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avelera · 2 years

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Hob Gadling - the absolute maddest of immortal lads

One of the things I love most about Hob Gadling as a character (and as a result, do my best to capture in fic) is how unique his reactions are to immortality and to Dream, and how he so often does the opposite of what one would expect from the genre of "humans granted immortality" but also what the average person and most of the audience expects that they would do with immortality, lending well to the concept that Hob is, genuinely, unhinged and a truly supernatural creature in his own right, which is often lost when the character we see him most often juxtaposed against is Dream, who is even more odd and unhinged if in very different ways

(I've decided to be systematic about this and go through meeting by meeting so strap in, folks it got long, as usual!)

1389 - First of all, Hob simply bragging at all that he doesn't plan to die. OG hipster right there, loving life before it was cool. But also, ok, loving life after being born less than a decade after the Black Plague ended. And in the midst of a great many Black Plague aftershocks! The latter half of the 1300s was a truly abysmal time to be alive, with huge social upheaval, war, plagues, "two bloody Popes fightin'" and in the midst of all this is Hob motherfuckin' Gadling, cheerfully announcing that death is for suckers and he doesn't intend to ever do it.

The man is a soldier! You'd think he'd be more accepting and philosophical about his inevitable death given the time he lives in, the profession he has chosen, the fact that most young men his age were wiped out at age 9 by the second wave of the Black Death, and just, in general, doing all of this while having the misfortune to live in England at the time.

And then when Dream comes up to him, like a complete weirdo, and challenges him on this, Hob is actually pretty nice to him! He gives him a side eye but he also goes along with the question, tells him to ignore his friend's jibes, and cheerfully accepts the wager! I cannot express to you how many turns in the road there are between what a normal person would do and what Hob Gadling does in that moment.

1489 - This one bugs me because the most unexpected thing Hob does is seemingly regress in maturity despite now being 100+ years old.

Now, I'm a huge fan of the theory that he's conning Dream right now and putting on the innocent chucklehead routine to put Dream off from kidnapping him to Faerie Land in exchange for his immortality. HOWEVER, since that's just a headcanon, let's take Hob as he is on the page!

Hob has a job. A Freaking Job. He used to be a bandit and a soldier, things that kind of make sense to do as an immortal (like The Old Guard) when you can't die! You could theoretically make BANK there just by taking dangerous jobs. But Hob doesn't?? He gets a normal-ass job, though in that day's equivalent of getting a job at Microsoft or Apple before they became big, Caxton is like one of the first modern startups in essence, a new technology that made TONS of money once it was imported, and Hob was on the ground floor. Still. HE GOT A JOB as an IMMORTAL. He doesn't seem to have this immortality thing figured out yet? And he doesn't ask Dream hardly any questions about it either! You'd think he'd be frothing at the mouth to better understand wtf happened to him, but once Dream clarifies that he's not the Devil and Hob's soul isn't in danger, that's it! No further questions, your honor! WHAT??

Also, just when you WOULD expect him to beg for death (that IS the genre savvy thing to do, Dream's not wrong!) he DOESN'T. He's more in awe than ever, he seems to be experiencing a second childhood over the fact. He's just vibing and living life. That's so, so unusual in this genre.

Hob also hasn't done any of the savvy things an immortal might do after 100 years! He doesn't actually seem all that angsty about why is he immortal, beyond a bit of fear he might need to pay the piper (Dream) now for this gift. Most vampires in an Anne Rice novel would have gone through about 20 stages of grief after they dealt with the first 100 years of everyone they know and love dying but Hob seems to not only be unbothered but actively gearing up for the next century. It's so bizarre. IT'S SO BIZARRE and I love it because I LOVE characters who DON'T do what you'd expect!

1589 - Hob has a family. HOB HAS A FAMILY. Who in their right MIND would start a family, knowing you'd have to bury your spouse and your children? HOB MOTHERFUCKING GADLING that's who! It's incomprehensible! He does it anyway! It's why I headcanon that he planned to support and nurture his family throughout time, like it was all very deliberate to found a dynasty, but it need not be! Knowing him, he just saw a pretty girl and married her! He didn't even CONSIDER his own wife and children getting angry and jealous with him for having immortality he can't share with them? He didn't even CONSIDER the heartbreak?? WHAT?! Who knows! He just did!

Now, this Hob HAS begun to do SOME of the things one would expect of an immortal - like build up generational wealth, BUT he has a KNIGHTHOOD. What immortal in their right MIND would draw that sort of attention to themselves?? HOB, THAT'S WHO. What are you ON, man, that's INSANE! No wonder he got drowned as a witch the man had ZERO CAUTION AT ALL.

1689 - the man is destitute. HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN IF YOU'RE AN IMMORTAL? This is AS puzzling as anything else. Theoretically, Hob could just take a dangerous job with a high fatality rate for quick cash and rebuild his fortune pretty quickly, but he DOESN'T. What went wrong? The possibilities are tantalizing and painfully human that maybe he did do that and failed anyway, or hit even WORSE strings of truly abysmal bad luck.

But somehow, at 300 YEARS OLD it's not until 1789 that we hear Hob has begun socking money away for a rainy day! How does it TAKE YOU that long, sir?? How is that NOT something you figure out in your first century? I've seen a lot of fan writers ascribe a certain amount of immortal savvy to Hob but it's REALLY not there on the page! The guy is NOT genre savvy about immortality AT ALL he doesn't do ANY of the things one would expect, it's absolutely WILD that he falls this low after 300 years after completely failing to, theoretically, CONSIDER this possibility! And then, AND THEN, the guy STILL wants to live. I mean, this one hardly needs saying, that's nuts after what he went through, it's on the page that he's NUTS for this. But the guy is literally in the gutter dreaming of the stars, he is unstoppable I love him so fucking much what a force of nature.

1789 - OK, we've already mentioned that it took until 1789 for Hob to start saving money for a rainy day but let's talk about the fact HE'S NOT ACTUALLY CAREFUL ABOUT BEING CAPTURED?? Again, least genre savvy immortal EVER. You can't die so you'd THINK that being captured or imprisoned or god forbid, thrown down a mine shaft would be the SCARIEST possible fates when you don't have death as an escape, but the guy doesn't even blink at the thought of getting captured by an occultist like Johanna Constantine, dude's totally unbothered! DREAM has to tell him after 400 YEARS that maybe he should be worried about this? THE GUY GOT DROWNED AS A WITCH, picked himself up, dusted himself off, got into some crimes against humanity, and MOVED ON apparently without learning a single goddamn lesson he hasn't had since 1389 which is how to kick ass and look good doing it BUT HE'S NOT EVEN A PROFESSIONAL FIGHTER AS A CAREER, he's just a gentleman of means!

He just... lives a normal human life and seems to expect weird things like being kidnapped by occultists to not happen so long as he stays within those boundaries and you know what? IT SEEMS TO HAVE WORKED! Because to be fair, how many of us outside the bounds of fiction would ever expect the wild stuff like kidnapping to really happen? It's statistically quite vanishingly rare! And that's been all Hob has needed, presumably, to not need to stress since the damn witch trials about his immortality! So yeah, I read fic where Hob is like this very savvy immortal but by 400 YEARS he's BARELY learned to have a savings account under a different name and he STILL doesn't seem too bothered by the possibility of getting hurt or captured! Like, AT ALL?! Absolutely class act right here, top lad, unbelievable, no notes. HOW do you SURVIVE like this as an anomaly, Hob?

1889 - By now, it SEEMS like Hob has bought a clue. He's pretty understated, he's made some amends, SEEMS to have resolved to be less of a shithead, and he's got this immortality thing figured out. It only took him 500 FUCKING YEARS. But again, Hob ISN'T fabulously wealthy as far as we can tell. He's not a megalomaniac and he STILL seems to be vibin' as just a dude doing Just A Dude things like HAVING A JOB and if we borrow from Hob's Leviathan a bit, he's STILL just jumping between industries, just living life down at the normal human level. He hasn't detached from humanity, he lives in the day to day on a level that's just INCONCEIVABLE for a being that's 500 years old.

1989 - Ok, moving on a bit from Hob being an immortal, because getting excited about technology like his brick phone is absolutely so charming I want to squish his cheeks, but he's hardly the only immortal to get excited about that. What I want to talk about is how HOB FORGIVES DREAM for 1889. Because, look, Dream is a prick there. Hob could have been more diplomatic but Dream could have waited for the apology and he didn't.

I have seen SO MANY TAKES where Hob would be MAD after 1889 and RIGHTFULLY SO. But he's NOT. He's not! There are so many fics where he has lingering hurt over it but that's just NOT what the character does! He blames himself! Guy did pretty much nothing wrong except maybe choose his words poorly, but he's blaming HIMSELF for making Dream uncomfortable. Absolute legend. Saints have nothing on this man, that is saint-like behavior. I'd be furious. Hob just misses his friend and BLAMES HIMSELF that Dream isn't there. Not an a single, microscopic trace of anger in sight.

2022 - And then, AND THEN, when he has EVERY REASON to flip out when Dream shows up, finally, after 133 YEARS, after Hob has APPARENTLY stuck around the area just in case, WAITING for him, what does this fucking legend say? "You're late."

THAT'S IT! He's not mad, he totally has a right to be! He doesn't jump out of his chair in shock, that would be a totally expected reaction to! He glances up! He acts like Dream is 5 minutes late instead of over a century WHAT IS THAT?? WHAT IS THAT?! HOW?!! They just settle back with a pint after that like it's nothing. That's not what I would do. I don't think that's what almost any human would do after a shock like that. I still can't wrap my head around it.

So anyway, Hob Gadling, absolutely FASCINATING character from the perspective of just not doing a single fucking thing you'd expect an immortal Just A Dude to do. Goddamn legend right there. Worth remembering for those like me who are obsessed enough to write this guy in fic. He is just so... opposite of everything you'd expect and that is so fucking sexy of him wow

#hob gadling #the sandman #sandman meta #dreamling

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sweetestpopcorn · 2 months

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Hello!! I know that aside from Daemon/Rhaenyra, you are a fan of Baelon/Alyssa. I just wanted to ask, what is your opinion on Viserra, or on the whole Viserra seducing Baelon after Alyssa’s death? Do you think Baelon might have been able to save Viserra from her fate if he had agreed to marry her (even if he didn’t love her)? What is your opinion on this pair?

Hi there :)

Yes, after Daemyra Baelon and Alyssa are definitely my favourite Targaryen couple.

About the rest of your ask, I don't think Viserra fans will like my answer, but I don't quite care for Viserra. I have talked about it in the past that I see Saera and Viserra as very shallow characters with almost nothing to them. They were written as mean girls and that's about it, besides being Targaryens and physically very attractive, I don't actually see any redeeming qualities in them.

Saera at least you could argue was sort of funny, in a heartless, sociopathic Cersei kind of way, and I did admire how she later on in life wanted nothing to do with Westeros or the Iron Throne saying she had her own kingdom was a cool moment. But regardless she was cruel, unnecessarily so (e.g., Tom the Turnip anyone?), and worse with someone much weaker than her which also makes her a sort of coward. Like I said she had many sociopathic traits, and her behaviour itself is very congruent with a sociopathic personality type.

Viserra is a bit better in that regard in the sense that she was not needlessly cruel to anyone weaker than her for fun, even if she poked fun at young men who lusted after her, sometimes in quite dangerous ways (e.g., when she dares them to put their heads inside a dragon's mouth, I think the prize was her V card if memory serves right). But like Saera is mean and cold for the sake of being mean and cold, Viserra is ambitious and cold for the sake of being ambitious and cold.

We are both shown and told she wanted power and to be queen and F feelings and all that, but we are never really given a proper reason as to why. I would guess that being child #10 in a very large family would make you starved for attention, likely importance as well, since her only selling point in that family was being the most beautiful of the sisters. It was (VERY) unlikely she would ever be queen, so maybe because of that it became an ambition of hers? There was also something arrogant about her because of her looks, thinking that that would be enough to just give her what she wanted without having to rely on anything else. In that sense she has no depth, what you see is pretty much what you get and neither is very good or particularly compelling.

So, no, I wouldn't want her to marry Baelon, nor for Baelon to be interested in her. In fact, I loved that he wasn't and that after she spoke in such a nasty way about the sister she thought herself so physically superior too that Baelon gave Viserra a cold hard dose of reality of he's Baelon Targaryen, not a failed Baelon like Tywin Lannister.

Sure that some people find love again in life, and I am all for it. But some people aren't like that, and I found a lot of beauty in that aspect of Baelon's character, of how devoted he remained to the memory of his lady with the mismatched eyes. I would have hated for that to be ruined, especially in the name of such an ambitious and empty character like Viserra. If he was to marry her, whatever the reason, he would not be Baelon because that was a central aspect to his character.

All this aside I did feel bad about how Viserra was treated by Alysanne, almost like she was the final boss Alysanne had to defeat. I think this is a great example at times of George's incongruence with how he writers characters in F&B. Pretty much their end is decided so he just does whatever he has to to get there, at times with little regard with what he previously established. Are we supposed to believe that the same Alysanne who still loved and wanted to forgive Saera, even defended her, would be so cold and mean to Viserra? Sorry, I don't find it the least bit believable. Like show us on the doll where Viserra touched you Alysanne. Regardless of her not deserving this or her cruel fate, I still don't really care about Viserra nor think she had any redeeming qualities.

And that is my take.

Thank you for coming to my Tumblr Ted Talk!

Much love to you <3

#viserra targaryen #baelon targaryen #canon baelon targaryen #fire and blood #house targaryen #pre asoiaf #popcorn answers #this was an easy one

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geekgirles · 5 months

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Since all I ask for now is that Amalia gets to call the Osamodas out on their hypocrisy and betrayal, I think it's important to point out Armand never wanted Aurora to rule.

I say this in light of her father claiming she is the rightful heir to the throne when we all know she's actually not.

And I don't just mean her claim on the throne isn't legitimate because a) she's not even a Sadida, or b) she was Armand's Osamodas wife, not even his daughter, which would give her claim some credibility, but because it's clear to see she was never meant to truly be the Sadidas' queen, not even their regent.

