you were glowing?”

Jake chuckles and pulls you into his arms, swaying you both side to side. “I love you,” He says.

“I love you too,” You say, tilting your head back so you can look at him. “Best day ever?”

“You have no idea.” He says as he kisses you.

The ceremony was nothing short of beautiful and fun. Jake may or may not have shed a few tears, he’ll deny it if anyone asks. The news of your pregnancy spread like wildfire and you were being congratulated from every angle of friends and family members. As Jake was twirling you on the dance floor, your eyes landed on the man who bought your half naked portrait that Jake took of you in Africa.

“You invited him?” You ask when Jake brings you back in and pressing your bodies together.

“I had to..” He says. “He’s interested in buying another piece and I figured if I invited him, established some kind of relationship, then maybe he’ll actually bite.”

“Which piece?” You ask.

“While we were shooting at the castle, I took a few landscape shots in between. I had them blown up and hung in the gallery and he happened to stop by and he saw the shot of the castle and practically drooled over it, so I’m trying to bait him into buying it,” Jake explains as his eyes flicker over to the man across the room. He’s sipping on a glass of champagne while conversing with Josh. “I’m hoping Josh is over there helping me out.”

“Well maybe if you offer up one of those film photos of me, maybe then he’ll buy the landscape.”

Jake pulls you closer and leans his face down to yours. “Watch yourself.”

“Or what?” You cock a brow.

“You just wait.. Once we get home, you are so at my mercy.” He says into your ear. Goosebumps spread over your arms and you slide your arms around his waist.

“I am always at your mercy,” You say as you peck him on the lips and push his groin against your pelvis.

“You might want to behave yourself before I whisk you off.”

“Well there usually is a hookup at every wedding..” You say with a wink.

“Do not tempt me,” Jake says as he runs his thumb over your lips while swaying your bodies from side to side. “But once this is all over, and we are home–alone, I am going to have you on every piece of furniture.”

“You can have me any way that you want.” You say as you rise up on your toes to kiss him.

“So until then, behave yourself because we have to go around and greet people at their tables.” Jake says before he’s pulling away from you and dragging you towards the tables.

_____________________________________________________________

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[meenafreezoid]

Some King Dice headcanons ~

Hey, so I'm back at my Cuphead phase and I re-fell in love with the Dice Man, ehehehehehe ~ After watching Casino Cups again I had some headcanons (sfw) I'd like to share, let's gooo ! This include the game, the show and Casino Cups (I see it as the official prequel of the game ehehe)

💜🎲✨️ KING DICE ✨️🎲💜

King Dice is just a pseudonym, no one knows his real name, except the Devil. But even him prefers to call him King Dice.

He is in his late thirty, at least in the game. He is a little bit younger of one or two years in the Show, and in his mid-forty in Casino Cups

He is a bisexual icon, definitely seduces both men and women, as the charming manager he is (also obviously a heart-breaker)

He is a Taurus Sun, Leo Moon and Leo Rising ~

He is terrified of getting old, and uses makeup in order to look younger. His appearance is one of his top priority.

Speaking of that, he is a morning person because he has a long beauty routine and like to take his time. This include shower, polishing his dice-head to make it shine, numerous concealers and skin-care products, a combo of eye-shadow and eye-liner, transparent gloss, sometimes blush and of course perfume, you name it.

Is also slightly muscular under his clothes, like to stay in shape <3

He never swears, he's to polite for that (except when he's very very angry)

PURPLE. Just Purple.

Everything he buy has to be purple (or gold)

Scatting is like his second language, the man express himself a lot with it. He scats out of pride, joy, stress, when he wants to calm himself down, etc.

By the way, he is a walking musical, the man is ALWAYS humming something. He even created his own band to occasionally play at the casino, after the Devil re-hired him.

He speaks multiple languages, including english of course, but also french, italian, spanish and german.

Definitely a cat and tea person (somewhat confirmed by DD)

He never had a particularly sad childhood and doesn't have trauma neither. On the contrary, he was the only child of a famous and very rich couple who built their empire on Inkwell Isle. His mother was a former actress and his father the head of a mafia organization. He grew up with everything he wanted, but his parents never paid that much attention to him. Not that they didn't love him, but they were such infatuated with each other that Dice never had a real place between them, he was secondary.

One day, another gang with whom Dice's father had a rivalty kidnapped his wife in exchange of his money. Deeply in love, he accepted, and they both ended up killed, King Dice was 15. Dice despise love and see it as a weakness because of this.

King Dice always had a mischevous side in him. Because of his parents negligence, he developped insecurities of failure and being forgotten, so his greatest wish was to surpass his parents's reputation and glory, whatever if he was feared or adored.

This is also why he is soooooo devoted to the Devil and needs his validation as his number one in the Cuphead Show, imagine being the literal Devil's Right Hand Man, who can surpass him then ?

King Dice gave birth to his pack of cards with his magic. He has them since he's a child, and considers them as his confidents and family, he's like a Lion with his tribe with them.

I like to imagine that King Dice and the Devil, since the Game's events, have a similar relationship to Snape and Dumbledore. Like, they aren't close emotionaly speaking (this is more Henchman's role), but they respect each other. King Dice is deeply loyal to the Devil and is his most trusted ally, his number one to whom he reveals every of his schemes. The Devil just has to make a hand movement and King Dice is like "Your wish is my command, boss". They act like a dark prince and his butler.

So, he has a fear of failure, uselessness and being forgotten, and see everything as a competition he has to win. This is why he killed all the Devil's finest demons in "Release the Demons", he needs constant praise and special treatment from the Devil to make up his insecurities. Because of his immaturity, the Devil was mainly annoyed by him in the Cuphead Show. That's when he gave him a second chance and created the casino that King Dice grew more close to his crueler and calculative personality from the game, and the Devil trusted him in making him his casino's manager

In a way, the Devil allowed King Dice's darkness to take over him by removing every of his human aspects : he became less emotive and goofy, not insecure anymore, etc...

Despite being close intellectually and professionally speaking, the Devil and King Dice are less about emotional discussion, unlike Henchman who acts like the Devil's confident. If the Devil ever cry in front of King Dice, he would probably be uneasy and try to be comforting but would fail miserabily : "Uuuuh... come on, man, get over it, it doesn't matter that much... ?"

Despite that, I think that when they grew closer between the Show and the Game, they started to have a sort of sexual tension and both are in denial of that. They do have some moments of intimacy when both end up blushing at each other, like when King Dice gets closer to lights up the Devil's cigar, or when they share a quick glance after a angry customer coming at them, knowing what has to be done next ~~

A bit like the Devil with Henchman, King Dice is grateful to people that are loyal to him since a long time and genuily care for him, like his little cards. King Dice is very egocentric, but that doesn't mean he is incapable of being attached. He is very protective actually.

That is a surprise to anyone, but maaan the Dice man has a beautiful voice, but he doesn't only sing jazz, or swing or showing off his lovely voice. Sometimes, when he's alone, or with his cards, he sings more emotional and soft tunes, like a lullaby.

