#and I think they should have brought Bela back as a demon | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

muffinsin · 4 months

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Hey, the succubus ask was really good! Loved the concept of Dani and her first time. I always liked the idea of Dani getting corrupted for her first time. I agree with your interpretation that Dani is the kinkiest of the sisters, but surely she wasn’t always that way. Poor innocent Dani, the youngest of house Dimitrescu. Naïve and viewing the world through rose tinted glasses because her only exposure to romance is through overly idealized and fictitious storybooks. She’s sheltered. The only interactions she can get aside from family are villagers/maids that have to tolerate her unless they want a sickle to the throat, thus all “friends” are disingenuous. In the rare occasion an outsider or foreigner gets trapped and forced to work in the castle it is still shallow and short lived interaction as many either feign interest to escape, caught escaping and are punished, or get themselves killed in the process of escaping. Most importantly, these are fragile mortals. Dani can never completely express affection physically because she has so much love to give and she gets so caught up in her emotions squeezing too hard during a hug, dragging a maid to show her something, shakes them too fast before realizing she’s killed them in her excitement. It’s not fair, Bela and Cassandra are better at controlling their strength. They’re able to have numerous relationships throughout their undead lives and Dani has yet to have one. Not to mention the frustration of her family babying her. She’s sheltered, innocent, but especially desperate. Dani wants to be loved and desired and to give it back, but her love proves to be deadly. Until one day…..an outsider appears, a fellow immortal. A female demon, not a succubus, but definitely a demon living among humans and traversing the world. Stumbling upon the secluded village during their trip to Romania. They sneak into the castle, no foul intentions they were just curious. They get caught by Bela and are brought to Alcina. The demoness does not put up a fight knowing that they can’t be harmed. However, they are disturbingly calm and quiet, which Bela and Alcina are not used to since a real human would be screaming, begging, fighting. Eventually, Alcina decides to put the “human” woman in the dungeon for the time being. Right then dani comes into the room to ask a question. She stops mid sentence with eyes locked on the outsider. The demoness finds her attractive and sensing an opportunity decided to wink at dani, showing interest. Dani is instantly taken by the mysterious woman and her romantic delusions are fueled. “She must be the one,” she thinks, “I must have her,” she reasons. Dani begs Alcina to have the woman. Alcina eventually agrees since she didn’t have plans for the woman before. Dani takes the demoness back to her room creating a tea party, including seats for stuffed animals (I headcanon that she has a shit ton of stuffed animals and talks to them sometimes lol). The demoness is still calm and quiet, listening to Dani intently as she rambles about her fav novels. Until dani slips up and mentions how lonely she is. The demoness picks up on this and questions dani, learning how inexperienced her “captor” really is. The demoness finds Dani very attractive and feels a genuine connection, so she decides to give Dani some of the love she’s been missing in her life…..exposing her to what real love and desire can feel like😉

I’m so weak for Dani istg-

This is a long one everyone XD also, very glad I finally got to tend to this!! Y’all don’t know for how long this has been sitting in my inbox ;-;🙇‍♀️

Let’s get into it!👀

Masterlists: 1-3

Daniela Dimitrescu is a hopeless romantic, this much is known throughout the entire castle. Another thing that is known: to avoid her at all costs, to avoid detection by the youngest daughter under all circumstances.

It is clear: detection by this daughter means sure death.

While with Bela there is more than just a fleeting chance to survive, should one only mind their manners and not get on her nerves,

And even Cassandra is somewhat survivable, should she not have her eye set specifically on you,

Daniela’s attention means death. Not a single one has survived an encounter with this one.

Sometimes, it is unavoidable to slip from her attention. And when she does see you, it is said it’s over already. Death comes to every “lover of hers”.

A delusional romance begins the moment she sets her eyes on her prey, and should anybody break this delusion of hers, they will be punished with death penalty. Not that there is an alternative, really, because even if one plays along, Daniela always ends up killing her playthings, leaving them disfigured and cold.

Now, this is what the stories say. And they are not completely wrong.

Save for Daniela’s view. The poor thing, who entirely shut away from the romantic, fairytale life she wishes to have.

Yearning, she asks herself: if she is locked in the castle the way Rapunzel is trapped in the tower, where is her saviour?

The one to lessen the solitude in the large castle? Her soulmate…

And poor Daniela, delusional and all too desperate to fall in love she rushes every step along the way. Instead, she falls madly for every person, believing- truly- they were instantly as madly in love with her. And, she is disappointed every time.

Eager and entirely deprived of romance and a partner, Daniela aches for true love. A relationship, a proper one.

Yes, those that catch her attention do not live. And each time she kills them, a small part of her heart breaks off.

She doesn’t mean to kill her lovers! She’s just- excited. She forgets how fragile humans are.

And so, she becomes more and more deprived of all of it.

She watches her sisters take lovers and spend their time with them, hears them bed them.

Yet, she is denied such a thing. Being the “baby” of the family, it seems nobody is good enough for her according to her sisters and mother.

Maidens willing and eager to bed her are scared off quickly by her protective sisters, or even torn apart entirely for daring to attempt to defile the youngest daughter.

The youngest sister, who is no longer young. Centuries pass, lifetimes, and poor Daniela is stuck in her role of a baby sister and daughter, coddled and spoiled through and through, protected and loved.

Oh, but so very isolated. Protective sisters ensuring her safety to the point she is unable to have dates or sex, an even more protective mother regularly proving and demonstrating she will slice all unworthy ones to ribbons who dare as much as touch Daniela.

Oh, but she yearns to be snatched right under all of their noses. She yearns for a relationship, for love. Something that lasts.

She promises, each time, she will be careful with her lover. Yet then excitement kicks in, and limbs are far too easily ripped and broken. Her love is deadly, her attention a curse. Her affection is a plague, and as such it leads to a lover’s death.

Yet…this is to change one day, unbeknown to Daniela.

It’s the day a demoness enters the village.

From far away, and eventually stumbling into the village, you traverse the world, looking for big and small wonders. It seems, you have found one, when you eye the large castle in the distance.

Between trees and clouds, a tower peeks out. The top of a large, luxurious castle. With its windows shining in the light and wind curling around its tips, flags waving in the wind.

The air is bitingly cold, but you don’t mind. You run warmer than most due to your inhuman nature.

You’ve met a single person so far, a woman, lost to the flame. In her dying phrase she spoke to you and warned you of the wicked witches in the castle.

Of course, this peaked your interest.

As you approach the castle entrance, you see the blood seeping into the wooden gate and staining the stony ground. You raise an eyebrow curiously.

It’s rare you come across killers. The world is painfully boring compared to the torture and pain, punishments and blood that is spilled where you come from. The thought of being among murderers excites you.

Is this why the village is so empty?

With ease no mortal would possess, you push open the heavy iron doors to the castle. Inside, it is warm. Nearly overwhelmingly so.

But, it is intentional, you notice. Every window in the entrance hall is closed. A fire is lit. Carpets scatter on the floor. It seems the inhabitants like it warm.

“Curiosity killed the cat”, you murmur to yourself with a small giggle. Perhaps you’d be cautious if anything in this world was as a threat to you.

Alas, you only feel burning curiosity.

You see a large painting, vases and flowers, rich colours and heavy curtains. The castle looks as though from a completely different decade.

As you walk, you hear light buzzing around you. A couple of times you need to swat some flies away.

At last, you find yourself in what seems to be a large hall. You find another large door. The windows next to it suggest it leads to the castle gardens. Yet, just as you grip the handle of the door, you hear loud giggling and the even louder buzzing of wings and flies.

You feel a body press up against your backside, and hear laughter in your ear. Yet when you turn, you see only flies.

It seems, the first “witch” is revealed to you. A brunette, with a large smirk and blood coating her lips. She stalks around you, as though you are her prey.

When you feel hands on your shoulders, gripping tight enough to bruise, another is revealed. A blonde. She grips you tightly, and laughs happily.

“We’ve caught you now, little one”, she hums, all too pleased with herself. She doesn’t seem to care for the fact you haven’t even attempted to move from her grasp. In fact, she seems entirely too sure of herself.

Both women’s faces are bloodied, their makeup smeared. They reek, of blood and sex, poorly covered by their rich perfumes. You doubt a mortal could smell, though.

They stare at you for a moment when you merely look at them and take in their appearance. Then, as though reminded of what they want, the brunette grips your arm tightly and pulls you with her.

“Mother will know what to do with you!”, the blonde tries to threaten. Intrigued, you follow without putting up a fight.

More elegant halls greet you, as well as warm carpets and lit fireplaces. The women are dressed in black dresses, with black, thin coats and black heels. Gloves cover their hands.

When you enter a room, you find a woman, too tall to be mortal, dressed in white. She must be the mother of the two, you think.

Unlike her daughters, the woman seems less animalistic in her movements. She doesn’t seem to bother trying to catch you, while still attempting to present herself as a predator.

“So, you have broken into my Castle”, she speaks, loud and clear. You hear the girls snicker next to you when they let go of you.

“I was merely curious, Milady. I mean no harm, I’m simply passing through”, you answer, voice as steady as hers. It seems to catch the three off guard.

“Mother! Let me have her!”, The brunette demands. She’s holding her sickle tightly, her smile wide and sadistic. You merely raise an eyebrow at her. You wonder, how fast will the little sadist grow tired of you when you will not scream in pain?

“Mother! I captured her for you!”, the blonde pipes in. She frowns angrily, almost pouts. It can almost be described as adorable, how the woman seems unhappy about her sister asking for what she believes is rightfully hers.

A large, gloved hand sets on her head, and it seems to calm the angry blonde. “Patience, you two. She must be sampled first”, the tall woman, their mother, answers simply.

Despite their apparent wild nature, they both obey the command and back away a little.

It’s your turn to frown when your arm is lifted, your wrist exposed for the countess. You watch curiously as she digs her teeth inside, the pain others would experience barely a numbness you feel.

All three seem unsatisfied with your reaction, how you merely watch curiously and drop your hand back to your side when she is done. Still, the mother of two doesn’t let this bother her, it seems.

She wipes her lips almost gracefully, then sniffs richly. “She is of no use to our cause”, she declares, and almost immediately the two women in black push themselves back against you.

“You heard her! We can have her! Why can’t I ever get the first bite?!”, the brunette argues from your left. She tugs your arm harshly, sneering at her sister.

“You know I get the first bite! Mother! Tell her!”, the bratty blonde answers, her hands tightly around your right arm, tugging and baring her teeth at her sister.

You dare snicker at them, giggling at their reactions. They both draw back a little in confusion.

Just as the older woman opens her mouth again, likely to quit the bi keeping between the two, the large doors are pushed open yet again.

You inhale automatically, smelling a sweet, flowery aroma in the air. A third woman- a third sister- appears.

“Mother, why isn’t the librar…”

The moment you spot her, Daniela spots you. You hold your breath for a moment without meaning to.

The third sister is breathless, rivalling the other two in beauty and effortlessly standing out. She smells less dark, does not reek of human arousal and sweat, although she shares the bloody aroma of her sisters. Still, she smells of flowers and perfume.

It seems, you found someone worthwhile in the castle.

Daniela gasps when you wink at her, her hand rising to her chest automatically. A large grin comes to her face, and the glint even reaches her eyes. She understands: that’s why all these people have died! She was just waiting for you! Oh, surely you must be who she is meant to be with!

Daniela shrieks and quickly grabs your arm, pulling you away from her older sisters as she sees them summon their sickle already, having seen the flirty wink thrown her way.

“Mother!”, she pipes up. “Mother!”, she repeats, ensuring the tall woman looks at her. Daniela nuzzles against her hand eagerly, unaware of the daggers the woman shoots your way.

“May I keep her, please?”, She begs, golden puppy eyes full on display. You smirk at this- the auburn haired woman certainly knows her weapons. You can immediately tell she is the youngest of the bunch, by the protectiveness of her family as well as the puppy eyes only she pulls out.

Puppy eyes, the Mother of three seems to have trouble denying.

“Your sisters have caught her, Daniela. Aside from this, she was supposed to go in the basement, my dove”, the older woman reasons. Both older sisters seem pleased by this, their eyes flashing to you murderously.

“Please, mama, I want her”, Daniela begs. She can’t help the smile that comes to her face- she knows Mother will give into this.

And right she is. With a sigh and a gloved hand patting Daniela’s head, the countess grants her youngest the wish.

“Mother! She’ll just die with her anyway! I want a turn before that!”, The brunette immediately complains. You eye the redhead. She seems genuinely hurt by her sister’s words.

“She won’t! I’ll take good care of her! She loves me!”, she argues, oblivious to your surprised gasp and raised eyebrow.

Love? Now, she’s a little ahead of herself. You don’t deny that you feel attraction to the beautiful woman, however.

So, without much more ado, you feel her grasp your hand in hers, tugging you from the chamber.

“I’m Daniela!”, she introduces herself eagerly. She’s beyond happy and pleased with herself, and her grip on you is tight. The numbness in your arm has you realise- the enthusiastic thing would have broken your hand had you been a mortal.

Daniela yelps in surprise when you come to a halt, instead hold her hand gently and pull it to your lips. She blushes sweetly as you kiss her knuckles. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Daniela”.

You are not overly secretive with her, and share your name freely. She grins at this, and repeats it. You find, your name sounds beautiful coming from her soft lips and spoken in her gentle voice.

“We’ll be so happy together!”, she says then, tugging you along once again. You follow her eagerly, adoring the little skip she has in her steps.

“May I ask, Daniela”, you coo. “What is this place?”

She doesn’t seem bothered by your questions at all. You’re the first to fill the silence with her.

“Castle Dimitrescu, silly. It’s your new home!”, she beams. You hum. It certainly isn’t a bad place, even if the excited little thing is wrongly under the impression that this is your home.

Funnily enough, she won’t be wrong.

You follow her until she brings you to another room- this one is large and bright, full of- everything, really.

There’s a large bed, fit for a princess. You startle momentarily as the woman dissolves into what seems to be many flies. She manifests at the bed again, giggling as she plops down on it, surrounded by pillows and blankets, and more stuffed animals than you have ever seen in a single bed during your travels.

You walk past a small desk with pots and silverware on it, past shelves stacked with books and a canvas with a few flowers drawn on it, until you too sit on the bed.

Your eyes widen when she suddenly moves again, instead straddles your lap and holds onto your shoulders tightly.

“I’ve been waiting so long for you, my love!”, she declares, her head resting against your shoulder.

You notice she is cold, even through the black dress she seems to share with her sisters. She feels incredible against your warm skin. In turn, Daniela all but sucks up the warmth of your skin.

“Do you like my room?”, she asks, her hair tickling your face. You don’t mind. You can’t help but smile when wide, golden eyes look up at you as she asks. You realise they nearly sparkle in the light.

“I do”, you answer honestly. You can’t help but wrap your arm around her, holding her hip to steady her.

Again, you notice her flesh is cold, but also soft. She’s incredibly human for an inhuman being, a mutant.

“I love it, in fact”, you correct yourself, and she beams up at you. “Do you enjoy reading?”, You ask. You can’t explain it, but she is intriguing. This little ball of sunshine among darkness has you curious.

