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#but then her mother calls her 'dora' and the nickname is like a slap to the face and astarion is suddenly bow string taut at isa's elbow
shadowglens · 8 months
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isadora visits her father's grave, despite the fact that she told herself she'd never set foot within neverwinter again, because she's not really sure what else to do in the wake of learning he died. the dirt is still freshly-churned, his body barley cooled six feet under - she missed the funeral by two days. astarion goes with her, because of course he does, wrapped head-to-toe in armour to save his skin from crumbling to dust under the blaring sun. on their way back to the tavern where they'd rented a room for the night, isa unconsciously finds herself walking by her childhood home, with the arched doorway and her father's merchant symbol engraved on the front steps. too late, she realises. too late, and her mother is opening the front door.
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redgillan · 4 years
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Under Pastel Skies - 5
Sugar daddy!Bucky Barnes x Reader
Summary: Modern!AU Bucky doesn’t need anyone, especially not a sugar baby. He isn’t that desperate… but she smiles so sweetly and she’s endearingly awkward, and he’s so lonely. She’s an artist, a painter, the type of person who always puts others before herself. Throwing caution to the wind Bucky offers her a place to live, a place where she can finally paint whatever her heart desires. He doesn’t need much in return; a friend, a muse.
Word Count: 4,569
Warnings: none
A/N: Let me just thank you for your support, it’s so heartwarming and I love you so much. I’m sorry this chapter is so long, I have no idea how that happened. I hope you enjoy this :’)
Wannabe sugar daddies, don’t interact with this post.
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After you agreed to move in with Bucky and become a full time artist, everything started to move incredibly fast. The dinner went well, you worked out the details of your contract with Sam and Nat who didn’t seem surprised that this was happening.
You left your job almost overnight, only giving them two weeks’ notice. They easily found a new breakfast attendant and you even trained your replacement. You emptied your locker, returned your name tag and your master key, and went on your merry way.
Now you were on your way to Bucky’s apartment, a suitcase full of clothes between your legs and another full of administrative papers, beauty products and whatnot between Natasha’s legs. She had insisted on coming with you to help you get settled. You didn’t own furniture or anything that required her help so you figured she just wanted to make sure Bucky was treating you right.
He had already transferred your monthly allowance to your bank account, which prompted your bank to call you. They wanted to know where the 5 thousand dollars came from and you told them it was a gift. “If your friend’s looking for new friends give them my number, yeah?” the man on the phone told you.
The rocking motion of the train had a soothing effect on you, almost lulling you to sleep. You let your head fall against the window and played one of your favourite game –people watching.
There was a man reading a newspaper, standing with his feet apart as if the cart was one giant skateboard. A woman was putting on makeup, another was playing a game on her phone. The woman sitting next to you was wrestling with her toddler who wanted to snatch your scarf. It was a quiet day.
“Are we going to talk about it?” Natasha asked, her face as cold as stone.
“’Bout what?” you replied in a sleepy voice.
“About your crush on James.”
“I don’t have a crush on Bucky.”
As soon as the words passed your lips, a tiny, sticky hand landed on your jaw, making a wet slapping sound. You blinked hard, your eyes trained on Natasha who was now openly smiling at the toddler next to you.
“See? Even the baby knows you’re a liar,” she said, singing the last word.
You turned your head to look at the baby and saw him put his fist in his mouth, his eyes bright and wide. With a happy squeal he launched himself at you again, smacking you in the face. The mother apologized and held her child against her chest, softly admonishing him to stop throwing himself at strangers. You felt that. He spent the rest of the ride looking at you.
“So, really, you’re going to move in with a man you have a massive crush on, and we’re not even going to talk about it,” she pressed on.
You huffed, wiping baby goo from your cheek with your sleeve. “You’re like a dog with a bone.”
“And you’re the bone.”
You got off the train and walked to Bucky’s apartment, your suitcase rolling behind you. Natasha was silent next to you, something that almost never happened. You counted your steps in your head, waiting for her to speak.
“You didn’t have to move out of my apartment.”
22 steps. That’s how long Natasha managed to stay quiet for. “Of course, I had to. I’m not going to do Brooklyn-Chelsea every day.”
When Bucky had offered his guest bedroom, your first reaction had been to politely refuse. Bucky seemed like a nice guy, but what if he had a glass cage in his basement? What if he trapped you there and commissioned paintings to you? Psycho killer, qu'est ce que c'est.
Then he opened up about his past, his insecurities, and it made you long to hold him. There was a vulnerability in his eyes, the kind that only come from an unprotected heart. You realized there was more chance of you hurting him than the opposite.
“You’re the one who organized this whole thing,” you reminded Natasha.
“Yeah, but I didn’t know you had a crush on him. And if someone tells Okoye this was my idea, she’ll kill me.”
You turned to her with a not-sorry smile. “Yup.”
Your big sister was like most big sisters: extremely protective. When your mother had to work late, she was in charge and she took her role very seriously. You were nine when she finally got her driver’s licence, and that day she graduated from sister to mother. Eat your vegetables. Did you do your homework? I know you didn’t brush your teeth.