That's it for now guys ! I hope you enjoyed it and if you want more <33

[stromuprisahat]

Why don't I buy Malyen's sudden change of heart in R&R, pt. 1

I wouldn’t call him an abuser. I mean, he can be really nice for weeks at a time.

Chapter 6: The Abusive Man in Everyday Life

Do you wonder, why am I worried for Alina? Why I don't think she's safe with Malyen, looking into future?

Life with an abuser can be a dizzying wave of exciting good times and painful periods of verbal, physical, or sexual assault. The longer the relationship lasts, the shorter and farther apart the positive periods tend to become. If you have been involved with an abusive partner for many years, the good periods may have stopped happening altogether, so that he is an unvarying source of misery.

We never see him hit Alina, but with abusers, it doesn't mean anything.

An abusive man can be scary. Even if he never raises a hand or makes a threat, his partner may find herself wondering what he is capable of. She sees how ugly he can turn, sometimes out of the blue. His desire to crush her emotionally is palpable at times. He sometimes tears into her verbally with a cruelty that she could never have imagined earlier in their relationship. When a man shows himself capable of viciousness, it is natural, and in fact wise, to wonder if he will go even further. Abused women ask me over and over again: “Do you think my partner could get violent? Am I overreacting? I mean, he’s not a batterer or something.”

It's ironic Malina's great falling out in Siege and Storm is due to lack of Alina's enthusiasm regarding Malyen's amorous advances. No wonder he throws a tantrum, when he thinks she turns him down.

An abusive man commonly rolls all of his emotional needs into one tremendous bundle, which he expects sex to be able to carry. He tends to have little real heart-to-heart connection with his partner, since a man cannot be truly close to a woman he is abusing. (Although his partner may feel very attached to him through traumatic bonding, and he may feel very attached to having her meet his various needs, attachment and closeness are two different things.) So he compensates for the lack of genuine intimacy by elevating sex to the highest plane, burdening it with the responsibility of providing for him all the emotional satisfaction that he is not receiving elsewhere in his relationship.

Chapter 7: Abusive Men and Sex

When Alina begins to find herself as an independent individual, when she dares to want to be THE Sun Summoner and tells him so, Malyen feels threatened and demonstrates some of his worst behaviour.

The concept of tolerance can also be applied to partner abuse, but with different implications. As an abusive man adapts to a certain degree of mistreatment of his partner, his feelings of guilt nag at him less and less, so he is then able to graduate to more serious acts. He becomes accustomed to a level of cruelty or aggression that would have been out of the question for him a few years earlier. In some cases the concept of tolerance also applies to the abused woman, when she becomes inured to his abusiveness and starts to stand up to him more. He then increases his abusiveness because he sees that it takes more to frighten or control her than it used to. This escalation is similar to the style of crowd control used by a military dictatorship, which shoots rubber bullets as long as they are adequate to disperse protestors but switches to live ammunition when the crowds stop running away from the rubber bullets.

Chapter 8: Abusive Men and Addiction

I've pointed out exactly this detail before reading Bancroft's book. The most terrifying moments for me aren't those, when Malyen screams, but when he's nice and I DO know what he can become.

Almost no abuser is mean or frightening all the time. At least occasionally he is loving, gentle, and humorous and perhaps even capable of compassion and empathy. This intermittent, and usually unpredictable, kindness is critical to forming traumatic attachments. When a person, male or female, has suffered harsh, painful treatment over an extended period of time, he or she naturally feels a flood of love and gratitude toward anyone who brings relief, like the surge of affection one might feel for the hand that offers a glass of water on a scorching day. But in situations of abuse, the rescuer and the tormentor are the very same person.

Chapter 9: The Abusive Man and Breaking up

[camille-lachenille]

End of the Year Fic Rec

I was tagged by @echo-bleu and @dreamingthroughthenoise and it was very difficult to select only five fics for each category but here's my Must Read fanfics list, mostly Silmarillion but with a few LotR and one Hobbit. Also, I cheated at some point so you have one more fic rec as a treat

Recommend up to 5 series or multi-chapter fics from 2023 that everyone should read (multi-year WIPs count, if the last update was in 2023).

We will make this place our home by @leucisticpuffin

Summary: Elrond and Elros are sent to live with their distant cousins in a house that is crumbling slowly to pieces. They aren't especially happy about this. For Maedhros and Maglor, the twins are a rare chance to start living again.

Why you should read it: This is a whimsical, heartwarming yet bittersweet at times story about finding one’s place in a new world and what makes a family, grappling with the ghosts of the past and the pain of being a child left behind. Also the most exquisitely written modern AU (the style is just chef's kiss!) I’ve read so far, 100% recommend it!

Maglor is an Eldritch Horror by @thescrapwitch

Summary: After thousands of years singing to the sea, Maglor has become something strange and terrifying. But he still loves his family, and his family still loves him.

Why you should read it: Sometimes, family is a Half-Elf, his wife, their children, a shy and whimsical bard and the Eldritch kidnap grandfather who haunts the house; or how to write slightly creepy fluff. This series is pure heartwarming material and giving Elrond the happiness he desserves.

The Day the Horse-Lord wed the Lady of the Seas by @colinnoahmayhare (rated M)

Summary: After the War of the Ring, Lothíriel, Princess of Dol Amroth, finds herself at the receiving end of the search for peace and prosperity by being used as a pawn in an alliance made between kings and princes. Married to the King of the Riddermark, Éomer, she has to navigate being a foreigner in a foreign country, being a Queen to a King, and to learn to live and love with a man she hardly knows.

Why you should read it: This story is an intricate, gut wrenching exploration of what happens in Rohan after the War of the Ring, featuring delightful worldbuilding, lots of politics, revenge and honour. Now with Familial TraumaTM and Couple AngstTM for extra flavour!

And the Stars Shine the Same by @runawaymun (rated M)

Summary: After the Éothéod revolt against the Wainriders, the northern tribes seek to form strong alliances with their neighbors. Lord Frumgar tasks his son Fram to lead the delegation to Imladris. With him, he brings gold, fine horses, and two young thralls chosen by his father to be given to Lord Elrond himself. Elrond is conflicted to say the least.

Why you should read it: Do you like pre-canon Third Age history? Do you like worldbuilding about a few names from the Appendixes of LotR? Do you like found family and Good Dad Elrond? Do you like complex characters learning how to live with their traumas? This story is for you! (Just mind the warnings in the tags)

The ghost you dress up as (knows how to haunt) by @deadqueernoldor (rated M)

Summary: Maedhros was not the first Finwëan to be captured and taken to Angband, nor did he remain there the longest. Ranyatinwë, twin of Caranthir, was the first.

Why you should read it: Tinwë is such a complex character, 50% spite and 50% trauma, and this whole story is so, so promising already! (Really, you should read all the Strength of our Bonds series for extra unhinged, spiteful and unrepentant kinslayer Tinwë. I support women’s rights but in Tinwë’s case I firmly support women’s wrongs). This is pure post-Angband angstfest and dysfunctional siblings caring for each other in their weird way. If angst can be a comfort story, I found it.