Her eyes widen, and her lips part. She rambles, and you love every bit of it. With each word you feel your attraction and admiration for her grow.

She talks of her favourite books, romance and fantasy ones, of princesses and fairytales, of love and war, of poetry and what not.

She swarms off your lap as she talks, instead guides you to move off the bed as well and sit at the small table near it. You follow, captivated by her words.

As she talks, she moves fast and gracefully. Light shines through the window and caresses her skin and the edges of her dress.

Your auburn haired “captor” looks beautiful.

“So it is company you seek?”, you ask when she takes a breather. She’s been rambling non stop, but you don’t mind. You think it’s endearing.

A sigh passes her lips. She sets up some stuffed animals around you, before she too falls down on one of the chairs.

It almost looks like a tea party, and you wonder whether she ever has real ones- Whether she has people to have them with. The poor thing seems pitifully lonely, so much so she must do with stuffed animals put in small dresses for company.

You understand her, though, and lift the tea pot. It’s empty, but you don’t mind playing along. Daniela smiles again when you “pour” tea into her cup, then into each standing in front of the stuffed animals;

A green giraffe. It’s knitted, and wears a small, dark jacket, which is knitted too. You see blood covering the neck and figure Daniela must bite it sometimes.

A blue fish, round and silly looking with a top hat on top of it. It seems to be made out of cotton, if you had to guess.

And a pony, light pink, with dark pink hair. Dressed in a purple dress with a silver ring serving as a crown.

“I love my family. Mother, my sisters”, Daniela explains. She looks longing almost, and when she grasps your hand, you give hers a reassuring squeeze.

“I love the castle too. I don’t remember living anywhere else. I’ve been here all my life. In this region. We are sometimes allowed outside, in the forest, to hunt”, she explains. You hum in acknowledgment as you “sip” your tea. The action makes her cheeks burn.

Daniela’s never really had a proper tea party with her lovers, they simply never did it right. And her sisters soon grew out of it and didn’t wish to entertain her parties anymore. But you seem to know exactly what to do. Daniela grins for a moment- yes, you are her soulmate, she is sure.

“I love being so close to my sisters. They’re everything to me”, she continues on. She sounds content, but- longing. Being the only mutant among mortals has you long for company, too.

“And the castle is so grand and beautiful. I’m thankful to be able to call it my home”, Daniela speaks gently. She reaches for her stuffed animal as she does; the giraffe. With petite fingers and gentle movements, she plays with the knitted animal’s head.

“I just…”

“Feel lonely”, you add for her. Golden eyes snap to you, widening in amazement. “Yes! Yes, lonely!”, Daniela confirms.

You notice yourself lean in closer to her, and see her do the same. She’s adorably desperate already, her hand knocking over teacups as she leans over the table. When you cup her cheek, she smiles happily.

GYou can no longer hold back, nor do you attempt to. Your body urges you to take her, but also, you do want to give the beauty what she seeks. Perhaps your solitude has ended too.

Daniela hums in surprise when you at last push forwards the last bit, cupping her reddening cheek as it grows warm under your fingertips.

She hums into the kiss, clumsily trying to return it. At this, you smile against her plump lips. She isn’t an experienced kisser, but good enough from the few kisses she stole from maidens here and there. You have no problem teaching her.

Daniela gasps as she is pulled forwards, swarming eagerly to sit herself back on your lap. “You’re so intriguing”, you speak honestly, your breath warm as it tickles against her lips.

“Please, my love. Be mine”, she whispers.

Again, she grasps your hand tightly. And again, you feel how desperate the poor, murderous thing is. You know yet again the redhead would’ve accidentally hurt you with her own strength if you could feel any pain.

But you don’t mind taking your time with her, teaching her to be gentle and sweet at times. You know you can be, will be, with her. She seems delicate like the flowers she smells of.

You inhale, and are surprised when you find another scent. She’s aroused already, decades of pent up frustration making itself known. She’s eying you desperately, tugging your hands and kissing you eagerly.

She wants to be taken, so badly, and is so eager and fast.

It’s as if Daniela fears should you not pluck her now, her sisters will once again ruin the opportunity for her and take you away.

No such thing happens.

You take your time with her, instead too. It’s funny how the auburn haired woman has grown on you in such little time. You enjoy her ramblings, and think she is genuinely cute. You want to give her this experience of love and desire.

Daniela gasps when you grasp and squeeze her hips, her thighs pushing harder against the outside of yours. She’s adorably shy now, hands searching for a spot to hold onto.

You smirk at her, an index finger under her chin tipping up her head and making her look at you. “Is this your first time, sweet thing?”, you ask. She certainly seems as though it is.

With a blush and a shy look cast downwards, Daniela confirms this. She grinds forwards on top of you, her warm core mere inches from yours. You practically feel her want.

“Please, my love, take me”, Daniela gasps out, her hands at last tugging the front of your top. “Want me”, she begs, quietly, more to herself than anybody else. She wishes for many things, but truly wishes to be wanted. To be desired and admired, obsessed over.

You’re not about to disappoint her.

Daniela gasps when you suddenly lift her as you stand, the feeling so foreign to her. Oh, but she loves it! It has her grin and hold onto your shoulders, hook her legs around you. She feels you hold onto the back of her upper thighs to keep her elevated, and it has her blush yet again.

Never has she been touched there, not even for a moment.

She giggles when she finds herself set back down on the bed, a hand to her chest pushing gently and having the beauty fall back against reddish sheets and blankets, fluffy pillows and a few stuffed animals here and there.

With wide eyes and her breath held she watches you drag the corset off her painfully slow. She whimpers, your hands loving yet greedy, fingers sliding across her covered skin as you work on undressing her.

“You’re irresistible, Daniela. Allow me, I must simply see more”, you husk into her ear, leaning above her as you unzip her dress and gently pull it down her pale, creamy shoulders.

Daniela is breathing heavily, her eyes lidded as she watches the garment she is so used to be peeled from her skin.

Only one had attempted to do so before, only one had come this far. But they had been fast and rough, and it was only months later she understood why her sisters were so enraged with the woman: she took advantage of Daniela’s nativity, of her desperation and innocence, too eager to defile and use her, taste her like a forbidden fruit before digging the knife she’s had on her into her chest.

She eventually forgave her sisters for the cruelties done to the women.

She knows, they look out for her.

But you are different. You don’t have a hidden weapon ready to be dug inside of her the moment she is caught off guard. You like her, you practically worship her with your sweet touches and kisses pressed to her lips and jawline.

Daniela melts like butter under your very fingertips.

The virgin attempts to appear cool and seductive instead of shy, yet can’t help but wrap her hands around herself once all but her bra and panties are off, a blush adamant on her cheeks.

You know, you’ll enjoy taking her. You’ll take and defile her for yourself, taste and bring her to orgasm over and over again until the little thing can’t keep standing. And when she does get enough, you’ll keep her in your arms.

Perhaps this delusional woman is right, perhaps she is destined to be with you. The chances are slim, but you enjoy her company and decide to take a risk in this secluded castle.

Daniela watches hungrily as you pull off your clothing, one by one revealing slightly scarred skin. Scarred from your past- no mortal could do such things to you.

She stares, and she knows it, and attempts her best not to. Still, you see her struggle and try to advert her eyes from your chest, yet they keep flickering to it.

More clothing is dropped to the floor, until you equal her.

You lean over her, chuckling as she gasps and tries adorably hard to keep eye contact instead of ogling your chest.

No matter. You will teach the shy, but desperate woman to be dirty. Dirty as you can be…

Daniela gasps high pitched when you take ahold of her breasts, squeezing and groping her shamelessly through her thin, lacy bra.

Her hand shoots to her mouth, attempting to stifle her sweet noises.

No, that will not do. Not at all, in fact.

You tsk at the woman, your hand eagerly tugging hers away and replacing it with your lips. Again, she moans into your mouth, her hips grinding against the air and lifting to reach you.

“Let me hear you, my beautiful Daniela”, you coo, and your words make her head spin. She whines, a breathless plea.

She wants to be touched so bad, but you intend on making your beautiful girl beg a little more for you.

Daniela’s back arches a little when you capture her breasts again, squeezing the large mounds eagerly. She’s soft, and thick, with a very large chest. The sweet virgin’s nipples are sensitive, even with the layer of the bra covering them.

“Do you like this, sweetheart?”, you coo into her ear. Daniela whimpers, her head nodding fast.

She’s trying to stay quiet, and barely manages so. She knows, should she scream, it’s likely her family will come running to her “safety”.

“Yes, my love, please my sweet!”, she begs quietly, but desperately. You can tell she is long due for these kind of touches. Or any, really. The poor thing is soft and sensitive below you, entirely unused to being touched- let alone being touched properly.

“Good girl”, you coo, eyes flashing at the audible, hitched breath that comes from her. You know, below her sweet, innocent surface this one is naughty.

You know, her eagerness to learn and try things- clearly proven by her room- will prove to be very exciting. You can just imagine introducing her to all that you have come across in your travels.

You smile down at her, chest heaving as she pants, her neck bared to you and wrists resting at the sides of her head, her eyes lidded as you toy with her. She’s so submissive, so eager underneath your exploring and wandering fingertips.

“Please, my love, please touch me”, she begs. You smirk at her, an eyebrow raised as you tip her head back up for you.

“My, but I am touching you, my sweet little Daniela”, you counter with a large smirk. She’s blushing for you, before plump lips part and she begs sweetly: “Please touch me between my legs, down there…”, she asks, adorably shy. You nearly giggle at her. She’s holding back, shy and adorable for you. You can’t wait to teach her.

As such, you eagerly slide your hands down, dragging her bra with you. She gasps again when her nipples are bare and revealed to you and you merely throw the black bra to the pile on the floor.

You can barely wait. This foreplay has already soaked your underwear throughout. Ah, and you’re not the only one.

Daniela is utterly wet, her underwear sporting a dark, wet spot where her slit is. You caress her through her underwear, smirking as she gasps and mewls below you.

It’s an easy task to find her little clit.

Oh, and how it has the auburn haired moan and writhe on the bed for you when you target it and rub it through her soaked panties.

Daniela all but grasps your wrist, begging you to keep going.

Her golden eyes are set on you as you toy with her, licking and sucking the soft skin at her thighs.

You can smell her arousal clear as day, and do your best to hold back and not grab her by her hips and smudge her wet core against your lips. Your mouth waters at the mere thought of tasting the virgin on your tongue.

She grasps your hair firmly, tugging and shrieking as her legs start to shake already. The poor thing is inexperienced, eager, and overly sensitive all over.

A filthy thought crosses your mind, how you wish to ruin her for everybody else, so that she may only be yours.

Inhaling, you smell her arousal yet again. Daniela begs previously, her eyes squeezed shut already. You can tell, after mere moments of stimulating her clit she is close already.

Daniela whimpers at you when you pull your hand away, instead lifts her hips to help you guide her ruined panties down her smooth, soft legs. She grasps the bedsheets tightly when you tease the short, dark auburn hair between her legs.

“You smell astonishing, sweet girl”, you coo against her thigh. Still, she feels your breath on her most private part and whines in want. She aches for you, and you can see the wetness that flows out of her like honey.

“Allow me a taste, my darling”, you whisper then- no longer can you hold back from tasting this honeyed core. Her hole is tight and unfucked, all yours to stretch. And stretch it you will, rest assured.

Daniela shrieks for a moment as you lick alongside her slick slit, her cheeks burning and her head falling back on the pillow as you lick her and moan at her tastes.

Her face burns warm as you once again lean against her core, your nose brushing against her pink clit as you push your tongue inside of her.

Your hand snakes down between your own legs, beneath your panties and inside of you- you’re in high time for some relief.

Unsurprisingly Daniela moans and squeaks again in no time, gasping and squirming so much you must hold her hip still with your remaining hand. Your gentle, but firm touch turns her on all the more it seems.

You lick inside of her eagerly, tasting her and pushing your tongue in and out. Each time it comes covered with more of her juices, and each time you dive in hungrier than before.

Her hand tangles in your hair again, tugging and grasping, the other tearing the sheets blow her.

“A-Ahhahhh! My lo-ove, please! I wa-aah-AH!”

You thrust your fingers in and out of your core fast, partly already imagining them inside of her- stretching her tight cunt effortlessly, rubbing up inside of her pussy. The deprived woman is incredibly sensitive for you, so much so you know you could make her cum over and over again from simple touches.

It seems, the closer she gets to her orgasm, the more sensitive she becomes.

Daniela’s legs push over your shoulders when you move closer, her heels digging inside your back occasionally.

She can’t stay still, it seems, too eager and sensitive, now even groping her own breasts for you.

You know, you will need to tie this one down in the future. Clearly, Daniela cannot be trusted to stay still when she is so preciously needy.

Each delve of your tongue inside her honeyed core earns you a small moan and gasp, each brush of your nose against her clit has her hips jerk against the grip you have on her.

Cautiously, you tighten this grip. You don’t want to hurt the dainty creature underneath your fingertips, and it seems to do the trick because Daniela’s movement is minimised.

You curl your finger within yourself and keep thrusting them. Long and sensual licks turn to rough and needy eating out. She’s near driving your crazy with her little moans and whimpers, her tight cunt wrapped snugly around your tongue.

You want nothing but to pleasure her. To hold her down and fuck her, to show her desire among love, shown to her in the form of your kisses and care.

Daniela cums fast, and you eagerly climb onto the panting woman.

“Have a taste, my precious Daniela”, you whisper, your tongue darting across hers when your lips meet. Daniela feels you tease her soaked cunt with wet fingertips, and moans as she sucks her own taste from your tongue.

Never has she been treated this way. She assumed, but had no idea it felt this good.

You watch her pant below you for a moment, the back of your hand stroking along her pink cheek. Never have you met a woman like her. Someone this captivating and adorable, yet seductive without any effort at all. You want to treasure and ruin her at the same time, only in the best way of course.

Daniela opens her mouth and sticks her tongue eagerly when you present your fingers to her, her brows furrowing in what can only be her infamous puppy eyes. You too, it seems, are to fall for them

She moans and hums with your fingers in her mouth, your wetness on top and surrounding them.

“Let’s try something else, my pretty darling. I’ll ensure you’re all mine”, you whisper. The realisation of Daniela’s sensitive clit inspires you. You wonder- how many orgasms can you drag from her without any insertion until she begs for it?

You’re about to find out.

The Dimitrescu daughter squirms as you align your core with hers, a gasp passing her wet lips and warm breath hitting your fingers as she understands.

“Keep sucking them, princess. I want them entirely clean”, you coo. She immediately gets back to work, though wraps one leg around you to pull you closer.

With the first push of your clit against hers, she is moaning and groaning around your fingers already. You press down on her tongue and she shrieks, eyes wide as she helplessly expects you to help her get off. No, to get her off.

“Are you going to be a good girl and tell me how much you love me?”, you coo.

You know you’re feeding into her delusions, but you just can’t help it. As a demon, you are very well within right to be a little wicked. And what sweeter way of portraying this is there than to use the beautiful, naive’s woman delusion and isolation against her.

