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gerdy-sertorius · 2 months

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The Definitive Damsel Analysis (if I do say so myself)

(Disclaimer: I know it’s absurdly long, and for that I apologize. I apparently am more unwilling to make cuts than I am to present subpar work. I’m working on it. Only editing I do for my autistic ramblings is copyediting, baby! Whoo! I will be updating this for the Pristine Cut once it comes out and we get even *more* Damsel. Obviously, as I’m sure you can tell from the length, I really like Damsel. There will be all of the bias. It will be great.)

(Author’s Note: For the love of the most high God, it took me like twenty read throughs for me to standardize what I wanted to call the Scorched Grey. Here is a brief list of all the terms I used to refer to her: Scorched Grey, Burned Grey, Burning Grey, Fire Grey, Damsel Chapter 3. Sometimes but not always preceded by “the” or “The”.)

Alright, ladies and gentlemen. I have oft made the statement on here that Damsel is the best route in the game, and this began as me trying to definitively prove that, by microscopically going through the route, I could establish exactly why, it would seem, that Damsel has objective superiority. It sorta… evolved, though, so instead I will be going relatively chronologically throughout, and trying to point out a couple things that all of you know about and maybe a couple things you don’t about the best character in the game. With that preamble out of the way, let’s begin with the goofy stuff, the grab bag if you will.

This will certainly be more personal taste than anything else, but I do think there’s a lot of miscellaneous stuff that Damsel does better than the other chapters. For example, I am convinced that it has the third best music, behind Tower and her routes and then Thorn. I am genuinely obsessed with “It Was Always That Easy”. The basement has some *fantastic* art, and I think that really carries a chapter that is otherwise generally bland when it comes to actual visual activity. It’s really carried by its genuinely perfect dialogue.

Overall, and most importantly, this chapter is the undisputed master of the idea of positive ambience. You know elevator music? How it’s there to artificially increase the cheeriness of an otherwise dreary moment, like a hotel hallway or, yanno, an elevator? Well, this is the chapter that does it perfectly. Everything is designed to make it “nicer” than it actually is. The Narrator even takes that into account when describing the basement. The sound design is fresh and relaxing, the music is uplifting, the Princess’s voice is obviously fantastically done, but also the Voice of the Smitten plays a large role in making it feel “good”. It’s something that exists in order to communicate exactly the feelings it wants the player to feel, which is all warm and fuzzy inside. But let’s move on to the actual content, shall we?

Damsel has *the* best Chapter One and it isn’t even close. Certainly not in the horror department, where I think Beast and Nightmare shine, or even in the whole characterization bit, where the award can only go to Spectre and the masterclass that is her Chapter One. But Damsel has something else to it. Damsel has tragedy, almost Shakespearean in nature. Nobody else has it (except Witch, to some extent, but nowhere close to the same level), nobody manages to reach that connection, there and then broken, to honestly feel for both Princess and Slayer. Allow me to paint a picture of a playthrough.

You are on a path in the woods. At the end of that path is a cabin. In the basement of that cabin is a princess. You are here to slay her. But you don’t do that. That voice itching in the back of your skull, the one you quite literally call Hero, your moral compass even, raises some objections. You don’t want to kill *anybody*. That isn’t something you want to mark yourself with, especially not solely on the word of an individual you just met. For now, violence is a nonstarter.

You enter the cabin. And you hear her voice. And you see her. You even talk with her for a while. The moment is… hypnotizing. Despite the Narrator’s warning of manipulation, well, you cannot help but be manipulated. This is a genuinely nice, sweet, scared Princess who simply wants to be free. You have to save her. It is the right thing to do, it is the… only thing to do. Anything else marks you with the dirtiness of simply being unwilling to help someone in need when you had the full ability to.

You go to get a key. Unsuccessful. The door locks. Even worse. The Narrator is moving from irritating to downright malicious, clearly enjoying recounting the lock of the door. Disgust for Him has been present since you entered the cabin, but it shifts to anger very quickly. That shift continues with full force as you attempt with what little ability you have to save the Princess, even if you don’t quite know how you will get out. The question does not last long. For the shift to anger shifts once more, to a sort of incomprehensible fury.

For the Narrator has crossed a line. Not only has he taken away any semblance of choice, not only has he raised your own knife against an innocent, someone who has been nothing but kind to you, but you are the one who must bear the shame for it. You are the only one who is doing the foul deed in any eyes but your own. Speaking of, the Princess’s eyes are filled with genuine happiness at the moment, as you are finally giving her the freedom she has yearned for such a long time. Yet through no fault of your own, you raise the pristine blade, the one you refused to bring down to the basement in the first place. You scramble through the list of options, attempting to find anything that could provide a sliver of hope in the situation, anything without the grim finality of “Slay the Princess”.

At last, you find one, and are able to bark out a warning to the Princess. That happiness in her eyes is shifted to a look of fear, one directed at you alone, one condemning you with such a sorrowful betrayal that it almost hurts to see. She begs for you to stop, and then she says something that almost calms the internal storm of the player: “Please, I know this isn’t you.” She recognizes that it isn’t us that betrayed her, she understands that we aren’t trying to do this, that we are flat-out trying to stop it. But the eye of that storm is passing, and soon.

And as she takes the blade, as she prepares to do what she must to live, that same look of tragic betrayal crosses her eyes, this time not directed at us, but at herself. She hates that this is her only option, the only way that she can live is to kill another, one with every intention of freeing her and no intention of harming her. And in the end, she simultaneously underscores the tragedy of the moment while confirming our perception that she could never be a threat to the world. As she plunges the blade into our chest, she has failed to even do the bare minimum of making our death painless, something that fills her with even more guilt, tears streaming down her cheeks as she tries and fails to end our own agony. The last thing we see of her are her endless cascade of both tears and apologies, as everything goes dark.

This… is beautiful. A glorious tragedy, one with limited theming, simply two characters with emotions that feel natural. And, quite strangely, the first chapter has almost nothing to do with the second chapter. But it is still important. I’ll get to that later. Better things await now! For with the end of the tale of the Hero and the Princess, we have a new individual, everyone’s favorite buddy, the Voice of the Smitten.

I am certain I do not need to underscore just how popular Smitten is. Easily the most fan favorite of the fan favorites, especially solidifying his place within that roster with the Kiss from a Thorn. He is jovial, passionate, he is Don Quixote, complete with the unlimited self-delusion that comes with the territory. There’s a reason people love him. Romantic in a game entitled a love story, the largest of personalities in a game stuffed with them, he is the storybook hero come to life in a game that has just as much reverence for storybook heroes as the deconstructions of them. In short, he is the visage of likability itself, with all the bombast that comes with that. Yet that is only from a wholly external perspective.

For what I am certain I do need to underscore is just how sinister Smitten is. For all of his likability, the Smitten is also probably the single slimiest voice out of all of them with the possible exception of the Opportunist. This is not a new revelation – people have understood that since the beginning with his frankly disturbing behavior regarding the Princess. What is perhaps more interesting is his relationship with the player. For he is one of the two options that reflect the player at this point within the story. Either the player is trying to do the right thing and free an innocent, or they have somewhat… different motivations.

The former reflects the Hero. Somewhat naive, in many routes somewhat bumbling even, but first and foremost focused on the external. That is, “how can I make a positive impact on the world around me?” As contradictory as it may seem to how the Hero is presented, it’s something of an intellectualist approach. The Hero is trying to find the best possible world and working towards that with all of his might. It is, one could say, devoid of emotion except that determination to change the world, to make it a better place. While the goal remains the same, the path to get there is fundamentally continuously being calculated. The Hero is your conscience, and as such he must *always* work overtime for that.

The Smitten is not that. No, he has made no secret that he is the path of passion. Even when he is generally considered to be a better person, he declares that, “Whatever world would condemn two star-crossed lovers to a cycle of violence and despair isn’t a world worth saving.” His focus is internal, it is on ourself and our romance. There is no extensive study into what is the correct option, there is only what would assist in our relationship, which is somehow ordained by the universe. To put it into understandable terms, Hero is a modern hero while Smitten is a Romantic-era hero.

There’s an important line when going down the stairs that I think speaks volumes about the type of player and playthrough currently occurring. That is “We can still do right by her without all this over-the-top fawning.” *That* is the line of demarcation between the route of the Hero and the route of the Smitten. If you decide to embrace or repudiate the Smitten at that point, I think the route is sealed. I am convinced that the game will continue on in a fixed way based on that philosophy. The point where you must, internally that is, decide if you are doing this out of a desire for what is right, or an infatuation with the Princess.

Now, of course there isn’t anything wrong with taking the path of the Smitten, and it’s personally one of my top points in the game, but whether you admit it or not, you are long past morality being what decides your actions. That has come and gone. Now, the goal is to express the passion of the moment and delve into your romantic relationship with the Princess. I’ll be evaluating each of the routes differently, loosely organized with a focus on how it reacts to the player. After that, I’ll go on into theming of each route one by one and all that jazz.

The path of the Smitten first. The player embraces that he has been sent to save the Princess from her unjust and foul imprisonment above all else. So that is what he does. He marches downstairs, the blade being nothing but a passing afterthought as it is immediately dismissed out of hand. When it comes to the crucial point of “doing right by her”, the justification is made that two things can be done at once, that you can do this for her and do a little bit of fawning on the way. Doesn’t harm anyone.

And with that the basement arrives, and you see the Princess on the floor. She is perfect in all ways. There is nothing wrong with her. And that’s before you start talking to her. When you do begin talking to her, all of the kindness and innocence from Chapter 1 are magnified to the greatest degree possible. She can do no wrong. And, from a meta standpoint, there’s another thing that stands out – it is really, *really* funny. From everything the Smitten says to the “Then I didn’t end the world!” to the Narrator’s (a villain at this point) growing exasperation at your trust for the Princess, it endears you to the moment even more.

Because it’s not only that it’s funny. It’s not only that the Princess is genuinely nice to you. It’s something more than that. Something that I am loath to talk about but will anyway. The Princess is incredibly – *sigh* – **cute** within this chapter. This is objective, with science to back me up, I’m sure. But she is specifically designed to be as heartwarming as possible, and every line makes her more and more into someone who should be saved by you, into, well, a Damsel. While it isn’t explicitly stated, throughout the progression of dialogue, the need to protect her becomes more pronounced. You were already primed to like the Princess, you already internally committed to a romantic future. But after stepping into the bear trap willingly, you cannot escape.

And if you’re anything like me, you are perfectly fine with that. So you take in the moment, you rescue her from her chains and laugh at the way her hands slipped out of the chains and the Narrator’s comical anger at it. It’s all very feel-good, all cleanly written dialogue, and both the Princess and the Smitten are likable, they’re fun, and the Narrator is a fun enough villain for the Smitten and you to unite against. The Hero, if we’re being honest, barely registers, and if he does it’s usually as an extension to the Narrator, as a foil to yourself. And with her finally free, she embraces you, sealing the deal on her perfection.

And after that, something else happens. The deconstruction begins. You want to see if her dialogue has any more of that saccharine present throughout the rest of the chapter, and are immediately rewarded with the “The princess closes her eyes in deep reflection” and the follow up joke. Hungry for more, you click through some more of the dialogue, but something begins to happen. She begins to… unwind. The Smitten seems to reciprocate in turn, to a lesser extent. In fact, she really starts to return to the horror that this chapter was a nice respite from. So you cut your losses, decide to leave with her, and everything returns to normal. Bathed in the glow of your future, you immediately forget about the deconstruction.

After that, you finally get out of the basement, get a genuinely great moment opening the door alongside the Princess, never think twice about clicking “You’re not doing that.” as fast as humanly possible, and finally await the door at the end of the cabin. You finally get your fairytale ending. The princess goes out into the world together with you. You brought her out. And then she is taken by the Shifting Mound in a way reminiscent of her dying. Even if this wasn’t your first playthrough, it still comes as a shock. For the most part, you were being that Romantic hero, living in the moment with your passion. The thought of this happening was gone entirely. This wasn’t supposed to happen. And it *hurts*. And the chapter is over.

The route of the Hero has a different point of view on the whole situation. That’s not to say it’s not easy to get drawn in by the hilarious dialogue and sheer cuteness of the Princess – far from it. It is, after all, what drives the conflict within this. For the Hero, and the player that goes along his path, has one bit of information stand out. That the world ended after the Princess killed you. Now, you can naturally be skeptical of the information, but the Princess isn’t helping her case here. Entirely vague, entirely unwilling to mention anything about it. The only thing she seems to care about is getting on your good side.

Now, you still want to save her. That much is clear. You still don’t take the knife in the beginning, and you saw her Chapter 1 incarnation. She is still a good person, kind and loving. But there are questions raised, important questions. Which is why not all Hero routers get the same ending. There is a conflict between how far you’re able to go before the risk of the world ending eclipses your distrust of the Narrator and your trust of the Princess. If the whole world really does end if she’s free, is it worth it? And as such you get to the major points of the Hero ending.

The first is the Deconstructed ending. As you question the Princess, you desperately try to figure out what the best way to go forward is for you. And that starts with getting a straight answer from the Princess on what exactly she plans on doing. The operation… does not go well. As you try and push for anything, any sign that she isn’t going to end the world, the same rejoinder comes in, alongside a distorted track. “I just want to make you happy.” The Princess is not an individual anymore, and begins to change shape. But you are locked in with a horrified inability to look away, like one who sees a car accident. And with that, the Princess is a Princess no longer, and the Shifting Mound takes her away.

There’s also the option of taking the Hero’s advice when confronted with the scenario: to leave. You don’t like what’s going on and you try to do whatever you can to undo the doing. Perhaps surprisingly, it works. And then you’re forced to deal with the cognitive dissonance of the Princess and *that* being the same individual. But you, not without a healthy dose of skepticism, still head upstairs alongside the Princess. In the end, you can’t bring yourself to kill her. Throughout it all, she still has been the beautifully endearing picture of innocence, if a questionable one, and especially with regards to the knife on the table, there is no way you can take it to her chest with no warning, especially after everything you did in the first Chapter. So you leave with her, and the “end of the world” really does come in one fell swoop with the call of the Shifting Mound. You can’t help but wonder if the decision you made was the right one, not really. Like, you still believe she didn’t deserve to die, but maybe, just maybe, it would have been a better ending.

So what if you did kill her? What happens when love *truly* melts away into skepticism. After the continuous question dodging and whatever the… other thing was, this is clearly not an ordinary Princess, it is not the same Princess that you tried to save at the beginning. There is only a sliver of her, a shadow of her former self. Slaying her, well, slaying her is probably doing her a favor. It might be doing the world a favor, too. Maybe she is an individual with malicious intent. And as you take the blade and plunge it into her chest, you instantly know you made the wrong decision. She does not oppose it. She simply lets you kill her with a single tear hanging in her eye, saying “I think this is what you want.” It’s meant to feel dirty and it does, even heartbreaking in the moment, although it is immediately counterbalanced by the effect of the Smitten killing you over it.

