#wrath of the talon
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ash-and-books · 9 months ago
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Rating: 5/5
Book blurb: The sequel to the “bloodthirsty, addictive, and searingly romantic”* debut from Sophie Kim is an unflinching roller coaster ride of action, romance, and intricate fantasy lore. *Quote from Axie Oh, NYT bestselling author
Everyone thinks the Reaper of Sunpo—eighteen-year-old assassin Shin Lina—is dead. The only ones who know the truth are her cherished little sister and Haneul Rui, the icily gorgeous Dokkaebi Emperor, who she was sent to kill…and kissed instead.
Now, with the potent Imugi venom surging in her veins, Lina’s returned to right all wrongs. Already her body is changing, growing stronger, stealthier, and more agile, with serpentine scales she can call at will. She is living vengeance, seeking retribution for the massacre of the Talons. She’ll become the sword who cuts down the rival Blackbloods gang, along with their ruthless crime-lord leader. And when she is through, she will take the kingdom as her own.
But there is a mysterious side to Lina’s growing power, a dark voice inside her that whispers and guides her as she slips through the shadows of Sunpo’s streets. One that warns her not to trust the Dokkaebi, especially Rui.
Because if her destiny isn’t to love him…it must be to destroy him.
Review:
The bloody and tension filled sequel to Last of the Talons and the second book in the trilogy. The Reaper of Sunpo is presumed dead... and she's back to get revenge... however after her transformation from ingesting poison in the previous book she is changed...and this change has something talking to her in her head, slowly taking over her body and forcing her to fulfill the prophecy that would make her the Empress of All and lead to many bodies dropping and a war impending... not to mention the possibly destruction of the very Emperor she loves. Shin Lina survived and now she is changed, she now has potent Imugi venom in her veins and a voice in her head that is slowly consuming her. All she wants to do is get revenge against all of those who had killed those she cared for. Yet she is slowly losing her mind and herself to a prophecy that foretells her becoming the new Queen of the Imugi and the one to take it all... Then there is Rui, the beautiful Dokkaebi Emperor who loves her, and whom she's discovered is her red string of fate soulmate... but the string of fate works in two ways.. they may be romantic soul mates or mortal enemies.... only time will tell what happens as Lina slowly loses her mind and control of her own body to the prophecy. Can love win or will revenge cost Lina everything and in the end... can Lina and Rui be tied together by love or will it turn into a war neither of them could ever imagine. This was a heartbreaking and tension filled sequel. I loved how the story grew and how Rui and Lina faced off against a new challenge and how this book really shows that there are stakes and prices to be paid when you seek revenge. I am so excited for the finale in the trilogy and how it all ends, I am rooting for Lina and Rui but after the cliffhanger of what happened in this book I am just hoping they get a happy ending. This was such a good book and this series has been an absolute joy to read!
*Spoiler: Lina begins hearing the Prophecy " a sentient prophecy hell bent on fulfilling itself and taking control of Lina's mind and body". Rui and Lina discover they are soulmates yet with Lina being turned into an Imugi, a Dokkaebi's enemy, can they trust each other. Rui was forced to become the pied piper and kidnap humans for the imugi in order to save his people. Lina is losing herself and can't seem to fight the voice in her head. Rui tries to help her but when one of Lina's enemies kills Eunbi (Lina's beloved little sister) Lina completely gives up and gives the reigns of her mind and body over to the Prophecy. Rui and her do get married before this as Rui needed a way to distract the prophecy controlling Lina while keeping an eye on Lina to make her safe. Rui is determined to save Lina, however Lina is trapped in her own mind now and trying to avoid the grief and lost of her sister. The Prophecy has begun to take over.*
*Thanks Netgalley and Entangled Publishing, LLC | Entangled: Teen for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*
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bookcoversonly · 7 months ago
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Title: Wrath of the Talon | Author: Karen Lord | Publisher: Entangled: Teen (2024)
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wordsarelifereviews · 2 years ago
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✨ A book a day keeps reality away ✨
Banner made by me - Typescript Trinkets, photo posted to my bookstagram
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watchingxover · 1 year ago
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//Verses tag dump
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dilatorywriting · 8 months ago
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Monster Mayhem: Siren's Song [Part 3]
Gender Neutral Reader x Vil Schoenheit Word Count: 5.2k
Summary: Teaching a Siren to read is perhaps the best or worst idea that you've ever had. If only you were half as capable of reading between the lines.
[PART 1] [PART 1.5] [PART 2] [PART 3] [PART 4] [PART 5]
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‘U-G-L-Y’
“Wow,” you drawled. “What a wonderful use of your new talents.”
The fish you were cooking landed upside down on the hot stone with a crackling sizzle of skin that you could feel as a jumping prickle of heat all along your arm. You poked at your impromptu stovetop with your impromptu stick-spatula and prepared your impromptu leaf-plates. A true culinary connoisseur, you were. When you were rescued, you were going to argue to Riddle that you deserved a promotion to the kitchens. Though, apparently not everyone appreciated your talents.
‘UGLY’ the Siren poked again, jabbing his talon into the sand.
“Then bring me prettier fish,” you returned, pointed. “It’s not that hard.”
His sharp, black claws came up to point at you next alongside his wonderful, two-syllable insult. Then back to you again, with four fingers this time. Both hands going for it. There was a tight, irritated expression on his face that you refused to call a pout because firstly, surely this vicious king of the seas could never pull something so childish. And secondly, because in these past few days you’d developed a terrible habit of just chattering each and every one of your thoughts aloud. And if you called him bratty, or dared imply such pouting was coming from his regal visage, you were just setting yourself up to get drenched by his flailing tail all over again.
“You can’t hurt my feelings,” you said, bland. “Ugly is the nicest thing you’ve ever called me.”
He huffed and smacked his fins against the sand. The trailing, dark tips cracked against your leg and you kicked him right back. It didn’t actually hurt, no more than a pinch to the side, but you’d spent enough time with this asshole now that not fighting back like a toddler pitching a tantrum wasn’t an option anymore.
Just over two weeks, now. Fifteen days and counting.
Those first few days had been spent in a nervous, prey-like panic, of course. Watching him circle the bay with his shredded fins, crying at the top of his lungs until your goosebumps had goosebumps. And then you’d helped untangle him from the mess you’d made, delicately working salt-brined twine away from weeping wounds. Sure, there’d been that whole hoopla of him pinning you in the sand after your act of Great Chivalry and promptly threatening to rip your throat out with his teeth, but you’d moved past that. The offering of home-cooked meals had softened his scaly hide, and then the even greater move of handing him your species’ alphabet like some great, guarded secret of old had sealed the deal. Cheers all around. It’d only taken you nearly being eaten, disemboweled, and drowned, but you’d made peace with your roommate. What a success story.
And now instead of trying to murder you, he just called you U-G-L-Y.
So, you know, baby steps.
The thin, pointed end of his tail whipped up from where you’d kicked him to twine around your ankle and give a sharp tug that had you sprawling face first into the sand with an oomph. Your great tumble sent all those pretty letters of his scattering in the breeze, and you spat out a mouthful of grit.
“Here’s a new one for you,” you chirped, digging your fingers into the muck. F-U-C-K—Y-O-U.
The Siren yowled, which you’d come to recognize far too well as a prickle along your nape and that forever echoing tug, tug, tug somewhere in your head that could never return the call with its corresponding answer. His tail flailed out again to smack at your hands. It was thick, and scaly, and all smooth, powerful muscle. The fact that he hadn’t crushed your poor fingers into a sad, bony paste by now beneath its wrath was a miracle. If you were a more optimistic person, you’d say he was being extra gentle with you on purpose. But even you weren’t delusional enough to think he liked you that much.
“Okay, okay,” you grouched, spitting out another mouthful of pebbles. “Fine. Just not around the food. Unless you want to have to go hunting for dinner all over again.”
The Siren huffed, rolling his eyes like it was a professional sport, and settled himself prettily back against the butt of his tail like he’d never even tried to beat you to death with his fins at all.
You sighed and pulled yourself back out of the sand, scrubbing it from your salt-sticky skin as best as you were able. You returned to poking at your fish. They weren’t too terribly singed, despite your distraction. And the Siren seemed to like the edges extra crispy either way, so it wasn’t any kind of loss. You were in the middle of balancing your impromptu stick-spatula against another impromptu stick-spoon to try and flip the fish without destroying it entirely when you felt a gentle poke, poke, poke against your arm.
You looked back and the Siren stared down at you, lips canted in a sharp smirk that was all pride.
U-G-L-Y—A-N-D—S-T-U-P-I-D, the sand said.
He’d been struggling with applying the whole -pid noise to the proper lettering, because of how similar it was to -ped. And the spelling had been tripping him up (with much obvious frustration) for the last day or so.
“Well done,” you sighed, not even too terribly upset that it had taken you months in Riddle’s impromptu classrooms to learn what he was picking up over the course of a few, harried sessions delivered with broken bits of sharp sticks and an ever changing canvas. “Try this.”
You scribbled another message in the sand. An insult, naturally, because he seemed to like those. You sounded out the letters as you hopped the tip of your finger over them one-by-one, and the Siren stared down at the inscription with the sort of intense focus meant for ancient tomes or sacred texts. You watched his lips move silently as he sounded it out alongside your mini-lesson, and then he was reaching forward to trace over the letters with the curved tip of a claw—knuckles bumping yours for a moment before shooing your hand away.
You returned to your dinner—finishing up the poor, murdered fish as best as you could and doling it out as usual. You reached out to hand pretty boy his leaf-plate, which he took like a lord accepting a meal from a lowly servant. All upturned noses and pointed disinterest. He set it beside him and nibbled on the offering as he continued to study the new task you’d given him—grand, purple fins splayed out at his sides to brush against your hip like a habit. And this was your life now, apparently. Sitting and frying lazy, shallow water fish over a heated stone while your Siren student studied curse words in the sand. If you managed to survive this, no one would ever believe you.
.
.
The wrecked ship called to you like, well, did you even have to say it.
(It felt like a low hanging pun at this point. You’d never be able to use the expression again for as long as you lived without thinking of narrowed, purple eyes nearly rolling up into the back of a too pretty head because you were apparently that annoying.)
Every day when you ventured towards the western side of the islet to feed your teeny, round octopus friend, you couldn’t help but sit and stare at the shattered hull. It’s not like it was in any sort of shape to actually get you off your little, sandy prison, but it was… There was something about it that was familiar enough to scratch an itch in your brain, but just alien enough that figuring out what was itching was outright impossible.
Silver songbirds.
‘Not safe,’ the Siren had demanded, with an almost frantic look to him. Not safe.
Every time you tried to venture closer to get a better look, it was like he could feel it. And he’d be pacing the shoreline like a blood-frenzied shark—rattling off muted, angry complaints the whole time that popped against your skin like soda fizz. So, lesson learned. Keep away.  
It was a particularly sweltering afternoon today. Not a cloud in the bright, blue sky and nary a breeze to be seen. Sweat was beading unpleasantly along your brow and all down your back, and you hated it. At least on the Rose Queen there had been shade. And the lower decks of the ship submerged in the waves had always felt at least a little chilled. You could practically feel the damp, cool wood against your cheek. The smell of salt and pine oils in your nose. But here, on this stupid not-island with its barren trees and nothings, you just had to suffer in silence. The memories of your ship had you thinking of the washed up Songbird all over again, and you were in the middle of a heated, internal debate over making a swim for it again when something cold rained down over your face in small, scattered droplets.
You blinked back into focus to see Mister Merman at your ankles. You’d been sitting with your heels in the water, but no deeper. Because the shallows were still his territory, and while he hadn’t tried to hold you under in a while now, it was hard to forget something like that so easily. You didn���t really want to chance it if a foul mood struck him, no matter what sort of fragile truce seemed to exist between the pair of you lately.
Last you’d looked he’d been sunning himself on one of the wide, flat rocks—as he was wont to do. Lavender-tipped hair splayed out along his cheeks in a pool of soft gold and fins spread at his hips like the finest, plum silks. How he never seemed to burn with that delicate, ivory skin of his you had no idea. Maybe it was a Magical, Mystical, Merman perk yet undocumented. Or maybe he was just Like That. But he’d been snoozing away on his favorite boulder, and now he had rolled in with the tide to lounge by your toes. His fingers were spread, still dripping with sea water from where he’d flicked you in the face. You frowned at him—partly curious, but also pissilly blinking salt out of your eyes that stung, because come on dude.
He flicked more water your way and said something that you couldn’t manage to catch the shape of. When you didn’t respond with anything other than a pointed scrub of the water dripping down your cheeks, he reached out to wrap a clawed hand around your ankle and give a gentle tug.
“What?” you frowned, confused, and he tugged again.
He canted his head towards you, and then out to the cove behind him. He slipped back with the soft, frothy roll of the waves—just a foot or two—and clearly meant to pull you with him. You slid against the sandbar with a yelp and dug your heels into the muck to keep from getting yanked all the way in.
“No way,” you snipped, kicking a mess of water into his face. He didn’t even blink, just frowned down at you with a twisty sort of petulance. “I thought we were over this. If you drown me you won’t get any more cooked food, y’know. And I, in turn, would very much like to not be drowned. Win, win.”
That frown of his went stiff, and his lips twitched down at the corners. His amethyst eyes darted away and for a moment you swore that those gemstone irises flashed with something almost like guilt. He rolled forward with the next curl of surf and pressed a claw into the damp, dark sand at your hip. He scratched out a careful message, stubbornly refusing to meet your gaze all the while.
Won’t, it said.
“Forgive me for not believing that,” you returned, dry. “You’re oh-for-two now, I think. And, you know, fool me twice, and all that.” Though maybe the first one didn’t really count, seeing how you were both tangled together and sinking to the bottom in a mutual sort of destruction. But whatever. You were keeping it.
The Siren’s brow pinched in the middle and he reached forward to dig his claws in again.
Accident.
Your own brows jumped nearly to your hairline. You were just about to politely point out that dragging someone to the bottom of the ocean until they were bubbling from the nose and flailing wasn’t really an accident,but then you remembered the startled look on his face. The way he hadn’t stopped you from clawing your way back to the surface and how he’d carefully helped tow you back towards the shore after. And… maybe he hadn’t really meant it. It had to be strange, probably. Being able to thrive so easily below the waves and then be faced with someone who would die if they were left facedown in a puddle.  
“…Fine,” you huffed, and his eyes jumped back up to yours with all cat-in-the-cream smugness. “But just because I’m about to drop from heatstroke. Not because you asked.”
The Siren rolled his eyes at you and returned to dragging you by your ankles into the shallows.
The bay really was very lovely. It was crystalline clear and the sort of brilliant blue that you’d never even known existed until you’d left the land for a life on the open ocean. The sand below your feet was soft and white, with barely any pebbles or broken bits of shell to dig into your toes. You watched a few crabs scurry out of the way as you were led deeper and deeper, but most of the cove’s occupants were spoiled and slow. Unbothered by this weird, fleshy, bipedal creature stepping past because they’d never known anything else. Once you hit waist-deep, the Siren let go of you to sink more fully into the water. He swam around you in a languid, looping circle—plum fins cresting the surface to flick water against your arms and scales shining like polished glass in the sunlight. It was still far too shallow for him to move around in earnest with how massive that tail of his was, and how wide and trailing his great, beta-like fins were, but he was still elegant. Still fast and flexible as he swam rings around you like an orbit.
“Show off,” you scoffed, but couldn’t quite bite back the grin twitching at your lips.
Because creature from the deep trying to devour your crew or not, Sirens really were so impressive, weren’t they? Straight out of a storybook, and deserving of every song and tale attributed to them.
You reached out before you could help yourself to run your fingers along his tail. The scales were smooth, and sleek, and cool against your palm. The wispy ends of his fins caught along your fingers, but other than a bit of a tangle, you almost managed to run your hand along the whole of it. And what was it? Eight feet? Ten? Bigger than you at least, that was for sure. It wasn’t like anything you’d ever felt. No fish, or whale hide, or shark. Something entirely of its own.
You realized on the next loop when your fingers danced over a patch of still healing scales that you’d felt already that he had most definitely realized your err in personal space, and was letting you poke about on purpose. You glanced up, embarrassed and warm faced, to see the tail end of a smirk quirking out from the water’s surface. Preening bastard.
You turned up your nose and waded deeper. There was a ripple in the water around you, like a chuckle, and he returned to his looping circles. Occasionally his tail would brush up against you to get you to jump, but otherwise he kept his hands to himself and—as promised—did not attempt to wrestle you down to the sandy floor and your subsequent watery grave.
Once you’d made it up to your chest, the Siren was able to start his dance in earnest. He darted away to make a wide arc around the edge of the cove—sunshine catching on his scales like a glare on the water. He shot from one end to the other, so fast it was nearly dizzying to try and keep up with. And then he was back to circling your ankles all over again—tangling your legs in his fins and curling his talons against your calves to try and drag you deeper.
“Okay, okay,” you laughed, paddling after him until you were well and truly above your head. The bay wasn’t very deep, but there were a few areas that dipped down to at least fifteen feet. So soon enough you were bobbing like a top in the gentle surf as he looped around your idly kicking feet—brushing up along your ankles and tugging at the frayed edge of your shirt with his claws when he passed by.
