#still played. or have something similar to like

[mage-ical-character-person]

Hatoful Boyfriend mention…? I gotta… I gotta talk about pigeon dating simulator that seems like a joke game and is a joke game but is also lore

hehe lore

Pigeon dating game… it is a masterpiece… many routes don’t end in actual dating, but if you don’t pursue a bird boyfriend the bird government kills you because clearly that’s proof that humans and birds can’t integrate together. You play as a human girl who lives in a cave. The cave has a doorbell. You get sent a cooked bird in one route and don’t find it weird despite birds is people. You get decapitated in more than one route. All the characters are pngs of real life birds. Your teacher is committing identity theft but that’s not really acknowledged until the Christmas special sequel where a bird who hates your school nurse steals another bird’s blood and tries to blow up the school with the power of fangirls.

…still not as weird as the dating sim where all the options are YouTubers and all the featured YouTubers actively like sent them voicelines and endorsed it what was up with that? You guys remember that? PeanutButterGamer was there?

Dating sims are so ?? to me that they’re almost beyond parody so might as well have whatever Hatoful Boyfriend has going on. I don’t think it’s a deconstruction of dating sims but it sure is subversive…

Tonally very similar to something like Centaurworld.

kitten, I don't know how to say this but your "subversive deconstruction of the dating sim genre" is utterly pedestrian. you're getting outflanked by tokimeki memorial and hatoful boyfriend. we're taking your renpy away and recycling the art assets to make a rpg maker game about having awkward sex in a bathroom stall

[nthspecialll]

I will never stop thinking about how much Hosea loved Bessie and how little Dutch loved Annabelle. It is something I have talked about before but I only get more and more upset about.

Hosea talks about his wife always, around the campfire, to strangers, while playing dominos and while chating with friends. He brings her up at any occation meanwhile Dutch only mentions Annabelle in one, when he needs to justify revenge.

We know so much about Bessie, we know her likes and dislikes, we somewhat know her personality, we know what she looked like and how she affected and still affects Hosea. We know nothing about Annabelle, has been reduced to "Dutch's girlfriend" while Bessie is a woman of her own.

I was replaying A Gilded Cage and Hosea stopped a man who said "Pardon, I have to go see my fiance" to tell him "a wife is a wonderful thing," in this mournful voice, and I knew Dutch would never do that. Annabelle is more useful to him dead than alive. While she was alive she was most likely similar to Molly, a sign of superiority but also someone he had to take care of, a burden. While dead he can bring her up to justify his hatred of Colm but he doesn't need to give her anything back.

Bessie's name is said in love and longing, Annabelle's is in bloodlust and revenge.

(Tags: @photo1030 @pinescent-and-gingerbread )

[readwritealldayallnight]

(part of the Wife at First Sight series)

When Ghost had asked if you would help him with something, you’d answered yes without a question. You didn’t ask for details, smiling and thanking him every time he opened each door that led to the base’s parking garage, giggling when he even insisted on opening the truck door for you. You’d come to grow fond of your work husband, appreciating how he never failed to make you feel special.

You sometimes wished his affections were genuine, rather than part of what you’d assumed was a strange hazing ritual in the military (which you couldn’t deny kind of worked, the two of you had grown closer hadn’t you? Was that the point of hazings?).

But you knew that line of thinking wouldn’t lead anywhere, other than potential heartbreak. He surely was only joking around, wouldn’t return your feelings. That’s why you played along with the ruse, but tried your best not to fall too hard for the man who was making that more and more impossible.

Still though, you couldn’t deny the pang in your heart when you discovered the errand he requested your help with, was to go look at engagement rings.

Did he actually have someone special in his life? Someone he hoped to propose to?

You felt guilty, thinking there might be another person out there that he loves enough to ask them to marry him, all the while you’re enjoying his attention at work, pretending he could ever actually want you as his wife.

You follow him into the shop, eyes widening at the never ending cases and displays of shiny, glittering jewelry, as far as the eye can see.

He chuckles at your expression, telling you not to worry your pretty little head over any price tags, just to pick out whichever one you liked.

You appreciated that he trusts your judgement so much that he wanted your opinion on which ring to buy his partner, and so you take your time looking through them all, even if it makes you sad to picture him slipping this ring onto another person’s finger.

Gaze scanning the displays, your eye is instantly caught by one ring and one ring only. You point to it, Ghost humming in agreement, signalling for one of the employees behind the counter to unlock the case.

The man pulls the ring out, handing it to the Lieutenant who examines it in between gloved fingers.

“Let’s see how it fits.” He murmurs, taking your left hand in his and slipping the band onto your ring finger, both of your eyes locked on the movement.

“Like a glove.” The employee says with a smile, moving to gather a selection of ring boxes he hopes to show you both, seeing that the ring has evidently found its owner and fits perfectly.

“It’s really beautiful Ghost.” You tell him, admiring the ring as he admires your expression. “Your wife’s a lucky woman.” You add, thinking of the mystery woman you’re convinced he’s buying this for, assuming you must have a similar ring size to her or something, if he’s having you try it on.

Your eyes meet his own warm gaze as his hand folds your fingers, bringing the ring up to his lips to press a kiss through the mask.

“Not as lucky as I am to be her husband.”

[oimitocat]

STRAY KIDS REACTION….

… to boyfriend!reader being angry and they find it hot (nsfw warning) (hyung line!)

ᡴꪫ CHAN… was extremely similar to you. you’re a lay-backed person, sure sometimes you have episodes where you’re not exactly in the mood to socialize but still, you’re charismatic and let things slide more than he does. you always say it’s because you don’t have energy to entertain that stuff.

yet, seeing you angry — TRULY angry, was something he’d never think he’d get to see. so color him surprised when he hears you shout and pace. the furrow of your brows, your darkened eyes. you looked… good. that tone, he’d never heard it and… it stirred something in the pit of his stomach.

“something wrong?” he asks after a while of eye fucking you.

“company said i need to go on a damn hiatus because some shitheads are spreading a rumor. i could care less, why do they have to make it seem like i’m anxious or whatever?”

chan blinks. “rumor?”

“yeah, super stupid. all i did was call them to say i wasn’t happy with how our last show ended. dude, they literally couldn’t get my headset to work, i had to wing the timing and stuff. their lack of work effort pisses me off.” you groan.

“i know but…” chan pauses when you glare at him. he swallows, “hey, i mean a hiatus is good. you get to rest.”

“i don’t want to rest-“

“i get to have you all to myself without worrying about you missing out on your schedule.”

“if you’re bored, play with me. if you’re angry, take it out on me. you’ll have all the time to do so.” he grins.

you blink, “i- what?” and you can’t even be angry anymore… just frustrated. but chan will also take that.

ᡴꪫ MINHO… had the habit of annoying you and frustrating you sometimes, but never actually making you angry. as idol’s there is a lot of things that can drive you mad. minho for example hates wardrobe malfunctions. fans went crazy over some clips of him angry and upset over a few outfits and so have you.

you never really cared for much, at the end of the day you get a nice paycheck and you’re good to go. still, that doesn’t mean you don’t care about your job. so when he sees that your mic isn’t working and you’re more than upset at the lack of resolve from the sound techs…. he simply cannot look away.

even when you get off the stage, you’re glaring and absolutely not in the mood. everything you do is with anger— ripping off your headset, wiping off your sweat, loosening your outfit. goodness, you look delectable.

“you mad?” he asks teasingly, of course he has to tease.

“i’m not in the mood minho.”

oh! that anger had a pretty tone. “fuck,” he breathes out, pressing himself closer to you, “you gonna take it out on me?” and your eyes bored into him.

he definitely didn’t regret it later.

ᡴꪫ CHANGBIN…. didn’t know you could get angry. he’s only seen you be all soft and gushy. he’s seen you be defensive and stern but never angry. he’s literally making his way to the studio when he hears your voice boom outside the door. worried, he walks in and sees how your standing and yelling at the other producer.

“what’s-?”

“-how long it’s taken us to keep these files and you forget to save them?!”

the producer fidgets, “doesn’t change have a copy? he always has a copy-“

“THAT DOESN’T MEAN THE COPY IS THE SAME AS WHAT WE WERE ADDING TO IT YESTERDAY! you can’t recreate something that was authentic!” you pace, pulling at your hair, “shit man, i worked so hard on that!”

“y/n calm down,” he tries, “what file is it-?”

“changbin, i literally cannot right now.” and you leave.

in the end the file wasn’t deleted, just misplaced in the wrong folder to which it was saved. still, the lack of clarity pissed you off. you didn’t want to work that day and changbin was trying so hard to coax you. yet, seeing you mad was so good for some reason. changbin knew he could make you feel better (totally not feeling you with his hands? and you being angry was making things fun.

ᡴꪫ HYUNJIN…. doesn’t remember a time where you’ve been angry. he’s also never even wanted to. he doesn’t like noise and he remembers how you always say you blow up when angry. hence, when he hears you slam your fist on the desk, he jumps. you’re dramatic like him, so he tried not to think much of it except…

“are you kidding me?” he hear you say with an ominous tone. low and sultry, makes him pause. “so you’re saying that you’re wasting my damn time.”

he peeks over at, seeing you frown and glare at the wall while on the phone. he doesn’t think he’s ever seen that look on you… his mind starts to wander…. would that expression look at him? you’re talking, angry, clearly. and it’s so…

“why are you angry?” he asks when you hang up with an insult and throw your phone of the desk.

“cus apparently i have to do everything myself. why the hell would you-“ and he zones out, watching your angrily rant.

you plop down on the chair, angry. he stands and walks over to you, desire in his gut. “baby don’t be mad…” “well i wouldn’t if they did what i was paying them to do.” “-let’s get your mind off that, yeah?”

and boy did he.

[ilovegirlssomuch123]

fellow feminists, I encourage you to read the entirety of the above response to my question. It details, with great accuracy, the incompatibility of trans activism and feminism, and how it intersects with male activism. I agree with previous on this point completely, and it's important for us to see it from the horses mouth.

I would like to respond point by point.

First of course, this response starts with a personal attack on what is a legitimate question in response to the proposed problematic nature of 4b. Since deciding not to date or have sex with someone is not a form of violence or discrimination, making choices on who you date is not bigoted. Instead of addressing this, the responder makes an attack on the credibility of me asking the question, since refuting the point of course not on the table. the proper way to deal with people concerned with the bodily autonomy of women TERFs is ad hominem, since engaging with their ideas is dangerous.

The 4B movement reduces the idea of the patriarchy to men vs women, and not a systemic issue that anyone can uphold and fall victim to, regardless of gender.

Newsflash, it's BEEN men versus women since the beginning of time. This is not, and should not be news. Men being emboldened to chant "your body my choice" is only the latest iteration of a long history of oppression. Women are conditioned to be complicit in their own oppression, of course, since they are punished for not upholding societal norms associated with being a woman. It IS men versus women when women are prevented from participating in the political process by men. It IS men versus women when the vast majority of sexual assault and domestic violence is male on female. It IS men versus women when men get to bar women from healthcare. To ignore the role that sex plays in sexism directly obfuscates the issue and prevents class consciousness.

And because of that, they have very strict rules on What Is A Woman and What Is Not. News flash, it's the same transphobia and TERF rhetoric we've been fighting so hard in the states.

A definition that includes over half of the entire human population, and not the 0.5% of men who want to be included in that definition, is by no means strict. It is precise. Women are oppressed FOR being female, not for identifying with it. Trans men are oppressed for being female. Women are raped because of who we are, because of our bodies, and because rape against women is something a man is rarely punished for. Women are denied access to schools, to jobs, to positions of legitimate power based on their sex. Not because of some mystical femininity we possess.