I know this all sounds contradictory with the fact that, by virtue of marrying Armand, the Crown Prince, she eventually became his queen, but the thing is, it's plain to see not even Armand wanted her to rule the kingdom on her own, which is what her family is trying to accomplish—although there's also a very high chance they intend to rule through her, rather than let her make her own decisions.

As @vinillain and I have discussed through reblogs, it seems to be implied Aurora was never really meant to rule: not only wasn't she a candidate for becoming her own people's queen, but it is clear to see she was only meant to be given an important position in court but with none of the responsibilities expected from such duty.

This can be seen in her role in seasons 3 and 4; despite being Armand's wife and loving him, she never really acted like a true queen. In season 3 she acted conniving and pretended to have Amalia and the kingdom's best interests in mind when, deep down, all she cared about was strengthening her and her family's power over Sadida politics. And in season 4 she remained passive, aloof, and emotionless throughout. At no point was she shown to feel genuine concern for her husband's people even in the face of an imminent threat.

The most active role she's taken ever since she debuted was playing matchmaker for an unwilling Amalia and trying to find more about the Eliaculus.

From what we've seen so far it's easy to conclude she was always meant to be Armand's consort, but never his actual partner. She was essentially sent to the Sadidas to act as their king's arm candy. Whatever power gap was between them, she never made any efforts to breach it and show her worth.

For all she and her family look down on Amalia, Aurora herself never matured enough to become a suitable ruler, whereas Amalia eventually grew into her mother's mantle; even when his father was still alive, she had already become Queen of the Sadidas.

And I think despite his love for her, Armand knew this. He knew she could never rule the kingdom without him; knew she never should rule his kingdom without him.

Despite his many flaws and not-so-stellar moments, Armand was raised to be king. He was never stupid. He knew the inner workings of politics in and out and how to navigate them.

This is apparent in his interactions with the Osamodas King.

While he maintained a cool head throughout, it was clear to see Armand saw right through his father-in-law's ill-veiled condescension towards his people and his desire to control his kingdom. Which is why I wouldn't be surprised if he had never truly trusted Aurora despite coming to love her.

Because of everything his people had gone through, Armand was perfectly aware his kingdom was practically of no importance to the other races, for they never sent their support when they needed it most. So it wouldn't be far-fetched to assume Armand knew all along the Osamodas' intentions behind marrying him to Aurora went beyond simply providing him with a queen.

Which is why I believe he never intended to let Aurora become regent if he was no longer around.

But my greatest evidence are his last words to Amalia as he was about to sacrifice himself and he put her to safety. I don't have the screenshots for it (so I'd appreciate if anyone could provide them), but he essentially told Amalia she would be their next queen.

That's it. That's all he said. He never said, "Please, help Aurora out", or "You two are co-rulers now", or even "You have my permission to fuck Yugo senseless". He told his sister it was up to her to rule their people, not his wife.

Meaning, between her being the last remaining Sheran Sharm, the second in line when her brother was still alive, and Armand's words, Amalia is the kingdom's rightful ruler, not Aurora. It was never Aurora.

#wakfu #wakfu season 4 #wakfu webtoon #wakfu spoilers #wakfu analysis #wakfu the great wave #wakfu la grande vague #armand sheran sharm #amalia sheran sharm #yugo the eliatrope #aurora

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cringe-but-proud · 9 months

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Would you do a 1610 miles morales request where he and the reader became close at visions and she figures out he’s Spider-Man so he tends to go to hers when needing comfort/help so one night after patching him up, they end up sharing a bed cause he’s too hurt to go home and they’re both flustered and cute cause they clearly like each other?

Yurrrrrr

Miles Morales x Fem!Reader

Warnings: light swearing, mentions of pain/injury, reader and miles share a bed (NOTHING SPICY 😑)

A/n: First non-second person POV fic on here. As always, my requests are open 🥳

Tonight had been pretty rough for Miles. He had gotten in a pretty bad fight with some guys that were trying to rob a jewelry store. He had stopped them, which was good, but his entire body felt sore.

So, like always, he made his way over to her apartment.

This had become a sort of regular thing for him to do. His best friend, Y/n, was one of the only people who knew about his secret identity, and so, he went to her whenever he was in need of some quick first aid.

Miles swung over to the familiar apartment building and knocked on her bedroom window.

After a short moment, Y/n opened the window for him. She scanned his disheveled state while helping him climb through the window. "Wow, you look like shit." She commented.

"Thanks. Good to see you too." Miles replied as he pulled his mask off and let it fall to the ground.

She laid a towel on her bed before he sat down (Y/n was very serious about Miles not getting blood on her sheets) and grabbed the first aid kit that she kept in her room.

"Rough night?" She asked as she got out some of the medical supplies she'd be using.

"Yeah. I'm alright though."

She began disinfecting the wound and a comfortable silence fell over them. Miles always liked coming over to her place. Even though he was almost always injured or hurt when he came over. He liked how cozy her room was, he liked that she always had music playing, and he liked that she was always too focused on patching him up to notice him staring at her.

After about 30 minutes of tending to his wounds, she finished with a relieved sigh. "You're lucky I like you, dude. If anyone else asked me to do something like this I'd tell them to never talk to me again."

Miles chuckled and looked down at the floor. "Uh... Thanks?" He tried standing up, but winced.

"You alright?" Y/n asked, looking back at Miles as she put away the first aid kit.

"Yeah... Just a little sore." He said as he sat back down on her bed.

"You gonna be able to make it back home?'

Miles thought about it for a moment. He didn't think he had the strength to swing or even walk home right now. "Uh..."

"If you need to you can stay the night." She tells him

"Really?"

"Of course, man." She smiled softly. "It's not a big deal."

To Miles it was a big deal. Staying over at his crush's house? Huge deal.

But, he had to play it cool.

"Uh... Yeah, alright." He shrugged, trying to act nonchalant about the whole thing.

Y/n had given him some of her oversized clothes for him to sleep in.

There was a brief argument over the sleeping situation (Miles didn't want to kick Y/n out of her own room, but Y/n wasn't gonna make an injured Miles sleep on the couch) they decided to just share the bed.

No big deal. Two friends sharing a bed. Totally normal. No big deal.

Miles settled into her bed, back turned to her as he stared at the wall.

The two of you exchanged a brief 'good night' and then it was silent.

Miles was wide awake. The position he was laying in was uncomfortable, but he didn't dare move. The minutes passed by like hours and he wanted to look at the time, but he couldn't wake her up.

Little did he know, Y/n was feeling the exact same way. Wide awake, unable to move, and unable to speak.

Somehow, against all odds, after what was probably at least 2 hours of still, dead silence, they both managed to fall asleep.

If they thought falling asleep next to each other was awkward, then the dilemma of waking up cuddling each other was going to be absolutely unbearable.

#x reader #fanfiction #spiderman across the spiderverse x reader #spiderman into the spiderverse x reader #miles morales x reader #spiderman x reader

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the-milk-monarch · 11 months

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[𝚂𝙷𝙰𝚁𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝙰 𝙱𝙴𝙳 𝙵𝙾𝚁 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙵𝙸𝚁𝚂𝚃 𝚃𝙸𝙼𝙴]

Summary: Reader asks to sleep in the same bed for the first time.

[𝙼𝚒𝚔𝚎]

You were already past the phase of confessing your feelings to each other.

Of course you and Mike were pining for each other hard, but you weren't really that affectionate as a couple.

It's not because you didn't want to, but you were both awkward messes when it comes to that stuff. The most you did was hold hands or lean against each other while sitting close, which was still nice.

So Mike was very surprised when you out of the blue (and very low-key) suggested to sleep in the same bed one day.

"Uh, like, in the cabin? Together?" He asked a bit taken aback by the sudden offer, his face becoming slightly warmer.

You quickly explained that if he's not comfortable he can just brush it off and ignore you asked, trying to save face and potential rejection from your boyfriend.

"Oh, no- No, I mean-" He started to ramble a bit, trying to not look like he's about to burst with happiness and keep cool so you wouldn't think he's weird when someone finally took the initiative to get closer to him. "I- I would love to. If- If you're okay with it, I mean."

"Of course I am. I suggested it, didn't I?" You said with a comforting and apologetic smile to him.

After your mutual agreement you were looking forward to sharing a bed, which was exciting and a bit "scary", as often new experiences are.

Of course, sleeping in one bed was somewhat of a "taboo", given that other contestants were there to judge you both, but ultimately you decided that their stares won't stop you from enjoying yourselves.

Unsurprisingly, Mike is a small-spoon. He was rarely (if ever) held or liked by anyone in that way, so he appreciates the contact with the person he treasures the most. It makes him feel protected, although inside he probably thinks he's a bother for even wanting affection, but you make sure to be understanding and reassure him if it ever comes up in the conversation.

Mike doesn't move much while he's still in the process of falling asleep, keeping in mind your comfort before his own. Of course he becomes more chilled out about it the more you both sleep together.

Although he's mindful of you while awake, he can't stop himself from muttering few things while he's asleep.

He's also very clingy once he's perfectly assured he's not a bother.

Hopefully you're a heavy-sleeper.

[𝙼𝚊𝚕]

Similar to Mike, Mal wasn't hugged much as a kid and in general. He's not exactly big on PDA, so you both didn't have a lot of romantic moments.

Your relationship was more like two friends who are very comfortable with each other. Well, as comfortable as you can be when it comes to a first relationship.

He's not against it, but he usually doesn't think of it as necessary and doesn't initiate anything. Unless he's acting slightly possessive and jealous when he feels threatened by the other contestants, which usually shows by him bringing you closer by your waist to him in a nonchalant manner that also shows others what 'belongs to him'.

You also didn't show a lot of affection towards him, because of your shy behavior about the topic.

He almost started to doubt your interest in him (which was already a surprise on it's own when your mutual attraction towards each other became clear, given how other people are usually not very fond of him), until you mustered the courage to ask.

He was- amused. His face had a smug smile that almost made you reconsider your request, in fear of being judged for asking something "silly".

"Oh, you wanna sleep together?" He asked, looking you up and down in a slightly dominant and proud of himself manner that made you feel a bit bashful about your words.

Before you opened your mouth to add something else, he cut you off. "Fine, fine… I guess I might consider your request." He smugly teased in a bit mocking way, as if you were so desperate to cuddle with him in bed that he was mercifully letting you touch him.

Of course while Mal's words might have sounded a bit narcissistic and degrading towards you, it was merely a front for his anxiousness about the act that he tried to hide so well.

I'm sure it's obvious he won't let you know about it whatsoever though. Years of acting emotionless and void of any weakness has made him still wary of showing vulnerability, even towards you.

Although he could 'sweep anyone off their feet if he wanted to', he's not really as smooth with more tender acts, such as cozily sleeping together, which he fiercely masks with his confidence.

While you felt a bit put down by his constant tough demeanor, you were (at least somewhat) aware of the reason why he was this way, that's why you patiently endured his behavior. You wouldn't be dating him if you weren't.

As for the others, he didn't even worry about the opinion of other contestants while you both were supposed to share a bed, as the whole camp knew he's not the one to make fun of.

Of course he insisted on being the big spoon, feeling more comfortable with him just embracing you, as if he's in the control of the situation.

While you were finally laying on bed together he got more relaxed as time went by, and you both adjusted to the feeling of your warm bodies against each other.

Your first few times were slightly tense, but with each next night spent together it became more casual and normal for you both.

Mal even warmed up to being the small spoon from time to time (if you prefer to be the big one) and it didn't put such strain on his pride while got used to being so close to you.

It doesn't mean he will be the small spoon every time though.

He loves the feeling of holding you close to him and knowing you're not gonna leave him. This, and the fact that he still has to keep up an appearance, after all.

[𝚅𝚒𝚝𝚘]

Unlike Mike and Mal, Vito's love language was always being touchy-feely or using pet-names, so being brave in the cuddle department wasn't a big deal.

Of course he didn't push you if you weren't comfortable with that, but he wasn't scared of showing his affection towards you.

Whether you both were already more confident with each other or not, he was still a bit surprised when you voiced your idea of sleeping together in bed. Of course you specified it was only sleeping, so he wouldn't get the wrong idea.

"Damn babe, finally!" He said a bit loudly, because of his excitement at the thought. Was he finally getting some affection from you? Did you finally decide to show Vito some love without being so hesitant?

You chuckled slightly, embarrassed from his reaction. You knew Vito would probably not reject you, but to hear such enthusiasm from him was reassuring.

Vito couldn't care less what other contestants would think if they saw you both cuddling on one bed, why would he? Only you and him mattered to him, and if anyone had anything to say, that just meant they're jealous.

He quickly jumped on the bed when the time arrived, expecting you to follow. He made sure to give you some space on his bed, laying on his back.

You slowly crawled near him, laying near his side and gently placing your hand on his chest as he exhaled contently.

"You should suggest stuff like that more often. I won't leave ya hangin', you know~" He teased slightly, a bit of his regular flirtatiousness seeping thru his words. He loved being open about his love and affection for you.

Be prepared for lots of tossing and turning while he sleeps though. He's a great hugger, but once he falls asleep it's tough to keep a position that works for you both. You usually have to "keep him steady" by hugging his waist while he's laying on his back or hugging him from behind, which he has no problem with.

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frooogscream · 12 days

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So I thought about Santiago not only changing his name when he became a vampire, but this apparently being his very first most pressing concern (if Louis retelling is correct) after being turned.

And as much of a pretentious insecure show-off he might be, having just been turned into a frickin vampire(!) all those new intense sensory perceptions, the voices of other vampires and violent hunger for blood running through your body rarely seams the moment you’d think "oh but what if I had a really cool new name", simply because you were a bit of a looser when you were alive and somehow emotionally connect that to your name (which I think is the running interpretation in the fandom?). More so to not actually have to think about what a "cool new name" would be, but to immediately know a name you’d like to be called…as if you had though about this before?

And then I remembered there was a girl(!) in my primary school class called Francis. It’s not really a common name were I live, so I looked it up and BINGO!, it is a male and female name.

Whose first question of all the things you’d want to know upon becoming a vampire is "Can I be called Santiago?"

