#the only good character was the persian
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drew this (my vesper and cirrus as christine and erik) alike 4 months ago after finishing the phantom of the opera, this was my peak art actually
#obscura vn#didn’t really like tpoto tho#the only good character was the persian#the phantom was yucky not in a good way and same with raoul#however the aesthetic is still so!!#would love to read a book with just christine exploring the opera in a timeline when phantom is already long gone#i only ever post art to ramble about things actually#art tag 🏷
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Kieran Kieran Kieran Kieran Kierannnnnn
Boi deserves more love cause he's truly one of the best characters in the entire franchise and they definitely did him justice with his story arc(Even if we made him get a ton of therapy and a near-death experience after his villain phase...)
With that, the fact that he can afford multiple tickets but not a phone is... Weird. However, that's where writers come in soooo- Can I please request the reader, Carmine, Paldea gang, and BB E4 throwing Kieran a surprise party and cashing in together to get him the lastest rotom phone with Applin/Hydrapple case?
Extra bonus if you're also able to include individual gifts that everyone would get Kiki
EXTREMELY BASED REQUEST <3333
......
One day it suddenly occurred to you, the BB E4, Carmine, and your Paldean friends that Kieran's 15th birthday was coming up and....according to his sister, he's never had a party.
You found that to be 100% unacceptable, and so you all decided to band together and plan one right in the League Club room.
Ofc you had to be sneaky about it, making it so that Kieran didn't suspect anything was up.
The biggest challenge--at least for the others--was figuring out what presents to give him.
But considering that he still doesn't have his own rotomphone (despite having more than enough money to get you, Arven, Penny, and Nemona plane tickets to Kitakami), it wasn't too difficult to decide what gift you wanted to get for him.
Luckily you had a Persian and Gholdengo who knew Pay Day and Make It Rain respectively and wore amulet coins, so you took them out to the terarium to battle other trainers, gathering more than enough cash to finally afford the gift.
When Kieran's birthday finally arrives...he's a little sad bc he only got a few wishes from random passerbys, and none from you or his friends or sister--who all seemed to have mysteriously vanished.
He thinks it's some prank and lowkey sulks as he shuffles to the clubroom....
Only to get startled when you all jump out and surprise him--with Ogerpon, Miraidon/Koraidon, and your Hydrapple (who was once the Applin he traded you) wearing party hats and kazoos--wishing him happy birthday.
Once his mini heartattack subsides, it takes a second for everything to sink in....before he gets extremely sappy and stands there with tears rolling down his face.
At first Crispin thinks he's genuinely upset and starts apologizing profusely, thinking the group had the wrong date-
"N-No, it's today. I'm just....wowzers.." Kieran laughs, wiping away his tears. "You all..really did this for me?"
"It took careful planning and precarious coordination." Amarys speaks up with a smile of her own. "We have [y/n] to thank for orchestrating this. But I could understand if it caused you some minor distress this morning."
He just waves her off, reassuring her that everything's good now, and soon the festivities commence!
You gift him the latest Rotomphone, having commissioned for it to have an Applin phonecase (even with its own tail and eyestalks) that shimmered in the sunlight, with all of the features offered by the League Club's BP system already unlocked.
Ofc, it may take him a while to learn how to use them all...but he's SO happy and hugs you tightly.
He lowkey forgot that everyone else got him a present, too, and lets you go to open them.
Carmine, knowing her brother, gave him an assortment of chocolate (but insisted that he didn't eat all of it at once and had actual food every now and then).
Amarys gave him a single heavy ball with a Shiny Aron inside. She doesn't think it's much but gets flustered when he smiles and thanks her with a hug, too.
Lacey gifts him a Granbull plushie, and at first she thinks it may be too "cutesy" for him, but he holds onto it tight and insists that he loves it.
Crispin and Arven got together to gift him a cookbook they collaborated on: half the recipes are spicy dishes and the other half contains sandwich recipes.
Drayton presents him with an empty friend ball, and inside was a Wimpod keychain and a note that basically says "sry for calling you ex-champ, ex-champ".
Fortunately they both kinda got over that grudge and could laugh about it now.
Penny got him the same Eevee backpack that she has (after recalling how he stared at it one too many times back in Kitakami and played with the ears when she left it unattended for a few mins) and initially feels awkward, but he adores it and promises to swap his old bag out from time to time.
Nemona gave him a whole bag of EV-boosting items (carbos, zinc, feathers, mints, you name it) for his team so their next battle could be even MORE exciting....and he's embarrassed to admit his competitive team's stats are already maxed out, but he'll use them for his casual team.
All in all, the party is a huge success.
It's definitely one Kieran would never forget, and he's so, so grateful to have real friends who did all of this for him--especially you.
#clanask#pokemon x reader#pokemon sv x reader#pokemon scarlet x reader#pokemon violet x reader#pokemon kieran#pokemon arven#pokemon nemona#pokemon penny#pokemon carmine#bb elite four#headcanons#birthday#fluff
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Rahhhh it’s Christmas and i’m back! Today’s feature (feature? Should i start calling them that? Sounds kinda cool-) is the amazing @charliemwrites, specifically a little drabble (unedited as always), based off of their Keeper/Kept AU. Not thier most recent stuff- (I think it’s Neighbor Johnny or the Woof Woof series-) You know what? Just- Here. Everything they write is gold <3
Anyhow, i present: Domesticity and Devotion
“Oh to be a wild bird…”
You sigh, chin in your palm as you leisurely stare out at the window.
“Or a stray cat.” You muse, watching as one of the kitties of the neighborhood walks along outside.
“Those fuckers have it good. No shitty job. No rent to pay. Just free pets and wandering the world… and if someone’s being a dick they can hiss and bite all they want.”
You hum, reaching for your drink and sipping on it leisurely.
“I don’t think I could survive in the wild though.”
You say after a moment, realizing how you’re cuddled up in your blanket and sipping on your wendy’s lemonade, the TV playing some random comfort show and your laptop open as you halfheartedly play Papa's freezeria.
“Can barley survive in domesticity.” You mumble, glancing towards the envelope on the kitchen counter that you got this morning about a rent increase.
You sigh.
“Maybe in my next life i’ll be lucky enough to be reborn as some rich white ladies cat. Those fuckers are livin’ better than me that’s for sure.”
————
This is not what you meant.
When you wistfully wished to never have to step foot into the capitalist hellscape that was life again- that was not an open invitation for you to be whisked away against your will.
Apparently though, the 6 foot giant of a military man named Simion Riley, heard it as one.
Because now here you were, pampered and cared for like a bloody sugar baby or pure breed persian cat. Kept at some random location and fed and groomed and meticulously attended too.
All against your will, mind you.
However it’s hard to complain because well- you’re living life good. This realization, of just how good you have it- hits you when you feel yourself getting genuinely angry at the shitty romance novel you were reading.
The Male lead was treating the MC like shit- and the MC was letting him get away with it!
You feel your face physically grimace. To calm yourself down (because you are getting genuinely heated when she lets him shove her to the damn floor over asking him for a drink-), you set your i-pad down.
(It had been a gift; something sort of like a kindle, where you could only read books and listen to music. You weren’t sure what Simon did to it exactly- but it wasn’t just published books you had access too, comics, original works, poetry, you could get all sorts of reading stuff on here.)
“This mother fucker-“
You mumble to yourself in disbelief, shaking your head before huffing and picking the device back up. You’re close to cheering as you read the MC’s internal dialogue about wanting to bite his ass- (Truely an MC after your own heart- they were one of the main reasons you were still reading this shitshow-)
And yet, what does the main character do?
They get the drink for themselves and then let him snatch it from their hand and down it.
Nope. You’re fucking done. You’re fumin’ now, irrationally angry on the MC’s behalf because they’ve been putting up with this guy for fifteen chapters now.
The audacity of men- oh my god. You can’t believe this guy.
“Who does he think he is?!”
You grumble and then just for your own purposes you yell—
“Simon!”
Predictably he is at your side in a moment, dropping everything for you.
You have your arms crossed, as you say, “Go get me a drink.”
He tilts his head slightly, eyes crinkled just a tad at your strange mood but doesn’t deny the order. Simply asks,
“Cold or hot?”
“Cold.”
And with that he’s gone, returning with a fresh glass of ice cold lemonade, complete with a little lemon slice on the rim of the glass. You sip it, set it aside and cross your leg, tapping your forehead.
“Give me a kiss.”
He doesn’t hesitate for a moment, gently kissing your forehead.
“Kneel.”
His eyes are crinkled now with a bit of amusement, but he drops to his knees easy. Gently holding onto your soft thighs. (Always so gentle with you.)
“Course, pretty.”
He mumbles low, head tilted up to you in a question, “Need me to take care of you?”
You hum, absentmindedly messing with his hair and ignoring the way the question sends a slow pool of warmth into your tummy.
“No.”
It’s decisive. You’re practically preening with satisfaction at his actions.
“You can go now.” You say and like that, he gets up. Not a complaint on his lips even when you notice he’s got a raging boner.
“Wait!”
You call and he pauses, looking at you with a questioning hum.
“Kiss me again.”
And he does so, this time a soft gentle kiss on your lips. When he pulls away he mumbles an ever softer-
“Dinner will be ready in 10.”
You nod and pick up your tablet with satisfaction curling low in your gut. (For the duration of your reading all you can think about is how Simion would never.)
————
“And another thing-!”
Simion is absentmindedly (as absentmindedly as Simion of all people can get anyway-) rubbing circles into your back as you rant. You’re sat in his lap, coaxed into sitting there after he asked about your day.
So obviously you started to babble about the book you were reading, which turned into a whole rant session about how stupid the Male lead was.
“That stupid idiot- that moron- you wanna know what he does simion?”
He knows it’s a rhetorical question. You’re gonna tell him anyway. Still he hums to show he’s still listening.
“This bastard shoves them into the ground. To the ground! Can you believe the it?”
He shakes his head lightly with a tsk.
“Exactly. God and then when they get the drink he has the audacity to snatch it from their hand and down it in one gulp before they can even say anything.”
You shake your head, so far into your little rant you don’t realize how much you’ve made yourself comfortable. Sitting in his lap fully, ranting to him like he’s an old friend. Your tongue is loose with comfort right now. And that must be what possessed you to say—
“Me personally? I could never. If you ever pulled that shit— God i don’t even know what i’d do but it would not be pretty
You close your eyes with a nod to yourself at your own words. Not aware of the way Simon’s eyes seem to soften. Not until he gently kisses the top of your head.
“Never.”
He says it so quietly you almost miss it. (Feverintly. Reverently. Like the very idea is absurd.)
“If i ever do something like that you run and break into my gun cabinet and bloody shoot me.”
And god his voice- he’s 100 percent fucking serious. Suddenly you feel warm and small in his lap, utterly tiny compared to the sheer size of his devotion for you.
It’s all you can do to mumble out a weak.
“Good.”
And the rest of the night is spent with you reading the rest of the book together. When the MC finally is able to get rid of the Male Lead, it is a joyous occasion that ends up with her absolutely clocking the guy in the face with a champagne glass. Which then leads into a curious conversation with you and ghost about how much damage that would actually do.
It’s a good day.
#fanfic#cod fanfic#fanfic of a fanfic#(?) kinda#reader insert#ghost x reader#simon riley x reader#Look at Charlie’s blog right now.#Specifically obsessive Johnny because when i tell you i was-#GAGED#Jaw dropped#Charlie’s got such good characterization#In the case she sees this-#…did you like it?#also hello
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Kingdoms and Empires Wiki Drop!
Sup guys, im releasing what i have done in the wiki today!
In this post im only going to talk about the Wiki because I dont want to create an even more massive wall of text here than it already is. Please see the entire post on the forums thread!!!
I solidified the lore (which means no more massive changes), set the foundations to the story (so i dont end up writing a shit ton and having to fucking rewrite everything anymore), and pretty much rewrote the canon lore until i reached a point where i literally cannot share it because itd be spoilers without the future rewrite (regarding the worldbuilding, all introduced characters and such are still the same, some just had minor tweeks, so nothing crazy like changing our old bodyguard Mary:
and turning her into our childhood friend lmao
So the plan now is current wiki drop. A good amount of it will be hidden since alot of it is spoilers, so you get 39,174 thousand words of unlocked content out of about 50k words in the wiki. And that's without me transferring 90% of the Codex ingame to the wiki, so its ALL (okay like 85%) new words of content and lore! Dont worry, im dropping literally all extra work and focusing purely on playable updates now until i regain your guy's trust in me after being so radio silent.
I also know and recognize that this has gotta be annoying asf since what you guys really want is updates but after what happened with the Total War franchise (my beloved) and their lightning fast content pipeline and lack of upgrading their engine ended up destroying the health of the company and ruining fans trust in em, id rather invest on the long term than short term unlike them (meaning id rather have a set story, narrative line complete, and research resources so that i can use that to run wild in writing).
I made a history of the world as known to them, so much of it is subject to embellishment, lies, and "the victor writes history" trope.
Historia Mundis
If you'd rather just have the list of articles that can be found within the timeline though, here it is:
The Great Disturbances, Wars of Unification, and the Longwei Empire
Reign of the Daishu Dynasty
Ecumenical Dominion and the Flight of the Belthean People.
Belthean Migrations
Reign of Emperor Garland
Reign of Emperor Daerin I
Reign of Emperor Valerion
Reign of Emperor Elric I
Reign of Emperor Cenric
Reign of Emperor Saldwin
Reign of Emperor Elric II
Reign of Emperor Daerin II
The Interactive Outdated Map
Yeahhh almost as soon as i published the map for the patreons it became outdated lmaoooo
Nareth is much bigger than originally imagined, Argent is surrounded by mountain and forest tribes (think Hispania’s Lusitanian Wars or the Germanic Tribes type of vibe). The empire (being Imperial Chinese and Persian Empire inspired) also is surrounded by the these tribes, and the Imperial Province of Lymark is now the “Protectorate of the Western Regions” which basically means theyre the watchdogs of Western Nareth.
Its funny because theyre also across the St. Hytera River, which is much like the Danube River, and will inevitably face the same issues Rome did with Dacia when they had a presence that extended the natural borders.
Master List of Articles
The Evolution of Belthean Civilization
Veldora Duchy I may have gone too far here. I regret nothing and learning about agriculture and stuff was awesome.
Silverhill Duchy Mining is alot more complicated than I thought, though Engineering MC is gonna have equally alot to improve!
Imperial Ranks The ranks will have importance. I know that sounds weird, but I did not spend an afternoon writing this just for the lulz.
Emperor/Empress
Imperial Crown Heir
Imperial Prince and Princess
Imperial Duke/Duchess
Imperial Count/Countess
The Imperial Landed Knight
The Belthean Empire The biggest entry from the ingame Codex that I transferred over and polished. This should give you a hint of how ill do the other kingdoms in the future for their article.
Kin of Arava I experimented here and instead of making an actual article, made it a class lecture of a series of days focusing on the Kin with a racist professor lmao
Zera Arava So i had to do this in intervals as I was writing and plotting out his side stories. Honestly hope i did the homie justice, he's a fav of mine, though i think each of the ROs will be favs as I write more and more about them.
Sacred Dance I assure you the Sacred Dance isnt what you think it is.
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Patreons, you guys already read the below list. However ive cleaned the articles up and polished them!
The Genesis of the Belthean Empire: From Invasion to Unification
Voryn Resdayn I wanted to see how i could make a character entry. It looks awesome, but holy fuck do they take time to create lmaooo, ill make the rest of them in the future.
Kin of Arava
Eastern Kin The descendants of Kin and Beltheans who mixed, that are settled within the empire.
House Resdayn Wanted to see how I could do the houses, still unsure (okay i dont like it) of how it came out. Hence why I started with a minor house that one of the RO's belonged to.
The Astute Emperor and the Imperial Provincial Rule: A Revolutionary Shift in Governance
Master-Scholars of Jelaytha The Jelaythan organization of scholars that Master Feren is from.
Post-Unification Transformations in the Belthean Empire: Trade, Economy, Industry, and Immigration in the Wake of Conquest
Imperial Historians Obviously the imperial faction that wants to get their hands on tutoring you lmao.
Universitas Magistrorum et Scholarium The Jelaythan/Imperial organization at the forefront of the intellectual international community.
Tripartite Alliance Read what the empire is teaching their citizens about how they conquered the alliance.
The Satrap System and Imperial Provincial Rule
The Great Racist of the Academy: Imperial Historian Acillus Cinna
The Sword Saint
Master-Scholar Kaleb
The Gleaming Horizon: Silverhill's Maritime Supremacy The book of a writer who we'll meet ingame. Youll decide whether or not to bully him as a 12 year old lmao.