I won’t exactly go over Scorched Grey the same way, I think there’s generally only two frames of mind going into it, and that’s either the standard “Hero-Skeptic” framework that I’ll expand on later, or simply a completionist mindset. Plus, it’s technically not The Damsel. Plus I’m lazy. But this is the point where I will try to expand on the theming of each and every route and mindset to go through within the Chapter, and that *will* include the Scorched Grey theming.

It’s made quite clear from the chapter that one of the primary themes is objectification, the making of the Princess into nothing more than a vehicle to live one’s fantasy into. The taking of an individual and making them into an it. The destruction of humanity by your own desire, and what that says about your desires in the first place. Ironically, this is merely one fourth wall away from the rest of the Princesses, each of them being a piece of fiction that many simply engage with *because* they are an object, but with the Damsel it is directly nodded to within the narrative. One meta-layer is peeled back, if you will.

Nothing hammers this more home than the entirely jarring line that escapes the Shifting Mound’s lips when you ask about the vessel she holds. Unlike the rest of the fragments, which are all given an indication that they have been fulfilled after the Shifting Mound takes them, the only note she has to say is that the Damsel has “served her purpose”. There is nothing that she wished for, as anyone who has obtained the deconstructed ending can attest to. But even in the more standard runs, she is simply a tool to be used and discarded. And there are three general reactions to this line.

The first is the hardcore Smitten route’s preferred choice, denial. “The Princess was far more than an object, she had character, she had kindness, she had motivations from the beginning! The narrative is what is wrong, there’s nothing wrong with the Princess. She. Is. Perfect. Not just from a narrative standpoint but a metanarrative one as well. She has depth, she *is* a character.” All in the hopes that if they insist on it enough, it will become true. The Damsel was not designed to be viewed in a vacuum. There are themes that run through her character, and including negative ones, and the denial of them is a far truer denial of the character than any sort of objectification could ever be.

Then the more moderate Smitten routers get a different response. A slap in the face. They did all of this, they had fun, they laughed with her, they cried when she was taken. They were connected to her, they had a real connection to what she was. One could even accuse them of… loving her. They honest to goodness cared about this Princess, they were invested in her story. Yet, in the end, they also formed her around themselves. They “molded her to love you”. As much as they loved the Princess, that was only because they cut out a piece of the Shifting Mound that they *could* love, a caricature of her true nature. They still took an individual, and despite truly loving her, made her into something that she was not so they could do that very thing. She is not a person. She is a plot device, an individual made to love and be loved with nothing beyond that. She is an object.

Lastly, those who went on the route of the Hero get that same slap in the face, that selfsame bucket of water poured over their heads, but in a different way. They didn’t try to objectify her. They didn’t want anything of the sort. All they wanted to do was the right thing. Right? Yet even in that desire to do the right thing, they still get that same chilling text from the Shifting Mound. They have built an individual just like those who went on the route of the Smitten. Just a different one. Not one who was built around your “glorious romance”, but rather one built around something of a glorious Romance. The need to be a Hero. The desire to do what was right, to save an unjustly imprisoned Princess. The Princess became a plot device in the end anyway, just one that needed to be saved rather than one who needed to be loved.

I want to continue off of that. The player is trying to do nothing more than the right thing, he is simply doing what a Hero should. And that determination to do what is right leads to him getting impacted the most by that line in the ending, the line that implies that whatever right he was doing, he was still being driven by selfishness, by that need to be a Hero. That hits the player right within where it hurts, it almost could be said to strike at the one emotional vulnerability of them. To have your hard work, your pain, your desire for what is right to be considered nothing more than the delusions of a Don Quixote tilting at windmills in order to fight giants, just as lost as Smitten, that doesn’t feel too great. It almost minimizes your struggle, and it is genius. You play as a Hero because you want to feel like a Hero, not because the morality of this world means anything to you. It is stripping that meta-layer down one by one.

But objectification is not the only theme present. While it may seem like something of a potpourri topic to throw in, earlier on the server we were talking about the Damsel in particular’s perceptiveness with regards to perception. When the door shuts and locks, it is the first and only time the Princess gets visibly **negative** in any way during the entirety of the Chapter. Even when you kill her, she still does so with nary a frown on her face. Even as a tear rolls down her cheek, she still smiles. But not at the door. The narration points out quite clearly that she frowns. This is, I reiterate, the only thing that happens. And her response is not “we’re stuck down here”, it is not “I’m unable to leave now”.

What it is happens to be “that’s not supposed to happen”. She recognizes the construct in a way very few allude to within the game. Adding onto that note, within the Scorched Grey chapter, she (correctly) determines the very nature of the construct and that inherent “cycle of violence and despair” inherent to it, even (correctly) determining that the only way to leave was to annihilate that very construct. This is shown even clearer at the other major event at the door. When you ask if the Princess can open the door, the sole question she throws back at you is “Do you think I can?”, and after a response in the affirmative, “Then I can”. In the end, it is quite clear that she is, *heavily* ironically, one of the more aware characters in the game with regards to your circumstance.

While speaking of the Scorched Grey, I think this route also exemplifies another major theme – the nature of the Princess as a being of perception. All routes exemplify one facet of the Shifting Mound: Spectre represents the gravity of her, Tower her divinity, Prisoner the very incarnation in and of itself of her within the construct, and so on. Damsel has something different, though, and that is that she’s just a slippery little fella. Far more than anybody else, Damsel changes throughout her chapters, in ways more pronounced than anybody else. The Shifting Mound declares that we “molded her to love you”, as I quoted previously. That molding takes stage front and center throughout all of our interactions with her.

The most obvious example is her deconstruction, which when her sole true motivation (to leave) is discarded, she begins to break down, unable to offer to the player anything beyond the only desire every other Princess has. With the compulsive need to love the player, etched into her core, there is nothing she can do other than try to add to that love, losing herself within the process. But that is not the only time she changes. Because she is willing to give up that freedom in, well, a heartbeat. Attempting to kill her does not lead to any sort of resistance from her. The one goal she had, staying alive and winning her freedom, is out the window despite being (questionably) willing to kill for it in the last chapter. Now, throughout the Scorched Grey, it’s made clear that she did not, in fact, want to die, that she just wanted to be free together, but the complete unwillingness to save her own life is a stark contrast to the first chapter.

In fact, that perpetually changing nature alongside her being so objectified means that it’s really, *really* hard to figure out her true character. There is very little in her that does not change and very little remaining that isn’t specifically put there by you. She is an eel, wriggling out of your grasp and impossible to pin down, in a large way like the Shifting Mound herself. But… for the most part, there are two facets to her character beyond the already listed themes. And a sharp divide between them.

Chapter One Damsel and Chapter Two Damsel are not the same person. That’s usually true for most of them, but they also usually have some semblance of similarity between their counterparts. The only exceptions I can think off the top of my head are Spectre and *maaybe* Stranger if you want to count that. The rest of them act as exaggerated versions of the existing individuals shown. Chapter One Adversary likes fights. Chapter Two Adversary likes fights. Chapter One Witch is built on the back of distrust. Chapter Two Witch is built on the back of distrust. Everything lines up nicely.

That is not the case for the Damsel. The only thing that you can say with both of them is that they are nice and do not want to hurt you. The Chapter One incarnation (henceforth Princess) is a tragedy of a character that doesn’t want to kill you but still must to secure her own life and freedom against a renegade puppeting you. The Chapter Two incarnation (henceforth Damsel) is a Horror-”Feel-Good”-Comedic-Tragic character that shows nothing about the emotional anguish she went through in chapter one. I love both of them, but they have an unmatched disconnect. And I think that sort of adds to the character. Now, there is absolutely a benefit from an emotional through-line (there’s a reason Thorn is my second-favorite chapter), but in this case, only brief touches to the beginning enhance the story.

The most striking thing is the sense of comedic horror that comes when Damsel just completely ignores any expected trauma from the Princess’s emotional destruction. It, depending on the route you take, either makes you love her character more and more as the humor begins to entrap you, or it begins the process of getting the player unnerved, exactly like the developers wanted. It is a key dividing point in the mindset of the player and the route that they have chosen. The Damsel says nothing about what happened, heck, she barely acknowledges it except to indicate that “You died!”

Secondly, it sets up Damsel as a sympathetic figure while still allowing her to begin establishing herself. Without the setup from the Princess, the player has no idea how to view Damsel, potentially even seeing her as a less on-the-nose Razor, with her comedically hiding her sinister intentions. The Princess allows the player to begin on a note that the Princess is *actually* friendly rather than simply pretending to be so. At the same time, it’s divorced enough that apart from that frame of reference at the beginning, Damsel is still allowed to shine within her own character.

Lastly, and most importantly, it sets her up for the Scorched Grey. The guilt at causing the death of an innocent and the belief that you would be unable to cause the death of an innocent yourself leads her to blame the construct and attempt to bring it down, which seals your fate in the third Damsel chapter, the only time where the two chapters meet in a beautiful climax of Passion going too far and causing pain, in attempt of running away from that very thing, morphing into something that not even the Smitten is able to remain devoted to in an awful tragedy of love being not enough in the end.

Wait, wait, wait. Did I hear “the end” being spoken? At this time of year? Localized entirely within this essay? Well then, it’s time to talk about what puts this saga at pure perfection, shall we? I probably could just use the awesome power of Ctrl + V to get the desired effect, but I still do want to offer my narration, so I’ll compromise and do a bit of both. “Your lover drives a stake into your body. And another. And another. And another. And another. Do I miss your heart because I cannot stand to see it go? But the stakes meant nothing to you. You had a desire, and you set that desire free, you lifting me and me lifting you, forever and ever and ever, consumed by true belief, there was nothing that could hold us back.”

Do I even need to explain why that’s so good? Definitively the best poem in the end, it isn’t even close, especially when coupled with Ms. Goodnight’s awe-inspiring delivery. Did I say that the Scorched Grey was the perfect synthesis of the Princess and the Damsel? I was lying. This is. Every word so lovingly placed, the language sounds like it comes from the pen of God Himself. It is emotionally resonant, the art is beautiful, I have not run into such a short piece of dialogue that outdoes it. Gonna be honest, mostly just wrote up this essay to gush about it. Even now, it is considered by most everyone to be one of the best lines of dialogue in a game filled with magnificent ones.

And the other one, that of the Scorched Grey. It’s simpler, ironically. “I kill you. You kill me. Back and forth we go, faster and faster and faster. I kill you. You kill me. Hollow eyes watch from the dry corners of a memory. A home built on all of the futures that were supposed to be, preserved until the moment of reunion. The fire of the heart sets it all ablaze. I kill you and me.”

This, this right here is one of the most slept on ending poems and it’s not even funny. So fantastic at expressing the heartbreak inherent to the Scorched Grey’s character. I don’t know how you can see the line “A home built on all the futures that were supposed to be”, especially with the Scorched Grey dead and charring in a wedding gown, and not feel *something*. It’s not as good as the standard Damsel stuff, but then again, nothing is. It’s still deserving of more praise than it currently receives, and one of my top three ending poems of all time, only edged out by Prisoner. Gosh, this game belongs in a museum.

Seems I need to debunk some stuff that happens to get a lot of traction regarding those who speculate on Damsel, too. First of all, her character motivation is not guilt nor gratitude. That sort of thing works incredibly well in fanworks, and I’m happy to see it ~~because that means I get to see Damsel in a fanwork~~. It has little to no backing within canon. Damsel is a chapter about the only motivations for the Princess being those put in place by the objectification of the player. There is nothing regarding anything beyond that, and it detracts from the existing, well-elucidated themes that are actually within the chapter. The only sort of substance to them is both Chapter 1 Princess and Scorched Grey indicating guilt for killing you, but that is almost entirely repudiated within the actual Chapter 2.

Speaking of the Scorched Grey, another thing I saw somewhat extensively is that you somehow “taught her” that killing is the way to love one another, and that’s why she kills you in Chapter 3, and I honestly do not know how that gained any traction at all. It’s pretty clear that she views all the death as a pretty terrible and messed up thing and only kills the two of you to escape the cycle of death. It’s spoken of as a means to an end, not an end in and of itself. I am genuinely confused on how this got started, because it really just… opposes the main *in-narrative* themes of the Chapter??? Like, you don’t even have to analyze it, it’s just within the text, plain and simple.

Anyway, I deeply apologize for the length of this once again, look forward to an appendix when Pristine Cut comes out. I’ve already played it because my uncle works at Black Tabby, but I don’t want to spoil it for you gents. If my opinions change massively after playing through the new update from today, I will change that too. Anyway, Damsel is the best character, literally does not do a single thing wrong within any of her chapters, has definitively the best Shifty stuff, and you should invest in her. As more people vocally become willing to throw money at anything related to Damsel, the likelier it is that we get Damsel merch. I need it so badly. Please. Anyway, if anything stands out to you or you disagree, I am begging you to tell me to get my act together and explain what I said wrong, so do that. Also please.

#slay the princess #the damsel #the princess #black tabby games #I spent an ungodly amount of time writing this up #But I honestly think this could be the be all end all work for this tiny character in a tiny game #Also #Seriously #Play Slay the Princess

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yandere-kokeshi · 2 years

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Yandere Kokushibo Headcanons

Warnings: Yandere behavior, blood mention, tying up action/mentions, quiet treatment actions/mentions, human-heart/blood mention.

Author Note: I wrote this on my phone and I did not check for mistakes, please excuse me! I also wanna say towards the end gets to random headcanons as I didn’t know what else to add!!

Kokushibo is a fearful demon, only showing respect to those who deserve it and coldly admonishing those who he believes are weak or not worth his time. But, only does he show appreciation to Muzan, at times; rare-like demons and humans. However and somehow, you caught his attention, and now, you suffer the consequences of the Demon who is head over heels for you.

There’s two (2) ways of getting the Upper Moon One (1)’s attention, either you were a Hashira: an intelligent, fast, and strong one at that. A strong swordsman who wasn’t afraid to try to fight him, let alone get hurt or killed in the process of fighting him. Or, someone who was as skilled but refused to spar and was very kind towards him, even knowing who and what he was. You knew the lengths of damage that could possibly come if you decide to fight him, even declining to turn into a demon once he offered, stating that it would be useless.

Either way, he found you amusing; extremely pretty, and an odd feeling in his chest that awakened once he first interacted with you, let alone talked with you; even if it was for a few minutes. He was beyond perplexed by this, which slowly drove him to his obsession towards you.

The way he fell for you was ‘unknown’, but one thing he did know was that everything about you made his head spin. Everytime he thought of you, or saw you; he was hit with a wave of unknown nostalgia. It annoyed him greatly, though; it did interest him deeply, seeing that he felt a connection to you, almost like you two somewhat knew each other.

From there on, he would stalk you like a prey, following your every move to make sure you’re not in trouble, and to learn everything about you. Whether that was you on a mission to slay a lousy demon, or on a peaceful walk to a town; he is behind a few feet, watching you with cold eyes. Within a few weeks of interacting with him, he would know everything about you: your favorite color, food, to your preferred sleeping position and sleeping clothing; this would also include a few of your weaknesses and hobbies to try to court you once he takes you ‘home’.