The lonely princess wants a lover so very bad after all. Very well, she has one now. And you will never let the auburn haired woman go again.

#cassandra dimitrescu #daniela dimitrescu #bela dimitrescu #daniela dimitrescu x reader #dianabetic6

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aspenmissing · 10 months

Text

𝙹𝚞𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝙱𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚘 (𝙿𝚝 𝟷)

Sam rushes into a bedroom while Dean and Theo follows and she shuts the door. They search the room, Theo checking the drawers, while Sam checks the safe and Dean checks the other drawers.

"Any sign of it?" Dean asks.

"Nothing. Are you sure this is Bela's room?" Theo holds up two wigs and shows them to Sam and Dean.

"I'd say so" Suddenly the phone rings and they share a look. Y/N walks to the phone and looks to Sam and Dean, who are shaking their heads. Theo picks up the phone and answers it cautiously. It's Bela, who is calling from her car.

"Theo? Sweetie, are you there?"

"Where are you?" Theo asks.

"Two states away by now"

"Where?"

"Where's out usual quippy banter? I miss it"

"I want it back, Bela...now"

"Your little pistol, you mean" Bela looks at the Colt on the seat next to her "Sorry, I can't at the moment"

"You understand how many people are gonna die if you do this?"

"What exactly is it that you think I plan to do with it?"

"Take the only weapon we have against an army of demons and sell it to the highest bidder"

"You know nothing about me" Bela says.

"I know I'm gonna stop you"

"Tough words for a woman who can't even find me"

"Oh, I'll find you, sweetheart. You know why?" Theo asks, smirking "Because I have absolutely nothing better to do than to track you down"

"That's where you're wrong. You're about to be quite occupied" Theo looks at Sam and Dean "Did you really think I wouldn't take precautions?" Suddenly police officers burst into Bela's room and points guns at Sam, Dean and Theo. They raise their hands above their heads.

"Hand in the air!"

"Down on your knees" Bela hangs up the phone and sighs in relief.

"That bitch!" Dean shouts.

"Turn around! Now!" The police officers force Dean, Theo and Sam to lie down on the floor.

"Sam, Theodora and Dean Winchester, you have the right to remain silent" They see feet come closer and then they share looks before looking up.

"Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney and have an attorney present during any questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you at government expense" Theo, Dean and Sam looks up to see Agent Henriksen.

"Dammit" Theo mutters.

"Hi guys...It's been a while" Dean, Theo and Sam look at each other before Dean closes his eyes and lays his head down on the floor.

Doors open and the Winchesters are led into the police station, Dean and Sam shackled together by a chain, Theo by herself, the three being escorted by two officers.

"Why all the sourpusses?" Dean asks, smiling. Sam looks at the name plate on a woman's desk, which reads "Nancy Fitzgerald, Secretary". Nancy looks afraid and grabs her rosary.

"I'll show you to the cells" Reidy grabs Theo's arm.

"Hey! Hey! Watch the merchandise!" She speaks, Nancy's eyes follow them, scared.

"We're not the ones you should be scared of, Nancy" Nancy looks at her rosary and holds it. The three are brought to their cell; and left alone. Dean heads for the bed and Sam to the door. They both almost fall because of the chain.

"Dean, come on!"

"All right, all right. Sit?"

"Yeah" They awkwardly walk around each other.

"Come on guys. just sit!" They then manage to sit down, Theo sat down between them.

"How we gonna Houdini out of this one?" Dean asks.

"Good question" Later, Henriksen enters the cells and the twins looks at him, Sam glancing at him then looking away.

"You know what I'm trying to decide?"

"I don't know. What? Whether Cialis will help you with your little condition?" Dean asks.

"What to have for dinner tonight" Sam looks at him and Theo scoffs "Steak or lobster, what the hell, surf and turf" Dean smirks cynically "I got a lot to celebrate. I mean, after all, seeing you three in chains..."

"You kinky son of a bitch" Theo says "They don't swing that way, and I sure don't"

"Now, that's funny"

"You know, I wouldn't bust out the melted butter just yet. Couldn't catch us at the bank, couldn't keep us in that jail. Hell, she wasn't even there" Dean says, gesturing to Theo, making the man then look to Theo.

"Of course, she was. Isn't that right Dr. Halsteed" Henriksen says and Theo smiles, sarcastically. He looks back at Dean "Besides, you're right. Screwed up. I underestimated you. I didn't count on you being that smart but now I'm ready"

"Yeah, ready to lose us again" Theo says.

"Ready like a court order to keep you in a Supermaximun prison in Nevada till trial. Ready like isolation in a soundproof, windowless cell, so that between you and me... probably unconstitutional" Sam, Dean and Theo realize Henriksen is serious "How's that for ready" Dean and Theo doesn't say anything.

"Take a good look at each other-you three will never see each other again. Hell, Theo won't even be in the same prison" Sam, Theo and Dean look at Henriksen, disconcerted "Aw. Where's those smug smiles, Dean? Theo? I want to see it. Dean shakes his head, disbelief.

"You got the wrong guys"

"Oh, yeah. I forgot. You fight monsters. Sorry, Dean, Theo. Truth is, your daddy brainwashed you with all that devil talk and no doubt touched you in a bad place" Theo tenses and stands up and walks over to the cell bars, glaring at Henriksen. "That's all. That's reality"

"Why don't you shut your mouth?" She says.

"Well, guess what. Life sucks. Get a helmet. 'Cause everybody's got a sob story. But not everybody becomes a killer" The sound of a helicopter approaching is heard "And now I have three less to worry about" Henriksen looks at his watch and smiles "Mm" He taps his watch "It's surf and turf time" Henriksen laughs. The three watch Henriksen leave; looking stressed. Another man comes inside the office and Henriksen holds out his hand.

"Steven!"

"Gentlemen" Instead of shaking Henriksen's hand, he hands Henriksen some files.

"What's all this?" Henriksen asks, confused.

"What can I say? The FBI didn't invent bureaucracy; we perfected it"

"You want me to do all this?" Steven smiles.

"Sorry. Now, Victor" Nancy smiles.

"I'm gonna go take a good long gander at out fugitives" Steven leaves Henriksen to finish the paperwork. Reidy gives Henriksen a pen and he starts to fill out the forms, annoyed.

Steven enters the holding cell area and closes the main door to the office area. Theo turns around and looks at Steven.

"Sam, Dean and Theodora Winchester. I'm Deputy Director Steven Groves. This is a pleasure"

"Well, glad one of us feels that way"

"I've been waiting a long time for you three to come out of the woodwork" Steven says.

Suddenly, Steven points his gun and shoots Theo in her left shoulder, her blood spraying on the walls and she grunts, falling back. Sam jumps up and grapples with Steve through the bard, while Theo falls back into Dean, who puts pressure onto her wound as Steven fires several more shots – narrowly missing Dean and Theo. Sam has a grip on Steven’s hand that is holding the gun. Steven’s eyes suddenly turn black and Sam begins to exorcise him, which causes Steven’s head to whip from side to side.

“Sorry, I’ve gotta cut this short. It’s gonna be a long night, fellas.” Steven says while Dean helps sit Theo up, who clutches her shoulder as the demon leaves Steven’s body with a scream before the black smoke disappears into the ceiling air vent. He then falls to the ground just as two officers enter, followed by Henriksen, who pointed his gun at Sam.

"All right, put the gun down!" One of the officers say.

"Wait. Okay. Wait" Sam says.

"He shot him!"

"I didn't shoot him, okay. I didn't shoot anyone"

"Son of a bitch shot me!" Theo says.

"Get on your knees, NOW!" Henriksen orders.

"Okay, okay, okay. Don't shoot. Please. Look. Here. Here" Sam passes the gun through the bars "Look. We didn't shoot him. Check the body. There's no blood. We did not kill him. Go ahead, check him" Reidy checks Steven's body.

"Vic, there's no bullet wound"

"He's probably been dead for months" Dean says, his hand on top of Theo's to put pressure on her wound.

"What did you do to him?" Henriksen asks.

"We didn't do anything"

"Talk or I shoot"

"Shoot and I'll smack your ass to the ground" Theo says.

"You won't believe us" Dean says.

"He was possessed"

"Possessed? Right. Fire up the chopper! We're taking them out of here now"

"Yeah! Do that!" Dean says, sarcastically.

"Bill?" Reidy asks into the walkie-talkie. Only to hear static "Bill, are you there?" There's no answer from the walkie. Henriksen nods to Reidy to check outside. Melvin and Phil continue to point their guns at Sam, Dean and Theo. Outside, Reidy discovers two officers whose throats have been cut. He walks to the chopper. The pilot and three more officers are dead. "They're dead. I think they're all dead" Reidy says into walkie. Suddenly there's a blast of light, Reidy yelling and is flung backwards.

"What the hell was that? Reidy? Reidy?!" Henriksen asks into the walkie. The chopper is on fire. Reidy coughs and sits up. Reidy walks towards the burned chopper. He turns to find one of the dead officers on his feet and looking at him with black eyes. The possessed officer crushes Reidy's flesh; Reidy screams.

Melvin fills his rifle with bullets while Nancy tries to make a call.

"Hello?" Nancy keeps trying to get a line"

"My men?" Melvin asks "Agent Henriksen-" Henriksen doesn't answer.

"What the hell's happening out there?"

"I can't get a line. All the phones are out"

"Henriksen! Four of my men!"

"The internet, my cell...It's all dead. How can it all be dead?" Melvin tosses the rifle to Phil. Suddenly the lights go out. Sam, Theo and Dean stand up.

"Oh, that can't be good"

"Definitely not" Theo says

"Oh my God" Nancy says.

"No, it's okay, it’s okay, it's okay. We're gonna go, we're gonna go...right now" Melvin loads his gun. Henriksen turns around.

"Nobody's going anywhere. Everybody calm down"

"Your partner is out there! My men are out there!"

"I know. We go ou there; we're asking to die too. Don't you get it"

"Get what?" Melvin asks.

"They're out there and they're coming in here. This is a siege. So, this might be a good time for you to lock the doors and the windows" Nancy looks up, panicking ", take a breath, and maybe deal with this like trained professionals with some sense in their heads" Phil and Melvin look at each other and calm down. Melvin nods and leaves. Henriksen walks to Nancy "You okay?" Nancy nods but then shakes her head "I wouldn't think so. Nancy, right? I'm gonna get you through this. You got my word. You got that?" Nancy smiles tearfully and nods. In the cell, Sam helps Theo with her wound, while Theo grunts. Dean sat next to her.

"All right, don't be a wuss"

"What's the plan?" Henriksen asks, walking to the cell "Kill everyone in the station, bust you three out?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Theo asks.

"I'm talking about your psycho friends. I'm talking about a blood bath"

"Okay, I promise you-whoever's out there? is not here to help us"

"Look, you got to believe us. Everyone here is in terrible danger"

"You think?"

"Why don't you let us out of here so we save your asses?" Theo says.

"From what?" Henriksen pauses, while the three look away "You gonna says "demons"?" Henriksen raises his guns, pointing at the ceiling, for emphasis "Don't you dare say "demons". Let me tell you something. You should be a lot more scared of me"

"No. You should be a lot more scared of what's out there" Theo says, glaring at Henriksen, who scoffs before leaving.

"How's the shoulder?" Dean asks. Theo takes away a pad of toilet paper with a large blood stain on it.

"It's awesome" Theo says, sarcastically. She tosses away the pad "I'll live. You know, if we get out of here alive. So, you got a plan?" Sam checks Dean's exit wound on the back of his shoulder as Theo grimaces in pain, Dean looks at the exit wound and winces.

"Why you wincing. You’re not the one who was shot" Theo mutters, before she realises that Nancy is peeking around a corner outside the bars.

"Hey" Theo says quietly to Sam and Dean, gesturing to Nancy.

"Hey..." Sam says. Nancy backs off, scared "Hey, uh, please. Please. We need your help. It's... it's Nancy. Nancy, right?" Nancy just looks at Sam "Nancy, my... my sister's been shot. She's... She's bleeding really bad. You think maybe you could get us a towel? Please? Just one clean towel?" Nancy's not sure and still a bit afraid "We're not the bad guys. I swear" Dean and Theo gives Nancy a smile and she leaves them, Sam sighing.

"Nice try" Dean says. Sam sighs again, then turns around and sees that Nancy has come back with a clean towel.

"Thank you" Nancy comes closer to the boys, carefully "It's okay" He holds out his handcuffed hands. Nancy puts the towel inside the bars while Sam smiles at her. She smiles back. Suddenly, Sam grabs Nancy's arm and drags her against the bars. Nancy screams. Phil runs in with his rifle.

"Let her go!" He shouts "Let her go!" Sam lets Nancy go. She backs away, scared. Phil points the gun at Sam.

"You're okay, Nance?" Phil looks at Sam "Try something again, get shot. And not in the arm"

"Okay" Phil and Nancy walks away. After they leave, Dean hits Sam in the arm.

"What the hell was that?" He asks, Sam holding up Nancy's rosary and Theo chuckles softly.

#supernatural #older sister winchester #oc insert #supernatural fandom #supernatural fanfiction

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stanfordsweater · 2 years

Note

do you have a fic rec tag ? or an ao3 account? i trust your taste and looking around blind is such a mess so just curious :)

i DO have a fic rec tag!! i also have a reading club tag for exclusively codependency and wincest fic, but there's a lot of overlap between the two. i'm not comfortable giving out my ao3 account but i'm more than happy to make you a personalized rec list if you want to send me some of your favourite tropes/plots/whatever!

for a quick taste, here's some of my all time favourite fics:

hold on to another plan by likewinning, 28k+:

"What Is and What Should Never Be"-verse. Sam has a full two inches on Dean now, and he wonders if it bothers Dean the way it bothers him. He leans down, resting his forehead on Dean’s shoulder, breathing in as he does. Dean smells like booze and smoke, like sweat and soap, like nothing Sam has ever wanted more.

THEE normal au to end all normal au’s. it takes the WIAWSNB au and looks at what brought sam and dean to that point, where they don’t talk outside of holidays, with a nice pinch of the codependency and yearning that we have with canon sam and dean. makes me cry every time i finish it. 10/10.

it’s the blueprint of your life by queenklu, 38k+:

Sam jerks awake in the middle of the night and everything goes to hell. Well, not literally, though Dean is staring down the barrel of less than a year before his deal comes due. In the midst of dealing (or not dealing) with his impending death, a killer ghost ship, and Bela showing up out of the blue, Dean also has to figure out what’s going on in Sam’s head to make him so twitchy, why he’s suddenly breezing through this case while writing endless notes in a notebook he won’t let Dean see. Damn it, Dean thinks, This is gonna take a lot of chickflick moments.

MY FAVOURITE OF ALL TIME. at the end of season four, sam travels back in time to save dean from his demon deal. i read this fic once a year like clockwork and i did so even when i wasn’t active in the fandom. FABULOUS.

chaperone by counteragent, 1k+:

Dean was here to make sure. He was damn well going to make sure.

sam/OC, dean supervises sam hooking up after hallucifer shows up in season seven. very sweet and awkward with devoted dean and a lot of fun dynamics that i’d call preslash.