Baniel Worthton The author of above said book. He even wrote about himself. Yes, it's supposed to be an ick.
The Ulrich Cothon The second book of his that'll feature in the game.
So…I guess in basketball or futbol terms… rebuilding phase is over, and i got all the players i need for a championship run!
It was an almost year long rebuilding phase, true, but omg it was so needed.
Plus I also learned alot of fucking coding at the same time lmao. Basically a lot of tweaking around with Choicescript and knowing how to code some actions. Also there's CoG implementing a new checkpoint system so thank fuck for that because this game's gonna be huge and id hate to play it without a save system.
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Y'know... it's not just about Nandermo being queer.
It's that they're both explicitly men of colour. And one is fat.
And they weren't relegated into some boring Straight Man Snarker Passive Badass archetype, doomed to support some vastly more dynamic main character.
Like yes both of them can be snarky and they are definitely both badasses. But Nandor is a 4th degree giant himbo who still acts like a 13th century Persian warlord (and it's not even cool 90% of the time) and Guillermo has spent thirteen years acting like a servant so he can become a vampire only to realise that he doesn't actually want to kill people.
They get to be stupid and stubborn and longing and pine from one another from afar and communicate badly and be selfish and confusing and awkwardly romantic, and THAT'S what fandoms love to see!!
We want EVERYONE to get to have their stupid hard-headed will-they-won't-they toxic probably doomed romance!!
Good representation doesn't have to mean good people or good relationships, sometimes it just means a good fuckin' time!!!!
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i'd love to see you update your gijinka designs! I love your gijinkas so much already, i can only imagine how much better they can get :)
yeaaah i started a sketch of meowth and pikachu but never finished
i'd probably update some of the "reverse gijinkas too". like jessie has ALWAYS been a good fit with zoroark but i'm not sold on james as haunter. it's hard to come find pokemon that match the character aesthetically and personality-wise haha. right now i'm between sneasler, alolan persian, liepard and galarian articuno (but that just feels unfair haha)
lemme know if y'all have any ideas for james
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Since the ep is INSPIRED by POTO, I’mma point out the similarities and differences
Similarities/references to POTO:
-There are obvious parodies of the characters in the book/musical. Neema’s obviously the Phantom, Paka kinda has Christine’s role, Nne and Tano are kinda like Madame Giry, and there’s an herbivore with Carlotta’s role. Maybe a wild ass
-Neema pulls very similar stunts Erik pulls, mainly sabotaging performances. But he also has a secret lair in a water cave that he takes Kiburi’s float and Paka
-The Grasslands has a tradition called the “kupiga mpira”, meaning “masquerade ball” where everyone dresses up in costumes. Neema crashes the party lol
-Like Christine, Paka is a (rookie) performer and has a relationship with the Phantom
-I guess you could say both Erik and Neema had a hard life (granted, Neema’s past wasn’t as bad as Erik’s but still) that somehow affected their reputation
-He put Paka to sleep with a soothing melody (AKA he recreates “Music of the Night”)
-“[Why would anyone want to date a strange individual who’s killed people? That just sounds like a toxic relationship.]”-Neema at one point
-The reptiles like to refer to Neema as an “angel of music”
-Tamka brings up “the point of no return”
-Like Erik, Neema kills someone
-One of the reasons he sabotages a show is that a certain spot isn’t left for him. It’s HIS spot, no one else’s
-Neema and Erik both get exposed
-Both phantoms get affection at the end
-Neema’s point of no return is to either quit this double life thing and go back to being in Kiburi’s float or stick to being a phantom and leave his only family permanently. Although Tamka/Nduli think Neema’s gonna give THEM a choice to either join him or he’ll kill everybody, to which Kiburi shuts it down cuz that makes zero sense
Differences:
-There is no operatic singing in the episode. It has singing (the Grasslands are a musical place) but not actual opera. Also there’s no Raoul nor Persian
-While Erik loves/is obsessed with Christine, Neema is aromantic and has no interest in anyone
-Neema does not wear a mask that covers his face (except during the masquerade scene)
-Like I said before, everything between them is platonic and healthy. Though Neema DOES have a soft spot for her. If anything, they’d be QPP’s
-Erik and Neema haunt their respective places for different reasons. Erik does it cuz of his passion for opera and obsession for Christine. Neema honestly just likes the music. The hero thing just comes with it.
-Two things: it was completely platonic and Neema hummed the song since he’s mute and can’t sing. It’s more of a lullaby than a romantic ballad
-Neema isn’t jealous nor possessive. The most he does when he sees Paka with someone else is make sure they don’t hurt her. He’s more protective if anything
-my guy is not a teacher. He’s never taught anyone anything (except maybe how to stand up for yourself)
-As much as I love the scene, it ain’t happening with Neema and Paka. Way too sexual for them (and the episode fic) 😭
-Unlike Erik he killed someone cuz he was hungry, not to sabotage the show. Though everybody else seems to think differently
-He doesn’t kill anyone cuz of it, although he does cause a monkey to interrupt it by scaring him
-While Erik’s face gets exposed during an opera in front of everyone, Neema’s confronted by Kiburi’s float and basically gets exposed then
-Erik gets a kiss while Neema and Paka share a hug and a head pat :)
-Neema’s ending is veeeeeeery different from Erik’s. Neema doesn’t die like in the book nor does he completely quit being a phantom and not see Paka again. He goes back with his float in the end, but he continues to be a Phantom hero in the Grasslands.
There’s a reason Neema kept up the whole “Phantom” act and it kinda has something to do with his past. Neema was raised by strict, but somewhat supportive parents as a hatchling. He never learned to actually talk but his parents convinced him that being quiet was a good thing. “Silence is golden” they’d always say. “Just do as you’re told and they’ll like you”. It was like that for a while until the day he saved that lizard. Being referred to as a “hero” awakened something in him that day. He likes being some mysterious heroic entity, he likes playing with the Grasslanders and telling them what to do, he likes keeping animals on their toes, he likes the music the Grasslands have.
He likes being his own animal.
He’s been following and obeying his leaders all his life. Don’t get him wrong, he doesn’t necessarily mind it and he loves his friends, but it just feels nice to be someone now that he’s found his passion.
Nne and Tano found out when they got hungry and wanted to try something different rather than a mole rat or trying to eat animals from the Pridelands. They soon found themselves in the Grasslands and just so happened to spot Paka walking around. Just as they cornered her, Neema came out of nowhere, gave Paka a chance to run away, and began to attack the pair…until they recognized him like “Hey wait a minute…we know you! You’re one of the crocodiles in Kiburi’s float! What’re you doing here?”. It took a bit, but the pair finally figured out that Neema was a phantom and decide to join him. They never let anyone know since (until Kiburi basically forced them to tell where Neema was going).
Ever since Paka heard about this supposed phantom saving one of her lizard friends, her sleep schedule has been out of whack (seeing how black-footed cats are nocturnal) and she’s been obsessed with seeing it for herself. It only grew when Neema saved her and she went from wanting to see him to wanting to get to know him. Luckily, Neema took interest in the little feline due to her personality and shared love for music and began watching over her. He’s even led her to his water cave (where he hummed her his lullaby) and their friendship grew from there. She doesn’t really understand him so they communicate by yes or no questions until Kiburi comes along. Same with Nne and Tano.
Unrelated, but I just realized a pattern with my headcanons for Kiburi’s float: I gave them all desires
Kiburi wants to be good enough to make his dad proud like he promised
Tamka wants to be seen as more than just one thing (which is an idiot). He wants to pursue his passion and show he’s capable of doing things
Neema wants to feel like somebody. Like I said, he’s been a follower for way too long and he wants to find himself
Nduli wants everything to stay the same. He’s lost so much due to change and he doesn’t want to lose anything or anybody else, so he clings to his loved ones in hopes they won’t let go
Wakali wants to be taken seriously since her young age and albinism causes other animals to underestimate her
Even Makuu wants to show everyone that he’s changed his ways and wants to leave a legacy. It was the same thing with Pua, although nowadays he just wants to live his best life
Ucheshi got what she wanted in that Udugu episode I have-she got her big brother back :)
#alright i’m officially done with this episode idea lol#this took way too much time#friendly reminder that he never actually spoke in canon#like all he did was laugh and go ‘huh’? in the little guy but that’s it#man doesn’t even have a canon name and here i am giving him a personality and depth and shit#oops i did it again#the lion guard
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Hi, hi~ Could I ask headcanons for Leonidas if he has a child who wants to match him with Geirölul and how would he and Geirölul react? (Reader can be gn or fem <3)
Kisses kisses~
– Mel🌙🩵✨
Type of Writing: Request
Characters: Leonidas and Geirölul
Name: Leonidas' Child! Reader Tries Matching Him and Geirölul Up
Requester: @m3l-moony
A/N: I don't personally ship these two, but their friendship is something I find so cute, since they're so similar to one another. For this, they're not feeling romantic, rather, they're just friends, this is also an AU where he defeats Apollo. I hope that's alright!
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🚬 You were the heir of Sparta, the only child of King Leonidas I, and it only happening because he found you during one of his many conquests against the Persians
🚬 Leonidas would watch as you mess around with his army members' children with the largest smile plastered on your face and your adorable laugh echoing through his ears
🚬 When he was called for Ragnarok, you protested, saying how you didn't want to lose him again, like how you watched him die in the Battle of Thermopylae
🚬 He sent most of his army away, and they tried taking you with them, but your stubbornness conflicted them and you died alongside your father
🚬 Now, hearing you may have to watch him die again? You were breaking down fast
🚬 Assuring you that he would win against the arrogant and selfish God, Apollo, you watched as the Sun God erupted into shards of glass and smiled as Humanity cried victorious chants for your father, making you smile and run to meet him at the entrance
🚬 Leonidas was happy when you finally got to meet his Valkyrie, Geirölul, because they were so similar in personality, you assumed that they should be more, which leads us to her part...
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❤️🔥 When Leonidas' army cheered for him, she heard a large cry out happiness and the sound of small footsteps approaching her and Leonidas from behind
❤️🔥 She turned around and saw Leonidas reach out and hug a small child, looking at them with the most adoration she had ever seen someone look at another in her entire lifetime
❤️🔥 Geirölul and you got along very well, since she and your father were so similar, and that made you bond with her a lot faster than you did with any of Leonidas' fellow Human Fighters
❤️🔥 She would watch you whenever he was busy, and after a while, you began to see her as another parental figure, and when you voiced that to her sister, Alvitr
❤️🔥 Leonidas and Geirölul looked at each other when her sister voiced the conversation you had with her earlier that day and they laughed, saying you were a kid and this was normal
❤️🔥 Oh boy, were they wrong!
❤️🔥 You would hold Leonidas' hand and then hold Geirölul's, allowing them to swing you around, as if they were the parents and you were the only child in the perfect family troupe
❤️🔥 She and Leonidas eventually understood you actually wanted them to be together, but, they only saw one another as friends, sometimes siblings whenever they bickered or bonded with you, nothing more
❤️🔥 It was unfortunate to break that to you, but after handing you a small bag of sweets for you to enjoy, if you managed to catch them
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They both have different reactions when it comes to this scenario;
Leonidas
" I love my child, and I do want them to feel like they have a real family, but, Geirölul and I are only very good friends. Though, it is still nice to see how understanding my youngster is, despite the situation. I'm happy the two of them still get along, Geirölul's a good influence, to me at least. "
Geirölul
" They are the sweetest thing I have ever met, but, much like Leonidas, I do not view our relationship as anything other than platonic. I adore how understanding his child was, even though we did kinda crush their goals with a few words. They're a good kid. "
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#Record of Ragnarok#RoR#Shuumatsu no Valkyrie#SnV#RoR Norse Pantheon#Record of Ragnarok Humans#RoR Humans#Record of Ragnarok x Reader#RoR x Reader#Shuumatsu no Valkyrie x Reader#SnV x Reader#RoR Norse Pantheon x Reader#Record of Ragnarok Humans x Reader#RoR Humans x Reader#Child! Reader#GN! Reader#Human! Reader#RoR Leonidas#RoR Leonidas x Reader#RoR Geirölul#RoR Geirölul x Reader
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A Court of Seeds and Sight
Elain x Azriel
Summary: After 6 months apart, Elain sees the way Lucien looks at her new, healthy, body and it reminds her of her mother. The look of disappointment. The look of never being good enough. A reminder that she's spent most of her life letting others make choices for her. she decided in that moment that she's hand enough. While standing up for herself, Lucien suggests they dissolve the bond, letting her go free.
What happens when she's staying at The House of Wind to recover and the male she's dreamed of, the male she's wanted to pick for herself for over 2 years now, is there with medicine and goods to help her feel better?
Warnings: light fatphobia, severing a bond, made-up lore (i had fun making it up) hurt/comfort, the house of wind is my favourite character in this, First kiss, first times, oral sex (fem receiving), multiple orgasms, new bonds snapping into place, lovemaking, rough sex
Word count: 10.6k
She knew he was there the moment he walked into the house.
There was a little tug on the bond, the first she’d felt in 6 months now. Where Lucien lived in the human realm, as well as his visits to the spring court, both places brought him out of the bounds of their bond. She went most of the year without feeling him, having heard from him through her sister and her mate, but Elain hasn’t felt him.
And what a blessing that had been.
She has been working in gardens all over the city, bringing florals to the night court in a way that keeps their traditions in mind. She’s made hanging flower baskets for lamp posts, displays for windows as well as potted trees and bushes on the street. Bat Orchids, black Dahlia, Persian lily, and Dark Dimension. Black and blue and purple roses. Hollyhock and Hellebore. All darker flowers, but the feeling is still the same. She wanted to bring life and beauty to the city that changed everything for her.
When she’s not in the garden covered in dirt… she’s in the kitchen covered in flour. Both activities include help from her favourite fae.
Azriel, ever the traveller, albeit for work, was always bringing her back either a packet of exotic seeds or a new recipe from a cafe or hotel he visited. She’s planted everything, either in her greenhouse outback or in little pots scattered around the house. She wanted them to last, and the best way to do that was to keep them in their desired environments. Food-wise, he mostly brings home recipes for pastries and baked goods. Only a few times has there been a savoury dish, which she made for the whole family for dinner, upon Az’s request.
The tug on the bond pulls her away from her baking, she’s working on lemon pastries. A fluffy, puffed pastry with lemon filling and a delicious icing drizzle on top. She makes them in a variety of flavours, this one happens to be Azriel’s favourite.
“Can you watch these for me? Take them out if I’m not back when the timer goes,” she asks Cerridwen and Nuala. They both nod, knowing where she’s going, as they also feel everything going on in the house, stronger than she ever could.
She makes her way towards the main entrance, wiping her hands off on her apron, she’s only going to greet him because it’s right. It’s a nice thing to do. She doesn’t like him more than an acquaintance, he’s her sister's work partner… he’s important to their court but not to her heart. And she feels awful about that. But she’s heard the stories, she knows that not all bonds are happy. Most of the people she’s met have horror stories about how much their parents hated each other, but the bond needed them together to procreate. Because the cauldron knows what offspring will change the world. Like Rhys himself, his parents were not meant to be, but the world needed him.
She could put up with Lucien, she could tolerate him. She just couldn’t imagine sharing a bed or making children with him. He may be her “soul-mate” but he is not her type. He was not the male she would willingly choose if she had the choice.
“Lucien,” she smiles at him.
He looks her up and down, taking a step back to do so. But it’s not in the usual way he looks at her. He’s taking in how much she’s changed in the half a year he hasn’t seen her.
She’s put on some weight. For the first time in her life, she has had the luxury to do so. Eating well, lounging in the sun, reading in her room and cuddling with her nephew. She’s not working out like her sisters, she doesn’t have a job that requires her to be able to kick ass in a moment's notice. She’s done what she’s always wanted to do; put a little meat on her bones. And she loved it.
“What?” She asks, slightly offended.
“Nothing… I’m just surprised,” he explains, unable to stop staring. “You’ve… changed.”
And it’s not the good kind of staring. His eyes are sharing with her more than she would ever hear leave his mouth. This isn’t the fae he’s been imagining in his daydreams these last few months. His look is one of disappointment, wondering why the Cauldron would match him with someone he’s also not attracted to.
“Need I remind you that I own my body, it’s not for you to ogle or have an opinion about,” she spits, feeling the fire in her blood, having never related to her older sister until this very moment. “I never wanted this stupid bond, I don’t need your opinion of me. I’m happy, I’m healthy and I’m blessed to be able to reach this size, so if you don’t like it… you can fuck right off.”