Kokushibou is very possessive, due to his past; he gets very jealous of others, believing you two were meant to be together: any partners, friends, or the person you accidentally ran into are killed or eaten by him. He hates the idea of someone else touching you, let alone talking to you; he vows you two were meant to be ‘by fate’. This also includes slaying any demons that may wanna come after you, if it’s an Upper Moon, he will threaten them to leave you alone as ‘he wants to eat you first’.

As he’s been alive for centuries, he uses his clever-like abilities to plan an ‘attack’ to kidnap you to keep you to himself. He would kidnap you around a few weeks of meeting you (3-6 weeks).

Possibly, after a harsh mission and coming back to your home exhausted; he would be there, sitting and waiting for you patiently. As soon as you take out your katana, he’s already behind you; tying you up (gently) with robes and throwing you over his shoulder whilst on the way to your shared home. The home that you two ‘live in’ is an abandoned-yet stable house that is miles, miles away from any signs of humans other than heavy and clouded fog on the high hills.

His yandere tendencies are overprotective, possessive, frighteningly-patient, and unpredictable. He doesn’t force you to do anything, including talking; he knows you might be mad by the fact he took you, but he needs you to understand. The room you woke up in is simple, rather with some things you enjoy having and a bundle of your clothes, that somehow, went ‘missing’. Sadly, you do have a chain around your ankles that prevent you from leaving the room(s); only able to reach the bathroom, living room, and the window(s).

He gives you time to adjust, never forcing you to do things, and allowing you to ask questions. As a way to get closer to you emotionally and physically, he tries to do things that will make you feel appreciated or welcomed. Such as: cooking your favorite meals, ‘buying’ you expensive clothes, or showing you slight affection. He’ll even offer to rearrange anything in the house that you prefer, wanting you to be as comfortable as possible.

Despite Kokushibo’s seemingly cold personality, he’s so incredibly caring and kind towards you; no matter how much you yell or try to ‘hurt him’. He never yells or snaps at you, rather just waits patiently for when you're done crying or yelling at him.

His way of affection is awkward, but comfortable-likewise. He never, ever touches you without permission. But once you allow it or agree to his question of asking: he becomes very touch-starved, reaching for your touch like a moth flying towards a lamp. He loves putting his hands around you anywhere that is deemed ‘respectful’: arms around your waist, holding your hands, and laying on your lap while you scratch his head, maybe playing with his hair. Rarely does he seem vulnerable, especially in front of the Demon King, but around you: he tends to let himself off guard and let him live a ‘normal life’ with you.

Kokushibo ‘buys’ you a lot of things: spoiling you with things you love. Whether that’s books, makeup, clothing, or drawing supplies; he’s willing to buy anything, including a whole stack of your favorite Ramen. However, it does depend on how you behave to receive the gifts he gets for you.

While on the conversation of rules, to add more: he’s not the strictest, but he does have bylaws in place that expects you to follow. All he wants you is to act nice, not plan on leaving or hurting him; but let him love you as it’s ‘supposed’ to be. But, if you decide to break them: he’ll be very disappointed. His way of punishment is never physical, more so emotional. Whatever you do, it is always the same: quiet treatment. The scary part is that he’s excellent at staying quiet.

If you’re being physical: trying to attack him in any way possible, he won’t really do anything besides allow you to hurt him; stating that you need to let your frustrations out. He keeps thinking in the back of his mind that it’s better than hurting yourself, plus; it doesn't really matter if you attack him, he’s a demon. Though, he will get tired of it; slowly grabbing your hands to hug you while kissing your forehead, whispering on how ‘You’re safe with me, I’m sorry but I love you’.

As stated above, he’s very patient; terrifying at it. If you decide to give him the quiet treatment back, he would just sigh and wait for you to break it off; not ‘really’ bothered by it. He, of course, loves your voice but at some point, he knows you will break off this ‘tantrum’ and want some attention of sorts.

The threats you throw at him are even more useless. Much like above, he isn’t affected by it; even if you call him a ‘monster’ or ‘disgusting’. He’d just sigh and ask bluntly if you’re done with the tantrum, cause you’re acting ‘childish’.

Now, if you have the thought of leaving, let alone have a plan to escape: he’s gonna be very disappointed with you. The most ‘extreme’ he will do is completely ignore you, you’d rarely see him; even at night. The only thing you’d see from time to time is him sharpening his katana at night before disappearing through thin air. Occantionaly, after he gets fed up with you, you will see him staring at you with a weird, irritated-like look before he locks eyes with you, asking ‘Are you done? I hate ignoring you’. The way he punishes you is the way he punishes himself, he loves being in your presence and something he’s severely addicted to; it pains him to do these to you.

He never, ever withholds food or any necessary needs from you; no matter how much you disobey. He knows that will make it a harder time for you to get used to him and your new surroundings. However, if you do continue misbehaving, he won’t cook your favorite food, give you five (5) blankets when in reality you only need two. He will take away anything that can make you feel ‘special’ in some-sort; removing your drawing supplies, extreme clothes, or games of sorts.

If you do behave, you will be spoiled like it’s your birthday. He will grant you with any wish you want, including the most utmost things (Ex. A human heart, a bag of blood, or expensive jewelry, etc). He even allows you to go outside with him watching over you, whether that was when you asked to take a walk or go to the shops; he’ll allow it, but he states he has to watch after you, even if he's jumping from building to building, smiling as if you're having a good time. Sadly, he won’t let you buy weapons, fearing you’ll hurt yourself.

Though, if you do somehow hurt yourself, Kokushibo will be a very worried mess but is somewhat-good at hiding it; he will bandage you up, offering to kiss your injury(ies) while baby-proofing the corners, walls, and doors to make sure you don’t get hurt again.

Now, Kokushibo is very possessive and protective over you, meaning he watches you like a hawk and never lets you out of his sight. He’s somewhat-paranoid, like someone is gonna come in and take you away from him. He hates if people look at you, especially the wrong way; he’s not afraid to get extremely dirty for you and will kill anyone that eye’s you with desire, or even talks to you with slight annoyance.

From time to time, he would accidentally hurt you; it’s rare however. He tends to forget about his own strength around you, grabbing you harshly or hugging you so tightly that you need to tell him to stop squeezing you. Of course, he feels bad but sometimes he can’t help himself because you’re so darn cute.

Kokushibo is a gentleman, meaning he would never force you to turn into a demon, unless you were in a serious situation (Ex. Dying from being ill, being attacked by a demon, or having a serious injury that related to you losing a lot of blood, etc); The offer is always on the table.

Whichever you choose, whether falling for Kokushibo or continuing to hate him; he won’t let you go and never stop loving you, not until his last breath.

—

Masterlist | Requests closed (7/18/2022)

Do not plagiarize, repost, modify, translate or copy my work.

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xo-lesserafim · 1 year

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FALLING FOR YOUR SMILE AND EYES

synopsis: As Kitty’s twin sister Andrea, going to K.I.S.S was so nice since they were able to go to Korea, and to learn more about their mom. Everything was so new but exciting, but what happens when one guy that catches your eye show you a new experience, Love🩷

STATUS: ON HOLD

Started: June 14, 2023/Ended: —

PAIRING : XO Kitty’s, Minho x fem!reader( Andrea Song Covey)

Genre: romcom, high school au , enemies to lovers( more to added)

WARNING: swearing, angst, reader as thoughts to kill her self , metions of alcohol, underaged drinking, kissing , making out?, and suggestive? ( please tell me if I’m missing anything

Authors Note: Hey everyone! This is my very first fanfic ( with some smau things). I am excited to show what I am planning<3 I am also not korean so please tell me if I did something wrong<3 But please note that I am 10-15 writing a cheesy, cringy fanfic so yea… I will also add extra stuff after the airplane scene in episode 10. So if you don’t like that please don’t read this<3 AND READ THE TEASER!

POV:First and maybe Third?

Extra:

Bold: Korean

Italics: Over the phone

Bold and Italics: Korean and over the phone

Teaser ———-> READ ( there is information to help)

Episode 1. XO

Episode 2. WTF

Episode 3. KISS

Episode 4. TGIF

Episode 5. TBH

Episode 6. BYOB Min ho Pov.

Episode 7. TIL

Episode 8. LFG

Epsiode 9. SNAFU

Episode 10. OTP

Epsiode 11. 😍

Episode 12. 📸

more to maybe come

Taglist: @chaewon-slays @cherrriesss @lysira340 @delulu4-life

(bold cant tag)

back to navigation

#min ho x reader #minho smau #netflix #to all the boys series #xo kitty #x reader #yn #reader insert #fem!reader #sang heon lee #minho x oc #minho x y/n #minho x you #x yn #xo lesserafim #fanfic #fanfiction #min ho x oc #min ho x y/n

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idialover · 9 months

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!!NSFW!!!

My friends and I have a tradition of playing "does this character have sex" whenever we get into a new piece of media, because we always enjoy everything together, and today we spent a few hours discussing TWST charactrs. They found out that I now have a Tumblr blog and told me I should "post our very scientific findings for the interwebs" (Note that we are all between the ages of 16-17, so in the same age group as the characters)

Heartslabyul (general judgement): The virgin one

Riddle: no, and he somehow doesn't even know what sex is. You'd think he'd know with how much he studies about everything you learn in school, so even sex-ed but no, he doesn't know

Ace: gray area, no bitches respectfully, except maybe Deuce, but we couldn't agree on that, he would treat it as "it's just a prank bro, no homo"

Deuce: yeah, sure, I mean he's pretty okay looking, not often tho

Cater: he seems like he'd be a dicord kitten or an insta-thot, he tries but doesn't really succeed, maybe once or twice.

Trey: no, because he actually wears a fedora, unironically. "he's as bland as the flour he uses in his cakes"-my friend#2

Savanaclaw (general judgement): Gahdayumm!!

Leona: YES! absoulutley 100% just look at him, but he'd be one of those lazy tops, is very casual about it, there isn't a lot to say because it's just so obvious that he is 100% a sex haver

Ruggie: Hard to say, he has an Italian souding name so maybe no, he hasn't yet discovered that he can earn quite a lot of money that way, or maybe he has (we couldn't agree on this)

Jack: gay wolf boyfirend fantasy so yes, big buff man go brrrr

Octavinelle (general judgement): ehhhh, fish go brrr

Azul: this was a very hard one to decide but in the end no, no real reason just doesn't seem like he would have it, he's on that alpha buisness grindset

Jade: Yes becazse friend#1 said so (she's a strong Jade stan) and everyone decided to let her have this one, but everybody else generally thinks he is Asexual (friend#1 is also ace)

Floyd: yes, he is bisexual in wicked and scheming ways and everybody is aware of that. Chaos bi, him and Jade are two side of a coin, all or nothing. He flirts by messing with people, mostly Riddle but as I've already said Riddle has no idea what's going on and just thinks Floyd has it out for him

Scarabia (general judgement): This was the hardest one to discuss

Kalim: He is very lovable, but no, for unknown reasons, boy has 0 rizz

Jamil: yeah, ig, normal 17 year old guy, he isn't basic like Trey, but he just doesn't have time because of Kalim

Pomefiore (general judgement): slayyy!

Vil: Yes, and his standards are surprisingly not as high as you'd think, we got very heated about how people often mischaracterize him as a very vain but he just wants people to be themselves and best version of themselves. Good for cardio

Rook: yes, in freaky kinky ways (see Rook alchemy card) he sometimes has touble finding people who are into the same stuff as him

Epel: no, beacause he is an "alpha male" in the worst ways possible

Ignihyde (General judgement): you'd think they be reddit mods, but they actually tumblr sexymen

Idia: yes, he has that disheveled rizz, the more they look like they haven't left the house since 2015 the better. We stan broken men in this household(blog), only on halloween tho that's when his confidence get's a bit better and he becomes and active member of society

Ortho: he is a robot based on a young child! NO!

Diasomnia (General judgement): oooh spooky~~

Malleus: yeah sure

Silver: gray are (they demanded I make that pun, pls forgive me)

Lillia: He is the most slay character, an old vampire/fae obviously yes. He has a lot of experience, best sex haver he's so amazing, Lillia for the win

Sebek: no

Staff (general judgement): a very mixed bag

Crowley: someone somwhere slept with him, he is kinda usless but he gets laid, look at his vacation outfit

Crewel: Definetly, high standards but he is correct, he gets to have high standards, he is the perfect man, not a DILF but also not not one

Trein: yes, loyal to his wife (rip tho), good husband 10/10 would trust him, good man

Vargas: Yeah, he's a typical good looking guy, he has never had a long term relationship but he doesn't want one

Sam: We debated for a long time and decided that yes he does have sex

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angel-eyes05 · 1 year

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bite the hand (chapter 2)

PREVIOUS CHAPTER

pairing: spider-woman!oc x miguel o’hara

summary: lorena's whole world was taken away from her in the blink of an eye, after she accidentally broke a canon event. lucky for her though, she was able to find a portal watch in her dimension and used it to get out before she glitched out of existence. unfortunately though, running from dimension to dimension, she's been named as an anomaly by the spider society. now, she's constantly on the run from them, their leader in particular. when she eventually gets caught though, she's recruited onto a mission to catch another anomaly who might be from her past. to her dismay though, her partner on this mission is her very captor. will she be able to stop arguing with him for long enough to get the job done?

info: enemies to lovers, maybe a slow burn depending on chapter count, oc is 24 and miguel is 27, both oc and miguel are super sad lmao, they're also both super violent so, they also hate each other what a slay, in regards to my oc you can read her character sheet right here

warnings: there might be spoilers for atsv in this so watch the movie before reading this, recreational drug use, blood mention, cursing, not much tbh

word count: 3.3k

notes: again, if you see me use "you" instead of "she/her" just ignore it i probably missed it while proofreading and it's instinct lol. this chapter took me so long for no reason idk why

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“I think you’re being too hard on yourself,” Eddie said, jumping onto Lorena’s bed next to her. Lorena took a long drag from her blunt and passes it to Eddie when he snuggles in next to her. “I don’t know. I just have so much work due by the end of this week and I don’t know how to get it all done,” she said, wiping her hands across her face. Eddie took a hit, set the joint onto the ashtray on Lorena’s nightstand and pressed soft kisses into the crook of her neck, wrapping his arms around her stomach. “You already get super good grades, I don’t see how you can’t just not turn in one assignment. Take a little break,” he says in between pecks.

She sighs. “I don’t know. You know how my aunt and uncle are.” They sit together in silence for a little bit, until Eddie presses his lips to her cheek and rolls of the bed. Lorena stared at him in confusion. “What are you doing?” she asked him. He looked through Lorena’s stack of records, pulled one out, and placed the vinyl onto the record player. Soft R&B music echoed throughout the room as Eddie walked back over to the bed, reaching out his hand for Lorena to take. She raised her eyebrow at him. “Just take it ok?” he said, a little annoyed. She sighed and put her hand into his as he helped her stand off the bed. He pulled her into him, placed a hand on her left hip, and put her into a swaying notion with him.