#just a lil taste of my taste #if you like fic that tears your heart out i have some that make me viscerally upset bookmarked too :D #just let me know what you like and i'll rec some #fic rec #samdean reading club #wincest

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lucasbarr · 2 years

Text

Ok @charlie-bradbury has me thinking about the wayward sisters in this chilis tonight! btw I love your tag for me! Ok so like here’s my ideal line up up for the wayward sisters!

So we have the main crew:

- Krissy (because I stand by my headcanon that they should have started that storyline with Jody healing earlier!) who hunts but is also the receptionist at the Sheriff’s office.

- Josephine who finishes high school and starts hunting full time (though Jody wants her to go college) with Claire!

- Aidan who didn’t finish high school and works in construction. Is conflicted about hunting after the whole thing with Victor.

- Alex who doesn’t hunt! And works as a nurse as in canon!

- Claire is the same (though I can’t remember if she finished college or not???)

- Patience is obvi in college but as for what idk? I think it would be neat tho if she went to Standford tho. Maybe she could even be “pre-law” or Poli-sci because she wants to be like the president or an congresswoman? Idk yet

- MAGDA because she deserved better! I think she’s finish high school and not really he sure what to do. I think she’d take a gap year and figure out her life but I don’t think she’d hunt.

- Tina (from about a girl) because a reborn teenager in the late 2010s wouldn’t be able to move about the world. Would not hunt but will drive Claire to random locations at night because she doesn’t want her to get hurt. Al bark and no bite (will learn to fight and will kick ass). The begrudgingly responsible one (with Alex)!

- Alicia and Max Banes (because if canon gonna kill their mom then they deserve to have a second family in Jody).

- Kaia AND Dark!Kaia because they both deserved better!

- Ben because you know that boy would have his memories back by now! And then he and Claire could he chaotic siblings!

- KEVIN! idk how by this boy get the peaceful life he deserved. Maybe he’s resurrected and on the run ? Idk but he needs to be there :)

Now go the adults:

Jody and Donna obviously but like Missouri SHOULD have lived and in the good SPN in my head she does! So too should Alicia and Max’s mom! Also our Charlie! And maybe they could have brought back like Bela as the Crowley???

Or like that baby from S4 Rose Holt who would be a teenager and bring back Ava Wilson as like a Princess of Hell? Or a powerful demon intent on using her to start another apoclypse? And maybe like one of the waywards on the case is a special kid? Bonus points if it’s Magda!

Linda needs to be there because we can always use more Linda Tran!

You could reuse the eve plot line because I think it’s neat and then you bring Purgatory back into play. And you know who’s in Purgatory. Benny EMMA! AMY!

Or the Antichrist plotline because Jesse deserves to have a peaceful resolution! And I low-key ship him and maga 😂 sue me! Also we need more good monsters like Leonore! And we should get to see Amy’s son again! More plot resolution and deconstruction of monsters as the other because they’re shown to be as human as regular people!!!!!

Idk I have a lot of thoughts about the good Wayward Sisters that lives in my head!

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therealvinelle · 2 years

Note

Please tell us more about the Supernatural canon that you've formed!

Anon is referring to an off-hand remark I made in a post I'm too lazy to dig up that Supernatural is such a messy that I eventually just made up my own canon that I like, and I don't care what the show does.

I think I'll explain the ways in which I found that this show failed.

(First, a bit of background - I'm one of those dreaded Cas girls who only started watching because a tumblr power point presentation told me Supernatural was a show with morally ambiguous angels, giving me the completely wrong idea what the show was about. So, I started with season 1, blissfully oblivious that I'd have to wait three full seasons to see any angels.

I'm mentioning how I got into the show both to explain how this show was never what I wanted it to be, and also to cut it some slack - I was never this show's target demo.

Also, I quit watching in season 9.)

Without further ado:

My main complaint with Supernatural is that it misses just about every opportunity it has. Sometimes because the writers don't seem to have realized it, other times they deliberately shoot themselves in the foot. It's in the big things and the little details. Nine out of ten times the show also fails to explain the characters' motivations to me, I'm left guessing.

I'll start with the brothers.

Family don't end with blood

The boys have been raised in this insanely dangerous life that will get them killed sooner or later. Buffy the Vampire Slayer understood this - Buffy isn't going to win every fight, because there's an infinity of monsters and only one of her. Sooner or later she'll let down her guard, she'll miscalculate, or she'll simply, even for just a moment, stop wanting to fight. And when that moment comes, a monster will have himself a real good day.

The same applies to Sam and Dean.

They are good at what they do, and they have each other, which is far more than what most hunters do. But they're only human, and there are far too many close calls. Sooner or later, the inevitable will happen.

Of course, the boys don't seem to have realized as much. It's the life they've always lived, what they've always known - Sam tried to get away, but it was because he wanted a normal life, not because he saw the writing on the wall.

But then we get to the season 2 finale, and the inevitable happens. Sam is caught off guard, and Dean has to watch him die.

Dean can fix this - he sells his soul.

Now, I do like season 3. Dean is scared of hell and Sam refuses accept what will happen to his brother, just as Dean refused to accept his death. We have Bela as a parallel to Dean - she endured unspeakable things, in desperation sold her soul to get out, but like Dean she can't escape her fate. It was a grim but good season.

Except Dean never realizes that he hasn't saved Sam at all. For as long as Sam remains a hunter, he will be living the life of Buffy Summers - always dancing with death, one step ahead, until one day he loses his footing. Sam is not going to grow old, and now that he has his obsession with saving Dean, he will never stop trying to save his brother. If anything, Dean only ensured his brother would die all the sooner, or become what their father feared.

There would also be the despair point that demon deals don't actually solve your problems. Dean brought Sam back to life, well, now that very act is going to get Sam killed.

(Gonna give a shoutout here to Puella Magi Madoka Magica, which has the basic tenet that you sell your soul to get your wish granted. However, these wishes inevitably backfire, to the impotent despair of the wisher.)

I'll put it this way - Mystery Spot was a great episode, but if they wanted to make it truly great it should have been the other way around, the Trickster forcing Dean to realize he didn't actually save Sam. (Which would have made more sense too! We were never given a reason why the Trickster would care so much about Sam's emotions, or want to help him work through losing his brother. Making it Dean instead, though, that would be pure torture. Too dark for the Trickster perhaps, but definitely up some creature's alley.)

Getting the idea of the kind of show I'd want yet?

As it is, losing Sam doesn't make Dean realize his brother is mortal and needs to go back to Stanford if he is to live, and Sam doesn't appear to have any particular thoughts either.

Saving people, hunting things

This leads us neatly into another thing the show I wish the show had done.

Why, exactly, are the boys hunters?

Is it because they can't sleep safely in their beds knowing there are people being hurt out there, because hunting is what they know and are good at, or is it about the lifestyle? Is it because it's all they've ever known, and they don't know their place in the world without the impala and the answers to terrified people's questions?

Sam ran away because he wanted to live a normal life. Was this because he came to realize he can't save everyone, and chose to prioritize his own happiness, or was it because he realized John's obsession had done nothing but ruin all three of their lives and he wanted out before he lost his life?

It's never really talked about. Not even an episode where the MotW psychoanalyses Sam and Dean to make the argument "You shouldn't kill me because blah (insert poignant point that make the boys drive away in silence here. Again I must point to Buffy, and the demon Sweet.)"

As it is, I'm left with the impression that the boys hunt monsters because it's the show premise. It's their lifestyle and all that, but we never dig deeper.

Team Free Will

Not much to say here, as much of it is covered in the Castiel section, but my issue with Team Free Will is the same as with the above two points.

Why, exactly, are the boys against the Apocalypse?

Castiel is explained, sort of. Again, I'll get to that in depth below, but he's against it because he decides to trust Dean and Dean tells him the Apocalypse is bad. (This is where I'd link to Fate/Zero, and Irisviel, a sentient doll who has spent her existence cooped up in a castle, explains to her husband's accomplice Maya that she doesn't actually share her husband's ideals because she doesn't understand them. She can't, she's a doll with no experience of what it means to be human. She is still willing to die for her husband's ideals, because she loves him that much, and for her daughter's sake. Sadly I can't find this clip. Point being, Castiel and Irisviel are both these non-humans with no concepts of any of what Dean or Kiritsugu are talking about, but it sounds good and they trust the human talking so they say "Sure. Mi ideals es su ideals!" Irisviel is self-aware, Castiel is not.)

Sam and Dean... less so. They're against the Apocalypse for the same reason that they're hunters, they look at this situation and see monsters they have to defeat, regardless of what the monsters are calling themselves.

My issue with this is twofold. One, what right do they have? The angels come, and say that they can bring Heaven to the world. When they say Apocalypse they meant Biblical Rapture, they will give man Paradise. Yes, everyone will die - but what is death, if not a transition from one state to the other? Everyone would die, but they would not be dead, they would be residents of Paradise. There would be no more suffering, no more pain. No more hunger, torture, rape, war, murder, or anything evil. Seven billion people would be delivered.

For Dean and Sam to say "haha nope" without ever even considering it, without anyone ever asking them what right they have to make this decision on behalf of all of mankind, is so... boring. It's this glaring missed opportunity.

Dean, who has been to Hell, doesn't look around and think to himself "All these people, the entire world, will be guaranteed Heaven". Nor does he refuse Michael not because he's scared Michael will fail and Lucifer will bring down Hell on earth, but because he's opposed to the Apocalypse.

Sam never goes into detail either, he's opposed to the Apocalypse because Apocalypse bad.

It's just not very free will if it's two guys and their angel (who's still doing what he's told) calling the shots.

Castiel's characterization

I suppose Castiel deserves a post of his own, but I'll try to be quick.

Season 4 begins, we're introduced to Castiel. He's an angel who lives to execute God's will. Dean immediately thinks that's pretty pathetic.

Over the course of the season, Castiel comes to learn that God's not calling the shots up in Heaven, his orders do in fact come from rogue angels that serve their own ends. He is also exposed to Dean, who challenges his beliefs.

This all comes to a head when Castiel learns that the angels are working to bring about the Apocalypse, and he runs to tell Dean. He never gets the chance, and is instead carted off to be reeducated in Heaven.

He returns, now set on aiding in the Apocalypse.

Dean is able to see the lingering doubt in Castiel, and he capitalizes on it. He convinces Castiel that it's not God's will to have the Apocalypse, and he should save the world. He is able to convince Castiel, who rebels against Heaven.

(And then, of course, we get to season 8, where we learn that Castiel actually rebels all the time, so I guess season 4 meant nothing. Crack in his chassis amirite. Why the Destiel shippers like this, when it essentially meant Dean wasn't anything special either and Castiel rebels on his own just fine, all the time in fact, is beyond me.

The Naomi storyline is one of the reasons why I disown everything post-Kripke.)

And here's where I facepalm, because this is not consistent.

We start off with a Castiel who has one raison d'être, and it is to obey God. He will smite a city if he is asked to, he may wish it doesn't become necessary but should the order come then the hammer will fall.

Why, exactly, was he not told that the angels are bringing about the Apocalypse, from the very beginning? What could be the point in lying to sentinels that obey their orders no matter what? If anything, it would be a good way for the higher ranking angels to root out potential weak links early on.

This is where me making my own canon comes up, as I interpret this as Castiel knew all along, but slowly changed his mind. Rather than tell Dean "so I've been lying this whole time. Friends?" and lose his trust, Castiel decided to pretend this was something he'd only just found out.

If Castiel was a soldier who did as he was told, and the angels all in season 5 know they're fighting for the Apocalypse and have no problem with this, then Castiel should have known this all along.

Except, the show doesn't seem to want me to come away thinking Castiel spent the entirety of season 4 lying through his teeth.

Something else that's not clear is Castiel's fall.

This big deal is made out of Castiel rebelling against Heaven. He's ripping up the script, he's not following orders anymore. He's gained free will!

But, Dean was only able to get him to fall by convincing him that God wasn't giving the orders.

As an angel, Castiel lives to execute God's will. When he then learns that the orders he was following weren't God's will at all, he stops following them.

That's... not choosing free will. It what Castiel does monumental, yes, and there is plenty of rebellion in what he does, but Castiel's core motivation hasn't changed. As he loses faith in the Heavenly Host, he supplants it with Anna and Dean Winchester, who with such conviction tell him what's right. Castiel chooses to believe Dean's got the right of it, not Zachariah or Uriel, and God's will is that the Apocalypse is prevented.

What I'm saying is, Castiel believes Dean represents God's will better than Zachariah.

Should God have appeared and told Castiel that, actually, he does want the Apocalypse - then, following what Castiel is, and his motivations for following Dean, the whole point Dean told him - then does Castiel go back to helping with the Apocalypse?

The show never raises the question.

What's an angel?

Worth a post of its own, but according to Supernatural, they're suit-wearing schmucks without a trace of divine mysticism. They're vulgar, sexually active, and mundane, and the extent of their power depends on what the plot needs.

God is their father. Literally, He's their papa and they all have daddy issues. As an extension of this, this ridiculous show decides this makes the angels brothers. In the very literal, family sense of the word. Why, the Heavenly Host is just like the Winchesters!

This would be amazing stuff if Supernatural was a satire. It's actually very Monty Python, I can easily picture a skit where the point is made that as God is everyone's father, He actually owes angels and humans for 13 billion years of alimony. The Lord is in all things? Yeah right, how come he never picked me up at school then. The skit would end with God grumbling as He has to pay everyone alimony.

Alas, Supernatural is not a satire, and I'm meant to feel emotions when Lucifer, Michael, and Gabriel cry about their brother feels.

They're angels written by atheists, and it shows.

There's also my whole issue with an angel becoming human if you take away their grace. So... angels are enhanced humans?

Meg 2.0's characterization and Megstiel

She is like all other demons, loves daddy dearest Lucifer and will do as he asks in the hopes of fulfilling their vision.

Now, I'm not even going to ask what demons are. This is where me coming up with my own canon comes in, but let's not. Rather, I'm not going to ask what Supernatural thinks souls are. What, exactly, happens to the soul when a human becomes a demon? How does it transform? Can it ever be saved?

I'm bothered by this because Castiel and Meg's relationship makes no sense for me. Castiel looks at a demon and what he sees is a human that was destroyed to the point where [insert what happens to the human soul when it becomes a demon here] they're not human anymore. A demon has no place in Heaven, it is his father's creation perverted into something utterly godless. (At least that's how I interpret it? Yes, I'm being pedantic, but the point remains that this show never looked into these things.)

Castiel, then, should look at Meg and see no "thorny beauty". She's a demon, I'm begging this show to explain to me how that's anything but horribly sad to Castiel. Oh, he may grow to care for her, and I'd be all over a tragic ship where an angel comes to love this human it's too late to save, when the only salvation he can give her is to smite her - but that's not what this show gave me at all. Just as Destiel could absolutely have been something I shipped, but Dean and Castiel as they are leave me ice cold.

Back to Meg 2.0, I digressed.

We meet her as a henchwoman to Lucifer, she's having a grand old time. She fully believes in him, during her talk with Castiel she explains that Lucifer will give the demons the world. She loves Lucifer. Why? What, specifically, will Lucifer give her that she doesn't have already?