She honestly can’t believe those words just left her mouth. But she stands a little taller, glad that it did.
He can’t believe it either, “the apple doesn’t fall far in your family, does it? I never even said anything and yet you were ready to pounce on me like a wild animal. Like that human side of you is still perfectly intact.”
“I understand we have to keep things cordial for the court, however, if I never had to see you again it would be a day too late,” she continued without a second thought. “My sister and the high lord need you and your alliance, I understand that perfectly, but I am not a pawn. I am not here to keep the peace. I trust you’re a good man, that you can keep up the alliance even if things between us aren’t good.”
“Then let’s get this retched bond removed then, shall we? The last thing I want is to be shackled to someone who could never even give me the courtesy of pretending to love me,” he spits right back.
“We can do that?” She asks, shocked she never knew it was an option.
“We need a priestess and a few days rest, but it can happen,” he explains. “Do you have a preferred priestess or shall we just walk into the nearest temple and see who’s available?”
“I’d prefer Merrill a the House of Wind.”
Knowing she’s a strict witch of a fae, from Nesta’s stories, there was no one else she wanted to sever this, no one else she wanted to deal with Lucien than her.
—
Rhysand and Feyre winnowed them in, having spoken to both of them about the risks of separating the bond as well as what this would mean for the court. Lucien agreed to stay emissary, his only request was that he stay in another house, paid for by Rhysand when visiting and that they meet there or at the house of Wind for meetings, so he didn’t have to see Elain again. They understood perfectly.
“We’ll be back in an hour,” Feyre explained, a hand on Elain’s arm, wishing her luck. She simply gave her sister a smile in return, showing she was ready, albeit a little nervous.
The happy couple flew off after that, leaving the others to start their quiet walk to the temple inside the mountain.
Merrill meets them at the door, pissed off as usual. She blinks at them, arms crossed, “I have cleared the temple for the next hour while we do this, no matter how much it stings or the emotions you are feeling, the male must be gone when the hour is up. This is a safe space for the priestesses who live here, I am not ruining it for them. No matter who you are.”
“I understand,” Lucien agrees, no real fight left in him.
Inside the temple, they walk past rows and rows of pews towards the front, where a rock is draped with a light blue silk runner and topped with two cups of tea and a book.
“Do you know the risks?” Merrill asks.
They both nod, having learned from Rhys that severing a bond wasn’t a difficult act, it was the after-effects that were the most challenging. They could feel sick, possibly emptying the contents of their stomach and unable to consume more. The headache from losing the bond can be anywhere from an annoyance to mind numbly painful and there is a chance they could slip into a year-long melancholia. Sleep helped, but not by much as the cauldron often retaliated with terrible dreams that would keep them up.
They were both willing to do whatever it took to get rid of this thing.
“Are you absolutely, 100% sure, you want to dissolve the bond?” Merrill asks, staring them down. The stone above her hood shone in the faelight. Glaring at her. This was real, this was serious, and there was no going back.
Elain nods, “Yes, I’m sure.”
“I just want her to be happy,” Lucien shares, solemn and defeated.
“Alright,” Merrill just pushes through. “Join hands. I’m going to say a couple of prayers, then you’re going to drink the tea and you’ll feel it happen. It can be painful, like holding a metal wire as it snaps, it can whip you as it ricochets.”
That made her swallow sharply, she wasn’t sure she was ready to hurt again, but if it meant freedom— then the hurt would be worth it.
Taking Lucien's hand in her own, it feels weird to touch him for the first time since they were bonded by the cauldron. It starts the moment they grip each other's hands, she has no idea what Merrill is saying, it’s in the old language. It sounds beautiful, but she has no idea what it means. She can feel it, there’s a hum that rushes through her and
She’d never experienced an earthquake before, and yet the way her body shook during the prayer had her concerned that it was not just her rumbling. It feels as though the whole world is reacting to the bond being severed. She tries her hardest to keep a brave face, standing on wobbly legs is difficult, however, the shaking stops as soon as the prayer is complete.
Merrill hands them each a cup of tea, allowing them to stop holding hands for a moment. Pulling away doesn’t feel as intense as she expected it to. If him simply leaving a room used to make her heart ache, physically separating should’ve felt more intense. The prayer essentially numbed the feelings. The tea would snap the bond. The priestess continues her chants while they drink, all but chugging the warm liquid down. It tastes very earthy, almost as if she was drinking bark and dirt… she never even asked what it was before they did this.
They both look disgusted as they bring the cups down, staring into each other's eyes, unable to hear the other's thoughts but it was evident. That tea was gross.
They wait for Merrill to finish her prayer and then it happens.
The snap isn’t as intense as she expected. It feels like walking through the woods and tripping over a root. It pulls from the earth and breaks against the ankle, leaving a welt, but nothing more. No sprain, no twist, just a slight ache. She’s able to walk away from it.
She looks at Lucien once more and there’s nothing there. Her heart doesn’t flutter, her mind doesn’t race… she simply looks at him the way she would look at a stranger on the streets. He’s just there.
“How do you feel?” Merrill asks.
“Fine,” Elain answers while Lucien bows his head.
“Terrible,” he whispers. He reached up to hold his temples, “what was that?”
“Olive tree bark tea,” she explains. “Olive trees are a distant cousin to ash trees. it’s not as potent or deadly, it gets the job done.”
“Can I leave now?” Lucien asks, turning away from them the moment Merrill starts to hum in agreement.
She doesn’t hurt at all. Her heart is fine, her head is silent… she’s just empty.
“Thank you, Merrill,” she gives the priestess a small smile. “I appreciate you taking time out of your day for this. Is there anything I can do to repay you?”
“I’ve heard rumours that your family recovered the harp. In my previous research, I was developing a theory that there are multiple universes stacked on top of one another, upwards of 26 universes, actually. I heard the harp has 26 strings. I would like to study it. Can you put in a good word with the High Lord and Lady for me?”
She nods, “I’ll see what I can do. That sounds very interesting, I’m sure they’d want to know more about these other universes as well.”
“Be well, I’m doing the dusk service tonight if you need anything, you’re welcome to join us,” Merrill shares a rare smile and then she leaves, heading off into the back rooms of the temple.
Elain starts the trek back to the balcony, where she’s meant to meet Feyre for her ride back to the river house. Lucien is staying at the townhouse, he’ll be leaving with Rhys first. She’s given him more than enough time to leave by now. But she doesn’t want to. Leave that is.
She sighs, resting a hand against the wall, “Would you be alright if I stayed here for the time being?” She asks the house.
In response, the lights flicker down the hallway, telling her to follow. She follows their lead, all the way to the bedroom she used to occupy when she first arrived in Velaris. Only it’s different, it’s brighter. There are plants and flowers on the tables, hanging from the veiling and vines wrapped around the 4 poles of her bed. Speaking of, the sheets are a beautiful pink, soft silk and topped with the fluffiest pillows. There’s a book on the bed, beside a tray of chocolates and a bottle of her favourite wine.
“Oh, I love you,” she swoons, holding her hand over her heart. “This is the most beautiful spot to recover. You are so wonderful to us.”
The house simply sent a warm breeze her way, wrapping around her face and shoulders as if to hug her.
Within seconds, she can hear footsteps approaching her room and she knows it’s her younger sister by the way she floats down the hall. She stops at the open door and smiles, “You’re staying here, correct?”
She nods, “how’d you—
“You dislike nothing more than feeling like a burden, here you can recover alone with the help of the house,” Feyre smiles, knowing her too well. “I packed you a few outfits, mostly sleepwear because I don’t expect you to leave the bed for a while. I will be here in 3 days, waiting in the entryway around mid-day, if you’re there I’ll bring you home. If not, I’ll give you another 3 days. Send word if you need me.”
“Thank you,” she reaches out to take the suitcase but the house handles it for her. Taking it with its magic, the house puts everything away and sets out a fresh set of sleepwear on the bed as the bath starts to run in the other room.
“You’re in very good hands,” Feyre approves. “I love you, and I’m proud of you, I hope you know that.”
“I know,” she smiles back. “I’ll see you soon.”
Once Feyre is gone, she closes her bedroom door and heads right to the bathroom. Her book, chocolate and wine are now on a little side table near the bath. The bath smells of roses and jasmine, the bubbles float over the room as they escape the tub, the lights are dimmed, and everything is perfect.
She strips, gets into the bath and just sighs. “I expected to feel awful,” she shares. “I just feel free.”
Her glass is filled with wine then as if the house is telling her to just lay back and enjoy the freedom. So she listens, she takes the wine in one hand, the book in her other, her eyes raking over the summary.
It’s a romance, one she knows that either the house loves or Nesta does, either way, it’ll be raunchy and delicious. The main character is a florist, she has just escaped a terrible relationship with a man who didn’t appreciate her. Thinking she’ll be alone for the rest of her life, something unexpected blooms with the man who delivers her orders once a week. She hums, it sounds quite interesting, so she flips to the first page, takes a sip of her wine and settles into freedom.
—
Before she knew it, the bubbles and wine were gone, and the bath water was still warm thanks to the house, as she reached the middle of her book. Hours pass, her body is pruned from the water and limp from how relaxed she’s become. She sighs, “Can I have a bookmark?” She asks The House.
On the table by her empty wine glass, a clear, acrylic rectangle with dried flowers trapped inside appears. Around the flowers are gold flakes, her name is engraved into it with gold. It’s beautiful. “Thank you.”
She gets out of the tub, and dries off with a beautifully fluffy towel only to walk naked back into her room to don her silky underclothes and slip into bed. “May I please have some soup… something creamy and hearty?”
Then, a beautiful creamy soup appears on a tray on her bed. She stirs her spoon around, noticing the bits of broccoli, shredded carrot and cheese and cubed chunks of potatoes. All her favourites. And then she notices the bowl, it’s a crusty sphere of bread hollowed out to hold the soup. “Thank you, this is exactly what I wanted.”
She devours the soup, peels apart the bread bowl and savours the remnants of the creamy soup on the crunchy bread. It’s life-changing, she feels full and warm, happier than she has felt in a while. A little drunk from that whole bottle of wine, however, the bread offsets it. The tray disappears once she is done, and her book reappears on the bed. Candles are lit around the room, the curtains are still open to let in the last of the daylight while the faelight over her bed brightens just enough for her to read.
She’s another 3 chapters in when there is a knock at the door.
“Come in?” She says, unsure who would be home. Nesta and Cassian are in Illyria training younglings for the next week.
The door opens slowly and quietly, the shadows bellow at his feet and she knows instantly. Her best friend has come to check on her.
“Az,” she smiles. “I didn’t know you were back tonight?”
He smiles right back at her, “I went to the river house, I left the new seeds I found in the greenhouse. Nuala told me where you were…”
“I’m okay,” she assures. “It didn’t hurt. Did you know they used olive tree bark in a tea to do it? Apparently, it's in the ash family, it’s not enough to maim but it did the trick.”
“I did not,” he looks instantly worried. “I did, however, bring you something…”
“Come in,” she beckons him in closer. Closing her book and resting it on the bed, she pulls her sheets up over her chest to keep her modesty and watches as he sits on the edge near the end, resting against the post.
“I went to see Madja,” he explains, pulling a few things out of the inside pockets of his jacket. “This is the same headache powder you gifted me, well, a new one, but the same kind. And these are ginger candies, they’ll help with any nausea you may feel. Have you eaten?”
She nods, “The House made me some lovely soup.”
“Good,” he nods, looking down at the bottles in his hands with a smile. “I’m going to be sleeping here tonight, you know where my room is?”
“Just above mine,” she points upstairs.
“Exactly… ask the house to make my lights flicker 3 times and I’ll know you need me, you don’t need to leave the bed if you don’t wish to,” he explains. “I’ll leave these here. You should get some rest.”
“Thank you, Azriel, I really appreciate you.”
His smile is remarkable, “this is what friends are for.”
His shadows leave the room first, leaving him to place the bottles on her night table and saunter off after them. As soon as the door is closed again, she waits to hear him retreat upstairs but it’s impossible. He’s so quiet, he stalks around like a cat on the prowl no matter where he is. So after enough time has passed, when she knows she’s alone again, she sighs. “He’s so… wonderful.”
The house blows a wind that shuffles the pages of her book to what she expects is a random page, only it’s not. The love interest brings the main character flowers she doesn’t sell in her shop, something exotic and new just for her to behold. For no reason other than he wishes to see her smile. And suddenly she gets it, why the house picked this book for her out of the entire library both private and the extensive one below them.
“There is such a remarkable light cast upon him,” she swoons. “It’s no wonder he’s followed by shadows.”
A second book appears on her bed.
‘Bonds, Mates and Why The Cauldron Fates Them.’
She’s quick to pick it up, flipping towards the first page, she starts to read as fast as she can absorb the knowledge. She should’ve looked for a book like this long ago, should’ve asked questions about bonds and how they come to be and how they dissolve. She always just assumed it would be there until one of them died… she never wished that upon him, never once. She just assumed that was how it would end.
Turns out, the cauldron makes such bonds either because it knows the union will be fruitful, that the children they’d bring to this world will be of great power or importance. Children like Rhysand, he was born to be a leader while his parents could barely stand each other. Meanwhile, Cassian’s father stepped out on his bond mate, doing the foulest thing a male could do to a woman and creating one of the most important warriors to grace the world in the last 5 centuries.
The bonds aren’t set in stone, while they can be wonderful and loving and everything two faes could ever dream of… they could also be awful. Like Lucien’s own mother and father. Beron is an awful man, controlling and mean, it’s unknown if he’s abusive but from the stories told. The atrocities that he’s committed, it’s not a far stretch to consider that he hurts her. The Lady of the Autumn court is strong, she’s stayed put and dealt with what the cauldron forced upon her— even in those 10 years she was with the Lord from the Day court. She stayed, she raised her children and she’ll be free when Beron dies.
Maybe that’s why Lucien let her go. Why he would suggest dissolving the bond rather than dealing with it for the rest of time? Sure, he was already close to 500 years old, he could live to be 500 more and he was not going to shackle her to himself the way his father did to his mother. She needed to find a way to thank him. Maybe in a century when they got over this, she’d send him a fruit basket. Or a new fur throw.
The more she read, the more she understood.
It’s not unheard of for someone to have 2 bonds in their lifetime.
After the death of the first mate, a second bond can snap into place. It’s happened to young widows and widowers alike, bringing them a second chance at happiness for the rest of their time here. Other situations in which a bonded couple gets bonded to a 3rd fae are more unlikely, but it still happens. Polyamorous bonds are rare to come by, seen only once or twice in a millennia, they can include upwards of 5 fae, at least in recorded history. She couldn’t even imagine how that would work.
There was still hope for both herself and Lucien. He could get another bond, he could find his true soulmate out there… or he could just love someone and be loved the way he deserves to be loved without a bond. It’s not the end all be all. Maybe he’s meant to be with Vessa? Or Vessa and Jurian… they all live together most of the year, and he loves them quite a lot. Anything could happen now that he’s also free.
Bonds snapping into place at first sight is common, that’s what happened with herself and Lucien. Others exist your entire life and you don’t know until the snap reverberates through you, like what happened with Feyre and Rhysand. He knew it longer, he could always feel her out there, it wasn’t until she started to fall in love with him that she began to understand what it was. That the bond was meant to be there. They were meant to be.
Nesta and Cassian had a similar situation, the bond lingered from their first meeting and became stronger on the battlefield when she called after him. Grew more powerful after that first kiss when he thought he was dying… it wasn’t until she accepted it, until she announced with her whole being that she loved him, that it snapped into place for good.
Azriel’s never had a bond. He loved Morrigan for centuries to no avail. He slept with countless fae… he’s gotten close to Elain herself, so close she thought he would kiss her. So close she could smell how much he wanted her. Only for something, or someone, to scare him off.
Rhysand didn’t often go into her mind, it was typically Feyre who did. Often to share gossip or wish her goodnight from the other side of the river house. But Rhys was in Azriel and Cassian’s mind often. Barking orders, sharing jokes and simply catching up. He loved his brothers, but he loved his court more. She suspects that’s why he was so… so official while speaking to her and Lucien this afternoon. He was willing to do anything to keep Lucien in their good graces, to keep him as emissary.
What wouldn’t he do?
She puts the book down, breathing heavily as it all hits her. He only called their almost kiss a ‘mistake’ that day because Rhysand was in his mind, telling him to back off, so that he didn’t have to pick between Shadowsinger and Emissary when the fight for her hand officially broke out. Because he would always pick his brother, he just didn’t want to have to.