There can't be a trans-inclusive version of this movement because to do so, you need hard lines on who's a man and who's a woman. If we're excluding men, that means trans men will either get gendered correctly and marked as the enemy, be misgendered in order to be included, or the language shifts to people with uterus' versus people with penises, which is just extra steps to disguising transphobia/bioessentialism/transmedicalism.

This is 100% accurate. There can't be a trans-inclusive version of this movement, because the purpose behind this movement is to stop giving the oppressor class access to the oppressed. If we can not have class consciousness- if we can't define who is a danger to us- the entire thing loses all meaning. Men still benefit from the patriarchy even if they change pronouns. They still commit crimes against women at a similar rate to cisgender men, sometimes at a greater rate. The purpose of this movement is to protect women by removing a great source of danger- the threat of male violence.

And trans women will continue not to be taken seriously and labeled as a threat despite how vulnerable that group already is. There is no safety here.

Trans women are no more of a threat than men are. are they oppressed for gender non-conformity? in many cases, yes. However, that in no way erases the real threat they pose to women in the same way cisgender men pose a threat. Ministry of justice data from 2020 shows that of the imprisoned population, trans women were imprisoned for sex crimes 17.8 times more than cisgender women*, and similar studies show that trans women overwhelmingly follow male patterns of criminality as opposed to female ones. The fact that women are waking up to the threat men in their lives pose is long overdue, and men don't get to opt out of being perceived as a real threat just because they're oppressed on a different axis.

*source

You also have to think about what happens next. The, "Then What?". What changes will it bring, how will it end the patriarchy? So you're not interacting with men anymore - To what end?

There are so, so many ways this benefits women, but I'll name a few.

More than half (51.1%) of female victims of rape reported being raped by an intimate partner.*

Around 1 in 10 women (9.4%) in the US have been raped by an intimate partner.*

Around a quarter of women (24.3%) are the victim of severe physical violence by an intimate partner.*

Two-thirds (66.2%) of female stalking victims were stalked by current or former intimate partners.*

*source

the vast majority of these cases are men against women.

The list goes on, and on.

This isn't some meaningless political statement. This is a matter of safety. Sometimes, a matter of life and death.

What happens to society if you exclude 50% of a population, indiscriminately, over something they have no control over?

Not dating or having sex with men is not discrimination, it is women holding autonomy over their lives. Would you say this same thing to a lesbian? To an asexual woman? 4b does not say you can't be friends with or have meaningful friendships with men. It does not mean reject them from positions of power, it does not mean diminishing the way they benefit from their position in the social hierarchy in any way other than refusing to be intimate with them. This is not violence, this is peace and safety for women.

But as an individual, it's easy for these people to say, "too bad! They deserve to suffer!"

Men will say this, loudly, publicly, about women and no one bats an eye. Men can scream "your body my choice" and yet women are the unreasonable ones for deciding to not share their intimate life with them? Especially when they have a 10% chance of being raped by them? A 24% chance of being severely physically abused by them? Women HAVE been suffering. Men being unable to find a date is NOT suffering in any way we should care about in comparison.

And if you actually are trying to break free of the punitive system of justice, if you actually want to work towards restorative justice and leave behind the Incarceration State of Mind, then you need to take a step out of your individual point of view and do what's best for the community as a whole.

Women have been told since the beginning of time that what we need to do is do more for men, change for them, deal with them, not give up on them. This is an incredibly regressive point of view. It is not, and never is a woman's job to put herself in the situation of potential abuse in order to make an individual man (or men as a collective) happy. Women doing what's best for the community starts with herself; how can she pour from an empty cup? How can she find the energy to volunteer if she's being beaten at home? If women as a whole focused on uplifting themselves more instead of men, we would see the community be uplifted as a result.

It's not your job to fix every fuck ass dude who comes along TO AN EXTENT.

To an extent? It's NEVER a woman's job to fix a "fuck ass dude". ever. for any reason whatsoever. I don't care if that fuck ass dude is her son. Women need to go beyond not fixing fuck ass dudes. Women need to refuse to spend time, energy, and resources on fuck ass dudes altogether. This kind of thinking is never returned from men to women, and that's by design.

And that's ok, but as a whole, we can't just give up on men and let them fend for themselves, because someone will find them and radicalize them against women further. That's what's already happening, we can't afford to make it worse!

The solution to reduce oppression is NOT by appealing to the moral conscious of our oppressors, and never has been. Women did not get to where we are by begging for scraps. The only power we have is the power we take and don't compromise on. Refusing to date or have sex with men is a completely non violent form of retaking our power, and it is an incredibly beneficial and effective one. It is not the onus of the oppressed to prevent their oppression by being nice to their oppressors. Men are becoming more radicalized because of women having more rights. That does NOT mean we back down on those rights. That means we keep ourselves and our sisters away from threats as effectively as we can. That means not putting ourselves in situations where we are in danger of being raped, abused, and degraded.

There's nothing wrong with being choosy about who you date/sleep with/marry/have kids with. Be choosy about who you're friends with! In most cases I think it's best to be. But if you think you're gonna avoid toxic relationships, abuse, misogyny, etc by changing your only metric to Women™️, you're gonna fail. Personal choice is one thing, activism is another.

It's absolutely possible for a woman to stop dating an abusive man and start dating an abusive woman. The difference is that it's not nearly the amount of risk as dating a man, and women are substantially less likely to be violently sexist in the way men are.

Sorry if this is rambling, but I'm scared, I'm depressed, and I'm pissed off. It hurts to see people I know care about queer people and community building forget the dog whistles and fall into cultish radical groups.

We're all scared, depressed, and pissed off. The United States just elected a misogynistic rapist into office. Republicans have the majority, and we have some very scary changes coming up ahead. ESPECIALLY in this climate, keeping ourselves safe is paramount. 4b is not violence against men, it's not even radical. It's the sane response to seeing how much danger you're in as a woman in America. Feminism is demonized on the right and the left, because there's no class consciousness among women, there's no awareness of our shared experiences, and thus there can not be mobilization for change on any meaningful scale that doesn't have the approval of men.

People like prev will do the most to say that anything that hurts men is bad. 4b DOES hurt men. That's the whole fucking point. Women are continuously drained of time, resources, emotional labor, unpaid labor, to the benefit of men. Men being forced to carry their weight is a natural consequence of women deciding not to deal with them, and it's something that they absolutely will whine and complain about. Women do NOT need the message that they should worry more about men's well being, women need the message to prioritize themselves and their safety. That's what 4b is about, and that's why you will see many people in the coming days like prev who talk about how awful it supposedly is.

and American women i am being SO serious when i say we need to learn from our South Korean sisters and follow their steps with the 4B movement. the house of representatives, the senate, the supreme court, and the president are ALL red now. if american men want to control our bodies and choices so much then let’s give them HELL!

read about the 4B movement:

[cursedtransby]

Ryoshu and Grief

Ryoshu as a sinner is defined by her lust for blood, art, and the beauty that comes with both. However I think a large chunk of people realize that this is not her only trait, and this is something that has slowly been fed out across the Cantos and Egos we’ve gotten for her.

Spoilers for basically all of Limbus.

Since her reveal, we’ve had some plenty of reads that PMoon is not taking her inspiration, Hell Screen, as mere setup for an insane artist. Her constant connection with Spider-Bud and family shows that she is at the bare minimum connected to the lore of the family torn apart by lust for a perfect painting of Hell itself.

Ryoshu’s identity in relation to Hell Screen and a traditional family setup is something that honestly deserves more attention in a separate post, but it’s clear something massive happened between her family and it’s caused her a massive trauma response that triggers grief quite often...even if it doesn't seem like that.

Most of Ryoshu’s behavior is opposite to how people usually think of grieving, but it’s still a form of grieving nonetheless. She tries to repress her emotions through increasing forms of ecstasy. As someone who has depression and has gone through losses of my own, one of the possible responses you can have is to try to chase some emotion, regardless of what it is and how unhealthy it is for yourself and those around you. You’ll do anything for that warm feeling of positivity about yourself.

Regardless of this though, that sadness still exists in Ryoshu. We know this thanks to her mood during Canto 7 being rather quiet aside from the betrayal of Hugo, where she immediately decides to cut off his arms due to it being “unoriginal and played out”. Otherwise she’s being bristly towards the concept of family, but not actively aggressive or particularly violent. In fact, the one time I'd say she has a strong reaction in this Canto is to Sinclair's interpretation of her usual acronym stuff.

Ryoshu and Sinclair honestly ALSO deserve their own post because there is a lot to go into, but to put a cap on it I'll simply state that Ryoshu has a lot of emotions regarding Sinclair. It's the only thing that can rouse her aside from the art of betrayal she sees from Hugo, because the concept of family triggers her that much. There's a reason that the ONLY Ryoshu ID to have Gloom in their kit is Spider Eyes, because she's having to directly confront the very concept of family and protecting others, and it's reflected in her giving out more support than most of her other kits and in story by helping calm Yi Sang.

This sadness and desire to care exists across the Mirror Worlds as well, she just does a far better job of hiding it under her usual veneer of "insane artist only pursuing ecstasy". Edgar Family Butler is all about taking the role of caretaker of things, and she normally helps take care of her fellow butlers, only changing her attitude when they are about to be raided by the Wild Hunt and die. Even in something like her W Corp or 7 Association identities, she still has her kit showing off some support by giving out fragility for the team or even giving out barrier in W Corp.

No matter what she does, it's inescapable for her, and something she is desperately hiding away in order to keep things moving. The very same way Yosihide continued his painting, Ryoshu keeps spreading violence to hide away her grief. But it will always be there, underneath the surface, if you look closely enough.

Overall, it's a fascinating take on grief and how one can cope with it, and PMoon has always done a wonderful job on not taking the typical route with things. They did it before with Roland's grief, and it's clear that they're doing similar things with Hell Screen's adaptation. Also thanks to @lu-is-not-ok for inspiring me to write up more about one of my favorite sinners, since their posts analyzing The Red Chamber and Hong Lu fascinate me to no end. Additionally thanks to @ryoshudoodles for making beautiful art themselves and showing off the duality of Ryoshu's lust and gloom beautifully.

[fromchaostocosmos]

I haven't looked at polls before these so I can't tell you about them but I can tell you is this:

In 2016, 2020, and 2024 the highest voting bloc for democrats was the Black voting bloc and the second highest voting bloc for democrats was the Jewish voting bloc.

Both of these voting blocs are very consistent in there voting for democrats.

In these past three elections where Trump was on the ballot the amount of the Jews that voted for him never went higher then 25% of the overall voting bloc.

And keep in the mind that we only make up 2% of the entire USA population.

2% So the fact that we have been consistently the second highest voting bloc for democrats in the past 3 presidential elections (possibly more like I said I haven't looked at the data for prior elections) is something I think is really impressive.

I also think that the Black voting bloc has also been highest voting bloc for democrats is also very impressive because I believe if I am recalling correctly for the most recent census data their population numbers is around 14-15% of the overall USA population.

That is not even a quarter of the USA population.

Neither of our groups are monoliths. We all come from different states and different communities and so we may have different need then others from our group who are from another community, but we understood what was at stake, we understood the brief, we understood what our votes we about.

I also have to wonder if the fact that historically both our people's have been treated as secondary citizens and specifically have had our rights and rights that comes with citizenship withheld from us plays a very large role in why there is always such a turnout from both our communities when it comes to voting.

While Jews have not had our right to vote suppressed in the USA we have had suppressed in other countries and that is a memory that does get passed down and a message in how important the ability to vote is as well.