Then Castiel points out Lucifer is going to kill the demons. He seems to get through to her, but they get no further because he lights her fire.

When they meet again, she's got a crush on him. Is this because of what he said, because he lit her on fire, or some other reason?

What, exactly, makes Meg fond of her Clarence?

My personal headcanon is that demons long for salvation, even though they can never have it. This is why they loved Lucifer, and it's what drives Meg towards Castiel - here's an angel who's imperfect, while still being so unmistakably good, the best of all the angels in fact. She knew deep down what Lucifer was planning, and when Castiel pointed it out she baby duck imprinted on her new purpose.

Or something, don't ask me to figure out this show.

General failure to execute concepts

Too many examples of this one, really, and the post is getting too long.

But yes, anon. As you can see, I sit and I look at these characters and cry because they could all have been so much more interesting.

It's a show I can't rewatch because my only thought would be of all the other, much better shows I could be watching instead.

#sam winchester #dean winchester #castiel #meg masters #supernatural #supernatural meta #castiel/meg

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mackeydoodledoo · 3 years

Text

The Demon Amongst Vampires

Pairing: Bela Dimitrescu x Demon (Fem!)Reader

Summary: Getting caught on the grounds of Castle Dimitrescu is one problem. Being a Demon hybrid is another. Getting caught WHILST being in your demon form is a whole issue. As you’re held captive in the castle, a Dimitrescu daughter has been enchanted by you.

Warnings: Blood, Slight G0R3 (Body dismemberment, but, not over-the-top gore), slightly nsfw

A/N: I didn’t understand the hype for Resident Evil 8 and now I understand why. Here is my contribution to you fellow simps. Also, since R is a demon, I’ve referenced some demon-anime characters. Bonus points if you get those references! R is My Character: Hydrangea Dragonfold! But her name is not mentioned in this story.

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

As you make your kill, you hear a faint buzzing sound. However, you think nothing of it, you've heard far worse. You recall back before you ran away from your home; the screams of your now dead family. You faintly remember somebody infusing their blood with yours. You don't remember who exactly but now you're a Demon. You don't remember how you got there but you just are. You can't exactly go back to being the person you used to be.

"Who's out here?!" A demanding voice calls out

You try your best to hide yourself however, you immediately knock over something with your elbow.

"Well well, what have we here?" She asks you, immediately teleporting herself over to you

She uses the end of her sickle to bash on the side of your head. Everything goes black.

"Mother, look what I found roaming our grounds," a muffled yet familiar voice says

As you gain your consciousness you look up just as some footsteps turn to face you. You were in awe, you didn't think you'd be in the presence of such a tall woman.

"What have we here?" The tall woman asks

Your mind was everywhere, you didn't exactly hear her question. You were still questioning how you got in the castle.

"Answer mothers' question peasant!" A female voice yells, punching your jaw

You cough out blood, your jaw seemingly broken.

“Daniela don’t touch what isn’t yours!” a voice yells

“She wasn’t paying attention!” Another voice screams back

“Now now daughters, let’s all calm down now,” The tall woman says

Once you looked back up at the tall woman, you 'un-broke' your jaw, hearing it crack back into place.

"No one special that's for sure," you groan

"Well, anyone who can snap their jaw back into place without writhing in pain must be," the tall woman says, "So, let's see how special you really are."

Two of the three hooded women begin walking toward you. You however, hold up your hand.

"I'll do it myself," you sigh

You hold up your pinky and its nail begins sharpening and turning black. You hold it against your wrist and slash it with no form of wincing in pain. Blood slowly seeps out from your cut as you hold it up to the tall woman. She takes your wrist and begins sucking on your wrist that you had cut. Not even a second in, she throws your wrist back down and gags in disgust.

"That is VILE!" She screams

You kind of felt bad for offering such bad blood. But you had no other choice really.

"Then let's devour this woman's flesh quickly mother," the woman with strawberry-blonde hair suggests

"But I'm the one who brought her here," the woman with blond hair says, “I should get the first bite!”

"My sincerest apologies," you sigh, letting your cut heal itself, "Being a demon sure has its bad blood taste.. Apparently.."

"And what of this?" The tall woman gestures to your backpack

"Nothing special," you say once more, "Just shoes..... A handful of them.... My feet you see.. Let's just say I wear them out a lot faster. Speaking of shoes.... Can I get some out I don't want to leave... A nasty stain on your lovely floors."

The tall woman snaps her fingers and the blonde woman reaches into your backpack. She pulls out two black sandals. The other two women snicker.

"Nice to have 'em cheap really," you add as you watch the blonde woman put them on your feet

"Take this.. Demon, Bela," the tall woman says, "You're in charge of it."

"I have a name and pronouns you know," you nearly spat, slightly angered

The blond woman flies to you and holds your chin, making you look up at her.

"You sure have some nerve to be talking to mother like that," she smirks at you

"Being a demon sure has its perks," you smirk back, "Well, you're in charge Ms. Lady."

She drags you up from the ground to make you stand up. She grabs you by the arm and begins dragging you out of the tall lady's chamber.

"So.... What's your plan with me?" You ask, monotonus

"I'll make you my plaything," she smiles maliciously, "After I'm finished with you, I will eat your flesh."

You just listen to her ramble on about how she'll kill you, unphased. However she stops when she doesn't hear a reply out of your mouth.

"How are you not afraid?" She asks

"I have nowhere else to be, no other family to go home to," you start, “So, what does a demon like myself have left to lose? Besides, you’d be doing me a favor hot stuff.”

You saw her cheek flush a faint pink color when you realized you called her cute.

"Also, I wouldn't want you eating demon flesh," you sigh, "You've seen how your.... Mother reacted to my blood. Can't really imagine what my flesh will taste like...."

"Then why don't I find out?" She asks, menacingly

You look at her confused however wince in pain when she takes a bite out of your arm. You watch her eat the part of your flesh and blood. However, mid-eating the flesh she tore off you, she stops and opens her eyes.

"You're.... Divine," she moans, finishing her snack

You look at her in slight awe, the moonlight complimenting her pale skin. Her eyes dilated from the apparent divine taste of you.

"One, a little warning next time you decide to snack on me,” You groan, watching the indent on your arm heal, “Two, I can regenerate my skin cells a lot faster than the average. But it'll regenerate slower if you continuously eat from the same spot. I can also snap my bones back into place. Hence me being able to snap my jaw back into place when your sister punched the hell out of me."

The both of you stare at each other before she breaks the eye contact and dragging you to her chambers.

"You okay with a demon in your room?" You ask, "Aren't you afraid of a sleep paralysis demon?"

You asked it as a joke, however, Bela turns to you, confused.

"What's that?" She asks

"You've-you've never heard of a sleep paralysis demon?" You ask

She shakes her head.

"Well," you smirk, "You just might see one."

Bela giggles, "well aren't you a sharp tongued little demon."

"I'm not little," you growl

"Aww the little demon is so cute when she's mad," Bela continues teasing you

Having enough your instincts take over, a ring of bright blue fire takes over your body, two flame like horns protrude from your head, your pupils turning into vein like slits, your canines sharpening to a point, as do your nails and finally, your tail bone becomes an actual tail. Your nail dug into the other woman's wrists as she gazes up at your new appearance.

"My my little demon aren't you all riled up," she says seductively

You say nothing but look at her unamused. However, your grip on her doesn't loosen, trying to intimidate her with your supposedly terrifying secret. However, she moves her leg over you so that she’s straddling you. The grip you had on her subsides and she gives your wrists the same treatment. She leans down close so that one side of her hair drapes over you like a curtain and her lips within touching distance.

"If you think you can come in here unannounced and nearly top me, you're in for a world of hell," she whispers

"Well I was brought here against my will," you joke, "But, I don't think that's a bad thing at all."

You smirk at her. You look at her lips then back up at her eyes. Feeling bold mysteriously, you raise your head up to meet her lips. You pull away the second you snap yourself back to reality.

"Why did you pull away little demon?" She asks

At that point you couldn't be mad at her for calling you by your now pet name. You couldn't find the proper answer.

"I don't know," you half-assed it

She lifts your arm and licks the blood that remains on your wrists, moaning in pleasure from how your blood tasted.

"If you ever cross me like that ever again, I'll make sure you're going to pay for it," she whispers

"Any way you want princess," you smirk

It was a restless night for you, you continuously fought with your demon self from transforming. You managed to persuade the other woman to have you sleep on the floor, out of fear of setting anything on fire. You couldn't stop growling. The tossing and turning wasn't helping either.

"What's wrong micul meu demon?" The other woman asks, groaning

"N-nothing I'm fine," you answer all groggy like, "Did-did I wake y-you?"

"No," she says, "I'll help you. Come into bed demon mic."

"I'm fine," you growl, almost letting your demon come out

You feel a swarm of insects roaming around your body until you felt plopped down onto a bed. The other woman snakes her arms around your midsection and you suddenly felt your demon... Rest. That's never happened before..

"Better?" She asks

"Yeah," you confess, settling yourself in, "Thanks..."

You could feel her breath going right down your neck. You were both nervous and aroused. You turn your body so that you’re facing the other woman.

“Are you aright?” She asks

You nod, letting the feeling of the embrace and you take the opportunity to finally enjoy a nights sleep.

“Good night, micul meu demon,” Bela whispers into your ear

Of all things you’ve experienced in one day, a compassionate vampire lady wasn’t an expectation.

The next several months go by and you're beginning to open up with Bela and everyone else. Everyone has grown fond of you and you teach them about the different kinds of powers you have. You'd often have sparring sessions with Bela in order for her to brush up her skills. Majority of the time its been her catching you. For her “personal reward” she’d take a bite out of your flesh, blood, whatever she wanted to do with you. But today's sparring session, not this time you think to yourself as you navigate through the castle.

"Nowhere to run demon mea," Bela teases as you navigate through the dungeons

"Yeah?" You taunt back, "There'll be nowhere to hide once I get you!"

From the shadows you could hear a swarm of flies form around you. You could feel Bela's presence, she hasn't even touched you and you immediately pin her to the wall, one hand holding her wrists above her head, the other almost clawing her face.

"I got you little princess," you smirk, "I win."

You lean in to kiss her fiercely. She returns the kiss as well. You let go of her wrists and coil your arms around her waist, she digs her fingers into your hair as you begin digging your lips into the crook of her neck. You didn't realize how hard you were sucking her skin until you tasted blood. You hear a moan escape out of her mouth as you suckle on her neck.

"I don't know about me," you say, seductively, "But you are divine."

Your hand unconsciously explores Bela's slim figure. Your hand travels further and further down before you reached a slit in her dress. Before you could even give her the pleasure you've been dying to give her, she lets out a strangled sigh and slaps your hand away.

"Ow! Damn Bela," you growl, slightly upset, "What was that for?"

"You haven't earned that perk yet micul meu demon," she teases, "Maybe tonight my love, during the full moon."

Out of pure arousal, your demon form pops out, your tail wagging. You try to put them away but to no avail.

"Micul meu demon," she whispers into your ear

Blue flames ignite. You force yourself to stop them and control your heartbeat and breathing.

"She's all riled up," Bela continues teasing

"You're lucky I have no willpower to destroy you," you growl

"Maybe you will tonight," she teases again

You watch her disappear into bugs and fly off..

"Bela's really taking a liking to you," Cassandra appears, making you jump, "Oh I made the little demon scared."

"Don't call me little demon Cass," You sigh, "Only Bela can call me that. By the way, shouldn't you be torturing some new plaything right now?"

"I'm waiting for mother to bring in a new one," she says

"Well have fun with that," you sigh, chuckling slightly

Cassandra flies off to who knows where. Daniela is doing god-knows-what. Lady Dimitrescu is in a meeting with the other three houses, leaving you in your thoughts and awaiting Bela to return.

An hour goes by and you haven't seen any trace of Bela.. You become slightly upset.. However, you just decide to go back into Bela's chambers until Lady Dimitrescu calls you for dinner or Bela calls for you. However, as you're ascending the staircase, you could hear Bela's voice. You open a window slightly to see her getting knocked to the ground by a mysterious figure you weren't familiar with.

"Bela!" You call out

You propel yourself from the open window and concentrate your fire power into your legs to reach Bela faster.

"STOP!" You scream

You forward flip and use one foot and attempt to heel the enemy trespasser from injuring Bela further. You missed however, the trespasser launches himself backward as you do the same, guarding Bela. Your demon taking control of you, you growl and snarl.

"Who. Are. You?" Your demon voice and normal voice ask, combined, "What gives you the right to touch what isn't yours?!"

"Oh, my mistake," he only says, "You weren’t around so I didn’t think. And a human plaything claiming that she owns a vampire? Don’t joke with me now kid."

You snarl at the nickname as you were so used to Bela calling you 'My little Demon'. You've warmed up to the nickname and only Bela could call you that.

"I wouldn’t be joking if I didn’t just launch myself from a castle window.” You say

The both of you charge at each other and engage in a fight. You try to yell back toward Bea to get Alcina or even Cassandra. But, each time you were able to turn around, you couldn’t tell her to get out of harms way. Letting your anger get the best of you, you gain the upper hand however, letting one opening in, the enemy elbows you in the stomach and throws you towards Bela's direction.

"Micul meu demon! Are you okay?!" She asks, towering over you, trying to check you out for any severe injuries

You nod, not able to form words from the wind being knocked out of your body. The both of you hear footsteps crunching the snow. Bela becomes her usual terrifying self from when the two of you first met and throws her body over yours, guarding it.

“You keep away from her!" She growls

"And what will you do?" He asks, laughing, "Protect this... Human? HAH! Don't make me laugh! This human isn’t special!"

He kicks Bela in the chin and knocks her away from you. Something in you snapped, what the trespasser did to Bela alone made your blood boil.

"As for you weak 'human plaything' I'll help myself to dinner and-"

Before he could step onto your stomach, you catch his boot with your hand, digging your now black nails and singed arms into its soles. He looks down at you, noticing a bright glow emitting from below him. You were engulfed in blue flames. Your nails and arms singed up to your elbows. The pupils in your eyes had turned into slits and your upper and lower canines sharpened to a point. A tail and two flame like horns appear from your forehead.

"Don't you EVER touch what's mine!" You snarl, your demon voice merging with yours, nearly overlapping your regular voice

You launch him of the ground and elbow his stomach the same way he did to you, only, you elbow a lot hard and into the ground. He coughs out blood as he kicks you out of the way. This unphased you as you no longer feel the pain that had been inflicted on you earlier.

"Damn kid," he coughs, "What's up with you?!"

You only scream at him and charge toward him, footprints being singed onto the ground, melting the snow. Using whatever strength he had left, he slices your arm off, along with a leg, catching you off guard. This gives him the opportunity to launch you back away from him You snap out of your demon frenzy, but still remain in your form to protect Bela.

"決起術 (けっきじゅつ)," you and your demon growl, your newly regenerated hand out toward the enemy vampire. The dismembered leg had also grown back. [Translation: "Blood Demon Art"]

"H-how?! I cut off your limbs.... How are they now grown back?!" He asks demandingly, looking frantically for whatever you were reaching out for

"熱血 (ばっけつ)!!!" You scream, closing your hand, a blue flame exiting from the two ends of your closed fist [Translation: "Exploding Blood!!"]