Okoye was loyal, protective, intimidating, and never afraid to speak her mind. When she decided to join the Dora Milaje, you thought the job was perfect for her –the king’s bodyguard, now that’s something you’d like to put on your resume.
“Do you want me to stay tonight?” Natasha asked as you got inside the elevator.
“Why are you so worried?”
“I don’t know.” She pressed her back against the wall and shrugged. “It’s always been you and me. Since first grade.”
You returned her sad smile with one of your own. “Heckle and Jeckle.”
She barked out a laugh at the memory. It was the nickname her father had for the two of you. It used to be a popular animated cartoon in the 50s. It was the story of two talking magpies who were always getting into some kind of trouble.
You stepped out of the elevator, still arguing about which one of you got to be Jeckle, the less problematic of the two, when you noticed that Bucky was patiently waiting for you by the front door. He didn’t say anything but there was an amused smile on his face.
He let you put your suitcases in the guest room near the kitchen and told you that he had to run a few errands, giving you a little privacy. Natasha hung up your clothes in the wardrobe while you unpacked your other stuff and put them away in the drawers of your dresser.
It didn’t take you long to unpack. When you were done, you threw yourself onto the bed, watching Natasha. You were excited to sleep in a real bed, you couldn’t stop running your hands up and down the comforter.
“Jeckle,” Natasha said, looking at the mostly empty wardrobe. “You need new clothes.”
“Ugh, yes,” you groaned from the bed.
When you were a teenager, you used to spend every weekend at the mall with your sisters and Natasha. Your wardrobe wasn’t big enough to fit all your clothes and your mother often asked you to get rid of the things you didn’t wear anymore. You never did.
Then life happened, and you didn’t have the energy or money to go shopping anymore.
You went to the kitchen to grab something to drink. Bucky’s fridge was even bigger than the one you had at work, and it was full of food in neatly labelled rows of Tupperware containers. The one in front of you was labelled ‘baby carrots’.
“Neat freak alert,” Natasha commented, peering over your shoulder into the refrigerator.
“Stop it.”
You took a bottle of water and sat at the kitchen island while Natasha continued investigating his kitchen. Bucky had several gadgets that few people had in their kitchen like a cutting board with suction cups on the bottom and nails on top to hold the food in place while slicing.
It was obvious that he liked to cook, and for some reason it made you smile. You pictured him cooking for one and your heart squeezed painfully in your chest. It was a sad mental image and you shook your head to get rid of it.
The front door opened and you lifted your head to see what Natasha was doing. She was holding Bucky’s meal plan, perusing it intensely. Bucky entered the room and greeted you with a smile before he made his way over to the fridge.
“Can I help you with anything?” he asked.
Natasha waved the meal plan in your direction mouthing ‘it’s laminated’ while Bucky retrieved a bottle of water for himself. You gestured wildly at her to put it back down.
“No, I’m good,” you replied with a slightly crazed smile. He looked between you and Natasha with a frown. “Natasha was about to leave.”
“Was I?” she replied, tilting her head.
“Yeah, you have stuff to do, remember?” You gave her a pointed stare.
“No.”
You widened your eyes at her and moved your head in the direction of the hallway that led to the front door. You tried to be discreet but you knew you weren’t fooling anyone. She watched you, unfazed.
Luckily, Bucky came to your rescue.
“Thank you for coming all the way out here, Natasha. Do you want me to call you a cab?” His tone left no room for discussion. You hid your grin behind your glass.
“That won’t be necessary,” she replied without looking at him.
You walked Natasha back to the front door and opened it. She glared at something over your shoulder and you turned to see if Bucky was there. He wasn’t.
“Wait, I forgot to tell him that if he hurts you I’ll kill him.”
You grabbed her by the shoulders when she tried to move past you. “I think he got the message. Thanks for coming with me. I’ll call you tonight.”
“You’d better,” she warned with a slow nod.
When you returned to the kitchen, it really dawned on you that you were alone with Bucky. He glanced up at you while he was going through his mail. You took your seat and nervously looked around the room. It was too quiet, you didn’t like it.
“I like your friend,” he said, grinning. “She seems very protective of you.”
“She is,” you sighed.
An uncomfortable and strangely melancholic silence hung between you. You were both afraid to say or do the wrong thing. You felt like you didn’t belong there; like a patch sewed on a worn out pair of jeans, mending holes.
“You ok?”
You looked up at him. “Yeah, I just feel a little awkward. I’m... not sure what you want me to do now.”
“Nothing,” he said, rounding the kitchen island to sit on the stool next to you. His eyebrows were pulled together in concern. “This is your home. You can do whatever you want.”
“It doesn’t really feel like my home.” You shrugged one shoulder. “It kinda feels like I just unloaded my crap in your guest room, which is exactly what happened.”
He observed you a moment. “Well, make it your home. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable here.”
“So,” you glanced at him sideways. “If I bought a few things to make this place more... homey, you wouldn’t be mad?”
The corners of his eyes crinkled up as his smile grew. “I’m begging you to make this place more homey. It’s really boring, isn’t it?” he said, looking around the kitchen with a comical frown.
You chuckled. “No, it’s not. Well, maybe a little.”
“Thank you for your honesty,” he said with a laugh.