And again while Jim Crow laws did not affect Jews in the USA there were aspects of segregation that did affect Jews such sundown towns, white only neighborhoods, white only job listings, and more.

And we did and still do carry with us the memory of all the places and time when we were stripped of and never allowed in the first place the rights belonging to citizens and civil rights.

So we understand how important it is to safeguard these things.

Something I know that the Black community with their history deeply understands and deeply cherishes these rights because they too know just how easy it is too lose these rights and/or not have them in the first place.

And even though our histories and experiences are not one to one the exact same there is enough similar experiences and history that I can look and see and I have a sort intimacy of familiarity because of those experiences and history and I can imagine that it is the same in reverse and because when I see how that history and experiences manifest, that trauma, and that pain as well in myself and my people what I hear from the Black community about how their pain and trauma, and history and experiences manifest sounds so familiar.

Again I am not saying it is the same because it is not and we have different experiences and I respect that. Rather I see a sort of reflection, and I feel a kinship, and I hope that I provide that same sort of reflection and kinship too.

It's insanely sad to read post after post of gentiles talking about how at least we all have each other and all we can do now is draw strength from our queer and leftist communities bc Jews literally cannot do this. Like you all completely and so utterly turned your backs on Jews this year and we have no one. Except other Jews. Who make up 2% of the American population. It's so great for you all that you can hold hands and sing Kumbaya but you made supporting Hamas and retweeting twitter funny men with literal terrorist hate symbols in their usernames normal. So no some of us cannot draw strength from the queer and leftist communities. Some of us just have to sit here and take it as you all reassure each other that none of this is your fault even though it so obviously is.

[simplynims]

David Shaw Headcanons

Some David headcanons I wanted to share alongside a few minor Angel ones, enjoy!

Davids dad used to bake Davids favorite cake for his birthdays when he was still alive. After his death it's hard for David to enjoy his birthday because it reminds him of the loss. When David and Angel got together, Angel despite being god awful at baking or cooking in general, still went out of their way to make him a cake for his birthday. The cake was borderline inedible but the whole gesture was something that David really appreciated.

Definitely a personal headcanon of how he looks like but I see him with more longer thicker hair, his dad had similar hair while his mom in the photos and videos he has of her has shorter hair. If he were to ever cut his hair shorter, I'm sure he'd definitely look more like his mom.

I can see him having a personal journal to write in, especially around the time his dad passed. He wasn't able to grieve properly due to his position as being the new alpha so he turned to writing his thoughts down instead. It was easier with a private journal and in a way it helped ground him enough to get through the week. David doesn't write much in his journals nowadays due to finally being able to properly grieve and Angel being a major part of his support system. But, he does occasionally look back on those journal entries to see how far he's truly come.

David is very much a well groomed person and takes care of his hair very well. Conditions that motherfucker almost every day and shampoos it every 3-4 days thoroughly. It's just part of his routine that he sticks to.

Really doesn't like energy drinks in general but absolutely is a coffee addict.

Has matching Minecraft skins on Minecraft with Angel whenever they play together.

Angel managed to convince him to watch a few Aphmau videos with them specifically the Pheonix Drop series and he lowkey was invested in Garroth as a character. Angel teased David that he was like Aaron in the series and now David doesn't like him anymore. (He doesn't hate Aaron, it's definitely more lighthearted than he lets on but he'd rather let Asher cook dinner any day than admit that to Angel.)

David is strangely really good at tic tac toe, he always manages to win and believe me when I say his friends have TRIED to beat him at the game with little to no success.

Makes it a point to try and cook with Angel at least once per week, quality time is apart of his love language and he treasures every moment with them.

David usually keeps his hair up in a ponytail but has let Angel stylize it before when they're just relaxing.

During the Quinn situation, David was definitely on high alert with the safety of his mate. He knows Quinn isn't stupid enough to try but knowing Angel could've gotten hurt like Darlin's friend who got attacked just by associating with them shook him to his core. I don't think he'd ever forgive himself if something did happen to them and he wasn't there to protect them.

Davids dad was a really good cook and made a lot of his own recipes, he always wrote them down on note cards which David has saved and kept safe in a tiny wooden box in the kitchen. When David misses his dad, especially around the anniversary of his death, he gets out one of those recipes and cooks it. It's nostalgic for him and eases some of that grief that still lingers.

David really hates the cold so when winter hits, Angel is his personal space heater throughout those frosty months. Though, he does like spooking Angel a lil bit with how cold his hands can get. He put his hands under their shirt one time when his hands were particularly cold and they nearly jumped.

Angel gives David playful love bites and David loves recieving and giving them.

David has trained his body to wake up 10 minutes before his actual alarm goes off in the morning so he can cuddle Angel longer.

Dark chocolate is his favorite, it's not too sweet and has more health benefits compared to regular chocolate.

[theladyofthevarioussorrows]

In honor of Lestat de Lioncourt's 264th birthday, I present to you...

Written in Blood, or the Play in which The Brat Prince Ties the Knot

Part I (of IV)

Fandom: The Vampire Chronicles (Gothic horror novel series, 1976-2018); Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire (TV series, 2022-present)

Pairing: Lestat de Lioncourt/fem!reader; Lestat de Lioncourt/You

Word count: 3,900+

Characters: Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid, the best version…­­­the only one that matters, obviously); fem!reader; The Vampire Armand (lol ouch); Nicolas de Lenfent (even bigger ouch, RIP); Santiago; Estelle; Celeste; Eglee; Sam; Gustav; Quang Pham; pretty much the entire Theatre des Vampires.

Summary: Fem!reader is the newest addition to the Theatre des Vampires, and Lestat becomes smitten with her (of course he does, the little whore!). Lestat’s allure, charm, beauty, and viciousness are not lost on the reader, and she falls for him (I mean, who wouldn’t, let’s be honest). With fem!reader being the freshest member of the Coven, Santiago “initiates” her (similar to how he brought Claudia in) by casting her as Lestat’s co-star in the next play as his love interest. The play, overseen reluctantly by Armand is about a wedding (in the vein of The Taming of the Shrew, As You Like It, or something similar but accurate to the time period, that is the vibe…Lestat, little miss Lady Macbeth himself, “barely Balthazar” Armand, “too old to play Hamlet, too young to play Polonius” Santiago, and I are all Shakespeare girlies, so I thought it would make sense); fem!reader and Lestat are actually getting legally married, unbeknownst to the mortal audience. Fem!reader and Lestat are to be the bride and groom, Santiago is the Justice of the Peace, and the rest of the TDV are the wedding party. While Armand is still the Coven leader, he “directs” the play and Nicki leads the orchestra. Things do not go the way they were planned to go (in Armand’s case); a story of love, sex, and vampire drama unfolds.

Warnings and additional tags: New/eventual relationship, established relationship, smut (P in V), fluff, mention of sex, mention of masturbation, (F and M), oral sex (F and M receiving), all characters (except the reader, duh) are written to be as close to the way they are in the books as well as the show to the best of my ability, reader-insert, reader-interactive, use of Y/N, Lestat gives the reader pet names in French (this is Lestat, after all), mutual pining, flirting, slight voyeurism, slight exhibitionism (is anything Lestat does really a secret? No, not really), blood drinking, blood sucking, bloodletting, biting, gore, violence, murder (feeding on humans is the only instance of this), both Lestat and fem!reader are bisexual, age gap (fem!reader is younger than Lestat by at least a bit but it doesn’t really matter as much because he himself is a new-ish vampire; Lestat would still be somewhere in his thirties in mortal years by the show’s timeline), Lestat is very seductive and persuasive (fem!reader doesn’t need much persuading, so it’s not a bad thing), a bunch of mentions of Shakespeare, lines from As You Like It are in italics and dialogue from vampires using the Mind Gift are in bold italics.

Notes: This story takes place while Lestat is still performing with the Theatre des Vampires and is newly a vampire himself. Magnus is obviously dead by now (thank God). The events of this fic take place after Lestat breaks up with both Nicki (he is still alive at this point in time) and Armand, but before he meets Louis de Pointe du Lac and later Claudia. I don’t have anything against either character (I adore both greatly!), this is just a “what if?” kind of situation. This is a basic idea I had had for literal years ever since I read the books, but I didn’t do anything with it until the second season of the show started, specifically episode 10. I wasn’t immune to Harlequin Lestat, and I was FERAL about it. Sam Reid only made that worse for me (God, I am so in love with him…that man IS Lestat. He doesn’t just play him, he BECAME him, and no one else has come close. Tom Cruise and Stuart Townsend could NEVER!). The premise of the fic came to me while listening to “Written in Blood” by She Wants Revenge…one thing led to another, and here we are! Also, yes, I KNOW the vampires don’t “have sex” in the novels, but they do in the show (a LOT). I might make references to things that have happened in the books (mostly Interview with the Vampire and The Vampire Lestat, possibly a bit of Queen of the Damned) but might not have been shown in the TV series yet, so reader beware of that. Let this be the spoiler warning if you are not familiar with the books or haven’t watched the show. I am completely ignoring both movies, because they mean absolutely nothing to me now that the (far superior) show exists. The piece that fem!reader uses for her audition comes from Shakespeare’s comedy As You Like It…she is reading as Rosalind while disguised as Ganymede, and Lestat reads with her as Orlando. I thought the parallels were a nice touch. I obviously do not own the rights to As You Like It, I merely used the one scene for Y/N’s audition, and to add romantic and dramatic effect. Special shout out to my best friend Riley for their contribution and ideas!

Language: English (except for a handful of pet names and expressions used by Lestat in French, hopefully I did it correctly. I took 4 years of French in high school, but I am not fluent)

_________________________________________

It was a cool autumn night in Paris, and while mortals slept, the undead were busy welcoming their newest member to their coven inside the old auditorium. The Vampire Armand stood proudly in front of the stage, looking up at the Theatre’s founder and poster child Lestat de Lioncourt, giving him notes and stage directions he knows full well Lestat will not listen to. Next to Lestat was Y/F/N Y/L/N, a freshly turned vampire herself.

Today was Y/N’s audition to join the Theatre des Vampires, and although nervous, she felt at home already among the other thespians in the room with her. With her lifelong love of theatre and literature that only intensified in her newly immortal life, Y/N knew she was in good company. She caught herself stealing glances at Lestat, as if against her will, but she knew she couldn’t help herself. Of all the vampires in this room—the stage director and Coven leader Armand, fellow company members Eglee, Celeste, Estelle, Sam, Gustav, and Quang Pham in the seats, as well as the gifted violinist Nicki hiding in the wings—there is something captivating and enchanting about this charismatic blonde actor. Y/N felt immediately attracted to this man, and she was both alarmed by and pleased with this sudden revelation. Lestat could feel Y/N’s attraction to him, something he found adorable, endearing, distracting, and quite arousing. Lestat gazed at her, a charmingly wicked smile on his face as he admired the young vampire in front of him. Armand, annoyed but pushing the uneasy feeling down, turned to look at Y/N.

“Welcome to the Theatre, dear Y/N. The Coven and I are interested as to how you found yourself in Paris, and how you found us. Please, enlighten everyone,” Armand said, with a slight air of both curiosity and mild arrogance rolled together. Y/N quickly moved her glance from Lestat to Armand and shivered slightly before she answered.

“Hello all, my name is Y/F/N Y/L/N, and I was visiting when I was given the Dark Gift. I have been in Paris ever since. I heard about the Theatre through my maker, and through discovering the Theatre, I found out about the Coven.” As she told the truth, she felt Santiago staring daggers at her, full of amusement.