Recommend up to 5 single chapter fics/one-shots (long or short) from 2023 that everyone should read.

Life in Miniature by @thescrapwitch

Summary: Turgon uses his hobby of building cities to recreate Gondolin, this time on a much smaller scale.

Why you should read it: For re-embodied Finwëan rebuilding their relationships as they work together on a miniature city; a heartwarming and really nice metaphor.

Hearth Fire by @dreamingthroughthenoise

Summary: Findis and Feanor speak before the Flight of the Noldor and share in their grief the best they can.

Why you should read it: Because there are so few stories centered around Findis and her feelings about her family and this one is so interesting and well written. Also, Findis is my Blorbo and everyone should read about her until they're consumed by the Blorbo.

your veins are empty of dust by @echo-bleu

Summary: Anairë finds her late one day in her workshop, surrounded by slabs of stone larger than her. Nerdanel is hammering forcefully at one of them, the barest hints of an elven shape already taking form in the marble. Bitter, stinging tears run down her cheeks and into her collar, and her arms ache with exhaustion.

The body is only barely sketched, but the face is already chiselled, smooth curves and angular cheekbones.

Fëanáro emerges out of the marble, looking like he’s about to take life.

Why you should read it: For a heartbreaking dive into Nerdanel's grief, her friendship with Anairë and how Nerdanel's art becomes her way to cope with loneliness and grief.

see it fall, child of war by @swanmaids

Summary: Elwing's time runs out.

Why you should read it: Because these may be the 740 most impactful words I've read about Elwing since I discovered the Silm fandom.

soldier keep on marching on (waiting on that morning sun) by songofswiftsunrise

Summary: Boromir lives. The world is the smallest bit brighter for it.

Why you should read it: Do I need a more convincing argument than what the summary says? Boromir lives and everyone is happier. I love a good fix-it and this one is very well written indeed.

Recommend up to 5 fics NOT from 2023 that everyone should read (oldies but goodies.)

The Carpenter’s Son by Zimra (rated M, warning for rape/non-con)

Summary: An untold story of conquered Dor-lómin, in which an Easterling carpenter has a child by his Hadorian slave.

Why you should read it: This story explores in a very interesting way a par of canon that is almost never mentionned (except in the Narn). The main character is attaching and I really cared for her and her son. The hindsights in the slavers' minds are chilling with their realism and this whole story is just so well written. Also, it ends on a note of hope.

And what I am needs no excuses by aurembiaux

Summary: Sam has always been in love with Frodo. It's only that it takes him forty years to realize that he is.

Why you should read it: Probably the most heartwarming and relatable self-discovery story I’ve ever read; set in England from the WWII to the 80’s, with all the social changes that happened in this time period. Featuring Supportive Dad (and Friend) Sam as the main character and a whole bunch of introspection. One of my all time comfort read!

Mark of a Warrior by starryeyedknight

Summary: After the funeral for Theoden, Merry wakes up to a problem experienced by many a young man after a night of heavy drinking. The ink on his arm doesn't appear to be washing off… 

Why you should read it: This one shot explores the relationships Merry formed with the RIders of Rohan, the grief he has in common with them and how he found his place amongst the riders, all of this with delightful humour and lightness despite the initial situation.

Dancing with my punchlines by LiveOakWithMoss (rated M)

Summary: In which the sons of Fëanor throw house parties, the beer is terrible, 20-something hipster elves act like their drama is as bad as it is in canon, and macking on cousins is fair game.

Why you should read it: If you like a good old modern AU with tons of drama of various sorts, amazing ace representation and general Finwëans shenanigans, this is the story for you.

Old Maggie Took by @deadqueernoldor

Summary: The headcanon about Maglor, second son of Fëanor, lives hidden in the Shire? Yes.

Why you should read it: My ultimate comfort read series; featuring mouth-watering descriptions of food, kidnadopted fam and Maglor being an overgrown hobbit and trolling everyone in ME and Valinor. This is fluffy, this is silly, this is prefect.

Recommend up to 5 of your own fics (completed or WIP) from 2023 that everyone should read.

Dreams of Doom (rated M, warning for Major Character Death)

Summary: “She runs in the dark, alone. Where her feet carry her, she knows not, and her heart is heavy with dread. Someone - something - is watching her.”

Niënor from the moment she arrives in Brethil to her death.

Why you should read it: Because this fic is my firsborn child and I am insanely proud of it, especially since I went so out of my comfort zone to write it. It features two of my obscure blorbos and I poured my soul into it.

Ice Age(s)

Summary: Ice skating through the ages, from Idril learning with her grandfather to Elrond perpetuating the familial tradition.

Why you should read it: This is a fluffy fic, mostly, and it's also a gift for the amazing @echo-bleu. I also wrote it in a sort of trance in the middle of the night, passed out the moment I posted it and had no memory whatsoever of what I had written upon waking up in the morning, yet I still love this fic dearly.

I never wanted to walk in your steps

Summary: Tilda was ten, the same age Sigrid was at her birth, and her world was collapsing more than when Smaug had destroyed Laketown.

Why you should read it: Because I privately call this fic Hobbit angstfest. I took a sad, doomed ship and asked myself "how can I make it sadder?"

ar ámen apsenë úcaremmar

Summary: Few know of Findis the Faithful, eldest daughter of Finwë, who never lost hope for her family.

Why you should read it: I took my obscure blorbo and set her in a medieval-ish AU. It's sad and a little hopeful too and there's a lot of Quenya interspaced through the story.

Quiet morning in Gondolin

Summary: Idril and Eärendil spend some time together before the city wakes up.

Why you should read it: I'll put the link to the beautiful art that inspired this ficlet and let it speak for me.

And I tag everyone I tagged in this post who hasn’t already done this fics rec tag

[ohanny]

what kind of drunks would the pit babe characters be

babe - the hot girl. he acts all cool and sits there in his leather jacket, being hotter than anyone. his drinks also aren't half as strong as he let's people believe because there's nothing attractive about a sloppy drunk. if he's forced to take multiple shots, he will quietly walk to the bathroom to give himself a drunk girl pep talk in front of the mirror.

charlie - the sober one. he doesn't drink, period. he actually hates the taste. he was destined to be the designated driver (yay, cars!) and the mom friend (sometimes this makes him wish he did drink because fucking hell, he is friends with actual gremlins).

way - the professional. he's on his tenth shot of vodka at the bar, chasing them with a whiskey and coke, mumbling “weak” at the people who started acting up after their third drink.

pete - the crier. he's a nice guy working in a high stress environment, okay? on the rare occasions he gets completely wasted, he will see a particularly artfully arranged napkin dispenser and burst into tears because life is just so beautiful, you know? and it really is unfair how much shit all of them have had to endure!