When he next rose above the surface, you’d already taken in a big mouthful of water in preparation, and shot it right into his face. The Siren’s whole expression shriveled up like a hundred-year-old prune and you laughed so hard he had to curl his tail around your waist to keep you from dipping under the waves and choking yourself. You let him drag you around and only grabbed at his fins a little. He would dive below your feet and you’d sink after him. Not nearly as agile or adept, but competent enough to follow his little game of tag without losing completely within the first few seconds. It was—it was nice. Genuinely. You couldn’t remember the last time you’d swam for the fun of it. Way back when you’d first joined up with Riddle’s crew, maybe. It’d been a hot day, just like this one, and you’d been anchored in a safe, shallow inlet off the coast of an archipelago. Deuce and Ace had jumped in first, already brawling, and you’d dove in soon after. It’d been a mess, and Riddle had nearly hung the three of you up by your toes for it. But it’d been fun. Familial. Warm. Something you’d never forget. And while this moment didn’t feel entirely like that one had, there was something similar about it. Sure, you weren’t trying to give the Siren a bloody nose and there were no rock wars, but it was… well, it was nice.
By the end of it, he was swimming lazy, looping shapes around the cove, and you were being dragged alongside him like a raft—kept afloat by the curling press of his tail and relaxing in the afternoon sunshine with the cool ripples of the ocean water to keep you both comfortable in the heat.
“Do you do this a lot?” you asked, as you relaxed in the gentle lull of the surf. “With your pod, I mean.”
The Siren stiffened beneath you, but after a moment he nodded. Slow and rigid. Which—
Oh. Right.
“…sorry,” you mumbled, gaze darting away.
Because he was missing his family just as much as you were missing yours, wasn’t he?
All that frantic pacing at the start of your mutual stranding had just seemed to… fade away as the days passed. He would still circle the entrance of the cove some mornings, singing towards the skies and tilting his head—fins pricked as he searched for an answer. You’d feel it in your nerves, see the gulls overhead dipping in a trance and watch the crabs crawl up onto the sand like they were being dragged out by their little claws. But most of the time now he just… didn’t. He spent his days mumbling over the letters you showed him, or carefully preening over his healing fins and resting in the sun. Catching fish for you to prepare and roast, and taking his meals at your side as you both snipped at each other with sandy curse words. It was pleasant, this routine you’d fallen into together. But all the same, he never really stopped checking the ocean waters. And you could see a spark in his eyes, an itch. The same one that lit yours, no doubt, every time you caught yourself squinting for the outline of ships on the horizon.
The difference between the two of you, of course, was that in a few more days his scales would be healed enough to face the dangers of the open water alone. Life as a rogue mer was notoriously perilous. The lone Sirens were those that poachers were willing to risk battle with for a trophy. They were the ones caught in fishing nets, and found mauled by rival pods. But your Siren was smart. He was big, and strong, and impressive. He’d find a way to survive it, no doubt. One morning you’d wake up and he’d have darted off into the deep to search for his family. To go home. And you…
You would still be trapped here.
Alone.
Forever.
Rotting under the sun with no one to take you swimming in the afternoons. Or bring you clawed up fish to cook for dinner. Or to use your writing lessons just to insult you with scribbled words in the muck.
Which—that was what you’d wanted, wasn’t it? At the start of all of this.
And it was only fair, in the end. He was the better of the two of you, after all. Born and bred to thrive in the depths of the sea that would swallow you whole without a thought. And if either of you was going to survive, to find your home again, it was always going to be him. Maybe you’d be a story, like he would have been for you. The strange human with no ears, just like the rest of the pirates whispered about. Who taught him that fire could make fish extra tasty and that leaves could make perfectly serviceable plates if you tried hard enough.
You sighed, and bubbles of salt water frothed along your mouth.
The Siren raised his head from his own lazy sprawl to arch a brow at you in question, and you did the very mature thing of spitting water in his face all over again.
You ended up being dragged through the cove in a flurry of spitting, Siren rage. Laughing and laughing until he huffed and hauled you back to shore to keep you from swallowing any more seawater like the idiot that you were. And it was fine, really it was. He wasn’t so bad, not really. And if he was able to reunite with his pod once more after all those days of hollow wailing and pacing, pacing, pacing that had made something deep in your soul itch like a freshly scabbed wound that you just couldn’t stop picking, well, that wouldn’t be such a bad ending after all.
.
.
The next afternoon while you were out on your daily Octopus Wellness Check, you came across a piece of pale, purple sea glass mixed into the rocky shore. It was smooth to the touch and frosted over by the endless tumble of the tide. You held it up to the light and it sparkled just like the Siren’s scales.
“What do you think?” you asked the octopus as it grabbed shredded bits of fish with its chubby, little tentacles. “Do you want it? Or should I give it to—”
You blinked, startled, and realized all at once that you’d never learned the Siren’s name. Or given him yours. You’d just sort of been calling each other a variety of derogatory pseudonyms and hoping for the best. Which, huh. You hadn’t even realized you’d wanted to know his name. It wasn’t yours to take, of course. Let alone from someone who would no doubt be leaving so soon. But it was a thought.
“You always give the best advice, you know,” you told the teeny creature, and it hid from you like you were a great, looming monster of old. “Whether you meant to or not. Thanks for that.”
So on the way back to your cove, you picked through some tufts of beachgrass to find the longest, driest spikes. You began winding them together as you walked, and settled down in your favorite little corner of the inlet to continue your weaving. The Siren, naturally—being as nosy as he was—was immediately hovering over you like a child watching someone hold a bag of sweets just out of reach. You clutched your little project to your chest like a secret, and it had him puffing up in irritation and smacking his fins against your sides like your refusal to share whatever had caught your attention was a crime beyond comparison. He arched up as tall as he could to try and peer over your shoulder, and, in failing at that, just outright tried to snatch the thing from your hands.
“I won’t give it to you if you keep being a pest,” you warned, and immediately he was slipping back to rest on his stomach in the damp sand with a starbright curiosity in his eyes, chin pillowed atop his interlaced fingers and gaze following the movements of your hands like a cat tracking a mouse in its hole. Clearly the promise of it being a treat for him was mollification enough to keep him from hovering.
Once you’d braided a sturdy enough chain, you carefully twined it around the sea glass in a little, crisscrossing cage of fibers. Just knotted enough to keep the ocean-worn trinket safe and in place without hiding the shine of it. With that, you held up your trophy with a dramatic wave, and the Siren was popping up all over again. His amethyst glare tracked the swinging pendant with startling focus and a surprisingly wide-eyed spark of confusion.
“Here,” you said, reaching out to drop the makeshift necklace into his lap. He caught it in his claws, eyes still far too round with shock. “It made me think of your scales. I thought you might like it.”
He was staring down at the gift in utter silence. And not the normal sort of quiet either—where your broken eardrums simply refused to pick up on all his petulant grousing against your person. This was actual silence. His lips were parted like they were caught on a breath, but he wasn’t saying anything. Not even a complaint about how plain and ugly it was. He curled his claws daintily around the woven chain, as if he was afraid of tearing right through it with an accidental prick, and then held the sparkling bauble aloft like he was utterly entranced by the soft gleam of it.
After a long, long moment of that near eerie silence and a pool of dread filling your belly that screamed you’d clearly fucked up in some way (overstepped some weird, Siren tradition. Accidentally insulted his father. Handed him a bad luck omen on a string. Something), the Siren was twisting around to show you the back of his neck. He held up the woven chain so it draped along his shoulder blades, and he pointedly shook the ends at you.
When you just gaped back in shock, he turned to sneer over his shoulder at you and jabbed a claw at his throat, then the necklace, then you, then his throat again. Which, oh. Oh! That—that you could do.
So you reached out to pluck the ends of the grass-woven thread from his talons and he immediately shifted around again to make himself comfortable. Curling his tail firmly against the sand with his plum-lined fins spread out in all their glory like a spill of purple ink along the shoreline. He set his shoulders square and firm, and looked straight ahead with that same, queer sort of focus to him as before.
You tied the ends of the necklace in a bow against his nape, making sure it was securely fastened in place and not snagging any of the softer, shorter hairs at the back of his neck. Once it’d been fussed with to his liking, he turned back around and stared you down until you could feel goosebumps prickling up all along your spine. You wanted to meekly tell him that it was just sea glass. Just a little trinket you’d found in the sand that you’d thought was pretty enough that he might like to have it. But the words died on your tongue. They felt wrong somehow. And you’d put your foot in your mouth plenty of times throughout your life, but this definitely felt like it would have been the biggest boot of all.
“…You like it?” you tried instead, because that sentiment at least seemed less like something that was ready to clog up your throat.
The Siren nodded, firm, his eyes still drilling into yours with that unnerving level of focus.
You coughed into your fist and awkwardly attempted to shift away to give yourself a bit of room, and—Huh. When had his tail come up to wrap around your leg? That made running away a bit inconvenient. You’d just have to try and wriggle your way out and hope he would take mercy on your far inferior musculature, and—
There was a poke at your hip. Tap, tap, tap. One, two, three. And you glanced back up at him with a pinched frown, confused.
The Siren pointed to a scrawl in the sand. Tap, tap, tap.
Acceptable.
You gawked, and then swallowed a laugh so fast it nearly choked you. Because he was still himself, wasn’t he? No matter what. Sassy, asshole fish. Gods, you were going to miss him.
You wiped at the bubbling, giggling tears prickling at the corner of your eyes and reached out to pat at his tail in good humor.
“I hope you find your happy ending,” you beamed, and meant it.
The Siren just looked at you with one of his familiar, lemon-sour puckers. He pointedly reached up to flick at the necklace around his throat, like that had anything to do with him finding his family again at all. Like it wasn’t just some silly trinket you’d gifted him in hopes that maybe one day he could look back fondly on the little human that he’d found himself stranded with. To not just forget you outright. To make your fleeting presence in his life something tangible, rather than just a mess of already fading scars and memories that would too easily be swept away in the depths of the sea.
“At least it’s acceptable,” you said finally around your giggling, and he huffed at you in a way that almost looked fond. You stood from the sand and brushed the mess of grit and salt off your pant legs. “Come on. Let’s go have dinner and I’ll teach you some nicer words tonight. So you can give me a real compliment next time.”
There was spray of water all along your back from where he’d no doubt dove back into the shallows behind you and walloped you with his fins to the best of his ability. And honestly, you couldn’t find it in yourself to be bothered by it at all.
.
.
[TAG LIST - CLOSED]
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blitzyn · 1 year ago
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pervert
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miguel o'hara x spiderman!reader
request : none
Synopsis: A game of cat and mouse goes to shit, and you find yourself bound in Miguel's webs.
a/n -> literally nobody asked for this but he's been stuck in my mind for decades and i wanted to get something out for my bbg <3 also super sorry i disappeared again, writers block straight up bitch slapped me and left me in a ditch, plus ive been losing interest in writing for genshin or just the game in general, unfortunately.
wc -> 3.3k
cw -> very dubcon, mean dom miguel, degradation, bondage?, face fucking, google translated spanish, spit as lube, anal fingering, anal sex, slight and brief choking, (semi) public sex??, not beta read
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Exhilaration filled your veins as breathy laughs escaped your throat, weaving through buildings and rubble with the precision of someone who has experienced this type of chase countless times before.
And that's because you have. You've been in a near never-ending game of cat and mouse with the esteemed Miguel O'Hara, always close enough to feel the swipe of his talons in the air but too far to catch. No matter how many times he's cornered you, you always find a way to get past him; it was predictable at this point.
That pissed Miguel off like no other, hellbent on capturing you to put an end to your snide remarks, to put you in your place. While that usually would've enticed you in any other circumstance, you weren't too keen on letting him dig his claws into you now that you were chest-deep in this predicament — and his wrath.
"Stop running, already!" he shouted, the sharp edges of fury evident in his voice.
"I'm not running!" you respond, peering back at him with a smug grin. True to your words, you, quite literally, were not running. You were swinging with the agility of a seasoned acrobat, twisting and flipping through debris while looking like you were having fun. You offered him occasional glances and nearly laughed each time. Seeing him, a grown-ass man, almost constantly on all fours was amusing, but hearing him curse and grunt and growl made electricity shoot down your spine in a way that nearly got you caught several times.
Adrenaline filled your body and threatened to burst through your chest each time you evaded him. "Missed me!" you laughed, juking away from his swipe.
"So close!" you flip over him with a taunt. "Try again next time!"
"¡Voy a matarte!¹" He growls, and it was hard to ignore the shudder that rushed through your body. You slightly winced at the feeling. If you don't get your shit together when he spoke Spanish, then you were asking to get caught.
But it's not like you'd mind — Actually, yes, you fucking would!
You click your teeth in annoyance. Despite how hard you tried, you couldn't remove Miguel from your thoughts even though he was right behind you, hunting you down like a wild animal. Your mind strayed toward his broad shoulders, beautifully tiny waist, fat ass (that you'd give a lot to slap), and the massive piece of rubble being hurled at your body.
You blink out of your stupor, feeling your senses going off rather violently. Oh shit.
Everything seemed to move painfully slow as you stared at the debris with wide eyes, noticing Miguel's red web attached to it as he brought it down. You flung your arm out in an attempt to attach your webs to something and swing away, but was unable to pull yourself fast enough as the debris pinned you down to the roof of a building.
"Fuck!" you thought as you grunted and squeezed your eyes shut, agony tearing through your entire body. Swiftly, you pushed against the ground to shove the heavy object off of you, groaning with effort. Just as you managed to stand back up, you heard the familiar thwip! of his web wrapping around your waist and arms to yank you to him.
"Caught you," he said, voice rough and breathless as he panted hard. He loomed over you menacingly, hands curled into a fist.
You struggled, kicking and straining against your binds. "Come on, Miguel." You offer a tense grin. "We both know this won't last very long."
"Ay dios míos,²" he growled, dropping to a knee to roughly press a hand on your face, his fingers digging into your cheekbones. "¡Cállate!³"
...
Woah.
You stared at him with wide eyes, feeling your cock stir in your pants. Oh fuck.
It was hard to ignore your ever growing attraction (and hard-on) for him that seemed to intensify when he deactivated the hologram of his mask. Sweat beaded at his temple while his eyes narrowed at your bound figure, fangs peeking out from behind his lips as he caught his breath.
Even when you were the target of his anger, he was still breathtakingly hot.
You opened your mouth again to shout at him — probably to let you go or something along those lines — but Miguel wasn't having it.
"Why is it so much to ask for you to keep your fucking mouth shut for once?" he hissed, squeezing your cheeks tight enough to ache, but it only went straight to your dick. "Is that all you can do? Run your mouth until someone gets sick of your shit and shuts it for you? Huh?"
You whimpered, meekly shaking your head in denial. Tightly closing your eyes, you swallowed hard and squirmed, secretly trying to will away your hard cock straining against your clothes.
"You're so annoying! Stop moving," he demanded, reflexively looking down to adjust his position over you. His eyes raked over your body for a moment before zeroing in on your erection, pausing in surprise.
.
..
...
"Oh, you pervert."
Your eyelids snapped open at his words, mortification seeping deep in your chest as you shifted your head away from him in shame. Despite everything, you could only feel yourself getting harder under his intense gaze.
"Is that why you made me chase after you?" He forced you to look at him again, your face aching at his manhandling. "Because you wanted to fulfill some dirty fantasy of yours?"
He let out a dry laugh. "You couldn't find anyone willing to satisfy that depraved urge, so you turned to me. Just how desperate are you?"
You shook your head again, letting out muffled words. He mercifully removed his hand from your mouth to allow you to speak, sliding lower to rest on your throat. "I was just playing..."
"Yeah?" He tilted his head mockingly, momentarily adjusting himself to grope your painfully stiff dick. "And this was your master plan? To get off at the face of danger? You're more of a degenerate than I thought."
"N-No, I didn't—" you moaned, reflexively bucking your hips up into his hand.
"Stop lying." He squeezed the hand around your throat just enough to force labored gasps from you. "It's stupid how you don't think I've seen the way you look at me — how you think I haven't noticed you eyefucking me."
A furious blush rises on your cheeks as your cock twitches in his hold. It doesn't go unnoticed.
He laughed again, staring at you in mock disbelief. "You're enjoying this."
And this time, you don't deny it.
"Can't say I expected anything higher from you." He rolled his eyes in exasperation and removed his hands from your throat and dick to place them on your thighs. Effortlessly, he pried them apart to slot himself in between your legs, pressing his crotch flush against your ass.
Groaning, you lifted your hips a bit in an attempt to grind on him. With a growl, he swiftly slapped a hand on your abdomen to push you back on the ground.
"Don't move," he said, glaring at you with a mix of arousal and irritation in his eyes. "I've had enough of you getting your way." He leaned forward, a wince crossing your face when he pressed some of his weight onto your stomach. "It's my turn."
"My way—?" You cut yourself off with a huff when he gave you a stern look.
A thought seemed to pique his interest when he suddenly decided to kneel beside your head. It was nigh impossible to tear your eyes away from his crotch, the area beginning to glitch with a dim, pale blue glow at the strain from his hardening cock.
"Let's put your mouth to better use." He grabbed a fistful of your hair and deactivated the hologram covering his dick. It landed on your face with a quiet slap before his hand guided it to your lips.
You hesitantly parted them, only for them to be forced open wider to make room for his cock. You let out a surprised sound at the entry, but he was entirely focused on making you take him completely.
He was gracious enough to take it slow, relishing in the sounds of your gags and sputters and every deep inhale.
"Thaaat's it," he drawled out, sighing heavily when he felt your tongue rub against the underside of the shaft. "Fuck..."
Your eyelashes fluttered as he buried your nose into his pubic hair, uncontrollably drooling over him while you sucked and licked what you could. You felt him harden in your mouth, forcing himself deeper into your throat while it tightened and spasmed.
He increased the speed of his thrusts, absentmindedly shuffling closer to your face. A shiver ran down your spine when he slithered a hand on the junction between the back of your head and neck to hold you firmly.
A garbled whine left your throat as you subconsciously jerked your hips upwards, searching for some form of relief for your aching cock. You strained against the webs around your torso and arms, utterly intoxicated with his taste, his scent, his sounds—with him.