“So, little miss Y/L/N, it seems as though you enjoy the arts, is that right?” said Santiago, with a slithery snark. Y/N nodded her head. “A birdie told me that you’re auditioning with one of Shakespeare’s lesser works, yes?” Y/N nodded again. Lestat’s blueish violet eyes widened as he grinned a little bigger.

“Yes, I will be reading as Rosalind disguised as Ganymede. I hope you find it suitable,” she said politely, trying to stifle a small tinge of laughter. Santiago exaggerated his giggle to mock her slightly before speaking again.

“Hmm, I assume you would like to have someone read with you. I wonder who that could be…” Santiago’s voice trailed off as he shifted his glance from Y/N to the left of her.

The slender, blonde, and devilishly handsome vampire beside Y/N spoke before she could even have the thought to respond. Watching from the wings, the violinist Nicki put a hand to his forehead with a quiet groan.

“I volunteer myself. I know the play by heart,” said Lestat. He shot Y/N a soft but sly grin as he placed his hand on his chest, reeling in the blush that appeared on her face. Armand had to hold back a scoff as Lestat offered to read with her. “I’m quite curious to see how she does, if I may.” Lestat gently bowed as he spoke to her, with a smile on his face and intrigue in his heart. Lestat was many things, and subtle was not one of them. Y/N nodded, smiling slyly back at him.

“You may,” Y/N said, bowing slightly. Her cheeks cast a rosy glow upon them as she smiled. Santiago chuckled to himself, and Armand choked down another scoff as he looked back to Y/N and Lestat.

“As you wish. Lestat, you will read with Y/N as Orlando, starting from his entrance after Jaques exits the scene. Y/N, you will follow.” Armand crossed his arms over his chest as he watched the two vampires in front of him on the stage.

“Yes, maître,” said Y/N, slightly nervous but strangely excited about reading alongside this hauntingly tempting creature next to her. She got herself into character quickly, trying to fight off the thought of how sweet Lestat’s blood might taste on her tongue and how soft his full lips must be, among various other salacious and primal things that she wasn’t aware of that she needed or wanted. It wasn’t an unwelcome thing—Lestat had something disarmingly attractive about him. Y/N felt drawn to him somehow, but she tried in vain to hide it. Lestat cleared his throat and prepared himself as well, his own pale skin turning a faint pink as they moved to the middle of the stage. Butterflies fluttered inside their bodies as they began their scene. After a few seconds of silence passed, Lestat launched into character.

“My fair Rosalind, I come within an hour of my promise.” Lestat said, remembering the lines from memory as if it was nothing out of the ordinary. Despite her nervousness and giddiness, Y/N began herself.

“Break an hour’s promise in love? He that will divide a minute into a thousand parts and break but a part of the thousand part of a minute in the affairs of love, it may be said of him that Cupid hath clapped him o’ th’ shoulder, but I’ll warrant him heart-whole.” Y/N matched Lestat’s intensity and focus as she spoke her lines. Astonished by her delivery, he carried on with his own lines.

“Pardon me, dear Rosalind,” continued Lestat, feeling a rush of adrenaline in the pit of his stomach, the pleasant sensation only growing stronger as she went on. Lestat watched her as she moved effortlessly through her audition, overcome with awe, very nearly stumbling on his own lines as a result. Armand and Santiago watched from the bottom of the stage as Y/N and Lestat kept going.

Armand watched from the front row and noticed Lestat’s immediate and oddly natural chemistry with Y/N and was well aware of the subtle attraction and quiet infatuation she felt towards Lestat. Armand could feel it through her, and it bothered him. He couldn’t help it; he began to feel his face turn green with envy. Santiago, however, was greatly amused at what was unfolding in front of them—and he relished the drama of it all. The rest of the Coven watched from the seats intently, some engrossed, some unbothered. Nicki leaned up against the wall backstage, a pained expression etched on his features. Looking on at his former lover floating across the stage with a woman whom he had only met mere hours ago and watching her fall under his spell just as he had, Nicki shook his head, a grimace forming on his face.

With all due respect, maître…maybe we should keep an eye on the new one, said Santiago, filling Armand’s head with his thoughts without moving his mouth. It’s only a matter of time before our dear founder tries to take her to bed with him…you know as well as I do how he is. And seeing how she’s looking at him—Armand did not want to hear this. Lestat and Y/N were too immersed in their scene and lost in each other to hear them through their own minds.

Armand cut him off. Enough, Santiago. I know very well how Lestat operates. Let them finish. I’ll allow Y/N to continue, for now. We shall decide what measures to take when the time is right… As Armand and Santiago sized Y/N up, she breezed through her audition.

“Come, woo me, woo me, for now I am in a holiday humor, and like enough to consent. What would you say to me now an I were your very, very Rosalind?” Y/N continued as she blushed and smiled at Lestat. Anything he did in his impromptu performance, she followed with masterful skill.

Lestat slowly walked closer to her, his gaze never leaving her eyes. Lestat looked at Y/N, smirking as he brushed some of his long blonde hair behind his ear. He let the silence expand for a second before he continued.

“I would kiss before I spoke.”

Lestat and Y/N gazed at each other as if they were the only beings in the room, amusing Santiago morbidly and annoying Armand profoundly. A mixture of admiration and a deep hunger formed inside Lestat’s chest, and Y/N’s heart pounded against her ribcage. She gulped quietly as she tried to keep up with Lestat. Determined to give the best audition she could despite having to act opposite the most gorgeous creature she has ever laid her eyes on, alive or dead, Y/N tried to fight off her own desire building within her. Soft gasps could be heard from the other vampires watching them from the seats.

“Nay, you were better speak first, and when you were gravelled for lack of matter, you might take occasion to kiss. Very good orators, when they are out, they will spit; and for lovers lacking—God warn us—matter, the cleanliest shift is to kiss.”

Sensing Y/N’s struggle to maintain her composure, Lestat met her energy with his own words. “How if the kiss be denied?” He looked at her for a beat, cocking his head to one side quizzically. Y/N answered him with a playful shrug.

“Then she puts you to entreaty, and there begins new matter.”

Lestat continued his teasing, delighted by the thrill Y/N gave him. “Who could be out, being before his beloved mistress?”

Y/N pretended to scoff. “Marry, that should you if I were your mistress, or I should think my honesty ranker than my wit.”

Lestat looked at Y/N with a look of mock surprise. “What, of my suit?” he said, his voice harboring a more sensual tone this time.

“Not out of your apparel, and yet out of your suit. Am I not your Rosalind?” Y/N floated across the stage like a ghost, every single movement calculated and carried out so smoothly.

“I take some joy to say you are because I would be talking of her.” Lestat’s face reddened slightly as he noticed how Y/N’s jaw dropped, but only for a second before she kept going.

“Well, in her person I say I will not have you.” Y/N let out an exaggerated giggle as she playfully spun around slowly.

A dramatic sigh escaped Lestat’s lungs. “Then in mine own person I die.” He looked back at Y/N as she turned to face him again.

“By this hand, it will not kill a fly. But come; now I will be your Rosalind in a more coming-on disposition, and ask me what you will, I will grant it.” Y/N gazed at the vampire in front of her, only inches separating them now. Lestat reached out to gently caress Y/N’s cheek as they looked deeply into each other’s eyes, making her blush even more obvious in her face now. He has her right where he wants her, and as fate or some other mystical thing would have it, Y/N is right where she wants to be. Once again, Lestat drew the silence out for a beat too long before he spoke.

“Then love me, Rosalind.”

Y/N’s voice trembled a little as she leaned into Lestat’s touch. His unbroken focus on her made her feel slightly faint just from the way he looked at her, but she kept her cool as best as she could. “Yes, faith, will I, Fridays and Saturdays and all.” She shyly smiled up at him, trying and failing to hide her quiet swooning.

Lestat hung on to every word that left her lips as if he had never heard such language spoken before. Of course, he was no stranger to the stage himself, having been the Theatre’s main selling point for a few years now. The act of performing on a stage in front of an enamored audience always thrilled him, but she…she was different. This new and sudden but pleasant feeling cut him way deeper, hit him harder—he knew that she was something magical. And Lestat wasn’t quite sure where to put that desire and hunger, so he decided to do the thing he does best: he needed to have her all to himself, by any means necessary. Lestat was delighted to find that the feeling was so clearly mutual.

Santiago watched Lestat enchant Y/N as they continued with their performances. He gasped quietly as he saw Lestat become smitten with Y/N, rolling his eyes. Just look at those two! Can you believe them? They’ve made eyes at each other from the second she came through the door. They’ve only just met a few hours ago and he’s looking at her like Venus de Milo herself…and she looks as if she’s about to melt through the floor. Armand found himself becoming more and more annoyed as Lestat and Y/N carried on like they were, and Santiago took notice. Maître, you’re grinding your teeth…

Armand huffed quietly. I said let them continue. Y/N is smarter than we realize. If she doesn’t know who she’s getting herself tied up with, she will. I can guarantee that. Armand maintained his mildly annoyed expression as he crossed his arms over his chest. I see potential in her. We can use that potential.

Santiago, ever the drama queen but also the suck-up, tried to push Armand’s buttons. How shall we do that, maître? I wonder what our violinist has to say about this…I can’t imagine he’s especially thrilled about—

Armand cut him off once again. Be silent now, Santiago. Nicki is the least of my worries right now.

Now mildly aware of the growing discomfort in the pit of Armand’s stomach and Santiago’s antagonizing of him, Lestat continued to read with Y/N. He was enraptured by her, this was true—but he also found quite a bit of amusement in making Armand uncomfortable. Y/N, less aware of the effect her performance is having on the Coven leader and his all-too-willing sidekick, matched him masterfully.

“And wilt thou have me?” said Lestat, sultry and low.

Y/N nodded her head and smiled. “Ay, and twenty such.”

Lestat felt his heart flutter in his chest as he moved closer to her. “What sayest thou?”

Y/N gently bit her lip then let it go with a smirk. “Are you not good?”

“I hope so.” Lestat rolled his eyes in a sassy manner.

“Why then, can one desire too much of a good thing?” Y/N went on, closing the small space between herself and Lestat.

The vaguely pained expression did not escape Armand’s face. Still wanting to maintain some sort of order and power over his Coven, Armand kept his focus fixed on the two vampires on the stage in front of him.

Santiago, an evil grin taking shape over his features, watched Lestat and Y/N’s bond become deeper by the second as Y/N continued. “Come, sister, you shall be the priest and marry us. Give me your hand, Orlando.” Y/N gently reached for Lestat’s hand, and he placed it in hers, tangling their fingers together. She looked to where the audience would be sitting. “What do you say sister?” Y/N looked back up at Lestat as he gazed back at her, their vampire eyes blown out with love and desire for each other.

After what felt like an eternity, Lestat put his finger under Y/N’s chin and gingerly tilted her head up. He started to move down to press his lips to hers, and she moved up to meet him. He closed his eyes, and her eyelids fluttered shut as his lips gently—

A groan could be heard from Armand as Santiago abruptly rose from his seat and applauded loudly. Lestat and Y/N snapped out of their trance and pulled away from each other, no longer able to hide their blushing. The rest of the Coven began to applaud as well. The vampires Sam and Gustav were enthusiastic in their encouragement of the new potential member of the Coven and her undeniable and palpable chemistry with their Theatre’s founder. Celeste looked on with a proud smile on her face, while Estelle clapped wildly. Eglee rolled her eyes before eventually joining in with her applause. Backstage, Nicki shook his head again as he quietly left the auditorium, quietly cursing under his breath.

“Very well done, Y/N. Very well done indeed,” said Santiago, sounding giddier than he probably should. He looked at Armand. “What say you, maître?” he asked with mock amusement.