“How long after breaking a bond can another emerge?” She asks, watching as the house flips the pages of the book to the near end. The light shines on a specific paragraph more than the others and she knows she has her answer.
Within moments of a mate's death, a new bond could snap into place. It’s happened in recorded history a handful of times, usually during war. A male would pass and his female, working in the infirmary, bonds to a wounded soldier. A female passes from sickness and her mate, standing beside her lifelong friend at the funeral, bonds to the only person who loved her as much as he did. Sometimes the second bond is stronger than the first, sometimes it’s the more important bond. The first mate was to teach a lesson, the second was for a lifetime of happiness.
She feels her heart in her throat, her breathing still heavy, her thoughts racing to all the possibilities. Was this why she was so drawn to Azriel? Why she never bonded with anyone in all his years? Why it didn’t hurt when the tether snapped on her end, unlike Lucien's instant pain?
Before she can even register it, she’s up and moving, out of the room and down the hall. Up the stairs and around the corner. The house makes the lights flicker, drawing Azriel out of his room in an instant, and having them meet in the hallway.
She keeps walking until they’re millimetres apart. She places her hand on his chest and looks up into his dark and stormy eyes. “Tell me the truth.”
“About?”
“Why was it a mistake?”
“You know,” he breathes. “The seer always knows.”
She just smirks, “I will not talk down about your high lord… but sometimes he’s a royal pain in my ass.”
He just smirks, “he spent centuries perfecting that quality.”
She lets out another sigh, being this close to him just feels so right. Like there’s a magnet pulling her towards him. “Please tell me you feel it too? I don’t want to skirt around it for months like my sisters did.”
“I’ve felt it for almost 3 long years now,” he whispers, his voice so low it reverberates through her, going right to her core.
“Tell me about it?” She requests, “I want to know your mind, I want to know how you think. Walk me through it.”
He picks her up then, making her squeal slightly, “I will tell you in the comfort of your bed, where you should be.”
Around the corner, down the stairs, through her hallway and into her bedroom. The books have been removed from the sheets, and more candles have been lit while the lights have been dimmed down low. He places her on her bed, waiting for her to pick a side before getting in himself, “where should I start?”
“What you felt when we first met?”
“I thought you were so strikingly beautiful when I entered your house the first time,” he explains. “Like Cassian, I already knew I would do anything for Feyre’s family, but the way I would kill for you… that scared me. I hadn’t felt so strongly about a female in— maybe ever? I loved Morrigan, I thought she was beautiful. She is beautiful. But you, you changed everything about how I feel. I was noticing the beauty in everything after you, I was stopping to sniff flowers and following scents on the street just to bring you a baked good just so I could see the joy on your face. There is nothing I love more than seeing joy on your face.”
She blushes hard, “I feel the same about you. Making the recipes you bring me, showing you how the seeds have bloomed into flowers, those are the best moments of my life.”
“Even in the worst moments of my life, all I could think of was you,” he whispers again, almost afraid to admit that. “When you were taken, everyone warned me I might not make it back. They thought it was a suicide mission… I knew I would get you back, if not for me then for your sisters.”
“I have never experienced Rage like I did during the war,” she shares. “Kicking that beast off you, feeling your blood on me, it scared me. what I could do if you died.”
“I think I’m pretty indestructible now,” he teases. “I’m not going anywhere on you.”
“Until you have another accident in the middle of nowhere,” she pushes back. “I’m never going to ask you to not be the spymaster, but I will ask that you always, always make it home to me.”
“Home?” He asks as if he wants to know where that is.
“we could get a little tent and live in the woods for the rest of our lives and it would still be a home because you’re there beside me,” she assures him. “But I was thinking… I love the river house. I love my friends and the kitchen and my garden. I’d like to be there every day, no matter where we end up living together.”
“I can ask Rhys if I can build a home on the property, a little 2-story house, just big enough for us, so you can walk over there every day,” he offers. “I have more than enough funds to build a castle, too, if that’s what you prefer.”
She just smiles, “We can live in the townhouse, or maybe even the house of mist until it’s ready… I have a feeling if the bond snaps into place, we’re going to be just as bad, if not worse than the others.”
He laughs, that beautiful hearty laugh she doesn’t get to hear often. Not unless they’re alone or everyone is drunk… before he can reply she sighs, “I love you. I really do.”
A blush creeps up his face, “I love you. More than I can explain, I love you in ways I never thought possible for me.”
“It’s possible and it’s happening,” she whispers, moving in closer to him. She cups his cheek, staring into his eyes. “I’m just so glad it’s me.”
“Me too,” he whispers back, a thickness in his throat that lets her know there are more emotions buried behind his stern exterior. “Can I ask… can I ask what happened that made today of all days, the day that you decided to leave him?”
“He looked at me… and I saw that same look my mother used to have. You see, I never had the privilege of being my own person, growing up. I had to stay skinny, I had my eyebrows plucked and my hair had to be long and I wasn’t allowed in the garden because pretty girls don’t get dirty. When she died, I had 3 years of peace. I didn’t go to as many balls, I wasn’t interacting with the princes and dukes she wanted to marry me off to. It was just me. And I put on weight. Just a little, enough to not see my ribs and round out my face. But it was a weight that I chose to gain. It kept me warm, I liked filling out my dresses. And then we lost all our money and I went back to starving.”
She watches his face as he catches on, he looks her over, “You’re so healthy now, you’ve just made yourself even more beautiful, somehow. As if that was even possible?”
She gives him a little smile. “I know, and not in a conceited way. This is how I prefer to look. I like having strong arms from carrying around bags of soil and heavy cement planter boxes. I like having thick thighs and a tummy and I like that my cheekbones aren’t as striking anymore. I love looking in the mirror and seeing myself now. Because I got to make the choice to look like this. I get to wake up every day and make choices for myself.”
“And the bond, it wasn’t your choice.”
She shakes her head, “it reminded me of my mother. She always wanted me to marry well. And what’s better than a male who’s the heir to not one throne, but 2?”
He sighs, “I wanted to tell you there were more choices out there. That you didn’t have to suffer through it.”
“I have words for Rhys when I get back,” she assures him. “He watched not only his mother but Morrigan, get pawned off to men who didn’t love them. He’s seen the hurt first hand and yet he wanted me to stay with him, to endure a loveless life, simply so He could have a better connection with the human queen. I don’t know if he didn’t realize it, or he's so used to thinking of the greater good that my happiness wasn’t on his radar, but it hurt. It hurt to see both my sisters so happy in bonds they chose, with males who love them, while I didn’t.”
“I snapped at him that night, after our almost kiss. I never thought it was fair that there are 3 of you and 3 of us and yet only two from each family got to be happy.”
“I’ve felt that too,” she admits. “I never wanted to try and make it work with Lucien. I was just going to be cordial with him until the time came when I had to have his babies or… and I never wished for this, but I knew he’d pass away at some point and I’d be free to love someone for real.”
Before Az can even validate her feelings, she continues. “And then he showed up today, I felt his presence and I went out to greet him and he looked me up and down the same way my mother would. I could read it in his face that I was no longer the female he dreamed about, I wasn’t the same fae he envisioned all these months he was away. And something snapped in me. That fire that lives in both my sisters just spewed out and I lost it on him.”
Az smiles, “yeah? I heard the house almost shook.”
She shakes her head with a smile, loving when he teases her. “In that moment, I only thought about myself. For the first time in my life, no one was standing in front of me to protect me or talk for me or anything. For the first time in my life, the words I needed came to me and I said them. I didn’t want him. I had never wanted him. I was put into this body against my will, I was bonded to him against my will and I was suffering for it… and I thought about all those seeds you brought me. How they were never meant to be here, most of them have never been in the night court, even clipped in a bouquet. But I managed to grow them, give them life, feed them, protect them and help them flourish. I wanted to flourish, too. So the second he said we should get the bond dissolved, I jumped on it. I had no idea it was a possibility, either it was kept a secret from me or it just hasn’t been done in so long that no one thought to mention it— either way, I wanted it. We did it. And now, I’m free.”
“And you always will be free,” Az assures. “Even if we don’t bond, even if this pull that we feel for each other is just love… I shouldn’t say just. Love is so powerful on its own. There are millions of couples in this land who love each other without a bond. I want to love you for the rest of my life, in whatever capacity you want from me.”
“I would enjoy being Mrs. Shadowsinger,” she teases, making him laugh as he pulls her in close. She tucks her face into his neck and breathes him in, “If we don’t have a bond, I still would like to have a huge, disgustingly expensive wedding. I want everyone in the world to know I picked you. That it was my choice to pick you, it was my choice to let my heart keep loving you the way it desired to.”
He soothes his hands down her back, kissing the top of her head. “It feels like a dream… hearing you say all these things.”
She pinches him, making him roar as he slightly shoves her away. Elain giggles, so abundantly happy it’s pouring out of her. “See, you’re awake.”
“And you’re a menace,” he retorts.
She pushes him so he’s flat on his back and straddles his hips, looking down at him, “I have dreamed about teasing you like this for years now. Making you blush, reminding you how loved you are, making you feel so happy that your shadows turn pink.”
He laughs, “We could try.”
“I want to kiss every part of you. I want to know every scar and freckle and tattoo. I want to know your body as well as I know my own… but we can’t tonight.”
He understands, “Are you feeling okay? Headache or nausea? Are you tired?”
She shakes her head, “I haven’t taken the contraceptive tea since I was a human… since I gave my maidenhood to my previous betrothed.”
He takes in a deep breath and lets it out slowly, “And you haven’t bled since becoming fae?”
She shakes her head, “I never really had them as a human either. Madja said that was likely because I was so underweight, now that I’m healthy, it should happen in a few months.”
He nods, “so tomorrow, or the next day, when you’re feeling up to it, we’ll go to the apothecary and get what you need.”
“Aren't they open all night?” She teases, making him smirk. “I’m kidding, we can go tomorrow.”
Just then, a steaming cup of tea pops up on her night table. “Oh, mother?” Elain stares at it and then back at him. “Is that—“A warm breeze brushes past her, a silent yes from the house. “Is it from Nesta’s collection?” Another breeze. “How fast does it take effect?”
A book drops on the bed, turned to a page that starts with the world ‘instantaneously.’
“She is amazing,” Azriel compliments.
“My sister?”
“No– well yeah, but,” he laughs. “I mean The House.”
“How do you know they’re a she?”
“The way they take care of us, the motherly touch, the love… no male soul could compare.”
The house takes the book back, leaving a chocolate that Elain knows to be his favourite in its wake.
“Do you have a name?” Elain asks, now sitting against the headboard with the tea in her hands, “I always want to thank you, but I don’t know your name.”
Another book appears on the bed, the title of the book is ‘Nameless.’ It’s a book about creatures who’ve lived on this earth so long that memory fails to recall their names.
“So take some time, look through all the books in this house and pick a name that suits you. You have the choice now,” Elain explains. “Pick a name and we’ll make sure everyone refers to you as such.”
More candles are lit around her room, and rose petals are on her bed and around it. The curtains are drawn, the fire roars in the corner fireplace… and they’re suddenly alone.
Elain chugs her tea, drinking down every single last drop, he sighs once it’s gone and passes the cup to Az to place back on the night table. “I’m nervous.”
“Me too,” he agrees. “But… I’m more nervous for a bond than the lack of one.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t know how to ask for a week off,” he teases.
“Well… we could just stay here, have the house lock the doors knowing Rhys can’t winnow in, we just don’t have to leave for a week.”
His eyes get darker as he crawls over her, resting between her legs, holding himself up with those deliciously strong arms of his, he looks like a feral animal about to pounce. “I like the way you think.”
“Go easy on me?” She whispers, visibly nervous now. “I’m practically a virgin again, it’s been so long.”
“Don’t worry,” he assures, leaning in to press a kiss to her cheek and then her nose. Her eyes close and he takes a moment to kiss both eyelids. “I’m going to treat you so well, my love.”
She blushes, “are you going to kiss me for real, or what?”
He balances on one arm, cupping her face gently, he watches her close her eyes as he brushes his nose against hers. She feels as if time stops, she’s frozen in anticipation for what feels like forever until his lips are on her.
It’s then that the magnetic pull becomes something more. Stars explode behind her eyes, she wraps her arms around him so tight, pulling him flush against her body as if she can’t get him close enough. Their souls become one, she is his and he is hers.
He wraps his arm under her, pulling her in just as close. Her legs wrap around his hips, pressing his groin flush against her heat. His lips part, introducing her to his tongue, she hums into his mouth, not yet confident enough to moan… his hand slips down from her cheek, over her breast, noticing the hardened peaks of her nipples. He palms them, trying to entice more noise out of her.
She’s heard from her sisters just how sensitive the Illyrian wings are, so she reaches up, running her fingers over the silky membrane as seductively as possible, making him shiver… he grinds against her, hard in his sleep pants. That’s what makes her moan against him. Knowing she’s contributing to his pleasure, that he wants her just as bad as she wants him.
She brushes over his wing again just as he pinches her nipple between two fingers, moaning in tandem this time. He kisses the side of her mouth, along her jaw and down her neck, leaving her to pant as she stares at the ceiling. This is real. This is happening. She has Azriel in her bed, soon to be inside her, too. Her whole body heats up at the thought, wetness pools between her legs and within moments, Azriel’s kisses become nips and sucks, his tongue and teeth on her neck, leaving marks as he feels down her sides towards her hips and pulls her up against his hardened cock once more. He grinds against her, slow yet forceful, showing her exactly what is to come.
“Az,” she whines, face pink as her sheets, she can’t believe how needy she feels and so fast. “Please? Touch me, please? I need you. I need to feel you. It’s been too long.”
He smiles against her, fiddling with the hem of her sleep shirt, “can I take this off you?”
“Gods, yes!”
He sits up on his knees, pulling her forward, he slips the top off of her and tosses it to the floor. She lays back down and she watches his eyes rake over her makeup upper half, “sweet mother…”
“Your turn,” she breathes. He looks at her confused so she sits back up, gripping his shirt in her hands. “I want to see you.”
He simply grips the front of it and pulls it, tearing it off his back, she hears the sound of the seams ripping and the cotton tearing before the fabric is chucked on the floor beside her shirt. She presses her hand to his bare chest instead, the tips of her slightly chilled fingers running over his heated abs, down towards the tuft of hair leading down and disappearing under his pants. “All of you,” she adds.
“You first,” he interjects, getting her to lay back once more, she lifts her hips as he starts to tug at her bottoms, freeing her from the fabric.
He’s quick to kiss her stomach, spreading her legs before she can make him take his own pants off to make things even. He kisses her all the way down, over her mound towards her hip and then the crease where her leg meets lip. Breathing her in, his eyes roll back in his skull, “fuck,” he groans. “Can I? Please?”
She nods as if her head is on a spring, dying to experience this. She’s read about it, dreamed about it… she all but pushes her hips against his face as he drags his tongue along her sex. She moans, back arching off the mattress, she grips her breast and allows him to continue however he sees fit.
He kisses her most sensitive spot, sucking on it gently before lapping up her wetness, sticking his tongue deep inside of her to gather it all up. His nose bumps her clit as his shadows come up to play with her. Black swirling smoke circles around her breasts like mini tornadoes, playing with the hardened peaks of her nipples, she drops her hands to her sides, gripping the sheets for dear life as she feels him everywhere.
In the 2 years she’s been left with just her own hand and imagination, it’s never been this easy for her to feel her climax approaching. It usually took a while, multiple imaginations, moving positions, adding more fingers… but Az, tongue deep inside of her for this short amount of time, has caught her stomach aflame. The heat spreads through her whole body, the blood in her veins feeling like molten iron on a mission. She reaches out for his hair, holding on tight as her climax rips through her. She’d never been so loud in her life, letting go, feeling it all so intensely, she didn’t even care to try and be embarrassed, not when she looked down between her legs to see that beautiful smirk on his face, the shadows clearing out once again.
“Holy fuck?” She says between gasps for air, feeling as though she just ran up all 10,000 steps to this house.
He just laughs, deep and lustful, “I didn’t know that word was in your vocabulary.”
“It’s reserved for moments like this,” she teases right back. “When I’ve been thoroughly fucked by the best lover in the world.”
“Don’t let your sisters hear that, I can’t imagine the fight that would break out trying to compare us all,” he teases, returning to his knees. His cock hard as a rock in his pants, he starts to push the fabric down, freeing the monster.
“Please, don’t mention my sisters when you’re that hard,” she groans. “Gods… I’m going to be impaled on that thing.”