Well, as a trans man with a gender neutral given name who isn’t allowed to legally change it to a male name (since it already qualifies as a male name so the courts deem it unnecessary in the country I live in), I can tell you what one of MY first questions would be if I could start a completely new life in a society were human court rulings don’t matter…

So I’d like to suggest the new theory that Santiago’s chosen name is the first thing he thinks about when being turned because he is a trans man who wasn’t allowed to change his birth name when he was human. ‘Francis’ is a constant reminder NOT about him being a middle class actor who never really achieved anything, but about being raised as a “girl“, about everything he hates about his body, about all the ridicule and transphobia he endured when people clocked him when he was younger, and every time he hears it there’s this little pang of fear that someone could find out again.

#my trans santiago agenda #ah it is coming together nicely #Iwtv #iwtv theory #iwtv thoughts #iwtv headcanon #iwtv santiago #trans santiago #interview with the vampire #amc iwtv #iwtv s2 #iwtv tv #amc interview with the vampire #santiago

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chainoftalent · 18 days

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Can i ask for koiki/pg kokichi yan headcannons?

Ah my boy Koiki, who's original iteration became so specific that he split off into an oc and pregame got given the much less cool name of Koiki.

Yandere PG Kokichi/Koiki Headcanons

Pregame Kokichi will be referred to as Koiki

Koiki's not an easy person to catch the eye of, incredibly particular and somewhat secretly misanthrope, Koiki views everyone as just pawns and other game pieces for his quest to world domination. He's taken a lot of influence from the best character in Danganronpa, which he will fight about, Monaca Towa. Truly, she's everything he wants to be.

So he makes himself seem pleasant, sweet, naive even, as he peers up to you in those big round glasses in that soft woolen sweater. One would not be amiss to mistake him for a sheep, but with tongue and eyes as sharp as claws, beware the wolf in the sheep. He'll lie, cheat, steal, push down the stairs, and then blame you for all of it, because poor little bullied Class Rep Koiki could NEVER.

Though while everyone thinks they're friends with Koiki, Koiki feels nothing for them. No empathy, or pity, or sympathy, simply dominoes to line up. However, don't mistake this for a total detachment. He has his more early interests, like sweets, and especially animals. Koiki adores animals, seeing them as much more honest and understandable then people. People have all this pomp and charade and knives in backs, a dog is just a dog. Simply, effective, understandable. Truly what could a person give him that a cat or dog or bird couldn't?

With quite an ego and viewing himself as just inherently better then humanity, it's very very hard to make true attachments. Which does leave him a bit lonelier then he likes to admit. So this won't be a standard meet cute, no, this will be calculated. He'll see you around, just another pawn in his game, as he learns all your secrets. Then you break the scripts he had thought with you. You take him off guard, you call him out for a moment, or you rescue a dog from traffic, or you reveal that you were smarter then you appeared. Either way, you proved his calculations wrong.

And if there's something Koiki can't stand, it's being wrong because if he's wrong that means he's not perfect which means he's slacking, and he CANNOT have that.

So he focuses in on you, spends more time with you, trying to figure out where his calculations, his precious gears and pawns and plans, failed him.

He just can't seem to get it right though, maybe you don't want to be around him despite his charms, maybe you keep changing the rules he thinks he understands, for whatever reason he keeps failing.

Suddenly this isn't a pawn, or an actor, or just another shadow on the wall, but a person, like him, complex, complicated, alive.

He's never met another person before, just shadows and facades of what it means to be a person.

Such a rare occurance, such a thing he didn't think was possible

well....

it's certainly not boring, and he certainly isn't going to let something like that slip through his fingers. Oh no, you won't escape your new best friend so easily, and if you try, he'll make everyone hate you as the cruel cold person who spurred the sweetest kindest person in school...do you think your reputation could take that? your future? no? good, so put your hand in his, and dance this dangerous dance of dominance and conflict with him, and he won't blame you for a black eye.

#yandere danganronpa #ndrv3 #yandere #yandere ndrv3 #drv3 #x reader #danganronpa v3 #yandere kokichi ouma #yandere kokichi #yandere pregame #yandere pregame kokichi #yandere koiki #pregame

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resident-idiot-simp · 3 months

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Hi I know your on Deer hybrid Ghost at the moment (and it’s really cool) but it’s given me an idea… a Pig hybrid Ghost who after or during his time with Roba went feral and became a Boar hybrid. Imagine him and Soap a Pig/Boar hunting dog Hybrid Sparing. I think Gaz would run bets for it whenever they get scheduled to spar, which Price has “absolutely no knowledge of” but can coincidentally be found smoking a very new very expensive cigar during or after said boughts.

It’s so fun watching people write about how terrifying and insane herbivores actually are!

I could see it however pigs and boars are two different creatures (at least in this context) pigs our domesticated through a long period of time however boars have different appearances and are very mean.

I love the idea of Price being aware of things and just letting it go as long as he profits. Also mastermind Gaz maybe?

Yeah herbivores are dangerous I don't know why people forget this they may be pray but there's a reason that prayer doesn't always get caught.

#call of duty modern warfare #cod modern warfare #simon ghost riley #john soap mactavish #deer!ghost #related

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vintagepresley · 2 years

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I have only ever had 1 penis in my mouth and that was years ago. My partner is into my great vag, so sucking doesn't really come up, which is cool by me. But I was thinking that you could write a great smut with Austin guiding me through giving him head (and of course Austin knows the situation). Guiding, praising, reassuring, enjoying, being romantic, being gentle with my gag reflex, walking me through it (reassuring both physically and verbally). Swallowing is hot btw - that's the opposite of a problem for me. And of course, oral on me, p in v, and all that great stuff is very welcome in the story. I am a huge fan of yours, but this request was very private and very personal, so I had to go anon. You are the person I trust with something this personal and delicate. I am a dirty girl when it comes to Austin, so you can go as wild and as smutty as you like. I welcome it. Looking forward to you possibly fulfilling this request. I have had this on my mind and finally decided to do something about it. Thank you! 💕

Aw, this really made my day. I love this request! Thank you so much for trusting me with this! I will do my best to give you the dirtiest Austin smut, bby! ❤️

GOOD GIRL.

You and Austin are making out on his couch, the kissing and heavy petting getting more and more heated as you two kissed more sloppily and passionate, his hands running up and down the curves of your body, his large hands squeezing and groping every inch of you, a small groan slipped from lips against your mouth as he felt the tightness in his pants growing and he glanced down for a moment to see that he was getting hard, he clenched his jaw a bit as he tried to keep his hard on contained as he became more and more uncomfortable. The two of you had been dating for a little while, exploring one another and having incredible sex. But you felt like you still weren’t doing enough for him because you hadn’t gone down on him at all, not because you didn't want to but because you weren’t completely experienced and you felt a bit embarrassed by it. You've only given head one time, but Austin didn’t care and he never pushed you to do anything you weren’t comfortable with yet. He also offered to teach you if you ever felt like you were ready. He was patient with you and wanted your first time giving him head to be good for the both of you.

You couldn’t help but notice his squirming and his soft groans that vibrated against your lips, and you peeked down to see that he was fully erect, his pants squeezing around him in the most uncomfortable way, desperately needing a release. You felt your cheeks go red as you stared down at his pants as his lips continued to kiss yours, all you could think about and how you could take care of his little problem for him if you weren’t so shy about giving him head. But you remembered that he willing to be your guide whenever you were ready. You so badly just wanted to satisfy him and you practically had dreams about this mans cock in your mouth, the dirty thoughts of him using your mouth for his pleasure were a constant thought in your mind. The very thought it now made you so wet. You placed one of your hands against his chest and pulled away from his kisses, staring up at him with a smile and also eyeing his hard on, slipping your hand down to his lap and rubbing it over the front of his pants teasingly. He let out another soft groan, biting down on his bottom lip now.

“Austin? I... I think I’m ready...” you whispered softly. “Ready for what, baby?” he asked curiously. You chewed at your bottom lip nervously. “To give you a blowjob...” you mumbled. His eyes lit up at your words a sly grin formed on his lips, trying to contain his obvious excitement because he dreamed of having your beautiful mouth around his cock. “Really? Are you sure, baby?” he asked as he brushed some of your hair out of your face. “I’m sure.. I really want to. But... Will you still guide me through it?” you asked a bit embarrassed. “Of course, honey, I’ll be patient and gentle with you.” he said assuringly with a smile. You nodded slowly trusting him completely. You kissed lips once more before you got up off the couch and stood in front of him, you watched as he positioned himself and spreading his legs open. “C-Can you take some of your clothes off for me, baby... I’ve just always had this vision of you on your knees for me naked..” he mumbled softly. You raised an eyebrow at his words, a smirk forming on your lips because this was something he thought about as well and you could feel yourself becoming so wet. You nodded eagerly at his suggestion. Stripping off each article of clothing until you were still there in just your bra and panties and you slowly got down on your knees in front of him. He smirked a bit at the sight of you sitting at his feet. “Mm.. Get rid of that bra..” he mumbled as he reached down to undo his pants, tugging the tight fabric down a bit and reaching into his pants to pull his hard member out, and he let out another groan finally being freed from his pants.

You licked your lips a bit at the sight of his cock a bit nervous and excited for what he was going to teach you, you reached around to unclasp your bra and slowly letting it fall to the floor, the chill of the room causing your nipples to grow hard. You couldn’t help but notice the way Austin was staring at you with so much lust and desire in his eyes for you. You sat there patiently waiting for how he was going to begin his lesson of you sucking his cock, your eyes staring at his cock hungrily and the way it just laid against his lap, aching and pulsing for you. You could feel your arousal pooling between your legs and soaking up your panties already, trying your best to keep it together as the excitement and nerves grew inside of you. “C’mere, baby, it’s not gonna bite...” he chuckled softly, you rolled your eyes playfully at his words and you slowly scooted yourself close between his legs, his cock directly in your face now. You rested your hands on his thighs and he reached for one of them, carefully placing it around the length of cock, wrapping your fingers around him, a soft groan escaping him at the feeling.

“We’ll go slow... Just stroke it and maybe lick the tip a bit for me?” he said softly, fighting back another groan. “Okay..” you smiled at his, wrapping your hand a bit tight around him as you slowly began to pump him in your hand, watching the precum leaking from the tip of his cock, you leaned in closer, sticking your tongue out and swirling it slowly around his tip, tasting the saltiness of his precum, flicking it back and forth around it, staring up at him with innocent eyes. He groaned out loudly, one of his hands gripping the fabric of the couch while his other hand resting on top of your head, tangling his fingers in your hair. You dragged your tongue along his length your hand now resting at the base of his cock. “Shit... W-Wrap your lips around it, baby..” he groaned out. You slowly parted your lips and wrapped your mouth around just the tip, sucking on it slowly continuing to swirling your tongue around him, keeping your eyes on him as you waited for what he may do next.

His groans escaping from the back of his throat when he felt your mouth around him, and he smirked down at you, loving the sight of you taking him into your mouth. “G-Good girl... You’re doing so good, baby.” his praises coming out softly. Which only made you happy and more eager to do more for him, you started stroking his length again and moving it at the same pace that you were sucking the tip, soft noises escaping you as you did. You felt his hand tighten around your hair a bit, now he was needing more, but he was still remembering to be patient with you. “You think you can take it a bit further into your mouth, baby?” he said softly under heavy breaths. You were bit hesitate as you popped his cock out of your mouth, licking your lips. “I-I think so..” you whispered. “If it’s too much just let me know, okay?” he said with such a loving and caring tone. “Okay, baby.” you said with a smile, his reassuring and tenderness made you feel so safe with him.

He cupped your face with his hand and brushed the pad of his thumb against your lips, as he grasped his cock with his other hand. “Open for me, baby..” he whispered and you slowly opened your mouth for him and he began to carefully guide himself into you, only putting just enough of himself into your mouth that you could handle and making sure not to hit the back of your throat, you wrapped your lips around him and tiny gag escaped, but it wasn’t anything too serious, you just weren’t use to it. He rubbed his hand gently against your cheek as he watched your mouth full of his cock. “You’re doing so good...” he mumbled. Your eyes on him and staring at him with such admiration. Your hands grasped his thighs lightly as you began to suck his cock slowly, wrapping your hand back around the base, you felt confident enough to suck at a steadier pace, you glanced up through your eye lashes to see the satisfied expressions on his face, his head tilting back as he let out a groan. “Oh… Y/N… Your mouth feels so fucking good, baby. G-Good job… Just keep doing that…” he groaned, clutching onto your hair tighter.

You got a bit ahead of yourself now because of how praises of how well you were taking him, so you decided to take him a bit further into your mouth, gagging almost immediately when you felt him hit the back your throat. “Oh, fuck...” he moaned, glancing down at you and seeing you trying to take him deeper, he couldn’t help but smirk at your eagerness, shaking his head at you. “I see someone was ready for the next lesson, huh?” he said with a grin. You nodded as his cock was still stuffed into your mouth, desperately wanting him to use your mouth. “Hm, okay, baby...” he hummed, reaching down to place his hand around your throat, rubbing it gently. “Just relax your throat, baby.. I’m gonna guide my cock down... If it’s too much just squeeze my thighs and I’ll pull out.” he said with a nod. You nodded as much as you could, taking a deep breath and pacing yourself for what was about to come. He kept his hand on your throat, caressing it lightly wanting to be as tender with as possible, as he pushed his hips forward, making you take the rest of him inside of you mouth, you began to gag softly around him, soft noises and whimpers escaping you, your eyes welling up with tears, your nails digging into his thighs.

“There you go, baby... You’ve been doing such a good job...” he cooed, trying his best to stay focus as he groans left him droves when he felt his cock hitting the back of your throat, saliva already gathering at the sides of your mouth, the sounds of your soft gags were like music to his ears. “I-I’m gonna fuck your throat now, baby girl.” he hummed, thrusting his hips forward and plunging his cock deep into your mouth, keeping his movements slow, your body jolted and your gags grew louder, but he kept rubbing your throat and caressing you, trying to keep you relax, a few tears rolling down your cheeks, you shut your eyes tight, trying to breath through your nose the best that you could. “Goddamn... Your throat feels so fucking good.” he moaned, he then slide his cock out of your mouth to give you a moment to catch your breath once he heard your gags becoming louder. “Damn, Y/N... You sure you only did this once? You’re doing such a good job for me. I’ll let take a moment to catch your breath.” he said with a grin.