With a groan, he shoved himself as far as he could inside your throat and held you in place, ignoring how you instinctively struggled against him. A high-pitched ring sounded through your ears as your head spun, chest tightening with the need for oxygen.
Shuddering, he finally pulled out of you, watching with satisfaction as you coughed and gasped for air. A mix of saliva and precum connected your lips and the tip of his cock, to which you quickly licked away. You let him inspect you with a hand still buried in your hair, gaze locked in on your drool slicked chin and swollen lips.
A quiet hmph left him before he turned to place himself back in-between your thighs again, this time extending his talons to tear a path in your clothes from your ass to your crotch.
"H-Hey! Hold on—" you protested and kicked his arm away from you.
"Shut up," he cut you off, swatting your foot away while grasping your painfully hard cock again. "Don't act like you don't want this."
"G-God..." you moaned, furrowing your brows as you stared at him. A squeak left your throat when he suddenly pressed your legs to your chest, a quiet ptuh! escaping his lips alongside a glob of saliva that landed on your asshole.
Retracting his talons, he let go of one of your legs to press two fingers against your hole, shoving them inside you abruptly. You winced at the sting his thick fingers made as it mixed in with the arousal that burned in your gut. He separated them in a scissoring motion, moving in and out at a pace that had you yearning for more. His fingertips brushed against spots so frustratingly close to your prostate, you were sure he was purposefully avoiding it to mess with you.
"H-Hurry up," you demanded, the ache in your balls beginning to prove to be something you could hardly handle.
He gave you a sharp look. "Tell me to hurry up again and I'm leaving you like this."
You stared at each other for a moment longer before you looked away in defeat, muttering under your breath. He ignored you and added another finger, the wet squelching blending in with your soft moans. His hard cock pressed on your thigh, and you briefly wondered how he wasn't fucking you within an inch of your life already.
Quickly enough, you were able to realize that he wanted to make you wait. He wanted to give you a hard time — just like you did to him.
"C-C'mon, Miguel." You breathlessly chuckled, straining against the webs around your torso.
"What?" He raised a brow, satisfaction seeping into his expression at your growing desperation.
You opened your mouth again when he unexpectedly jabbed his fingertips onto your prostate, sending a violent surge of electricity through your body. "Fuck!" You cried out as a spurt of precum leaked out of your dick and enlarged the wet spot on your clothes. He continued targeting the gland, refusing to let you get a word in your sentence. The coil in your abdomen tightened into an almost unbearable degree before he abruptly removed his hand from you entirely.
"God, just fuck me already!" You jerked your hips upwards in a futile search for stimulation.
"You sound just like a whore," he commented, tone full of condescension. A heat washed over your body at his words as you stared at him with wide eyes. You tensed when he leaned down, lust and mirth swirling within his red irises. "Is that all you are?"
"What?" You found yourself unable to look away from him. "N-No, I—"
He shoved his cock inside you mid-sentence, tearing a loud moan from your throat. He held your thighs to fold you in half, using his body weight to pin you down. You panted hard as you tilted your head to the side and squeezed your eyes shut. It was hard to focus on anything else but his dick filling you up so perfectly.
Miguel released a gutteral groan, grinding his hips against you. He dug his fingertips into your legs hard enough to bruise, but that was the least of his worries — not when he had you below him. After a moment that felt like an eternity, he leaned back (mercifully removing some of the pressure on your chest) and watched himself move in and out of you, pulling out almost all the way before he slammed himself back inside.
"Ohh, fuck!"
"This is what gets you — mierda⁴ — all compliant, huh?" He taunted, abdomen flexing with every thrust. "The moment you get some dick inside you, you're like a trained mutt."
You opened your eyes to weakly glare at him, to deny what he said, but the moans spilling from your lips did nothing but prove him right.
"Te gusta cuando te trato como si no fueras nada, ¿no?⁵" He leaned back down, hooking his arms around the back of your knees as he pressed his chest against yours, curling his wrists around your thighs to grip the flesh. His breath was hot and heavy against the shell of your ear, lips so close you could feel the vibrations of his voice in your ear drum. "Aren't I right, you dirty little pervert?"
"N-No! S'not right!" You cried out, the burn of his cock stretching you out mixing in with the pleasure so deliciously it was almost addicting.
"Deja de mentirte y admítelo, puta,⁶" he hissed, widening his mouth to graze a fang along your neck threateningly, which sent a shiver down your spine. "Admit it — that you're a depraved whore."
"Admit it." He emphasized each syllable with a thrust, ramming into you hard enough to fuck the breath out of your lungs.
"Shit—fuck! Oh, god!" You sobbed, arching your back into him. You nearly came at the feeling of his abdomen rubbing your aching dick. "I'm a whore! M'your whore!"
His cock throbbed fervently at your words, rewarding you with groans and grunts directly into your ear. Your ass slightly stung at the force of his thrusts as he fucked his anger into you, but neither of you cared.
"Fuuuck!" You drawled out. "Miguel, m'so close! Let — ngh, ah — Let me cum!"
"Yeah?" He cooed in your ear, gently licking the shell. "You gonna cum f'me?"
"Yes, yes—!"
"Then beg."
He stopped moving so unexpectedly that it left you disoriented for a few moments as you stupidly stared at him with wide, watery eyes. "W-What...?"
"Beg to cum," he leaned away from you to get a clearer look at your face. "I'm not repeating myself."
You took a moment to catch your breath (and secretly savor the feeling of his dick twitching inside you). "God, please, Miguel! I need it so bad. I need to cum — please let me cum! I'll be good, I promise! Fuck, Miguel, please let me cum! Please, please, please!"
The sight of the tears along your lash lines sent electricity down his spine as his breath hitched. "You'll be good?" He dryly laughed. "I don't think I believe you."
You opened your mouth in defense when he suddenly slammed himself back inside you, tearing a moan instead of words from your throat. He fucked you hard and fast and deep, grunting in a way you could only describe as animalistic.
But you loved it. You loved how he controlled your body so effortlessly, how he treated you like a cheap fuck toy. You mentally deemed all those chases worth it in the end.
The heat from less than a minute or two prior returned full force as you tilted your head back in ecstasy. You babbled out incoherent words of (what Miguel suspected to be) praise, straining against your binds once again.
You screamed out when the coil in your abdomen finally snapped, electricity shooting down your spine as your cock spurt cum underneath your clothes. You weren't able to process the stain in the fabric when you realized that he hadn't slowed down, deciding to fuck you through your orgasm to chase his own.
You stared up at him, admiring the slight flush on his cheeks, how his brows furrowed in concentration, and even his eyes that shone with disdain towards you.
You could feel his dick throbbing inside you, and you quickly realized that he was about to cum as well. The ecstasy you were granted slowly began to merge with the pain of overstimulation, but it only made the hazy bliss you were in so much better.
"Yes, yes, Miguel!" You gasped out as your legs trembled in his hold. "Cum inside me, please, I want it!"
He grunted at your words, fucking you with a few more harsh thrusts before he suddenly pulled out. It took you a moment longer than normal for you to process the uncomfortable emptiness as he let go of one of your legs to quickly jerk himself off.
"What—No! Please, Miguel!" You pleaded uselessly, wincing when he tightened his grip on your thigh and unintentionally extended his talons. They penetrated through your clothes and pierced your skin, drawing a bit of blood, but that was neither of your concern at the moment.
"Ay, solo cállate ya,⁷" he growled, releasing your thigh to press his palm against your mouth to silence you. You let out pathetic whines and whimpers, but Miguel was focused on achieving his orgasm.
With a final few strokes, he finally came with a loud groan as his cum spurt onto the floor. He angled his hips to make sure none of it landed on you, much to your obvious dismay. With a heavy sigh, he leaned back and stared at your bound body, trembling and helpless. It was satisfying to see you in such a state.
He reactivated the hologram over his softening cock before binding your legs together in a way that hid the large hole in your pants to prevent anyone from figuring out what the two of you did.
He sighed heavily and slung you over his shoulder, standing up to look around and figure out where the fuck he was.
"You have a really nice ass," you commented after a moment, unable to keep your compliments to yourself.
He groaned. It was gonna be a long trip back to HQ.
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Translations:
1: "I'm going to kill you!"
2: "Oh my god."
3: "Shut up!"
4: "Shit..."
5: "You like it when I treat you like you're nothing, don't you?"
6: "Stop lying to yourself and admit it."
7: "Oh, just shut up already."
cross-posted on ao3
3K notes · View notes
diejager · 2 years ago
Note
a Miguel x f!reader "who did this to you?" Angst fic?
Bittersweet Devotion
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Pairing : Miguel O’Hara x fem!reader
Cw: angst, neglect, canon death, dead wife, tell me if I missed any. Wc: 3.5k
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Miguel’s been distant these days, the world around him coming to a stop. His temper shortened and his patience dropped lower than it was before, but his attentiveness to his work sharpened. He divulged more of his time to the cause, to defend the multiverse from every anomaly that kept popping up in wildly different universes, at the cost of his personal life. Ever since the *Miles issue* had been dealt with (Spots was stopped from ending Captain Morales’ life prematurely, the canon was kept safe and intact, but his parents knew of his identity and his duty to New York and the multiverse.), Miguel shut himself inside the main office, closed off from the wandering Spider-people he brought over to help him protect their livelihood. 
Atop his platform, he worked tirelessly, swiping screen to screen in search of any escaping anomalies. He depended on Lyla to help him search and the rest of the community to capture and contain these anomalies before they could be sent back to their appropriate universe, closing the rifts they used to escape. The brooding Spider-Man locked himself in, imposing shoulder peering from the edge of his high-floating platform while he stayed there most nights; days even, he hadn’t returned to your shared apartment in the building. He ate when you, Jess or Peter B. brought food to him, he drank and cleaned only when you urged him to do so. 
Staying in his den meant that he rarely slept, the dark bags under his beautiful eyes growing as the days passed. Anomalies appeared left and right, Spiders were dispersed to catch them, sometimes in solo missions, and other times in teams if Miguel deemed it necessary for the anomaly (Green Goblins, Vultures and Sandman were some that were harder to deal with for their volatile attacks.). If you weren’t sent away on a retrieval mission, you’d be working around his office, keeping it clean and usable while he moved around, growling and throwing things as he went.
That’s where things became complicated, Miguel hated meddling and you were often in his space. While he was soft and caring in your shared room (the one he hadn’t been in for weeks now), he was domineering and imposing around the others. His shorter temper meant he often hissed and growled at you, brown eyes glimmering red as he sneered your way. You hadn’t made much of it, contributing his issues to the stress and anxiety he felt while shouldering all this madness. His glares and growls meant little, he was under pressure, but his words, his rants in your face hurt.
His words burned you to your core, the degrading things he screamed at you when you did something that might’ve ticked him off or the insults he’d throw your way when you did something he deemed unsatisfactory. They stung, but you ignored the pain that tore into your heart, the tears that threatened to fall and the anger you felt at his shrugs. You simply missed him. 
Didn’t you deserve some affection? To feel the tender caresses of Miguel’s hands on your skin, the loving promises of his dreams and wishes, and the adoring stares he sent your way. Were you selfish for wanting that? For wanting to have your lover back in your arms. Or were you feeling neglected from the time you spent alone in your bed, the faded scent of his musk, the coldness of your apartment and the uneaten and forgotten plates on the dining table? Were you at fault for feeling forgotten? To sacrifice one for the good of thousands. To sacrifice your love for the safety of all universes. Did one outweigh the other?
“Hijo de puta! Why can’t you do anything right?!” He’d scowl at you, talons digging into the metal of his desk. The ear-splitting sound echoed as he dragged his talons to the edge of the table, red eyes brimming with wrath. He seemed on a warpath, ripping into anything he could get his talons in and throwing the things he could lift off the platform. (Motherfucker-)
You skipped around the objects he threw in his fit, ducking under a chair he gripped and swung randomly, over the desk he kicked, and around the cabinet, he swiped at. Every object he used to vent his emotions were light, in comparison to your given strength. He’d complain afterwards about his things being broken and needing fixing, something you helped him with unless they were too technologically advanced for your time. You webbed all the things you could, aiming your wrist and quickly sticking your end to the floating platform when it stuck to the victims of Miguel’s power. 
You danced around him, catching everything without getting too close to Miguel. He acted without thinking at times in these fury-filled moments, eyes tinging red and reverting to his more animalistic side. He’d warned you before about staying clear of him, to wait until he calmed himself down and realized the devastation of his office. Then he’d apologize and kiss you in hopes you’d forgive him (you always did, you knew his biology made him different - more violent - than you and the Spiders.). You’d fix the platform up, remake the broken parts or simply forget about it, like the many cabinets he ended up buying instead of patching them up.
Now especially, his tantrums began more often and lasted longer, a common occurrence when it was rare months ago. You couldn’t fault him, you didn’t want to, even if your heart throbbed painfully at his words, shoulders curving under the immensity of his tone and actions. You loved him, so you’d bare him in his best as in his worst.
“Detente- Simplemente detente!” In his fits of rage, Miguel reverted to his vulgarity, spitting Spanish words at anyone he faced. His voice was low and gravely, body convulsing as he swung at the fizzling, orange screens, dissipating under his aggressive gesture. (Stop- Just stop!)
When his fuse popped, he’d throw words left and right in Spanish, the enchanting slur of his Mexican accent turning hellish, slamming loudly like the Hephaestus’ hammer. Along his hit came the blow, the effects following them. Whether they were positive or negative, he pushed on, frenziedly hammering the weight of his words into whoever was the nearest to him. Which, coincidentally, happened to be you at the moment when you climbed onto his platform to relay the summarised report of last week’s missions from every Spider.
You let him ramble in silence, watching him twist on the spot and walk circles before his desk, turning and gesturing arbitrarily at something that wasn’t there. He’s expressive with his love, his spite, his care, his needs and his fury. He’d make big motions with his hands, voice dipping low and sometimes rising high with the pitch of his impatience. He growls when he’s displeased. He roars when he’s furious. He spits when he’s agitated. He smirks when he’s pleased. If not his voice or his lips, his eyes shine with emotion, showing those who knew how to read him how he felt.
That’s why you ignored the sharp nabs at your person, the low jabs at your work and how you dealt with the other Spiders as his right hand, or at your simple performance of his care. He didn’t want your care when he was busy, he didn’t want your soft and soothing words when he was tracking down another anomaly with vehement hate, and he didn’t want your meddling when he was focused on important matters of the multiverse. 
He was stressed, and pressure mounted over self-expectations made him lose himself. Down went his tolerance for failure and mistakes. Down went his awareness of his needs. Down went his patience with people and Lyla. Every man and woman would buck under intense pressure, some would break and stop working, and others would submit to the fate of their failures, but Miguel persevered, he pushed and pushed, pulling at the strings he could grasp, even the shortest ones. 
“Can you just- Coño- can you just shut up for a second?!” Miguel bucked, slamming his fist into the desk. It’d probably leave a dent for you or him to fix, a hole in the shape of his fist. 
You rushed to him, hand wrapping around his upper arm, supporting his hunched body as you webbed a chair closer to him, pulling on the synthetic fibre until it was behind Miguel. You whispered encouraging words into his ear, easing him into sitting on the rolling furniture. His legs shook, falling limp when he finally sat down, back slumped over and head low. You ran your fingers through his hairline, pulling up his wild mane. His eyes were closed, bags the deepest you’d seen, and his cheeks were sunken, near sickly. 
A chill wracked your body at his deteriorating appearance, his exhaustion had finally caught onto him. You wanted to fuss over him, to berate him for letting it get this far, but his exhausted figure made you frown and rethink your words. You couldn’t let this go on, you’d have to sit him down and talk to him after you took care of him. You lowered the platform, watching Miguel from the corner of your eye until you reached the lowest it could go. 
“Miguel,” you hushed, pressing your lips to his cheek, soft and gentle for his fatigue. “We need to get you to our room, you can’t work anymore.”
He grumbled, feet weakly moving to ease the weight on your shoulders, you wanted to remind him that you were strong and that you could easily carry him back if you wanted, but he liked to keep his pride as the strongest, the boss that people could depend on. You nodded at those who gave you worried glances, shaking their helping hands for carrying him (you knew Miguel wouldn’t have liked others to touch him so casually.) and asked some to run errands for you while you two were busy. Lyla would take over for now, until you took care of Miguel.
“Let me help you, Miggy. Let me take care of you.”
He slept better than night, the best sleep he’d gotten in weeks - months - and was grounded to a week of rest and recuperation. You helped him shower, washing his back and hair. You cooked his favourite dishes, following the Mexican cooking books you had laying around. You gave him daily massages for the aches over his shoulders and back, massing the tenseness off his arms and legs. At night, you’d force him to bed, blocking his access to his office and kissing him goodnight. The sun rose with you, you rode Hélio’s chariot, turning his nights into mornings as you pulled Selena’s moon into the sky.
While he rested, you worked tirelessly to fill in Miguel’s seat, scouring the multiverse for anomalies and sending Spiders to deal with them. You had Lyla run diagnostics and simulations about the chance for future appearances, playing the game of prediction and bettering the percentage after each successful prediction. Peter B. and Jess could help you around the clock, they shared the job you had as Miguel’s right-hand and worked fantastically together when put in charge of it. They were still sent on missions if you and Lyla determined it was too difficult to face alone, they were skilled and had experience, and they would mentor those who needed help. If the case came forward, you would step away from the office and jump through the multiverse, aiding your fellow Spiders to capture anomalies while Lyla took care of the office. 
Miguel came back healthier, stronger and more energetic. He thanked you in the forms of kisses and hugs, gratified words and gestures that made your heart warm, flutter like wings. It nearly made you forget all the heartache he burdened you with within the past months. Nearly. 