He laughs again, maneuvering out of his pants, they end up on the floor with everything else. He gets as close to her as possible, grips his cock and rests it over her, allowing her to see just how deep he would be able to get. A shiver runs down her spine, “You really do have the biggest wingspan…”
“Hey, don’t talk about my brothers when my cock is on you,” he says through a smile, clearly just saying it to even the score.
She just shakes her head, laying back, still worn out from that first orgasm, “Mother almighty, please make it fit.”
“It’ll fit, especially now that you’re nice and relaxed. That’s the key part, you stretch better if you’re relaxed,” he explains, pulling back. “It might be easier if you’re on top, too.”
“and that doesn’t hurt your wings at all, laying on your back?” She worries, sitting up as well.
He shakes his head, “No, they’ll be fine.”
“Okay,” she smiles, reaching up to take his face in her hands, she pulls him in for another kiss. Missing the way his lips feel against her own, tasting herself, she knows it from her own curiosity, she hums into his mouth.
Her hands slide down his chest, over the trail of hair leading to his cock. She grips it at the base, letting him bite her lip in surprise before she starts to stroke him. She pulls away enough to look into his eyes, “what’s more sensitive?” She runs her thumb over the head, gathering the precum that’s been leaking since she had her legs wrapped around him. “This or your wings?”
“I don’t know,” he breathes out, deep and dark, his eyes going basically all black, blown out with lust for her. “The only being who’s ever touched my wings is the healer…”
“Well then, I have some experiments to do later,” she assures, letting go of his cock before taking him too far. “Lay back for me?”
He nods, listening to his lady.
Resting his head against the pillows, his cock laying back against his stomach… those big majestic wings spread and the tips hanging over the edges of her bed. She marvels over him. Taking in the sight, she sighs, “You’re more beautiful than I ever dreamed.”
He blushes slightly, “I’m glad you think so.”
“By the time I’m done with you,” she says, hiking a leg over him, resting her heat over his cock. “You’re going to believe me when I say you’re beautiful. Handsome,” she leans over him, cupping his face before pushing his hair back, “everything I’ve ever wanted and needed wrapped up in one. You are going to feel so loved.”
“I believe you,” he whispers back, unable to find his full voice in his surprise.
She hovers slightly, gripping his cock once more, “ready?”
He nods, “are you?”
She just smirks as she angles him towards her entrance and begins to sit down. The stretch is glorious, she takes him inch by inch, forgetting how to breathe the deeper he goes, she rests both her hands on his abs and stares at him, mouth agape. She lets out an exasperated breath, “holy gods…”
“Take as much time as you need to adjust,” he assures her it's okay, biting his lip. She can tell he wants to thrust, he wants to take advantage of the tight, wet heat wrapped around him currently.
She waits half a minute, the longest half-minute of his life, and then starts to pull back. His hands find her hips, helping her as she pulls off his cock an inch, barely, and grinds back down. Finding her own rhythm, he simply guides her hips alongside her own movements, “That’s it, sweet fuck, you feel so good.”
“You’re one to talk,” she grips her breast again, head tipping back as she rides him, “this is glorious… but I need more.”
“Tell me,” he growls. “Tell me what you need and I’ll be it for you. Forever.”
“I need–” she stops to bite back a slight moan, still riding him to the best of her ability. “I want you to fuck me, I can’t— I want to lay back and let you have your way with me.”
“Okay,” he agrees, sitting up slowly, he wraps his arms around her and maneuvers himself onto his knees without ever pulling out of her. Her arms were quick to wrap around his shoulders, holding on tight as he moved them. He rests her back, her head at the foot of the bed, still wrapped around her, he looks into her eyes, “How hard?”
Her hands trail down his shoulders, admiring his tattoos. She looks down at his chest, down to where they’re connected, and then back up to his eyes, “slow at first… I want to savour this. Making love to the man of my dreams for the first time. Our first time.”
He pulls out ever so slowly, more than she was able to on top of him. She feels him leave, the emptiness left in his wake… and then he pushes back in. Starts to explode behind her closed eyes, her head once again thrown back. She grips his arms tighter as he does it again and again, hitting a spot inside of her that she never knew existed. He’s so deep, filling her perfectly, she can’t believe any of this is real.
“Az,” she gasps his name as he picks up the pace, leaning in, he tucks his head into the crook of her neck and covers her in kisses, sucking gently, afraid to leave any marks, even though she heals fast and has 3 days of uninterrupted peace lined up.
She doesn’t hold anything back, moaning as loud as she wants, running her nails over his shoulders and back hard enough to draw blood. It feels too good to care, she’ll put some cream on him later… but for right now, she lives in this euphoria and doesn’t give a fuck about anything else. It’s just her and Az and two impending orgasms that might bring the mountain down.
There’s a hammering in her chest, a pang that contracts and expands with each thrust. It doesn’t feel like her heart, it’s not her lungs, either. Sure, she’s breathing heavily the faster he goes, but this is entirely different. This is… this is 10 million times more intense than when he tumbled from the cauldron and looked at Lucien the first time. This is a bond that she knew was there, buried deep inside of her, waiting to be awoken when the time was right.
She’s so close, she’s right there, but she needs more. She wants to reach between them and rub herself but she also wants to keep holding him this close, “Az, can— holy fuck, can you,” she starts to ask him for help, too overthrown by passion. “Shadows, down there,” she simplifies it.
He nods against her. “Yeah,” he breathes, hot and heavy under her ear.
She doesn’t see them, but there’s a presence between them, the same twisting, tingling feeling dances around her clit as it had her nipples. Ghosting over her, adding just enough pressure to push her to where she wants to be, she pulls his face out of her neck and slams her lips against his. Breathing him in, becoming one.
While her bond with Lucien was described as a metal wire, cold and formed against her will… the feeling of this new bond coming into existence is so much brighter. Lighter, full of life, love and happiness. It drapes over them like ivy and wisteria taking over a house, blooming eternal purple, white and pink blossoms all around them. Growing wilder as the years go on. She was covered in him, he was covered in her. This was how it was always meant to be.
He pulls back just enough to rest their foreheads together, breathing against one another now, he holds her tighter, “Mine.”
“Yours,” she agrees. Letting another few thrusts pass before she adds, “And you’re mine.”
“Yours,” he whispers. “Forever.”
“Forever,” she repeats as the feeling returns.
Heat builds and builds, swirling in her gut, mimicking the shadows she’s engulfed in. Wrapping her arms around him tighter, she brushes over his wing, making him whine. She does it again, pushing him to the edge alongside her. He’ll catch them both when they fall. Her stomach drops, her eyes squeeze shut, her body goes limp as pleasure pulses through her with a high-pitched, repeated moan as she rides it out.
And he’s gone then too, filling her up, she feels his cock twitch with each rope of release, only elongating her own orgasm. It’s everything she’s ever wanted, him, all of him, inside of her, making her his for life, and hopefully in whatever comes after.
He slumps against her, she can take his weight just fine, it actually feels wonderful. Crushed by his safety, his big delicious body pressed to her own. Wrapped around each other so tight they’re like a ribbon tied in a knot. Breathing heavily as they come down, that pang in her chest still strumming away.
He kisses her cheek, over to her ear, along her jaw and down her neck, she wonders if he’s feeling it too. “Az?” Hesitation in her voice.
“I know,” he whispers. “It happened for me too.”
She holds him even tighter somehow, tears slipping past her eyes as she lets out a sob. Happier than she could ever imagine being. He struggles to push out of her grip, holding himself up to look at her with genuine fear in his eyes, she just shakes her head, “I’m fine, I’m… I’m so happy.”
Tears blur his own vision, she watches one of them slip out, roll down his cheek and land on her chin. She just cups his face, brushing off the wetness. “You’re everything to me, everything and then some. You’re my favourite friend, my lover, my confidant. My test dummy, my best reviewer, supplier of my seeds—
“In more ways than one now,” he jokes, having to make it funny before he really sobbed.
She laughs too, “You make the world so much brighter for me.”
“Really?”
She nods, “you are the sunshine to my flower, you make me flourish and grow and love being alive… your light is so bright, of course, you have a shadow.”
By the look on his face, he never ever thought of it like that. “Thank you,” he lowers his head, brushing their noses together, “I love you.”
“I love you.”
The kiss they share is… everything. Full of love and respect and wanting. Lust and need and friendship and yearning. Every emotion at once, so strong, it knocks the wind out of both of them, causing them to pull away enough to breathe, mouth to mouth. Sharing their souls, trading them back and forth, learning them more intimately than ever before.
“Mine,” he whispers again.
“Mine,” she reminds him, owning him just as much as he owns her.
A second wave washes over them, another round of need. He’s not as gentle this time and she’s perfectly okay with it. Flipping onto her stomach, he absolutely rails her, fingers digging into her hips while she screams into the mattress.
He’s definitely going to need that week off.
—
When things settle a bit, when there’s nothing left to come out of him and she’s barely able to stop her legs from shaking, the house drops two of their favourite danishes on the bed. Allowing them to make it real, to accept the bond before anyone in their lives can make an opinion of it.
He takes one, she takes the other, and like a couple on their wedding day, they bring it to each other's lips, arms crossed, and they feed one another. The beating in her chest steadies out, becoming one with her heartbeat as she swallows the pastry down. Her heart and his beat the same, sharing a rhythm, bonded to each other, forever.
She just smiles at him, “It’s real now.”
“It always has been,” he assures. “I knew from the moment I met you that this was going to be the outcome, and I would’ve waited 500 more years for it to happen.”
“Well, now we get those 500 years to be happily in love,” she adds, face dropping a bit, “Forever will never be long enough.”
“No it won’t,” he agrees, putting the pastry down and cupping her face again. “Let's make it count.”
She nods, “you know… I still want a big wedding.”
He laughs, “I do too. I want everyone and their mother to know you chose me.”
“And I would choose you again, over and over, in every universe. Always.”
He steals another kiss, having to do something to stop himself from crying. It’s a dream come true for both of them.
“Of course, the seer’s dream would come true,” he whispers against her. “I’m just blessed to have been the dream.”
“Hopefully we can make them all come true,” she teases, smirk on her face. “I’ve had some… rather colourful dreams about you.”
“Yeah?”
“Mhm, we’ll have to explore them all this week.”
“I’ll fly down and tell him I’m not available this week, the second the sun comes up,” he assures.
“Take me with you, I want to see the look on his face when he realizes what happened,” cheeky as ever. “Maybe we should all take a week off, see who comes back the most relaxed.”
He laughs again, “well one couple has a kid, the other is with the Illyrians, I think we’ll win.”
“And thank the mother for that,” she leans in for another kiss, unsure how she could even sustain another round but her lust for him overpowers logic.
This was going to be a long week.
A/N: the house picked the name Anvita: who bridges the gap, who connects home and heart.
#elriel#pro elriel#elain archeron#pro elain#azriel#pro azriel#azriel x elain#elain x azriel#acotar#acomaf#acowar#acofas#acosf#canon#sjm books#sjm#sarah j maas#azriel shadowsinger#azriel spymaster#elain kingslayer
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Digimon & mythology: angel Digimon
The Digital World is a dangerous place, with plenty of demon lords, monsters, and villains just waiting to unleash their power. But there is light to counterbalance the darkness and the ranks of the angel Digimon will fight back against evil. The angels of Digimon are based on Christian angelology, the theological study of angels form a Christian viewpoint. Christian angelology is of course based on the older Jewish angelology, but Digimon pulls much more from the Christian version. Christian angelology traditionally has a hierarchy that appears to have been invented by the 5th century author, theologist, and philosopher Pseudo-Dionysus, who mixed existing beliefs about angels with neoplatonic philosophy to create his hierarchy. The name Pseudo-Dionysus is because he identifies himself as Dionysus to try to portray himself as a character of that name from the book of Acts, but modern scholars generally agree that even if the guy from Acts existed (debatable given the heavily fictionalized nature of Acts), the author wasn’t him. The hierarchy of angels is usually given in three spheres consisting of three ranks each. From lowest to highest they are angels, archangels, principalities, powers, virtues, dominions, thrones, cherubim, and seraphim. Most angel Digimon are associated with one of these ranks, though some fall outside of this system. I’ll give more context on each rank as they come up.
Like in the original mythology, angel Digimon answer to God. What God is in the Digital World is very vague and inconsistent across the different entries in the franchise. Most of what we get is that it’s a being of goodness that rules the angel Digimon and wants what’s best for the Digital World. In different parts of the franchise, God has been identified as a human programmer, Huanglongmon of the Holy Beasts, and as the computer system that the Digital World exists with. More modern takes on the franchise have an AI computer system named Yggdrasil as the ruler of the Digital World, which fills the role of God, but is usually not depicted as being a purely benevolent being. In fact, Yggdrasil tends to be a villain whenever it shows up. God also dwells in the kernel. The kernel is the core of the Digital World and location where all the data is computed, yet it may also exist in a higher dimension above the Digital World. All angel Digimon come from the kernel and live there when they aren’t sent out on missions. The kernel is very much supposed to be the heaven of the Digital World, though in an earlier sense of what heaven was supposed to be. In the oldest forms of Judaism, heaven was the dwelling place of God and the angels, but wasn’t an afterlife. Instead, all humans went to Sheol, a poorly described state or place, regardless of what they did in life. It wasn’t until the second temple period after the Persians conquered the Babylonians who had themselves conquered the Hebrews that the idea of a divided afterlife entered Judaism, one of many idea adopted from the Persian religion of Zoroastrianism. Heaven was converted into the good afterlife, expanding on its previous role as God’s home. The kernel doesn’t act as a Digimon afterlife because Digimon reincarnate in most settings.
I will discuss each angel Digimon, going from Child/Rookie to Ultimate/Mega levels. While God operates through more Digimon than just the angel Digimon, including Sakuyamon, Kuzuhamon, Kongoumon, and maybe Shakamon (if God = Yggdrasil), I will only be going over the angels because this post is going to be long enough already. Most demonic Digimon are either implicitly or explicitly fallen angel Digimon. If one of the angel Digimon has a specific fallen angel counterpart I’ll mention it, but I won’t be going into detail on them. It is worth noting that almost all the angel Digimon are based on the winged human depiction of angels. Angels in the texts of the Abrahamic religions are instead described as completely bizarre beings, usually with way too many eyes (though at least some of them can choose to appear human). The winged human depiction was popular by at least early Christianity, with the earliest known depiction being attributed to the 370s-390s BCE. Given that Digimon are born out of data generated by humans, it’s likely because the winged human depictions are so popular that angel Digimon also take that shape.
The lowest member of the angelic hierarchy is the only Child/Rookie level angel, Luxmon. Luxmon was only introduced earlier this year so it doesn’t have much lore, but it does act as a great starting point for any angel Digimon line. It is so pure and innocent that it doesn’t realize when it’s being lied to, which means demonic Digimon of its level like Impmon and PicoDevimon/DemiDevimon will bully it. Like other members of its level, Luxmon is not very powerful, but they can fight against strong foes by using teamwork. Angel Digimon are often depicted as being stronger than the average member of their level. Luxmon is clearly designed to look like a younger Angemon and it worked. I think it’s a good design that captures both the angel aspect while also making it look like a little kid.
In the Adult/Champion level, we have Angemon. I believe it is the first angel Digimon in the franchise and the one on which all others are ultimately based. It is a being of virtue that brings happiness, though it is also relentless in the battle against evil. Each angel Digimon has a certain role in the angelic hierarchy and Angemon’s job is to lead other angelic Digimon in the fight against evil. It wields a quarterstaff called the holy rod. An Angemon who falls becomes a Devimon, which retains its role as a leader, it just leads evil Digimon instead of good ones. Angemon’s design is a classic and a great example of a Digimon that just looks like a human in a costume, but still feels different. Angemon is likely the most powerful of the Adult/Champion level angels and is often depicted as being far more powerful than its level would indicate. This is especially true in Digimon Adventure, where it was easily capable of beating Digimon a whole level higher than it.
Pidmon is a variant of Angemon that ranks lower in the hierarchy, but is of similar power. Its design is a recolor of Angemon with a different staff and only one pair of wings. Many of the angel Digimon’s lore states that the number of wings an angel Digimon has indicates its rank in the hierarchy so the two-winged Pidmon ranks lower than the six-winged Angemon. This is not a hard and fast rule, as multiple angel Digimon have fewer wings than their rank would indicate. Pidmon’s role in the hierarchy is to destroy evil, presumably making it a major member of the forces that Angemon leads. Its name comes from Cupid, the Roman god of desire, attraction, affection, and erotic love. While a roman god seems like an odd inspiration for the very Christian-inspired angel Digimon, there could be a roundabout reference here. The winged baby statues that are often called cherubs are actually called putti and depict Cupid. Somewhere along the line some wires got crossed and the name of a rank of angel got applied to the putti statue.