A soft gasp escaping you once he pulled out and you opened your eyes, letting out a soft giggle at his words, you adored him for the way he was being so gentle and patient and just understanding you and not wanting to hurt you, it made you just want to keep going. “I’m ready for more, please..” you whispered. “Well, hell, don’t gotta tell me twice.” he chuckled, gesturing for you to open your mouth for him. “Let’s see how much that slutty little mouth yours can take.” he grinned and he guided his cock back into your mouth now plunging himself in deep, the sounds of your gags only turning him on more that he began to get caught up in the moment and he grabbed a hold of your head with both hands, his fingers tangling in your hair as he thrusted his hips forward and moving at a steady and slow pace, you whimpered softly, obscene noises escaping your mouth around him as he used your mouth, forcing himself in deep. “Fuck, baby... Just relax and take this cock like a good girl..” he moaned, his eyes rolling back as he picked up his pace and now he was moving a bit more swiftly as he fucked your mouth, his cock pulsing down your throat, your noises only growing louder as you gagged, saliva pooling out of your mouth and onto his cock, some of even dripping down your chin.

Your hands were clawing at his thighs and your eyes were filled with tears with how rough he was being but you were enjoying every moment of it, his praises and guidance being a huge help when it came to you relaxing for him and learning how to take his cock, that you didn’t want him to stop, you were so turned on by the sounds of his moans and the way he was using you, that your panties were practically soaked in your own slick. You started to squeeze his thighs now, desperately needing air. When he felt you squeezing his thighs, he tried to gain control of himself but he was so deep in his own pleasure that it took him a moment before he pulled his cock out of your mouth, a loud grunt sound escaping his lips. “Fuck... I was so close, baby..” he said breathing heavily. You took deep breaths the moment he took his cock out, coughing softly and rubbing your hand over your throat, your whole body was trembling from the ordeal, your mouth a mess with your own spit and his cock just as messy and you reached over to wrap your hand around his cock, stroking your saliva down the entire length of his cock.

He grabbed your face and he leaned down to kiss your messy lips, biting playfully at your bottom lip. “God I love your mouth around my cock so much... I need more, baby.” he whispered on your lips. “It’s all yours, daddy.” you whispered back with a smirk, leaning down and taking his cock back into your mouth without even needing him to ask or tell you, ready for him to completely ruin your mouth, you felt his hands on your head again and forced you down on his cock, thrusting his hips against your face as he felt his cock slide down your throat deep and he just fucked it, his head resting back against the couch as he moaned out your name, breathing heavily the sounds escaping your mouth were the only things he could hear along with your gags, he was so proud of the way you were taking him and what a quick learner you had become. It felt like your throat was made for his cock the way he fucked it deep, his orgasm approaching fast, and he was so ready for that euphoric release that needed so much. “O-Oh.. G-God... Fuck... I’m gonna cum, baby.” he cried out and he let go of your head, to let you take control now. “Go ahead... Milk that cock for every last drop of your reward.” he said in a breathless tone.

You pulled him out of your mouth, breathing heavily as you tried to catch your breath and wasting no time wrapping your lips around the tip of his twitching cock and wrapping both hands around it and stroking it slowly as you sucked the tip of his cock swiftly, slurping up your saliva that had coated his cock, your eyes on him and looking so innocent as you milked him, needing him to cum in your mouth so bad, it’s all you wanted. You felt his hands caressing your cheeks and combing your hair out of your face, his voice airy and low as he tried his best to speak between his loud moans. “You’re doing so good... I’m so proud of you, babygirl.. I can’t wait to coat that pretty mouth in my cum...” he groaned. His hips bucking and his body trembling, squirming beneath you, his hands now gripping your shoulders as he was getting closer and closer. “Oh shit.. Here it comes, baby. I’ve got a huge load for you.” he moaned, grabbing his cock from you and stroking himself quickly, as you sat there with your mouth open for him, a smile on your face the moment you saw his cum spurting out of him and landing in your mouth, coating your tongue with his huge load, milking every single drop into your mouth.

When he was finished you closed your mouth and swallowed every last drop of him, opening your mouth to show him, and then licking whatever was left off his twitching cock, you felt his shudder at the feeling and you pulled back, licking the remnants off your lips, smirking at him playfully. “Oh my god... That was so fucking hot. Thank you, babygirl.” he said with a grin, brushing his hand against your face, you leaned into his touch nuzzling your face against his hand as you stared at him adoringly. “I had a good teacher...” you beamed.

OH MAN... When I tell you I couldn’t stop. I will definitely write you a part two of him fucking you. Because this was going to be long af. 😂

#austin butler #austin butler smut #austin butler x you #austin x reader #austin butler imagine #austin fluff

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covenofwives · 4 months

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The God Under the Blossoms

GeorgeHD has a peaceful life as the God of the Overworld. He is with the love of his life and God of the Nether, Sapnap4k, and the two can raise their younger brothers, George and Sapnap in peace. But during a day out, the Gods and their siblings stumble upon another Realm God...and another sibling.

My new AU to do with the Dream Team and their God siblings is here!

A few details are still unknown for this AU for now, but a quick backstory is after "something" happened, HD and 4K were blessed to be Realm Gods and they stayed in contact. They both confessed their feelings early and became husbands. HD and 4K were given their brothers on the same day and have been raising them together ever since. So the AU will focus on just daily life stuff but there will be "lore".

The Dream Team are all the same age because I just can't math so they are about 4 years old in this fic. This fic does have a lot of lore, but there are tickle moments between it so hopefully people can still enjoy it.

This fic will also be tagged as "GodSiblingAU" just for ease rn. I understand that's confusing but if I think of another name for it I'll change it in the future.

Enjoy~

---

It was a perfect day on the Overworld. The sun was high and warm and the air was gentle and cool. It was predicted to be warm until the evening, then rain would start. GeorgeHD couldn’t think of a more perfect ending. A warm day in the sun to then be lulled to sleep by the soft patters of rain. A very perfect day.

But what made the day so perfect for HD was the fact he could spend it lounging in the arms of his true love.

Sapnap4K was a God blessed with a tall, built body and his arms were always open for HD to fall into. Which is how HD found himself this morning.

While the brothers, George and Sapnap, played out in the meadow, HD and 4K lounged at the top of the hills, watching over them. HD had started on 4K’s lap, and now he was laid over the Nether God’s chest and using his bicep as a pillow. He had absolutely dozed off a few times to the sound of their brothers laughter and 4K playing with his hair. But just when he really settled in for a nap, he felt a poke at his cheek which roused him.

It was a small tap of a claw on his cheek, but it was enough to get him to peek open his eye and look up to 4K. Smiling down on him.

“I think you’ve napped long enough.” 4K said. His voice was warm in HD’s ears and his chest rumbled with his words. All these things did not help wake HD up any more.

HD stretched himself out, taking up more space of 4K’s lap, before settling back down over his bicep once again. “I can decided when I’ve napped enough, thank you.”

“Oh can you?”

HD had shut his eyes again, but he could hear 4K’s smirk and the poking claw returned, except it targetted on HD’s side. It wasn’t enough of to draw out a big reaction, but it was enough to make HD squeak, and try to cosy himself in further to 4K’s arm.

“Dohoooon’t…”

“Come on. You said you wanted to take a walk to the cherry biome.” 4K’s voice turned soft instead of teasing. The hand returned to HD’s side, but it was laid out flat instead of trying to poke. His fingers stretched and rubbed soothingly over HD’s stomach and sides. “The boys want to go too.”

While HD was always alert to 4K’s voice had more of a lulling effect than coaxing. “The boys are happily looking for the largest stick they can find right now.” HD was confident they were right, but they peeked their eye open ever so slightly just to check. Sure enough George was trying to pull a stick out from under a bush while Sapnap was trying to pull the entire bush from the ground.

“Well I want to go.” 4K almost huffed. HD gave a look up, making sure 4K was still giving his overdramatic pout, and wasn’t actually upset. When he’d confirmed it was a pout, he settled again.

“I just want to nap for five more minutes.” HD sighed as he nuzzled against 4K’s bicep. “Then we’ll head out to the biome when the boys are ready. Promise.”

4K scoffed. “I think you just want to have an excuse to use my bicep as a pillow.”

“Prime gifted you with perfect biceps. It would be a sin to waste them.”

4K scoffed again and HD waited for the smart reply but it never came. After nothing for another minute, they relaxed again. The focused onto the sound of the rustling leaves and grass as their mind stilled and settled. Then, just on the brink of sleep, another prod into their side.

HD wiggled slightly, giving a look up to 4K. The Nether God was happily watching George and Sapnap play. After a moment HD settled again. Perhaps 4K’s hand just twitched without thinking. HD settled back in, letting the moment pass but then another poke came to his side. And this time the offending finger wiggled.

He was past the point of believe it was a mistake. HD wiggled while trying to keep his voice in a warning tone, but the giggles didn’t help him sound serious. “F-Fohour Kahahahay…!”

“Yes, my love?” 4K was keeping his voice calm, but his wide grin betrayed him.

“Yohoho’re tihickling!”

The fingers had stopped kneading into his sides, now they were skittering and poking up and down his sides and hips. Even his other hand joined in on the other side so HD’s giggles quickly turned into laughs. “4K!”

“I’m not tickling you.” 4K said so innocently while he loomed above the tickled God. “But you happen to be laying on a tickle bed.”

“Nohoho Ihi’m nohohot!” HD tried to pull himself up, but as well as tickling, 4K held him down and any slight freedom he got HD was immediately pulled back down. “Stohohohop!”

“You must have fallen asleep on the tickle monsters bed!” 4K gasped. “And the tickle monster always punishes those who fall asleep in his bed!”

“Nohohoho hehe d-dohoesn’t!” HD’s reasoning ended with a yelp, as 4K’s fingers went back to focusing in on his hips. His hips weren’t his most ticklish spot, but being so close to his sides put him overly on edge. And 4K was skilled at faking out going for his spots. “Plehehease!”

“What are you doing?”

HD opened his eyes, his cheeks blushing furiously as he saw George and Sapnap making their way towards their brothers. He opened his mouth to respond, but all that came out was a surprising squeak when 4K tweaked his ribs.

“HD fell asleep on the tickle monsters bed.” 4K answered. His fingers still continued their tickling, now getting to skitter over HD’s stomach as the God tried to turn on his side more and curl up. “And he’s been caught!”

The boys eyes widened with an overdramatic gasp from Sapnap. “He tried to nap!” He called out.

The realisation made George gasp as well, though HD could barely focus on where the conversation was going as his hips were mercilessly tickled.

“Stohohohp!”

“You said we’re going to the cherry trees!” George pointed accusingly.

“Wehehe ahahahre-EEK! FOHOUR KAHAY!”

4K went right for his sides then, buzzing right into them as he was distracted and then when he brought his arms down to protect them, 4K went right back to his hips.

“He needs to be tickled awake.” 4K playfully growled at the two kids. “And the tickle monster needs the little monsters help!”

The boys expressions went from accusing to mischievous and they leapt at the opportunity. Literally jumping into 4K’s lap with HD to get at him.

“NO! Dohon’t yohou dahahare! I am awake! I ahahaham!” HD tried a mix of threats and pleading until 4K moved his hands up.

The Nether God lifted HD’s arms up off his sides, taking advantage to tickle his armpits as well, and stretching him out nicely for Sapnap and George to get at his sides, which they did immediately.

George was on his left and Sapnap on his right, their little hands squeezing, skittering and fluttering all up and down his most sensitive spot. Merciless. George and Sapnap had no want for anticipation or build up, they wanted to get at the worst spots right away and Prime sake they really went for it.

HD shrieked as he wiggled. His body was screaming to struggle and fight with everything he had but he was cautious of his brother and Sapnap being so close and didn’t want to hurt them. Being tortured in his worst spot and not being able to move from consequence just made the torture worse. His skin prickled with his over sensitive nerves and he begged.

“OHOHOHOKAHAHAY! WE-WEHEHE CAHAN GOHOHOHO! WE CAN GO! JUHUHUST STOHOHOHOHOHOP!”

4K stopped right away. He lowered his hands, grabbing at George and Sapnap’s to get them to stop while HD curled up as tightly as he could and sucked in air like he’d been on the verge of suffocating.

“He’s trying to sleep again!” Sapnap accused again before looking up as 4K chuckled.

“No, he’s just catching his breath.” 4K said, one hand patting over HD’s back. “But hopefully he’s learned a valuable lesson about taking the tickle monster's bed.”

HD cursed so softly under his breath only 4K could hear it with a twitch of his ear. His smirk widened as George partially climbed over HD’s back.

“What did you say?” He demanded.

“I said, let’s go.” HD lied, catching majority of his breath. He called forth one of his helper hands, an almost opalescent looking white hand that materialised from nothing, that grabbed the back of George’s overalls and lifted him off. The little brunette squeaked and giggled to the lift, as HD turned on his front and pushed himself up.

“The cherry biome isn’t far. We can walk.” 4K suggested casually, and grinned when HD glared.

“Absolutely not.” HD huffed. When he’s sorted himself out mostly, the ephemeral hand dropped George into his arms and disappeared into white mist. “Teleport. Now.”

It was tempting to tease HD more, but Sapnap and George were growing restless, both of them vocally voting for the teleport option. With a sigh, 4K relented and stood up with Sapnap in his arms after HD. In a split second, all four of them were gone from the meadow and appeared in the midsts of a cherry grove.

The biome was located on a small mountain structure, though it was thankfully free from any sudden cliff drops. Since it was higher than their meadow it was colder, and windier but that just made the pink trees sway more and more of their petals danced through the air. The lime green grass was littered with fallen petals and small pink flowers.

George and Sapnap were enchanted and then suddenly energised, squirming out of HD and 4K’s arms to run off.

“Let’s see who can catch the most petals out of the air!” Sapnap challenged, already grabbing a few mid run.

“Don’t wander off too far! Stay where we can see you!” 4K called after them and while the two shouted back a ‘yes’ they were already lost in their own game.

“Are you happy now?” HD grumbled. “We are here.”