“God you must be so high Eddie, you never dance.”

“Will you just go with it?”

She sighed. “Fine.”

Lorena rested her head onto his shoulder and swayed with him to the rhythm of the song, the singer’s voice fading into the background with the rest of her bedroom as her senses melted away. She closed her eyes and all she could sense at this moment was him, wrapping both of his arms around her waist. He was right, this was definitely calming her down. Eddie Brock always knew how to get Lorena out of her bad moods. They’d known each other for such a long time that she had begun to think he knew her better than she knew herself.

There were some things he didn’t know about her though. Like how she had randomly gotten superpowers about a month ago and that was why she was spending less time with him recently. But if she were being honest with herself, it kind of felt like he was pulling away from her too.

She lifted her head from his shoulder and pressed her forehead to his. She brushed her thumb across his stubbled cheek, and locked her lips with his, his grip on her hips tightening. “Thank you,” she whispered to him once she pulled away. “Anything for you gorgeous.” She giggled a little bit and dug her head back into the crook of his neck. Her hiding place away from the world outside them

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

Lorena could see the neon orange illuminations from the insides of her eyes. Once she finally did open them up, the effects of the poison now wearing off, the harshness of the light nearly blinded her. What was that just then? A dream? No, a memory. One of her favorites too. Her childhood best friend turned boyfriend, who she then ended up accidentally killing. She didn’t know it was him inside that monster. She had tried not to think about him too often, overwhelmed with the guilt of her actions, despite whether her choice was the right one or not.

Her head rested up against whatever forcefield/cell she was currently in. She tried to move the rest of her body up as well, but stopped after her ribs sent an aching pain through her body in protest. She was still in her suit, so she couldn’t examine how bad her injury was yet, but she could tell it wasn’t good by how much blood she was coughing up earlier.

She took a look around her see through enclosure, trying to get a gauge of where she was. There were hundreds of other cages surrounding hers, only about half filled with people. Or creatures would be a better word to describe it. She felt as if she recognized some of them, such as a man with mechanical arms outstretched from his back, and a man with a lion vest. She sat there for a bit, taking everything in from her surroundings, her momentary peace interrupted when she started glitching again.

“I guess Jess forgot to give you the day pass while bringing you in.”

“¡Ay, carajo!” she exclaimed, her heart nearly jumping out of her chest. She turned her head to see a guy, speaking with a thick cockney accent, guitar slung across his back, just rolling around in a chair down the hallway. “A warning next time would be nice.” “I thought you saw me,” he said, uninterested.

“Hobie, could you stop conversing with the anomalies for five seconds?” This voice she recognized. The woman walked up from behind her cell up to who she assumed was the Hobie kid she was talking to. The woman was the same one who had debriefed Lorena when she first got shot into the wrong dimension, except this time she looked like she was pregnant. That must be Jess. “Just trying to make conversation,” Hobie said defensively. He played around with the watch on his wrist and opened up a portal to hop into whatever dimension he was heading into next. Jess rolled her eyes as another man followed up close behind her. The same man from earlier, still wearing that red and blue suit that was hurtful to the eyes. His mask was still covering his face. Both of them turned to face Lorena’s cage, causing her to slink further back into the corner instinctively, as if they were both about to eat her heart out.

“Not so tough now without somewhere to hide, are you?” the man mocked. “Sorry if I don’t find waking up in cage as the most warming welcome,” she snapped back. “What? Were you expecting flowers and a carriage, you little shit.” Jess smacked his arm quickly, almost as if he were a child being reprimanded by his mother.

“You’re a hard one to catch,” Jess said. “Your first instinct would probably also be to run if you found someone like him chasing behind you,” Lorena said, motioning to the man. He just stood there stoically. It pissed her off even more. She sighed. “Let’s just cut to the chase and skip the small talk and just tell me what you want fro-.” Her words were cut off by a harsh glitch. This one in particular stung around her ribs. She went into a slight coughing fit, and coughed up some extra blood into her hand after. “Shit,” Jess whispered to herself, and dug through her pocket to look for the day pass Hobie was mentioning earlier. Just before she could open a little hole in the forcefield to hand it to her, the man placed a hand in front of Jess, as if to stop her. Lorena laid on the floor in pain, panting from the glitch, as the man walked closer to her enclosure and crouched in front of the barrier.

His hand reached up to his neck, as her hooked his fingers underneath his mask, and smoothly pulled it off and tossed it to the side. God, he was gorgeous. Dark brown hair, the front slicked back while the sides hung free. Sharp cheekbones that perfectly sculpted his face. And those eyes. They were almost hypnotic. She couldn’t tell if the orange lighting of the room was messing with her vision, but she could’ve sworn his eyes were a crimson red. She prayed that she wasn’t blushing right now, the intensity of his stare putting butterflies into her stomach. After staring at her for a little, a smirk curled onto his lips, allowing his left fang to slightly peek out over his bottom lip.

He stood up, looking down at Lorena now, like she was no more than an injured animal on the side of the road. He signaled his hand back at Jess for the day pass. She tossed it to him, and he opened a slight crack into the cage and slipped it in. Lorena almost rushed for it, shoving it onto her wrist, and earning a scoff from the man. He turned his back to her and walked back over to Jess. She took a moment to look at him, confused. “We need your help,” she finally said.

The only think Lorena could do was laugh. And she laughed hard. She only stopped when her ribs quickly reminded her of their condition. “What’s so funny?” the man asked, annoyed. “Nothing,” she said, wiping the tears forming in her eyes and a pity smile forming on her face. “I just can’t think of a single reason you think I would help you.”

“Because if you don’t, we take that wristband away and throw you back into the streets,” he said coldhearted. “See how much fun it is to have your atoms slowly ripped apart, one by one, into nothing. You’ll wish we had killed you ourselves instead of being a victim to time as it waits for the right time to finally end your suffering.”

Her smile slowly dropped. A smirk formed on his face. She wished she could smack it off. She must have really been a problem for him to be getting this worked up over her little comments. Jess just sighed, tired of him constantly taking his bad cop role too far. “Well, if you do help us, I can promise you this. You get to keep that little day pass of yours, and we’ll drop you off in whatever dimension you’d like, and you never have to see any of us again.” Then it was the man smacking her arm this time. “Jess…may we have a word for a second,” he said, as calmly as he could right now. “Of course we can Miguel!” she said back, with fake enthusiasm. Huh. So that was his name.

Miguel pulled Jess farther back into the room and began talking to her. Lorena scooted closer to the wall closer to them, trying to make out their conversation. She caught a few sentences.

“That is not what we agreed to!”

“Hey, you get to go off script, so do I. Plus, what are we really gonna do with her once the mission’s complete?”

Mission? What mission?

“It’s not like she has anywhere else she can go. You’re just gonna stick her back into one of these cages for the rest of her life? ”

“I’d rather that then have an anomaly just running around on a world that isn’t her’s.”

There was that word again. Anomaly. She hated the way Miguel would say it. The inflection in his voice making it sound like a dirty word. That she was a dirty person.

“Come on O’hara, you have to have at least a little bit of compassion left in there.”

It went quiet for a bit. She couldn’t tell if they had just stopped talking, or if they had gotten quieter. Then she saw them walking back over to her. She scooted back to her corner of the cage. Miguel sighed deeply before talking, and Lorena could’ve sworn she heard a quiet “Ay coño” under his breath. Then he spoke.

“If you help us, we’ll let you free and you’ll never have to see any of us again. But try and dimension hop after we leave, desert the mission, or try anything slick and I swear-.” Jess smacked him again. “Do you agree to the terms?” She said. Lorena took a second to think. “....You haven’t even told me what the mission is yet.” Miguel let out a long sigh and turned his head to stare at Jess. She just shrugged. He could feel the gray hairs growing on his head as Lorena spoke. “Lyla?” he called out, pressing his bridge with his fingers. “Yup,” the same avatar from earlier said as she popped up. This must’ve been his assistant or something. “Can you pull up the mission file?” “....What’s the magic word?”

Lorena could’ve sworn she just saw three new wrinkles pop up on Miguel’s forehead. “He’s gonna shut you off pretty soon Lyla,” Jess interjected. “Ugh, fine,” Lyla said. A tiny illuminated file cabinet popped up as Lyla sifted through it. “Could you spare us the antics for a second?” “Hey, if you’re gonna turn me into your personal slave, you might as well let me have fun with it,” Lyla shot at Miguel. Lorena hoped Miguel couldn’t hear her slight giggle. Her hopes were crushed when she saw Miguel giving her a death stare to her out of the corners of his eyes. She slouched down as an attempt to hide away from his insistent glare

“Here it is!” Lyla exclaimed, pulling up a digital file. She threw it to the floor, causing a slideshow presentation to pop up out of it. The first slide was simply the front cover of a file. “Thank you Lyla,” Miguel said. “At your service,” Lyla replied, taking a bow, and then popping out of the room. Miguel took another sigh, seemingly the only emotion he expressed other than anger. “Take it Jess,” he said, facing her. Jess walked up closer to Lorena’s enclosure before swiping the cover of the file open.

“So obviously, you’ve gotten the whole idea of anomalies through your head at this point.” “It’s hard not to when you two wont shut up about them,” Lorena responded. Jess ignored her attitude. “Some just happen to be more dangerous than others, and also slip through our fingers easier. I’m sure you would know a lot about that.” Lorena gave Jess a big, forced smile. “It’s my pleasure.” Jess returned the smile. “We have one in particular that, like you, has managed to get a hold of one of our watches. He’s been hopping in between dimensions at fast speeds and seems to be gathering materials for something. We’re not sure what for. Which means we have to catch him as soon as possible.”

“Uh huh, uh huh,” Lorena said, uninterested. “Why do you think I’ll be able to help you though.” “Because we’ve found that you’ve had a particularly close relationship with one of his variants,” Jess said, flipping to the next slide. “What the hell does that mean? You guys don’t make any sen-.”

She looked up at the projection. Her eyes softened and her mouth laid slightly agape. Her eyes had to be fooling her, there was no way. But there he was. His picture brought memories flooding back into her head. Her nails scratching through his blonde-ish hair. Both of them smoking in her room. Him running into her arms when things were getting too rough for him back at home. He hadn’t just been her boyfriend. He was her best friend too. One of her only ones on top of that. But at the end of the day, all of the warmth that their time together brought to her was quickly washed away by the returning sight of her hands drowning in his blood as he faded away from her. Would she have still done “the right thing” if she knew it was him inside that creature. She would constantly run away from that thought every time it would sneak its way back into her mind.

She couldn’t find it in her to care about the slight smirk Miguel was giving her, amazed at how easily a picture could knock her off her high horse. He probably enjoyed seeing her so vulnerable. Jess on the other hand, had a slight frown on her face, understanding how much this had to be messing with her.

“It’s not yours,” Miguel said, breaking the silence. “The multiverse might be weird, but it can’t bring people back from the dead. This Venom is from Earth-86. Yours was from Earth-2497.” “Yeah…I know,” Lorena said, almost as if she wasn’t fully there. “We’ve seen your history with Eddie Brock through the the scanners. You’ve gotten to know him better than any of the rest of us have,” Jess said. “You might be able to tell his next move. His patterns.” Lorena was quickly catching on what Jess was saying. Before Jess could continue her proposition, Lorena stood up and quickly interjected.

“Nope, no no no, no way. I’m not catching him for you. You can’t seriously think that you can ask me to catch an alternate version of my dead best friend and I would agree,” she said, panic in her voice. “For once I agree with her that this is a very bad idea,” Miguel said, clenching his teeth towards Jess. “You have anyone else you wanna recruit?” she asked rhetorically to him. “You won’t be able to stop her emotions from getting in the way of the mission,” he said, avoiding the question. “It’s rude to talk badly of your guests while they’re still in the room,” Lorena shouted sarcastically at Miguel. “Cállate! I’ll get back to you in a second,” Miguel shouted back. Jess sighed. “Well it’s a good thing I’m not going with her, because I’m sure you’ll do a great job at that.” His eyes widened in horror. So did Lorena’s. She started laughing. “¡No mames!” she chuckled, still in disbelief.

Miguel looked at her, bewildered at her laughing fit. “Jess that is, not, what we agreed on.” “I know, I know, but I had a talk with my husband, and he doesn’t want me going on any dangerous missions while I’m pregnant, and we don’t know how tough this guy is going to be. So I think it’s better if you take this one. And plus, just like you said, I won’t be able to keep her under control. But I’m sure you can!” she said, a sarcastic smile on her face. Once Lorena finished laughing, she turned to face Miguel. “Yeah I’m sure you’ll do a great job controlling my emotions,” she shot at him. Miguel almost pounced towards the cage, before Jess put her arm in front of this. “Can you please just do this one thing for me?” He took a second to think. Then he sighed. “Fine.”

“Thank you,” Jess said softly before walking away. Miguel walked up towards the cage and put in a combination to open up the enclosure. “Wait, hold on a second, so do I not get a say in this?” Lorena scoffed. Once Miguel had opened the door, she tried to make a run for it, but was stopped when Miguel grabbed her forearm. He pulled her into his chest. This is when she was finally able to gauge how massive he actually was. She was never really considered short, being taller than most girls her age throughout her school years. But up against him, she felt like an ant.

“No. You don’t, chiquita,” he finally whispered into her ear. Chills rolled down her spine at the intimacy of all of this. The nickname only made her even more upset. He whipped her body around and placed a forcefield around her fists, shackling both of them together. He almost had to drag her out of the containment room and into his office to discuss the details of the mission.

She had almost wished that she had stayed in that basement, not prepared for whatever torture this man was going to bring onto her.

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

NEXT CHAPTER

a/n: NEVER TRUST A MAN WHO CALLS YOU SHORT EVEN THOUGH YOU AREN'T‼️‼️‼️ (ive been a personal victim of this so yes i was projecting a little lmao)

taglist: @the-ikran-man @jenniferdixon05207 @yuuuumii @elwyn7 @waniesss @lust-for-pan

#miguel o'hara x oc #miguel o’hara #spiderman 2099 #across the spiderverse #miguel o'hara x reader #fanfiction #fem!reader #into the spider verse #fanfic #spiderman across the spiderverse #spiderman #spiderverse #spiderverse oc #spiderverse 2

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fluffansmut-old · 1 year

Text

In front of the dungeon masters throne.

December 14th- infront of the dungeon masters throne

12 fics of Christmas - masterlist.

Summary: Eddie´s gives you an early christmasgift after hellfire one night.

Content warnings: Smut 18+, Oral, fingering, sextoy use, praise kink, Dom/sub undertones, honorifics (master),teasing, edging, aftercare.

Word count: 3342

Fic is also posted on ao3

Eddie had been scribbling on this little piece of paper for days.

Usually he wanted to tell you all about his campaigns as he created them, but this time the book slammed close as soon as you entered the room.