From across the field, the vampire bursts into a blue flame. Hearing him scream, he begins writhing in pain.

"Who are YOU?!?!" He screams

"An offspring of The Devil," you announce, your human voice comes through, "I protect what's mine!"

"Please just make it stop!!" He yells, "I won't come back and touch her again I promise!!"

"And you never will," You only reply before making the flame ignite further

You watch him burn to a crisp. Watching him become nothing more than ash. You turn to Bela to check on her. When you realized she wasn't moving, you skid across the snowy ground you try to get Bela to wake up.

"Hey hey, come on princess," you say, "Don't you DARE leave me now. Come on speak to me!"

You were practically yelling at that point. You hear other footsteps coming out to your direction and you look up; Alcina comes running out to your direction.

"What on earth happened?!" Alcina asks, "What did you do?!"

"An enemy vampire trespassed through your grounds, Alcina" you explain, "I didn't notice him until I heard Bela crying out for help."

"Where is this trespasser?!" She asks

"I burned him to a crisp," you answer

She looks up at you, in disbelief. However, when you look at her, there was no joke in your voice or expression.

"My daughter wake up," she tries calling out to her daughter

As you watch Alcina try to wake her daughter, it hit you. You know what she needs.

"B-blood, that's it right? You need blood!" You ask Bela, trying to get her to speak

Without thinking, you strip off your leather jacket in an effort to Keep her warm. Not caring about your own body heat, you use your claws to make a scar onto your forearm. You take Bela into your un-bloodied arm as you hold out your bloodied one out above her mouth, squeezing the life out of your arm to have your blood drip. You gently open her mouth just as a blood drop falls into her mouth.

"Come on, come on," you panic

You watch as she begins to writhe and then watching her mouth latch onto your arm, drinking your blood. It was painful, feeling her fangs sink into your flesh, however, for her, you'd endure it. You place your palm under her head to keep her head steady. You couldn't help but smile slight as you continue to watch her suckling on your arm like a little baby. Bela finally gains consciousness and stops feeding on you. Praying she didn't drink too much.

"Micul meu demon" she smiles, her fingers gently dancing across your features

Tears rolled down your eyes as you kiss her unconsciously, regardless if there was now blood on your own mouth.

"How did you-" Alcina asks

"She... Apparently likes the way my blood and flesh tastes," you say, "One of the reasons why your daughter decided to keep me."

You pick Bela up and walk back into the castle with Alcina and her two other daughters waiting for you three in the foyer.

For the first time that night, you could finally sleep peacefully. The both of you were entangled in each others' embrace, wasting the remaining night away. You never expected that you’d be the demon amongst the vampires. It was never a thought to you that of all living creatures, you, a demon of all things, had caught the eyes of a vampire. Maybe being a demon is a blessing...

#resident evil #resident evil village #lady dimitrescu #bela dimitrescu #bela dimitrescu x reader #female reader #cassandra dimitrescu #daniela dimitrescu

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maxwell-grant · 3 years

Note

Might I please ask if you have an opinion of DRACULA? (Either the novel itself or the adaptations); having read both this novel and FRANKENSTEIN, I'm tempted to agree with the reviewer who wrote that one of these is a Classic and the other is actually Fun to read ... (-;

(Art by Cinemamind)

I completely understand the sentiment of "one's a classic and the other's fun to read" and I don't necessarily disagree with it. I don't read Frankenstein for fun, I read it because it's the book closest to me and it's heartbreaking to think about and it's got one of my favorite characters ever in it and it's got a stake in my soul I gotta renew every year. Dracula, however? Dracula is a blast and it boggles the mind as to how every adaptation can be so crushingly lesser in nearly every aspect. My hardcover edition with annotations is one of my most prized possessions.

It's interesting that people tend to talk about Frankenstein and Dracula like Frankenstein was cutting edge sci-fi while Dracula was archaic and folkloric, when it's really the other way around. Frankenstein is the story of an arrogant dipshit rejecting modern science and thinking to unearth outdated knowledge soon blossoming into a vicious cycle of savagery, where as Dracula is the story of an ancient predator adapting and trying to take over current society and fought by a ragtag team of upstanding citizens using modern tactics to stave him off and eventually fight him, desperately struggling to stay ahead of the curve as he wisens to their tactics.

This book was really ahead of it's time in so many ways. I could easily see excerpts of it, particularly the Demeter journals and Renfield's story, taking off as internet creepypastas or found footage horror films. Dracula's a story about a group of characters playing detective as they update their blog entries about the coming of an initially incomprehensible horror taking over their lives. It's a story that could work regardless of Victorian or vampire trappings, and we know this because Blair Witch Project and Marble Hornets are some of the biggest horror successes of the past decades, all of which follow the same general idea, except in Dracula, they don't just discover the true nature of the horror, they also start fighting back and ultimately destroy it.

Dracula's obviously a great villain, that goes without saying. I don't actually tend to take Dracula seriously much of the time because I'm very fond of comedy takes on Dracula and vampires, but that doesn't at all diminish his impact in the original book. He's barely in the novel for much of it which makes his every appearence Count, and the atmosphere as well as the many, many forms he can show up or be suggested at really help solidify what an incredible presence he can be.

He's the strange ruler in a foreign country, he's the kooky old man with weird customs, he's the creepy house owner tormenting a hapless guest, he's a barbarian who lives in nostalgia. He's the wind on your window, a dog on the street, a bat in your windshield, a storm on your ship. He's a predator in every way possible, he's a handsome aristocrat, he's a tragic victim of his own monstrous nature, he's a demon who threatens to consume all mankind, he's the fucker who assaulted your loved one and has to go down hard by machete right now.

Even if we just threw out the 124 years of Dracula's history out, we'd still have enough material in the book not just for a great villain, but dozens of great villains and characters who could take just about any of these traits and run with them. And still, the thing that really, really stuck out to me about Dracula wasn't him, it was the other characters

Art by Kiwi

Dracula's cast is so, so underrated, so unfortunately sidelined as a result of adaptations that only care about The Count and try to give him all the dramatic weight and characterization and sideline all the other characters as merely bit players. Stories that twist Jonathan into a useless fop or an active jerk on the idea that he's the "boring" one, that diminish Renfield's story into just being a hapless and insane goon of Dracula, that make Van Helsing the only character who's even capable of putting up a fight and make him a generic badass, that completely neglect Quincy Morris even though he's great and everyone who discovers him is aghast at discovering "holy shit there's a COWBOY in Dracula?" like yes, there is, and he's incredible and everyone should love him and everyone WOULD love him if only the adaptations remembered he exists.

Adaptations that completely sideline Mina when, and I can't stress this enough, she is the most competent character in the book, one of the greatest pop culture detectives, a wonderful and compassionate and incredibly strong and intelligent character and the main reason why they even managed to win against the Count in the first place, and arguably the closest thing the book even has to a protagonist or hero. I'm not gonna go too into it here but, even putting aside the sheer awfulness of adaptations that try and force a romance between The Count and Mina, seriously fuck off with that, why is it that pretty much every "official" adaptation has had considerably less feminist interpretations of Mina than the source material written in the 1880s? It's a complete travesty (and yes, I'm including LOEG Mina in this, anyone who likes the book and character could have done that concept better)

I enjoy aspects of Dracula adaptations, mostly regarding certain actors's takes on the characters like Bela Lugosi (the only saving grace of that movie, honestly, but rightfully considered the iconic performance), or Peter Cushing as Van Helsing. I very much enjoy the Dracula adaptation Orson Welles did because it at least tried to stay faithful to the book. But regardless of their individual quality, I don't have much to say about Dracula adaptations that try to adapt the book other than "WHY in christ aren't you just sticking to what's in the book? Do you not see how GREAT it is, all the great things about it that are just waiting to be rediscovered and loved by new audiences? STOP WHATEVER IT IS YOU'RE DOING WITH MINA FOR THE LOVE OF GOD-"

So yeah I definitely got thoughts on Dracula. Utterly adore the book but thinking about how much of it's greatness has been lost in the adaptations kinda makes me a little angry. Of course, this doesn't extend to adaptations that tell different stories or just put Dracula into existing stories or reinterpret it. I love Nosferatu and Castlevania Dracula and Hellsing Dracula and Billy & Mandy Dracula and Sesame Street Dracula. Dracula's basically become a sub-category of monster in it's own right and there's no such think as too many monsters, or too many Draculas

I'm very glad that Dracula's public domain because it means not only can he just show up anywhere, but it also means that just about anyone can pen their own Dracula stories. Still, it would be nice if the other great characters of Dracula got brought along for the ride on a couple of those.

#replies tag #literature #monster tag #dracula #bram stoker #mina murray #jonathan harker #van helsing #quincy morris #i may have gotten a bit ticked off there

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nikadd · 3 years

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bela should have come back as a demon

everybody tell me where in the show you think bela should have come back as a demon. because she obviously should have.

(also in my mind, i can def see bela coming back in a hot male vessel, but they still call her bela and use she/her pronouns and she still flirts with dean a lot.)

here are my personal reasons for each season to be Brought Back (she could remain for however long, as long as possible being my personal pref ofc):

4 - too soon in my opinion. bela is a deangirl, and in this season dean is much more of a heaven focus, so the weight of cas vs ruby thing would have been shifted with the addition of bela.

5 - this might be even worse than s4 in terms of who is the focus of what side here, and also they already brought back meg as the evil girl of the season, so they would have clashed too much.

6 - okay so i know that they originally wanted crowley to be the one that pulled sam out of the cage with his soul conveniently forgotten but then switched to have it be cas, which was probably bc they couldnt get j*r&d to have homoerotic tension with mark sheppard (like mark would have had to CARRY the whole thing on his short king back, and i guess the show liked him enough to not burden him with that). but what if they got bela in on it.... hm.....

7 - hm. idk. i don’t see it. we get meg again, that makes sense. there’s just too much non-hell-related things going on here, and the whole leviathans mess...

8 - okay now, here we get crowley’s big moment, and yeah we have and then lose meg, but i think it’s the earliest season she could have been re-introduced for it to have made a little Sense.

9 - the mark of cain arc is just the damned to go to hell dean arc but on steroids. it would have been So easy to have bela back here as someone who’s Been There, Done That...

10 - demon!dean, crowley, demon!bela throuple hot girl summer.... think about it. ESPECIALLY if they had bela in a male vessel here. THINK about it.

11 - we already got amara as the designated evil deangirl of the season + rowena being the girlboss that she is, so idk if bela would have really Fit with all the subplots going on, but season 11 is also very fun and messy as it is, so i think it would have still been fun.

12 - bela Should have been a part of the bmol plot i s2g. she should have been frenemies with ketch and had a threesome with ketch and mary. literally don’t care in what vessel she would have been here, i just wanted her to be there. OH maybe she would have actually possessed ketch?? that’s also a possibility.

13 - listen. anael was basically bela. they could have made sister jo a demon instead. imagine if they had us actually watch bela flirt with dean as danneel ackles flirting with her husband. my brain is going a mile a minute just Thinking about this.

14 - i genuinely don’t remember what was happening in s14 on hell’s side besides the v beginning when sam had his “if you wanna be the king of hell you have to go through me” moment, but i think inserting bela literally Anywhere here would be so fucking fun. like i think having her anywhere here would have just improved the season overall.

15 - in my mind’s eye i see bela being brought back in s15 bc like if we are bringing people back..... like they brought back lilith..... they could have brought back bela. cmon. in THEE dean doesn’t want to die season (yeah ik) they should have brought back THEE dean doesn’t want to die mirror. also imagine the bela and belphegor interaction.

from all this, my ideal re-introduction of bela is during late s9 or early s10 as a special guest/part of dean’s hot girl summer, sporadically in s11 just for fun, but then more seriously in s12 to be a part of the bmol plot, have anael’s plotline, offset the heavily heaven and monsters plot in s14 to have more hell presence, and stay through s15 to be a dean mirror focus.

#this is a bela talbot stan blog FIRST main blog second spn fan blog third #pls lmk your thoughts <3 #it's valeriia talking #bela talbot #spn

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adiarose · 3 years

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Unpopular Opinion #12

I loved Ruby’s return. Over the last couple of months I fell absolutely in love with everything Genevieve Padalecki. Her blog, her instagram, her clothing, and all else. I admire her hugely and I was so happy to see her back in Supernatural. We hadn’t seen her since The French Mistake and then she wasn’t playing Ruby, just a parody of herself.

First let's talk sentimentality. Gen first met Jared on the set of Supernatural. They’ve been married for more than ten years now, have three children together, and live happily in Austin, Texas along with chickens, honey bees, and dogs. It’s perfect to me that she was included in the final season of the show. Even if she didn’t show up till the fourth season, Jared and Gen started their lives together thanks to that show. And it's lovely that not only were both Danneel and Gen included in the final season, but their characters and parts in the final season were heavily intertwined. (And I love that one is an angel and one is a demon. I always adore those dynamics.)

Now let's talk story. Supernatural has been going on for fifteen freaking years so sometimes we forget about some of the reoccurring characters that were in the earlier seasons. You know, back in those days when Sam had very “2000s” hair and there was an episode devoted to the hook man. When you bring up the names Bela, Ellen and Jo, or Gordon, you know them on instinct. But they aren’t the first Supernatural characters you think of. It’s been so long that they’re down on the list. Ruby similarly is one of those characters. You get there eventually, but you’d mention Donna before you think of her, and she was only in maybe eight episodes. Ruby was in a whole season. And she was integral. She led Sam into drinking her blood and releasing Lucifer from the cage. People sometimes forget how important she was to the entire Winchester storyline. So it’s nice that they brought her back in a story standpoint as well as sentimental one. And I like the storyline she followed in season 15. She and Anael hid the occultum so they could have a safe place to hide during the apocalypse if necessary. It was very in character to have a back up plan just in case her plan went awry. I wish we got some background into her pre-demon occult years. But that would have had to be in earlier seasons.

Nevertheless I really enjoyed this little cameo, both from Genevieve and Ruby. And I think it should be talked about some more.

#supernatural #Genevieve padalecki #ruby #demon ruby #ruby spn #spn actors #Lucifer #supernatural season 4 #supernatural season 15 #Anael #sister jo #Danneel Ackles #Jared Padalecki

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suncaptor · 3 years

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We share the same brain! They should have brought back Bela for the demon curing trial. On a side note, while I understand Crowley isn't a good guy, I was a little uncomfortable that they used him for the demon curing trial because curing someone of something they don't want to be cured off is kind of messed up (and I know it's dumb to apply real world morality to Supernatural but the implications of curing someone of something against their will makes me 🙃🙃🙃)

This is a really interesting point, and I'm not sure how I'll feel when I get there on my rewatch. I mean, they also kidnapped him and help him hostage in a literal dungeon and all that so.... obviously the morals get messed up there, but it's also a really good point in general like.... if Crowley was not a demon, something that happened due to the trauma of Hell, would he wish to stay a demon or would he wish to not? I mean like Dean, they did the same, and they knew the answer, but it really.... where does the right to automy end? I really do think in terms of yes we will save so many lives and block Hell off forever there's that sort of analysis to it as well, but even with the closing off Hell.... you are then trapping people in Hell too, demons, who clearly do want to not be in Hell.... but if they get out they often DO (at least in nearly every instance) cause harm.......... I think if you start looking at all of this too uhm allegorically it all gets fucked up.