Bucky watched you with his cheek in the palm of his hand. Your eyes were moving around the room, making mental notes of the things you wanted to add. He smiled, the sparkle was back in your eyes.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” he said, straightening up.
He left the room for a second and came back with his hand hidden behind his back. You looked at him with a playfully suspicious frown as he approached you. You followed his movements closely, your frown deepening when he placed a little white box on the kitchen counter.
“Open it.”
You removed the lid and pulled out a set of keys, undoubtedly the keys to his apartment. The keychain was gleaming the light; a small silver angel that fit snugly in the palm of your hand.
You barely managed to croak out a thank you before you threw yourself at him, hugging him tight. His body tensed instantly and you were about to apologize when you felt his arm wrap around you.
You felt pressure build in your throat, a tingling sensation in your nose, and tried to hide your face in the crook of his neck. The last thing you wanted was for him to catch you crying over a set of keys. Though deep down it wasn’t about the keys, it was the accumulation of pent-up emotions and the realization that you were now completely free to follow your dreams.
You released him but he was still hanging on to you. Tight. His heart was beating fast against your chest. He was a lonely man craving human interaction. So you closed your eyes and rubbed your hands up and down his back –gently and out of sync. After a few long minutes, he untangled himself from you.
“Sorry,” he mumbled, avoiding your eyes. “C’mon, there’s something else I want to show you.”
“Another gift?” You sighed his name when you noted the guilty expression on his face. “It’s too much.”
“It’s a practical gift, hardly a gift at all.”
He took you upstairs to the room that was now your studio. The room hadn’t changed since your last visit, except for the easel placed in the centre. You entered slowly as if you were approaching a frightened mythological creature. You ran your fingers along the wood, your chest tight with the heft of your emotions.
You hadn’t seen one in a while, and now it was right in front of you, beckoning. “Show me how you feel,” the easel said. “Show the world what you’re made of.”
“Thank you so much,” you said, your voice soft.
“I thought it was the perfect housewarming gift for you.”
You turned to him and smiled. “It is. I already bought everything I need. Paint, knives, brushes, canvases... an easel. Sorry, I didn’t know you were going to buy me one. It’s good to have more than one though. Online shops are a bit impersonal.” You walked toward the door where he was waiting. “I miss the smell of art supply stores. It’s so intoxicating, it really gets the creative juices flowing.”
“What does it smell like?”
You closed your eyes and tried to concentrate. “It’s a mix of paint and paper, a woody pencil-sharpening smell mixed with chemicals and ash.”
“Sounds relaxing.”
“It’s heaven,” you said with a dreamy sigh.
Bucky gave you a fond smile and glanced at the keychain still in your hand. “So that’s where angels come from, uh?”
You laughed and pushed his good shoulder playfully. Ever since that fateful day when Bucky asked you out for coffee and you mistook his business date for a romantic date, you learned not to take the things he said too seriously. Bucky was a nice guy, a bit of a flirt sometimes, but his intentions were clear. He wanted a companion, not a girlfriend.
The rest of the afternoon went by in a flash, you went to your room and rearranged a few things while Bucky stayed in his office. At dinnertime you set the table while he finished cooking. You sat in front of a bowl of homemade soup and a grilled cheese sandwich.
After you had practically licked your bowl clean, Bucky leaned back in his chair and watched you with a grin. You felt a little embarrassed. You wiped your mouth with your napkin, trying to look a bit more well-mannered.
“It was really good,” you said.
“Thank you. I gotta say, I was tired of cooking for one. It’s not fun.” He put your empty bowl in his and carried them to the sink. You gathered up plates and utensils and followed him. “You’ll have to tell me what you don’t like.”
“As long as you don’t make me eat broccoli ice cream, I’m good.”
He laughed, remembering your conversation from a couple of week ago. “I don’t think I can stomach it either.” He handed you two small plates and two forks. “I bought a cake. I thought we could celebrate our first day together. Is it creepy? I can’t tell.”
“No, that’s a great idea!” you laughed. “You’re making me feel like it’s my birthday.”
You carried everything to the table while he opened the fridge and retrieved a large pink cardboard box. He balanced the box in his hand, a sharp knife sitting on top. “I’m surprised you didn’t bake it yourself,” you said, picking up the knife.
“Dessert isn’t my forte.” He opened the cardboard box, revealing a three-layer red velvet cake. “I’m too much of a perfectionist. I can make pretty decent pies but sponge cakes are hard to control when you only have one hand.”
“We can bake cakes together if you want. I’m clumsy as hell but I’m willing to learn.”
“That’d be nice,” he replied with a smile.
It was, without a doubt, the best cake you’d ever had in your life. It was incredibly light. The chocolate and vanilla burst in your mouth, mixing perfectly with the bitterness of the buttermilk.
“Red velvet is my favorite,” Bucky said, licking his fork. “Blueberry cheesecakes are good too. And Blackout cakes, umm, so good. Except fruitcakes,” he said, his mouth twisted into a downturned grimace. “Fruitcakes are the devil.”
“You’ve got quite the sweet tooth.”
“You have no idea,” he said, shaking his head like he couldn’t quite believe it himself.