“Why so secretive?” You asked, as he folded the paper up and sat on it.

“You’ll see sweetheart, soon enough” he murmured in response.

Is this a christmas gift?” you asked, now more interested than ever. “one I might get in advance?”

“ You'll see, soon enough” he just said again.

When your shift ended you put your jacket on and put your hands in the pocket,trying to find your mittens, you found a note.

You knew Eddie had something planned, but not knowing what that something was, made it tingle inside of you with excitement.

Your mind bubbled with excitement as you made your way through town toward the high school and Eddie.

Why the drama room?

What game?

What did he have in mind?

You were a bit early so you snuck in as quietly as you could, hearing your boyfriend in full on dungeon-master-mode telling the group how they indeed had succeeded and slayed the monster.

“You present the head of the beast to the king, forcing him to hold his end of the bargain letting the villagers go, giving them their freedom as the most welcome yuletide gift, all thanks to you” Eddie tells as the party cheers, applauds and high fives.

The room was chatty and buzzing with excitement, and in the middle of it all there was Eddie, on his throne, looking so incredibly proud of this party.

He was gorgeous, in a totally effortless way, his hair was tousled up from moving around, telling the plot with his entire body. The smile was huge, he was always like this after hellfire, it was like the endorphins it gave him all immediately went to his face, making him look so unbelievably happy. His tattooed arms were holding up his body as he leaned over the table, giving fist bumps and high fives to his friends. But in this light they looked different, the way his hand gripped the side of the table made you feel something. That excited tingle that you had felt before came back, as you imagined Eddie's hands, doing other things, elsewhere.

Eddie's smile grew impossibly wider when he saw you enter the room.

“Hello Honey!” he called out, which made you shy, because suddenly a whole bunch of heads turned to face you. You liked Eddie's friends, heck you considered most of them your friends as well but, just in this environment, you felt like the intruder, no matter how welcome they all tried to make you feel.

“Cmere, sweetheart” Eddie said and sat down on his throne properly once again. You made your way over, greeting all the boys like you usually would.

Eddie pulled you onto his lap pretty much as soon as you were within reach.

“Hiya baby” he muttered into your ear as he rested his face on your shoulder.

“I’ve missed you” you said, relaxing into him, grabbing the hand that he had round your middle, fiddling a little with his rings.

“Feeling okay?” he asked, tilting your head towards his. The brown eyes looked at you with so much concern, lust and love that it was almost impossible to meet them and not burst into tears with how incredibly seen you felt.

“Yeah, I am, “ you said, “Just a bit tired from thinking so much, and also I’m a bit um… needy... for you.”

The last part was whispered. You watched as a glimmer of pride showed itself in the soft eyes of Eddie Munson, as he shifted you slightly closer to himself.

“Good girl for expressing how you feel baby” Eddie praised, knowing it was something that you sometimes had a hard time with. “I´ve got plans for us, don´t you worry”

His praise always created this warmth in the pit of your stomach, it was like it blanketed you in this safeness that made you want more of Eddie. You moved your head closer to his, connecting your lips. He was not late to lean into the kiss, the arms that held you in place pulled you closer towards him and his tongue met yours.

That’s when you hear the oh so familiar,

“Cmon guys,” from Mike Wheeler, who watched you, looking slightly disgusted.

“Want something Wheeler?” Eddie said with a grin on his face.

“You wanna get a room or wait til you're home or something?” He asked, hands now on his hips.

“No can do, right here right now works perfectly fine,” Eddie responded, the gleam of mischief in his eyes shining bright. “ or what do you say sweetheart?”

You put your finger to your chin,”thinking” about it.

“It does indeed” you said and started trailing kisses down Eddie’s neck.

“Oh for fucks sake” Mike said with an eye roll.

“I’m not sure why you bother anymore” Dustin said to him, already so used to you and Eddie and the constant PDA.

“Cmon Mike, we better get going, wasn’t Nancy supposed to be here by now?” Will said, him and Lucas already packed up and ready to go.

The younger ones left after Will’s reminder, knowing that Nancy never waited for them for long.

“Hey Eddie?” Gareth said as you decorated Eddie's neck with hickies.

“Yeah?” He replied, not really taking his eyes off you.

“You’re coming to Steve’s party right?” Gareth asked.

“Yeah, aren’t you?”

Gareth scratched the back of his head.

“”Yeah, but we don’t really have a ride.”

“We’ll take you” you said “ I’m driving anyways.”

You knew that Gareth and Jeff was still a little uneasy about the whole Steve-Harrington-actually-being-a-good-person deal, so you and Eddie did your best to make them feel as comfortable as they possibly could.

“Thanks, we appreciate it,” Jeff said as he grabbed his bag.

Gareth was about to say something else, of less importance when Eddie interrupted him with a,

“Gareth, it’s time to go”

The blond boy, looking like he just was smacked up the head for not understanding, was suddenly in a rush.

“We’re going.”

The gang of older students were on their way out when he stuck his head in once again, sing-songing a “haaave fuuun'' before Eddie gave him the finger and he shut the door.

You turned towards Eddie, now slightly panicky.

“Does he know?”

You weren’t sure if you meant what Eddie had planned or about the fact that you were needy for him.

Eddie calmed all your worries instantly.

He propped you up on the table in front of him, right where the DM-screen had been just minutes ago. He stood between your thighs. He had one arm around your waist and one hand tilted your face up to meet this eyes.

“He knows nothing, he might suspect a whole lot but he knows nothing.” Eddie reassured.

“Now baby, do you remember that I told you that there might be a gift in store for you before Christmas?” You nodded. “I’m gonna give it to you, right here, right now.”

As he told you the news, he ran a hand up your inner thigh, coming closer and closer to your core.

“Here?” you asked wide eyed, “Right now?”

“Yes, now I want it to be a surprise, so I´m not gonna explain too much, but this is a no pressure situation, you call safeword and I stop, like usual. You´re here with me and you´re totally safe okay?”

The idea of the sexy secret already had you dripping down your thighs with excitement but you couldn’t really shake the thought of the hellfire club members who were there just mere minutes ago.

“Can we lock the d00r?” You asked looking up at Eddie.

“Of course, If that makes you feel better then we can absolutely do that.” Eddie said. “you wanna do it? I've got something to unpack.”

When you returned to the table Eddie was sitting on his throne again. He stood you infront of him and reached up the dress you had on, hooking his fingers into your panties, pulling them down, leaving you in the dress and the thigh high stockings you had on.

“Won´t be needing these now will we?” he said to you and smirked.

He grabbed you by the waist and helped you onto the table once again, the top of it now feeling a lot colder against your bare ass.

“Now baby, do you remember what my note to you said?” Eddie asked.

You tried your hardest to remember what it had said.

“Something about Hellfire ending and our game beginning?” you said hoping that you remembered correctly.

“Exactly, that's right.” Eddie said, placing a hand on your knee. “Now If this is a game, then who am I, sitting here?”

You knew what he was after, and you would lie if you said that it didn’t make you tingle.

“You’re the master” You said, looking at Eddie, feeling lust fill you up completely.

“That I am, ” Eddie said, smirking at you. “Now can I expect you to behave?”

“Yes master” you said obediently, looking at him, feeling even needier for him than before.

“Thats my good girl.” Eddie praised.

He plucked something from his front pocket, something that you soon recognised as a D20.

“This little thing will decide your fate tonight my lady.” Eddie explained holding it up in front of you. “Now listen carefully, cause I'll only explain it once, this has 20 sides right?”

You resisted the urge to roll your eyes at him, of course you knew that it had 20 sides.

“yes master” you said, urging him to explain further.

“now if you roll this and it lands somewhere between one and four, I´ll finger you.” Eddie explained. Your eyes widened at his words, this game just got interesting.

“If it's between four and eight, I´ll eat you out.” he continued, twirling the dice around in his hands. “Now between eight and twelve it gets interesting, cause then this little thing is brought into play” Edddie said and held up a thinner dildo from your collection.

You felt yourself getting more hot and bothered just at the sight of it, wanting him to use it right now. But at the same time you were filled with anticipation for what was to come next.

“What about 12 to 16?” you asked, and Eddie just smirked as a response.

“Glad you asked baby,” he said, digging around in the bag that he had brought. “ 12 to 16 means this ole´ favourite”

Eddie held up your trusted magic wand vibrator and he chuckled at the gleam that appeared in your eye as you saw it.

“I know you like that one, but this one, which is 16 to 19 if you didn't figure that out yourself, is a new one.” Eddie handed you a wrapped up present.

Inside was a rabbit vibrator.

The sight of it made your stomach drop like when you're on a rollercoaster, all the potential it had was almost overwhelming. You were almost too excited.

“Oh my god Eddie, this, this looks amazing” you said, but then you realised what he had said.

“16 to 19, what about 20?”

“We’ll that my dear is the fun of it, the 20th is the orgasm. If you do not roll a 20 then I’m sorry but you won’t cum tonight.”

Your jaw dropped at his words.

“So you’re really telling me that I might not cum tonight?” You said.

“That’s the game, but hey,” he said, giving the dice a quick kiss before placing it in the palm of your hand. “I have a feeling you’re gonna be lucky tonight, now lay back sweetheart, and roll for me”

The first roll was a 7.

Eddie wasted no time, diving right in. His tongue flicking over your clit repeatedly as his hands held your thighs apart. His grip on your thigh made you wonder if the marks from the rings he wore would be there for days, but the magic he worked with his mouth made it all forgivable.

“fuck baby, you always taste so gooddamn good” he moaned. You resisted the urge to shove his head right back to where it previously had been. You felt the pleasure build inside of you, in the way your toes curled and your hips buckled up against him. Eddie continued to tease you with his tongue until suddenly, he stopped.

The moan that you were about the let out was caught in in your throat, and for the first time since laying back you raised your head and looked at the man inbetween your thighs.

“time for another roll? or what do you think baby?” he asked.

“God yes” you said, desperate for the pleasure that you felt to continue.

Eddies hand came down hard on your inner thigh, making you jump slightly for the surprise.

“Yes who?” he asked, now rubbing forgivingly on the small mark that he left.

“Yes master” you responded.

The next roll was a 14, and you swore that you could have orgasmed from the sound of the vibrator alone.

Eddie flicked it on to a rather low setting, but still you felt the pulsating response it the sound between your thighs.

“Now do you want this, sweetheart?” you asked as Eddie ran vibrator up and down your inner thighs.

“Yes master,” you said, almost panting already.

“Then I would beg a little more for it” he said, gracing it past your clit for half a second before continuing down your thigh again.

“Please, please please Master” you begged, trying to wiggling a little closer to him.

“Please what?” he asked, his eyes glimmering as he watched you grow desperate under his care, he did love to tease. “What do you want baby?”

“The vibrator” you breathed out, almost instantly.

“Yeah baby, I figured, but where sweet thing?” he said, now removing it from your body completely.

You felt a bit embarrassed, having to say it, because obviously he knew goddamn well you wanted it.

“Uhm, I want it.. on my clit master” you breathed out, “please”

“arent you the best girl, doing what your asked” Eddie praised as he pressed the vibrator to your clit.

The vibrations went through you like chockwaves. Everything tensed up and came to life in a different way when you had the vibrator against you.

Eddie watched your every reaction with gleaming eyes, he absolutely adored to watch you come undone before him, all whilst knowing that you felt safe enough with him it let him hold the reins and be in control.

Just as you felt your core tighten from the vibrations, Eddie switched them off, leaving you, panting, whining.

“awh, sorry sweetheart, were you in the middle of something?” Eddie said with a grin plastered across his face.

“urgh yes I was.” you muttered, as you still felt the plusations running through your core, making you clench and move around a little.

“Well well would you look at that,” Eddie said, “my poor babys so worked up that shes clenching round nothing now, roll the dice sweetheart and see if we can do something about that”

The roll was a good one, landing on an 18.

You almost cried tears of joy as Eddie worked the vibrator into you with ease.

“There we go,” He said, looking at how it slid into you with no hiccups what so ever. “Always so good for me, always taking whatever I give you so goddamn well.”

You actually started to leak tears as the rabbit filled your hole whilst at a steady pace graced your clit with its glorious vibrations.

“are you getting close?” Eddie asked as he noticed the tell tale signs, the muscles in your thighs clenching, the moans and whimpers coming from your mouths, the way you clenched around the rabbit, your body automatically trying to draw it in.

“uh, yes master” you moaned.

“Well do you wanna risk trying to roll for orgasm?” Eddie asked, and you didnt think long about it.

“Yes, please”

“Well mannered” Eddie murmured as he put the dice in your outstretched hand.

it landed on a 4. A goddamn 4.

“I´m sorry sweetheart, but my fingers will have to do.” Eddie said, removing the rabbit that had previously been filling you up.

“Ugh, no please” You pleaded.

Eddie cleared his throat and stuck two fingers into you, applying pressure to your g-spot instantly.

“Excuse me, but what was that? Are my hands suddenly not good enough for you, princess?” he asked.

Your breath hitched in your throat, you hadn’t meant to say it.

“No, not at all.” you quickly said. “I’ll take whatever master gives me”

“That´s what I though” Eddie said, and continued to work his hands on you, one hand sliding effortlessly in and out of you, the other rubbing your clit quite vigrously.

“I want you to fuck me master,” you moaned after a while.

Eddie thought about it for a moment, cause this wasnt in his original plans.

“What if we do this, you roll one time, if its above 12, then I´ll fuck you, but you still need a 20 to cum okay?” He suggested.

You desperate after being edged for ages nodded and grabbed after the dice.

You closed your eyes rolling it, only opening them when you heard Eddie say, “You are one lucky fucker, aren’t you?”

You opened your eyes to a nat 20. it felt slightly unbelievable so you turned to look at Eddie, who already was wiggling out of his pants.

“Come here baby, lets get you there, we both know you deserve it”

You straddled him on the throne, sinking onto him with a satisfied sigh.

“There we go” Eddie said, you moved slightly whilst still clinging onto him, kissing up his neck. “You always were a slut for close contact, werent you princess?”

You moaned in response, unable to do much more, cause of how close you were.

“Now take what you need baby, chase that orgasm and I’ll take care of you, I’ve got you sweetheart”

You came not long after that, feeling the euphoria wash over you like a tide wave.

“Master,” you moaned, head on his shoulder, feeling slightly fuzzy and complete.

“Baby, look at me please” he asked, voice soft and caring.

You did as asked looking up at him with halfopened eyes.

“Tired?” He asked, you nodded.

“I understand that sweetheart, you were such a good girl, you took everything so well” Eddie praise, whilst pressing kisses to your forehead.

“Now how do you feel, are you sore?” He asked after holding you close to his chest for a moment. “I know I gripped and popped your thighs pretty hard there before, does anything hurt sweetheart?”

“I´m a bit sore, but it’ll be okay soon enough,” you said, thinking about your slight aching cunt which was still streched around Eddies softening cock. “My thighs hurt a bit, but not to bad.