Something had ticked Miguel off, his ragged breath simmering in the air, a steady stream of fury. It burned like the lowest pits of hell, ruled by the cold tone of its god, seated at the top-most throne of the Underworld. Powerful and iron-handed, Hades led with strong principles and meticulous habits, much like Miguel did. His fury and anger were dealt by Cerberus, the three-headed dog of hell, as ferocious and dangerous as Miguel’s agitated state was. 
His shoulders shook, waves of unadulterated rage filtered off his back, rippling his sculpted back as metal creaked under his hands. His talons sunk into the metal, drawing lines in his anger-filled moment. He spun to face you with a roar, arms flailing until he faced you. He heaved heavily, shoulders and chest moving as his blood rushed with emotions, eyes dilated and turned deep red. He stalked towards you in all his mad glory, like the form of the Cyclops casting its dooming shadow on Odysseus’ men. Except, unlike his men, who were eaten in a blink, embraced by death in such a violent but swift way, you’d be ripped apart by it, pieces of your being torn apart for a slow and painful descent.   
He moved in big, lumbering steps, looming over you, shoulders broad and demanding. He sneered at you, in ways that would kill others but wound you deeply, to tear your heart out and throw it away like old, wilted flowers. The air seemed stuffy, hot and confining, his breath even hotter, burning you when he stopped inches from you. You gaped at him, eyes wide and fingers trembling, something crossed your mind, a flash of emotion that you never thought possible to connect to Miguel: fear. 
“Why can’t you be like-!” He started, mind dead set on breaking you down to your smallest, his force slamming into your softer one. Then he stopped, body seizing as if he was shot, but his round eyes told you he almost let himself slip, to let the name slip from his tongue in a haze. You knew who he was talking about, the memories that he related to her, that he was simply mad, but it didn’t ease the pain that ripped through your heart.
“Like who, Miguel!?” You cried back, hands clenching and rigid on your side. Your body trembling with disgust, shock and heartbreak. You couldn’t believe he would bring her up, to compare you to her and voice it out. It hurt; it drove the nail deeper into your coffin, adding another thing over the mountain of doubt and pain.
He just stared, he couldn’t finish his sentence, a starch contrast to his attitude seconds ago. It pained you that he couldn’t even say the words, to apologize to you about what he said. He knew how to run, how to ignore, and how to push things back. He did that well, and now he couldn’t face what he said to you was pathetic. 
“Like who, huh?! Like her!? Like Dana?!” Your vision blurred, and your breath hitched as your body crashed down with agony, sadness and betrayal. You shook this time while he looked on with desperation, body unable to make a sound or motion. 
“I- no- mi cielo, no- I didn’t mean to, I swear, ” he reached out, hand (his talons had received back into his pads) extending to touch you, to hold you in an apologetic embrace, but you stepped back, unable to contain your sobs. “Mi vida, please. Perdón, no fue mi intención.” (I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.)
You backed away from him, his warmth, his adoration, his love. His apology sounded guilty, dripping with regret and sorrow. He winced, watching you step away from him, regret gripping his heart as he moved to follow you. Every step you took backward, he took one forward, copying you, trying to approach you as if you were a wounded and unpredictable animal, to appease and soothe you. 
You shook your head, tearing your eyes away from his teary ones. You fiddled with your watch, opening a portal to your world and shook off your watch. You jumped back before he could catch you, hand extended to you in a desperate attempt to stop you. He wanted to bring you back into his arms, to kiss the tears away and beg for forgiveness until you let him back in, but to leave him, to throw away the watch that connected you to him. It broke him. 
He wouldn’t be able to see you unless you wanted to be seen, the tracker in your watch left blinking before his feet, discarded as you had with him; after he pushed you away, tore you down with his words spurred by the moment’s rush of negativity and pressure. It wasn’t an excuse, he knew that, but it didn’t ease. He sank to the floor, raking it with his talons as he cried out, a pained sob breaking out of his chest as he cradled his head, cursing himself for not being careful, for not heeding your winces and frowns, and not taking your heart into consideration. 
You fell when you landed in your universe, knocking a few boxes as you crashed onto your side. Your body jerked, cold droplets pouring down on your broken figure as you sat back up on the pavement. You hissed, the downcast atmosphere making your body heave a heartbroken sob, clutching your chest - where your heart would’ve been if Miguel hadn’t shattered it - and falling into yourself. You made yourself smaller, hiding your tear-stained face between your knees as you let the rain shower over you, soaking you down to your socks. 
A relationship built on pain, need and desperation was bound to fall. The carelessness of his ways cracked the edge of your relationship, slowly breaking it down into a shell of what it was. You bled for his cause as you bled for your loss. Like Apollo - a caregiver, a watcher of the fates of the people he oversaw, all the good and evil he could do just by saying the word - Miguel loved and felt, he gave and took, but lost it all in the end. His heart was broken and his soul lost over and over, the people he loved and cared for lost to time and fate. Like the Greek god, he loved what he could not have, loved what he could not hold, loved what he could not keep. 
As would Daphne’s story, she loved as much as you did, she cared as much as you did, and she hated as much as you did. In love was the god, as Miguel was with you, heart-stopping in every aspect. He stood like a god over them all, tall, broad and caring. But like any Greek love story, yours was as tragic, the hymn of your love left to fester with hate and anger, with regret and untold pain. Run, you did as Daphne had, crossing where you hoped he couldn’t reach you; where you’d be left hidden from the heartbreaking sorrow.
You didn’t know how long you sat in the rain, perhaps seconds, perhaps minutes, perhaps hours, but every moment blurred into one. The once vibrant colours of New York dulled to a boring monochrome, the world was swallowed in tones of black and white. Your limbs felt numb, you could hardly feel the cold, only the drops of rain and the heaviness of your heart in your chest. You could sit here a while longer, to drown in the sensation of the world falling around you-
Then it stopped raining. That wasn’t right, you could see the water crashing onto the ground by your feet, inches from you. Your side felt warm, a calm, soothing warmth that made your body quake from the cool air. You looked to the side and saw feet, big ones. You followed their body, tracing the lines of their soaking pants, to a warm jacket, broad shoulders and to a familiar face. 
“Oye, who did this to you?” His voice dripped with worry, a calmness that contradicted his frowning eyes. It was a familiar voice. It was a familiar face. It was Miguel’s face. Your lips quivered, staring at the face of your lover - ex-lover now that you thought about it - with newly shed tears. His eyes widened, even more worried than before as he crouched down to your height, hand running down your back soothingly. “Hey, hey, calm down. It’s all right.”
You wished you could believe his words, believe the softness in his tone and the beat of your torturous heart that missed the Miguel you knew. This one - your universe’s Miguel O’Hara (you didn’t even know you had one in your New York, it felt surreal to your depressed mind.) - was a stranger wearing the face of the person you loved. His face was a carbon copy of your Miguel’s, but softer on the edges, calmer and more… human than Spider-man 2099. His voice was gentler, caring more warmth for a stranger in need than yours has, like a whisper from an angel lulling you into a peaceful rest. 
“Vamos, let’s get you out of the rain first.”
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novaursa · 25 days ago
Text
Legacy (winter is coming)
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- Summary: Tywin was the man who saved you from Robert's wrath. He was also the man who doomed you.
- Paring: targ!reader/Tywin Lannister
- Note: Events of the canon don't match the timeline in this story. The plot is purposefully altered to fit the narrative of the story.
- Rating: Mature 16+
- Previous part: but you will fly
- Next part: cold winds
- Tag(s): @sachaa-ff @oxymakestheworldgoround @luniaxi
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The wind howled across the hilltop, carrying with it the earthy scent of the Riverlands mixed with faint smoke from Viserion’s great form. The dragon's wings spread wide, kicking up gusts of dust and loose leaves as she settled onto the ground. Her talons dug into the earth, the weight of her landing reverberating through the earth beneath you. You winced, gripping at the ridges of her neck as the last shudder of movement rattled your already battered frame.
The journey had been hard. The strain of staying mounted on Viserion without a proper saddle left your thighs raw, your hands blistered, and countless thin cuts etched into your skin from her scales. Blood smeared your palms, and you could feel it trickling down your legs, staining the fabric of what remained of your riding clothes. You leaned forward for a breath, whispering, “You’ve done well, Viserion. Rest now.”
Viserion’s molten-gold eyes turned to you briefly, softer than one would think a dragon’s could be, before she slumped down onto her haunches. Steam rose faintly from her nostrils as she exhaled, her body coiling protectively near the clearing.
The hill of High Heart rose before you, crowned with its circle of ancient weirwood stumps. The air here felt different—thicker, heavier, as though steeped in old magic. You could feel it settle into your bones. But before you could take another step, the soft sound of footsteps reached your ears. Then voices.
“She said we’d meet her here,” a familiar young voice said, and you turned sharply, your heart skipping.
A group crested the hill—the Brotherhood Without Banners—led by Lord Beric Dondarrion with his ever-present grim determination. Thoros of Myr followed close behind, his robes dusty, the ever-burning faith in his eyes. Behind them trudged men in mismatched armor, and there, to your surprise, stood Arya Stark.
Arya saw you first. Her expression froze, her wild grey eyes widening in disbelief before she broke into a run. “Y/N!”
“Arya?” Your voice cracked, disbelieving, but she was already on you.
The girl flung herself into your arms, her thin frame shaking as she hugged you tightly. The force of her embrace nearly knocked you off balance, and you stumbled back, suppressing a wince as the cuts across your body protested. You wrapped your arms around her instinctively, pulling her close, ignoring the pain.
“I knew it! I knew you’d come back,” Arya whispered fiercely into your chest, her voice muffled. “I tried to find you before… but they took you.”
You smoothed a hand over her tangled hair, the gesture calming, though your voice wavered slightly. “I’m here now, little one. And so are you.”
As Arya finally stepped back, her brow furrowed, and she gasped softly. “You’re bleeding.”
You glanced down at yourself, noticing the streaks of crimson that marred your hands and thighs. The ride had taken a greater toll than you realized. “It’s nothing,” you murmured, though Arya clearly didn’t believe you. “Cuts from dragon scales—nothing more.”
Behind her, Lord Beric watched the reunion silently, his one good eye assessing you, but there was no shock in his expression. If anything, he looked unsurprised—as though he had expected this very moment.
“You’ve traveled far,” Beric said at last, stepping closer, his gruff voice low but steady. He glanced at Viserion, whose massive form loomed behind you like a mountain of scales and power. “And brought something the world thought lost.”
You turned to face him fully, your posture straightening despite the pain thrumming in your body. “The world’s forgotten much about dragons. But they are not gone.”
Beric tilted his head slightly, the flicker of a smile almost touching his lips. “I imagine she led you here for a reason.”
“She did,” you replied, casting a glance back at Viserion, who watched the group warily, the muscles in her wings twitching. “This place called to me. There’s something here I need to see. To understand.”
Thoros of Myr finally stepped forward, rubbing his hands together as he regarded the dragon with curiosity and awe. “The Lady of High Heart said the past walks again… and here you stand.”
Arya’s fingers tugged at your torn sleeve, pulling your attention back to her. “Why are you hurt? Did someone do this to you?”
You crouched down to meet her eye level, despite the pull of pain through your legs. “No, Arya. Dragons aren’t made to carry riders, not without saddles. Viserion’s scales are sharp, and I wasn’t prepared.”
Arya glanced back at the dragon cautiously, though her fear seemed to be overshadowed by awe. “She let you ride her?”
“She did,” you said softly, brushing a strand of hair from Arya’s face. “Dragons are not slaves, Arya. They choose. And she chose me.”
Arya’s face twisted in thought, but before she could say more, Beric’s voice cut through the moment. “The Lady awaits us. She will want to see you.”
You nodded faintly, rising back to your feet. Arya moved to your side immediately, like a shadow, her hand brushing against your arm protectively. Beric turned to Thoros and gestured for the others to stay back.
Before you could follow, Viserion let out a low growl, her wings rustling like thunder through the air. You turned back to her, lifting a hand to calm her.
“It’s alright,” you whispered. “Stay here. I’ll return.”
The dragon tilted her head, her eyes locking with yours, unblinking and deep. For a moment, you wondered if she would refuse to let you go, but then Viserion exhaled sharply and slumped back onto her haunches. Arya watched the exchange wide-eyed.
“She listens to you,” Arya murmured, half in wonder. “How do you make her do that?”
You gave her a faint smile as you turned to walk alongside her. “I don’t make her do anything. We understand each other.”
As you followed Beric and Thoros toward the circle of weirwood stumps, Arya’s voice whispered next to you. “You’re like a storybook hero now. Riding dragons and saving the day.”
You smiled down at her, though it was tinged with sadness. “I wish it were as simple as stories, Arya. Dragons aren’t just fire and wonder. They’re war, too.”
Arya looked up at you with a quiet determination in her gaze. “Then I hope you burn the ones who deserve it.”
The hilltop of High Heart loomed before you, its crown of ancient, weathered weirwood stumps standing silent and watchful, steeped in magic older than memory. Each step forward made the air grow heavier, heavy with something unseen but deeply felt—a presence that seemed to pull at you like invisible hands. Arya stayed close at your side, her grey eyes flicking between you and the path ahead.
From behind, the sound of hurried footsteps and clanging armor broke the stillness. “Seven hells,” Hot Pie’s voice carried, breathless and wide-eyed as he pointed toward Viserion, who lay coiled at the base of the hill like a great golden-creamed sentinel. “Is that a real dragon?”
Arya spun around and shot him a glare, her voice sharp as a whisper. “Shush, Hot Pie!” She turned back to you, her expression exasperated. “Ignore him. He’s like that.”
You suppressed a small smile, though your focus remained fixed ahead. “It’s alright. It’s a fair question. Dragons don’t walk this world often anymore.”
Gendry joined them, his usually steady demeanor unsettled as he kept glancing back toward Viserion. “It’s… huge,” he muttered, half in awe. “Does it bite?”
“Only when threatened,” you replied quietly, though a glint of amusement softened your tone.
Hot Pie stared at you in disbelief. “How’re you so calm? That thing could swallow us whole!”
“Because she’s more than a beast,” you answered, your voice steady as you moved forward again. “Come. We’re nearly there.”
When you reached the summit, the chill in the air was sharper, though no breeze stirred. The Lady of High Heart was waiting at the center of the ancient weirwood stumps, her small figure perched atop a gnarled root like a bird of prey. Her milky-white eyes turned toward you the moment you approached, unblinking and all-seeing, as though she had known you would come.
“Child of fire,” she rasped, her voice thin and reedy, yet carrying like a whisper on the wind. “You’ve come at last.”
You stepped closer, Arya hovering protectively near you while Beric and Thoros lingered just behind. “You called me,” you said softly. “Why?”
The ghost of High Heart tilted her head, the corners of her mouth twitching in something like a smile—or a grimace. “I did not call you. He did.”
You frowned, your brow furrowing. “Who?”
She didn’t answer. Instead, her small, wrinkled hand rose, pointing a bony finger toward the circle of stumps. The world seemed to shiver as the light around you dimmed, shadows stretching unnaturally. A voice whispered faintly, so close it might have been in your ear. “Come, cousin. Walk with me.”
The voice belonged to him—Brandon Rivers.
Suddenly, the world shifted, and you felt yourself pulled, weightless and untethered, into something else. The hilltop dissolved into mist, the figures of Arya, Beric, and the rest swallowed by shadow. When the haze cleared, you were no longer standing on the hill of High Heart but walking through a vast forest of frost-covered trees, their branches clawing at the grey sky.
Beside you strode a figure draped in shadow—a tall man with a pale face, his one red eye gleaming in the cold. Brandon Rivers, the Three-Eyed Raven, walked silently at your side, his heavy cloak brushing the snow-covered ground.
“You came,” he said at last, his voice both gentle and knowing, as though you were old friends meeting after years apart.
“I didn’t have much choice,” you replied, your voice steadier than you felt. “Why am I here?”
“To see,” he said simply, gesturing ahead. “To understand.”
The scene around you rippled and changed like water. The forest blurred, replaced by a stark, endless expanse of white. You were standing on the edge of the world—or so it seemed—as a howling wind swept across the frozen tundra. Shadows moved in the distance, dark shapes that sent an icy chill through your bones. The wind carried a sound that made your skin prickle—a shriek, inhuman and terrible.
“What is this?” you asked, your breath visible in the freezing air.
“Beyond the Wall,” Brandon murmured, his red eye fixed on the horizon. “The storm gathers, child of fire. The Long Night comes again, and with it, death.”
You shivered, not just from the cold but from the weight of his words. Shapes became clearer as they emerged from the distance—figures shrouded in frost, their blue eyes glowing like frozen stars. They marched forward, relentless and silent, as if nothing could stop them.
“And why do you show me this?” you whispered, your voice barely audible over the wind.
Brandon turned his head slightly, his gaze sharp and unfathomable. “Your son carries the blood of fire and gold. He is more than you yet know. Protect him, for he will shape the future of this world—and the war to come.”
Your breath caught, your heart pounding. “What do you mean? Damon is just a child—”
“Not forever,” Brandon interrupted, his voice cold as the air around you. “And your husband, Tywin Lannister—he is a man of stone and will. You must keep him close, for the choices you make together will determine whether fire or ice consumes this world.”
The vision rippled again, shifting abruptly. The tundra melted away, replaced by a campfire crackling in the dark. A group of figures sat huddled around it, their faces weary but familiar—wildlings. And there, standing among them, was Jon Snow.
Your breath hitched. Jon looked older, worn by the harshness of the North, but his face was unmistakable. He stood beside the fire, his sword strapped to his back, his expression contemplative. Suddenly, as though sensing your presence, he froze and turned his head sharply.