“I am very happy.” 4K beamed. He curled his arm around HD’s waist, pulling him in close to his side and purred in his ear. Even though HD tried to keep his grumpy pout, he couldn’t resist the smile pulling at his lips. “I get to take a walk with my perfect husband through the cherry grove.”

“You’re such a sap.” HD tried to play it off, act like the purring and words weren’t getting to him. It was impossible to act since near everything 4K did made HD’s heart leap.

“Aaaand…” 4K carried on. “After the walk we can all take a nice nap under the cherry blossom trees.”

That did sound nice, despite how much HD wanted to scoff. Cuddled with their love while the pink petals rained upon them both was a picturesque sight. “I suppose that sounds nice…” HD replied coolly, but the grin over 4K’s face told him he wasn’t buying it. HD wanted to kiss that stupid grin off his face, but just as he grabbed 4K’s chin to pull him in a chilling sound pulled them apart.

George and Sapnap had screamed. Not like the scream of them playing they were so used to hearing, but as though something terrible had jumped out at them and they screamed in terror.

Immediately the Gods pulled apart and rushed to their brother’s sides. They were far, but kept in sight as they promised and the Gods crossed the distance in less than a second.

“What happened?!” HD grabbed George as soon as he could and lifted him into HD’s arms. He looked fine, at least not hurt, but his eyes were teary and HD’s helper hands appeared to worry over him.

“There-there’s someone here!” George sniffled, his voice high pitched and wobbly.

It was common that others would come across the Gods and their brothers during the day. It was never a problem as they were well known so it was either a friendly greeting or people giving them space to carry on. But this was clearly not that.

“Who?!” 4K asked, already picking up Sapnap. He was teary eyed as well and buried his face into 4K’s neck. “Where are they now?”

The boys didn’t need to answer that one. They were stood in front of a small cherry blossom tree, with a thin trunk and branches it looked more like a bush. And from that bush something leapt out.

It leapt back from the bush, putting as much distance as it could between them and the Gods. It was a somewhat humanoid shape, and covered in green, but those were the only details HD could make out as it tried to sprint off.

“Hey!”

George was quickly handed off to 4K as HD pursued the stranger. They had already crossed a large distance of the biome, but now they quickly went for the edge of the mountain to jump down to the forest below.

HD was faster, able to close the distance between them quickly just as the stranger got to the edge of the grass. However, before they had a chance to jump, HD formed a cobblestone wall in front of the stranger and partly curved it around them.

They stopped just before they smacked into the wall. Their arms braced on the walls, feeling around it desperately before they turned around and saw HD.

It was not a mortal, as HD had suspected. No human could have been that fast. HD could feel it was someone powerful and he concluded it must be another God. Gods were common to meet for them as well, but HD had never seen this one before. They were tall, taller than HD but probably not reaching 4K’s height. They had pale blonde hair, a little frayed and messy, and their eyes were covered in bandages crossed over one another. They had a large green cloak on, though it was ripped on one side, showing the God had four sets of arms. The top two were braced onto the wall behind them, and the other two huddled under the cloak.

If the God had meant to hurt them he was certainly in no condition for a fight. Still, HD kept his guard up as he approached. He left a wide enough space between them so the God wasn’t crowded in or cornered and before he could speak, the God opened his mouth first.

“I-I don’t want trouble. I did not mean to...just let me leave, please!”

His voice sounded desperate and doubled, like there was a second voice repeating the words but in an almost growl. Similar to an effect HD and 4K had with their own voices.

HD wanted to remain calm, but his eyes kept looking to XD’s lower arms huddled in the half of his cloak not ripped. They were curled, like they were holding something and HD couldn’t risk it. “What’s in your cloak?” He asked, keeping his voice calm but firm.

A weapon would have no effect on him, but if this stranger was dangerous and had anything that could threaten the boys, HD had to be ready.

The God contemplated his choices. HD could see he was looking between his arms and HD with a twitch of his head. Then he seemed to look around, as though trying to find a way out. HD was about to ask again when the God relented and they slowly opened their cloak.

It was a boy in the God’s arms. He could have been no older than George or Sapnap and he was the near spitting image of the stranger, with blonde hair and a matching black jumpsuit. But the boy only had two arms and one of them was horribly burnt.

HD’s suspicion fell to sympathy 0and he looked back up to the God. “Is he your brother?” He asked calmed. The stranger tensed to the question and HD slowly raised his hands to show he meant no harm. “What is your names?” HD asked.

The God hesitated before answering. “D-DreamXD...this is Dream.”

Of course! HD felt so stupid he hadn’t realised it before. While he knew the stranger was clearly another God there were only few who felt that strong. HD should have known it was the God of the End. The illusive DreamXD who never left or invited anyone to his realm.

“P-Please. We are sorry. Just let us go and you will never see us again!” XD pleaded.

It was becoming clear there was some misunderstand somewhere. George and Sapnap had clearly been spooked by XD, but it was nothing malicious.

“I think there’s been a misunderstanding here.” HD spoke calmly and slowly put his hands down. As he did he lowered himself down to kneel on the ground, trying to keep himself as less threatening as he could. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”

He watched for any sign of XD relaxing, but it never came. Tried as he might his eyes also kept wandering back to Dream and his burnt arm.

The boy stared with wide green eyes at HD under the shadow of the cloak. He was clung to XD’s side and held up by the God’s lower arms. Well...one of his arms clung to XD. His left arm was limp by his side, and twitched every once in a while. From the back of his hand to just below his shoulder, the skin was purple and burnt and while he never took his eyes off HD, he’d wince every once in a while to the twitching of his arm. The burn seemed new, and still painful.

HD’s attention turned back to XD who pressed himself further back into the wall as HD heard the shuffling approach behind him. He quickly turned his head to see 4K walking closer with George and Sapnap in his arms.

“Is everything okay?” 4K asked, looking from HD to XD. “What’s going...oh!” His eyes saw Dream, and widened with realisation. “He’s…”

“We’re fine here, everything is fine.” HD soothed. He turned back to XD, thankful he hadn’t bolted and then looked back to 4K. “We’re just talking.”

“Just let us leave and we won’t trouble you!” XD pleaded.

“There’s no trouble.” HD quickly soothed and turned back. “We just want to know what happened.”

“We saw him!” George said excitedly. HD looked back to see he was pointing at Dream. “We saw him in the bush. Then the man took him away.”

The events were starting to make a little bit more sense in HD’s head, clicking together slowly but at least they were clicking together. George and Sapnap must have come upon the small tree and seen Dream. Either he had wandered off or he wasn’t mean to be so close to them, DreamXD had quickly grabbed Dream and tried to flee.

“I-I did not mean to scare them.” XD quickly defended. “Please.”

“No, no it’s fine. You did nothing wrong.” HD quickly soothed. “Listen. I can help you. Dream, was it? He’s hurt. I can heal him.”

It was the first time XD had relaxed, even just slightly. His expression faltered a little and he looked down at Dream in his arms. He looked less guarded and worried to just show a speck of concern and maybe hope.

“I’m GeorgeHD.” HD carried on. “I’m the God of the Overworld. The God behind me is Sapnap4K. He’s the God of the Nether. And those are our brothers, George and Sapnap.”

XD looked between them as they were introduced. His eyebrows drawing together slightly when he looked and George and Sapnap and HD could see slow realisation.

“I…” XD looked down at Dream again and then back up. “Can you...help him?”

Without wanting to seem too eager, HD nodded slowly. “Yes. I can heal that burn. Why don’t we heal Dream first, and then we can have a talk. Okay?”

XD did nothing for a long while. It was only a few seconds but the crawl of time felt so slow. The blonde God bit his lip before taking his attention off HD and down to the little Dream. He whispered something too soft for HD to really hear, but Dream shook his head to it and tired to bury himself further into the cloak. XD whispered something else and it took Dream a while before he pulled his head out of XD’s side. His green eyes were filled with tears but he didn’t try to hide again when XD looked back up to HD and spoke. “Please heal him. If-If you can.”

HD smiled. “Of course.”

HD found it easier to be calm and softer when he had to heal. He knew he could come off as brunt and distant even when he didn’t mean to, but when it came to a matter of well being, HD found it easy to slip into that soft role again.

He approached the two slowly, not getting off his knees, and he was thankful when XD knelt down and came just a bit forward to meet him. HD took in every details he could of XD. His face was young but his eyes completely covered in wraps. HD used to wear similar wraps over his eyes before he could control the shine they would give off. He wondered if it was something similar with XD but all his attention focused on Dream when XD unwrapped his cloak.

Instead of clinging to XD’s side, Dream now wrapped his one good arm around XD’s lower arm. His injured arm lay as limp as he could make it by his side, but even the slightest movement made Dream wince.

“This won’t hurt, okay?” HD spoke to both brothers but he smiled at Dream. Dream just watched him with a blank expression that was broken up every once in a while by a flash of pain or to look up pleading to XD.

HD had prepared himself for a panic and struggle but he was surprised and thankful when Dream remained calm. He watched HD’s hand approach him like a hawk, his eyes getting bigger and bigger as it approached, but he never cried or tried to run even as the hand was just an inch over his burnt skin.

As HD suspected the burn was infused with some sort of magic, but it was nothing he couldn’t heal. He started at the top, just under Dream’s shoulder and watched his own palms glow ever so slightly. The burnt skin under his hand slowly started to mend, and more and more disappeared as HD slowly worked his hands down. He was careful not to move too fast and make sure his magic kept Dream from feeling any pain. He could see it working, as the fear in Dream’s eyes slowly melted away with the pain and then turned to wonder as he watched HD heal him.

When the last burn on the back of Dream’s hand was healed, HD pulled back his hand. “See? All better.”

Dream quickly pulled his arm up, inspecting the skin with awe as XD was as well. The blonde God looked back up to HD, the guarded expression dropped to gratitude...and exhaustion.

“Thank you! Thank you so much!”

There was a thousand questions HD had, but XD didn’t look up for answering anything. Dream didn’t either. They were both tired. Their hair and clothes a mess, matted or torn. The End realm was closed off from everyone for years. Even Gods could not go in. Something had to have happened to cause XD and Dream to flee to the Overworld, but HD felt it was cruel to ask.

Instead, he slowly lifted himself up off the ground. XD slowly followed his lead, still holding Dream close to his chest.

“Listen. I don’t know what’s happened but...are you...trying to live in the Overworld now?”

HD wasn’t sure how to phrase the question delicately, but it was clearly wrong since XD’s expression went to worry again.

“We-We would not be a bother. We will go as far away from you as we can, you won’t even know we are here!” XD quickly babbled and HD felt guilty.

“No, no. That’s now what I meant.” HD quickly soothed. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant… I’m trying to…”

“What HD is trying to say,” 4K voice suddenly spoke up, and HD looked back to see the Nether God had came right behind him. He was no longer holding George and Sapnap, they instead hid behind his legs and looked up to the new God and brother. “Is that it’s no trouble if you want to stay in the Overworld. You are welcome.”

HD gave a small sigh of relief, thankful 4K could convey his words better. XD made a similar sigh. His shoulders relaxed, no longer tense and he gave his first smile. “That...th-thank you.”

“But,” HD continued, determined to find the words. “If you don’t mind me asking. How long have you been here?”

XD looked worried, but not as scared as he had before. It probably helped that HD lowered the cobblestone wall behind him. “A… A few days I think…”

“Four days.” Dream’s small voice whispered. The way he clung so close to XD’s chest and turned away from the others meant the whisper was only for XD, but HD’s ears twitched and picked it up.

“Do you have a home? Or shelter set up?”

HD could see the answer immediately. Neither looked like they’d been sleeping easy. XD looked away, almost ashamed. “I… I can’t… We can’t craft...here…”

HD’s heart lurched, thinking of Dream with his arm burnt and in pain, living rough in the wild. Clearly it effected XD as well. Sleep was not needed for Gods as it was for mortals, but they still needed rest and still showed the signs of fatigue. XD looked like he hadn’t slept for a week.

“Listen, I’m sorry your first few days on the Overworld haven’t been good for you two. But, just so you two can rest easy for tonight, I’d like to invite you to stay with us.”

The offer settled uneasily with XD. He kept looking away, but he also would look to Dream and something in his voice told HD that he was considering it for his brother’s sake. “I… We would not want to intrude…”

“You wouldn’t be intruding at all.” HD quickly soothed. “We have more than enough space and if you don’t want to I can give you the ability to craft here and you can go and make a home for yourself and Dream. But if you just wanted to rest for the day and start fresh tomorrow, we’d more than welcome you.”

XD paused for a long while, and HD was just the little bit hopeful that they’d agree. After a moment of silence, XD spoke. “I would like to discuss it with Dream.”

HD nodded. “Of course. Please do.”

HD and 4K gathered their brothers and let the End God and kin have a moment alone. HD kept them in his vision still, making sure they didn’t run off though he promised himself he would not chase after them. If XD and Dream wanted to remain alone, he couldn’t force otherwise.

“If he bolts off again, we can catch him.” 4K lightly bumped his shoulder into HD’s, snapping him out of his somewhat daze. The Nether God’s voice was in half joking, though when HD looked up 4K almost looked serious.

HD felt a little guilty. “I’m sorry I offered them to stay without talking to you first.”

“Hey, don’t apologise.” 4K shrugged. “If you weren’t going to offer, I certainly was.”

“Are they coming home with us?” Sapnap asked, pulling himself up from 4K’s arms till he was practically climbing up over his brother’s shoulder.

“Hopefully.” HD wished, and as he glanced over to XD just to make sure he was still there, the End God was approaching the group again.

Dream had retreated back into the cloak, but he was now held up by XD’s upper arms and clung into XD’s chest. “If the offer still stands, we would be happy to take you up on it.” XD spoke slowly.

HD controlled his reaction, trying not to be too excited. Instead he just nodded. “Of course! Please, join us.”

A thin mist crawled through the cherry tree biome, eventually forming into a cloud that took the shape of a large door. It open up to a wide, grand room. The walls a soft looking blue, looking like they were made of clouds themselves. Stars twinkled down and disappeared from the floor above and a large spiral staircase lay at the back of the room.

4K took George and Sapnap with him to another room down one of the hallways, despite George and Sapnap’s protests. It was easier for HD to show them around without an audience and XD clearly relaxed more when it was just himself, Dream and HD.