You pouted a bit and Eddie was quick to kiss it.

“I´m sorry baby, how about we clean you up temporarily, then we´ll stop at a burgershack on the way home, and then we can watch a christmasfilm whilst we eat it, and a bath maybe? If you want one?” Eddie suggested.

“That sounds very nice.” you said, nuzzling your face into the crook of Eddies neck.

“Do you want to clean up now, or do you want to cuddle some more?” Eddie asked, his arms wrapped around you, drawing shapes on your back.

“Cuddle just for two minutes more? you asked.

Eddie nodded and kissed the top of your head.

“of course sweetheart”

#eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie x reader #advent calendar #eddie stranger things #eddie munson smut #soft dom eddie munson #aftercare

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queers-gambit · 2 years

Text

Sweetest Devotion

[ part two ] [ alternate ending one: Kin Slayer ] [ series masterlist ]

prompt: exhausted by the war efforts, your husband does what he can to protect you. but maybe in the end, it'll be you who saves him.

pairing: Aemond Targaryen x Velaryon!wife!reader

fandom: House of the Dragon

word count: 9.3k+

note: two parts because total word count was at 17k. also, this is the final, people!!

warnings: major book spoilers. cursing, some angst, some comfort, author projects a little, major alternate timeline ending. ❗️SPOILERS

The storm had followed Aemond home to wreck havoc over King's Landing, flooding the streets and homes in Flea Bottom and low bearing homes.

You weren't sure how long you sat in silence together, but your heart was weeping, and you had no earnest idea on how to move forward from this moment. Your baby brother, the sweet Prince Lucerys, had met his end from your husband's ruthless pursuit of revenge.

Though it was his dragon that did the slaying, he is still Vhagar's rider and wanted revenge; though he would've settled for an eye, the dragon did not understand.

Aemond was silent beside you, the storm heard from the Dragon Caves as water gently leaked through cracks in the foundation. You thought the weather matched your mood and did little to quell the raging tempest that built in your chest and head; if anything, it spurred your anger onward. Tears leaked from your eyes with no sign of stopping; legs remaining bent to keep your arms tight around them. You also could not meet his gaze, nor look upon his face without picturing your baby brother screaming in terror.

You sniffled several times as you couldn't do much else but cry, but then, you made a swift decision. Jumping to your feet, you muttered, "I must go."

"Wait," Aemond stood after you, following you to your saddled dragon. Kasta raised her head and narrowed her eyes in threat, growling when Aemond reached for you. "Sweet girl, please, just hang on a second - "

"No," you sneered, wheeling around on him - meeting his eye at last. "You did this. You killed my brother, and what I need right now, is fucking space."

"How do I know you're not leaving for good? Fleeing to tell your mother the news?" He asked hopelessly. "Please, my love, understand that I cannot let you leave me. I cannot bare it."

"You cannot keep me here," you whispered in return. "You said you'd smuggle me out of the city if I wanted. Well, this is what I want - to fly with Kasta, and to be rid of your presence for now."

Tears filled his violet eye, "Please tell me you will return?"

"What if I don't?" You sneered. "Will you get on Vhagar and follow me, too? Hunt me down in the skies, maybe? Let your dragon eat Kasta and I for her main course?"

The emerald green dragon positioned above you glowered, and bore her teeth as if to dare your husband to do anything.

"You know I'd never hurt you," he whispered, but reached for your arms. "I need you to step away with me, please. We need a word."

"A word? A word? You need a word with me? Where was that courtesy for my brother? A boy of only ten and four!? Hey!?"

But you silenced yourself when Vhagar lifted her head from her alcove and swung it to watch the three of you - making Kasta go on the defense. "Kasta," you demanded in High Valyrian, "enough. Do not engage."

Your dragon growled still, standing rigidly above you as Aemond's hands tightened over your upper arms. "Listen to me," he begged still, making your glare turn back to his lone eye, "and believe me, please, none of this was my intention."

"You've made that clear. Yet what I can understand, is that you antagonized a child and your dragon does not understand limits nor bounds. She does not understand you only wanted to torment and scare the boy, and when his dragon reacted in an effort to protect his rider, you lost control."

"Why is his dragon understood and mine crucified?"

You scoffed, "Truly? What business did a 10-year-old child have claiming some 180-year-old dragon!?"

"Now that is on trial!?"

"Aemond, what are you expecting here?" You snapped, ignoring the way your skin seared under his touch. "You and your fucking dragon killed my brother, end of story, end of sentence, no other room for judgement. This is your sin to bear, not mine, though I am now burdened with knowing my husband claimed the innocent life of my brother! How could you?" You whispered, stepping closer as your voice lowered but still rang clearer than the storm raging outside. Both hands tightened over his biceps, begging, "How could you do this? To me? To us? To my Mother? If it was an eye you wanted, you can have mine - both if it would satisfy you."

His head shook, "No. No, I would not - do not twist this on me."

"I am assuring you that there were any other way to solve this, and should you remember correctly, we married so that your pride might be soothed. As payment for my brother's actions, my hand was offered, and your father accepted that proposal. Pray tell me how that was not enough? After all this time?" Your arms laid over his to grab the muscle above his elbow; his grip tightening on your waist. "Why did you do it? Why did you push for this? It is by your selfishness that my brother isn't even allowed to be buried!"

"Say the word and we will go find him now," Aemond shook his head.

You scoffed, then nodded solemnly. "Truly?"

"I would do anything to right this terrible wrong. If it meant you stayed, if it meant I kept you, I would do anything."

You nodded again and tried to smile, but your tears made it difficult. Before Aemond could blink, your hands reached for his belt and yanked the leather free; grabbing his long-sword in hand and shoving the weapon into his chest - which forced him back two steps.

"Gut your dragon," you whispered into the eery silence.

"What?"

"Gut Vhagar and pull my brother's body free before the acids have time to dissolve him further," you sneered, pressing the sword harder.

"My love," he begged softly.

"No? Is that refusal?" You goaded.

"You know I cannot."

"Then there is nothing more I want from you than to be free to take my dragon into the skies. I cannot look at your face longer, knowing what I know now. I need time to think."

His hand softly folded over yours, pausing a moment to ask, "Is there any way you could forgive me?"

"I need to first find a way to fully stomach what you've done, then we might ponder if I can forgive you. I would not hold my breath if I were you, though."

His hand tightened over yours, nodding as he repeated to you your words from earlier that day in High Valyrian, "I will wait for you forever, if I must. But do not make me... Please."

You snorted through your nose, shaking your head, "Do not do that. Do not try to romance me now. You cannot possibly have love for me if your dragon ate my fucking brother."

You pulled away from him in full to make for Kasta again. Sword laid forgotten in the sand as he called after you, "Just be careful, my love, please. There's a storm tonight."

"Yes, I've ears to hear with, thank you!" You snapped over your shoulder. "I will be fine."

You wanted to tell him you'd return, but in truth, you were unsure if you were able to. You wanted to go back before today, before the love of your life had killed and eaten your little brother. Well, his dragon did the eating, and while that's not Aemond, and beasties are allowed to be wild from their masters, you were disgusted looking at him.

Kasta purred when you got to her side and easily climbed on top of the saddle, sparring Aemond only a single look before encouraging your dragon from the Caves under the Dragon Pit.

Aemond had to flatten himself against the Cave wall as Kasta surged past him - bursting into the frigid air, and spreading her wings to beat once, twice, three times, and rise into the air.

You soared higher and higher; darkness swallowing you as it had your brother, letting the storm encompass you whole. When Kasta was level, your hands let go of the saddle to sit back and choke on your sobs, arms going lax as your strength to hold yourself together gave way. And through the storm, what better way to release your rage?

You let your tears mix with the water splattering on your face. For the thunder to drown your anguished screams. For the lightning to flash away the images you unintentionally conjured when you thought of your husband and brother.

You let the vapid, sideways rain pound over you. For the wind to howl and create a legion of goose flesh to form over your shivering form; though you did not feel it. For the storm to become one with you.

Your pain was tangible. Your anguish known.

You flew for miles, unsure where you were heading because the storm demanded the forefront of your attention - but you weren't willing to give it. Kasta chose to fly aimlessly as she just wanted to stretch out, and for a moment, you considered just flying across the Narrow Sea. Head for Essos, where you would escape this petty stupidity. Where you would not have to choose between your beloved mother and adoring husband.

Between Green and Black.

Between rightful succession, and well... Tradition. You hated the thoughts when they registered in your head, but the truth of the matter is that after centuries of tradition as naming first-born males the heir, you were not stupid and understood your shit-stain-brother-by-law, Aegon, held a 'legitimate' claim now.

You were desperately confused, you had no honest idea what to do, and the further you flew in the storm, the more your exhaustion rose. As your dragon's pale green wings cut through the air and she took charge of your flight, you weighed the pro's and con's of each action.

If you stayed, you got Aemond - and that was enough of a pro on its own.

If you left, you'd be able to salvage whatever time you have with your brothers, Jace and Joffrey. Plus your step-sisters, Rhaena and Baela, along with half-siblings, Viserys II and Aegon III.

If you stayed, your dragon would be on the frontlines only due to her sheer size... And that sounded more like a con.

But! But! But! If you left, you knew the message you bore - that was sure to reach your mother's ears with or without you - would be reason enough for Rhaenyra to wage war. If you returned to your mother, you'd be thrown into her war, and with Kasta, who still grew in size and ferocity, who was to say you wouldn't be used on the frontlines there, too?

If you stayed, Aemond would always protect you. Not that you needed it but it was a comfort to know you'd not be alone.

You'd hopefully get to see your siblings all marry, too, if you went home.

Your child would know its father if you stayed.

You screamed into the night again.

Sobs ransacked your lungs, demanding oxygen be sucked in with a shuddering, stuttering inhale. You were restless and distraught, and even when time passed, the storm did not; nor did your heartbreak. But Kasta understood your pain, letting you sob into her hide as she flew you higher, higher, higher... Before breaking free of the storm to give you a view of the just rising sun.

You breathed in shock as you sat up off her shoulders. With your arms keeping you upright, you gazed with swollen red eyes to the beautiful sight before you; relishing in the swirls of colors that only brightened with each flap of Kasta's wings.

She hovered a moment to let you gaze at the clouds and rising sunlight, patting her shoulder as you praised in High Valyrian, "Good girl, my sweet Emerald. Good girl - thank you. Thank you," you whispered, hearing her purr as she beat her wings to keep her body suspended.

You took a sobering breath and sat up tall. With nobody around, you were left with only Kasta to speak to, and maybe, that'd be your saving grace in time. You spoke, "It is more than myself I need to consider. You are my priority," you smiled, stroking her neck, "but I also now have a baby growing in my womb, and I have to take them into consideration, too. Where we go, I have to think of you two the most - because I cannot let you suffer for human selfishness."

She gave a loud purr.

"Yet we have two options, my girl. We stay in King's Landing and we would fight with Aemond, only. We are loyal to him, not his usurping weasel of a brother."

She snorted, almost nodding her head. You saw her lips flutter and knew she bore her teeth in distrust of Aegon.

"If we return to Dragonstone, we are subservient to our Queen, my Mother, the rightful ruler and heir to the Iron Throne. Surely, with Daemon's influence, we would be expected to fight."

Saying it aloud again made you slump onto her shoulders, groaning, "Oh, Kasta, what the hell are we doing? We should just take our chances in Essos."

She huffed.

"No? Maybe Pentos?"

She growled.

"Then where should we go, pet? Where? Where you are safe and so is my baby?"

Kasta whined lightly, unsure of your decision either.

"I care little for my own safety, but you, my precious girl, are entirely dear to me and I will not risk you in open war. I could not ask that of you, you are not at fault for the deceit my people show. But we have to chose which side we are to take, love. Where I took vowels to be loyal to Aemond, we know Rhaenyra is right and true, but with Luke's death, she... She cannot be thinking levelly."

Kasta lowly whined in agreement, turning in a circle to keep her blood pumping before coming to another halt. You had a view to a sea of sun-soaked clouds, finding rolling hills of different colors; all painted on fluffy canvases.

"She'll need me now more than ever," you whispered. "She cannot do this alone, and... And the Greens have Vhagar. The Blacks have Meleys. Yet if I take a position, I will still have to fight the ones I love, the dragons you grew with."

But Kasta gave a small snarl.

"You know I mean Aemond," you chuckled lowly. "He's the best trained with a sword and rides the largest dragon... He'd be sent off to battle, and to meet him, I'd wager Daemon would not hesitate to send us with Melyes and Rhaenys. What would hurt more, Kasta? Fighting my step father and mother's cousin? Or fighting the man I was sworn to love and be loyal to before the Gods? Who sires my children? But... The man has killed my brother and I fear I'd be unable to forgive him. What do I do, Kasta?"

She whined again.

"I made vows to him," you whispered brokenly. "I do not think I can leave... Mother would surely use us to fight, but at least Aemond would protest Aegon's command, try to keep us safe..." Your tears streamed down your cheeks, making you nod, "All right, yeah, come now, my love, we need to go."

Kasta anticipated this and turned to dive back into the storm; your eyes closing from the whipping wind stinging your eyes as Kasta dove at an angle straight down. You held on tightly and trusted her, and when she leveled, you cracked your eyes open to see your dragon flapping her wings straight for the distant Red Keep.

"Mumma's sneaky girl, aren't you?" You chuckled at her, patting her neck with an affection hand. She gave a roar of announcement as she swiftly circled the Dragon Pit and descended; landing with a trembling thud before she was hurrying under cover from the still-raging storm. You held on until she came to a halt in the Caves; pausing to let you slide off your saddle. "Good girl," you praised, letting her forehead caress the scales of her cheek. "Good girl, thank you. Always my good girl, yes," she gave a small snort of contentment, almost leaning into you.

"Thank you for returning my wife safely, Kasta," Another voice purred in smooth High Valyrian, and you sighed when you recognized it instantly. It was a voice you longed to hear, but not yet - not so soon. You did not think he'd still be here at this hour.

"I've only just returned, Aemond, are you truly that dull or does the concept of time and space just not register in your head?" You leered to Aemond from over your shoulder.

"I needed to see you were safe with my own eye," he sighed, watching your dragon patter (read: took thundering steps) into her alcove for rest; leaving the two of you as alone as you could be.

"You see me now," you snipped. "Now leave me be."

"We should talk - "

"The only thing I've left to say is that I'm done," you nodded. "I'm not leaving you, don't bother even trying to lock up Kasta - she's been biting lately. But I can't stay with you anymore."

"What does that mean?"

"That I still need time and space to think about this, it's not a decision I can come to in a single evening," you sighed. "Look, I'll move out - "

"No, wait," Aemond stepped towards you but you held a hand.

"It's for the best," you backed off a step. "I can't live in our room anymore, not when you are everywhere. I'll suffocate."

"I'll move out."

"Do you not listen?" You groaned lightly. "You're all I see in that room, and I need time apart. I understand what happened with Vhagar, I do - and while I'm sorry you feel guilt over losing control, I still need you to have accountability for the actions taken tonight. You've started a war - both in life with my mother, and in my heart with my head."