Armand once again did not listen. He looked up at Y/N as Lestat released her from his gentle but bold embrace. “Exquisite work, Y/N. Exceptional. While we evaluate your performance, you are welcome to remain here with the Coven. We have provided a coffin for you near your maker’s.” Armand started to dismiss everyone before he turned back to Y/N. “We do expect you to keep our hours, curfew is three o’clock sharp.” He shot a subtle but menacing glare at Lestat. Lestat rolled his eyes and chuckled to himself as he turned his back to him. Armand looked at Y/N again. Lestat smiled warmly at Y/N as he winked at her.

Still reeling from everything that just occurred, Y/N nodded and bowed. “Yes maître, I will. Thank you all.” Armand dismissed Santiago and the rest of the Coven, and they all left the auditorium.

It was then that Y/N heard a sensual and seductive voice inside her head.

Très bien fait, ma chérie. I’m impressed.

Y/N turned around to find Lestat leaning against the piano on the stage, his arms crossed over his chest, looking her up and down, dripping with genuine curiosity and insatiable desire. She blushed and smiled as she met his gaze.

“That’s very sweet of you to say, Lestat. It really means a lot to hear.” Y/N walked over to him, slightly nervous but not at all deterred. “You were amazing yourself.”

Lestat rolled his eyes playfully at her compliment but accepted it. “You flatter me, mon amour.” He stood up straight and walked over to her, looking down at her with that softly sly smirk again. “I must say, my dear Y/N, you are quite the actress. Many have come and gone from this theatre, but none have bewitched me so like you have, ma petite fleur.”

Y/N swooned at his words, slightly taken aback by the sincerity in them despite the obvious attraction. “Oh, you’re too kind. It’s not often I’m in the presence of someone so…” She caught herself getting lost in his eyes again—something she has by now realized is very easy to do—before she continued. “So…enchanting as you.”

Lestat chuckled lowly. “Is that so? Well, you have captivated me too, love,” he said, pausing briefly as he took the sight of her in. “I haven’t seen such talent on this stage in quite some time, Y/N.” She blushed deeper as she took a second to gather her thoughts. Y/N sighed softly before speaking.

“Thank you! I’m just happy that I can finally do what I love to do. Up until today, I thought it was unfortunate that I couldn’t do this kind of thing when I was mortal, but I don’t have that feeling now that I’m here. In an odd way, it feels right like this.” Y/N chuckled lightly.

Lestat listened to her words intently. “I know that feeling very well, mon coeur. For what it’s worth, I’m quite glad you wandered into our midst. I can see already that you’re passionate about the Theatre, and it’s refreshing. You’re simply lovely.” Y/N smiled at his words of admiration and encouragement. “I cannot wait to see what other talents you possess, if you don’t mind my saying so,” he said with a smirk, appreciating the slight drop of her jaw. Noticing the positive tension on her face, Lestat spoke gently to her. “Oh, and don’t be nervous, chérie. There is nothing to be afraid of. I have no doubt you’ll fit in here, I am sure of it.” He traced her jawline affectionately before tilting her head up to bring her eyes to meet his, just like he did during her audition. “And, if I may be so bold, I would love to get to know you better. If you’ll have me, of course.” Y/N’s eyes widened as she swooned. She nodded as she stuttered slightly.

“I’d love to, Lestat. I would be honored.” Y/N felt her heart jump into her mouth. The gorgeous blonde vampire in front of her reveled in how flustered she looked as he spoke to her.

“Very well then, dear Y/N. We’ll continue our little conversation after your initiation tomorrow.”

Y/N gulped. “My…my what?!”

Lestat giggled slyly. “You heard me correctly, ma chérie. Welcome to the Theatre, darling. You’re one of us now as far as I’m concerned.”

“But…Armand said—” Lestat gently placed a finger over her lips to shut her up as he spoke lowly to her, sultry and dripping with desire.

“Shh, ma jolie fille…never mind what that manipulative gremlin Armand said.” Lestat let his finger gently drag across her bottom lip before letting it go. He brushed some of her hair behind her ear as he continued. “I’ll be seeing you backstage afterwards, yes?”

There was no way for him to be coy about his appetite for her any more than he had earlier. The vampire Lestat de Lioncourt, the Brat Prince himself, was anything but shy about his unquenchable thirst for Y/N; it only grew exponentially in the few hours since he met her.

Y/N felt as though the air had been knocked out of her lungs as she nodded. “Of course, Lestat. You will.” She smiled at him, trying to regulate her breathing.

Lestat smiled wickedly at her again. “Très bien, mon amour. I’ll see you then.” He caressed her face again before turning to walk away. “Bonne nuit, ma belle. Sweet dreams.”

Y/N could feel her heart pounding in her throat as she smiled. “Good night, Lestat. I hope you sleep well.” Blushing, she beamed at him, and he smiled back, a blush of his own on his face.

With that, they left the room. As she lifted the lid to her coffin next to the others to crawl inside it, Y/N gasped as she heard Lestat’s voice in her head again, stopping her momentarily.

Remember what I told you, ma petite fleur. There is nothing to worry your pretty little head with. And know this too, my darling: I don't bite...hard.

[mizu0xox0]

Batfamily x Joker!reader

No not the DC Joker it's the Phantom Thief Joker

• So while the Batfamily goes after the usual big villains. Joker!reader is sending calling cards to corrupt politicians, police officers and basically criminals that haven't really been caught by the Batfamily yet.

• Then Batman catches wind of these corrupt people suddenly confessing to their crimes and being taken into custody after their confessions on life television no less or in front of a crowd of people or supporters. But it didn't feel like a confession more of a break down which was odd what made these corrupt people of power suddenly crumble?

• Thats when Batman sends some of the Batfamily members to investigate and then they find the weird calling card and now they learn about the Phantom Thieves.

• They manage to find the connection of the confessions being the calling cards and these Phantom Thieves mentioned in the cards so Batman sends it for some tests only for the calling cards to be just normal paper so something supernatural must be at play for these people to suddenly start confessing.

• Well long story short they decide to start investigating anything suspicious in the city that can give them a clue about these invisible vigilantes known as the Phantom Thieves and just so happens they catch video footage of Joker!reader suddenly disappearing while walking into an alleyway.

• So with that since Joker!reader is a criminal that's being put on probation but living with a guardian of sorts well Bruce decides to bribe the police to get Joker!reader to live with them and it works. Now they'll be under the watchful eye of Batfamily well not that they know that Bruce Wayne and his kids are vigilantes.

• While Joker!reader is in the Wayne manor they are unaware that their every move is being watched except their bedroom of course they still need privacy. Every once in awhile when Alfred goes to clean their room while they're in school if he finds anything like a calling card or a calling card in making similar to the Phantom Thieves one then he'll inform Bruce. From there you'll see some familiar faces in public such as when you're at a unpopular cafe to discuss some Phantom Thief stuff quietly that's when you'll see Stephanie and Tim having some drinks at a table somewhere near enough for you to spot them but far enough to not raise any suspicion amongst you and your group of friends

• Then when you're going to work at the gun shop you're suddenly greeted by Jason who just so happens to be purchasing a gun specifically at your work place odd...

• And one day while in Mementos training with the Phantom Thieves suddenly you see Batman and Robin?! How did they get in Mementos?! And boom the gig is up since you're pretty Batman and Robin were far more skilled than you and your team so you quickly skidadle in the Mona bus. "Wait did that cat just turn into a vehicle?!" Robin says long and you're long gone.

• And ever since that fateful day suddenly Bruce and Damian can hear your pet cat Morgana talking...hell it doesn't take the world's greatest detective to connect the dots that your cat and you are members of the Phantom Thieves and possibly your group of friends.

• Plus they had more than enough proof such as the receipts that Jason had found in the gun shop you worked at for specific blueprints of gun models or other weapon types. An odd app in your phone when Tim hacked into it and just so happens when they clicked the app they were transported to another world and once they were out they could suddenly hear your cat talking. Yeah definitely not a coincidence. Or when Dick sees you going to some shady clinic in the alleyway and just so happens to find a bottle of health supplements in your room that he couldn't find being sold anywhere else. Or how Barbara finds your search history a little odd with the names, news and details of certain politicians plus these were politicians that were given calling cards and suddenly confessed their crimes out of 'guilt'.

• So what is their next move? Do they deem the Phantom Thieves a threat or try to form an alliance with them? After all brainwashing people to confession doesn't feel right even though the outcome justified the means...

I'll probably continue writing more of this since I kind of ran out of ideas for now. Might have plans for a Light Yagami Reader. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed reading this. And apologizes if the characters are a little off since it's my first time writing for DC characters.

[karikitdemonrp]

Kari gave a few chirps and looked up at Hawks. "Well, I was thinking if something kinda like what mom's hero costume used to be. But opposite. Her hero name was "Angelic" from what I was told. I think I told you that before. But I was thinking mine could be a sorta play on that. I was thinking "The Adaptable Hero, Demonic" since we have the same quirk." The child gave a big smile.

"As for my costume I was thinking it could change colors or something based on what quirk I was using. Like it could be blue and gray if I used Boom's or Beats' quirk, Red and Black if I was using yours, silvers and browns if I used Kitearo's, and so on. I was also thinking something like a loose fitting short shirt that would be blue if I wasn't using my quirk and dark blue jeans too or something. I'd obviously had my scarf since it was mom's and it can be used as a sort of weapon if I remember the videos correctly. I think it can react to my quirk or something cuz of what it was made of. Maybe I can have a vest with pockets to hold stuff like small medical supplies or snacks or even a belt with a pouch for similar reasons. I'm not sure but I wanna have my costume be super comfortable when I wear it!" The child giggled happily.

"Maybe I will think of something better when I'm older and I'm sure there is a lot more to it." Kari hummed, looking up at Hawks. "It probably sounds a bit plain but I'm still thinking about it." She informed then went to grab Hawks' hand with a grin. "I wanna see this surprise now, are you done yet Papa Bird?" The child huffed, slightly whining.

Hawks glanced down, intrigued by her sudden quiet. “Oh, got some ideas brewing already, huh? Go on, let’s hear it!” he encouraged, giving her an encouraging nudge.

"Costumes are like an extension of who we are as heroes, you know? They should make you feel ready to take on anything." He tilted his head, smiling. “Whatever you come up with, I’m sure it’s gonna look pretty fierce. You thinking something with wings? Maybe some sharp colors?” He watched her, curious to see where her imagination would take her.

[delulupunk]

How the batboys react to you only speaking in meme references:

Dick Grayson

This is the Robin who used to unironically use turns of phrase while busting crime lords with Batman, so of course he’s going to match your energy. If you say “What the fuck Richard?” He’s just going to reply something even sillier.

“They are my crocs.” He does this in the most deadpan tone and these two memes aren’t even related to one another.

He loves it though and finds the funny way you react to situations similar to his demeanour so you bounce of each other very well. It leads to the pair of you having meme wars- you try and outdo each other in how many memes you can reference.

“Bethany I made BiScUiTs!”

“Look at all those chickens!”

“So no head?”

The pair of you now have inside meme jokes that you say to each other, that earn you weird looks from everyone else when you say them to each other. Mainly because the combinations barely make any sense. However it brings you two closer and sometimes helps break the ice after an argument.

“It’s Wednesday my dudes…”

…

“AHHHHH!”

Jason Todd

Jason isn’t much of a social media person anymore. He tells everyone he finds it jarring and that it’s like peer pressure on steroids. He only uses Pinterest for book recommendations. So you can only reference memes that went viral before his death, at the beginning of your relationship otherwise he just ignores you.

When he does recognise a meme he’ll either roll his eyes or give you an annoyed, yet affectionate smile. Over time though as he notices you making more relevant meme references with your friends, he finds himself getting jealous. Jason wants to experience that with you.