Jon’s grey eyes locked onto you, and for a moment, it was as if he truly saw you. His mouth parted in surprise, his brow furrowing as recognition dawned across his face.
“Y/N?” he whispered, his voice carried on a wind that seemed to reach you even across the vision. “Is it you?”
You tried to speak, to call his name, but the vision shattered like glass. The sound of Jon’s voice still echoed in your ears as you fell back into the present, the hilltop of High Heart solidifying around you once more.
You stumbled, the weight of what you’d seen pressing on your chest. Arya grabbed your arm to steady you, her voice tight with concern. “What happened? What did you see?”
You blinked, your breath ragged as you looked at Arya, then at Beric and Thoros. The ghost of High Heart was watching you still, her expression unreadable.
“I saw…” You swallowed, the words thick on your tongue. “I saw what’s coming. And Jon.”
Arya’s eyes widened in disbelief, but you had no chance to explain further. 
The stillness of the hilltop was shattered as a sudden, sharp pain tore through your body, pulling a cry from your lips. You stumbled forward, clutching at your side where the cuts from Viserion's scales had deepened, raw and angry. The warmth of fresh blood seeped through the torn fabric of your riding clothes, staining your palm crimson.
“Y/N!” Arya’s voice rang out, her hands grabbing at your arm as you faltered. “What’s happening? Are you alright?”
The ghost of High Heart watched silently, her small, withered frame framed by the ancient stumps, her white eyes turning milky pink in the faint light. Without another word, she stepped back into the shadows, her presence dissipating as though she were never there.
“Wait—” you gasped, reaching weakly toward where the ghost had stood, but the pain twisted again, doubling you over. You felt as though fire licked at your skin, the wounds stinging deep with every breath. “The vision—The Others—”
“You’re bleeding too much,” Beric Dondarrion interrupted sharply, stepping forward with urgency. His single eye narrowed as he surveyed your injuries, his gloved hand catching your shoulder to keep you upright. “Thoros, see to her.”
Thoros of Myr nodded and immediately knelt beside you, his movements quick yet careful. “She’s been riding without stopping,” he muttered, his hands tugging at the torn edges of your clothing to get a better look. “The cuts are filthy—dragon scales are sharp as knives, and they’ll fester if we don’t clean them.”
Arya, her face pale with panic, hovered near you. “Then fix it!” she snapped at Thoros, her voice high-pitched and desperate. “Can’t you see she’s in pain? Hurry up!”
“Calm yourself, girl!” Thoros barked, though his tone wasn’t unkind. “Shouting at me won’t help.”
The Myrish priest rummaged through the pouches at his belt, pulling out flasks of water, strips of cloth, and an old salve that smelled of herbs and something faintly bitter. He looked up at Beric. “Hold her steady.”
Beric crouched beside you, his grip strong yet careful as he braced your shoulders. “This will hurt,” he said simply, his eye locking with yours.
“I’ve felt worse,” you managed through gritted teeth, though the sweat beading on your brow betrayed you.
Thoros poured the water over your wounds without warning, and you hissed sharply as the freezing liquid hit your raw skin. Arya flinched at your cry, her small hands curling into fists. “You’re hurting her!”
“I’m saving her,” Thoros replied firmly, his expression set with grim determination. He worked quickly, his fingers skilled as he pressed the salve into the open cuts. The sting burned deep, worse than dragonfire, and you bit the inside of your cheek hard enough to taste blood.
“Talk to me,” Beric said, his voice low and even. His hand tightened ever so slightly on your shoulder, grounding you. “Focus. What did you see? What was it?”
You swallowed thickly, your breath coming in shaky bursts as Thoros continued his work. “I saw them… The Others,” you whispered, your voice faint. “The storm beyond the Wall. They’re marching.”
Arya’s face twisted in confusion, though her concern didn’t waver. “The Others? What’s that supposed to mean?”
You nodded faintly, though every muscle in your body trembled with exhaustion. “The dead, Arya. They’re coming—endless and cold. And they won’t stop.”
Thoros exhaled sharply, as if unsettled by your words, but he kept his hands moving. “Visions are dangerous,” he muttered under his breath. “They bind us to things we’re not meant to understand.”
“She understands more than you think,” Beric said, though his gaze remained fixed on you, searching your face for clarity. “And if the dead are marching beyond the Wall, the world will need to know.”
“Let her rest first,” Thoros interjected gruffly, wrapping the last of the cloth bandages around your thigh with quick precision. “She’ll not be spreading any news until she can stand without collapsing.”
Arya hovered close, her worry etched plainly across her young face. “Is she going to be alright?” she asked Thoros, her voice quieter now.
The Myrish priest sighed, wiping his hands clean against his tunic before rising to his feet. “She’ll live,” he said, though his tone carried a note of weariness. “But she needs rest. Proper rest.”
You shifted slightly, testing the bandages as the pain dulled to a throb. “Thank you,” you muttered, though your voice was hoarse.
Beric offered his hand, helping you back to your feet with care. “Easy now. You’re strong, but don’t push yourself.”
“I don’t have time to rest,” you said quietly, glancing toward the direction where Viserion waited below the hill. “There’s more to this… more than I understand.”
“You won’t understand anything if you bleed out,” Thoros shot back, though his tone had softened.
Arya clung to your arm again as you steadied yourself. “You have to stop them. If the dead are coming, we have to do something, don’t we?”
You smiled faintly, brushing a hand against her tangled hair. “We will do something, Arya. But we need to be ready.”
Beric nodded grimly. “Then let us see to it that you survive long enough to face what comes.”
As Thoros gathered his supplies and the Brotherhood set to making camp, you allowed yourself to glance back toward the edge of the hill. The golden shape of Viserion was visible below, curled like a sleeping cat, though her head was lifted, ever watchful. A sense of calm settled over you—fleeting but real.
The vision of the Others, their frozen march and their glowing eyes, still burned in your mind. The world felt heavier now, the weight of what you had seen pressing on your chest. But you had faced storms before. You would face this one too.
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The cold wind howled across the frozen expanse, carrying with it the whisper of something unseen. Jon Snow stood at the edge of the camp, his chest rising and falling as he turned his head sharply, his eyes fixed on the emptiness before him. He felt it again—that strange pull, that phantom connection, lingering like a breath of warm air in a place that knew only ice.
“Y/N!” Jon shouted suddenly, the name tearing from his lips before he realized he’d said it aloud. The sound echoed into the silent tundra, scattering the nearby ravens into the pale sky. The wildlings nearby turned to look at him, murmuring in confusion.
Ygritte’s voice cut through the wind, sharp and teasing, though concern underpinned it. “What are you doin’, Crow?” she asked, striding toward him, her red hair wild in the breeze. “You callin’ ghosts now?”
Jon didn’t answer immediately, his brow furrowed as he stared at the emptiness in front of him. He swore he had seen her—standing there, pale as the snow, her silver hair whipped by the wind, her violet eyes filled with something heavy. And she had looked hurt.
Ygritte stepped closer, gripping his arm. “Jon Snow, what in the name of the gods are you shoutin’ at? There’s nothin’ there but wind and ice.”
Jon blinked, breaking out of his daze. “I saw her,” he said quietly, though his voice trembled with uncertainty. “I saw Y/N.”
Ygritte’s brow creased. “Who?”
Jon turned to face her, his breath visible in the freezing air. “The woman who raised me.”
Ygritte tilted her head, skeptical but curious. “Thought you didn’t know your mother, Crow. You always said as much.”
“I don’t,” Jon admitted, his voice rough. “But Y/N—she was the one who cared for me when no one else would. She was like my mother, even if she wasn’t.”
The wildlings nearby shifted closer, their interest piqued. A few murmured amongst themselves, but Ygritte ignored them, narrowing her eyes at Jon. “And who is she, this woman you’re seein’ in the middle of nowhere?”
Jon exhaled, the weight of the answer settling over him. “She’s a Targaryen princess.”
Ygritte stared at him for a long moment, then scoffed, her lips quirking into a half-smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “A Targaryen? A bloody dragon princess? And you’re just tellin’ me this now?”
Jon shook his head, the ghost of the vision still haunting his thoughts. “It’s not something I talk about. She raised me in Winterfell when Lord Stark brought me back as a babe. She didn’t have to, but she did. Now, Tywin Lannister took her as his wife.”
“And now you’re seein’ her out here,” Ygritte said, her tone laced with doubt. “Beyond the Wall. You think the cold’s gotten to you, Jon Snow?”
Jon turned his head sharply toward her, his expression serious. “I know what I saw, Ygritte. She was here. She looked hurt.”
The smirk faded from her lips, and for a moment, Ygritte studied him in silence, her eyes searching his face. “Hurt, you say?”
Jon nodded slowly. “Aye. Something’s happened to her, and I felt it.”
Ygritte let out a heavy breath, crossing her arms as she glanced back at the wildlings watching from a distance. “You’re tellin’ me a woman raised you like her own and she’s a dragon princess… and now she’s married to a Lannister lord?” The disbelief in her voice was clear, but it was edged with curiosity.
Jon’s jaw tightened at her words. “I don’t believe she wanted that. Tywin Lannister is a man of ambition. He doesn’t make choices without a purpose.”
“And yet you’re here,” Ygritte said, her tone softening just slightly. “Far from your wolves and castles. What do you think it means, Jon Snow, seein’ her like that?”
Jon looked out at the vast, empty horizon, his dark eyes troubled. “I don’t know. But I’ll find out.”
Ygritte watched him, her expression unreadable before she stepped closer, her voice dropping to a low murmur. “Ghosts and visions won’t help you out here. Keep your head where it belongs—on the living.”
Jon glanced at her, a flicker of gratitude passing over his features, but his mind was still far away. “I can’t ignore it, Ygritte. She’s out there, and something’s wrong.”
Ygritte sighed and shook her head, muttering under her breath as she turned to leave him standing alone again. “Bloody Crows and their ghosts…”
As Ygritte moved away, Jon remained where he stood, the cold biting at his face. He looked once more at the empty air where he’d seen you—your pale hair, your wounded stance. It couldn’t have been a trick of the light. It had felt too real. You were calling to him, somehow.
And somewhere, across the snow-covered expanse of the North, Jon Snow swore he would find the truth. 
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The large stone chamber of Casterly Rock was cold, the long table surrounded by men who wore the weight of Tywin Lannister’s authority like heavy cloaks. Maps were spread before them, marked with quills and tokens, outlining routes traveled and territories searched. 
Kevan Lannister stood closest to him, his voice steady but edged with hesitation as he finished his latest report. “Our men scoured High Heart, my lord. The hilltop was deserted when we arrived—no trace of the lady or her dragon.”
The room fell into a heavy silence, punctuated only by the faint crackle of the hearth. Tywin’s fingers drummed slowly on the arm of his chair, the sound unnervingly deliberate. “No trace?” he repeated, his voice low, dangerous. “Are you telling me that a dragon—a creature large enough to blot out the sun—simply vanished into thin air?”
Kevan shifted uneasily under his brother’s cold stare. “It would seem so, my lord. The locals speak of the hill as a cursed place. Some believe the dragon is… of magic.”
Tywin scoffed sharply, the sound laced with scorn. “Magic.” His gaze flicked over to the other men at the table, daring them to echo such nonsense. None met his eyes. “Find me practical answers, not old wives’ tales.”
Mace Tyrell cleared his throat from the far side of the table, leaning slightly back in his chair. “It appears, Lord Tywin, that the princess and her dragon move with a will of their own—elusive as the wind. Wherever they go, there are whispers, but no proof. It’s as though she has disappeared.”
Tywin’s gaze snapped to Mace, and for a moment, it looked as though he might explode with anger. “My wife does not simply disappear, Lord Tyrell,” he said icily. “She is out there, and I will have her found.”
Kevan, unwilling to relent, pressed cautiously. “Brother, we’ve exhausted nearly every path. Riverlands, the Reach—our men are spread thin, and this search is leaving us vulnerable. We are bleeding resources for a single woman—”
“A single woman?” Tywin’s voice cracked like a whip, his face hard as stone as he rose to his feet, towering over the room. “She is worth more than every man sitting at this table, Kevan.”
The room tensed at his outburst, even Mace falling silent. Kevan took a step back, his expression one of wary resignation. “Tywin, I only meant—”
“I know exactly what you meant,” Tywin snapped, his sharp tone cutting through Kevan’s attempted apology. “You think I should abandon her. Cast her aside as though she were nothing.”
Kevan held his ground, though the weight of Tywin’s fury bore down on him. “She’s your wife, yes, but she is also a Targaryen. A dragonlord with a beast at her command. She is not loyal to our banners—can you be certain she will return to you willingly?”
Tywin’s knuckles whitened as he gripped the edge of the table, his gaze cold enough to freeze steel. “She will return.”
“And if she doesn’t?” Kevan pressed softly, though the tension in the room was palpable. “What then?”
“She will,” Tywin repeated, his voice a growl of absolute conviction. “Because she knows what is at stake. I will not repeat myself again.”
Mace Tyrell, who had remained uncharacteristically quiet through the exchange, finally leaned forward with his hands clasped. “You trust her, then, my lord?”
Tywin turned his gaze to Mace, and for the first time, there was no hint of mockery in the Reach lord’s question. It was genuine curiosity. Tywin straightened, smoothing his hands over his doublet, his composure slowly returning. “Trust?” he echoed, almost as though testing the word. “I trust in her understanding of duty. In her resolve.”
His voice dipped slightly, though there was an edge of finality to it. “And I trust that no one in this realm—not one man—understands what it means to bear the weight of a kingdom on their shoulders better than she does.”
The room fell silent once more, the men around the table avoiding his gaze, their earlier protests buried under the weight of his words. Tywin settled back into his chair, the firelight casting sharp shadows across his face.
“Double the patrols in the Riverlands,” he ordered, his tone calm once more but no less commanding. “Send word to every loyal bannerman between here and the Wall. She is not to be harmed. If they see the dragon, they will report to me. No one moves without my word.”
Kevan hesitated for a moment but nodded. “As you say, my lord.”
Tywin turned his gaze back to the map before him, his expression unreadable, though the tension in his shoulders betrayed his frustration. His mind was calculating—always calculating. Y/n was out there somewhere, with Viserion at her side, and he would not allow uncertainty to erode his grip on her or their future.
“Dismissed,” Tywin said curtly, and the room began to empty, the scrape of chairs and shuffle of boots echoing through the hall. Kevan lingered for a moment longer but thought better of speaking further, following the others out.
When the door finally closed, Tywin’s shoulders sagged imperceptibly, though his face remained as still and impassive as ever. His gaze lingered on the map, on the Riverlands where her trail had last been seen.
For all his composure, a single thought gnawed at him: Where are you? And why haven’t you come back to me?
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The corridors of Casterly Rock were unusually quiet this evening, the heavy tapestries and thick stone walls muffling the sounds of the stronghold. Tywin walked with a measured pace, his hands clasped behind his back, his face a mask of cold authority. The day’s frustrations hung heavily on him, but he would not allow his weariness to show. His men doubted, Kevan questioned him, and whispers of dragons had begun to snake their way into the ears of his bannermen. But Tywin Lannister had weathered far worse storms.
He reached the door of the nursery and paused briefly before stepping inside. The warmth of the room greeted him—the hearth crackling low, the glow of candlelight casting soft shadows across the walls. A nursemaid rose from her chair and bowed her head as Tywin entered. “Leave us,” he ordered quietly, and the woman scurried away, closing the door behind her.
His son, Damon, lay in a cradle fashioned from carved gold and dark red oak, the Lannister lion emblazoned on its side. The boy stirred softly, his silver-gold hair glowing in the firelight as he let out a content sigh in his sleep. Tywin moved toward him, his usually rigid posture loosening just enough to betray the rare flicker of vulnerability he reserved for moments like this.
He stopped beside the cradle, his sharp gaze softening. The boy’s tiny hand curled around nothing, his peaceful face a sharp contrast to the chaos surrounding him. His blood. His heir. For all the trials of the past moons, here was proof that his efforts had borne fruit. Damon was a future secured, a legacy given form.
As Tywin watched his son, the door creaked open, and the maester entered hesitantly, clutching a scroll in his weathered hands. “My lord,” he said in a low, deferential tone, “Ser Jaime is en route from King’s Landing. He should arrive within the week.”
Tywin’s gaze flicked to the old man, a faint narrowing of his eyes the only indication of his thoughts. “Jaime?”
“Yes, my lord,” the maester confirmed, shuffling his feet awkwardly. “It seems Queen Mother sent him. She… insisted.”
*Of course she did. Tywin’s jaw tightened briefly. He could already picture Cersei’s smug defiance, her desire to tighten her grasp on Jaime now that Y/N’s absence had destabilized the fragile peace. She would be hoping for support—perhaps even plotting. Tywin would deal with her when the time came. For now, his focus was elsewhere.
“You will prepare his quarters,” Tywin instructed flatly. “And ensure that no one else is disturbed by his arrival.”
The maester bowed. “Yes, my lord.” He shuffled out of the room, leaving Tywin once more alone with his son.
Tywin sighed softly—an uncharacteristic sound—as he sank into the chair beside the cradle. His gaze returned to Damon, who still slumbered peacefully, oblivious to the weight of expectation placed upon him. For the first time that day, Tywin allowed himself to relax, though it was subtle. The sharp lines of his shoulders eased, and the hard edge in his stare softened.
“You are stronger than you know,” he murmured quietly, his words almost lost to the crackle of the fire. “And you will need to be.”
Tywin leaned back in the chair, watching the boy as he slept. There was something about this small, helpless child that grounded him, even now. Damon was a mix of two powerful bloodlines—Lannister and Targaryen. His existence was proof that Tywin’s plans, for all their trials and conflicts, were succeeding.