HD watched carefully as XD followed him up the spiral staircase. He took careful, unsure steps. Wispy clouds softly fell over the steps and once XD saw they were harmless he followed more easily.

The upper levels of the palace were a dark blue, like clouds on a night sky. Golden sparkles shimmered through the walls like stars in the distance, and Dream seem intrigued, peeking his head out to watch them before realise HD was watching him and shuffling back in.

There were many empty rooms just waiting to be used in the palace. There was one just a couple doors down from HD’s room and with a quick thought it was morphed into a bedroom, filled with standard furniture. A wide bed on one side of the room, with soft fluffy pillows and sheets. In the middle of the room was a set of comfy chairs and a table beside a dresser, and off to the side there was a separate wash room with a bath almost as big as the bed.

“You should have everything you need.” HD explained while giving a quick tour of the room. “But if you need anything more, my room is down the hall and I will find you if you call on me.”

HD knew he was babbling and he could only hope he wasn’t coming on too strong but XD looked far more relaxed than he ever had, and he smiled warmly. “This is fine. More than fine.” He quickly assured HD. “Thank you.”

HD was eased seeing the God smile for once. He wanted to offer anything to the two of them at that moment, but instead he nodded and quickly left to return to the others.

4K had taken the boys to the playroom, which was a perfect distraction for them. George and Sapnap were attempting a floor jigsaw, but that was quickly abandoned when they saw HD walk in and they rushed over demanding answers.

“Are they staying?!” “Where are they now?!” “Do we have a new friend?!” “Can we see them?!”

“Calm down.” HD tried to settle them. It was easier when 4K came over and took Sapnap in his arms, and George was calmed when HD gave him a bit of his robe to rub between his fingers.

“They are settling into their room just now, and they are not to be disturbed.” HE warned, getting a chorus of ‘aww” from the two.

“Yous almost scared them off before, you want that again?” 4K half joked.

The two gave grumbled responses defending themselves but it raised and interesting point.

“What actually happened?” HD asked as he sat down on one of the many beanbags around the room. 4K follow to sit in the one beside him, letting Sapnap crawl all over his arm. “In the cherry biome. Did you see Dream first?”

“Yes!” Sapnap nodded, almost jumping out of 4K’s arms. Luckily the Nether God was an expert in catching his brother. “We were looking in the tree for the biggest stick! The boy was behind the leaves!”

“He jumped when he saw us. Then the man quickly grabbed him and ran off.” George finished.

HD put the timeline of events in his head together. “So you two screamed then? He scared you?” HD asked.

“We didn’t scream!” George defended his tiny pride, his face burning red. “He didn’t scare us!”

HD and 4K gave each other a look, remembering the tears and scream they both heard that kicked them both into brother mode.

“Was Dream okay?” Sapnap asked softly.

HD decided it was best to keep details of the injury vauge. He didn’t know how much the two saw but he wasn’t going to say anything more than needed. “He was a little hurt but he’s alright now.” He assured Sapnap.

“Will we see them today?” George asked, his eyes almost wide with hope.

“Only if they want to.” HD calmly explained. “Until then, we’ll give them their space.”

The boys were upset, and even more upset when they couldn’t go back to the cherry biome for the day. 4K quickly distracted them with a treasure hunting game, which they started begrudgingly but then started getting into it. Especially when 4K promised a prize for whoever wins.

As the boys played HD quietly offered to 4K that HD could stay in the palace, being available for XD and Dream, and 4K could have taken the boys back to the biome but 4K refused, citing he wanted to be there for support to HD. While HD called him sappy, he had to remind himself to thank 4K properly later.

Despite HD remaining hyper alert, XD and Dream did not leave their rooms for the rest of the night. The sky outside dipped to a lilac as the clouds started to burn a sunset orange. The walls of the palace reflected the change and when it became night, the whole place was a dark blue with stars shimmering through.

George and Sapnap claimed they weren’t tired while almost falling asleep in HD’s arms. They had asked to both sleep in George’s room, where they had already made a pillow fort and the Gods let them settle in for their sleepover while they retreated to HD’s room.

It was exactly the type of room HD was suited to have. The bed took up majority of the space, with sheets that looked like rolling night clouds that hung over the bed’s edge. There were golden stars and phases of the moon hanging from the ceiling, between the hanging blue fabrics and netting. The moons bathed the room in a soft silver glow, and made everything calm.

HD could have melted into the bed as soon as they lay down, but they refused to allow themselves that calmness. Though it was much harder to fight off when 4K was kissing their cheek and cuddling in close to their side.

“You did a good thing giving them a place to stay.” 4K’s voice was soft and purred the right way to make HD weak. They wanted nothing more than to curl up into 4K’s arms, but the nagging worry of their visitors needing them kept them up.

“It was the right thing to do.” HD shrugged. Partly to play off his good deed and another part to stop 4K’s kisses. “But I also think maybe… I’m making up for something, in a way?”

4K pulled back ever so slightly, propping himself up with his arm. “What do you mean?”

“I just…” HD searched for the right words. It was a growing thought he’d had ever since he’d realised who XD was. “I feel like… When we were given George and Sapnap I thought it was because we were...connected? I just thought we were somehow blessed. But then XD also has Dream, and it’s no coincidence since they’re a realm God too. So we were all given brothers, but because we never knew XD we didn’t know.”

“You think it means something?”

“It has to, right? We checked when we got the boys, no other Gods got any siblings. It’s only us Realm Gods. So we were given these brothers for some reason. And while we had each other to help with it, XD was alone.”

“We’re not to blame for that.” 4K quickly defended, though his tone was more in assurance than defensive. “He closed off the End to others, even we couldn’t get in. And before that Prime didn’t want us meeting XD.”

“I know...but it still doesn’t sit right.”

But there was nothing HD could do about it now. He could try and offer support to XD if he decided to stay, but that would be up to the End God.

“You need sleep.”

4K poked HD’s nose, pulling him out of his thoughts. He blinked, looking over to 4K who was settling over the bed again and he remembered his resolve to stay awake.

“You sleep. I want to stay up in case XD needs me.”

“If he calls, or even moves an in inch out of his room, you would know.” 4K quickly replied, as though he was waiting for this. Of course 4K would know HD’s plan. He knew HD’s thoughts before the Overworld God even knew them sometimes. “And you are stressed, starlight. You need sleep.”

HD was never one to turn down sleep, but he kept to his guns, and shook his head. “I will be fine. You sleep.”

4K sighed through his nose as he shuffled himself just a little closer. His arms wrapped around HD’s waist and he settled in like he was going to sleep.

But of course he wasn’t. HD absolutely knew he wasn’t. He kept on edge when he felt 4K’s hands slide around his sides, and while it took a little longer than he thought, he felt the first skitter of claws against his side and making him squeal and jump but he was held down in 4K’s arms.

“Fohour Kahay…” HD warned. His voice wasn’t as stern as he would have liked but he was proud he only had some giggles in his voice.

4K’s eyes were closed with a stupid small smile on his face, but he gave a low him, showing he was listening.

“Stohop tihickling…”

“Hmm…” 4K hummed again. His eyes still closed as he spoke. “I don’t know who this ‘4K’ is. I’m the tickle monster. And you are in the tickle monster’s bed.” 4K’s fingers trailed up, over to HD’s ribs where they stayed. HD tried to grab at 4K’s wrists but it was a futile attempt. “And if you’re in the tickle monster’s bed, you must want tickled to sleep.”

His thumbs just pushed in ever so slightly, kneading over his lower ribs. It didn’t tickle as much as his sides and 4K knew it. He knew every spot over HD’s body. He knew the spots to make him scream, the spots that worked him up into a frenzy and the spots that made him melt.

On cue, HD melted. He gave a low whine, breathy little giggles pouring from his lips and he tried fruitlessly to struggle. It was more like a kitten wiggling with his strength. His bones felt like mush and refused to listen to him. 4K may have been right. He was stressed and tired, but he wasn’t letting 4K win so easily.

“Y-Yohou tickled mehehe awahake earlier whehen I was ohon yohour bed. N-Nohow you tihihickle mehe to slehehehep…” HD sputtered. “Yohou tihickle monsters are vehery f-f-fihickle!”

“F-F-Fickle?!” 4K gasped dramatically. “You insult the tickle monster now?! Oh now you’re in for it!”

4K rolled over on his front, squishing HD into the bed. Struggling was near impossible now, but HD foolishly believed that to mean it was harder to tickle him. Very wrong. 4K wrapped his arms under HD, setting his hands over HD’s ribs again. It was a perfect position to get at HD’s ribs again, and even tickle the back of them.

“No no no no nooohohohohoho…” HD giggled again. He shook his head, trying to bury it in 4K’s mane of hair. “Thahahat’s tihihicklihihiy…”

“Well yes, that’s entirely the point.” 4K spoke in a purr. His tail looped around HD’s leg, it’s fluffy tip brushing over HD’s ankle so gently. “I’m going to tickle you into a deep sleep.”

“Nohoho yohohour n-nohohot…” HD giggled back, but even he could hear the fight leave his voice. He couldn’t even muster up enough strength to pull his foot away from the fluffy tail curling around his ankle again and again.

“Yes I am~” 4K cooed. “You’re soooo sleepy already. No-one can resist the tickle monsters sleepy tickles.”

“Nnmmm…” It was less giggling now. The tingles still ran through their body, and tickled over their ribs, but HD had no energy to fight it. 4K was warm and his weight was comforting on them. It was useless.

“Ohohokahay. Ohohokahahay…” HD giggled and sighed when 4K’s fingers stopped. His tail still kept softly swishing though. “Ihihi’ll slehehep for a bihit…”

“Perfect.” 4K purred, pressing a kiss under HD’s chin. He pressed another to HD’s ear as he whispered. “You will be more help to them after a good nights sleep.”

HD hummed softly as 4K settled down. He placed his head over HD’s chest, listening to his heart while HD lazily draped his arms around his back. “You’ll feel better once you sleep.” 4K’s words were more slurred purrs than words.

HD could only hum again while his fingers played through 4K’s hair. The purrs on his chest eventually turned into soft snores and the silver light in the room dimmed. The stars twinkled above and HD slipped his eyes closed.

If he was called upon, he would wake. Until now, HD slept.

#mcyt tickle #lee!georgehd #ler!sapnap4k #ler!sapnap #ler!george #godsiblingau #covenofwords

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rei-ismyname · 7 days

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From The Ashes - Mystique

So, Mystique has her own book once more with issue #1 dropping on October 16th. Given the state of the Marvel world at the moment (or at least the X-books, everyone else seems focused elsewhere while mutants are being slaughtered and imprisoned... again) it really feels like Raven Darkholme's time to shine.

Looks cool but feels like something's missing

She hasn't had a solo book since 2004 - 20 years - and a lot has changed since then. She was quite the breakout character during the Krakoan age - she got her wife Destiny back, she found a sort of understanding with their son Nightcrawler (and we all learned the truth of the retcon in a pretty slick way), and perhaps most importantly we got a sense of her interiority. I'd be remiss in not mentioning Rogue, but they weren't really in each other's orbits until Fall of X. YMMV, but she became sympathetic for the first time ever. We got to see her interact with almost everyone as an uneasy ally while still being her bad bitch black ops self. Not friends, but on the same team with the overarching investment in keeping their shared home working. There was a foundation of connective tissue there right until the end.

Be Gay, Do Crime?

Alas, the wheel has turned again and Krakoa is no more. The connective tissue is gone. However, out of the three people she was closest to narratively - Destiny, Kurt and Rogue - the relationship I'm truly invested in seeing more of is her and Destiny. The book isn't called Mystique and Destiny, and she's not in any of the solicits or preview artwork, but surely they wouldn't do a Mystique book without her, would they?

My favourite sapphic terrorists

Yeah, I think they would tbh. Destiny is a very complex character to write and she was so entwined with Krakoa from the start in HoxPoX due to the nature of her gift - seeing possible futures. As the narrative pulls away from Krakoa, as we look for those pieces of connective tissue, as character growth is left by the wayside or undone, the world and stories are getting much smaller. Destiny had reached the promised land and her gift was focused on survival - of the married couple and Krakoa itself. I'm just not sure where she'd fit in a From The Ashes world.

Such a strong partnership too - Sherlock Holmes and Irene Adler.

The elephant in the room is that the pair are very popular and I'm pretty sure the Mystique-buying demographic would have something to say about Destiny being absent. I'm thinking the Magneto treatment is likely, some contrived way of keeping her in the margins of the run or even depowering her. We know Mystique is going to be more of a face than she's been in the past, 'protecting mutants.' That is a good thing as her motivations were often baffling pre-2019. Her behaviour was often handwaved with 'craziness' which is not good for any character, especially a woman.

Destiny in her distinctive mask is visible in this header, although...

This was somewhat explained in Fall of X that Xavier's (consensual) memory tampering knocked something loose, for lack of a better term. I'm hoping the growth we saw sticks, and I don't think that's unrealistic, it's the rest of it. What prompted me writing this was the AIPT review of the first issue. It all sounds exciting but the only other character mentioned is Nick Fury, nothing on Destiny. Any reviewer worth their salt should have a sense of expectations, and the absence feels meaningful.

Obviously this is all speculation, which is fun, though I'm not going off nothing here. I'm trying to be mindful of being the 'Krakoa was the best and this shit sucks' person, but Krakoa WAS the best and I really don't want From The Ashes to suck. I don't have any control over that, though I do have control over my expectations.

Bling! knows what's up, leaning on the fourth wall.

The last thing I think needs consideration is that the couple got the Wedding Special very recently. It was pretty good, though I thought the best parts were the Claremont interview and Anole's ongoing protest. But it was popular!

Mystique would LOVE that. Bisexual Menace for life.

He ended up putting it on a t-shirt. I need one!

As fun as it was and as much hype it got at the time, remember that it was a Pride Month thing. Ever the rainbow capitalists, Marvel picked a winning focus but I don't think they'd have done outside of Pride Month. Sadly, that might apply to their relationship as well. I think it would be a miscalculation, but the signs point to it being a solo book. As I often say in my doomsaying posts, we shall see and I hope I'm wrong.