After a minute of silence, you said, “The last time I ate red velvet cake, my sister had put too much white vinegar. It was disgusting but we didn’t want to hurt her feelings so we ate all of it.”
Bucky chuckled. “How many siblings do you have?”
It was a standard get-to-know-you question and you knew he would ask it at some point. Yet, it made your guts twist in pain. It was a question you always dreaded because you didn’t have a clear answer to it. Should you leave Pietro out? He was gone but he was still your brother.
“I, uh,” you mumbled, staring down at your half-eaten slice of cake. “I’m not sure what the answer is.” He frowned at you, confused. “Do you... do you count the ones you lost?”
Understanding flashed in his eyes and he gave you a patient smile. “Yes, I do.”
You met his eyes and tried to smile, though you were pretty sure it looked more like a grimace. “I have four siblings then.” You took a forkful of cake and chewed slowly, allowing yourself a few seconds to clear your thoughts. Without success.
“I was adopted,” you revealed. His eyebrows rose in surprise but he let you continue. “We were all adopted. My mom lost her husband when she was young. They wanted to have a big family but they were too busy working. They both had very demanding jobs.”
“What did they do?”
“He was in the military, and she was the co-founder of an extra-governmental military counter-terrorism and intelligence agency.”
“That’s a mouthful,” Bucky chuckled.
“You should hear their name.” He gave you a ‘go ahead’ look. “It’s the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division.”
You watched Bucky process the name, waiting for the moment realization would dawn on him. Then his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, and you couldn’t help but chuckle.
“S.H.I.E.L.D.? Your mom’s the co-founder of S.H.I.E.L.D.” He stared at you, his mouth wide open. “Your mom’s Peggy Carter!? Jesus Christ,” he sighed, shaking himself out of his stupor. “When we were kids, me, Stevie and a couple of other kids pretended to be secret agents working for S.H.I.E.L.D. We even had a name: the Howling Commandos.”
You screwed your eyes shut, a smile breaking across your face. “That’s the cutest thing I’ve ever heard!”
“Yeah, yeah,” he grumbled, embarrassment colouring his face. “I dunno why I’m telling you this. Please, don’t tell your mom.”
Your laughter died down, and you continued smiling at him. He was cute when he was flustered. You smothered that thought as soon as it materialized.
“I didn’t know she had adopted five kids.”
“Yeah, I guess her job as the co-founder of one the most important secret agency gave her the freedom to adopt without having to wait.”
“Do you get along with your siblings?”
“Yeah,” you said. “I mean, kinda. Scott, my older brother, is a few years younger than you. He’s really smart but he’s a big goof. He left for San Francisco when I was a kid. My sister, Okoye, left when I was 19. She’s King T’Chaka’s bodyguard.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah,” you chucked. “The twins are only three years older than me. We were really close, but then Pietro,” you took a small pause, “he, um, he died and, Wanda, she couldn’t stay anymore. It was too much, y’know. She went to Sokovia -where they were born- and she never came home. Last I heard, she was backpacking through Europe.”
“You still have your mom though,” Bucky said with a warm smile.
“She’s in London,” you said, smiling even though you had to dig your nails into your palm to keep yourself from crying. “She’s in a nursing home. She was diagnosed with a form of dementia, something similar to Alzheimer. She has no idea who I am.”
You tried to speak in a normal, detached tone but your voice wavered and you fought not to cry. Bucky reached for your hand, your nails had left half-moon indentations in your palm. Wordlessly, he smoothed his thumb over your palm, inspecting the damage.
“I’m here,” he said, his voice soft.
Until now it had never occurred to you that you had never said those things out loud before. Natasha knew because she’d been with you through all of it. She was your best friend, the only person who hadn’t abandoned you yet.
You couldn’t remember the last time you’d met someone new, someone you felt comfortable enough to talk to about your family.
You didn’t want to end the day on a sad note, so you pulled yourself together. You straightened up, wiped your eyes and sniffed back the tingling feeling in your nose. Bucky seemed to notice that you wanted to change the subject because he let go of your hand and picked up his fork again.
“So,” you said after clearing your throat. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course.”
“It’s a serious question and it’s important that you tell me the truth.”
Bucky flinched, his throat working as he swallowed past the lump in his throat. “I promise.”
You took a deep breath and rotated your head left and right, working the kinks out of your neck and back. Then you levelled him with a direct stare.
“What’s your favourite colour?”
Bucky recoiled as if he had misheard you. He looked momentarily startled by your question before he burst into laughter. When your face remained stoic, he realized you weren’t joking. “Oh? Umm, I don’t know.”
“That’s not an answer.”
He seemed lost in thought for a second. “I like blue.”
“Which blue? Navy? Tiffany blue? Sapphire? Baby blue? Teal? Duck-egg? Turquoise?” you enumerated them quickly.
“Just...blue?” he replied carefully. You took a deep breath and released it slowly, shaking your head. “No, wait,” he added in a hurry. His eyebrows pinched together in concentration while he was trying to come up with a better answer. “The color of the sky when a storm is brewing. That’s my favorite color.”
You smirked. “Poetic.”