north - the social butterfly. drunk north knows the lyrics to every song ever written. at the end of the night he has like 50 new instagram followers, he's helped a girl through a break up in the women’s bathroom, he's learned the dj’s mom’s name and might have accidentally agreed into a threesome with a married couple (not that he knew what exactly they were suggesting). he's just pure vibes.

sonic - the instigator. drunk sonic has opinions and no sense of self-preservation. he will walk straight up to the enormous bouncer, get right in his face and go “wow. you're like… really ugly.” on an average night out, he should have died around five times but always gets away unscatched because, like a princess, he gets rescued by people who think he is way too cute to die.

kim - the sappy one. also a total lightweight. will declare his love for you after three beers. give him a shot and he will earnestly look you in the eyes while clutching the hem of your shirt and tell you what a great job you do and how he has always secretly admired you.

kenta - the horny one. he wants, okay? he downright needs. is he going to do anything about it? no. he will sit in some corner, vibrating, stewing in his hormones and if anyone dares to ask him how he's doing, he will look at them and go “do you have any idea what i would let him do to me?” and his smile is so terrifying no one wants any details.

alan - the slutty one. yes, there is a difference. see, alan is a man of action. alan will make it awkward for everyone by sloppily mouthing at jeff’s neck and trying to shove his hand down jeff’s pants on the sidewalk while they wait for charlie to pull up.

jeff - the houdini. he just… disappears. one minute he's there and the next he's gone, only to be discovered three hours later on the roof of a supermarket, feeding chunks of bread to pigeons. either needs a helium balloon tied to his wrist so you can easily spot him in a crowd or an ankle monitor. (was once found in a car, the morning after a frantic search. gave them a sleepy little smile and said “the gps knew where i was.”)

dean - the mute. once he hits his limit, he goes totally nonverbal. just trails behind everyone with a big happy smile and nods his head when asked if he wants to dance / have another drink / make out. super happy to be there.

winner - the big shot. tells everyone he's like the best racer ever and when people who still have critical thinking skills ask for evidence, distracts them buy buying everyone a round of the cheapest shots the bar has to offer. keeps challenging people to arm wrestle despite having noodle arms. finishes the night pissed off, buys two portions of street food and sits down next to a homeless person to share. they always let him talk uninterrupted.

tony - never goes past one glass of wine or whiskey, a lesson he learned the hard way. the first contract he lost back when he was just starting out? he hit the post meeting cocktails a bit too hard and drunk performed whitney houston’s “i will always love you” in karaoke. the humiliation was too much and i fear it really affected his behavior negatively.

[echoes-in-blue]

Mark Hoffman x Original Character AU - Canon Divergent Story. +18 Readers only.

Summary: What if Mark always had someone behind the scenes, watching his back and helping him out. What would happen after his death and resurrection? When lovers become partners in crime, there will be no stopping their revenge. Tags: Dom/sub, breath play, teasing, language, dirty talk, restraints, spanking, knife play, fear play, injury, gore, violence Notes: This story is fan fiction derived from the universe of the Saw movies and takes place at the end of Saw VI, diverting the canon from there and adding in a bit more of a Hoffman backstory. If you aren't fond of this idea, then feel free to skip. This story is not meant for anyone under the age of 18. Read at your own risk.

Chapter One: Backup Plan

“If you don’t hear from me, by midnight I need you to open this envelope.” “And if I do hear from you?” “Burn it, like the others.” 

Typically, when he left things like that, he did contact her before midnight. It was funny to her that he believed she had no idea what he was doing or where he was going. At first, it hadn’t been so obvious but over time it became clear. Possibly because she was an FBI agent and a profiler. Did he underestimate her ability to figure it out or was he with her because he was very much aware that she knew who he was and what he was doing. The fact that it turned her on even though it shouldn’t and she was just as aware as him that she’d never turn him in. They were in love and had been since well before he’d become the Jigsaw apprentice. Things had only gotten more intense since that point. It was never explicitly stated between them what he was involved in but that didn’t matter. He knew she knew. It was why sometimes when he returned home he still had blood on his clothes, his gloves that gripped her chin so firmly. Forcing eye contact to make sure she knew her place. Sending chills down her spine into her very core, leaving her unable to deny how much she wanted him. He knew that too. 

That night, though, it felt different. The way he told her the instructions. Almost as if he knew that something wouldn’t go right. She wished he’d tell her more, or at least let her help. The thing was that not speaking of these things in detail gave her the plausible deniability she would need should he get caught. The first person they would go to was his wife. Much like they had gone after Jill Kramer. The less she knew, the better she’d be able to fake it when they came around to interrogate her. No matter what, she’d never throw him under the bus. It wasn’t that she was blind to what was wrong with the situation but she could see, through his eyes, why he did what he did. As someone who worked in law enforcement herself it was easier to justify handing out such punishments to criminals who had skirted the law and never learned the value of their lives or impact of their behavior. 

She couldn’t pretend like there weren’t suspects, perpetrators, and guilty men and women she had to deal with every day who she’d like to see maimed in one of those traps. She’d insinuated as much when she could get away with it. While watching the news, making sure to mention to him that some people just deserved what they got. It was not the correct stance for her to take as an agent of the law but nor was it correct for him as a detective so at least they were on the same page. 

As she sat there, the clock ticking down, she realized that he had not contacted her. No text on her phone. The one she had as a burner just for these messages from him. It hadn’t rang either. The midnight hour drew closer, and closer, and when the old clock in their penthouse chimed twelve she knew for the first time she was going to have to open that envelope. It was something that excited her as much as terrified her because she didn’t know what she would find. Obviously, she was the failsafe in all of this and since she was a forensic psychiatrist that also made her a medical doctor. He had her as a life preserver because she could preserve life. She’d treated his wounds before when he couldn’t properly seek care for them lest they raise suspicion with local hospitals as to how he’d gotten them. As an heiress, she had connections and money to buy or find anything he could need to treat and hide the injuries until he was good as new. They were a perfect team because between the two of them they could get rid of anything that they didn’t want seen. 

From the hidden safe in the wall she removed the instructions packet and opened it up. There she found only one thing. GPS coordinates. There was no explanation otherwise. Though he was smart enough to know that she would be aware that this place that he wanted her to go to was dangerous. Not that it mattered, since she always carried her weapon with her now thanks to being an FBI agent. She punched the coordinates into the burner phone and came up with a location. A warehouse in the middle of nowhere just about. Outside of New York City where they lived, near some docks in New Jersey right across the bridge. As far as she could tell, the property had been previously owned by John Kramer. Hopefully, she wasn’t walking into a death trap, nor would she arrive to find Mark’s dead and dismembered body somewhere on the premises. 

“I may hurt you but I will never harm you, do you understand the difference?” He asked as she sat there, hands cuffed behind her back to the post of the bed that they shared. The concept of the dom/sub relationship was one she knew plenty about academically since she worked in sex crimes but she hadn’t put it into practice herself. They’d discussed it here and there but he knew more than she had. Especially that she was ready to start. “Look at me, Leila.” He put his fingers under her chin to lift her head up, forcing eye contact between them. 