They're just too iconic and work so well together. Don't get me wrong, good writing can make anything work. Aside from my ongoing mourning of Krakoa, WLW rep is important and for all their faults they deserve love like everyone else. Maybe a Sisterhood of Evil Morally Ambiguous Mutants is on the cards?

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halfusek · 1 year

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Memory Joey’s Intangibleness

Sooooo I think it’s probably just one of those things that the developers didn’t think too much about but it’s been driving me up the fricking wall

If Joey is supposed to be “just a memory” and “ghost-like”, as it is established the first two times we see him-

then how come does this happen??

Like really he doesn’t have to take that at all, he could just phase out of existence or whatever...

...or can he?

I’ve given this some thought and came up with two versions I found most interesting:

1. He can phase out but he doesn’t do that to be there for Audrey. Maybe he’s hoping that seeing him get absolutely deaded will somehow help Audrey “snap out of it” and take control of this weird fusion she’s having with the Ink Demon...? I’ll be honest I don’t really understand how they’re supposed to be fused and why. But she sure does take control after Joey gets crushed, so I assume she needed that mental push. Joey could have known that or not, maybe he just wanted to be there for her, which would be kinda wholesome. I guess making a sacrifice like that in a circle that revives everyone every time it restarts is not that big of a deal so he could afford to give that a chance even if not knowing if that’d actually help or not.

2. He became tangible after retrieving The End reel from The Pit. Yeah. You heard me right. Theory time babey.

Honestly, it’s something easy to miss, I’m sure I did while playing because I couldn’t remember what the goal is at any given moment, but in this part of the game you are supposed to get to the Pit. Except... we never do.

When we get to the entrance of The Pit, the security system kicks in.

And we get got by the Keeper here and escorted to Wilson.

(Though “The Pit” could be just the name of that hole the Keeper crawls out of but either way what it guards the way to is not accessed by us and that’s where The End reel is supposed to be.)

"That's where the ghosts live. Just beyond that door. The Keeper's prison. The Pit. No one ever comes out. At least, they're not quite the same."

We don’t know much about the pit aside from this one quite peculiar fact: that’s where the ghosts live. Maybe even Joey, despite being one himself, can’t just go in and out of there without any repercussions.

And - watch out guys here is something I like about BATDR for once - it is quite cool that Joey is the one to retrieve it as it seems like a very dangerous place, so if the gang (Audrey, Henry, Allison, Tom) tried to do that, they’d very likely be badly affected somehow. Good job game, I like when you establish something and then follow it up logically, very cool.

So, yeah, my theory is that going to The Pit to get The End reel did something to Memory Joey making him less of a ghost than he was before (at least until his death in this cycle, I suppose).

#bendy and the ink machine #bendy and the dark revival #batim #batdr #halfpost #joey drew #memory joey #story joey. come on. give this to me. say it. i am THE story joey guy. SAY IT-

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merlot-and-chardonnay · 9 months

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A Lark Among the Wolves and Dragons: Chapter 14

Chapter 13

Ciri laid in the tub, steam rising from the water, which worked wonders on her aching muscles. The water itself was scented with special oils which were meant to help her relax, but given the situation she was in right now, relaxing was nearly impossible right now.

After the young girl had disclosed to the king, prince, princess, and small council who she really was, there was silence followed by a short uproar by the council.

Some had questioned if Ciri's claim was true, and thought her as just some common girl in rags, others believed she was who she said she was, but then became concerned if word got out that the royal family was now hosting Ciri when there were people out there who were looking for her.

Viserys luckily shut down the commotion with a single word. He ordered the council out of the throne room and had you, Ciri, and Aemma shown out to your rooms. Daemon stayed behind, mostly likely to get scolded by his brother, and Daemon meanwhile would try and persuade Viserys to proclaim Aemma true born so she could bare the Targaryen name.

As soon as Ciri was shown to her room, the servants came later and prepared her a bath. Despite being in a foreign land, this aspect of life was still familiar to the girl.

In the present, Ciri laid in the tub, grateful that she was able to get cleaned. She fully submerged herself into the water and stayed there until the need to air was too great. She popped her head up to the surface, taking in a deep breath before leaning back.

She heard the doors open, but she didn't think nothing of it, assuming it was the servants coming in to bring extra towels.

"Princess Cirilla?" Ciri flinched, hearing that voice call her name. She recognized it to be Rhaenyra, "May I come in?"

Ciri thinks about it for a moment before making her answer, "I guess that would be okay." Ciri wasn't all that shy about being naked in front of others of the same sex, and even if she was, the water was blurred enough to shield her from view.

Rhaenyra walks in, a plate of fruit in hand, "the servants were bringing this when I decided to visit," she explains, taking a grape and popping it into her mouth before placing the plate at the table by the tub.

"Thank you," Ciri nods, reaching to take some fruit herself. There was some awkward silence after that. Ciri was new to this whole place; she didn't know what to do or what to say. She must've made an impression though if the king's daughter wanted to come visit her at this time of day.

"I uh, had to wait for the water to cool a bit before I got in," Ciri admits, "do they always make the bath water this scalding hot?" "Force of habit I'm afraid?" Rhaenyra admits, "dragons prefer heat."

"I'm not a dragon," Ciri mutters, more to herself, though Rhaenyra heard it, "I'm a lion cub."

"You grandmother is Queen Calanthe, right?" Rhaenyra asks, "the Lioness of Cintra?" "Yes she...was," Ciri nods, sadness in her voice from re-living that particular memory. "Oh, I...I'm sorry, " Rhaenyra says when she takes notice, "I didn't know. I heard what happened in Cintra...with Nilfgaard...but I didn't know how bad it was."

"My grandfather died in the battlefield," Ciri explains, "my grandmother died during the siege; she was already gravely injured from fighting during the initial battle-" "You grandmother fought?" Rhaenyra asked, "she wore armor and everything? Carrying a sword?"

"She did," Ciri nods, "She could wield sword as well as any man. Very few men actually ever bested her in combat." Rhaenyra smiled to that, "I wish I could learn to wield a sword. My father won't allow it. I don't know why, my forebear Aegon the Conqueror, his wives were warriors themselves; they were skilled sword fighters in their own right."

"It sounds like you admire my grandmother," Ciri notices.

"I'd like to think of her as my inspiration," Rhaenyra admits, "for when I become queen."

Ciri looked at the Targaryen princess in confusion, "my father named me Heir to the Iron Throne months back," Rhaenyra explains, "it happened shortly after my mother passed." "I'm sorry to hear that," Ciri says, "I never got to know my own mother, she died when I was still a babe. You must miss her dearly." "Yeah, I still do," Rhaenyra nods, "it hasn't been easy, even less after my father decided to marry my friend."

"Oh...so the woman that was next to your father was..." "Alicent Hightower."

Ciri nods; she had taken notice there was tension between those two back in the throne room earlier. At first, she would've chalked it up to tension that came between a girl and her new stepmother, but she didn't know those two were friends before that. It must be quite an awkward situation.

"Do you think, you'll still be heir, even if the new queen ends producing male heirs?" "I will be," Rhaenyra insists, "my father swore that I would, no matter what."

"Is there another reason you came to visit?" Ciri asks, "while I'm bathing of all things?" Rhaenyra couldn't help but laugh a little. "Well," the Targaryen princess answers, "since you'll be staying with us for the time being, I was hoping we could be friends."

Ciri regarded Rhaenyra with intrigue; the silver blonde princess was a few years older than her, and despite how she felt about the princess's uncle, there seemed to be a kindred spirit among the two.

And even if she had you, Ciri knew she was going to need a friend who knew this place if she was to survive and protect Aemma. "I would be honored to be your friend, princess," Ciri answers, "assuming His Grace allows me to stay."

Rhaenyra smiled at that, "if he doesn't, I'll change his mind. I don't imagine my father would be callous enough to toss you back to the wolves."

----------meanwhile in the small council chamber-------

"With all due respect, your Grace, this girl cannot be allowed to stay here any longer then she needs," Otto states.

Since the start of the meeting, the small council had been bickering amongst one another about little Ciri remain a guest under the king's roof.

"So you would have me cast this young girl out," Viserys counters, "thrown back to the place she was held captive in perhaps?"

"Of course not," Otto says, "but she certainly not stay here."

"She is the princess of Cintra," Lyonel Strong speaks up, "If the tales in the Continent are to be believed, she was the sole survivor of the siege by the armies of Nilfgaard. To survive that along with being held captive by a pack of mutants, she's been through a lot."

"Armies that are still looking for this girl as we speak," Corlys adds.

"What could they possibly want with the likes of her?" Mellos frowns. "That...is not known," Corlys admits, "but since her grandmother had reportedly perished in the siege that makes princess Cirilla next in line to inherited the Cintran throne. One could only assume Nilfgaard means to capture her so as to further secure a claim to those lands."

"All the more reason that this princess must be sent away," Otto says, "if foreign powers across the sea discover we harbor their highly sought after treasure, they may have cause to lay siege to King's Landing."

"You speak of the girl as if she were an object to possess, not some girl who's probably been through more then any of us could ever imagine," Corlys argues.

"She is a pawn in a foreign game we have no business getting involved in," Otto argues back, "the longer this girl stays here, the more we risk putting the peoples lives in danger should Nilfgaard come looking for her."

"if you ask me, I think Prince Daemon knew who she was this whole time," Otto continues, "probably brought her here to cause trouble." "Daemon has assured me he did not know of Cirilla's true identity before he brought her to King's Landing," Viserys assures, "I see no reason why he would lie about that."

"What would the prince even hope to gain by provoking conflict with Nilfgaard?" Lyonel asks. "What other reason then for glory?" Otto points out, "abduct the girl, bait their armies to come this way, all to come out of it as a hero for the people to see?"

"Enough!" Viserys shouts, bringing the room to complete silence, and receiving the council's undivided attention, "regardless of the circumstances of how and why Cirilla was brought here, she is a guest in my house, and will be treated as such. As far as we know, no one outside these walls knows we are hosting the princess, therefore, I see no threat from powers outside Westeros."

"Your Grace-" "Princess Cirilla will remain here for the time being," Viserys states above Otto, "I will not cast her onto the streets or anywhere else to fend for herself just because of the remote possibility of conflict with an outside threat. That is final."

Otto was left with nothing else to say; clearly the king was not going to change his mind on his matter. Now the Hand was wondering if he would convince Viserys to change his mind on the next matter, "very well," he says, "and what of the other girls you currently play host to? Daemon's whore...and his bastard?"

While the small council argued over this next sensitive subject, unknown to them, Daemon was listening in on this part of the conversation.

The prince wanted to make sure that whatever arguments were going to be made, Viserys would make his decision that would be in Daemon's favor.

If it wouldn't be the case, then Daemon would do everything in his power to make his brother change his mind.

But considering you had named his daughter after the late queen, Daemon wasn't too worried.

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

Meanwhile you were holding onto Aemma, rocking her as she started to fall asleep.

After the council had been dismissed from the throne room, you were shown to your old rooms. Not much had actually changed, except the stuff you left behind had been removed.

Some time afterwards, several nurses had come to attend to Aemma while servants came to prepare your bath. You were a little surprised they would go to this much trouble for a bastard born baby, but apparently it was on Daemon's orders.

You were hesitant to leave Aemma in the care of strangers, but the bath did sound enticing and if anything you at least trusted that Daemon wouldn't put his daughter in harm's way; if anything he would've taken precautions to avoid that.

Aemma fussed though the moment you handed her to one of the nurses. She continued to cry as they took her away. You felt guilty, but you turned to the tub and undressed so as to clean yourself.

At least the servants were nice enough to bring food while you bathed.

They were also nice enough to leave you alone, which gave you enough privacy to cry your eyes out; something you didn't have the luxury to do since arriving in King's Landing, since being taken away from Kaer Morhen and from Geralt. You were ripped away from the life you had built for yourself and for your daughter, back to the place you were trying to keep Aemma away from in the first place.

Now that everyone in the Red Keep knew about Aemma, it was only a matter of time before the political games started, games that would use put your daughter in the center as a pawn, especially if Viserys had her proclaimed true born.

At this moment, this castle, despite its comfort, was feeling more like a prison compared to Kaer Morhen.

You needed to somehow get away, get your daughter away from all this. And Ciri too; who knows what kind of drama the small council would try and get Ciri involved in should they decide to for whatever reason to make Ciri a pawn in their games.

When you finished bathing, you got dressed and went to Aemma's room. A nurse had been holding her, apparently trying to get her to sleep, but the girl had been screaming and crying the whole time you were gone.

Much to the relief of the poor woman, you took Aemma and started to rock her; the babe calming down almost immediately.

As she started to fall asleep, you kiss the top of her head and sing her a lullaby.

There once was a lord in dark woods

Wearing a strange silver band

Around his hand

The band was charmed with ore from stars

Bidding all monsters away

Away

On that quiet eve

Among these trees

A bandit slew the good lord

Stealing that band

Off a dead man's hand

For the bandit also feared

Monsters.

"Quite a morbid tune from someone such as yourself, Little Lark," you hear Daemon's voice.

You sigh, turning around and holding a sleeping Aemma tight as you face the man who had stolen you from the safety of your old life and into the jaws of a new, dangerous life.

Chapter 14.5

Masterlist

#ciri #rhaenyra targaryen #alicent hightower #otto hightower #corlys velaryon #viserys targaryen #daemon #daemon targaryen #hotd #the witcher #The Lady of Larks

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themattress · 25 days

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The Brilliance of Sailor Moon Cosmos

Because I watched it on Netflix last night and I'm sorry - I ain't done talking about it!

First off, some background: the Stars arc is the fifth and final story arc of the Sailor Moon manga. According to Naoko Takeuchi's editor, things in the worldbuilding such as the Galaxy Cauldron were a thing in Takeuchi's head since starting the series, and that he was the one who convinced her to make the Stars arc to wrap things up after she initially intended on ending the series at the fourth arc (which was after initially intending to end it at the third...and before that, the first. The second arc was the only one not designed to potentially be the end, despite half of it ironically transpiring at a later chronological point than the other arcs).