Darcmon is the last angel of this level and the fort one to appear feminine. Its four wings presumably place it between Pidmon and Angemon. It is heavily combat focused and takes the role of vanguard and advanced force in the angel army. Given their descriptions we can get an idea that in the angel army Pidmon make up the majority of soldiers, Darcmon are the advance fore that go straight to the front lines, and Angemon are the leaders. Darcmon is a reference to Jeanne D’Arc, better known to English speakers as Joan of Arc. She was a 15th century French military leader who claimed to receive visions from angels and saints. She was convicted of heresy and executed, but the Catholic church later revoked the conviction and declared her a saint. She referred to herself as la pucelle, the maiden, which became the name of one of Darcmon’s attacks. I think Darcmon is severely underutilized for how cool her design is as far as I know, she has two anime appearances, one of which wasn’t actually a Darcmon but a villain in disguise.
Luxmon, Pidmon, Darcmon, and Angemon are all classified as angel Digimon, which equates them to the lowest rung of the traditional hierarchy. Angel is used both to refer to the beings as a whole but also the lowest rank in the hierarchy. Their role it to act as announcers. They appear is scriptures to make various announcements, usually to humans.
The first angel Digimon of the Perfect/Ultimate level is HolyAngemon, renamed in English to MagnaAngemon. It has eight wings, placing it above Angemon. It has two forms: its regular form and HolyAngemon Priest Mode, which have different roles. Overall, HolyAngemon acts as the law enforcement of the angels, supervising and surveying the others to keep them within the bounds of their missions and try to catch any who fall. HolyAngemon Priest Mode is said to be the from it spends most of its time in. In this form, it spends its time acting as a spokesperson for God and goodness in general. When darkness arrives, it changes into its combat form to take up arms against evil. Ironically, despite Priest Mode being the form it’s supposed to spend most of its time in, this form is almost never seen in Digimon Media, being a long-time inmate of V-Tamer jail. HolyAngemon bears the sword Excalibur, an obvious reference to King Arthur.
HolyAngemon
HolyAngemon Priest Mode
Next is Angewomon, who also has eight wings. She is a being of utmost beauty with an extremely kind personality. Her role is to try to redeem evil Digimon. By showing kindness and grace, she can bring Digimon back from the path of evil. However is a Digimon cannot be redeemed, she will attack and show that she is an extremely powerful combatant. She is often depicted as being equal in power to HolyAngemon A fallen Angewomon becomes a LadyDevimon, who is as cruel and wicked as Angewomon is kind and benevolent. The two species despise each other. Angewomon is one of the most popular Digimon for a very good reason. Her design is a classic and stands out among all the other “sexymon” designs out there. Angewomon has an x-antibody form which is fine. It’s overdesigned and unnecessary, but if that’s all I can say about an x-antibody form, it’s one of the good ones.
Angewomon
Angewomon X
HolyAngemon and Angewomon are both classified as archangel Digimon. Archangels are the second lowest in the hierarchy and their job is to make declarations. The idea of archangels being the highest rank of angel seems to come from the epic poem Paradise Lost and confusion over the name. “arch-“ means “chief” or “first” so people mistakenly assumed that the chief angels were the highest rank. Despite this, Michael (who is explicitly an archangel and the only one ever called that in the bible) is often seen as God’s second in command even by clerical sources, furthering the confusion. A very common idea is that there are four or seven archangels with different names and roles. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael are almost always among their number, but the identities of the rest vary depending on tradition. Worth nothing is the Digimon Bagramon, a former archangel. He ruled over death in the Digital World before rebelling and falling. This would equate him to the angel of death, a figure who transports the souls of the dead to the afterlife and is usually named Azrael.
Also at the Perfect/Ultimate level is ArkhaiAngemon. It is of equal rank to HolyAngemon and Angewomon and does have eight wings. Unlike its fellows, ArkhaiAngemon is a more defensive and support fighter, allowing it to protect its subordinates and command them in battle using ingenious strategies. ArkhaiAngemon is driven by a concern for others, which leads it to interact with other Digimon more than its fellows. It frequently employs non-angel Digimon as familiars who fight on its behalf. It wields its own version of Angemon’s holy rod, which can release a flame that alternately harm and protect. While being of equal rank to HolyAngemon and Angewomon (and its name being a corruption of “archangel”), ArkhaiAngemon is identified as a principality, the rank above archangel. Their job is to guide and protect organizations, whether they be nations, groups of people, or other institutions. This fits with ArkhaiAngemon guiding and protecting its subordinates.
At the Ultimate/Mega level, we have SlashAngemon, a badass angel made of swords. It is the leader of the angel army and the ultimate military commander of the angel Digimon. It is stern and serious and cuts down evil without hesitation. It has 8 wings, but this is the level where the wings = rank thing starts breaking down.
Another militant angel of this level is LovelyAngemon. She is a cheerful and fashionable angel whose cuteness and charm belies the fact that she is the foremost close combat expert amongst the angel Digimon. It has the data of multiple styles of martial arts within its code, making it a martial artist is extremely powerful punches. Interestingly, LovelyAngemon has no wings.
SlashAngemon is identified as a power, the rank of angel above principalities and the first of the second sphere. They are granted the power over evil forces, restraining demons from hurting humans. They also oversee human authorities such as kings. The power over evil thing fits SlashAngemon. As the leader of the angel army, it is the one who commands the fight against evil. LovelyAngemon is not identified with any rank of angel, but given she is a combat specialist, I would guess she’s heavily involved in the fight against evil and is therefore likely a power.
ClavisAngemon bears a key called the key (very original) which can unlock any lock in the Digital World. Only ClavisAngemon can use the key and it appears that the angel is part of the key rather than a separate being holding it. ClavisAngemon’s duty is to guard the zenith gate, the gate that separates the Digital World from realms beyond. As the kernel is in a higher dimension than the Digital World, it would seem that ClavisAngemon guards the passage to the kernel and only lets angel Digimon through. It can bring the entire power of the Digital World down on an enemy that tries to break through the gate. ClavisAngemon has six wings and is identified as a virtue, the rank above powers. Virtues are supposed to govern over the elements, bring natural events like storms and wind. They are also associated with movement and assist in creating miracles. There isn’t much of a connection to ClavisAngemon, but it may be related to another story. In the Adam and Eve story, after the two are ejected from the garden an angel is assigned to guard the entrance and prevent them from getting back in. That sounds more like ClavisAngemon’s role than anything else. Clavis is Latin for “key” so the Digimon named key carries a key named the key.
Next up is Dominimon and Games Workshop is looking at those pauldrons with envy and fear. It falls outside of the angelic chain of command and is a rare being that only appears when the balance between light and darkness is severely disrupted. Its purpose is protect other angel Digimon and destroy evil at all costs. It has no sense of self-preservation and will throw itself into deadly situations or use a special move to empower other angel Digimon at the cost of its own life without hesitation. Because of how rarely one appears and their self-destructive tendencies, very few have ever actually seen a Dominimon and many think they are mere legends. It wields the sword Final Excalibur, a powered-up version of HolyAngemon’s Excalibur. Despite falling outside of the angelic chain of command, Dominimon is identified as a dominion, the rank of angel above virtues and the last of the second sphere. Their purpose is to govern the motions of stars, planets, and other celestial objects. Not a whole lot of connection to Dominimon there. Dominimon has ten wings.
Another angel Digimon that doesn’t follow the normal chain of command is Mastemon. It is an anomaly that is a fusion of an Angewomon and her fallen counterpart LadyDevimon, making her a living enemies-to-lovers lesbian relationship unprecedented merging of light and darkness that only appeared when the Digital World faced a threat so great it forces angel and fallen angel Digimon to work together to stop it. While firmly benevolent, Mastemon commands both holy and evil powers and can command both angel and fallen angel Digimon. It is a master strategist and only it uniting the forces of good and evil saved the Digital World from that unspecified threat. Mastemon does not correspond to any mythical rank of angel and has 12 wings, half white and half black. This is a clear reference to Lucemon, who was the greatest of the angel Digimon before falling and becoming the greatest of all demon lords. Lucemon also has 12 wings that are half white and half black. In his case, this symbolizes him being trapped between his original benevolent self and his new evil self. Lucemon and Mastemon are both angelic being between good and evil, but Lucemon is malevolent while Mastemon is benevolent. I don’t think there’s been any media comparing the two, but it’s a great story idea. The name comes from Mastema, a demon or fallen archangel in some Jewish texts identified as a bringer of disaster and evil. I suppose there’s some connection with Mastemon only existing due to a disaster, but it’s tenuous.
This too is yuri
Rasielmon is the first angel Digimon to not just be a winged human. She’s still mostly human, but with some cat-like features. It once held the same rank as the more powerful Ofanimon, but no longer does for unknown reasons. Rasielmon resides within the kernel and has the power to foresee anything in the Digital World as long as it remains there. This makes it one of the most knowledgeable Digimon. It commands the godai, the five elements of Japanese Buddhism: earth, fire, water, wind, and void. Rasielmon also has an attack called Sefer Raziel, named after the Kaballah text Sefer Raziel HaMalakh. This text claims to teach magic and cites Raziel, angel of secrets and a teacher of wisdom, as the most powerful angel. Rasielmon being based on an angel associated with secrets and knowledge certainy fith with it being able to see the entire Digital World. If Rasielmon falls, she becomes Raguelmon. Raguelmon was shunned for its knowledge and became a nihilist. It still seems to care for angel Digimon in a twisted way as it can sense when an angel Digimon is close to falling and will try to prevent it by killing them first. Raguelmon is named after Raguel, an angel of justice who keeps demons in check. Raguelmon’s actions can certainty be seen as a twisted version of justice and preventing of evil.
Rasielmon
Raguelmon
We have reached the top, the zenith of the angelic Digimon, the Three Archangels. These three are the most powerful of all angel Digimon, charged with enacting God’s will and guarding the kernel from all who would threaten it. The first of the three is Ofanimon (English: Ophanimon). She is the ultimate form of feminine angel Digimon and her duty is to impart God’s love on the Digital World. It nurtures and protects other Digimon and wishes to see them do good, but it can and will fight against evil. It has 10 wings. Ofanimon has an x-antibody form which is pretty good as far as x-antibody forms go, but still overdesigned. If Ofanimon becomes enraged at the seemingly-endless amount of evil in the Digital World, it will become Ofanimon Falldown Mode. It has closed its heart and become a dark avenger, nipping evil in the bud by attacking Digimon with the potential to become evil. It seeks to establish a world of absolute justice where evil is destroyed before it has the chance to take root. An Ofanimon who falls even further will become Lilithmon.
Ofanimon
Ofanimon Falldown Mode Mommy? Sorry, mommy? Sorry, mommy?
Ofanimon X
Rasielmon and Ofanimon are both classified as ophanim, the class of angel above dominions. Also called thrones, they serve either as the wheels of the throne of God, or the throne itself. They are also charged with chanting glorias and maintaining the harmony of universal laws. These guys are the classically weird biblically accurate angels. They are depicted as flaming wheels within wheels covered in eyes. The idea of gods having wheeled thrones was common in the ancient Middle East, with multiple cultures depicting their gods seated on such. Ofanimon bears no resemblance to a wheel, but her shoulder pads take the shape of wheels and Ofanimon X balances on a wheel.
Next is Cherubimon Virtue, which is the only fully non-human of the angel Digimon. It looks instead like a humanoid rabbit with no wings. It is the ultimate holy beast and its duty is to protect and impart God’s wisdom. Because Cherubimon Virtue stands at the zenith of divine virtue, it is easily stained by the inverse and can fall to become Cherubimon Vice, a thoroughly evil creature that embodies sin and wickedness just as its Virtue form embodies the opposite. Both forms can call down lightning as a form of divine judgement. Cehrubimon is based on the cherubim, the rank of angel above the ophanim. Their role is to accompany God when he travels. Cherubim are another bizarre-looking angel and while they don’t look like rabbits there is an association with animals that fits Cherubimon being a holy beast. Cherubim have four faces: a human, an ox (representing domesticated animals), a lion (representing wild animals), and an eagle (representing birds). They also have four wings, four arms, hooved legs, and are covered in eyes. Frankly, one of those would have been a lot cooler as a Digimon than a big rabbit. There is a reference to the faces of the cherubim, but it’s in Ofanimon not Cerubimon. Her helmet has the heads of the three animals on it. Both forms of Cherubimon have x-antibody variants which are classically x-antibody. That is not a compliment.
Cerubimon Virtue (left) and Vice (right)
Cherubimon Virtue X (left) and Vice X (right)
The final angel Digimon is Seraphimon. It returns to the winged human design, but is entirely covered in armor and has 10 golden wings. It is the most powerful of the angels and the closest of all Digimon to God. As the highet-ranking angel, it is the one ultimately in charge of all others. It is also the ultimate masculine angel and its duty is to enforce Gods laws. Legends say that when the final battle between good and evil comes, Seraphimon will descend to the Digital World and purify everything. Its ultimate ability is to sacrifice its life to restart the world. If a Seraphimon becomes overwhelmed with resentment it will become a BlackSeraphimon (English name: ShadowSeraphimon). It is still redeemable in this state, but if not redeemed in time, it will fall and become a Demon (as in the Digimon named Demon, not just some demon). Seraphimon is based on the cherubim, the highest rank of angel in Christian Angelology. Their role is to stand around the throne of God chanting “holy, holy, holy” and are also charged with anointing. The word “seraph” means “burning” and was often used to describe snakes (possibly referencing the burning sensation of snake venom). As a result, seraphim are often depicted either as snakes or as being on fore or made of fire. All depictions give them six wings, which are sometimes used to cover their body to protect humans from seeing their power. Seraphimon covering its entire body with armor could be a reference to this. Seraphimon being the ultimate masculine Digimon to Ofanimon's ultimate feminine Digimon could be a reference to systems like Kabbalah and some forms of Gnosticism assigning different magical powers or holy virtues to males and females.
Seraphimon
BlackSeraphimon
#digimon#mythology#christian mythology#jewish mythology#angelology#angel#archangel#luxmon#angemon#pidmon#darcmon#holyagemon#magnaangemon#angewomon#arkhaiangemon#slashangemon#clavisangemon#lovelyangemon#mastemon#dominimon#rasielmon#raguelmon#ofanimon#ophanimon#cherubimon#seraphimon#ofanimon falldown mode#blackseraphimon#shadowseraphimon
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What do you think Erik's past was with women, when it comes to dating and women. I'd like to know what your take is.
"dating" is probably not the word I'd use.
Delving into the text of the book there are two parts that stick out to me as indicating that Erik may have a history with women other than Christine
this segment here from the scene at Apollo's Lyre where Christine is recounting events to Raoul
"You wanted to know what I looked like! Oh, you women are so inquisitive! Well, are you satisfied? I'm a very good-looking fellow, eh? … When a woman has seen me, as you have, she belongs to me. She loves me for ever. I am a kind of Don Juan, you know!' And, drawing himself up to his full height, with his hand on his hip, wagging the hideous thing that was his head on his shoulders, he roared, 'Look at me! I AM DON JUAN TRIUMPHANT!' And, when I turned away my head and begged for mercy, he drew it to him, brutally, twisting his dead fingers into my hair."
Seems to indicate that this kind of thing has happened before. It is possible Erik is speaking generally and it's not definitive proof but it is interesting, the verbiage he uses.
And this scene towards the end of the book when he has Raoul and the Persian in his torture chamber
"What are you running away for?" asked the furious voice, which had followed her. "Give me back my bag, will you? Don't you know that it is the bag of life and death?"
"Listen to me, Erik," sighed the girl. "As it is settled that we are to live together ... what difference can it make to you?"
"You know there are only two keys in it," said the monster. "What do you want to do?"
"I want to look at this room which I have never seen and which you have always kept from me ... It's woman's curiosity!" she said, in a tone which she tried to render playful.
But the trick was too childish for Erik to be taken in by it.
"I don't like curious women," he retorted, "and you had better remember the story of BLUE-BEARD and be careful ... Come, give me back my bag! ... Give me back my bag! ... Leave the key alone, will you, you inquisitive little thing?"
And he chuckled, while Christine gave a cry of pain. Erik had evidently recovered the bag from her."