So I'd like to state for the record I'm for autonomy in nearly every possible instance and rehabilitative rather than punishment so like the whole irreedemable well only redeemable while going against someone's autonomy idea is just levels of messed up. okay I'm very much rambling here so please don't take this as some moral thesis but you bring up interesting points. I don't know if it's something I'd think too heavily about, but I certainly agree from a real life standpoint that say.... prisoners deserve a right to autonomy no matter what they've done in terms of experimentation or medical treatment.

#ask to tag #spn #supernatural #ask #anonymous #idk how to tag this?? but ask me if there's a trigger you have here #Anonymous

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type40thiefoflight · 3 years

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In honor of whatever the heck that sad excuse of a finale was, here’s a list of all the things I wish had/hadn’t happened over the course of the series:

Elaboration the Bloody Mary plot-line. Dean’s eyes bled when she appeared, meaning he felt guilty over someone’s death, but we never got to see whose.

Remember the one and only time they used “Christo” to identify a demon? Why didn’t they keep that up?

Rendering three of the horsemen powerless. Did they get replaced after Dean took their rings or are they still around and just less powerful?

Dean making Castiel erase Lisa’s and Ben’s memories.

Ben is Dean’s son and you can’t convince me otherwise.

Dean finally got the amulet back after Chuck appeared to him and Sam as God. Why didn’t he start wearing it again?

Chuck should have started out as a normal prophet that eventually became God’s vessel. This would explain his total behavioral shift from mousey to arrogant and cocky. I think the possession would have happened after Raphael destroyed him and Castiel. Did Raphael really strike you as the kind of guy to have mercy on a human, even if he was a prophet of the lord? Chuck didn’t miraculously survive the attack. He was wiped out like Castiel was and God reconstructed his body like he did with Castiel in Stull Cemetery, then took Chuck’s place.

People who shouldn’t have been introduced/brought back:

The Campbells. The whole point is that it’s just the brothers and Castiel against the world. Sometimes their friends are there. We already knew from the flashback that Mary’s family behaved similarly to how John got after her death. There didn’t need to be more of that.

Bobby Singer. He died for Sam and Dean and even in death they still dragged him into their problems. Let the man rest already.

Gavin MacLeod: Didn’t need to be there. He showed up as a ghost once and his story-line seemed pointless.

Mary Winchester. Her story-line ended when she, as a ghost, sacrificed herself to fight off a poltergeist terrorizing the Winchesters’ old house.

Lucifer. His characterization post-Hallucifer was completely different and felt like watching a totally different character.

John Winchester: Should have stayed in Hell. He was an abusive father and didn’t deserve the reunion brought on by Dean wishing on the pearl.

People who should have been brought back/shouldn’t have died at all:

Bela Talbot: She wasn’t the nicest but she didn’t deserve that, Dean.

Ash: Just because his name is Ash doesn’t mean he had to become it.

Pamela Barnes: Cool characters with cool powers and actual personalities aren’t allowed to live.

Ellen and Jo Harvelle: Fans were so mean they got killed off to protect them from potential future bad writing and hate.

Balthazar: I really don’t remember why Castiel killed him but I liked him.

Rufus Turner: Did Bobby really have to get possessed by the Khan worm?

Bobby Singer: Couldn’t they have parked that van a little closer so he could have time to close the van door?

Amy Pond: Needing extra fresh food (human organs) for her sick son isn’t a good reason to kill her, Dean. It was a one-time thing.

Emma: Why couldn’t they have taken more time talking her down and gotten her away from the Amazonians? Sam, that is your NIECE!

Charlie Bradbury: Burying your gays isn’t cool, you guys.

Benny Lafite: Dean or Benny could have used dream root to contact Sam or Bobby and tell them the way out.

Kevin Tran: The whole Gadreel thing was dumb anyway but did he really think killing one human would impress Metatron?

Linda Tran: Not dead, just disappeared. What happened to her?

Krissy Chambers: Also not dead, but where did she go?

Tessa the reaper: Since when are reapers angels? There’s a specific way to kill them and it’s not angel blades.

Death: If Gabriel’s smart enough not to let someone get a hold of his real weapon then the horseman of death certainly is.

Gabriel: There’s no way he’s really dead. His second death was exactly like the first one and I believe Lucifer knew that when he saw AU Michael “kill” him. He waited until the coast was clear then got away.

Meg: Lead characters’ romantic interests aren’t allowed to live I guess.

Joshua: He and the Garden of Eden should have played a bigger role, maybe when they had to deal with Eve in season 6.

Crowley: They should have found another way to complete the ritual. Actually, weren’t they by a lake? They could have just stabbed a fish.

Missouri Moseley: Stop bringing back cool characters just to immediately kill them off.

Rowena MacLeod: Terrible mother, wonderful character.

Donatello Redfield: Not dead, just vanished. Where did he go?

Amara: Not really “killed” but absorbed even though that didn’t really give Chuck as much of a power boost as it should have. Adam Milligan: You’ll move Heaven and Hell for Sam but forget about your other brother? I get you’re jealous that he had a real relationship with John, but come on Dean.

Michael: The relationship between him and Adam was cool and I wanted to see it expanded on.

Donna Hanscum and Eileen Leahy: I would have liked confirmation that they were brought back when Jack reversed Chuck’s Thanos snap.

Castiel: I repeat: burying your gays bisexuals isn’t cool. (I say bisexual because remember Meg?)

Dean: His Mystery Spot deaths were sadder than that. For the third time: Burying Your Gays Bisexuals Isn’t Cool.

#spn #supernatural

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swtorpadawan · 3 years

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Awakenings - Chapter 8 : Small Favors

For one thing, she’d been rescued after spending the last three years imprisoned in carbonite by some Hutt crime lord and a group of thus-far unknown conspirators. She’d been blissfully reunited with Corellan Halcyon after three – technically six – years apart. She’d then found that he’d built an entire world – an Alliance, even – where they didn’t have to hide their relationship anymore. Theron Shan and Lana Beniko – Corellan’s senior advisors – had given them a whole two days to get “reacquainted”, sequestered on their old ship. (They’d both desperately needed it.) Afterwards, she’d made an impressive debut with the Eternal Alliance through her rather public sparring session with Corellan, and aside from her run-in with Xalek – and that freak of a Rattataki mercenary who Doc used to date and who’d tried to get under her skin – her introductions had gone well. She’d been ecstatic to reunite with Teeseven and Rusk; even seeing Seetoo Enntoo again had made her more emotional than she’d ever have expected. She’d reached out to Bela Kiwiiks, relieved that her old Master was still alive and thriving on a remote enclave for Jedi younglings. Kiwiiks had even tacitly approved of Kira’s ‘life choices’ with respect to Corellan and the Alliance. Perhaps most surprisingly, Kira had even made a new best friend. Vette had been fantastic these last few days; showing her around, introducing her to people, helping her redecorate her (and Corellan’s) quarters and generally being supportive. She’d been great.

For once, for maybe the first time ever, almost everything in her life was going great.

He, of course, had been amazing.

Corellan had held her gently when she’d been freed from that damned carbonite slab. She’d never admit to being afraid, but she’d honestly been terrified by the thought that that the Emperor was still within him, somewhere. He’d responded by being incredibly patient with her; letting her feel him out through the Force. Then when her mind and heart and soul had recognized that it was really him and only him, they had kissed and embraced and made love and reaffirmed their connection to each other and in that instant, he was anything but patient with her, and in ways that still brought a soft smile to her lips.

Once they were done, he had told her everything that had happened to him in her absence, and she’d done the same. Their meditations on the Defender – in between further sessions of love-making – had brought understanding. The scars on each other’s souls may never completely fade, but they had started to heal over. She could hardly imagine some of the choices Corellan had made along the way. The choice to bring so many former enemies into the fold of his Alliance. The choice to ally with the Sith Empire. The choice to no longer call himself Jedi. The choice to recruit Arcann. It was still too much to take in just yet.

But she understood.

Corellan did feel different to her in some ways. That was to be expected. No one could go through what he had without changing. But he hadn’t changed in the ways that mattered.

Not to her.

Life wasn’t all peaches and cream, of course. It had its bantha dung patties, as well.

She still didn’t know who Kabbura had been working with when he’d imprisoned her, and with the slimy Hutt dead, tracking them down would be a real challenge. Kira didn’t feel consumed by any kind of revenge, but she felt the need to be the one to close that book herself.

That was one.

She didn’t know if she should still call herself a Jedi. The Jedi in the Alliance had accepted her, and that was something. But the goal of making a place for herself within the Order that had once driven her so badly now seemed like something she should consider setting aside if it no longer suited her, considering her relationship with Corellan.

That was two.

She had still lost three years of her life. She may not have aged in that time, but the galaxy had still gone on without her.

That was three.

Kira squeezed her fingers into a fist, then buried her thoughts as she made her way through the saloon. Her old Jedi training was still useful for that sort of thing at least. As she walked, a few people she had already met perked up and greeted her with a friendly word and a nod, and these she returned. She did notice that other people were apparently still fascinated by the novelty of the Alliance Commander – the ‘invincible Outlander’ – having a ‘significant other’, quietly watching her with appraising looks from afar, sometimes exchanging a hushed whisper with a nearby companion.

She was getting used to that. It had annoyed her at first, but it was nothing she couldn’t handle. And it was slowly getting better as people became accustomed to her presence. Her new outfit – this one a black and dark brown full body suit of light armor with plenty of pockets for little ‘surprises’ she could use in combat – suited her as well. She wouldn’t be caught by surprise again like she had by Kabbura on Nar Shaddaa.

Not ever again.

Kira glanced around the cantina, finally catching the hand wave from her quarry for today. He was standing near the bar, looking casual as usual with his snappy red jacket and stylish haircut.

Not that his posture fooled her.

“Hey, there.” She smiled as she approached him.

“Hey, stranger.” Theron Shan returned her smile. “How’s it going?”

“I’m doing pretty good.” Kira answered amicably.

Upon saying the words aloud, she realized that, much to her surprise, she actually was doing pretty good overall. She wouldn’t pretend that she hadn’t experienced hardships the last few years, or that there weren’t things she needed to work on now. But she could recognize those things without being consumed by them.

Ironic that I’m finally reflecting on things like a Jedi now. Kira thought to herself.

“You wanted to meet?” she continued.

Theron nodded, then gestured to catch the eye of the bartender, who was doing a good job pretending not to eavesdrop on them. Vette had introduced him to her earlier; he was a bear of a man with a thick white beard whom everyone seemed to call ‘Captain Rex’. Kira knew he’d been a veteran Republic soldier before joining the Alliance, and after the fighting he’d retired from field duty and started running the cantina. Finally prodded, he gave the duo his full attention.

Kira had taken to him quickly; he seemed an amicable guy who took people as they were and was a good listener. In other words, he was the perfect bartender. She was already on a first name basis with him. Still, even he seemed curious about her meeting with one of the senior advisors.

“Hey, you two.” He gave them a toothy grin. “What can I get you?”

Theron gestured to Kira.

“Go ahead and order. My treat.”

Kira raised an eyebrow at the offer. So it was going to be one of those kinds of talks. She though. But she played along, flashing a dazzling smile to Rex.

“Tatooine Sunset, if you please.”

“No problem, Kira.” Rex exclaimed cheerfully, then turned to Theron. “Agent Shan?”

Theron grimaced just a bit at the formal – and outdated – title. There’s a story there. Kira realized, but kept it to herself.

“That and a bottle of Corellian whiskey.” He added, laying a credit stick down on the bar. “With two glasses. Thanks, Rex.”

“Coming right up.” Rex nodded. He snatched up the credit stick then turned away and began preparing their drinks while Theron turned back to Kira.

“Tatooine Sunset? Really?” he chuckled.

She suppressed a cringe at the memory.

“Really, discovering that drink was the only positive takeaway I had from my time on that rock.”

The Shock Drum – a ground-quake causing superweapon – had almost destroyed the whole planet. Kira and Corellan had been forced to fight a sand demon that stank up their clothes once they’d finally killed it. Master Kiwiiks had been seriously injured and nearly killed. Kira and Corellan had been chased all over the desert by an insane Czerka corporate executive. Finally, they’d had to go head-to-head with an ancient Rakatan intelligence to stop it from breaking free to reign havoc on the galaxy.

Oh, and the sand had gotten everywhere.

“Yeah… I think I read that report.” Theron answered somberly. He let an awkward moment of silence fall between them before Rex returned with their drinks.

“Here we are.” He presented the tray with Kira’s fruity drink, the bottle of whiskey and the two glasses. “Need anything else?”

“Just a quiet corner, Captain. Thanks.”

“Lot of that going around.” The larger man just winked. “The booth in the back corner is open. Go ahead. I’ll keep people clear.”

Theron nodded his thanks and took up the tray in his arms, glancing to Kira. “Shall we?”

Kira rose an eyebrow but followed. The two took their seats at the booth in the corner, sitting opposite of each other. From here, she realized they could look out at the rest of the cantina with relative privacy. Theron took one of the glasses and poured himself a drink while Kira took up her drink.

Theron rose his glass to hers, giving her a slight smile.

“To new beginnings?”

“I’ll drink to that.” Kira smirked, gently clinking her glass against his, then taking a satisfying sip of her drink through her straw.

Ah. Rex knows how to mix these. Kira reflected happily. After savoring the taste, she turned back to Theron expectantly as he set his own drink down.

“So. You wanted to chat?”

“Oh, you know. Just wanted to see how you were adjusting to everything.” Theron gave her a charming, boyish grin, one that had probably beguiled dozens of beings the galaxy over, regardless of their gender or species. “You’ve had a busy week.”

Kira liked Theron. She liked him quite a bit. And she knew Corellan trusted him completely. But growing up on Korriban and then on Nar Shaddaa had taught her when she was being played. Also, he’d bought the whole bottle of whiskey with the two glasses for them both. The Jedi Knight folded her arms, her right eyebrow rising in suspicion.

“Uh-huh. Want to come clean with me, spy guy?”

Theron feigned a hurt expression on his face, then raised his hands in a gesture of mock surrender. He reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out what appeared to be a portable holo-device and setting it down on the table between them. The former Republic Strategic Information Service (or SIS) agent gave a sideways glance out at the occupants of the cantina – a look that Kira almost missed – and only then, apparently satisfied, simultaneously pressed two buttons on the communicator. It let out a low beep but didn’t seem to do anything else.

“Alright, you caught me. It’s a couple of things, I guess.” He chewed it over before beginning.

“The first is about him. I mean, we’ve been doing this for about a year and even now Lana and I… well, we get worried. I don’t think we always read him correctly. We can’t really tell when he’s pushing himself too hard. Or when something is genuinely bothering him. Or a lot of other things that you’d expect we’d have a feel for by now.”