“I understand, sir.” She said, “Hurting means pain and temporary suffering but harm would be permanent and detrimental. I trust you not to harm me. I trust you with my life.” 

“Are you sure about that?” He asked quickly pulling a knife from his pocket to flick the blade up and brandish it within her line of sight. “It could be a foolish decision if you aren’t absolutely sure of what you are saying.” 

“I know what I am saying and I know what I want.” She confirmed. He smirked and licked his lips slowly. Bringing the blade down he started to cut away the buttons of her blouse one by one until it fell open, exposing her bra. Then he brought it back up to cut the bra between the cups, splitting it to reveal her breasts. Her heart fluttered in her chest. The adrenaline rush combined with the arousal and the idea that she was completely helpless to his every whim was overwhelmingly erotic. Slowly, he ran the blade over her right breast to where her heart would be positioning the tip there to press into the skin enough to cause pain but not actually pierce it. 

“I could kill you, if I wanted.” He said. 

“But that isn’t what you want.” She replied. He smirked, sliding the knife over her skin enough to leave a scratch but not a cut until he got it to her jugular, resting the blade there where she could feel just how sharp it was against the vital area. 

“What I want is for you to never know what I may or may not do but trust that ultimately this is a game we play and you will not come out of it harmed. As I said before.” He moved the knife from her neck to her lips, pressing the flat of it there. She looked at him, kissing the metal that she was presented with. He laughed softly and folded the blade into the handle before slipping the knife back into his pocket. 

“So you want me to be afraid?” 

“In a sense, yes, but I want you to trust me as well. Expect the unexpected.” He smirked and then pulled her into a hungry kiss. 

She took care to be sure that no one had followed her where she was going. It wasn’t typical that anyone would follow her but she knew there were some eyes on Mark so that meant it was possible that people had eyes on her as well. When she pulled up to the place she found that it was indeed a warehouse. Hopefully, it was not one that involved any of John or Mark’s games. Though she could deal with dead bodies, gore, and mutilation since crime scenes were part of her everyday job, she did not want to leave any evidence that she’d been there. If that were the case. From her back pocket she pulled out a pair of gloves and slipped them on before grabbing onto the handle of the sliding door in front of her. Amazingly, it wasn’t locked, but she knew that potentially could mean bad news as well. She only opened it enough to look inside and then enter before shutting it again. The area was dark but not pitch black and in the back she could see a light, kind of in a corner. 

Pulling her gun, she headed in that direction as quietly as possible, also making sure she wasn’t accidentally going to touch trip wires or step into a trap. This place had to be rigged with them. That much was obvious. She could see all sorts of things that would constitute as evidence from all of the Jigsaw games. When she got closer to the one light that was on she looked through one of the nearby mirrors to see if she could spot anyone in the room as she paused and held her breath. There was a groan and she turned her head towards it. In the corner she saw Mark holding a blood soaked wad of fabric tightly to his face. Holstering her gun, she hurried towards him and got down by his side. 

“Mark, what the hell happened?” She asked. He looked at her, his eyes kind of glossy. There was no way he hadn’t lost a lot of blood but he was still conscious so that was good news in itself. Slowly, he pulled the fabric away from his face to show her that half of his cheek was split open. “Shit. We need to fix this.” He nodded, it was clear why he hadn’t called out to her when she’d arrived she doubted he could do much but groan and scream in that condition. She hurried to look through the warehouse to find something that could stitch his face up. The sooner the better. If he showed up at a hospital like that then he’d be caught immediately. There weren’t any real medical supplies in there, not any that would help with this specific injury but she did manage to find fishing wire and a hook. She could close up the wound and worried about infection later. It wasn’t like it would be hard to get antibiotics. Bringing the supplies over to him she got down and threaded the line through the hook. 

“This is going to hurt a lot, but it will save your life. I can get you antibiotics after if you need them.” She said as she reached to pull his hand away from his face again. He let out a small groan and almost the moment she touched the hook to his skin he yanked away. “Mark, this has to be done now and…what happened to your hand?” She had only just noticed that it was broken, she could see bone. 

“I can do it.” He said, or more accurately she was sure that’s what he meant to say with a huge flesh wound in the side of his face. If he had survived this far he probably could stitch up his own face, she didn’t doubt that. 

“It will be faster if-” 

“I’ll do it.” He snatched the hook away from her and very carefully got to his feet. She sighed, knowing there was no way to stop him from doing something he was determined to do himself. He hobbled over to the mirror she had been looking into before and pulled the lamp closer to it. Then he took in a deep breath and started to stitch up the wound in his face. 

“Do you have any idea what I’m going to do to you now?” He asked. This was after she’d been blindfolded in such a way that she couldn’t see anything. Usually, when people messed around with blindfolds there was a lot of room for error. Letting light in or the ability to look down and see shadows. She wasn’t surprised that he knew what he was doing when it came to this sort of thing. “Answer me.” 

“Anything you want.” She replied, “Master.” 

“That’s a good girl.” He chuckled darkly and patted her on the cheek. She sensed movement around her, first on the bed shifting and then some kind of fabric around her neck. It wasn’t rope, it was something else. Perhaps one of his ties. The weight of the bed shifted again and she was still left sitting there with her arms handcuffed behind one of the posts. There was a pause and she heard a click then felt the cuffs release. There was no moment to recover from this as she was immediately yanked down and out of the bed by the tie around her neck. She yelped as she fell to the floor, with hardly any time to brace for impact. Somehow, she did manage to catch herself but just barely. “Quick thinking, I like that.” 

“Thank you, sir.” She replied. The makeshift leash was tugged on again forcing her to crawl forward a bit then another sharp tug indicated that she needed to stop. She could hear him as he walked around behind her then felt his hands on her hips as he shoved her skirt up to reveal her panties. There was the swish of the blade from the knife popping up and the sensation of cold metal against her inner thighs. She gasped, shivered, and groaned softly as he started to cut the fabric of them away. 

“My pleasure is your pleasure, your pain is my pleasure, anything I want is for me. Anything you are rewarded with, is just that. You have to earn things here, understood?” He asked then without much warning gave her a rough slap across the ass. She squealed and then nodded her head. 

“Yes, sir.” 

“You’re a faster learner. I wonder what else I can teach you.” He said, sounding very amused as she felt his fingers between her legs moving over the wet folds of her cunt. She groaned, knowing she was far more aroused than she should have been given the situation. He continued to tease her perfectly, as if he were playing an instrument that he was a master of. Working her closer and closer to climax before pulling his hand back to give her ass another slap. This was done in such an oddly timed way that she could never predict it and threatened to drive her insane. She didn’t know how long he had kept it up before she lost enough control to scream. 

“Please!” She yelled, “Sir…please…” 

“Do you even know what you are begging for?” He asked, “Fucking tell me what you want, Princess.” She whined and lowered her head, it was humiliating and so very fucking hot to hear him speak to her like that. She licked her lips slowly and took in a deep breath through her nose, letting it out through her mouth. 