He says he doesn't like "curious women" and makes a reference to Blue Beard, which is a fairytale about a serial killer who murders his wives. There's a scene in Blue Beard where the most recent wife discovers a room with the bodies of his previous wives.
The first quote could be dismissed but this is the second time Erik has indicated a dislike for curious women. Erik's lair is canonically full of traps and features a very cruel torture chamber. By evoking the image of Blue Beard in particular the narrative seems to be further implying that Erik does have some history of women and not a pleasant one. It's possible that Erik is just trying to scare Christine out of looking in the room but it's equally likely that it's not an idle threat. He's shown that he's not above putting hands on Christine and treating her roughly despite his claims to love her.
I have a personal theory that Christine is not the first but Erik knows she is going to be the last. I've always kind of run on the idea that throughout the book Erik is aware his health is failing and the clock is winding down for him and that's why Christine is different, because she's his last chance and in the end she does give him, not a living bride, but something much more needed: redemption and forgiveness from someone he's harmed. Proof that he's not unworthy of human compassion.
A lot of people in the Phandom don't seem to recognize how dark of a character Erik is. I find him legitimately scary as much as I also find him sympathetic and I think he is fascinating in part because there is something genuinely terrifying about him that tickles my love for horror stories.
I feel like it's vague enough that you can leave it up to interpretation, so if you don't really like the idea that he's had women in his past that he ended up killing you can chalk it up to Erik just trying to frighten Christine into compliance but I think it's interesting to look at the darker takes and speculate about the skeletons in his closet.
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The Stowaway Series, Part 4: Karma
Guys. I know it's been *ages* but work is kicking my butt and taking away my will to write at the moment. (Thanks, science. No, it's great, please ruin all my hobbies for me).
Thanks for all of you who were waiting and encouraging me to continue. <3 The name for reader!Kitty is not yet fixed, if you have a preference, let me know in the comments!
And now, without further ado:
Find part 1, part 2 and part 3, if you want to read the beginning of this. =)
Word count: 3.4k
Warnings: Still SFW. Just naked butts. Pretty safe, I think?
Characters: Ace, Marco & Thatch… and cat!reader :D and Pops appearing, too!
The Stowaway Series, Part 4: Karma
You sat there, just watching them with zero thoughts in your brain for a couple of moments. Two grown pirates – one with a bounty of well over a billion, the other still with a respectable bounty of over half a billion – as they splashed each other with water and bubbles alike. Half-naked, of course, because none of them was wearing a shirt anymore.
What was this?! A Coca-Cola commercial?! What kind of freak pirate ship had you ended up on?!
You blinked slowly, your drenched fur slowly dripping water and making a puddle around you. A bubble slid down your nose and made you sneeze.
Or, perhaps, this was the male version of pillow fights…?
Somehow, right then a bucket smacked Ace right in the face and you thought that you probably preferred the more traditional pillow fights. Like, the ones that didn’t break your nose or anything. Not that Ace seemed to have any problem – if anything, it was the bucket that seemed rather worse for wear now. Slightly deformed, very much melting.
You instinctively ducked when a piece of soap came sailing towards your head and thanked your feline reflexes for saving you from looking like a Persian cat. You shuddered at the thought and slowly, one by one, your brain cells blinked back into existence. This brought with it the revelation that you were absolutely drenched and dripping wet, still bubbly, and very much in need of a proper rinse.
It did, however, also come with the realization that those two were currently pretty distracted and for the first time, you weren’t held by a half-naked man, surrounded by pirates, or incapacitated by water. This, you happily noted, was your chance to get out of here and find a place to hide away with your ninja-like skills. A place that was…-
“Did those two boneheads just abandon you like this, kitty?” the voice connected to the two hands that picked you up cooed at you.
Okay, so your perception wasn’t the greatest at the moment. So what?! You’d been through a lot, okay?!
With a deep, deep sigh, you just hung there in those hands that had closed around your ribcage, not even bothering to fight anymore. You were so done with this shit.
1/10 stars. Do not recommend. Service personnel is pretty hot but ultimately fails at its job.
“Shall we finish the job, hm? Maybe by the time we’re done, Marco will have scrubbed that feral little raccoon clean, too,” Thatch murmured and you were taken over to the shower he had just occupied.
And then… with a start… you remembered that he had been in exactly that shower like a moment ago and he’d been utterly naked. You also remembered that you had visually confirmed only minutes ago that he had a fine ass and the rest of his anatomy had also been pretty convincing.
On the one hand, for the sake of your modesty, you should be very concerned with the fact that he was probably still naked and you were about to enter a shower – also fully naked because you didn’t really count fur as clothes – with a man you had met less than an hour ago.
Had he saved your life? Yes.
But still. You were a good girl. (Or at least that’s what you usually told yourself. Most of the time.) You didn’t climb into showers for some naked and very splashy adventures until you were reasonably sure you’d actually end up having a good time.
On the other hand… you twisted in his arms and threw a curious glance down his front, your tail twitching in interest. If the rest of his body was any indication, he’d be…
Awwww. Covered with a towel.
“Miss Kitty, have a seat,” Thatch said and placed you on top of a little stool. You blinked up at him, not fully unsatisfied with the treatment. For one, he was being polite, and additionally, he had basically perched you on a little throne. Yes. Yes. This was acceptable.
Happy to hopefully get rid of the surplus bubbles you generously offered him a paw, somewhat ignoring the fact that you were supposed to be a simply stray cat, and he took it with a chuckle and started to rinse it clean.
“Or should I call you Lady, hm?” he asked and kneeled down next to you, very carefully washing all the remaining shampoo from your fur as you glanced down at him regally.
Admittedly, this didn’t feel too bad, you had your little perch, a pretty damn good-looking guy kneeling in front of you and basically giving you the finisher of a spa treatment…
Maybe you’d actually give them like… 5/10 stars after all.
Within a couple of minutes, you were actually pretty much clean and he turned off the water and stroked you with long, even movements to squeeze the water out of your fur. It felt quite heavenly, to be honest, and you might actually have started to purr a bit again…
Of course, you just couldn’t have nice things, could you?
Because this was when the door banged open – you were pretty sure some tiles cracked at the impact, and a freaking giant entered the room. And not to be dramatic… but he barely fit through that damn door and by your very modest estimate, it was probably four meters high. You started to look up along the legs. And looked up. And up. And.. still up.
When your gaze landed on a bare chest – what the fuck else, this ship apparently suffered from a severe cloth famine – you noticed enough scars to supply a full battalion of soldiers. And as it traveled even further up, you noticed a white captain’s coat slung over wide, wide shoulders. And as it finally reached a face, ducking in below the doorframe, you saw a white beard.
A.
White.
Beard.
You made a gurgling sound as all the air in your lungs suddenly rushed out of your body and you went first stiff, and then hot, and then felt the fur all along your body desperately trying to puff up against the forces of the remaining wetness in your fur.
Oh no. Oh no no no. This was Whitebeard. The legendary Whitebeard. The guy who’d fought the Pirate King and lived to tell the tale.
“I’m hungry,” he said by way of greeting, “and the boys told me to come here.”
The pressure in the room was almost overwhelming and your feral instincts kicked in before a single brain cell could so much as put a word in in favor of reason. He’d eat you. He’d fucking eat you. He was Edward Newgate, the famous Whitebeard. They’d cleaned you up to serve you to their bloodthirsty captain who ate babies and cute kittens for breakfast!
With a battle scream, you exploded out of Thatch’s hands onto the floor and barely managed to land on your feet in your blind panic. In a feat of pure elegance, you somehow tripped over your own tail only one step further, resulting in you face-planting on the floor for about 0.1 seconds, because that was all the time you allowed yourself to waste. Digging your claws into the tiles, you pushed off and actually propelled yourself onto the wall, just below knee height for the giant between you and survival. If you hadn’t been so busy not getting eaten, you’d have complimented your athleticism.
“What the…-,” Thatch managed to say by the time you took the second long leap towards the door.
You’d manage. You were swift. You were like the wind.
“Flight risk!” Ace screamed when you did your third leap and pushed himself off the floor to rush after you. Fate was in your favor. His foot landed on a bar of soap, his eyes widened comically, and his leg was pulled out from under him as he slipped. You’d have appreciated the beauty of it, probably, the arch his body described as his ass went up and his upper body went down and he landed – hard – on first his shoulders and then his head. You heard something crack and faintly hoped it wasn’t his head. It was pretty.
“Not so fast-yoi!” Marco chuckled as he plucked you out of the air in your fourth leap without breaking a sweat, wrapping a towel around you at the same moment. “And here I thought you were getting used to us.”
There was a select choice of words on the tip of your tongue. Among them were several that were connected to a certain part of his anatomy and the places he could shove it. You were not gonna be eaten! You’d scratch their eyes out! You’d carve your name into their faces! You’d fight until your last breath!
You had claws! You were a ferocious tiger, no matter how small! You had the devil’s power…! You… fucking… couldn’t get out of the towel!
“Now, what’s that?” Whitebeard asked, his tone rather surprised than particularly hungry.
“A cat,” Thatch answered helpfully and ambled closer, toweling his hair dry as he walked.
Maybe that was the problem. Maybe you should turn back into your human form to show them that you were not a cat and therefore, should not be eaten. Perhaps you should declare that you were not a virgin, either, just to be absolutely sure that they wouldn’t think you were useable for any sort of ritual or for feeding to the giant or…-
No. No. That was dragons. Dragons ate virgins.
What did giants eat?!
“I can see that,” Whitebeard answered, somewhat exasperated, and ducked lower to get a better look at you while you were fighting to get out of the towel. Your claws sliced through the cloth like a hot knife through butter and yet you just couldn’t get free. You shot a wild look at the giant captain.
You were no more than a snack for him. Surely, you weren’t even worth the effort!
But maybe it was no effort. He’d swallow you whole. Like that famous whale at the start of the Grand Line, that supposedly swallowed ships whole. You fought with renewed ferocity and Marco clicked his tongue at you, fighting to keep you under control.
Ace slowly tried to get up again, clutching his hands to the back of his head. “Ouch.”
He was still alive, then. Good. At least you thought it was good…? Perhaps…? At least you hadn’t gotten any cat-eating vibes from him.
The sounds of fabric ripping below your claws announced how close you were to freedom and Marco cursed under his breath, juggling you from one hand to the other to avoid giving you a chance to latch onto one of his fingers.
“Is anybody going to tell me why there’s a cat?” Whitebeard asked finally, his tone surprisingly even.
“It’s our new cat,” Ace said, rubbing at the back of his head. There were tears in his eyes as he tenderly felt around for the quickly forming bump.
“Our cat?” Whitebeard prompted, slowly sounding less patient.
“Yes,” Ace confirmed. “Spot.”
You sank your teeth into a piece of towel and ripped at it, glaring up at Marco, who reached for a second towel, frowning. “She doesn’t have a single spot-yoi.”
“I see lots of spots,” Ace muttered and blinked slowly. “I knew it all along. The soap almost killed me. Told you it causes more harm than good.”
“Your head is way too hard for that. You’re fine. Also, I think Whiskers is a far better name,” Thatch threw in.
Personally, you thought they were both pretty shit. With a low growl, you twisted in Marco’s hands, managed to graze his index finger with one fang, and then were rolled into a second layer of towel. You didn’t feel entirely unlike a burrito.
Heh. A Purrito.
You were hilarious, even when you were 5 seconds away from being eaten. But you were not about to give them any ideas.
“Would you stop that?” Marco asked you with a sigh. “It’s just Pops-yoi.”
“Fluffy?” Ace suggested and slowly came to his feet. Even upside down and pretty sure something horrible was about to happen you could appreciate that the drops of water glittering on his skin and slowly sliding down his very defined abs made him look fine as hell.
“Killer,” Marco threw in and you glowered, wiggling yourself forward and out of the towel wrapped around you millimeter by millimeter. You were still contemplating the idea of turning back into a human – both to be able to think straight again and to maybe tell them that you wouldn’t stand for such ridiculous names. Ah, and the detail to please not eat you or do something else horrible.
Thatch leaned forward and booped your nose. You snapped your jaws at him but he was too quick for you, you didn’t even manage to nick him. “Catness Everclean,” he happily suggested and you couldn’t help it, you rolled your eyes.
So he read those types of books, huh? Probably also read romance novels and smut. You scoffed.
“Boys…,” Whitebeard said with a tone that you knew pretty well from your father. It was the tone he used when he was down to his last nerves and he was between giving you up for adoption and accepting his hand in making you the person you were. Your ears twitched.
“Can we keep her?” Ace asked, slowly coming closer, one eye squeezed shut and with one hand still at the back of his head.
“I don’t think…-,” Whitebeard started.
“Look how cute she is!” Ace immediately continued and grabbed you out of Marco’s arms. Still covered in one layer of towels, plus a few stripes of the first one. You tried to twist but his grip didn’t give an inch.
His effort was admirable, really, but with only your face visible in the layers of towels, and your eyes almost popping out of your head from the effort of fighting for freedom, you probably looked more deranged than cute.
“We already have a dog,” Whitebeard answered slowly.
You hissed, sounding somewhat suffocated. Probably due to the lack of air in your lungs at this current moment.
“Somehow, she reminds me of Ace-yoi,” Marco muttered, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “Is she trying to kill us? Sure. But in a slightly deranged and yet charming kinda way. You can’t really be mad at her. It’s cute, in a way.”
For that, he got another hiss. Sadly you couldn’t give him the middle finger right now. Which was probably good, you reminded yourself, he was an evil pirate, after all.
“Lady Floofiness,” Ace said as if he had heard nothing. When he tried to kick Marco who stood beside him, the older commander simply moved out of his way. “Once she’s dry, you can see for yourself. She’s really pretty and very, very gentle.”
Okay. You were pretty happy he hadn’t cracked his skull open. He was pretty cute. Plus, he probably wouldn’t let you get eaten. You hoped. At least he was your best shot in this room.
Marco snorted a laugh. “Gentle? She tried to amputate my finger. Again.”
“You held her wrong,” Ace hissed under his breath. “You need to support her…-“
“Butt. I know-yoi,” Marco answered with a shake of his head, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
What was this fascination with your butt?! You had a pretty great one, sure, but in your human form. That you were not about to show them. You had decided so. Perhaps your animal instincts had been a bit overwhelmed by the giant standing at the door, but you slowly lost the fear of somebody wanting to eat you.
Or perhaps you were just going numb. Whichever one.
You squinted up at Whitebeard, who was looking at you with a frown. His beard twitched as he regarded you and you quickly reversed direction and instead of trying to get out of the towel, you buried yourself deeper into it, away from his prying eyes.
“Stefan might not like it,” he finally said.
“He likes Kotatsu just fine,” Ace countered. “And she’s much smaller, won’t take up any space. She can sleep in my cabin.” He started to slowly unwrap you and you grabbed one corner of the towel and tried to hold onto it, suddenly not desiring freedom so much. Freedom meant having no barrier between you and those piercing eyes.
You were still holding onto the towel desperately when two giant fingers grabbed you by the scruff of your neck and picked you up. Gulping, you winced when your body went limb, suddenly unable to do anything but stare at the giant man who had picked you up. He held you in front of his face and you held your breath. This was it. This was the end.
He opened his mouth and you squeezed your eyes shut.
Goodbye, cruel world. I’m leaving you today.
“Stefanie,” he said then and you slowly opened one eye back up.
A brief moment of silence, then Thatch cleared his throat and Marco shuffled his feet, searching for words. Ace was less polite. “That’s a shit name, old man,” he blurted out.
“Fluffy isn’t much better,” Thatch murmured and Ace shot him a glare.
“Says the man who suggested Catness Everclean-yoi.” Marco crossed his arms in front of his chest and shook his head.
“Yeah, and Killer as a name for a teeny tiny fluffy cat clearly wins a prize for creativity,” Thatch shot back.
Marco shrugged. “We can also call her Calamity Jane, seeing as how she made Freckles almost crack his head open, made you bleed for the first time in, what, four years? And has actually managed to nick my skin here.” He lifted a finger with a frown and you could see a tiny drop of blood there for a moment before blue flames engulfed it and it was gone in the next moment.
Thatch, who saw the sparkle in Ace’s eyes, quickly shook his head even as he took a look at his forearms and registered with some surprise that you had indeed managed to scratch him. He dabbed at it with the end of his towel, still shaking his head. “Absolutely not.”
“I think it’s cool,” Ace weighed in and came to stand just below you, holding his arms out expectantly. You curled your tail around yourself and hoped that you’d indeed be handed over again. Ace was the one who held you in the most comfortable way – by far!
To be fair, perhaps you hadn’t given Marco much of a chance with your little panic attack.