“Well, I’m a writer,” he replied with a lopsided grin. “What’s your favorite color?”
“Oh no, you can’t ask me that. I’m a painter, it’s like asking a parent who their favourite child is.”
“Fair enough,” he conceded, waving his hand to dismiss the question. “Let me ask you an equally important question.”
“Oh, boy,” you laughed.
The warmth of his laughter was reassuring. It made you feel at ease, calm. What you hadn’t realized yet was that you weren’t trying to change your personality to please him. You were yourself, flaws and all.
“When you read a book, how do you keep track of your reading?” he asked. “Do you use a bookmark? Receipts? Candy wrappers? Book ribbon? Do you fold the corner of the page? Do you leave the book face down or memorize the page number? I need to know.”
You didn’t have to think about it. “Dog ears.”
“Oh, God, you’re a folder.” He stared up at the ceiling and sighed heavily. “I think I got you all wrong. You’re not an angel, you’re a little demon.” He pressed his lips together in a thin line to hide a smile.
He quickly gathered up the dirty plates and carried them to the sink while you remained seated at the table, laughing. You turned in your chair and saw him fill the sink with hot water and suds. What kind of millionaire doesn’t own a dishwasher?
“I bet you also write in ‘em,” he said, the corner of his mouth quirking up into a hint of a smirk.
“No, I would never,” you said, joining him at the sink. “I like books that look old though. Cracked spines, folded corners, tea or coffee stains.”
“Please, stop I’m going to hyperventilate,” he joked.
You chuckled. “Do you a have a towel?” you asked, giving him a little tap with your hip so he would scoot sideways.
He let go of the knife he was washing and pulled out a towel from the cabinet under the sink. You were a bit in awe of the way he cleaned everything with only one hand but you didn’t want to sound condescending so you kept it to yourself.
“What’s the point of having books if they look like nobody’s ever opened them?” you said. “I want to know my books had a good life before I bought them. I want to know they were loved. Sometimes when you love something, you mess it up a little.” He rinsed a plate and handed it to you. “I bet you have one of those sentence pointer bookmarks.”
He stayed quiet for a moment and you cursed yourself, thinking you might have hurt his feelings with your little teasing. His meal plan was fucking laminated, of course he had a sentence pointer bookmark. When he spoke, you felt like you could breathe again.
“I do have a bookmark. My niece made it for me at school. It’s pink and it has a braided pink and purple ribbon. No sentence pointer.”
His rueful smile and slightly red cheeks made your chest warm. You had to remind yourself that Bucky wasn’t flirting with you. He was just being nice.
“I’m jealous,” you said. “I wish I had one.”
“That can be arranged,” he nodded, his bottom lip jutting out in a pensive pout.
You wondered what this would look like if someone were to enter the room right now. They’d see you and Bucky, standing side by side at the sink as though you were the protagonists of a Norman Rockwell painting called ‘Domestic Bliss’. You wanted more days like this one.
“Yeah?” you breathed out. “You sure?”
“Anything for you, angel.”
Part 6
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poison--ivory · 3 years
Text
Uninviting Cataclysm (Alastor x Reader) Chapter 6
Warning: Homophobia and period typical racism
Part 1: link
Part 2: link
Part 3: link
Part 4: link
Part 5: link
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Alastor only saw red in that moment, his mind was taken over by a barrage of constant, annoying static noise filled his ears. Throbbing pain from his temple irritated him to no end, clutching at the spot to soothe the already splitting headache. Alastor couldn’t stop the numerous tremors exploding from his body, getting hit on the head by that bastard really set him into a state of shock, but quickly switched around into a state of fury. At this point he’ll be arriving at the party with grey hairs and crows feet.
    Struggling to stand up Alastor grasped at the wooden wall to catch himself from dropping to the hard floor. The only problem he had was seeing straight, getting hit on the temple would do that and he should know he did it to a lot of past victims before. They always had that far away look in their eyes whenever he struck them upside the head.
    His current prey at the moment bewildered him, taking her only a minute for her to grab one of his spare knives and luckily for him the dumb dora grabbed the blade instead and swung at him with the handle. No matter how idiotic it sounded it did bid her enough time to run up the stairs to the main house. She wouldn’t get far, he knew that much, since he figured that if she was skittish enough to only hit him with the handle she would try to hide instead of escaping. Alastor regained his composure promptly, with a slight provoked twitch of the eye, he leisurely strolled up the stairs taking notice of the front door. The lock was still intact and the two pennies he had between the door crevice were still tucked away nicely in place. The back door wasn’t tampered with either, the same type of coins shoved into the crevices haven’t moved an inch since placed there. Strolling back into the living room he noticed the turned up rug leading up to the second floor.
     Listening he could hear the light thumps of bare feet on hardwood coming from the second floor. Why the second floor? He questioned himself. She could’ve easily ran through the kitchen and into the backyard. Where she could have ran for help, which would be rather troubling for him that a white woman running in the slums of New Orleans clearly injured. Even if his reputation was good with the community it was still a man of color word against the word of a white woman. That would be a horrible outcome, considering he still had to finish his story and he was long from it being over just yet.