“Your cock, sir.” 

“And what do you want me to do with it?” 

“I…I want you to fuck me with it.” 

“Why?” 

“For your pleasure, I…I’m your naughty little fuck toy and I’m only here to serve you.” She breathed, her heart pounding in her chest. 

“That’s what I like to hear.” He chuckled and gave her ass another slap. From behind her, she sensed more movement until she could feel the tip of his cock rubbing against her cunt, teasing and touching in all the right places. As she was about to yell out again for him to just hurry up he thrust into her and she moaned loudly. She’d have collapsed forward except for the fact that he had grabbed the tie around her neck and yanked back, keeping her upright lest she wanted to choke. From there he started to pound into her with reckless abandon. Every so often the fabric around her neck would restrict her airflow then release again. When she could draw breath all she could do was let it out as a moan. He’d never been so primal and dominant with her before, they’d dabbled in it sure but it hadn’t gotten this far. She knew she was already addicted to this and would never want it any other way. “Are you going to cum for me? Huh? You naughty little girl…” 

“Y-Yes…Yes, sir…” She panted, when he allowed her the air to do so. 

“Go on then, cum all over my cock.” He growled. She moaned again, her eyes rolling back in pleasure as his words triggered her climax. He moaned then as well, almost louder than her. The walls seemed to shake with the passion of it and she could nearly feel it vibrating through her as she hit her second climax then a third. Suddenly, the leash around her neck was released. She fell forward, unable to keep her weight up any longer. Then he was on top of her, pulling her close to him as he moved them both onto their side. She could do nothing but lay there basking in the afterglow of her orgasm feeling the rapid beat of his heart against her back. She silently hoped she’d never have to face a moment where such a motion ceased to exist when his blood would eventually run cold. 

“You did a good job.” She said, once he was finished working on his face. It was quite impressive actually. Using just that dirty old mirror and some fishing line. She didn’t think she could have done it to herself even if it also meant the choice between life or death. “I have a first aid kit in my car. I can use that to see what I can do about your hand.” 

“Be quick,” He said, “I don’t suppose you brought any painkillers with you.” 

“Nothing heavier than tylenol but you know we are well stocked at home.” She stroked the side of his face that wasn’t injured and stood up. “Why did you need me to come here, this does seem like something you could have handled on your own.” 

“I could have.” He said, reaching out to take her hand with his good one. He gave it a squeeze, “But that had nothing to do with it.” 

“Then what else could it be?” 

“Things didn’t go exactly according to plan and I’m going to need your help.” He replied, “Get the first aid kit. I'll explain more when you get back.” She nodded, knowing that his immediate care took priority over something he could explain after. If he seemed to think there was time to sit and talk she wasn’t worried about that before making sure he was stable and in as good of health as he possibly could be. As she exited the warehouse again, to get to her car, the gravity of the situation hit her. She had to pause for a moment, catch her breath, and try to stifle the tears that were threatening to fall. In all of this time, though she’d seen him injured, she had never seen him come as close to death as that. She’d also never in her wildest dreams expected for him to say anything about his plans not going as he’d devised them. How bad was it that he wanted her involved? She didn’t know. What she did know was that if someone had done this to him with the intent to end his life, she wanted revenge. Possibly even more than he believed he did at that moment.

[chibimui]

The Apothecary Diaries LN3 Thoughts: Prologue - Ch2

I'm back! Took a bit of a break to do some proper adulting, touch some grass before the winter sets in etc. etc. I was also waiting to get my hands on the actual physical hard copies of the Japanese LN's so I could read the remaining LN's in Japanese!

(Warning: These thoughts may contain spoilers from later light novels all the way up until LN15.)

---

To start things off, in my head I consider this the corresponding "Jinshi" novel to the "Maomao" novel we got in LN2. This novel focuses it's attention much more on the royal family and provides a lot of the missing foundation to our understanding of the previous Emperor and his rule. One of the main conflicts of this novel is also Jinshi's identity and how he struggles to figure out a good way to tell Maomao who he is.

All of this gets presented to us right away in the prologue.

The prologue of LN3 is one of my most favourite openers from almost all the light novels. When you first read it, you aren't even really sure who you're reading about at first until you get to the end and realize that the chapter is actually about Jinshi. And even then, nothing is explicitly clarified. Jinshi is never named as the child, nor are any of the royal members identified either.

This scene painted here is so intense. I'm so excited to see how the anime portrays this (partly because I want to see a baby Jinshi =P). More seriously, It does such a good job of describing the former Emperor as basically this sad, decrepit old man, who is terrified of basically all the woman around him, and then there is Jinshi. Jinshi who is terrifed and has no idea who his own father and grandmother apparently are.

Jinshi was so sheltered as a kid you guys. He wasn't even told about who the members in his family are, or even what position they are. Extra information from the author also has informed us that he basically wasn't allowed to leave his residence until he was much older. It's honestly a wonder Jinshi didn't grow up to be even more of a spoiled brat and I think our understanding of his background really puts into perspective why he continues to be so childish. He had to simultaneously grow up stupidly fast in the public eye, despite having almost no training to exist in the public eye for the early years of his life.

And finally we get to the concern that Jinshi will be holding onto for the entire novel and which resolves itself... kind of disastrously in some ways, but also perfectly in others.

Oh Jinshi. You certainly understand how smart and brilliant Maomao is, but you continue to underestimate how strong Maomao's denial game is. You shall learn in due time my boy.

Chapter 1 - Books

Curious puppy Jinshi strikes again in this chapter! This is one of those moments where it becomes really obvious that Jinshi sometimes kind of just... seeks Maomao out because he can, and he wants to know what she's up to. And gets grumpy when he's reminded that oh yeah - he has a role to play.

Palace Porn Purveyor Maomao also returns, with her receiving a box of "teaching materials" at the doctor's office while Jinshi is there. I love how Maomao tries to dissuade Jinshi from peaking at the stuff by implying it's filled with her underwear--and it works until Gaoshun calls her out on her bluff.

(Look at that curious baby).

By the way, I love the detail that Lady Lihua also loves reading this stuff. It's such a nice addition. Like - yeah okay of course the Emperor, the man, likes porn, but women can like porn too!

This is also hilarious - Gaoshun acting as a personal censor to the porn the Emperor gets to read??? Honestly, why? WHY? WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS GAOSHUN. I still don't really understand why he did this, but it just comes off as so funny to me. Maomao being like "well, he wanted things more intense" and Gaoshun's just like "No.😐".

So after this whole porn shipment debacle we learn that Jinshi actually wanted to contact the porn book publishers for reasons other than getting his hands on more porn! In fact, this was all a way to kickstart Jinshi's plan to improve literacy within the rear palace.

This is just one of many initiatives we shall see Jinshi push for that reveals how he's actually a pretty competent leader. From these efforts and through Maomao's interaction with Xiaolan we actually get to see someone go from completely illiterate--not knowing even how to write her own name--to being able to write Maomao a farewell letter by LN4.