The irony wasn’t lost on him. The Targaryens had once been his family’s greatest rivals, and now their legacy was entwined with his own. Tywin’s gaze lingered on the soft silver sheen of Damon’s hair, a reminder of Y/N’s, her fire. He frowned faintly, the thought of her absence stirring something uncomfortable within him. She had left, vanished with her dragon to gods knew where, but he refused to believe she would abandon this—their son, their future.
“You will know her strength,” Tywin said softly, his tone carrying a strange note of conviction. “And mine.”
Damon stirred in his sleep, letting out a small, quiet sigh as though in response. Tywin allowed the faintest flicker of a smile to cross his lips, though it vanished as quickly as it appeared. He reached into the cradle, his fingers brushing gently over the boy’s small hand. Damon’s fingers twitched instinctively, curling slightly against his father’s.
For a long while, Tywin sat there, silent and still, watching the child. Outside, the Rock’s great halls were alive with whispers of dragons, absent wives, and unstable alliances. But here, in this room, there was quiet—a moment of peace that Tywin would not allow the world to shatter.
When he finally rose, the hardness of his expression returned, but his movements were careful as he tucked the blanket closer around Damon. He lingered one last moment, his gaze lingering on his son.
“You will inherit a world stronger than the one I was given,” he said quietly, his voice firm with promise. “And you will endure.”
Tywin straightened, his full composure restored as he strode toward the door, his heavy boots echoing against the stone floor. When he opened it, his features were a mask of calm authority, the face of a man who controlled everything and allowed nothing to slip through his grasp.
And yet, as he stepped into the corridor and the door closed softly behind him, the image of Damon’s small, sleeping form lingered in his mind—an anchor in a storm that refused to calm.
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cybershock24601 · 1 month ago
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Rook de Riva being an expert flirt and great at seduction due to crow training but also being a big virgin with no serious relationship experience because Rook is a romantic and wants everything to be special and no one has been brave enough to try and romance Rook since the last guy who reciprocated interest turned up dead about a week after Viago gave the guy a shovel talk. To be clear, Viago had nothing to do with it and it was completely unrelated but that did not stop rumors of the Fifth Talon getting rid of anyone who looks at his protege/annoying little sibling wrong. Viago also has no interest in correcting those rumors if it means it will keep people away from Rook because if they aren’t willing to risk the Fifth Talon’s wrath than obviously they aren’t worthy of Rook anyways.
All this turns out to be for naught when Rook strides into the Cantori Diamond years later completely lovesick because guess what Viago? I got a boyfriend 💖 And Viago just has to stand there with gritted teeth while Rook recounts everything they love about the 50 something necromancer that Rook has decided is the love of their life and future husband. Teia finds the whole thing amusing and Viago is fuming because Emmrich doesnt even have the grace to be properly intimidated by a talk with the Fifth Talon and was more than happy to chatter on about all the ways that Rook is a absolutely wonderful. At least Rook has found someone that seems to actually care for them but Viago doesn’t have to be happy about! (He is though because Rook deserves everything in the world they want but Viago would never say it aloud.
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circeyoru · 10 months ago
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Collection of Overlords _ Part 5 = Requested
[Alastor x Soul Owner of All Overlords!Reader]
Part 1 — Part 1.5 — Part 2 — Part 3 — Part 4 — Part 5 (here) — Part 6 — Part 7 — Part 8 — Part 9  — Part 10 — Part 11 — Part 12 — Part 13
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You honestly, truly didn’t want to bring up the negatives because it’s been so long since everyone was gathered here. You merely wanted to celebrate the achievement some of your Elites have done and reward them accordingly, then you’ll move on to another topic
But no, those three sinners sharing the title of Overlords just couldn’t fully grasp their situation and keep their mouths shut until they were back in what tiny territory they have. You’ve overlooked their words since it was their privacy
However, not when they bring it to the open
Everyone tensed up when the glass shattered in your direction. Slowly, their heads turned in your direction. On another occasion, they’d melt under your gaze as it wasn’t always that your eyes were visible
Yet this was not such a time. They felt caged and suffocated, the air around them pressuring them to be more compacted. The smile you had was long gone, now replaced by a slight frown and your eyes were sharp, cold and cruel. They could see the shadowy wisps around you while your hair floated in the air
You stood from your seat, glaring down. Your surroundings molding to match your aura and deathly wrath and rage towards souls that you deemed to be placed in your Elite Collection
The other Overlords regained their composure and sat in their seats with their heads slightly bowed, the Vees were in a different state
Their arms up and heads tilted to the side as though they were puppets on strings. The slight shake in their limbs suggests they were fighting the power that held them in such a humiliating place. Velvette and Valentino started to choke as though the air was sucked out of them, while Vox’s screen face cracked more and more from the pressure
“How brazen of you to judge your fellow Overlords in front of me.” Your voice roared even though it was soft and gentle. “I will have to remind you that it was I who chose them to be under my wing, that includes you.”
What a front. What a misleading trap. You’re not one to initiate fights, but you do provoke fights to give yourself an excuse to let out some steam. That’s to the other demons and sinner, not your Collection, as you give them their chances to change and correct their way on their own. Like how you let Zestial and the others warn the Vees before something triggering happens. 
“Brazen. Brazen.” Cages appeared around the room, some perched on the top of the chairs, some on the table, and some hovering around you with their wings flapping. “Disrespectful. Disrespectful.”
“No, wait, I…” Vox raised his hands, trying to explain himself but words fall short from his speakers. 
“You have no right to say they are ganging up on you three when you have been acting as a group since the beginning. You have no right to say they are not fighting because where were you when Carmilla and Rosie were providing support and Alastor was fighting on the front lines?” You laughed dryly, “Yes, I recall…”
The Vees’ bodies tensed up even more, twitching like branches in the wind. Your dear Cages flew over to them, pecking their bodies with their beck and clawing their flesh with their talons that were coated with angelic steel, courtesy of Carmilla. 
“You were safe in your little bunker and watched the entire battle like a show. Don’t make me start with you three using the souls you own as meat shields and bait!” Your eyes narrowed, then you raised your hand with your palm facing upwards and her fingers curled inwards a bit. “You certainly have no right to bet your soul because it is not yours to use anymore.” You growled, “If anything, you should be ashamed of sharing your title as an Overlord with others.”
At your last words, the deafening, crunching sounds of bones and metal started to echo in the silent room. Zestial closed his eyes, opting to drink from his cup. Carmilla sighed, exasperated, while her head shook from side to side with the smallest of motion. Zeezi gulp at the scene with fear, but she can’t help but smirk a bit. Rosie watched in fascination with the most intrigued expression. And Alastor peeked over to your glorious form.
Vox, Velvette, and Valentino’s bodies were squished and squeezed into the shape of a ball at the slow forming of your fist. Their screams muffled by your powers, their lips were sewn shut with a glowing silver line that appeared along with more silver strings that held them up. Only broke when their bodies were reshaped into balls and dropped on the table, noticing that Valentino’s size was even smaller than what his other two partners have. Their blood spread across the table, but nothing was dirtied by the liquid.
Your beloved Cages flew to what was your Overlords, some ripping pieces of meat as much as they could with their beaks and claws and some licking the blood on the table. 
“There is so much more that I could pick on you three for, however, I want to have you three know it was never my intention to keep everything this dark.” You sighed and massaged the side of your head with a finger. Your eyes glowed with an aura around them, “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll correct your current ways before my patience is gone. Understood?”
“Yes, Master.” Vox was quick to mutter out despite his current state.
“Crystal clear… Master.” Velvette followed after.
“I’m s… sorry… Master.” Valentino whined out.
With the snap of your fingers, they were back to their normal form. They gasped and patted themselves, their minds reliving what they had gone through. They bowed before taking their seats, “Thank you for your mercy, Master.”
Your eyes closed and a smile reformed on your face, “Well then! Let’s move on to something more fun!”
Just like that, the meeting’s main agenda was finally mentioned. You needed your Overlords to dominate the lowlives that were claiming to be Overlords and trying to take territories for themselves
The hologram changed to the landscape of the Pride Ring, and the signature colours of the Overlords marked their respective territories. An eerie black colour mixed with silver marked those that were occupied by self-proclaimed Overlords
You had already checked that there were no Overlords worthwhile to add to your collection, so you gave your Overlords the chance to claim more lands, as well as the opportunity to impress you with their ability to perform a given test. There was a lot of land to cover, so you sat back and let them divide it amongst themselves
It was almost laughable how docile the Vees were acting now, if they had been like so in the first place, then your hand wouldn’t be forced. Still, with some demons and sinners, if they aren’t reminded what real power looks like, they’ll never learn
Their discussion was civil and structured, with Carmilla marking down and arranging the biggest threat and size of new territories. You trust in her judgment. Most picked their preferred land as it was near what territory they have, the ones that benefit most from this was the Vees as they needed to win back your favour in order to wipe the slate clean of their mistakes
While they did so, this time without the arguing and fighting since they had been warned. You petted your Cages one by one and let them return to where they came from, continuing to serve you until you saw they could help more in their former bodies or a humanoid one. You played around with their claws and wings, even feeding them with the everlasting snacks that you summoned when there was no need to
A smile graced the peaceful scene as you sighed in relief over the cooperation they are capable of. You see them working together, it’ll be better if they could set aside their differences and help each other grow
However, you also know it’s impossible for such an idealistic fantasy to come true. This was Hell, no matter how well you have them under your control, they have free will, therefore, free thought. Lucifer’s right when he believes the people of Hell to be awful, even thinking his daughter was wasting time helping them
You’ll have to deny it because Princess Charlie’s redemption worked. For you were approached by the true Ruler of Heaven in regards to a soul needing to leave Hell and go to Heaven. Similar to your role, they reminded in the background and not rule over the souls of Heaven. The only difference was that they were more mischievous in their actions to prove the high-ranking angels wrong
It’s not your business. So you didn’t care. You let that soul leave your realm either way
Still, the individuals before you wouldn’t be able to leave Hell. Never. You won’t allow it since they have sold their souls to you. Even if they are redempted, you won’t let their soul leave and Heaven’s true Ruler knows better than to fight you on that. You’ll let other souls go, but not ones within your Collection
“My Liege, we have divided our work.” Alastor brought you out of your thoughts. 
You looked over to the other Overlord, who all nodded, showing willingness and agreement to Alastor’s words. You smiled. Yes, if only they didn’t sell their souls to you. “In that case, that’s all for this meeting. I know you won’t keep me waiting or disappoint me.”
“Yes!”
You return to the hotel with your disguised form already taken place when you teleported back. Alastor was such a dear to offer making you a meal to relax and rewind after a long meeting, so you went and sat down, waiting patiently in the dining room with a book in hand
While your eyes seem to be reading the words on the page, you were keeping an eye out for Overlords
Zestial had gone back to his home and reorganize his knowledge and information collected. You have a feeling he’ll be giving you a report some time soon. Since your little absence, he has been diligently working away with what he was provided. He was an Overlord to not much of you until you gave him, after all. Yet he produces excellent results all the same. Very outstanding
Camilla was preserving the room you have significantly changed to the point that nothing would be changed, now you know where to go when another meeting were to take place. You have a good chuckle when you saw Odette and Clara take turns sitting where you sat like schoolgirls with their idol or crush
It’s good not to be feared. Of course, you understand that they weren’t in a contract with you unlike their mother, so maybe that element of fear wasn’t present as they won’t offend you anyhow. You adore those two and secretly put a little protection charm on them when they left before the meeting started. Seriously, them meeting other demons and sinners while delivering weapons is dangerous
Rosie, being the dear she is, went back to Cannibal Town and retold her people the joyous news of your visit. While it was never specified when, they were already preparing a grand welcome for you. Now, you’re feeling a bit awkward since you didn’t plan an exact date. You thought just a spontaneous visit would do
As if sensing your thoughts, Rosie reminded everyone there was no set date or time you’ll be visiting. The cannibals were forced to stop their rushed preparations, but some still prepared all the same. You seriously couldn’t help but smile at their exchange. You do enjoy how Rosie treated you normally at casual times and wasn’t always as a superior
Zeezi was quick to start in her assignment. Immediately acting after mobilizing the souls she owned, the marked territories she was to take over were swiftly put into her hands and her power did grow. Of course, you saw growth in her. Before, she’d be charging head-first into battle. Here, she studied her target from afar for a while then she hunted them down
Now the Vees, they were recovering from their little ordeal. The wounds done on them from your Cages’ angelic touches weren’t recovered by your recovery power, licking their wounds, they made sure to reevaluate themselves and watch what they do. Valentino received quick the shouting from Vox and Velvette, but he shouted back, in the end, it turned out to be a bit of a blaming-on-each-other shout
You had hoped this would be a push for Vox and Velvette to step away from Valentino, to isolate him because there wasn’t much contribution he offered the two. Vox and Velvette can go hand-in-hand and you don’t mind it, they complement each other and their dynamic could be something like Zestial and Carmilla or Alastor and Rosie. But you know it was a stretch to expect them to do so now
Time will tell how your little Overlord group will go
“And now, we change the layout. Remember the bar was in the lobby before? Well, now it’s next to the kitchen and we have a giant dining room where everyone can have meals together! Oh oh! We can even host parties here and feasts!” Charlie’s voice became louder and louder. You figure she was giving a tour to another new guest and minded your business.
“No way…” Now that was a familiar voice.
“Yes way! We can totally host—” Charlie cut off, and her tone became confused. “Uh, dad, where’re you going?”
When the thought registered, Lucifer was already sitting in front of the empty seat in front of you with a bright smile, “My golly! It’s you!”
You smiled politely, keeping up an act, “Yes, greetings, your highness.”
Lucifer laughed, waving his hand like a slap to dismiss it, “Oh, come on! Where’s the familiarity? I owe you so much! Teach!”
Your smile twitched as did your eye, “Why, whatever do you mean?”
“Charlie!” Lucifer called over his daughter. Your smile widened as you felt like screaming into the void. “Meet my lovely teacher that helped me become the man I am today, King of Hell and all that! This is The Collector, or Silver!” He whispered, “A bit shy on the name, or it’s a taboo to say it. You know how it is.”
“Collector!?” Charlie exclaimed with wide eyes, doubling back and forth from her father to you. “But. But! Guest? How? Huh!?”
Husk spit out his drink from what he heard at the bar, immediately wiping his mouth when he looked over to the commotion. “Oh sh*t…”
You sighed and glared at Lucifer with a twitching smile while still in your disguised form, “You…”
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Note: And that concludes the meeting~ No tease this time~
I'll be moving back to {Unwanted Soul} plotline (I think), so in the meantime, you guys can send in some scenes you want for this, and I'll see how to write them or treat it as trivia~!
Circe Y. 
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writerunnamed · 3 months ago
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note: I am both shocked, and grateful at the response this story has gotten. I didn't tag anyone, and I expected maybe a few people to be into it but you proved me so wrong. So thankful that you all like it, please don't be shy. Slide into the dms, spam me with asks, lets go nuts together. xo (thanks so much for going through and betaing this chapter @frannyzooey xo) Joel(stepdad), significant age gap, female reader. 18+ legal, reader is 20 (warnings: pov sex, shower sex, really inappropriate dirty talk, slight Dom-Joel vibes, daddy kink, heavy guilt) 4k word count masterlist
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The guilt doesn’t creep in, it consumes like a five alarm fire. It’s weight holding you pressed to your bed as the shadows in your room stretch out with the fading of the golden hour light. The darkness helps, but not nearly enough to make any kind of a difference. 
He’d left after, closing your bedroom door behind him with your slick still smeared all over his dick and the realization of what you’ve done keeps hitting you. It keeps dropping stones in your gut, further weighing you down, naked, in the incriminating wet patch on your sheets. You hear your mother open the front door an indeterminable amount of time after. Your face burns, your heart races, she has to know. Surely she’d felt it, like a phantom limb while she was working, a ghost knife in the shape of her daughter, stabbing her in the back. 
You wait, barely breathing, sheets clutched in the talons of your fingersfor her to storm in, to rip you out of the house by your skin but it doesn’t happen. You hear him laugh, hear them chat as though nothing has happened. Your heart rate steadily lowers, and it becomes apparent that her wrath isn’t pending. 
The ax hanging over your head is being held by you, and no one else.
You stay there, uncomfortable, ashamed, cold, until it’s late enough that the house falls silent. Then, and only then do you get up and change the sheets. You pad out to the bathroom and shower, silently telling yourself that it was a temporary lapse in judgment. It was a psychotic episode. It was a hallucination, there’s no way you’d actually done that. It must have been imagined, but then you clean between your legs and feel the soreness and curse yourself all over again. 
You do your best to wash him off of you, wash the whole encounter, the whole mistake, and vow to yourself to never give it another thought. You console yourself with the thought that he must feel awful too, surely. He was probably lying there next to your mother, terrified with guilt. The devil on your shoulder, that cruel thing inside laughed at your naivety, practically yelling at you to smarten up. He doesn’t feel guilty, he’s probably snoring, his balls empty, his body pleasantly tired without a care in the world. 
Sleep eventually finds you, giving you the blissful respite of the dreamless dark.
A week goes by and you can almost convince yourself it had been a dream. Your mother is her normal, distant, distracted self. Joel works and blessedly you have managed to avoid any unsupervised interactions. Your brain however, has splintered and each shard has its role. The first keeps you sane, it does it best to make sure you focus on anything but the event you will not name. Another convinces you that things have almost fixed themselves since… well, that. It fools you into believing that it was somehow a cure. Things feel better in the house. The tension is gone, Joel seems disinterested, your mother is preoccupied. A tentative truce has somehow been enforced. 