But that was hardly your fault. You were in a room with Edward Fucking Newgate, also called Whitebeard. Also having the highest bounty in the whole of the fucking world. You were pretty sure a little panic was justified.
“You just like it because it fits into your little card naming scheme. Ace. Spade Pirates. Spadille. Calamity Jane,” Thatch accused him and when Marco raised an inquisitive eyebrow, he shrugged. “Queen of Spades? Calamity Jane?”
“Oh,” Marco made and rubbed at his chin. “Then no.”
“Hey!” Ace snapped and lifted himself on his tiptoes to reach for you.
You honestly shouldn’t feel so relieved at the guy heartily grabbing your butt, but at least Whitebeard let go of the scruff of your neck and you dropped into Ace’s outstretched hands. Gulping down a shiver – not quite successfully – you were happy when he brought you close to his chest again. Especially since he didn’t seem to mind that you were still wet.
“I haven’t said yes yet,” Whitebeard reminded them with a sigh. “At least I know now why they were all snickering like idiots when they sent me here.”
“You also haven’t said no yet,” Ace reminded him with a grin and started to stroke you with long, calming movements. Eyes unblinking and brain simply overloaded thanks to the last hour, you lay there against his chest and contemplated whether this was karma. Whether perhaps you had stolen one too many times from the rich and given to the poor. Mainly you, actually. But you were poor.
Ugh. You needed a cocktail with lots of rum and a cigarette.
And you didn’t even smoke.
#kitty!reader#stowaway series#reader x one piece#reader x Ace#reader x Marco#reader x Thatch#whitebeard crew#marco the phoenix x reader#ace d portgas#crack fic#kitty needs a cocktail after this#I feel like the others were funnier v.v#I hope it's not too boring for y'all!
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From my experiences, it is really hard to translate the average Japanese novel into English and have it read well. Japanese lacks a lot of the conventions that would be considered “good” writing in English, so direct translations of Japanese novels can often come off as more juvenile than they would read in the original Japanese. The most obviously example of this is the lack of dialogue tags. Because Japanese is a very context-sensitive language, dialogue tags aren’t necessary for understanding an exchange. Really poor translations of Japanese novels will leave these exchanges as they appear without dialogue tags, which can lead to confusing or boring conversations between characters.
This isn’t a hard thing to fix, translators simply add dialogue tags themselves, but many choose not to for the sake of having a “direct” translation, which leads to a subpar reading experience in English. Translating a novel is not the same as translating manga or anime. It requires so much more effort to get decent prose in English. One of my favorite ways a novel has been translated is The Heroic Legend of Arslan fan translation, which I’ve mentioned before. Yoshiki Tanaka’s masterpiece series of novels is not only written in Japanese, but is also set in an alternate reality Persian setting. The translator had lots of notes at the ends of translated sections about the process they went through to make it sound good in English while making it sound true to a Persian fantasy setting. It’s really impressive and shows how much work goes in to a good novel translation, especially one with fantasy elements.
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Assorted Path of Stars: Book 6, Chapter 3 thoughts
Spotted Fur is introduced in Chapter 3. I like this guy. Falling through the void like Plankton, screaming, and I take a short break to take a sippy of Funny Young Boy Who Likes To Hunt before returning to my descent.
Generating headcanon: Spotted Fur is a distant ancestor of Ashfur and Ferncloud.
I'm taking a picture of him in my mind to use for my own rewrite projects later <3
It's also a big shame btw, like... Spotted Fur is gonna show up again in Moth Flight's Vision as someone deeply in love with Moth Flight who loves her kittens, and she still ends up sending them all away. Ancient Thrushpelt energy, but worse because there wasn't a legitimate reason to give them up.
Speaking of Moth Flight, god. Wind Runner starts yelling at her for being bad at hunting and it's rough. Moth still has her personality in this book, she hasn't unceremoniously lost it by Becoming Mother yet, so it's hard to listen to Wind Runner start ripping into a child who seems to be struggling with ADHD.
I have so many complicated feelings on Wind Runner, many of them boiling down to how I feel like her WHOLE personality is "awful bitch" in the eyes of the writers.
It makes me like her out of spite, ESPECIALLY with how Clear Sky and Gray Wind ALSO treat their kids horribly but the narrative doesn't frame it the same way.
And I see a whoooole lot more people discussing how Wind Runner Bad apropos of nothing, probably because of the framing, putting her in all their "Top 5 Worst DOTC Characters" lists while no one even remembers the times Gray Wing started ranting at Thunder. Or posting "Clear Sky Made Some Mistakes But."
Summistakes Butt Posting.
Also, there's a LOT of focus on how this group is only agreeing to help Clear Sky because his kidnapped wife is pregnant. LOTS of talk of "unborn kits" and how she's carrying "my kits" and how they all have a duty to protect the kits. Good thing he knocked her up as quickly as possible, because if she wasn't a vessel for Clear Sky's babies then no one would give a damn, I guess.
Reduced to a reward wife, pregnant, immediately kidnapped. Again, I really hope all those "haha star flower girlboss steal-ur-dad manipulator" takes are coming from people intentionally rejecting the source material, or people who didn't read it at all. Because they're COMPLETELY made up. I worry for the reading comprehension of anyone who unironically had that as a takeaway.
Chapter ends on a cringe line from Gray Wing where he goes, "Thunder always listens to reason if I'm the one reasoning with him!" yeah like how he screeched at Thunder for not wanting to reconcile with his fucking abuser and forced him to go fetch him.
I hope Gray Wing shows up and Thunder punches his face inwards, creating the forest's first persian cat.
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Can you do a really possessive and dominant Artemisia x Fem Reader story please (with smut), where the reader is a Greek hostage who Artemisia had been charged with keeping a hold of but soon she quickly falls in love with the woman and becomes very possessive over her especially when Misia’s generals get a little to close to her.
Mine just mine
Warnings: Smut, kidnapping, Stockholm syndrome, implicit manipulation and therefore 14+ only
Word count: 1.6 K
Pairing: Artemisia x Fem!Reader
Prompt: Artemisia knows what to do with unplanned guests
Requests: OPEN
[Main masterlist] [Eva Green characters]
"General"
The voice of one of my crew members cut short the explanation coming from my lips as I tried to explain to others how we would have to return to Persia in order to equip ourselves with more weapons.
"What do you want?"
"Shirin saw a body floating on a piece of wood. We saved it."
"A body, a dead body?"
"We thought so, until she opened her eyes."
"Her?"
"Yes. Now she's threatening the crew with a knife?"
"Bring a knife?!"
"Yes."
"You should have told me that first, you animal."
Quickly, I left the small room we were in, climbing up some small stairs to be able to see the scene that was forming.
A girl covered with a white dress, dry hair and battered by the salt of the sea, and with red eyes, was moving from one side to the other, threatening my men with a knife.
"Where am I?" She shouted "who are you?"
The men, like good men, did not even deign to try to respond, they just wanted to get closer.
"Calm down."
The girl turned to look at me, listening to my request. I could notice how her grip on the knife loosened a little, to tighten her fist around it again.
"Who are you, where am I?"
"Welcome to the Persian ship, I am…"
"Artemisia… "whispered
"The same"
Before we could react, the girl ran in my direction, but before she could plunge the knife into me, I hit her head, making her fall unconscious on the floor, dropping the gun. Gently, I took the weapon and checked it. It was made of iron, and on the blade came engraved something. Ἰσοκράτης
This woman was none other than the daughter of Isocrates, the famous Athenian politician. This woman was the definition of a gold mine.
"What do we do with her, General?"
"You and you, chain her up and lock her up tight in the cellar. Don't give her a chance to escape" quickly 2 men took the body and started down the stairs. "And you and you, you are going to take one of the boats and row to Athens, go to Isocrates and tell him the sad story of how his daughter ended up on an enemy ship" I mocked, making my sailors laugh. "Maybe that way we'll get more than Themistocles' head."
All the sailors let out a deep laugh, knowing that something big was on the other side of the horizon.
———————————————————————————
The next time I went down to the cellars, the woman, who I now knew had the name Y/N, was awake, and was even trying to untie the knots in her wrists.
"Try as you might, you can't escape."
My voice seemed to startle her, causing her to stop nibbling on the rope.
"Are you finally going to let me out?" her voice was hoarse. As if he hadn't had any water. My eyes glanced at the floor, realizing I hadn't touched either her food or the glass of water.
"You need to eat, you need to hydrate."
"I asked you a question!" she raised her voice, which made me raise my eyebrows, but that didn't make her back down "Are you finally going to let me go?" she asked again.
"No" I sat down across from her, took the plate she had been given, realizing that she had only been given a measly apple and a glass of water, so with my eyes I began to look for some food. "Not until your dear daddy sends us what we want."
Y/N let out a small but loud laugh, which made me take my eyes off the cereal sacks and land on Y/N's brown eyes.
"Then I'll have to die here."
"What do you mean?"
"My father banished me from Athens. So, no matter whether tomorrow you cut me to pieces or leave me alive, my father will want nothing more to do with me."
I stood silently, watching my master plan fall apart piece by piece.
I let out a big sigh and stood up, throwing the apple away.
"Where are you going?"
"I'll bring you better food."
———————————————————————————
Eventually, I had to realize that Y/N was right.
My men returned with empty hands and verbal refusal from the great politician.
"So, what shall we do?"
I didn't even have the brains to answer them. Even I didn't know what we were going to do with the girl.
It was one more mouth to feed, one more weight for this vessel.
But, she was the most sensual woman my eyes had ever seen.
I couldn't just throw it away.
"Does anyone know if she's awake?"
"Omar went to give her her ration recently and she was awake."
Without waiting any longer, I got up and walked to the cellar door, opening it and finding the woman, who was now held only by a rope around her ankle.
"You were right, your father ignored us."
"I told you so" she commented with a mouth full of rice. She was completely hunched over as her plate was on the floor.
Quickly, I took the spoon out of her hand and grabbed the bowl. I took a spoonful of the food and brought it to her mouth.
"I have to apologize to you" she gave me a confused look, but opened her mouth, letting me feed her, but raised her eyebrows, asking me for an explanation. "For keeping you in a place like this. You deserve better."
"That means you're not going to let me go, right?" she spoke again with her mouth full. She was hungry.
"Do you have someplace where you are completely welcome?" Y/N was quiet and simply waited for me to give her another spoonful. So, I took it and popped it into her mouth. "Here I will give you the life worthy of someone like you."
———————————————————————————
Things escalated very quickly, too quickly for me to relate in detail what actually happened.
Y/N loved it, so much so, that, she went from sleeping on top of a bean bag, to sleeping in my bed, every night, of course, after I stuck my fingers up to her vagina.
But, at first, Y/N at first, she didn't want me to go near her because she said he would never let herself be caught in the enemy's clutches.
"Please… don't stop!"
I pulled my mouth away from her pussy as I watched her eyebrows furrow, little beads of sweat on her forehead, her eyes closed tightly and an open mouth that never failed to be as sensual as she was herself.
"Do you want more, sweet girl?"
"Yes, please."
With force, I smacked one of her buttocks, causing Y/N to give a little jump as a high-pitched squeal came from those plump lips.
"You know how to order correctly."
"My lady, please let me cum."
"Cum for me, pet."
I buried my head between her legs again and began to suck on her bulge, while my index, middle and ring finger in her vagina, almost wanting to touch her insides, causing her now, to let out a loud moan, almost like a scream.
"General?"
Omar's head peeked into my room, causing me to peel my face away from Y/N's pussy and with my right hand I covered the woman's naked body with the blanket.
"What do you want, asshole?"
"We have Misia ships in our sights."
"Just get out."
The man slammed the door shut. I carefully got out of bed.
"Where are you going?" asked Y/N as a claim.
"Outside. I need you to shut up."
"But Artemi…"
"I told you to shut up!"
She did not speak again and allowed me to leave without further ado.
———————————————————————————
"We know you have it, Artemisia."
I stopped pacing the room only to focus my gaze on the man tied in the chair.
"Who are you talking about?"
"Don't get smart with me, Artemisia, we know you're holding Y/N hostage."
"I regret to inform you, General Themistocles, but no one is being held hostage here" the men behind his back began to laugh lightly "Lady Y/N is here of her own free will."
"Why would a woman as worthy as Y/N be with someone like you?"
"Because I fuck her like no one ever can. If you had arrived a few minutes ago, you might have been delighted with her moans."
"You are a danger. You don't deserve anything from her."
"And you do?" quickly, I pulled out my pocketknife and put it to his neck.
"She deserves better."
"She's mine!"
"She doesn't even want to be here with you!"
"No?" I turned away from Themistocles and signaled Omar. Minutes later he arrived with a Y/N on shaky legs and wrapped in the blanket.
"Y/N!"
"Themistocles?"
"Oh, honey" I gave her a smile "Come on, come here."
She as obedient as ever, came to my side, letting me slip my arm around her hip.
"Is Y/N well, has this woman done anything to you?" asked the Athenian.
"Come on, pet, tell this man that you want to stay with me."
I got up to walk to his side and duck my head so that it was in the curve of her shoulder and neck, leaving little kisses on her soft skin. I even went so far as to feel goose bumps.
"Tell him, my love" I whispered close to her ear "tell him you're mine."
"Forgive me General Themistocles, but, I want to stay with my General Artemisia. She is the one to whom I belong."
I gave her a last kiss on her neck to give a cynical and victorious smile to the Greek warrior.
Note:
After many setbacks, writer's block, heat, pride day (by the way, happy LGBT+ pride day and month, I love you) HERE IT IS. I hope I can write the others that remain in two days like this.
PS: Have you seen that my new personality is Barbie?! I am very excited about the movie.
I hope you enjoy it
I appreciate the reblogs, the likes and the comments
taglist: @littlebitchsposts // @xxsekhmet
message me or send an ask to be added to my taglist!
#artemisia x reader#artemisia i de caria x reader#artemisia x fem!reader#artemisia i de caria x fem!reader#eva green#eva green x reader#300 movies#300 rise of an empire#eva green imagine#lgbtq#lesbian
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Through the rabbit hole
Long, lazy Sunday: I am late with the Persian analysis and I apologize to those who were waiting for it. However, I do have an excellent excuse: I found myself unexpectedly engrossed in - hallelujah! can I say hallelujah? - Drums of Autumn, once I finally managed to be done with the very laborious first two chapters.
I continue to find the modern timeline slightly better written than most of the French shenanigans, for reasons I have already explained (yes, it is fiction, but the underuse of that particular trope left me hungry and not in a good way). The 1969 Boston episode (Moon landing included) can easily and will probably be among my favorites: it is short, lively and she does not go overboard with pedantry. Also, to my great surprise (or maybe also because the SS&RR tandem is so cataclysmic in the series), Brianna & Roger are (possibly) way better sketched and, overall, more interesting and endearing in the books. Fun fact: in my mind, they don't even look like the Painful Duo. But J&C look as S&C and whoever tells you otherwise did not watch the series and/or lies.
Unpopular opinion and I will probably get strong reactions to this: book Claire is, at times, insufferable to me. There are (mercifully) fleeting moments when I hear and almost see a poor travesty of Herself in her. If there is one person in this Universe who was ever able to masterfully round those edges and elevate Claire Elizabeth Beauchamp Randall Fraser to legend, well: that is (and I suspect it could only be) C.
Conversely, I once read on a Mordor blog something as idiotically enormous as "Jamie Fraser is, we all know it, a brute and Claire is the only person making him look human". This is Hate 101, transferred from the guy you spew on all day long to the character that guy decisively shaped and gave a destiny to, on screen. Writing such inanities lacks culture, taste and empathy. Jamie Fraser is a brute because he protects his family, whatever the costs? Is he a brute with a deep appreciation for the Greek and Roman Classics? Is he a brute just because he happens to be imagined and given life to in the 18th century Scottish Highlands, a place and time you obviously have no familiarity with, spare these books? And what about the other feminine influences in Jamie's life, that shape his unique sensitivity and understanding of the emotional needs of a 20th century woman, such as Claire? What about Ellen, Jenny, hey even the tiny (blink and you'll miss her) Annalise (dreadful name, Herself) de Marillac? I really pity you, woman. Really do.
All in all, I have no idea about what happened in LAX, other than the kilt apotheosis and the subsequent drooling, fainting and yelling that accompanied it. I still saw many young women in that crowd and I am cautiously betting for less drama, this time. But I do wonder why *urv never shows up at any event in the area, when the effort would be, for her, minimal. Things that make you go hmmm, once again.
A new (hectic) week just started. Onwards.
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