     But, instead she ran upstairs to where the only means of escape are the windows. Which in her state is a pretty dumb decision. He was so far in thought that it nearly slipped his mind that his mother is still resting on that same second floor of the house. And all caution flew straight from his mind as he bolted to the staircase, tripping on the first step and skipping three or four stairs just to get to his mother’s room.
     Long strides zeroed in on his mother’s bedroom door, opening the door swiftly and the old door squealed with a lowered howl. Doing a quick once over he glanced around the whole room, making sure that he didn’t cause too much noise to wake her. The comforting noise of his mother’s snores dimmed down his delusions in his head, but something lingered in the back of his brain once more. He tried to think of why he felt so paranoid, and then it struck him, he realized she never dropped that knife downstairs. On the contrary she still had that knife equipped on her. He should have brought a weapon, but brushed it off that she probably didn’t have much strength to hold the knife with her dominant hand. Now that he thought of it she was probably one of those people who can’t function right, without thinking about the situation as it’s happening. A loud and harsh thump from behind him caught him off guard, and he briskly turned around to search the room, eyes falling on the small frame crawling from under the bed. Her body trying to stand upright, but before she could pull the rest of her body out from under his mother’s bed, he grabbed her shoulder, his hold tight enough that she yelped in pain and dragged her out the room. Her cries of help fell on faint ears, but he couldn’t risk his mother waking up to her constant whining and so he threw the rest of her body out the door swiftly closing it behind him.
          “Leave. . .me alo-” A proper slamming of her head against the hallway table cut the rest of her screaming to mute itself. Her body curled up and she tried her damn hardest to crawl away from me. She was in such a state of shock that it was so effortless of a job of taking the knife she still closely held to her chest. He contemplated on killing her right then and there, nevertheless he decided on the ladder.
         “Now, miss your death would’ve been fast, but now I want to take my time with you.” He grinned, yanking her head to an angle that looked rather uncomfortable. “Hitting me on the head was one thing and I could’ve let it slide, however you fucked with my mama. She needs her sleep ya know, so it was very unkind of you to intrude on an old woman making all that unnecessary noise.” Dragging his hand on his face, pulling the skin from under his eyes to relieve some stress, but only getting more agitated. He reached for her ankle, dragging her back down the stairs and back into the basement, where he pushed her. Her back hit the stairs first, a cracking noise came with it and next was her arm, she landed on it when trying to catch herself. It bent at a weird angle and she screeched in agony, but nobody besides him would hear her. The neighbors at this time are usually outside singing, dancing or eating together which would be helpful in her case if she just ran outside like a sensible person in harm's way.
      She hit the bottom with a resounding thump, her body laying stiff at the end of the staircase. He knew that he would be terribly late to the party, which is something he would not be attending if it wasn’t for one particular person. His precious little dame, who’s been waiting for him to arrive over an hour ago. He figured he could have waited until next week to snuff the life of the “up and coming” song bird, but she just had to keep pushing his buttons. Her flirting was horrendous and her constant touching, on which he has to correct her on every time he’s near. But, now here he is dragging her unconscious body back to the slab of hard cement and pushing her dainty frame on the table, strapping her in tighter than earlier. The skin constricting with the restraints left them redden and will later bruise from all the thrashing she loves to do. By the time he was done with her straps, he noticed that she was still unconscious and from the look of it she wasn’t going to come out of it anytime soon.
      You know he could’ve left right then and there and he could be having a swell time at the party, but he just couldn’t risk the matter of her escaping again. She was far too close to his mother and he didn’t want to take that risk her health or life because his prey slipped from between his fingers. With that aim in order he decided to stay until she woke up and when she did rise from her wake, he was going to give her hell.
-----------------------
           “Al, can you hear me.” A small voice interrupts his train of thought from all the irritating events that took place tonight. “Did you hear me, Ally.”
    He masked his twitching eye with his signature, charming grin, but behind that masked smile he hated that nickname, ever since the school boys heard his mother use it. They called him a faggot and grinded his face into the concrete, he could still feel their filthy hands clutching his skin, leaving visible bruises the next day. His father wasn’t much better either, the day he saw those kids beating on him he took him hunting. Those seven days of hunting were just his father’s excuse to get him alone without his mom there. His father would hit him for missing a shot, gutting a fish wrong or for leaving his shoes inside the tent.
   A few too many kicks and slaps to the back of the head steered into a direction he regretted. His vision turned red on the third slap that day and what drove him to giving a square hit to his old man’s chin. His father stumbled, dazing off at the sky for a few seconds, before sluggishly dropping his head, his cold and empty eyes trained on his small frame. Following, soon after was a constant session of air trying to escape his throat and taking deep breaths before his esophagus closed up again. It took him over a full minute and half to pry off his father’s hand, afterward they went home, father coaching him not to say a damn thing to his mama.
   Groaning he sat straight upright,“I would like it if you didn’t call me that, dear.” a slight tone of annoyance very subtle in his voice. “What were you saying again, love.”
        “I was just thinking since you already met my family. Can I please meet your mother?” Big doe eyes peered up at him in the moonlight dimmed room.