Your words planted his feet as his stomach plunged; letting you slip past him only just - your ears catching his whisper, "Will you ever forgive me?"

You paused but did not look at him. "Time will tell," you alluded, unsure of what to tell him in truth. You left after that, the storm thick and making you stick to back allies of King's Landing to reach the Red Keep again. Seemingly out of respect, Aemond did not follow, and from your shared quarters, you made a beeline for the one thing you wanted. The rest of the room and all contents shared some kind of memory attached to your husband.

You only took an ornate jewelry box your mother had gifted you years ago and quickly fled the room in favor of locating Amira. From there, she helped you locate a new room, and together, you shoveled clothes into trucks, and with another maid, Clara, carried two full trunks between you three.

You lead, holding one handle, Amira in the middle, both hands holding an end of a trunk, and Clara at the rear; a single rucksack strung around yours and Clara's shoulders. You ignored the bewildered looks of others to quickly head for your new room, somewhere far from Aemond to avoid accidentally running into him.

Your two maidens helped you unload your trunks with two jugs of wine - the night long, and given your status, you could 'relieve' the two women of their daily chores. So, they spent the night with you, and you didn't dare open your mouth about what happened.

You told them you and Aemond had a terrible fight and you needed space to think. They understood and while you saw the way Clara wanted to push, Amira was sending her stern looks that silenced the younger girl. They did not linger after the sun broke the horizon, but Amira did return to bring you something for breakfast.

You didn't realize this would become your new normal.

Weeks upon weeks went by with Aemond keeping his distance and it drove you up the bloody wall. On one hand, you were frustrated because you were alone, but also angry, because he killed your brother. You craved his affection, his touch, but still felt repulsed by the sight of him. He liked to send you flowers; filling your room with sickly sweetness that made your anger almost solidify, but the reminder of the act of kindness went farther than you were willing to admit; and though you'd not admit it, each little card that came with the flowers were saved in a small, carved wooden box.

On the loneliest nights, you curled up in bed, caressed your still-growing bump, and reread his declarations of love and loyalty. His words that read how much he missed you, and prayed for you daily.

In order to maintain appearances to both his family and the public, you and Aemond attended official royal events together. However, the silence between you and Aemond echoed across any room; earning the attention of his family.

They were well aware by now of Luke's demise and could only assume you knew, as well; but nobody ever confronted you about it after Aemond threatened physical harm to any who dared. When Aegon threw Aemond a feast to celebrate his 'accomplishment', not even the arrogant boy-King questioned your notable absence. Especially after teasing he'd go collect you himself - and earned Aemond's venomous glare that rooted him in spot.

For weeks, you slept alone, mostly ate alone, couldn't bare to sit with Helaena and her children anymore. You were heartbroken and feeling sick from stress, isolating yourself in the hope of figuring out your emotions and next steps forward.

You tried to rationalize in your head that in times of war, casualties were inevitable; but you were frustrated because it was the first punch, and never knew where to place your emotions. Granted, you could've considered Aegon's coronation provocation towards war but your mother was trying to be calculated in her movements; almost now forced into the fray following the death of Lucerys.

Despite this understanding, nothing in your mind cleared.

Until enough was enough when the next storm struck the city. You flinched awake and felt your chest tighten with memories of your baby brother as the storm had tapped into your subconscious to make you dream of him. It felt more like a haunting now.

You were left alone to pace the cold, stone floors, the hearth stoked to life, flowers slowly drying from a vase on the spare table, but the thunder made you tremble and rub your palms together. Your mind did not stop, nor did the frantic, vapid beat of your heart; anxiety flaring with each flash of lightning.

You flinched when there was a pounding at your door. Not a knock, but four beats of a fist in rapid succession that nearly made the whole door shake off its hinges.

Gulping any nerves, you reached for the handle and opened it a crack; curious as to who would call upon you at this late hour. But what you saw surprised you, making you blink a few times. "You're soaked," You whispered, leaning on the door you held, taking note of the rain water dripping off Aemond's form.

"There were matters I had to attend to, so, I was outside for a time," he explained with a nervous nod. "I was just returning, and only wanted to come by and check on you..."

"Why?"

He shrugged some, "The storm, and because I love you. I didn't want you feeling so alone. I know you grow weary."

You nodded as another crack of thunder rumbled, making you ask softly, "Do you want to come in?"

"Yes, thank you," he whispered with a curt nod, watching you step away to push the door open and grant him passage into the smaller room. When he stepped over the threshold, you gulped nervously and shut the door securely. "You rearranged," he noted with a small chuckle. "Like you did in our room."

"I think I am nesting," you smiled, smoothing a hand around your swollen belly. "Times I am stressed, I can curl up in bed with a book."

He nodded, "Good."

The bookshelf was in a new place than the first, last, and only time he's seen your new room, and the bed was pushed into a corner where you had piled a mountain of pillows to create a literal nest. You watched him for a moment, offering, "Do you want to change? You might catch a cold in that."

He nodded, "Uh, yeah, yes, that would be much appreciated. Thank you, sweet girl, but I have clothes in, uh, our room..."

You smiled softly and went to the wardrobe to find him something new, warm, and suitable to change into. "I kept some of your clothes, they're comfortable to sleep in," you explained, slightly defending yourself as you didn't like feeling so vulnerable under his luminescent gaze. "What were your errands?" You wondered gently.

He sighed, "I had to visit the Storm Lands again, Aegon had a new message for Lord Borros."

"How fairs your intended?"

He laughed, "Oh, my beautiful girl, you still think that's happening?"

"Is it, Aemond?"

"Not in the slightest," he sighed, nodding with assurance when your eyes met his with skepticism. "I told Aegon now wasn't the time for strife between my wife and I, and I wasn't available to do his bidding nor make his alliances."

You considered his words, then asking, "Is there news?"

Aemond cleared his throat, nodding as you presented the clothing and sat it on the bed. Then, your hands took hold of his jerkin and started to undo the latches and laces - as if no time had passed. He sighed, "Your step-father claimed Harrenhal and the Lady Arryn and Lords Manderly, Sunderland, and Stark, maybe another, have declared for your mother's side."

You nodded, peeling the wet leather from his form. "And your news to Storm's End?"

"To break the engagement in person, but Borros did not seem too disheartened."

"You think he would abandon the cause?"

"No," he sighed. "He's smarter than that."

"Uneducated, though," you mused gently, peeling his tunic free from his damp chest. "Hang on," you paused, moving for the heath to pull off a towel from a drying rack. When you returned, you asked, "And how are you feeling now?"

"Exhausted," he whispered. "But I was worried about you, Princess, when I came home and saw the storm was here, too."

You nodded, "You do not need worry - "

"Of course I do," he snarled gently, "you are most precious to me, my love," he frowned as his tone tapered off, shaking his head. "'S been killing me trying to give you space."

"Thank you for it," you nodded, sweeping over his skin to dry it before handing him the thin, white tunic. "But um..." You paused with nervousness, nudging his booted foot with your bare one. "Take those off."

"What were you truly going to say?"

You rolled your eyes some, silently cursing him for knowing you so bloody well. "That I do not wish to be alone tonight... Maybe you'd like to stay?"

"You'd want me?"

"Of course," you nodded, gently unlacing his trousers and stepping away to let him change completely into drier pants. "I told you I didn't want to be alone."

"You've been so angry."

"With reason."

"I know," he nodded, eye tinging red from restrained emotion. "I'm so sorry - "

"For what this time?"

"All of it," he reached for you, changed finally. "But I swore you wouldn't be alone, and here, I just left you."

"I wanted to be alone," you reminded softly.

"Did not mean you should have been," he whispered, letting his forehead meet yours. He let out a sigh of relief, "Let me fix us."

"I think time apart has sickened my stomach... And your child misses the sound of your voice," you admitted. "I don't want to be without you anymore, but your brother oversteps himself."

"I know - "

"He threw you a feast for killing my brother," you reminded, stepping away. "He mocks my pain."

"I will have a word with him - and with everyone. You will not be caught between this war, you are my wife, and I will protect you against them all."

"I am only loyal to you," you sighed. "So, whatever you ask of me, I will do, but only that. I am not your brother's subject - "

"Hey," he quipped, slipping his hand over your mouth and giving a suspicious glance around the room. "I hear you, pet, I do, trust me, but the walls have ears now. Please..."

You sighed, rolling your eyes at him before opening your mouth and boldly licking his palm. He tasted like leather, and just like you wanted, he recoiled in shock from the feel of your tongue. "Wash your hands, husband," you chuckled, moving to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Because you don't know where you've been, wife?" He teased, pulling a soft mug at his soiled hand before stepping away from you to head for the wash basin.

"I haven't really left this room, Aemond," you sighed.

"I know," he admitted, washing his hands and forearms, "I was worried about you isolating yourself but Amira kept saying you needed space to think."

"She's a good friend," you smiled gently, watching him. "Can we be done with this?"

He offered a look of shock, "What? With what, love?"

You sighed, quelling his worry by responding, "This fight? The distance between us? I don't... I don't want space anymore. I just want you, Aemond, I want my husband back."

His shoulders gently slumped with relief as he dried his hands. "Yes, good, we're done, it's at an end, my love. You have me, you always have - and always will."

"I'm still working on forgiving you but I think, all things considered, we can start... Moving on..."

He nodded, "Many are lost in war, but I am so sorry he was the first. And that it was by my hand."

"Thank you for saying that," you nodded at him, finding his accountability refreshing. "Come to bed, please?"

"In your nest?" He chuckled, letting your hand reach for his and lead him to the mattress.

"Yes, it's cozy," you defended. "And you made me sleep alone, so, I made do with what I had."

"Fight's over, love, that's all done now," he promised with a sigh, settling into your nest and readjusting a few times. "Hmm," he considered, glancing around the mountain of silks and fluff. "I don't think I hate it completely."

"Shhh," you hushed as you moved to curl up at his side. The hearth had died a bit in flame, but the warmth was enough that you only needed a thin sheet for comfort. You smiled when his hand laid to your belly, rubbing gently as if in fascination.

"Missed you so much, sweet girl," he whispered, kissing your forehead. You sighed against him, promising you missed him, too; then deflating into his chest as sleep tugged at your form. You still flinched into his embrace on a few particular hard claps of thunder rattling the walls and windows, but Aemond was there to soothe you back into gentle submission.

Yet, by morning, there was nothing but chaos.

"MY PRINCE!" Someone banged at the door, making you and your husband flinch awake. "PRINCESS!"

"The hell?" Aemond muttered through a haze of sleep, hand tightening on your waist.

"MY PRINCE! PLEASE! PRINCESS! WAKE UP! WAKE UP, PLEASE! MY LADY! LORD! LORD, PLEASE!"

"That's Mira," you realized, sitting up in shock. "Come in, come in!"

"Love," Aemond reprimanded, yanking the bedsheet over his bare hips after feigning being too hot in the night to spend it in your cunt with you still in your singlet.

The door barged open and Amira entered with a pant, "You both need to come quick!"

"What's happened? Are we under attack?" You worried.

"No, no, well, I-I don't - I don't know anymore," she panted, using her hands to reiterate her words. "Something has happened - "

"Tell us plainly," Aemond demanded.

"The Queen - y-your mother, s-s-someone broke in a-and bound her," Amira told you both with a tremble; making you grab Aemond's hand as if it would quell his growing temper. "Th-They killed the hand maiden and your sister arrived with all three of her children, like they do every night - t-to say goodnight to their grandmother."

"No," you whispered.

"The door was barred," Amira's tears started, "an-and the Queen was made to choose which of her sons would die."

"For the love of the Gods," Aemond cursed, looking down as if to prepare himself.

Amira gulped.

"Tell us," you encouraged.

"S-She named Maelor... But they killed Jaehaerys instead." You felt the tears swell. "They took his head, and fled the Keep," she whispered.

"What?" You gasped.

"But, wait, wait," she saw both your temper and Aemond's flare when his head lifted to burn her with his glare. The missing eyepatch allowed his sapphire to leave her unnerved. "One of the assassins was caught. He's been brought to the dungeons."

"The dungeons?" Aemond nodded.

"Yes, my Prince. Your brother is being informed and anticipated he'll call for you," she explained. "Your mother is being seen to, she is well-enough, and the Lady Helaena was not harmed... But she is beside herself with grief."

"Rightfully," you nodded, watching Amira sniffle.

"I'll go, but perhaps, Lady, you should remain... You do not need to bear witness to the King's justice," she spoke softly.

"I will go with my husband, thank you, Amira," you nodded at her, letting her turn for the door in haste. "Aemond?" You turned to him, reaching for his cheek to direct his attention to you. "Hey, hey, stay in the present with me; take me through your thoughts..."

He shook his head, leaning in to sigh when his head rested in the crook of your neck. "I do not even know," he admitted. "What am I supposed to do right now? What am I to think? What - What if they came for us? Came for you?" His hand secured to your belly. "This is retribution for Lucerys, this is my fault - my doing. They could've come for you, my love - "

"They did not because they know I am under your protection, my sweet love," you muttered, caressing the back of his head. "Nobody would be so foolish."

"Then perhaps I need to keep you close," he frowned, lifting his gaze. "So that I can protect you at all times." You nodded, letting his hand caress your belly in soothing circles. "I-I am ashamed to admit I cannot stop thinking about it. If they came for you."

"Aemond," your hand reached for his jaw; fingers fitting between his ear to thread slightly into his hair. "Do not burden yourself with the unknown, please. The hypothetical, it-it will not serve us now. When we're alone, yes, my love, please, grieve and be upset and tell me what thoughts plague your mind. But we need to hit pause because there's business to attend right now."

He sniffled and nodded some. "You're right. Come with me, please."

You agreed, and together, got from the bed. After changing from your singlet, you both hustled through the castle to make for the dungeons - your husband armed with his long sword and two different daggers. Your hand was tight in his, trying to help keep him level headed as you met Aegon and witnessed the murderer, 'Blood', be tortured for answers.

He admitted to a partner, a rat-catcher named Cheese, and that he was on his way to collect payment for the Prince's death from your step-father, Daemon. Aemond's arm constricted around you when he heard, trying to prevent any residual anger be directed your way.

Yet, it never came.

Blood confessed to being told this ransom by some 'whore', nicknamed Misery - and you stilled at the familiar name. Only Aemond noted it, and he would question you later - where you'd admit to knowing the name of the White Worm because she was Daemon's paramour - before focusing on the interrogation.

The rest was a frenzy.

Over a two week period, Aegon hung every single rat-catcher in the city after being unsuccessful in locating this 'Cheese' character. In truth, they could not find your step-father's woman, either, but finding Cheese was much more important - since he fucking murdered the Prince. To be sure, all were executed and Aegon had their heads mounted on spikes around the Red Keep's fortress walls, and the Hand, Otto, had cats shipped into the Keep to take over the catcher's old job.