Speaking of Xiaolan, I didn't talk about her much in LN1 and LN2 because she doesn't show up much, but she gets so much more page-time in this novel and the next and I love her. Her interactions with Maomao are so sweet and I genuinely miss her presence in future light novels. I feel like her and Shisui really were true friends for Maomao. Not that her future friends are not also friends, but Maomao really doesn't seem to put up too much pretense with Xiaolan. Xiaolan is easy-going, but also hardy in a way where stuff that Maomao says also doesn't really phase her much either.

She might come off as fairly innocent and naive due to her lack of education, but she certainly is not delicate, squeamish, or a pushover. Case in point.

(Maomao please stop trying to teach people apothecary-related terms plzzzz)

Random aside, but as someone who attended Chinese school - much like what Maomao did for Xiaolan, the first words I learned how to write were also my name! Hilariously though, there was a period of time where I actually wrote my name incorrectly because my uncles had given me a name plate (like something you'd put on your desk) with my Chinese name on it... and it had the wrong character. (One of the characters in my name is 青 but my uncle wrote it as 清).

Chapter 2 - The Cat

This is one of those cute breather chapters that still ends up being very important mainly because we get introduced to two very important characters - yes, I said two, Maomao the cat is just as important as Shisui okay!!!

We also get some more details that flesh out Lady Gyokuyou's character as being more open-minded, practical, and future-thinking.

(she gets my vote for future Empress for sure.)

And then we get our first glimpse as Shisui!

I am excited for anime-only's who will once again get their minds blown halfway through S2 when they realize Shisui being around during this moment was actually significant!!! AHHHHH!!! It's seriously so satisfying how well details and little bits of information click into place in later parts of the story, and rather than making The Apothecary Diaries boring to re-read it makes it so damn fun.

More on that later. For now, the remainder of the chapter is focused on cat-related shenanigans.

This is of course the chapter where Jinshi becomes enlightened as to why he may or may not be attached to cats. Or a very specific cat. I encourage everyone to check out the manga scans of this part--either of the mangas. It's hilarious either way. I love the image of Jinshi just plopping a cat on his face after he has his realization of why he may be so fond of a particular "cat" in his presence.

The reason I'm glossing over all this stuff though is because there is something really specific I wanted to end off this post with! Translation talk!

Specifically I want to talk about the final line in this chapter:

I really just want to highlight how creative this translation is in conveying that Maomao--the cat's name, is a pun. Something that did not have to be explicitly explained in the Japanese text where the original line was:

「どうでもいいが、名前が『毛毛』になってことだけは解せぬ。実に解せぬ猫猫だった」

A literal translation of this sentence being closer to something like:

"It didn't really matter, but Maomao(猫猫) could not understand why the cat's name had to be "Maomao(毛毛)". She truly could not comprehend it."

Now in Japanese, it's very obvious that Maomao--the cat's name--is actually different from Maomao--the person's name, as they are two different kanji, but the similarity in pronunciation was purposeful to make the pun. Also the specific use of どうでもいいが (similar to someone in English flippantly saying "Whatever." *rolls eyes*) and the repetition of 解せぬ (to not comprehend/understand) in the final sentence "実に解せぬ猫猫だった" absolutely implies that Maomao is Not. Amused.

If you had gone with my literal translation though, the entire joke of the pun would not be conveyed--English readers would just assume Maomao the cat literally has the same name as our protagonist, which would be incorrect. They do not have the same name, they just sound the same, and that is what is funny. My literal translation also doesn't really get across Maomao's mood.

The reason I'm highlighting this line is really just to bring praise to translators who are willing to take creative liberties and to help people see that this isn't necessarily a bad thing. I will clarify - I am by no means a professional translator. I took one course in university and then just did some fansubbing. But I find so many people online getting so uppity about "bad translations" etc. and a lot of the time they're just harping on different translations - not necessarily bad ones.

For me, I am definitely someone who sticks to doing more "literal" translations, but that's actually why I really admire folks who don't. I think it makes translation more fun to have a range. At the end of the day, I think the range really depends on how much you want to localize your translation to the second language, or how much you are trying to preserve the artistry of the base language.

Anyway, that's my translator schpiel for today to end off the chapter. I don't know how often I will point out stuff like this because I don't have the novels memorized enough to notice when a creative liberty was taken on the English side of things, but if other things come up I'll probably point it out.

Until next time!

---

Previous LN: Vol 1 - Vol 2

[idolbound]

I think people likely do suspect Meredith might be a little 💅 you know?

Obviously some followers of the Chantry take up vows of chastity, though from what I've been reading, while templars aren't required to take said vows, they do require special permission to marry as they may be required to move to other Circles or to do the Chantry's bidding elsewhere. As it were, if a spouse can provide their own support (e.g., owning land, having a role in another organization like the City Guard [I think of Aveline and Wesley, as he was apparently a former templar]), then permission is granted. This process likely deters most templars from formally marrying, or even maintaining long-term relationships.

That said, it's evident that templars in Kirkwall frequent the Blooming Rose often enough that Meredith eventually orders a raid of the place to find out which of her knights have been paying for sex and 'ruining' the reputation of the Order and its Knight-Commander. Obviously this demonstrates that templars seek and pay for sex without commitment nor worry about an actual relationship.

But, I am also certain that templars do have relationships beyond the Order - and perhaps, also, within it, though this is obviously discouraged and likely to earn reprimand for engaging in activities that could be seen as distracting from their duties (and creating a conflict of interest / tension among the ranks).

Now, with that context in mind, let's get back to Meredith.

Of course, already in Act 1 people are terrified of Meredith, and those who serve her do not want to break rules or cross her. She too wouldn't have any interest in being involved with someone serving under her, though I'm sure there are speculations about her interests. After all, we know from World of Thedas vol 2 that, when she stormed the brothel, she came across a very naked, very erect Jethann and politely and quietly excused herself. I'm sure Jethann has talked about this incident and rumours have spread; either the Knight-Commander is indeed, just a paragon of her faith and upholding a strict vow of chastity, or she isn't interested in men. While not a common assertion, someone, somewhere has probably drunkenly theorized about it. Like all the other rumours about Meredith, I think this one would certainly be among them.

Additionally, and this is in the game itself, but if Hawke is male and 'flirtatiously' compliments Meredith, she shuts him down by saying "I do not wear this armour for how it looks" and all but rolls her eyes at him. If Hawke is female, she simply says nothing (again, likely that they forgot to record a line / chose not to), but sometimes actions speak louder than words!

Now, in my own personal headcanon, I believe that as a Knight-Templar, Meredith had to deal with her templar brothers finding her attractive and desiring her in that way, which in response, she had to assert over and over, her utter disinterest in them. Most of these boys and young men thought they were rejected because Meredith was so focused on her studies, but others really found it hard to believe she would reject them. Obviously, this started the rumour mill about Meredith, both among her own cohort and beyond; after all, she was already a contentious initiate, since she already had an 'in' to doing well in the Order ahead of her peers because she was Knight-Captain Kell's unofficial adoptive daughter. Her blatant rejections towards her fellow knights' advances only added to that, with speculations ranging from the fact she already had a secret lover outside of the Gallows, to the fact she simply preferred the company of the fairer sex.