   Meeting his mom was something he always thought about, but he keeps imaging her going into the basement or finding some of the bloody jars of organs in the downstairs freezer. But, he knows how to guilt trip, manipulate and lead her down the path that he wants that’s how he got her to stay with only him. He could easily handle (Y/n), she was very obeying even if she was a little hard headed and little too carefree for his taste.
   Her big eyes curiously gazed up at my face, and a quick flash of her face flickered in his mind caved in and mashed like a bowl of ground beef. He didn’t know why, but he thought of killing her in that moment, getting her out of his hair and not having to worry about a curious dame. But, he wanted to ride this out long enough to see where this ended, even if he does end up killing her later in life. At least he was the one to kill this young barecat before anyone else could even think of it.
        “Right now might not be a great time, she’s has a rather weak immune system and I can’t have her getting sick on me.” His hand ran through her tousled hair and gently caressed her cheek, his body heating up with the thought of her blood smearing these bed sheets. “Sorry, love.”
        “Well, if that's the case can I talk to her on the phone. This way I won’t get her sick and I get the chance to talk to your mama.” A sleepy smile graced her lips and heavy eyelids threaten to close any minute now. He could have said no, but why not this way he didn’t have to die of embarrassment from his mother showing her any unnecessary photos lying around. “So, can I baby?” At least she changed that annoying pet name.
        “Oh, fine.” An exasperated sigh left his body and gave a playful glare down at her. “But,only if I get a kiss first.”
  (Y/n) leisurely sat up and climbed in my lap, entangling our legs while at it. She softly puckered her lips and lightly pecked his cheek, lying her head on his chest soon after.
       “Tired, my dear.”
        “Mhmm.”
     He already knew the answer to that question, she won’t say it out loud, but he knew that she was feeling intense pain ever since that small spell he placed on her.
     Every time he felt such fierce hatred or anger she would feel this unbearable pain in her chest and he knows that sounds weird for putting a spell on a young bim he loves. Yet, he loved the facial expressions on her face when she’s in great pain. It brings him so much enthusiasm to know he’s giving her this unbearable agony. He especially finds it very amusing when she tries to cover it up, like in the boiler earlier. He was in a deep thought of that dumb dora he killed and was slowly getting more pissed by the second of just thinking about her and her stupidity of failing to escape. He didn’t even realize until he looked over at her that she was clutching at her dress very tightly, moving from side to side in her seat and asking him small questions from time to time. Well, that was just another side effect from the spell, needing the attention of the spellcaster's eyes on them to feel. . . “special” in a sort of way.
    This was just a quicker way of acquiring his lovely dame all to himself, manipulating her into a thoughtless little lady soon enough.
   Smirking to himself he raked his fingers down her hair and back before repeating the process. “Well, I hope you have a very peaceful rest my dear (Y/n).” She was already asleep by the time he said this, her slowed down breathing giving her away that she was past the state of early sleep. When she awoke the following morning she would most likely forget about this whole ordeal and would be too busy in her autopilot day to day lifestyle.
        “You’ll meet mother when she deems it right to finally see you. No need to rush it, you'll both meet soon enough.”
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Time for The Witcher episode 4!!
So the last episode was Intense(TM) and also I finally realized that the show isn’t happening all at the same time but it’s following multiple timelines, which, better late than never. Now things make more sense...
Alright, bando alle ciance and let’s do this.
“Ciri! Ciri” Cirilla: yes? “Not you, I was talking to Siri. What’s the weather going to be tomorrow”
That’s such a stupid joke. Unfollow me right now, it’s okay.
Glowy Forest Intensifies... oh, there’s people now. Forest Dora Milaje aren’t happy to see her, which is understandable, I guess. But the boss arrives.
Meanwhile, except not meanwhile, a man has had a very bad day. Apparently the nickname White Wolf has stuck. Remember when we thought the MCU was going to make Bucky into a Black Panther character as the White Wolf, official media outlet even used the White Wolf as a title for Bucky, and then it ended up in nothing? Sorry for the digression but I really hoped we’d get Bucky written by Ryan Coogler and I was really disappointed when that didn’t happen but *waves around* all of that happened instead. I mean, technically it’s not too late to make it happen but Bucky is a Disney+ creature now, so, bye.
Hello Jaskier! My boy! I missed you.
Ah, the new media image campaign is working. 
“You never get involved, except you actually do, all of the time” I love this XD “I don’t do emotions or attachments” character who does emotions intensely all the time and gets attached to everyone they meet paired with “sure Jan” character who calls them out is a very good dynamic.
Ah, yes, this is perfect. I’m sorry but dark brooding protagonist and bubbly comic relief sidekick is my secret weakness.
No offense, Geralt, but those clothes did need a good washing after your latest job, so don’t make that face.
Blah blah royal affairs I should probably pay attention to.
“I am not going to protect you” [*Spongebob font* five minutes later...]
But yeah, the princess is Cirilla’s mother, I suppose, and I’m sure the marriage that produces Scream Princess is super important. She is very pretty and has lovely hair. Sometimes I wish I had long hair I could braid artistically.
The princess doesn’t want to get married to some strange dude, but the queen is A Very Strong Woman(TM) and has no time for silly things like her daughter’s feelings over the most life-changing decision in her life. She’s an interesting character for sure, and the narrative doesn’t try to frame her as either definitely good or bad, which is interesting.