So he pushes aside all his reservations with social media and watches as many meme videos as he can. Eventually he tries incorporating them into your conversations, albeit sheepishly as he’s unsure of himself.

“Brother Eugh?” He’ll state in a reluctant tone and you’ll just laugh and say it right back.

Tim Drake

Tim is far too focused on being a detective to watch memes, instead the way he relaxes is by doing something that still stimulates his brain in a way, so he’s a fan of puzzles.

“You look like the polite cat sometimes.” You told this to him once absentmindedly and he looked at you like you’d grown two heads. He immediately researched it and saw some similarities. You continued the meme reference when you bought him a puzzle of the polite cat for his birthday. It was safe to say he wasn’t that impressed. However he finished it in record time.

Whenever you quote any memes though he gives you a factual answer, “Roadworks mean that construction workers are fixing the road.” In retaliation you begin sending him all the memes you reference and then one day he just starts saying them. At first you’re shocked and he doesn’t do it often, but he’ll have a smug smile on his face every time.

Damian Wayne

Due to Damian’s harsh upbringing from the league of assassins he isn’t well versed in meme culture.

“What is aura? How have I lost -10,000? What was my starting amount?” He takes your meme references too literally, but when you offer to show him some and explain them he accepts. He’ll scoff and tell you he was only doing it to humour you, but in reality he wanted to regain some of his childhood and he felt this would be a good way to do it.

This bitch empty… yeet!

“She could have hit an innocent bystander with that.”

“I think she did Damian.” You play the video back a million times just to see whether or not she had.

He doesn’t ever reference memes back to you or say them in the first instance. Despite this he learns when you’re most likely to quote them and which one it would be. If you choose not to he’ll raise an eyebrow and ask you why you hadn’t. He wants to make sure you haven’t stopped because of him, he likes it he’s just not sure how exactly to show it.

When you do quote memes to him, he’ll have the ghost of a smile on his face. You’ll only see it if you look closely.

[painted-flag]

OF FLOWERS AND DEATH - aemond targaryen

Chapter 15: Know Your Enemies

☾⋆⁺₊✧ dark elf!Aemond Targaryen x f!human!reader series. ✧₊⁺⋆☾ series masterlist. ☾⋆⁺₊✧ word count: 3.4k ✧₊⁺⋆☾ series warnings: 18+ depictions of violence/gore, eventual smut, warfare, sickness/disease, some moments of misogyny, and mentions of alcohol consumption. ☾⋆⁺₊✧ New information forces you to reckon with unwelcome developments.

Everything had changed after that night. There was a shift in the dynamic of your relationship with Aemond. Both of you had become more approachable and more tender in your interactions. There was, for the first time, patience. Both of your strong personalities required it, and with the revelation of Aemond’s newfound trust towards you and your discovery of the origins of his scar, trust was in surprising abundance.

The morning afterwards, even the guards could sense the shift. You remembered how Aemond had left his tent and sat with you around the fire to break his fast. You also remembered the bewildered look you received from Elias as he loaded some chests onto one of the wagons. You had shrugged, unable to come up with a response. How could you, when this was so new to you?

It was only the beginning. That day of riding Aemond had joined you. The two of you rode side by side on your horses at the front of the group. However, any conversation took a lot of work. It was still so recent to that night that the two of you were unsure how to proceed. He was your friend now, it should have been easy to speak to him. His unpredictability and lack of familiarity undercut the previous apprehensiveness you felt towards him. Now your apprehensiveness was shadowed by the uncomfortable nature of your thrumming heart and twisted stomach when he glanced your way.

When your company had reached the inn you had previously stayed in, you had rushed off the horse to get away from Aemond. He could surely hear the thumping of your heart and see the red that spread across your face. Yet, he made to acknowledgment of it. You had spent the better part of an hour in the bathhouse trying to scrub the feeling of his gaze away in hopes that it could wash the budding feelings from you. It was with great relief that he did not come to the bathhouse like the previous stay, for you were not sure what you would have done. Perhaps perish in the waters to avoid any further embarrassment.

A year.

You just had to make it through the year and you would be gone. No need to worry about him and each can go their separate ways. You had struggled to come to terms with how you would survive the year when Aemond was hostile to you. Now, your chances seemed easier with that hostility over, but the crisis-eliciting level of adoration that bubbled within you had become more threatening each day.

Thankfully, that night at the inn, Aemond had not joined you and the guards for dinner. If he had, you were sure to crumble under his gaze. You greatly disliked how one glance from him was enough to make your legs feel weak. It was something that deeply angered you. No one had yet to make you feel this way, so why now? Especially with someone for whom is in no way remotely possible to connect in that way.

It is best that you finish your job and continue with your normal human life.

The next day of riding was spent similar to the first; you and Aemond side by side. Only this time, the conversation seemed to flow just a little easier. The events of the conversation you had with him had started to lessen more on the conscience, so comfortability slowly took its place. There was by no means a complete ease between one another. That would only come with time.

The last night of camp you had tossed and turned to get to sleep. Aemond had helped you down from the horse when the group decided to stop for the day. All you could think about was the heat of his hands as they gripped your sides. You did not know if your mind was playing tricks on you, but you could have sword his thumbs brushed up and down gently before releasing you. He had swiftly left to help unload things. One thing you noted about him was that he was an active king and did not wait around to be attended to. Yet another trait of his that had you admiring him more.

It was now, with the gates of the castle coming into view, that you had let out a sigh of relief. Here you could get wrapped up in your work and create some distance between you and Aemond to get your mind and your feelings sorted out. If you were not constantly around him, maybe those feelings would fade. It could only be temporary.

You hoped it was only temporary.

Your party had entered the grounds by the stables. Your thighs ached from the bouncing of the horse and you were glad to be back. Surprisingly, Aegon waited by the entrance to the stables. Aemond had ridden in beside you and had dismounted his horse. Before he could go to help you off, Aegon had beaten him to it. He lifted you up and off before setting you on the ground.

His face was what threw you off. Aegon’s mouth was twisted into a smile, but you could see concern and paranoia behind his eyes. He held one of your hands and his grip tightened.

“Welcome back,” His voice was almost shaking, but disguised with a pleasant tone, “And to you as well, brother.”

Aemond looked between the two of you with his eyes squinted, “Yes, a pleasure to be back.” There was a degree of uncertainty there. You had no idea where such tension back from and were almost frightened by Aegon’s off-putting nature. This was so unlike him.

“Welcome back, my king,” A voice sounded from behind you and Aegon. Criston Cole had come from behind Aegon and you. His greeting to Aemond was not extended to you and he only sent a quick look your way.

“Have there been any problems since I’ve been away?” Aemond questioned.

“None that raised any alarms. Though they would not have happened if such a trip was never made,” Criston side-eyed you from where he stood. He had understandably been frustrated at his king’s absence in court, but you felt his complaints were immature. Aegon sidestepped to almost block you from Cole’s view.

“Ah, well I am sure your capable hands managed to solve whatever it was,” Aegon spoke. There was underlying aggression in his tone. The prince derived great pleasure from teasing Cole. You had looked back and forth between the two elves trying to calculate what was happening.

“My king, there are sensitive matters to address,” Criston told him. Both of the elves walked away from Aegon and you. Criston would occasionally glance at you with disdain and you tried to ignore it, but it was such unabashed animosity that it threw you off. The distance between you and him did not feel like enough.

Aegon turned to you and whispered, “Pretend I said something funny.”

“What?” You queried. The skin between your brows crinkled.

“Cole is looking, pretend I said something funny.” At his words, you began to laugh, but it was uncomfortable and shaky. Aegon joined you in laughter and then looped his arm in yours.

“Do not make any face of discomfort or alarm, but there could very well be threats from any guard here. Maintain a smile until we get to your room. Understand?” Aegon began to lead you out of the stable grounds and into the castle. The flickering torchlight cast shadows across the dark stone walls.

“What do you mean, Aegon?” You tried to get to his reasoning, but he just shook his head and motioned for you to be quiet. Each time a guard passed, Aegon would stare at them and pull you closer to him. He would pick up his pace and have you across the hall in record time. He continued to do this, down every stairwell, hall, and passage.

Your heart rate had begun to pick up at the secrecy and frantic nature of his intentions. When you reached the hall where your room was located, you were overcome with a sense of relief as if you had made it home. Aegon surged forward, flung the door open, and all but pushed you inside. He stuck his head out and looked both ways down the hallway to see if anyone was around. Upon being satisfied that there were no guards he shut the door and locked the deadbolt. The whole time you had watched him with confusion.

Aegon turned and let out a breath he had been holding in. His shoulders slouched and he looked relaxed. You raised a brow and held out your hands.

“Well?” You questioned.

He sighed and approached your reading table. From the fold of his doublet, he pulled out folded parchment, “I told you I would work on your father’s disappearance. It is surprising how much work one could achieve while sober.” He now held your undivided attention as you stood next to him. Your hands wanted to reach out and seize the parchment to see what could be revealed on those pages.

“It took me a while, but I began pouring through the scouting records. Seven hells, I never thought I would be thankful for the stick up Aemond’s ass for having such extensive records written of every damn thing in this kingdom.” Aegon placed the parchment on the table.

When you went to grab it, his hand gently stopped you, “I–” His voice trailed off and it only made you move faster. You grabbed the parchment and began to unfold. Once looking at the stained pages, you could not decipher the elvish language.

“Scouting record,” Aegon began, “For Lake Rosemagne. I went back to the period you said your father disappeared. There was one group in the area… It was led by Criston Cole.”

Your hands gripped the parchment more, almost tearing it apart. Aegon moved his hands to yours and removed the parchment from your hands to set it down on the table. He went back to holding your hands, his thumbs brushing the knuckles as he noticed you had begun to become overwhelmed.

“If Cole was in the area… Look, I’m sorry but your father…” Aegon tried to console you, but he was admittedly no expert in that field. You began to shake your head in denial.

“Aemond said a human had not been spotted in that area in a century. I questioned that legitimacy, but it was only out of anger.” It was overwhelming to be at that lake, where your father may have once stood. You had snapped at Aemond then because you had lost control over your emotions. You realized that it had been wrong to accuse his guards of lying, but now as you were seeing it, there had been truth in those words of doubt you flung at him.

“I will not incriminate my brother. But Cole, on the other hand, well, I have never trusted him.” Aegon informed you. You did not respond and pulled your hands back from him. Your feet had you moving across the room toward one of your chairs. You sat in the plush chair, its comfortability providing little comfort. Aegon spoke your name, once and then twice, but it fell on deaf ears.

There was no way Aemond could be part of this and had lied to you. You refused to believe it. You thought back to his vulnerability that night from around the campfire. The flames had reflected off the mythos of his swirling blue eye and within those depths, you could see both the past and future sprawling out like an endless field. He had yet to ever lie to you, there was no reason for him to do so.

However, doubt had always been your worst enemy. Cole was as untrustworthy as anyone could be. His rampant hostility towards you was not disguised. There could be a deeper meaning behind that hate besides your humanity.

And he was incredibly close to Aemond. Guilt by association was the wrong way to go about this, but this was your father.

“Tis not all I had found,” Aegon told you. He shuffled to the chair you were on and placed a small book he had pulled from his pocket onto your lap. He crouched down to be at eye level with you.

“I may have snuck into Cole’s room after finding that scouting record. This was buried under discarded armour.” You looked down at the book. It was bound in black leather with no markings on the outside to reveal what it was. Your fingers grabbed the thick cover and pulled it to the side. Your movement was slow as mental exhaustion and your days of travel caught up to you. The parchment was old and weathered. It looked older than the human kingdom likely was.