There is another shard, an unwelcome and unruly and now untethered part of you that screams for a repeat performance. It begs and pleads for you to corner Joel and take what he gave again and again. The other aspects keep it restrained for most of the day. Work, responsibilities, the general needs and demands of the day take up most of your bandwidth but at night, at night it reigns supreme and without opposition. 
In the comforting dark of your now tainted space, that illicit part of you floods your mind's eye with the vision of Joel there, in your bed. It recalls the feeling of his mouth on your nipples with crystalline clarity, makes you feel the way he molded your body to take him, the way you came around his cock with that word in your mouth.
You were grateful for the toy, but he’d been so frustratingly right about it not doing much. After him, the toy was a tease. It was barely a taste of what he’d been able to do, but it didn’t stop you from using it. It was the safest option, until you could find someone appropriate. 
Or get the fuck out of that house and forget about the whole thing. 
-
More days pass, and that tension filters through your defences, It glides in and fills every angle of the house, every corner with a need borne of your interlude. 
Joel’s eyes linger again, he tracks your movements whether your mother is around or not. He smiles, he tests, pushes your limits with a passing hand on your lower back. His fingers linger when he hands you a plate or a mug, he sits close enough for his thighs to press to yours on the couch, the soft light of the tv and the lamp casting shadows across you both. 
Your mother doesn’t pay attention, or doesn’t see it. You are not a threat to her relationship, why would you be? In any normal, healthy family this would never be something to be worried about, not in a million years. In a proper family, a stepfather would not fuck his stepdaughter. 
A stepdaughter would not fantasize about it either.
The guilt builds the more time passes, but it wars with another, less wholesome feeling. Desire. Unadulterated lust. There is a part of you, a growing, strengthening part that craves him, that bombards you with different ways to have him inside you again, to beg him to fuck you harder, to give it to you longer, to beg for him to come inside you and mark you as his own and this scares you half to death. 
Soon though, it eclipses that guilt and takes you to the breaking point. 
It comes to a head one day, when you come home to both of them smiling and happy. 
“Hey babygirl.” 
He smiles when you set your bag down and you ignore the way your body comes to life with that endearment. 
“Go on up and get dressed, I’m takin’ my girls out for dinner.” 
Your mother beams, sliding her arms around his waist with a dreamy smile. “I got a promotion, Joel is going to treat us.” She’s in a very good mood.
“Oh, I’m alright, bit tired but you two go ahead. Have a drink for me.” You smile your sincerest smile, urging them to leave you alone. The toy floats in your brain, calling to you with the promise of the momentary relief it brings, however paltry compared to him. 
“Nonsense. Go on, we’re all goin’.” He raises an eyebrow, and you sigh, already resigned. “Go on, don’t make me ask you again, we gotta celebrate.” There is a playful, yet iron-strong tone that you know in your heart you cannot disobey. 
“We can go on our own if she wants to stay.” Your mom combs his hair back with her fingers, fixing it and he lets her, smiling down at her as you make your way up the stairs. 
“We’re all goin’-” It’s the last thing you hear him say before you close your door and go about getting dressed. 
-
It’s a pretty fancy steakhouse, a place you’d only ever been to once on a date. He’d put on a nice shirt, and your mom wore one of her nicer dresses. You couldn’t exactly wear leggings, so you’d dug out a dress of your own and trudged along despite your wish to be anywhere but. 
He slid into the booth beside you. You said nothing.
Your mother talks about her job, about how happy she is they’re taking notice of all her hard work and you’re genuinely proud of her. Growing up you don’t remember her holding down a job for more than a few months, Joel had changed that too. He’d pushed her to buckle down and take her employment seriously and it had paid off. It was just another one of those contradictory things about him, something you should have loved him for, a genuine, paternal thing but it didn’t mesh with your new dynamic.
Paternal. What a joke. 
The food is good, and you enjoy it in relative silence while your mother prattles on about her work, her manager, her team while Joel smiles and looks her in the eye. It’s almost pleasant, almost normal, the three of you, mother, father and daughter in a dark little booth celebrating a win. 
It’s almost nice, until you feel his hand on your knee under the table. 
You jump, the shock of it making you drop your fork. 
“You alright babygirl?” He smiles, genuine concern on his face as heat floods your body and you nod, frantically. With a tight smile you go to pick it up but he stops you, and ducks under the table to fish for it. Your mom laughs it off and you smile, blood pounding when you feel his hand again while he’s reaching for the fork. It moves your skirt up, exposing  more of your thigh. 
“I’ll ask the waiter for a new one.” He sits up and winks, adjusting himself so he’s a little closer. His hand lands back on your thigh and his thumb strokes at the skin, little circles that make you lightheaded. 
“I think I need to use the little girls room.” Your mother puts her napkin on the table and for a moment you think this is your chance. If she asks if you need to go, you’ll jump at the chance – but his hand tightens, just enough to let you know to stay put. 
She doesn’t ask, and when she rounds the corner he turns to you, eyes bright with the same lust you’ve been stomping down inside. 
“Happy you’re here babygirl, been missin’ you.” His hand slides up until it’s pressed against your core. Your breath comes in pants, and you’re rendered silent. 
“Been dreamin’ about havin’ you again. Been fightin’ the urge to sneak in and spread you out on that little bed, eat that pretty little cunt til you’re cryin for me to fuck you.” 
He presses close, tilting your face up to press his lips against yours soft enough to tickle. “You been thinkin’ about me?” He presses another little kiss, and you pull away, terrified to see strangers staring at you disgusted. 
No one is looking though, and he knows. 
“Joel, stop, not here.” You’re frantic, heart racing, pussy leaking. 
“Who am I?” he raises his eyebrows, expecting. 
You close your eyes, letting out a sigh. “She’ll be back any minute.” 
“Say it babygirl, say what I know you’re wantin’ to say. Who am I?” His hand lands on your thigh again. 
It’s on the tip of your tongue and you hate that he’s right, you do want to say it. You want to scream it. 
“...Daddy.” It’s barely a whisper, but it feels so good.
“Little louder honey.” He slides up, pressing his fingers against your clit. 
“Daddy, please–” You give in, and it comes out almost a moan. There’s that sense again, of falling into a trap you hadn’t seen him set but it’s secondary to the self-satisfied smile on his face, to the way your body primes itself for whatever he deems fit. Your thighs clamp around his hand, the restaurant falls away and all that matters is his warm breath ghosting across your face, his strength, the press of his fingers.
“That’s better.” He smiles, and moves away and it’s with an unspeakable relief that you see your mother round the corner again, eyes on her feet while you adjust and move further away. The guilt gnaws at you, but the other thing rages, paints her as an interruption for a moment before you reign it in. She smiles when she slides into her side of the booth. 
“How ‘bout we get dessert? I could do with a little somethin’ sweet.” He smiles, and she agrees. 
-
They chat idly on the drive back to the house. She mentions how the excitement has given her a headache, and he urges her to go rest. It’s terrifying, the change in him: his attitude with her, his obvious care and the juxtaposition to his behavior in the restaurant. 
Needing a break from the tension he built inside you earlier, you grab a change of clothes and run for the shower, grateful for the temporary oasis. 
You try to take your time, to focus on anything and everything except the overwhelming need to be fucked into your matress. A few, blissfully steam-filled minutes later you hear the bathroom door open. 
“Mom?” You call out, but after a few silent moments you think you might have imagined it. Until the curtain opens and Joel steps in as naked as the day he was born. 
“What the fuck are you doing?” You let out  a terrified whisper and your first instinct is to cover yourself. 
“Calm down, your mama’s sleepin’. She was feelin’ drained' from work and everythin’ so she took an ambien.” He steps towards you, forcing you to take a step back. “This water’s fit to burn my skin off.” He hisses but doesn’t adjust the temperature. 
He steps under the spray while you tuck yourself against the corner, shaking from the chilly tile pressing against your back. Your arm is pressed to your front covering your breasts, and the other is cupping your pussy, hiding your bits from his gaze. In contrast, he’s unbothered by his nakedness. His cock is soft, his arms are strong, his middle a little soft, but his beauty is undeniable. This is a man’s body, and you take it in with increasing want.
Your eyes betray you, your body betrays you, everything inside you seems to scream betrayal when he’s alone with you like this. He tilts his face up into the hot spray. He’s so fucking handsome, so virile, so hung. You kick yourself as you stare at his cock, already knowing that you’re going to give in to him, despite your mother being asleep just down the hall. 
“Come on babygirl, get under the water with me.” He reaches forward, taking your hand and pulling you towards him. You let him, heart fluttering like a bird in a cage at the feel of him pressing you close to him. The water cascades over you both, steam billowing out and his hands travel the expanse of your back. They slide over your shoulders, reaching down to cup your backside. He pulls you closer, pressing his mouth to yours and you can’t help but moan. 
He smiles, moving his kisses to your neck, your shoulders and that thing inside you wins yet again. Your hands press against his chest, they move over the muscles of his arms that you cannot help but stare at, they caress his back and up to curl through the hair at the base of his neck. 
You pull his face to yours for a deeper kiss, the kiss you’ve been craving since he left you wet and trembling in your bed. He groans when your tongue licks into his mouth and then it changes. From an almost sweet exploration, to a desperate need to consume one another. His cock hardens against your belly and your cunt aches at the feel of it. 
“Give it to me, I want it.” Someone who cannot be you begs him, clutching at his hair when he licks at your neck, his hands palming at your breasts as your back hits the tile again.
“What do you want, baby?” He lifts your thigh, wrapping it around his hip as he slots his cock at the seam of your cunt. He doesn’t press, just glides it between your legs, never notching the blunt tip of it at your entrance like you hope he will. The head of it nudges at your clit and he rocks it against you, teasing you into madness. 
You know what he wants, you want it too. As hard as he is, as desperate as you know he is to slip inside, he has all the patience in the world.
He knows this. He also knows that you are much more desperate than him. 
“I want your cock daddy, please, I need it.” You all but moan, some, pathetic, half-human thing burning with a fever, begging to be fucked like a whore. Begging him. The one person you shouldn’t beg this from. 
“Such a good girl, such a quick learner.” He finally grasps himself in hand, making sure you watch him as he angles himself and slides home in one smooth, brutal stroke. The moan you let out is a loud, filthy thing. 
“Shh, can’t have you makin’ all that noise honey,” He slips his forearm under your calf to open  you up wide, his other hand coming up to wrap around your throat. He snaps his hips hard enough to make everything bounce and you cannot imagine ever being this fucking turned on, this hot for another person. 
“Or maybe you do, maybe you want your mama to come in here, see how well her babygirl takes her daddys cock.” 
You close your eyes at that, it’s too filthy, it’s too depraved but your cunt still drools out its passion for him.
“You get so wet when I tell you how well you take it, even here I can feel her soakin’ me.” He stares at the juncture of your thighs- watches himself spearing you with his cock. Your eyes are half-glazed, admiring the way his neck strains, the definition in his arms, the way his mouth hangs open. His skin red from exertion and the heat of the water.
He’s right, something inside feeds off his praise no matter how fucking wrong it is, you need it.
“Yes daddy, I like it.” You confess, already damned anyway. 
“I know baby, I know.” He lets go of your throat and holds onto your ass before sticking his tongue down your throat. You whimper into his mouth, holding onto his neck for dear life while inching closer and closer to the orgasm building in your hips, in the base of your spine.
“Wanna feel her now, come all over me honey-“ he begs in your ear, his hips stuttering slightly and a madness overtakes you as you shove your fingers into his mouth and slip them down over your clit. He moans, pressing his palm into the hinge of your knee, somehow opening you up even more and then it’s there, in your fingers, in your limbs and in your very soul. 
“Yes, that’s it baby, yes-“ he turns his thrusts into a grinding roll, and it’s with a horrified glee that you feel him paint your insides in his come. Your eyes glued to the place you’re joined, a curious thought springs up unbidden: nothing in the world could pull you away from him at that moment, with his cock inside and his hands on your body. That realization should scare you but it doesn’t. Would your mom bursting through the door make you come to your senses? Do you really want to know the answer to that question?
“Daddy… I can feel it really deep.” You say the words in what feels like a drunken stupor and he lets out a punched out groan, pulling out to watch as he drips out of the place you now know he fucking owns.
“That’s where it belongs, honey. Nice and deep.” He lowers your leg, but pulls you close and tucks you under his chin. 
“Daddy loves you, you know that right? I’m so proud of you baby.”
You’re exhausted, but the guilt doesn’t come as quickly as the first time. It’s hard for it to make it through the comfort of the hot water, the cocoon of his arms, the steady reassuring thump of his heart under your cheek. The soft press of his lips to your forehead. 
He stays. He washes your hair, cleans his come from between your legs and the fatherly lines of him blur even more. 
It’s wrong. You know it. It’s obviously so fucking wrong. But it feels so right, it feels good, it feels safe for him to shield your eyes from the suds, for him to massage the knots out of your back, for him to kiss you soft, for his fingers to pluck at your soapy nipples. 
When you’re done and in bed, you fall asleep, and dream of a steamy bathroom and soft, chapped lips at your temple.
The next morning finds you well-rested. That might actually bother you more than it should, comparatively speaking. That he would be the person to fuck you well enough to give you a good nights sleep seems like some cosmically cruel joke. Memories of your mother sleeping in on Saturdays after a night out with him make you groan into your pillow. 
Any acceptance, any complicity was far and foreign in the unforgiving light of day. All of the comfort you’d felt in the tail-end of that unholy shower now angered you. It was manipulation, it was coercion, how could you do that? Let him in, in all of the different ways he’d managed to push inside you in the time since you’d been home, past your protective walls and quite literally between your fucking legs. It had to be something he’d done to make you crazy. A temporary insanity, surely, 
You let out a huff, noting but almost unseeing the dust motes dancing in shafts of light coming in through the window. The guilt was heavy and hot in your belly, and not only because of the betrayal but because you knew, deep in your soul, that you would not–could not deny him. That was a fact. 
The pillow at your side found itself pressed to your face to cover the groan of frustration at the cringy realization that you were just another woman with daddy issues.
Hours you laid there, torturing yourself with so many flavors of guilt. 
Guilt at indulging, guilt at craving, guilt at knowing that you’d most likely doing it again, guilt at tentatively imagining other places you wanted him to fuck you. Guilt at the look of devotion on your mother’s face when he smiled at her. Guilt at the dark, cruel little thing that rejoiced at him wanting you so bad. 
They were both sitting at the kitchen table when you finally came downstairs. Your stomach dropped at the sight of him sitting there, in his usual place with the paper in his hands. His face gave nothing away when he looked up at you, a talent he shouldn’t have. 
“Good morning, sleep okay?” Your mom smiled, moving to the sink.
“Yeah, slept great.” You smile back and you almost feel Joel’s chest puff out. You ignore him. 
“That’s good, why don’t you come do groceries with me? I’m going to do a big trip so you guys aren’t starving while I’m gone next week.” 
She misses your frown as she empties the dishwasher. Something big wraps itself around you, something foreboding, something inescapable. His paper flicks almost imperceptibly in the corner of your eye and still, you ignore it. 
“What do you mean?” You question her, but it’s almost prophetic, because you already know.
“I thought I’d told you, I have a work trip. A conference, because of the promotion. I’m leaving on Monday morning, and I’ll be gone until Thursday. I wanted to leave the fridge full so the two of you don’t have to worry. Want to come?” 
She’s still focused on putting away the dishes when you finally meet his eye. Your stomach rolls at the wink he flashes you. You can feel his thoughts like a sunburn, skin tight with the burn of it, at the promise of all of the things you already know he’ll make you do. 
The things you know, deep down, you’ll beg him for. 
Fuck.
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talonabraxas · 2 days ago
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“And I looked, and behold a pale horse, and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him.”
XIII - Death Talon Abraxas
The Death card is not about the literal death of any person. It may represent the death of something else, like a project, plan, or relationship. This card also points to a time of harvest, symbolized in classical decks by the reaping skeleton. Unless the fruits of summer are harvested, they are lost to winter's harshness, and the people do not eat. As the scythe cuts the cords that link us to the past, it liberates us to go forward without fear, because we have nothing left to lose. Everything being pruned away is recycled for the fertility of the future, so that nothing is really ever lost, despite seasonal cycles of gain and loss.
In more modern Tarot decks, we see Death mounted on a horse and wearing black armor. The emphasis in these decks is on the punishment of sin, as in the way the medieval Plagu (which the Death image was based on) was used to explain the wrath of God. Luckily, in modern times, we are not so encumbered with such a guilt-ridden philosophy.
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eldritch-spouse · 7 months ago
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Kalymir and tactition reader? Sort of a brains and brawn situation?
[I enjoy this. "Big dumb villain and their smart assistant that's not paid enough"-core.]
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He starts pacing around the table, always does, when something you say isn't to his liking.
" DON'T FUCK ME! "
Fortunately, you were hired to be the brains to his muscle, not to glaze his metaphorical balls.
" M'lord I'm fairly certain I couldn't even if I tired. " You eye him up and down, silently asking if he's done with his bitchfit. " Nonetheless, I believe this is no time to be aggressive. You'd do well to send scouts- "
" SCOUTS?! " He snarls at the top of his rather annoyingly large lungs. Some kind of battle axe flies over your head, decapitating baby hairs. You barely blink as it embeds itself into the wall behind you. " THIS IS BARELY A PROPER SETTLEMENT! I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO EVEN THINK ABOUT THIS PIECE OF SHIT RESISTANCE POCKET- "
The King stomps forward on mighty talons, nearly swiping your pondering orb away as he gestures toward it with a fury of such might that it makes the muscles in his arms swell.