You and Aemond sought comfort in each other's arms the night you found out the truth of his sister's state. She had locked herself away and threw herself into a deep depression, unable to care for her children, and absolutely refusing to care for Maelor - after she named him to die. In response, Aegon had taken up residence in another room and gave his mother, Alicent, care of the baby after deeming his sister-wife unfit.

It made the both of you outrageously grateful for one another and all feelings of hardship truly evaporated. He held you close, letting his fingers run over your flesh; relishing in the warm feel of your curves. He liked kissing your forehead, holding your baby bump, letting calloused fingertips trace the contours of your face.

Yet the worst was yet to come.

The blows kept coming.

Aegon had seemingly lost the support of the mainland, the Riverlands, and left him in a drunken despair following the murder of his son. He grew tired of waiting and denounced his grandsire, Otto Hightower, as Hand before anointing Ser Criston Cole.

You and Aemond had shared looks of mistrust when the ceremony occurred to announce the change of position - both feeling as if Aemond was being cheated out of a natural position.

Yet, he did not voice anything and did as he was bid.

He did not let you on the frontlines despite his brother's nagging and pushing for such. Aemond worried for the babe in your womb and refused his brother every time - telling him to condemn both you and he as a traitor for it, then.

Aegon never followed through and actually left you be. Yet, as if in retaliation, he sent Aemond on constant errands and missions.

One day, when your husband returned victorious from his latest mission with his brother, who you could not see, because Ameond was rushing for you waiting at the gates of the Keep, and seized hold of your hips. "Come with me," he ushered, trying to lead you away.

"What's wrong?" You worried, hearing the crowds gather in the city streets. "Aemond? 'S goin' on, love?"

He sighed, and then you saw it over his shoulder. "Oh, Gods, no, no, no, no, no," you whispered, a large wagon carrying the head of the Red Queen, Meleys, who was your Grandmother's dragon. "What happened?" You rounded on Aemond. "Tell me what happened!"

"It was a fair fight," he assured softly, avoiding your gaze. "But..."

"Please, just tell me," you whispered, one hand to your lower belly as if to support the babe growing in your womb.

"Meleys perished and her head was brought back to encourage the commonfolk. Sunfyre was severely wounded and had to be left behind in Rook's Rest, and Aegon is gravely wounded, he'll be seen by the Maester's, and..."

"Please."

"Your Grandmother, Princess Rhaenys, did not survive. Or, so we think. There was a body too charred to identify found with the Red Queen."

"Gods," you sighed, wrapping your arms around his waist to rest on his chest. You whispered sadly, "It just follows us now, doesn't it? Everywhere we look..."

"What does?"

"Death."

He frowned and leaned down to kiss your head, giving a tight squeeze. "I'm so sorry," he whispered to you.

But the blows didn't stop.

Rumor reached the Keep of your brother, Prince Jacerys, collecting Targaryen bastards - offering a knighthood to those who could conquer any of the six, riderless dragons left on Dragonstone. Apparently, many tired, many failed, and only four were conquered - including King Jaehaerys' dragon, Vermithor.

The Greens were vastly outmatched.

You grew nervous and Aemond often spent his nights mindlessly tracing up and down your spine to assure you he was still there. He was still alive. He was still with you.

The blows kept coming.

Your two half-brothers, Viserys II and Aegon the Younger, were being transferred across the sea when the Green's navy found them. No ships were left untouched and rumor had it, only Aegon III survived - clinging to the neck of his injured dragon. However, there was no way of confirming if he ever washed ashore or not, so, the idea of him being lost to the sea sank your stomach to new depths.

Over the Gullet of Blackwater Bay, your brother, Jace, had apparently flown too close to the water's surface when he descended to avenge his half-brothers. He leapt from Vermax' back as the dragon crashed and died in the accident, leaving the Green's navy defenses to take aim and shoot the Prince to the death.

He was never pulled from the waters. Again, another brother with no body to mourn or burn.

However, the men Otto recruited from the Stepstones made landfall and sacked Spicetown before laying siege to High Tide. Apparently, they burnt the whole of it, and all of your Grandfather, Corlys', treasures were lost. In addition, a third of his fleet was set ablaze - and you felt guilt for the small relief you felt.

Maybe the end of the war was soon upon you.

By a stroke of nature, you went into labor following news of your brother's demise. It was the smallest semblance of happiness the Greens could find, and they paced at your door; curious for the new addition to the family. Husbands weren't usually allowed in the birthing chambers but Aemond left no choice; holding your hand through it all and using a cloth to dab sweat from your forehead and brow. He paced with you, sat behind you when you needed to squat, did not let anyone touch you when you did not wish to be touched.

He was encouraging, soft, loving, and mostly, worried. The labors of birth was not for the weak of heart, and Aemond had to remind himself several times to be strong for you.

A full fucking day and a half in labor, and you and Aemond were then laid in bed holding a pair of twins. A boy, who looked just as his father does, who his mother named Olyver, and a little girl, who liked to wriggle around in her father's arms, who he named Brinna.

"You did so good, my love, so good," Aemond whispered from beside you, supporting your weight on his shoulder and weight of his newborn daughter in his arms. "Look at them. They're beautiful, aren't they?"

"Mhm," you assured softly.

His mother and brother visited to offer good tidings, leaving both of you surprised by Aegon's presence. Helaena never showed. But Otto did, offering you both congratulations.

Aemond was awe-struck, holding his children carefully; thanking you repeatedly for giving him the gift of fatherhood. They were gorgeous babes with stark white hair and bright purple eyes that slowly darkened with the passing weeks.

Aemond was obsessed. He liked their cribs at the base of your bed - in case they needed anything - and was always first to hop up to offer them care or comfort. Except when they were hungry, then he had to wake you, but he liked sitting behind you as you nursed the twins one at a time, on different breasts.

He couldn't stop showering you in compliments, truly in awe over what you both had created. He didn't like maids or midwives around the babies, often shooing them away in favor of either of you. Following the Blood and Cheese incident, he was overly protective and did not like your twins far from either of you. However, he was the first to call for aid when the long nights took a toll on you; leaving you to rest undisturbed while the babies slept in a separate room.

Any night your husband wasn't home, you were laid in bed with your twins with a wall of pillows around the edges. Aemond was named Protector of the Realm in his brother's absence - Aegon recovering from his severe broken bones and burns obtained at Rook's Rest. This only meant your husband was extremely busy as of late, but every night, no matter the time, he still came back to you.

You preferred knowing he was in meetings and strategy sessions rather than out on the frontlines with Vhagar - never allowing you to know of his safety. It was a gamble if he came home, which resulted in a passionate reunion, yes, but the anxiety you felt wasn't truly worth it. Now that he ruled in his brother's stead, you knew he'd come to bed eventually and started to settle down easier.

But then, when your children were under two, Aemond came to you with a proposition; late from a war strategy meeting, and slipping into bed behind you. He gave a tight squeeze to your frame, making you hum as you woke up fully from your sleepy daze.

"My love," you muttered, reaching up to caress the back of his neck as his lips pressed into your neck several times. You sighed in contentment, small smile on your lips.

"I need to ask you something important, sweet girl. Are you awake?"

"Mhm. What's wrong?" Then, you shot up to twist around and look at him with a crazed expression, "Is it the children!?"

"No, no," he soothed quickly, slowly coaxing you to lay down again. "C'mere, please," he sighed, slowly guiding you back into position. You tried to relax but his words made you suspicious; letting a hand lace with his that was resting on your stomach.

"What is it, love? Worrying me a bit," you sighed, feeling his breath fan over your neck and shoulder.

"Could you ride Kasta with us?" He sighed into your hair, being the big spoon.

"Where, my Prince?"

"To Harrenhal," he revealed quietly. "We mean to move on Daemon from the East and the Lannisters from the West, and in truth, I would hope he'd at least yield if he saw you. Or, more like, if he saw Kasta."

You nodded softly and turned in his arms so you could see his worried expression, reaching out to trace a fingertip over his face. You asked in a whisper, "You would spare him?"

"I have been the cause of enough of your grief, my love," he whispered, "I would try to undo some damage. Yes, I would take him alive, spare his life."

You sighed, "All right."

"We march at dawn after Cole and his men," he informed.

You sighed in agreement, "All right. Then, you're not fucking me, we're going to sleep if I'm to leave bed for long."

His grin was felt against your lips, and just as he planned, your resolve crumbled easily to let him flip you back around and slip inside you, but he still left time for you both to rest. What a gentleman. When you rose, both you and Aemond dressed for the excursion before kissing your children goodbye.

With your husband at your side, you both mounted your dragons solemnly before letting them take to the skies - the armies long-gone with Cole at the lead. They were easy to catch up with, and unknown to any of you, your step-father knew of the Green movement and flew Caraxes to King's Landing to meet your mother on Syrax.

None of you would know of the damage until it was too late.

After a 19-day march through mud and rain, that was met with only few battles from lesser Lords, you were surprised to find Harrenhal empty. Abandoned. There was only the weakened bodies of House Strong left, and all were taken prisoner. You eyed the castle wearily after Aemond had called you from the skies, feet crunching over charred dirt as you went.

"What's happened?" Aemond wondered gently, looking around with you in skepticism.

"He fled," you noted with suspicion, eyes meeting your husband's gaze as you slowly reached for his hand. "He wouldn't unless for something bigger, Aemond."

He nodded mutely as a grinning Cole approached you both, informing, "The whole place is abandoned. Word must've reached him of our numbers and he didn't want the fight. I imagine he's already back at Dragonstone."

You hummed, "Maybe, but it's not like Daemon to flee. We're talking about the same madman who took the Blood Stone Island singlehandedly - "

"Until he was overrun and your Grandsire rode to his aid," Cole cut off, sighing at you. "Daemon's past triumphs are of no use nor concern here. The truth is, he's fled the fortress and it's been reclaimed in the name of King Aegon."

"No, something's not right," you insisted, still glancing around as if to expect a message that would tell you where Daemon had gone. "He wouldn't just give up, not without the Queen's explicit instruction."

"Could his Queen have given another order?" Aemond wondered, and Cole had to physically restrain himself from snapping that Rhaenyra was the False Queen - and that Alicent and Helaena were the rightful leading Ladies of the Realm.

You paused to consider his question, muttering, "'S possible. But what was said? And when?" Your head shook, "No, something's not right. Can't you feel it?"

"They say this castle is haunted, Lady," Cole sighed.

"No, it goes beyond that - and fuck off, Cole, ghosts are real," you snipped, waving him off. "I don't think we should stay, I-I think we should return to the capital. Love?"

Before Aemond could answer, Cole did, "No, we need to hold the fort."

"With respect," you spat at Cole, "but this is not the easy win you think it is. How much would you wager there's been a spy?"

"Impossible - "

"Improbable," you corrected, "but very much possible."

This lead you three to make for one of the strategy rooms to argue, nobody truly knowing what the next course of action should be.

That was, until the late hours, when a bloodied and soot-covered messenger arrived. "Love," You gasped when the man burst into the room, grabbing onto Aemond in shock.

"Who are you?" Aemond demanded, hand to his longsword.

"I-I come - I come from the Keep, my Prince," the man panted. "I carry grave news."

"What's happened?" Cole demanded.

The message was simple: after they had all left, Rhaenyra and Daemon flew their dragons over the city and your Grandsire, Corlys, sailed into Blackwater Bay - seizing it. Any messenger was caught and arrested, anyone trying to send ravens, too. Yet, your messenger only managed to escape through the back tunnels under the Keep; but could not avoid the panic of the city.

"What of the King?" Aemond demanded.

Larys Strong had managed to smuggle Aegon, his daughter, Jaehaera, and Prince Maelor out of the city. He sent the children to different places, and did not say where Aegon was sent. You'd only learn later he was planted in Dragonstone.

"Where is Larys now?" Aemond muttered, being told the man simply disappeared and there was no further news of him.

"And the Queen?" Cole needed to know.

Alicent had been spared, but her father, Otto, your husband's grandsire, had been beheaded - and any remaining Greens surrendered to Rhaenyra. The city was sacked in less than a day.

"What of our children?" Aemond demanded with a tremor to his voice, his arm around you tightened with each passing second as you waited for an answer.

Allegedly, Alicent had been found holding your babies tightly to her chest, trying to protect them - begging they be spared when finally caught. But Rhaenyra thought the little girl looked oddly like Laena Velaryon, and upon closer inspection, discovered the twins to definitely be your children. They were spared and being taken care of by your mother, now; apparently being under strict watch.

"Oh, Gods," you breathed, starting to pace as panic cemented your stomach. "I-I should not have left. Oh, no, no, no, Gods, please, no, what have we done?"

"We don't know if your life would've been spared, my love," Aemond argued, turning to grab onto you and halt your pacing, "better you were here with us then left to the unknown. We will get our babies back, I swear to you."

"No, no, this is my mother we're talking about, Aemond," you snapped. "She would not harm me - "

"She would if she thought you Green," he pointed out. "I know you're worried, I am, too, but we will find our children soon. We are not abandoning them, I promise you."

"I just want our family together," you whispered tearfully, feeling stressed beyond belief. His arms encircled around you, letting you rest against his chest and almost forgetting the present company.

"My Prince?" Cole asked.

"We march for the capital," his head turned to look at Cole and nod, arms never loosening from around you. It was as if he thought his arms protected you, but it wasn't like you wanted to leave.

"No, no, we should join with Ormund Hightower and your brother, Prince Daeron!"

"Our family needs us," Aemond argued. "Our children, Cole! Where is your head, how can you think there's any other choice of action!?"

"The country needs us - and Daeron is your kin, so are the Hightowers!"

"Our children are in a sacked city, Cole! They're left with the enemy!"

"Which is truly unfortunate, but there is nothing - "

"LIKE HELL THERE ISN'T!" Aemond roared, letting go of you to stride up Cole in anger. "Our children will not be sacrificed! If it takes every life of every man at disposal, then that is what we will do!"

"You're all ignoring the biggest point," you snapped, reddened eyes glaring at the two men as the messenger was given leave to rest. "I told you Daemon did not simply leave - he was tipped off. There's a mole amongst us and someone is sharing secrets."

Aemond's head snapped to look at you, "I told you I did not trust him..."

"Who?" Cole asked.

"Ser Larys Strong," you sneered. "I do believe we need to have a conversation with Ser Simon Strong."

"For now, Lady, we should feast," Cole nodded. "It's been a long journey and the men are tired. Please, for tonight, allow us reprieve from turmoil."

Aemond nodded in agreement, and while you rested from pure exhaustion in a hard, cold bed, your husband took part in the night's festivities. You heard rumor later of him boasting how Daemon grew weary from their numbers and strength, but never once gave mention to the suspicions you shared.

[ part two ]

[ alternate ending one: Kin Slayer ]

[ series masterlist ]

#aemond targaryen #aemond the kinslayer #prince aemond #aemond targaryen x reader #aemond targaryen x fem!reader #aemond targaryen imagine #house of the dragon #hotd #hotd imagine #hotd x reader

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