Naoko Takeuchi served as the supervisor of the Sailor Moon Crystal web series, which became the Crystal: Infinity TV series, then the Eternal film duology, and finally the Comsos film duology. One particularly cool thing is that Sailor Moon Crystal begins including this shot:

It's the Milky Way galaxy....and Sagittarius A is very noticeable, setting up the end stage from the very beginning, which shows Takeuchi was dead set on adapting the entire manga.

What the preceding Dream arc, adapted in the Eternal films, did perfectly was set things up for this final arc. Things appeared to come full circle as the Sailor Senshi faced an evil queen nemesis to the Silver Millennium that predated Beryl and Metalia, the source of Mamoru's power and connection to Usagi's power was revealed as the Golden Crystal (Golden Crystal and Silver Crystal, Golden Kingdom and Silver Millennium...perfect symmetry!), the Inner and Outer Senshi were fully united, Chibiusa came into her own, and the goal Usagi's had for a while of reaching Neo-Queen Serenity's level finally transpired with her becoming Eternal Sailor Moon, with a heavy emphasis on how it's her loved ones who give her that power.

The end message seemed to be that nothing was more invincible than a Sailor Senshi.

So how does the final arc begin?

An evil Sailor Senshi rips out Mamoru's Golden Crystal, and he fucking DIES!

Oh, wait, sorry; that wasn't how it begins. It actually begins with a meteor shower.

Sound familiar? Well, no, not if you've watched Crystal sadly. But in the manga:

It's a way of saying "Oh, you thought the Dream arc brought things full circle? Just wait."

Now, I didn't care for the Sailor Starlights in the manga. I didn't hate them like in the anime, but I didn't really see the point of them. They were primarily build-up to Princess Kakyuu's character, and there's nothing they did that couldn't have just been given to Kakyuu if she was out and about from the beginning. However, I actually liked them in Cosmos! I think getting to hear their voices in things like their songs plus getting fully animated facial expressions did a lot for them, as did the big change in how they ultimately get taken out. In the manga, they were knocked unconscious by Sailor Lethe and stay that way even as Sailors Phi and Chi eliminate them to take their Sailor Crystals. In Cosmos, they are awake and take an active last stand in protecting Kakyuu, reaffirming that this is their life's mission and that they are proud to fulfill it. It's a stronger send-off and a far better emotional moment for Kakyuu, who now has to watch them die for her rather than simply watch them die.

Chibi Chibi is a fantastic subversion of expectations. She enters as a little pink-haired child from the future with an umbrella, which gives even the characters the impression that she's a Chibiusa retread of sorts. In reality, she couldn't be further from that, as we will later see.

So, Rei and Minako are absolutely a couple. I just can't take this scene any other way.

Another interesting thing to note about the Dream arc in relation to this one is that Usagi, quite deliberately, did not have much of a character arc. Chibiusa took center stage instead, with Usagi's role being more about proving how much she's matured and cementing that, in the words of Kingdom Hearts, her friends are her power. It perfectly sets her up for now, where she has a character arc that shakes her to her core and puts everything that she is to the ultimate test. Those friends are gradually and methodically taken out, starting with her true love. She actually represses that memory and lives in a haze of denial for a good while before finally being forced to confront reality. All of the strength and maturity she's developed seem to be failing her, her hope and faith are threatening to be crushed, and she is tempted to give in to feelings of rage and hate toward Sailor Galaxia. It's all as Galaxia herself plans, as she knows that to claim the Silver Crystal from Sailor Moon, first she has to break her.

Sailor Tin Nyanko of Shadow Galactica is utilized to show how the Sailor Animamtes aren't evil at heart. When Sailor Galaxia attacks their planets, she gives them the sadistic choice of perish with the rest or assist her in destroying everything, with those who accept having mind-controlling bracelets that grant them power put on and their Star Seed holding their soul extracted, meaning that if the bracelets go, so do they. Nyanko is the only of the Animamates that still feels a connection to her soul and still has good intentions behind following Galaxia: to ultimately get her Star Seed back and the bracelets removed, and become the new Sailor Mau on a new planet to honor the memory of the old one and her old planet. After seeing Sailor Moon protect Luna, Artemis and Diana, she lets her live...at the cost of her own life.

My favorite of Takeuchi's story arcs, the Black Moon arc, gains even more relevance in this final arc. First of all, we have Usagi still haunted by Safir's words that she and her Silver Crystal are the cause of everything wrong, which is a sentiment that goes hand in hand with Nehelenia's words in the preceding Dream arc about how light will always beget darkness.

We then get a huge fix to an issue from the previous two arcs: the Black Moon arc set up a definitive future where everyone makes it out OK, so the stakes of the Infinity and Dream arcs feel neutered when you remember this. But here, Sailor Galaxia point-blank challenges the notion that the future is set in stone...and indeed, what we see transpiring in the future shows that she might just be on to something, a theme that is revisited with Chibi Chibi's character.

And finally: Wiseman / Death Phantom! The series' best Big Bad returns with a major role in Sailor Galaxia's backstory. Projecting himself from the future with the Malefic Black Crystal's power, he is the one who guides Galaxia to the Galaxy Cauldron...and, of course, to Chaos.

While both Eternal and Cosmos do the same thing of dividing the manga arc in half, with the first movie being the first 5 and 1/2 chapters and the second movie being the next 5 and 1/2 chapters, Cosmos does it better. Eternal had to close out its first film with the second half of its 6th chapter and open the second film with the first half, which made it feel a little disjointed and caused the first movie to end rather abruptly. Cosmos, meanwhile, has its first film just end on the first half of its 6th chapter, which is a way more appropriate place to finish given that it follows a battle with Sailor Galaxia herself and has Usagi firmly rediscovering her heroic resolve, cutting off just before she and her new friends leave Earth to go into space.

I love Sailor Lethe and Sailor Mnemosyne. They have a sad and understandable backstory regarding how they joined Shadow Galactica and what they seek to gain from it, the compellingly tragic factor of Lethe hardening her heart and bloodying her hands all for Mnemosyne's sake with the latter having to anguish over this, and a great redemption with Mnemosyne finally stepping up to stop Lethe and undo the damage she's caused which is shortly afterward followed by the previously stubborn Lethe finally standing down after Usagi is willing to allow herself to be killed in order to secure a better future for them. I also love that after they are killed, they are included in Usagi's flashback to all of the friends she has lost.

Sailor Heavy Metal Papillon is the definition of a One Scene Wonder. She's only on screen for two minutes, but my God: the butterflies in a funeral procession, the graveyard of all Sailor Senshi that Shadow Galactica has killed, the gravediggers she has digging fresh graves for Usagi, Kakyuu and Chibi Chibi, the way she fucking crucifies them and then tries to burn them alive all as she relishes it....it's simply unforgettable. But OK...she goes out like a bitch. One-tapped by the Sailor Quartet doing a circus routine kind of puts a damper on her overall.

The Inner and Outer Senshi as mind-controlled zombies is a twisted but perfect penultimate hurdle for Usagi to overcome: can she kill her precious friends, the source of her strength? But I will admit to groaning when Mamoru showed up as well. "Whaaaat? Tuxedo Mask is brainwashed and evil!?" Haven't seen that before! No, wait, we've seen it twice before! It's no longer effective. He really could have just stayed vacantly at Galaxia's side and not said a word before getting shoved to his second demise and that would have been perfectly fine.

The animators spared no expense on this battle. Hot DAMN.

Bad touch, Galaxia! BAD TOUCH!

Speaking of Galaxia, her plan is brilliant. She not only deliberately broke Usagi down, but she also fully counted on Usagi building herself back up, which would make it all the more devastating when Galaxia melted all the loved ones she sought to revive into the Galaxy Cauldron, followed by Chaos revealing the truth about itself to her. Usagi would then be so unstable that her power would go out of control. When Chaos then tries to possess her and the Silver Crystal, Usagi would wipe Chaos out along with herself, leaving the Silver Crystal and control of the universe for Galaxia. Another full circle type moment calling Beryl and Metalia to mind. And it would've worked, too....were Chaos not fully aware of it, of course.

Speaking of Chaos and the truth about itself: it's a being that failed to make it out of the Galaxy Cauldron and become a star, which warped it and turned it into pure evil, negative energy. While still unable to escape the Cauldron, parts of Chaos have been able to leak out of it, and they became all the major enemies Sailor Moon has faced. The point is that so long as Chaos exists, so too will conflict. The battle between good and evil will rage on forever.

After Usagi defies all of Galaxia's expectations by saving her life from Chaos, we get one of the story's biggest, most subversive twists. Chibi Chibi, in reality Sailor Cosmos, the Big Good, has all this time been waiting for the moment at hand where she can urge Usagi to destroy the Galaxy Cauldron in order to destroy Chaos...even though this ultimately means the death of the galaxy since no new stars will be born. She is the advocate for the wrong solution. And then Galaxia, the Big Bad, becomes the advocate for the right solution through a resigned acceptance that no matter how much power you have, you cannot control the nature of existence. Even if this galaxy dies, another one would be reborn, and the conflict between good and evil would continue. Destroying the Galaxy Cauldron is not the answer.

This also leads to Galaxia's death scene, and despite how horrifically evil she has been, it still got me a little misty-eyed. Galaxia was not born evil, she was shaped that way through a truly hellish life on a barbaric medieval planet, and she always sought to heal the wounds it left on her soul with more and more power, attempting to make herself into a god in order to finally feel a sense of belonging. But only now at the end does she see that Sailor Moon, the person she had tried so hard to break, is actually the true sort of person she wished to become, and that true security and belonging lay in her values of compassion and acceptance. She is the star Galaxia has sought for so long, but as she puts it, she can't reach it. It's far too late for her to be that sort of person. But at least she can hope that Sailor Moon will last forever, since as long as she does then wretched souls like her can still find salvation in her light.

I mentioned before that this arc and its thesis statement is sort of like Puella Magi Madoka Magica, but there's actually another comparison to be made: to Neon Genesis Evangelion. The messages of "so long as life goes on, as existence exists, then there will always be hope no matter how dark things get" and "every human at their core yearns to be with others and achieve a sense of belonging" are in both. And Usagi's epic final act displays this beautifully: combining Galaxia's Sailor Crystal with her own so that even she too can be reborn, she dives into the Galaxy Cauldron and pushes the ascendant Chaos back downward, her heart resonating with the Cauldron's power in the process. She succeeds in causing the Cauldron's energy to erupt like a geyser and send all the Star Seeds within back into the galaxy, and even attempts to embrace and purify Chaos, who pushes her off and accepts falling back into the primordial sea rather than be redeemed. It's a stunning and truly inspirational conclusion.

Can I just say how hilarious it is that all of the Sailor Senshi, including Sailor Moon herself, die in this arc....except for the Sailor Quartet, who somehow manage to outlive all of them and never once get killed and reborn. Never underestimate those four circus trolls, it seems!

When I originally read the manga, the whole Sailor Cosmos stuff was the most confusing to me, but the movie clarified it a lot better. Sailor Cosmos is the future version of Neo-Queen Serenity, who has achieved the highest possible level of power due to tapping into her bond with the Cosmo Crystal (the Galaxy Cauldron's own Star Seed) and Guardian Cosmos (basically God) that she achieved through this big sacrificial act. The Japanese version was far more blatant about this connection, as Sailor Cosmos had Guardian Cosmos' voice.

If Cosmos is God, then Chaos is the Devil. And in the far future, Chaos finally escapes the Galaxy Cauldron and incarnates as Sailor Chaos. Rather than just be grateful that she's now a star, Chaos continues to lash out in resentment of all those who became stars before her and wreaks destruction as she tries to conquer the universe. The brutal war between Sailor Cosmos and Sailor Chaos lasted so long that for all her great power, Sailor Cosmos lost all hope of prevailing, which is why she transformed into Chibi Chibi and went back in time in order to persuade her past self to destroy Chaos and the Galaxy Cauldron. But witnessing her past self's hope and faith utterly shamed her, making her realize that she can never truly be the ultimate incarnation of Sailor Moon unless she recovers that same hope and faith. Honestly, this is an ingenious Izuru Kamakura-style deconstruction of a Power Fantasy - Usagi can become immortal, insanely beautiful, and powerful to the point of being a living god, yet still end up as a failure and a coward who is outshone by her greener teenage self.

The movie adds this scene of Usagi going home and reuniting with her family and Luna to address two long-standing fan complaints about the manga. The first was that we never saw any of the cats after their death, which I always found to be oversensitive: we confirm that the Crystal Tokyo future is coming to pass, meaning Diana will be born, so of fucking course Luna and Artemis are alive again; everyone who died in this arc was revived when the Galaxy Cauldron erupted and the Star Seeds released. But the other, which is far more valid, is that we don't see Usagi's Earth family again following the scene where she leaves to go to space and Ikuko starts crying because she feels like it will be the last time they ever see her. This feels like a more valid complaint, since it feels cruel to have that scene be indeed the last time Usagi's Earth family ever sees her on-screen, plus it reinforces their importance to her.

Finally, I appreciate how the scene where Usagi wakes up in bed with Mamoru frames her as having forgotten much of what transpired in the arc as a result of her going in and out of the Galaxy Cauldron...not everything, of course, but a lot of it is now hazy. This means that she most likely doesn't remember Chibi Chibi, which in turns means that will allow her to become Chibi Chibi when she's Sailor Cosmos in the far future. It seems to reinforce that in the setting of Sailor Moon, time travel is in fact incapable of changing history, only fulfilling it. Crystal Tokyo and Neo-Queen Serenity wouldn't have happened without the Black Moon Clan trying to destroy them in the past, Neo-Queen Serenity also couldn't have come into being without the Holy Grail which was partly made by a time-traveling Chibiusa, Sailor Pluto couldn't have been on hand when she was needed had she not died in the future and gotten reincarnated in the past, Galaxia couldn't have met Chaos and set everything in motion if Wiseman hadn't projected himself from the future to tell her about the Galaxy Cauldron, and Sailor Moon couldn't have made her big decision concerning the Galaxy Cauldron if not for Sailor Cosmos as Chibi Chibi being there trying to push her into making the opposite choice.

Bravo, Naoko Takeuchi. I know it was a pain to have to keep working on Sailor Moon for longer than you ever anticipated, but you could not have ended it on a more perfect note.

#Sailor Moon #Ending #Finale #Opinion #Analysis

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