" LOOK AT THESE INSECTS! "
" Precisely. "
The demonlord looks as if his honest desire is to cut your back open and slurp the spinal cord out. Yet, in the midst of the anger constantly frying his nerve endings, is a tungsten carbide core of minimal intelligence that reminds him eviscerating you is a most terrible idea.
" EXPLAIN THEN, YOU MOUTHY CUNT. "
" I've been trying to do so this entire time. "
" THE FUCKING NERVE Y- "
" This resistance pocket- " You start, snapping your fingers repeatedly as if trying to garner a large dog's attention. " Is mixed and dangerous, m'lord. "
Although Kalymir is visibly fuming, he does listen.
You scroll through the field of view offered by the hidden summoned aid currently hiding in tall trees. It provides a top-down map feed of the location Kalymir's latest headache has been operating from. Currently, at least. People buzz from one side to another, not many in numbers but extremely well-organized and efficient, almost as if controlled by something.
" Notice there are more than just wrathful demons in the midst, this group employs humans and monsters, especially the less social of the bunch. The kind of monster you'd find hiding in darkened places, isolated but by no means uneducated. To gain the alliance of these monsters, one would need a surprising sense of- "
" I'M FUCKING SNOOZING HERE... "
Sometimes, you're the one that wants to maul him.
There's a tired sigh.
" Harmonious diversity equals no-no. "
Pause.
" I'M NOT A BABY, YOU SURFACE WHORE. "
" Putting that aside, I'm sure you've noticed by now, that they brandish weapons of ancient times. The very things that allowed the initial group to leave the Rings unscathed despite being hunted, not just in Wrath but in the territory of all the Lords you've made agreements with. "
" CELESTIAL WEAPONRY. " The warlord sneers, thoughtful.
" Yes. "
Kalymir shakes his head.
" YOU CAN'T TELL ME THEY'RE ALLIED TO ANGELS! MOST ARE DEMONS, YOU CAN'T BRIBE ANGELS INTO HANDING THEIR TOOLS OVER- " He slams both fists onto the worn and dented table, making your chair jump. " THEY'RE HARDLY EVEN SEEN. AND LIKE FUCKING HELL THESE PARASITES CAN KILL ONE! "
A smug smile tugs your lips. " But, my King, they don't need to be allied to angels to have those. "
Kalymir makes a rare effort to calm down, sharpened claws tapping at the same table. You can hear a heavy-tipped tail swing, the woosh mildly distracting.
" SPEAK! "
" The archives. "
You can hear the gears melting in his cranium.
" THE ARCHIVES... " He stands, mighty body straight as he beings putting two and two together. " THE ARCHIVES! "
You nod, arms crossing.
Not just any archives, the Royal Archives of Wrath, containing a litany of detailed instructions in old Infernal about how to dispatch different types of celestials. The same archives that guarded weapons of Eden stolen from perished angels, weapons that destroyed the limbs of the brave demons who managed to retrieve them, whose core names and sigils have been carved into the cases holding these artifacts. Those are the only celestial weapons left behind, as far as anyone knows. The type of material prize a lord of Wrath would die protecting.
" NO! " He barks once he realizes the first possibility that statement implies.
" Yes, my King. "
" NO ONE COULD HAVE BROKEN IN, YOU SNOT-BRAINED ANKLE BITER! "
Hm, that one's new.
He's right, no one could have broken in, he knows you know this, and the fact that you always seem one little step ahead of him is both infuriating to the King but also exciting.
" Correct. "
" THEN- "
" Who has access to the Royal Archives of Wrath? "
" I DO! I'M THE KING- "
" And who had access? "
As soon as you ask that, he falls eerily silent, pacing again, this time to the opposite display of weapons, subconsciously studying them as he thinks.
" IMPOSSIBLE. "
You recline on the chair, eyes closing. " Is it? "
" I BUTCHERED HIM! I HUMILIATED HIM. HIS VERY SKULL SITS ABOVE MY THRONE OF VICTORIES! "
" His offspring, my King. His descendants. " As far as you know, they were only juveniles when Kalymir murdered their father.
" ONE DIED IN THE CRUCIBLE... "
" The other...? "
Kalymir doesn't answer, he doesn't know. And neither did you, not until very recently.
You don't need to spell the implications out this time, he gets there on his own two synapses.
" YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS. " The demonlord bristles, not because he finds the suggestion ridiculous, but likely because it's going to make things a lot more interesting.
" But I am. He can't show his face, it'd be too risky, but some dissenting demons still recognize and have followed him to the surface. He then seeks the help of monsters living in the margins of societies or straight up outside of them, safer options to utilize holy weapons. And not just that, these monsters muddle our understanding of the resistance's origins and goals, adding humans to the mix just makes it all more confusing. Many of the non-demonic members are likely under contractual obligation to do this too, I'd reckon. "
The King is silent.
" Think about it. You lost track of them a long time ago. This prince-to-be witnessed the death of his father, his brother, his mother has likely died of old age. He has nothing. Nothing but a sweltering desire to dethrone you. This is his doing. "
A cruel glint settles in your eyes, belying that there is room for your frigid coldness in the boiling Ring.
" Unfortunately, he must have been too young to properly absorb his father's teachings, because this is amateurish at best. A little bit of care and thought is all you need to nip his budding plans, m'lord. "
The King smiles, drags a hand down his face, chest heaving faster as a very thunderous bark of raucous laughter shakes the entire fortress. The clapping of meaty red hands accentuates how wolfishly delighted he is.
" YOU GLORIOUS, ROTTEN WENCH! HOW COULD I NOT HAVE SEEN THIS?! "
Yes, really, how did he not see this a mile away? He should have figured it out before you, you actually had to do research concerning the past ruler of Wrath.
Kalymir damn near sprints towards you, reaching over the table to grab you up by the collar of your outfit.
" LEAD ME TO HIM, STRATEGIST. TELL ME HOW TO GET MY HANDS ON THE WORTHLES TWERP. I WILL WEAR HIS BROTHER'S SKIN. "
" Of course, my King. I will lead you to victory as always. "
" GOOD. GOOD LITTLE HUMAN. "
You're dropped back down unceremoniously, feeling a creak in your hip but remaining composed. Kalymir is clearly getting overly excited over the whole deal, you can tell he'll be obsessing over it from now on.
" WE WILL MAKE A NEW CHANDELIER OF HIS BONES. "
Satisfied, there's a pep to the demonlord's step as he makes to leave, opening the great doors to his hall.
" AND ONCE THIS IS OVER, YOU- "
" YOU WILL SIT BESIDE ME AS QUEEN. "
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homoquartz · 2 months ago
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angel teacher overseeing a class of teenage angels who will one day bring down the reckoning of a wrathful god: and that's why all babies are born with sin. oop, hang on, gang - we've got a missive from god. time for a class announcement, we've got a missive from god.
(she takes a rolled-up letter out of the delivery cherub's talons)
listen up, everyone. i want everyone's full attention, because once again, this is the literal word of god. girls, that means phones down and eyes up. i don't know why i have to repeat that every time. we could get a directive from god not to be on your phones in class and you'd never know. ladies! thank you. now -
teenager angel with a sunglasses: (secretly swiping right on a demon boy absolutely drenched in shrimp and polyester)
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mugenmcfugen · 26 days ago
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I feel like, Grey Talon is one of the most underrated characters from DL. Now, whether thats because his design is from NP era or because he is simply an old man, OR because people memed shit out of him, but his VA gave some of best deliveries where you can fucking feel grief, pain and desperation in his voice. This is someone who will raze the whole city down if he has to just to find relief for his grief. Maybe I also have a soft spot and bias for him because I had to watch someone not only lose their child but also never receive any justice for it. It truly leaves a sour taste in your mouth and it makes you want to burn it all down, y'know. Nothing induces wrath like grief.
Although, when I play Shiv and if there is Grey Talon on an enemy team, his desperate ''JUST DIE'' I hear makes me laugh, the delivery is perfect.
Tl;dr, Grey Talon is awesome, I cant wait for him to get redesign and to see full lore and relationship with Shiv/Vindicta.
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lizzychanstuffss · 1 year ago
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May I... may I touch you?
Astartion x durge!reader
thank you @ferenofnopewood (also for being my beta reader!) for the inspo for this. We both went feral talking about this.
Synopsis: a simple rewrite of the Act 2 romance scene with durge and Astarion. Basically, this is just extra soft and I imagine it would be cute if he remembered you hugging him in the confession scene. Also this is totally my headcanon for my own durge but don't mind that
Of course as always spoilers for act 2!
Your head spun with bile and wrath, unable to sleep it off as you normally would try to do. But no matter what you did nothing seemed to calm the thundering headache forming at the edges of your mind. So without much other choice, you stood up. Your companions were blissfully sleeping while you wrestled with unseen demons. Once you got up you could see Astarion from across the still burning fire; his beauty was always apparent even when he was at rest. 
But your silent admiration was rudely interrupted by a foul-sounding goblin butler.
"He is so afraid. So, so afraid of everyone besides you who he ought to fear the most." His words were clearly said with the intention of shaking your resolve. "You could do so much better." The goblins' tone disgusted you, how he could say such things and yet you know they rang true in Astarion’s own mind, he was so worried you could do better than some runaway vampire spawn. But these thoughts were clouding your judgment even more than the urge was and with that you shook your head as the thoughts faded to the background.
"Get away from him." The bile and raw, murderous intent that had been clawing at your insides broke out in a growl. But seemingly unimpeded by your defense he playfully hopped over Astarion, the thought of using your urge to protect him might not be all that bad of an idea. 
Was he taunting you? It was a thought that crossed your mind and passed as he spoke again.
"I won't lay so much as a talon on him! I wouldn't rob you of that delight. Your clever mind is penning up a tragedy as we speak. Your repressed urge yearns to kill." He appraises a moment before continuing "And kill you will. Tonight, the moment you close your eyes, your favorite person will be brutalized." The words were a shock to your system. You couldn't let that happen not to him, not ever. The thought alone made you want to vomit that your own body would even consider it.
"I-I love him, No, I can't be" You couldn’t imagine losing no not him. He’s been the only person who didn’t judge, didn’t blame you, no matter how bad it got. You couldn’t bear to—
"We all kill what we love most, in time" 
You choked back a sob.
"You like him for more than his looks, but he will never believe that. Why not make him a pretty corpse?" Your hands started to twitch as you let yourself briefly indulge in the fantasy of wrapping them around the wretched creature’s neck. If he really meant to taunt you into committing a murder he was certainly getting close to achieving that goal.
"He must live....I haven't yet told him how I truly feel about him." The felt less like a defense against the butlers goading and more like a reminder to yourself. What you were truly trying to achieve here. You have promised to protect Astarion. From Cazador, from yourself, it didn’t matter. And it was a promise you would never break…at least you hoped.
"Why not whisper it while you twist a knife? Or have a love confession be the final words between you? It is my duty to ensure you are making the right decisions, Master." He lets out a sigh mimicking a father in its nature. "There was much..disappointment at your reluctance to kill the little Moonmaiden. You could kill this one deliberately. I'm sure it will be considered a great show of good will. The tithe could still be yours." There it was again, the offer, the temptation…what you assumed was to be considered one. You still had no idea what this so-called tithe even could be; but you were certain you wanted nothing to do with it if it required such a foul murder.
"I will save him, whatever it takes."
"I do not doubt you will act with the decorum befitting one of your rank. Good night." And with that the butler was finally gone leaving you with a choice you had already made prior. Taking the initiative and kneeling besides Astarion you attempted to wake him. But as you went to reach for his shoulder your hand paused of it’s own violation, it itched to wrap itself around his throat and ruin him. You would not allow it, a battle against your own mind was something you had gotten accustomed to on this journey thus far and so once you were able to regain composure you went to wake him but he made quicker work of it then you could, questioning whether or not he was actually in a trance at all tonight.
"Well, hello. Looking for a cuddle?" he said, flirtatious as ever even in such a trying time for yourself. Although you were sure the look on your face gave way to his next set of words. "Although you don't look entirely...yourself. What's going on in that head of yours?"
That question was one you had to think about how to answer, and quickly. "Listen, now isn't the time...I need to protect you." You tried your best to convey the urgency of your situation as the headache overtook you again.
"All right, talk quickly, then." He seemed concerned, but there was something unsure about his expression as well. 
"I'm going to kill the person I most care about: you." 
You took a breath, it was ragged and barely enough to push the headache down for the moment, as you used the brief moment of clarity to gauge what Astarion’s reaction. 
"Unless you can stop me." A faint glimmer of hope mingled with your voice as you practically pleaded with him. Astarion was a capable enough fighter, surely stopping you would be an easy enough feat.
"How flattering, And disturbing" he smiled "You could have talked to me before things got murderously bad, you know. We are technically in this together." He was using sass to cover nerves that you couldn’t help but notice. It was so like him even in the face of danger "It certainly puts the death of dear, sweet Alfira into some perspective." Those were the last words you heard before your vision blurred and your head grew into a dizzy blur and you fainted.
But when you awoke you were not in control, it was like watching from a window all you could do was try and tap on the glass. You tried your best to resist hurting him…although you realized quite quickly you were bound by your hands and feet. It gave you some relief to know that you could do little to rebel in this state. 
"This thing won't have you. It won't win." You hoped those words were true. You tried your best to resist again expressing understanding. Instead your body reacts with a will of its own, it tried to bite at him. Which would have almost been funny any other time but now…now all you wanted to do was scream out in frustration.
"Ah ah ah! We ask before we bite.” He took this better than you expected, with a sigh he spoke again "You're cute, you know. In another life we might have been friends." Those words felt flippant in the moment, but you could tell there was an underlying sadness to them. If you’d been of your right mind you would have tried to comfort him. But comforting anyone was beyond you at the moment. All you could do was fight against your binding and your urge as it drove you to struggle against the bindings the kept you from hurting anyone, including yourself.
"Easy now, darling, You've got this. And I've got you." Those words gave you a strange comfort and a boost of determination. Feeling another wave of the urge you tried your best to resist and this time managed to express a sliver of thankfulness for his words.
"You'd do the same to me. Now just relax - dawn isn't far off." He wasn't wrong about that, as much as it was hard to admit he knew you better than you'd like to admit at times. The night passed on and without any bloodshed, a mercy from the gods. You once again returned to your mind, scared and exhausted.
Then, almost on cue, Astarion came to free you from your bindings. He sat in front of you, and a look of embarrassment crept onto your face as he spoke.
"I felt bad for the bard, seeing you like that. Poor Alfira never stood a chance, did she?" It wasn't really a question even if he posed it as one because the answer was clear as day. "Now that you're back with us," he paused, "We need to have a talk."
You had dreaded this moment but he was right. You needed to talk about this whether you wanted to or not. You sighed before trying to speak, but the words ended up getting caught in your throat. Suddenly you realized there were tears falling down your cheeks. You were unable to hold it back any longer. Any sort of strong front you had put on up unto this point faded in an instant and you were sat in front of him sobbing.
Concern formed on the man's face and he adjusted himself to get a little closer before asking "May I....may I touch you?" His words were gentle and meant to be calming - although almost anything said in his voice was calming. You gave him a nod. You weren't sure what he was going to do exactly but when he gently wrapped his around your shaking body in a similar fashion to how you had hugged him a few nights prior. Those tears started to flow even more. Nestling your head in the crook of his neck, tears wetted his rather flowy camp shirt.
"Sh, sh, you can let it all out." Those words caused the tears to flow even harder. Had you really been holding in all of this for so long? You didn't know. All you did know was that you really needed this: A gentle comfort from someone you loved so deeply as him. After a moment, he tentatively stroked your hair. Although you couldn’t help but wonder if his hesitation was because he wasn’t sure how to actually comfort someone or if he just didn’t want to overstep any boundaries. It didn’t really matter all that much, you didn’t care, you appreciated that he even tried in the first place.
The two of you stayed like that for a while, him just stroking your hair and holding you while you let out all the tears you needed to get out. By the time you could finally talk again your eyes were red and puffy, but he would never say a thing about it. As you removed yourself from his body, but only enough so you could get a look at his face he instinctively raised a hand up to caress your cheek before stopping but your answered his silent question by leaning into it. He wiped away some of your tears before gently running his thumb over your cheek. It was a soft gesture and much needed, his touch was welcome in that moment.
"So then, are you ready to talk now, or do you need to stain my shirt more first?" he joked. A small chuckle made its way across your lips, and a smile found its way to his lips as well.
"I suppose I am...I know I owe you an explanation" you sighed.
"You don't owe me anything” he corrected  “But I would like an explanation." 
You gave him a nod. He was right, of course. But considering you did almost kill him, explaining seemed like the least you could do.
You told him everything about “the dark urge” as you had taken to calling it. Well, everything you could remember. He sat there and listened patiently. But his face gave way to no emotion, no emotion, no fear just…..understanding.
Once you finished explaining, he replied, "You are not alone in this - none of us are. We can even compare notes if you like." His comforting words made you feel like a monster, it was refreshing. 
You looked his face over, before you leaned into his hand again, closing your eyes as sadness began to overtake you. "You know you're allowed to hate me for this...I know I would" Your self-loathing rearing its ugly head, you couldn't help it; as much as his comfort was nice to hear the fact of the matter was you felt like a monster. Just some attack dog meant only to destroy everything and anything in your path.
"I don't hate you..because this," he made sure you kept eye contact during these words, his gaze was intense fully focused on you in this moment "This is not you" The words rang through you, and you wanted more than anything for that to be true…but it was hard to believe when killing just felt so natural to indulge in and it was just so easy to let the urge do the work. But in this moment you had to take him at his word; because if you didn't you were sure you were going to start sobbing again.
He pressed his forehead to yours before speaking again "Whatever this is though, you will get through it. And I will be here to make sure you do." A promise you hoped would be true.
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