Oh! Rat Boy isn’t dead! That’s great. That makes sense narratively, native forest women who suffered genocide from colonizers wouldn’t kill an elf boy who went through the same thing.
Promised husband is a shitty dude. Queen Calanthe likes Geralt, which, relatable. But she and her entourage are racist assholes, and the next scene with Cirilla and Dara tell us that their anti-elf talk isn’t just talk.
By the way, now we know for sure how much time there is between Geralt’s timeline and Cirilla’s.
The queen doesn’t like feminine dresses. Lady is trying to overcompensate a lot. But her banter with Geralt is entertaining.
The first suitor is from Nilfgaard, and in hindsight it would have been a wise choice to unify the two kingdoms... C’mon, poor guy is just awkward, he doesn’t deserve the humiliation. Or is he the guy who’ll make war later? The pilot threw too much new information at me the other day.
Yennefer is bored... and apparently 30 years has passed since the last we saw of her. (I refuse to try to understand when in relation to the other plots that puts this scene. Things will click together at some point or I’ll just accept whatever happens and nod along.) And coincidentally she is paired with a woman who laments being only considered important as a baby-producing womb. Oops. Awkward.
Not relevant to the show but my parents never get inside my room as often as while I am watching something on Netflix.
Yennefer thinks life as a court mage sucks, queen Kalis thinks life as a baby-maker sucks. They envy each other for what the other has, but they’re probably both right.
Well, boredom is no longer a problem.
Oh, poor queen, her husband paid to have her killed because she’s only given him daughters. Two episodes in a row about female heirs to kings, plus queen Calanthe being female and having a daughter who’ll have a daughter. Theeemes!
You can’t be rude to the only person who is your only hope not to die horribly, girl.
Queen Calanthe is frustrated she isn’t a man, which we could guess. She also likes the simplicity of killing, which we could also guess.
Oh! It’s almost pre-decided husband’s time to claim the girl’s hand in marriage, but New Guy appears! He’s been cursed and Mr I Don’t Pick Sides Ever No Matter What, guess what, picks a side. The audience is shocked. No one could foresee this unexpected turn of events.
Noooo the baby!!! Yennefer loses a rare chance to acquire a baby. This is sad. Damn this show doesn’t shy away from killing children, such a different feel from most stories we’re used to.
These people are weird with destiny. Calanthe says fuck destiny, Geralt says lol mood but just because you’re a queen doesn’t mean you’re above sacred rules.
OOOOH Calanthe says fuck sacred rules and it does not go well. Is this happening because she tried to mess up with the order of the world and chaos said hi? Was the princess always magical or did this happen because destiny will have its way no matter what?
Ah, her grandmother had it, she never manifested it before until now, when circumstances awoke it.
Queen Calanthe acknowledges destiny, and of course they’re all dressed in green like the mages of Feminist Hogwarts aka Chaos School. I should have paid more attention to colors but green seems to be the color of magic slash chaos slash destiny.
Then bam, red. Men. Violence.
Everyone in the forest is also dressed in green... Colors aren’t really my thing, you might have noticed that I rarely analyze colors in Supernatural and I’m not particularly into what which color means and I only notice things when they’re very obvious like the purple of transformation-slash-death, so, yeah, I am not the kind of person who notices colors until they slap me in the face. I guess this is my slap in the face by this show’s color palette XD
Also consider that I watch everything with f-lux on, so I don’t even see colors the way they actually look, I guess that’s why it’s harder for me to notice colors when everything looks orange.
Alriiiiight *disables f.lux for current app*
Oh. Oh. So this is how this show looks like.
Awkward. This is so embarrassing.
I should rewatch the whole thing with real colors now... well, another time.
Anyway, Dara has drunk antidepressant juice, but it doesn’t work on Ciri, because she is Relevant(TM) to destiny so she can’t forget her past otherwise the plot destiny can’t happen.
Sleep well baby.
Aaah husband’s curse is broken! Yay.
Geralt accidentally acquires a bond with a baby. One baby dead and Yennefer’s potential bond with her lost, one baby on her way and Geralt’s future bond with her created. So this is all about parallels based on babies and births. Cool.
In the future, destiny has arrived and indeed wrought calamity on the court and the city. Someone makes something gross with Calanthe’s dead body--a spell to learn the location of Cirilla. Trouble is coming.
Oh! It’s him, he’s not dead? And taking something from Calanthe (that will be relevant later)?
Ciri drinks stronger juice and goes to the ancestral plane, er, I mean has a vision of a Very Important Tree, sorry I had Black Panther stuck in my head from before.
Well this is very interesting and things are starting to click together and yeah it’s a weird ride but I’m enjoying it! I suppose only at the end of the season you get the full picture of why and when everything has happened so I’m just sitting here metaphorically eating popcorn waiting for things to make sense on their own rhythm. There’s a theme of motherhood and babies and it seems that Geralt’s destiny is to become a metaphorical mother for Cirilla? Or am I mixing him up with a similar kind of character with a tendency to become everyone’s mom? Anyway, I’m looking forward to see what happens.
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