While it was true that Meredith was intensely focused on her duties and becoming the best Templar she could be, she was well aware of her romantic interest and sexual attraction toward other women early on (likely around age 16-17). I think as a ward of the Chantry that Meredith likely developed some close, possibly homoerotic friendships with other girls who grew up alongside one another, but obviously as Meredith became a templar initiate and stayed in the barracks of the Gallows, some connections may have been lost over time.

As an adult and new Knight-Templar, I believe Meredith - young, tall, and handsome - did have numerous illicit affairs with Chantry Sisters over the years, including when she became Knight-Captain, but stopping when she became Knight-Commander. As I've discussed, Meredith is hypersexual and this affects her relationships, but during this time, because of her duties, she is never able to form a long-term romantic relationship, preferring short-lived and secretive sexual relations, hidden by the cover of nightfall and the shadows in the darkest corners of the Chantry. While she has always been hypervigilant about, well, just about everything (due to her PTSD), there have always been wandering eyes and listening ears that notice such things.

In the timeline of Kirkwall, as mentioned above, I don't think such a rumour would become known by Meredith as most people are frightened of her and wouldn't dare mention it, but I do think the templars who have known her since the beginning, and those who have perhaps seen or heard a little too much, might know about where her preferences lie. In Thedas, for the most part, it would seem that having same-sex attraction is not seen as inherently bad or evil, though according to Brother Gentivi, in some places it is considered a quirk of character or sometimes scandal if done indiscreetly , or it can be accepted provided a noble still contribute to procreation and reproducing heirs for bloodlines.

In this case, given Meredith's position as Knight-Commander, and the other actions (or inaction) she takes regarding the templar-mage conflict and ruling the city, people knowing her sexuality is truly just another piece of gossip shared over ale in Lowtown, though one that may invoke further judgement by some.

[waltwhitmansbeard]

turned my water into wine #50

surprise, bitch, bet you thought you'd seen the last of me. this one was prompted by duchesscharliejames on ao3. see my masterpost.

There aren't a great many things that Grog takes seriously. Ale. Bedding women. His axe, which he sharpens with reverence every night before bed. His position within the Royal Guard, even though technically there are no more royals to guard. He's content to keep an eye on the young once-royals when they gallivant about, trusts that his size and his scowl will keep any and all threats away from his charges.

But what Grog sometimes fails to account for is how wily young children can be. Grog is fast, but not as fast as them, and it's easier to keep threats from them than it is to keep them from threatening themselves. Scanlan has accused Grog on more than one occasion of having a death wish—yes, his first thought upon being confronted by an owlbear was to wrestle it, is that so insane?—but his impulsivity could never compare to the way Vax and Keyleth's children throw themselves head-first into danger. How many times has Grog retrieved them from a tree they could climb up but not down, or snatched them back just before they darted right beneath a horse's hooves? Grog takes keeping these young ones alive very seriously, because it is, quite frankly, very difficult.

When Vilya and her visiting cousin, Vesper, wish to go play bandits in the woods, Grog is more than happy to join, mostly because he, too, loves playing bandits. The forest at the edge of Zephrah is bare this time of year, most of the leaves already littering the floor, which the girls crunch happily as they dash between trees. Grog plods along, doing his best to keep both excitable girls in his view at all times.

Vesper runs up to him and tugs on his trouser leg. "Grog, will you be a scary monster?"

Grog would love to be a scary monster. He fixes his face into a terrible grimace and roars. The girls shriek with delight and take off, and Grog gives chase. Vesper was closer, so he goes after her first, taking long, slow strides after her as she howls. He lets her get away from him for a minute or two before swooping in and catching her, lifting her high into the air as she wriggles and squeals and laughs.

Putting on his best monster voice, deep and silly, Grog says loudly, "Mmm, one little girl to eat, but I think TWO would be even better!"

Just as he turns to head after Vilya, he hears a high-pitched, terrified scream, and Grog knows in his bones that it is not the excited scream Vesper gave while being chased. He tears off at once, trying to remember the direction in which he saw Vilya run. Vesper is tucked under one arm like a ball. "Grog, was that Vilya?"

She sounds scared, and Grog doesn't know what to tell her, because he's scared, too. "I think so." His words are punctuated by a growl, low and ominous. It's coming from their left, so Grog turns and moves in that direction. Ahead, he can see her, little Vilya, back up against a tree, but she's not moving, save for the tremble Grog can see even from here.

He stops, turns, and sets Vesper high up in the branches of a tree. "Stay here," he commands, keeping his voice low. "Do not make a sound, and do not climb down on your own." Vesper nods, eyes wide with terror.

Grog's instinct is to creep forward, but the leaf litter will be too loud under foot to allow for stealth. Instead, he bounds in Vilya's direction, throwing himself, snarling and huge, between her and what he now sees to be a mountain lion ready to pounce. He roars, not the playful roar from before, but a powerful, booming, furious roar. The mountain lion ducks even closer to the ground, and so Grog takes a large, threatening step forward. Clearly decided that the delicious child would not be worth the risk, the big cat slinks off, disappearing between the trees.

Before he can turn around, Grog feels something slam into the back of his leg as tiny arms wrap around him. Vilya is shaking so much Grog's teeth chatter. He spins as best he can and crouches down in front of her. "Are you alright, Vily?"

Vilya lets go of his leg to throw her arms around his neck, and he catches her easily. "That was really scary."

Grog hugs her tight. "Yeah, it was. I haven't been that scared in a long time."

Vilya looks up at him, confused. "But you weren't scared. You were brave."

"Well, those two things can happen at the same time, Vily. I was brave in front of the mountain lion, because it's my job to keep you safe. But before that? I was very scared that something bad was going to happen to you."

"Oh." She chews her lip thoughtfully. "I'm glad you were scared, then, because it meant you could be brave, and I really needed you to be brave."

Grog hugs her again. "I'll always be brave for you, Vily, don't you worry. But hey." He tweaks her nose with his massive finger. "You were pretty brave, too."

Her eyes go wide. "I was?"

"You stared down a mountain lion. That's some hero stuff if I've ever saw it." She giggles, and he lifts her up to sit on one of his shoulders, and it's a short walk back to the tree where he left Vesper.

"VIL!" She scrambles onto Grog's other shoulder when he approaches and throws her arms around her cousin over his head. "I was really scared!"

"Me too," Vilya replies, "but I was also brave."

As Grog sets off back toward the cottage on the edge of the castle grounds, Vilya begins to tell Vesper all about her mountain lion encounter. Vesper listens in rapt attention, waiting for the end to say, "Whoa. You have got to tell everyone that story when we get home."

True fear strikes Grog right in the heart—he does not want to lose this job. "Uh, maybe we keep this adventure to ourselves, alright, girls?"