On the pages sat weird inscriptions and symbols. The peculiar nature of the notetaking was all in an ancient language you had no knowledge of but looked eerily familiar to the scrawls of the current elvish language. It was likely some early form of it. You kept flipping through the pages as if that would help you make sense of it. You then gripped the edge and started flipping the pages at a faster rate than turning them. Drawings and ink scrawls flashed through your field of vision.

Your hands ceased their movements upon seeing one page. While you could not make out the words, the drawings struck familiarity. The mortua terra flower, the same one you had snuck into the dark woods for, was sketched onto the page. Beside it was a myriad of ingredients, none of which were dark magic but basic components of many types of brews, poultices, and other oddities. In the bottom right corner was the wobbly black outline with a blue filling that looked like the shoreline of Lake Rosemagne.

This information was all too much.

What could your father’s disappearance have to do with Cole? Or more accurately, what does Cole have to do with it? There was a burning sensation behind your eyes and you felt the sting of saltwater. Why does Cole have a tome on dark magic? There was, perhaps, a possibility that Aemond could have aided him. Many of the ingredients listed in the pages you had discovered are locked up; of which only royals have access. Daeron had to fetch many of the experimental ingredients himself because no one else among the healers could.

If Cole was using dark magic, he would need an accomplice. There was no other way.

If that were true, the needed accomplice would have to be Aemond. How else would he have gotten access to those stores?

A hand waved in front of your vision. You had not even acknowledged how your vision had gotten blurry in your moment of thinking. Aegon was crouched down, a crinkle prominent between his eyebrows as his face was morphed with worry.

“Come back down to the ground here. Shit, did I break you?” Aegon shook your shoulders gently and his voice dropped to a near incomprehensible whisper, “Gods, Aemond will kill me.”

A heartbeat passed. Then two, then three. On and on until you could ground yourself. Your hands dug into the arms of the chair. The haze of the room began to go away and your breathing calmed. It was like your heart had dropped to your stomach and the world was collapsing around you. But, like water against a shore, these feelings gradually pulled away.

“Tell no one.” Your voice was scratchy. You had to escape the chair as it felt confining. You stood and marched to the desk where the parchment was with the book in your hand. You picked both of them up and then headed to your bed. The items were then stuffed into your pillowcase. It was not the best spot to keep them, but you could not think of any other place to store them at the moment.

“That goes without saying,” Aegon responded but he still looked at you with worry, “Are you alright?”

You crossed your arms, but one hand reached up to hold the top of your chest and feel it rise and fall at every inhale and exhale, “Honestly? I have no idea. With Cole I would not be surprised of any misdeeds, but Aemond…” You sucked in a breath.

Aegon shifted from leaning on one foot to the other, “As I said, I will not incriminate my brother, but there are things you do not know about him.” You huffed out what could be close to a disappointed sigh and laugh before returning to a serious manner.

“He told me,” You confessed, but Aegon looked confused by your words, “He told me how he got the scar.”

There was a moment of silence between you two. His gaze took you in, dragging up and down your form as if he was looking for a tell that you were lying. Something was unsettling in his manner as if Aemond’s own story left him exposed as well. You could not help but wonder how that incident, his brother's maiming and the subsequent war, affected him. That type of stress and trauma left lasting damage on the mind.

“He is in deeper than I thought,” Aegon spoke just above a whisper. He made his own revelation in the moment. Aegon ran his right hand down his face, making sure to cover his mouth for a moment as you stood. His words were vague and left you wanting answers, but your head had begun to pound. It was a dull ache that started in the back and began to spread.

“In deeper?” Your arms unfolded from being crossed. Aegon was staring at you with reluctance and some kind of sympathy. You hated it; loathed not knowing what he was talking about. Every time you pulled the curtain from concealing one mystery, a myriad of others were discovered behind.

“You need not worry about another thing.” He reassured, “We shall sit on this new information before we take any more steps.” He was making sense, but the overwhelming nature of such a short conversation was rendering you immobile. It was like a heavy lead had been cast upon you, weighing your body down.

“Will you not answer my question?” You approached him and poked your pointer finger into his chest.

“It is not my secret to tell.” Aegon held up his hands in mock surrender. You huffed but relented. Perhaps, one day, you could coax an answer out of him and find out what he meant when he said his brother was ‘in too deep.’

The weight of it all on you caught his attention and Aegon moved forward to wrap his arms around you. His body posture was awkward, but welcoming. You could easily tell his experience in the act of physical reassurance was not exactly honed. His weird pat on the top of your head all but confirmed that suspicion. You returned the hug and wrapped your arms around his midsection.

“I’m sorry to have stressed you out like this,” Aegon apologized.

You shook your head, “Without your investigation, I would be nowhere near closer to finding answers.” The two of you pulled away from one another. Aegon was still awkwardly fidgeting in his spot, reeling from being close to someone.

“Well, I’ll let you get settled in,” Aegon all but skipped to the door to get away from affection he was not used to giving and receiving. However, just as he had opened the door and exited the room, he stuck his head back in again to smile at you, “Oh, and welcome home.”

He left just after. You stood in your room and looked around. Everything was where you left it all. You sat back down in your chair and faced the large window of your room and stared out at the garden. The darkness from the elder trees was a welcome sight. While you enjoyed being out in the field and feeling the sun, there was something comforting about the dark depths littered with flashing fireflies and lightly swaying lanterns.

Indeed, it was home. 

Chapter 16: Every Little Thing Preview

“Words said in heat are often more destructive than battles.” It was a whisper, as if he was recalling it from a deep memory from his past. His hands tightened into fists and he leaned on the balls of his feet, “I have told you the truth as you are my friend. Let us not fight when tensions are high. We shall talk later.” 

You wanted to scream at him, to lug one of the pillows on your bed directly at his head. How could he be so reasonable? Gods, why was he so reasonable?

☾⋆⁺₊✧ If you want to be added to the taglist, click here!

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[warblogs17282]

So, I've been thinking about the stuff that ghostfuckers told us about Millie, and I got curious and wondered if what we learned about her there could be used to put things shown in the first short and unhappy campers into perspective a bit more.

Hell's Belles:

Some comments from Sallie May interested me, mainly the lines "for your fancy job." and "shiny new life", and there's a line in ghostfuckers I think I can tie into Sallie May generally describing Millie's job and life positively.

That being, "Most of my life I bought into the idea that all I could ever be was a simple farm girl. Or best an underpaid goon.", and I suspect that Sallie May is still affected by this stereotype, that she feels like she's also a part of that stereotype, considering that we know that she helps out at her parent's ranch.

Which would explain part of the reason why Sallie May calls it 'fancy' and 'shiny', because she may feel like Millie is a notable exception to the stereotype, which would obviously be something that she would describe positively, especially considering that job and life now also consists of killing humans, something that is very much a one of a kind thing. Considering that Millie bought into the stereotype before joining Blitz, it's very probable that Sally May also bought into the same/similar stereotype.

Obviously this is only part of the reason why she describes Millie's job and life like she does, but I still feel like ghostfuckers adds more depth to that statement.

Another thing that I want to mention is the fact that they did some playfighting at the end of the episode, which I think ties into this line in ghostfuckers: "We're just Wrathians, Blitzo. Muscle. It's all we're good for, all I'm good for."

Another stereotype, that all Wrathians are good for is muscle, and fighting is a good way of building muscle, which would help to explain why they just naturally fell into playfighting at the end of the episode, because it's implied that they had playfights like this a lot with each other, and considering the stereotype of that all Wrathians are good for is muscle, it makes sense why they have such a history of playfighting with each other, because again, if Millie believed that stereotype before meeting Blitz, it's very likely that Sallie May also believed the same/similar stereotype as well.

Unhappy Campers:

Let's just skip to the boiling point of their argument in this episode, we know that Millie felt undermined during this episode, which we can see with the line "And for once, I feel like... like I'm important. Like I'm someone to be proud of...", which quite heavily plays into the line "We're just Wrathians, Blitzo. Muscle. It's all we're good for, all I'm good for.", which probably helps to explain part of the reason why Millie felt so strongly about this, just because you know that the stereotype is false doesn't mean it doesn't effect you anymore, it's clearly something that still resides in the back of Millie's head somewhere.

I use that line in particular, because there's two times in the episode before this where we can see Millie be visibly annoyed at Moxxie, and I believe that part of the reason is because she feels like her other qualities are being undermined, with the main one here being her smarts, which kind of plays into the line in ghostfuckers, that stereotype, because considering how prominent that stereotype was for her until meeting Blitz, it's not unreasonable to assume that this specific stereotype was playing in the back of her mind again, which would help to explain part of the reason why she felt so strongly about it when the argument reaches it's boiling point.

Plus, one of the first things Blitz told Millie right after he moved his business to IMP was 'You're tougher, smarter, and frankly more capable than anyone I've ever met in any ring.', showing even further why Millie feels so strongly about this, she probably feels like what Moxxie is doing is a slap in the face to what Blitz told her when they first moved to IMP for their business.

Plus, there's also other relevant lines like "Most of my life I bought into the idea that all I could ever be was a simple farm girl. Or best an underpaid goon." and "Not exactly a shortage of imp assassins in Wrath. Reputation is everything."

"And what's your reputation, hmm?"

Although these are less directly relevant to this scene, I still think it's worth considering into the big picture of why Millie felt so strongly here.

tbh, this is another reason while I'll defend the unhappy campers Moxxie and Millie conflict, it has quite a bit of depth to it if you consider everything, and I've just shown you all that ghostfuckers has given that conflict a bit more depth.

[quantomeno]

I have been trying to find the article or opinion piece or whatever I read that discussed this, but this appears to be a significant issue with all left-leaning governments. If you'll forgive the gendered language:

Political analysts have long considered these three fields – managing the finances, managing the economy, and defence – to represent the “daddy” aspects of national political persona, traditionally dominated by centre-right parties the world over. The centre-left parties have been seen to excel in the more “caring” fields of health and education: the “mummy” aspect.

(from here, an opinion piece in the Sydney Morning Herald, which I don't think was exactly the thing I was looking for, but it's the same idea more or less)

People in the tags have noted this occurs with the Tories/Labour in the UK, and it definitely occurs in Australia with the Liberals/Labor (the Liberals are conservatives by the way, it's confusing, we know).

The problem is that people often don't 'feel' the effects of economic improvement, or they fixate on things that are still bad and think when the government is talking about improvements they're lying or think the improvements are happening to other people, probably 'coastal elites' or what we in Australia might call 'inner city latte sippers'.

Then the right can capitalise on this resentment, and even if they don't achieve their claims of making life better, people have such short memories they don't realise things have worsened. Another issue is the fact left-wing policies tend to involved bigger government involvement or significant changes to the status quo, and the right can then run scare campaigns which the left can't combat because having nuanced debates over complicated policies doesn't make snappy headlines. And you also get, as @what-even-is-this said above, the left inheriting failing economies and the right inheriting improving economies. So things often get blurred about who was responsible for what benefit, and if things are good under one government, the other will claim it was because of their actions before it etc etc.

Celinda Lake (Biden's pollster in 2020) was interviewed on the Australian TV show Planet America this week and said something very similar (it starts at 28:23), that the Democrats need a better economic message, a better 'conversation' with the voters the Democrats traditionally worked to support but who now believe the Republicans will help them more.

It is quite sad to admit, but it seems people often care more about their economic wellbeing than any other consideration. Part of it is a sort of survivalism though, where they go, yes, I would like to help xyz, but I'm struggling too.

From my position, well at a distance, I got the vibe this election was just people annoyed at the current administration and going to literally the only viable alternative, as opposed to a population shifting dramatically in their political views. I expect a lot of people don't like the guy who'll be president and don't really even want him to be president, but still voted for him because of his party. It's an electorate who has long been made to believe left bad at economy, right good at economy. Plus you guys don't have a third parties that presents itself as a viable alternative.

Elections are often decided by the political issues that the right is seen to be better at, but a lot of it is just bluff and posturing. The right can talk tough and it makes people think they're getting things done. It's not until it all unravels that people will consider the left. I've got a long discussion about Aus politics below if you want to read about it, which provides some more concrete examples of these things.

Also there are obviously other issues at play, the electorate isn't one monolith, people have individual reasons for voting etc etc etc. This is just one thing that I think was a big factor generally. Harris seemed to be too much a part of an administration they were unhappy with and people weren't convinced she would bring anything new to fix things.

Australia has two major parties, the left-wing Australian Labor Party (yes, Australian English spells it labour, but the party is US-style, it's a long story) and the right-wing Liberal Party (they are conservatives but they're called Liberals. The reason is they believe in libertarian sort of values like the free market and small government). The Liberals govern in coalition with the National Party (ostensibly the party of the farmers and rural Australians, they're more right wing than the Liberals), and so we often call them the Coalition.

(Also, Labor is red and the Liberals are blue, so our colours are opposite of US but the same as the UK. This isn't important right now but I enjoy reminding americans that their colour-coding of politics is actually not the norm)

After 11 years of Coalition government under John Howard, we elected Kevin Rudd and the Labor Party in 2007. Then the GFC happened. Labor got us through very well, relatively speaking. But K-Rudd was losing popularity so members of the Labor party decided to vote for a new leader (this wasn't an election: for any Americans out there, the prime ministership isn't an elected position, it's just the leader of the party in power and they can choose that amongst themselves). And so we got Julia Gillard, our first female PM. She narrowly won the next election, and suffered through a number of things that lowered her standing in the polls (including misogyny, but also a few broken election promises the opposition pounced on) and so before the next election they backstabbed her and reinstated Kevin, hoping the change would improve their odds. It didn't work: Labor lost to (shudder) Tony Abbott and the Coalition. I really dislike Abbott. Raw-onion-with-the-skin-on-eating Abbott. 'Suppository of all wisdom' Abbott. 'Shit happens' Abbott. Wanting-to-knight Prince-Phillip Abbott. I mean, these are just his gaffes. The less said of his politics and personality the better.

The Liberals governed for a simultaneously stagnant and tumultuous nine years. Nine years with three prime ministers being overthrown by their own party and never actually getting all that much done. Abbott, rapidly losing favourability, was replaced with Malcolm Turnbull, an erudite, moderate Liberal who was under constant attack from his government's right wing and got murdered by them at the slightest whiff of a policy that might have the vaguest of emission reduction targets (these years are known as the climate wars and they're still not really over). Turnbull gave way to Scott Morrison. Scomo went to the election with really only one major economic policy which was some tax cuts. He won. Then the pandemic happened and yeah. We went massively into debt due to the huge spending required to keep everyone afloat. I am glad the Libs did that, but it points out their hypocrisy since they had banged on and on about Labor's 'debts and deficits' (I think particularly to do with spending during the GFC) and yet had not given a single budget surplus (i.e. they had been spending more than they gained in taxes etc) in that entire 9 years. And then, when it's their turn to spend big to save the economy, they're happy to ignore debts.

Labor was led during this time by Bill Shorten, a good guy but no one really liked him, nor his 'zingers', and his policies involved a lot of reforms and changes, leaving him open to scare campaigns from the right. Labor eventually decided to shed Bill and put in Anthony Albanese. Albo ran a very small target campaign to try to neutralise the differences between him and Scomo. It was... moderately successful. Labor got into government but really, it was the Liberals who lost because we all just disliked Scotty from Marketing (he mishandled the pandemic on a number of fronts, among other crises including, but not limited to, going to Hawaii during the 2019-20 bushfires and sexual misconduct allegations involving members of his party). The 2022 federal election is a story of its own though. The point is, Labor got into power.

They have given us our first budget surplus in 15 years. A budget surplus had been hyped up by successive Liberal governments who consistently failed to deliver one. Sure, Labor is still dealing with a housing crisis, but prices had been rising under the Coalition who just twiddled their thumbs and eventually suggested the policy of allowing people spend their superannuation (it's a bit like the US 401(k): here it's compulsory for money to go into a fund which you can't access until retirement) on a house (they're still suggesting this last I heard). And inflation has been high, but it seems to be going down, and the inflation was the result of (guess what) high levels of government spending during the pandemic (combined with supply issues caused by wars and the pandemic). Labor has done a decent job of bringing the economy back on track. They've been fiscally responsible. They even rejigged Scott's tax cuts to make them better for lower-income earners. Labor is clearly on par, if not better, at handling the economy and have shown this twice in my lifetime.

But do they get any credit for this? As if!

Labor has been absolute rubbish at explaining how they're helping people. Rubbish! It's why the Voice to Parliament referendum failed, because no one explained it clearly and succinctly. I don't think it failed because people were really racist, I think they just didn't get the point of it. I mean, some of it was underlying racism and a sense of 'why do they deserve this? don't they have enough?' but that stems again from a communication issue since people don't understand how big the gap still is. (for confused non-Australians, I'm talking about the referendum to enshrine in the constitution an advisory group of Indigenous Australians who would give advice to the government about matters pertaining to First Nations issues. The referendum failed abysmally)

Labor is currently heading towards a minority government (they will be the biggest party, but won't have a proper majority in parliament and will need to deal with a crossbench of minor parties and independents). They're expected to win partly because the Liberals are becoming increasingly right-wing (they lost a lot of their moderates at the last election to independents) and the current leader of the Libs looks like Mr Potato Head and has all the warmth of Darth Vader, so they might not win the centre very easily (we have compulsory voting, so you need to be at least relatively moderate to win big). But Labor will struggle (and could still lose) because Albanese is just terrible at getting any cut-through. It's pitiful. Personally, I'd kinda like Penny Wong as PM but she'd need to resign as a senator and be elected to the house of reps, so it's highly unlikely (plus I do like her in the Foreign Affairs portfolio). I think Jim Chalmers, our current treasurer, would be a good fit. He's got twice the charm of Albo and ten times that of Peter Dutton (Darth Potatohead, the current leader of the Liberals). He's also an effective communicator and can take a lot of credit for the economy since he's the guy making the budgets. I don't necessarily think he's an amazing treasurer (he's no Paul Keating), but he's done a good job. The thing is, Labor is highly unlikely to have another leadership spill for fear of appearing unstable (they made it much harder to have a spill after the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd debacle).

And sadly, Dutton has quite a bite, and loves to rip into Labor right where it hurts: the economy and immigration.

Don't get me started on immigration... I totally skipped over it but it's been a big issue here just like in the US.

Also I am not the biggest fan of Labor after they started to shift rightwards (the whole 'neutralise issues' thing). They're a bit like the Democrats in that sense, but the situation is a little different.

It seems like there’s this cycle of republicans making the economy bad and then people get tired of the republicans and elect a democrat and the democrat inherits a bad economy and then they sort of fix it somewhat and then people are like hey the economy is bad it was better during the Republican administration and then they elect a Republican who inherits a better economy from the democrat while he’s trashing it and then people are like hey he’s trashing the economy and then they elect a democrat who inherits a bad economy and fixes it somewhat and then people are like hey the economy was better when there was a Republican and then they elect a Republican who trashes the sort of better economy he inherited from the democrat and so on and so forth like forever I guess

[a-dragons-journal]

Shared Phantoms

One of the things systemhood has brought - indeed, in hindsight, one of the first signs of Viridian’s presence - is blendy phantom shifts that only happen with certain combinations of fronters. It’s an interesting phenomenon, especially when it’s not something that the fictives experienced before arriving here.

The most dramatic, I believe, is in fact the phantoms that Viridian and I co-fronting produces - which is to say, together we turn into a feathered dragon phantom-wise, something neither of us is on our own. We gain a feathered crest down the back of the skull and spine, similar to my webbed crest but with a different feel to it that’s hard to describe, and smaller, softer “body” feathers on the neck that we mostly notice when she-wei get flustered, embarrassed, or startled and the neck feathers rouse (ruffle and resettle) without our really meaning them to. We can intentionally move them as well.

I think I know why this happens, but it’s only a guess: before Viridian woke up fully, one of the AUs I’d played around with for her and her sourcemates was a dragon AU, in which Viridian is indeed a somewhat feathered dragon. Interestingly, that design doesn’t actually have the smaller body feathers, only the crest - but I suspect that’s what cemented “dragon!Viridian = feathers” in our brain, and thus when Viridian gets affected by my dragonbrain, it produces feathers. But it’s still a weird thing, especially since Viridian never had this in source - her brother-broodmate actually has phantom feathers, courtesy of being an anchiornis therian, but she never did. Caldwells is feathers, I guess. We have no data on whether she would still get these phantoms if she fronted without me, unfortunately, since it’s currently very difficult for me to leave front (and usually as soon as we realize I have I reflexively snap back into it anyway).

Viridian also gets one other phantom, one she actually does have in-source but never talks about - the sensation of retracting her fangs. Most Kindred can retract and extend their fangs at will, but Viridian has a quirk of the Blood (mechanically speaking, the Permanent Fangs Flaw) that prevents her from doing this and keeps her fangs permanently extended. She can try, however, and when she does she experiences a phantom sensation of the fangs retracting even though it doesn’t actually change anything.

…Here’s the funny thing about that. We learned only after she arrived here and off-handedly mentioned this to a sourcemate that that’s not how that works. It doesn’t feel like much of anything to most Kindred, apparently, at least in their universe. And after thinking about it, what we’re fairly sure happened is that shortly after her Embrace, when she was trying so hard to figure out how to make it work, she accidentally trained her brain into a phantom sensation that shouldn’t exist. Which is extremely funny (“if a little embarrassing,” she mutters from the back) in hindsight, but it’s also kind of interesting that it’s stuck around even after realizing this.

Another headmate who gets phantom shifts now even though she didn’t back in source is Loretta, the other resident dragon - though she has significantly more control over her shifts than I do mine, since transformation to and from human comes naturally to her kind of dragon, she usually chooses to let it happen anyway because we kind of enjoy them. Her tail is markedly different from mine - lighter, more flexible, and much more capable of curling upward to facilitate slashing with the single-edged blade her tailtip is equipped with - and occasionally the two fight for space; we can only have one at a time, it seems. Sometimes this leads to it flipping back and forth; usually Loretta’s tail wins out, I think because it’s more expressive and mobile than mine and thus attracts more of the brain’s conscious attention.

And while Loretta and I co-fronting doesn’t produce a unique set of phantom shifts (at least not so far), it does allow each of us to feel the other’s anatomy, which is… interesting sometimes, especially since any amount of focus on my headspace body leads to phantom shifts in the physical of whatever draconic body parts I may have in headspace at the time (it varies). It means that if she runs a hand along my wing in headspace, for example, we both feel both sides of the sensation - running “my” hand along “its” wing; “her” hand running along “my” wing. It’s… almost disorienting, but usually seems to work out okay? We haven’t played with it much, but what we have played with has been fun and interesting. It also means that I can often tell she’s come up closer to front by what feel like cameo shifts of her dragon shape, usually her ears and tail. (Interestingly, she doesn’t seem to pop wings as often as I do, maybe because in-source she can’t actually transform wings yet.)

So… yeah. I don’t really have a conclusion here, just making a set of notes.