Kira listened passively as Theron laid out his concerns, then looked down at the holo-device with a scrutinizing look.

“I take it that thing is jamming us?”

Theron nodded in confirmation.

“All electronic surveillance of us is blocked. Everyone trying to listen in from more than three meters out will hear nothing but white noise. And anyone who tries to read our lips will get a minor holo-distortion.”

Kira gave him a look of acknowledgement then sat back and studied Theron, chewing things over. She reminded herself again that Corellan trusted Theron – and Lana Beniko, for that matter – completely. She couldn’t relive all that they had experienced together, but she could acutely feel that connection. She couldn’t know everything, but she could understand what they meant to him.

Most people asking her about Corellan would have gotten promptly blown off. Possibly with a snappy barb, possibly with a drink to the face if they caught her on a bad day.

But she decided she should take Theron seriously. That didn’t mean she had to make it too easy on him.

“I get it. You and Lana have been working with him for all this time, but you still don’t ‘get’ him, do you? He’s an enigma you can’t crack and now you’re hoping I’ll clue you in?”

Theron sighed. “I mean… he’s just so damned heroic, you know?” he leaned towards her conspiratorially. “He always does the ‘noble’ thing, even when it seems stupid. And then he just fights his way out of it if it goes badly. The Sith and the former Imps revere him because of his strength. The former ‘Pubs respect him because he doesn’t get them killed pursuing his own petty goals. Hell, he didn’t want any of us to go with him to help rescue you.” His leaned back. “He’s this paragon to everyone else, and we know that’s not the real story.”

Theron scratched behind his head as he sipped his whiskey.

“It’s been a year, Kira. I knew him before, off and on, back when he was just the Hero of Tython. You were there. But now I’ve been working by his side almost constantly for a year and he still throws me off my game. Lana, too.”

He bit his lip, trying to find the words.

“We just want to know how to help him, because outside of the missions, I don’t think we’re doing a great job at that. And I know this is sensitive stuff. I know that. I’d never ask you to betray him. I was just hoping you could clue us in a bit. And Lana figured you’d be more likely to talk to me than to her.”

Kira nodded slowly. She didn’t dislike Lana Beniko, exactly. But she was Sith. She was a ruthless pragmatist who had once allowed Theron to be captured and tortured by the Revanites. She’d been the head of Sith Intelligence, no doubt ordering things that Kira didn’t want to think about. She had wanted to dissect Master Surro’s mind after that disaster with the Emperor on Ziost.

Then during Kira’s absence, she had found and freed Corellan on Zakuul, had helped him form the Alliance here on Odessen and had been by his side when he had toppled the Eternal Empire.

Best not to think about all that right now. Kira decided.

“How does he seem to be doing to you?” she was genuinely interested in Theron’s assessment. “Right now, I mean?”

“Honestly?” Theron chewed that over. “These last few days since you got here, he actually seems to be doing better than he’s been in ages. Dunno if you knew, but since the war ended, a few of us had been worried about him. He wasn’t angry or even distraught, but he seemed listless. It was like watching the most driven person I’ve ever met just go through the motions. But now? He’s completely re-energized. Driven. He smiles naturally; he even laughs.”

He paused in consideration.

“Really, I’ve never seen him this content before. This… happy.”

Kira gave him a soft grin, sipping her drink in quiet contentment.

“Neither have I.”

Theron blinked and sat back in his seat.

“What, really?”

Kira’s expression now widened into her trademark smirk.

“You know, back when it was just the six of us on the Defender, I remember it felt like there was always something in the way of him just letting go of everything.” Kira explained. “He did occasionally relax when I prodded, and he was always attentive and supportive to each of us with whatever each of us had going on. He never seemed to get too down on himself, but I could tell that some part of him was always thinking about the next challenge. If it wasn’t Vitiate, it was the rest of the Sith. If it wasn’t the Sith, it was the Hutts. If it wasn’t the Hutts, it was the Revanites. And if it wasn’t the Revanites, then it was worrying about your mom finding out about us.”

Kira immediately cringed and shot Theron an apologetic look.

“Uhm. No offense.”

Theron just let out a low groan, pinching the bridge of his nose. Kira had remembered a second too late that the subject of Satele Shan, former Grand Master of the Jedi Order, remained a sore issue for the former SIS agent, her son.

“Ugh. None taken.”

She nodded and pressed on. “Towards the end, before the invasion, I mean, it was starting to get to him. But it’s different now. He’s still driven but he’s… balanced, I guess. More important, like I said, he’s actually happy.”

“That’s a relief.” Theron let out a breath. “I’m thankful you’re willing to tell me that.”

“Well, I know how much Corellan thinks of you.” Kira smirked. “Also, I think you kind of get my personality, so I wouldn’t have to worry too much about saying the wrong thing.”

Theron chuckled.

“Yeah, I guess we’re both kind of used to being the snarkiest people in the room, aren’t we?”

“No surprise there.” Kira beamed. “Corellan’s never been great at sarcasm himself, but as long as I’ve known him, he’s been drawn to those kinds of people. Me. You. Doc. Even Scourge could get a witty line in every now and again.”

As she spoke, a stray memory from years before rose to the surface.

“Come to think of it, Orgus Din was his last Master before he was knighted.” She mused somberly, reflecting on the late Jedi Master, slain more than a decade ago. “If there’s ever been a Jedi on the Council more sarcastic than Master Orgus, I’d definitely want to meet them.”

“Wish I’d known him.” Theron seemed all too aware of what Kira was referring to. “Hey. Know who else is like that? Senya. She seems to have grown pretty close to the Commander.”

Kira pursed her lips. “Arcann’s mother.” She said quietly. “Valkorion’s … wife.” She let a small dose of venom slip into her voice.

“She’s stood by us.” Theron turned his head as he picked up her tone. “Notwithstanding the time she went AWOL to try to save Arcann, no one has fought harder for the Alliance than Senya Tirall. You should give her a chance.”

Kira remembered feeling the affection, respect and even reverence Corellan held for the former Knight of Zakuul. So she just nodded. One step at a time. She let out a breath.

“I will. When I’m ready.”

Theron just nodded in understanding, then pressed on, eager to change the subject.

“But yeah. I felt like a complete idiot when Teeseven showed all of us the holo of the two of you together.” He shook his head. “I missed the signs.”

“Heard about that.” Her eyebrows bumped up in amusement. “I love that droid. But wow. That must have been a fun meeting.”

“You have no idea. I mean… I’d seen the two of you together in person a bunch of times, and even together in action. Especially during that fight with Kael on Yavin.” Theron’s eyes widened and he face-palmed with another groan. “And then that Nar Shaddaa operation with Jonas on Nar Shaddaa! Dammit. I should have seen it. Some spy I turned out to be.”

“Yup. I still have the dress from that Nar Shaddaa trip, by the way.” Kira snickered, sipped her drink, then reached out and patted his shoulder. “Wouldn’t mind busting it out again one of these days.”

“Don’t sweat it, Shan.” She quipped. “We never really told anyone. Even Teeseven only knew because he saw us that one time on Dromund Kaas. Maybe a scarce few people figured it out along the way, but whoever they were seemed to have kept it quiet. We didn’t want to compromise anyone else.”

Theron sat back with an impressed look.

“You even kept it from your crew? For, what, four years?”

“Yeah.” Kira felt a twinge of embarrassment. “I mean, looking back, I would guess that Scourge probably figured it out. I mean, he was a Force-sensitive living in our cargo bay on our ship. Even with his emotions muted, he must have felt… something. But he never said anything. Guess I should have appreciated him more than I did.” She cast her eyes down at the table, surprised at her own emotions.

I miss Scourge. How messed up is that?

“Rusk hasn’t said anything, but I figure he suspected at the very least. Doc was only fooled because he was kind of an idiot and he didn’t see either of us clearly. He thought I was uptight because I turned him down hard, and he figured Corellan was repressed because he wouldn’t be his wingman to some club opening on Coruscant.” She shrugged. “We were discreet. We had a whole system to keep people in the dark. But… well, we were young and in love.” She gave Theron a cheeky look. “We probably weren’t being quite as careful as we thought we were.”

“Must have been tough.” Theron chuckled.

“I do actually miss those days sometimes.” She felt wistful at the remembrance. Force. I am getting sentimental in my old age. “For all our conflicting personalities, for all the fighting and the frantic pace, we eventually became a well-oiled machine. We all knew each other’s rolls and what to do.”

Theron sat up, intrigued.

“I take it a lot of that was from the tactics he setup?”

Kira remembered that Corellan had taken what he’d learn of strategy from his experiences with their old crew – with their diverse capabilities and backgrounds – and had implemented then on an entire para-military organization in the Eternal Alliance. If it had been anyone else, she’d have thought that would be impossible.

“Yeah. It was one of the toughest things to figure out when we first teamed up. He doesn’t really have a distinct fighting style. I mean, yeah, he fights using jar’kai techniques with his twin lightsabers, but he throws in moves from all the major forms.”

She leaned back, her brow furrowing.

“He doesn’t have just one thing going for him, see? He looks at his foes, his allies, the terrain, and the situation, and he just adapts to all of that brilliantly. What are his opponents’ strengths and their weakness? What are his actual goals? I used to hear other Jedi Masters on Tython talk about that sort of thing all the time, but he does it on a level none of them could touch. All instinctively.” She bit her lip. “And if they have a Force bond with you, you find yourself adapting right along with him. It doesn’t feel like they’re controlling you or anything; I’d never go for that. it’s more like they’re leading you while in a dance. And sometimes you’re leading them, too.”

“It took me weeks to figure all of this out, but once I did, it made fighting beside him amazing. It was better than…” A smirk came to her lips, impishly. “Well. I won’t say that because he’s actually really good at that, too.”

Theron rolled his eyes, dramatically. “Okay. Okay. Too much information there, Carsen.”

She let out a chuckle at him.

“Anyway, it’s not just about how he fights. He adapts to everything that way. Every situation he finds himself in. Regardless of whether it’s good for him to adapt. Diplomacy. Military strategy. Ship maintenance. Whatever. He adapts. So when you guys put him in charge of this outfit, all while he still had Valkorion bouncing around in his head, I think he made a lot of decisions on who he needed to become. To win against Zakuul, and against Valkorion. That’s why he’s projected this image of the ‘invincible hero’ to everyone. He thought that’s what they all needed.”

Kira looked up wistfully at Theron.

“Because losing wasn’t an option.”

Theron’s expression fell as his mouth opened to speak, but Kira cut him off, quickly reaching out and pressing a finger to his lips.

“I know. It was all for the greater good.” She sighed sadly, withdrawing her finger from him, and looking down at the table.

“It always is.”

Theron sat dumbstruck, looking at her sympathetically.

“Look, I’m… I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” He stammered. “I mean, I thought about the strain we were putting on him and I know Koth did, too. But he just bounced back every time he got knocked down, and then he was just standing there, stoic as a duracrete wall. And we needed him. Force knows, we needed him. He once went missing on Dromund Kaas for less than a day, and Saresh was trying to seize control of the Alliance out from under us. We should have known it wasn’t that simple.”

Kira just shrugged helplessly.

“He’s spent his entire life becoming what other people needed him to become. I just want him to be him.” She bit her lip. Dammit. I don’t normally let this get to me. “And he does want this, Theron. The Alliance, I mean. It means so much to him I can’t even tell you. But even I can’t really tell if he wants it for himself, or for everyone else.”

She let that settle in.

“Something to think about, huh? Force, I wish you’d been here with us all this time. This all could have gone differently. We should have found you.” he shook his head. “No, I should have found you. I found your ship right where you left it. With your history, it should have been obvious you’d headed to Nar Shaddaa.” He reached for his glass, looking disgusted with himself.

She looked up at him.

“Don’t sweat it, Theron. I told him the same thing – that I wish I’d been here for this. He told me he was glad I wasn’t.”

Theron nearly coughed out his whiskey.

“What?” he stammered. “Why?”

“The Emperor, Theron.” Kira cringed at the memory. “If he’d ever known about us, he’d have used me against him.”

The former spy cursed. “Dammit.”

Kira’s lips quirked but her eyes remained downcast.

“A thousand-year old demigod living in his mind couldn’t figure out that we’d been together, Theron. Even though he knew perfectly well who I was. Those are the kinds of walls Corellan Halcyon puts up in his mind. So like I said, don’t sweat it too much for not picking up on it. And don’t beat yourself up too much for not finding me.”

It was hard for her to get the words out. But Theron deserved to hear them.

“I’m sorry anyway.” He insisted. “You deserved more, and so did he.”

Kira shook her head.

“He’s not used to relying on people outside of our crew for any length of time. Or at least he wasn’t before. Like I said, most people just want to press on with their lives. And more than one has let him down.”

“Yeah, well. I don’t want to be one of them.” He said determinably.

She eyed him for a moment, biting her lip. This conversation was bringing back more old memories, some best left forgotten. Theron inevitably caught her look; maybe he was learning to read her.

“What is it?”

She took in a long breath. At this point, she was becoming comfortable sharing things with Theron that she’d never shared with anyone.

He deserved the truth. For better and for worse.

“Ziost bothered him.” Kira offered quietly. “I mean, it bothered him a lot.”

Theron visibly cringed at the mention of the doomed Imperial world, where it had all gone so terribly wrong.

“Well, it shook us all up.” He managed. “I mean, even Lana was…”

Kira scowled at Theron in annoyance. His obtuseness grated.

“I don’t mean the planet getting wiped out, you idiot.” She snipped, keeping her voice low. “That was Vitiate. I don’t even mean the damned invasion. That was Saresh. I mean the part where you called in a super-secret Jedi strike team to deal with the damned Emperor when you had the Hero of Tython on speed-dial.”

The look of shock on his face would have been satisfying if she’d been trying to get to hassle him.

“Oh.” Theron fell back in his seat, sullenly.

Kira felt the pings of guilt at his reaction.

“Sorry.” She shivered and placed her hand on his. “Those were bad memories for me, too. I didn’t mean to hassle you about it. I just get defensive of him.”

“He never said anything.” Theron offered, still shaken.

“He wouldn’t. He wouldn’t want to acknowledge that it got to him. He doesn’t want to acknowledge that anything gets to him. And to be fair, not much does. But like I said - he’s been let down by a few allies over the years – Saresh, just to name one – and I think he really didn’t want to add you to that list of people.” She squeezed his hand. “He really does think highly of you, Theron. A lot. Like, we’ve teamed up with a lot of people, and he calls all of them his friend. And for most of them? We take care of their problem, then say our goodbyes, and that’s it. They go on with their lives, and we go on to the next disaster. Maybe they send us a nice thank you note. Beyond that, we probably never hear from them again.”

“Unless, of course, they needed our help again.”

Kira paused, pulling her hand back and sipping her drink before continuing.

“So believe me, Theron. He didn’t look at you like that. He still doesn’t. He thinks the galaxy of you. He’s already told me plenty of stories. You know what he saw when he met you? He saw someone willing to break the rules if it meant doing the right thing. He’s never forgotten that. But you have to understand that some part of him worried that if most people saw beneath the robes – beneath the armor and the ‘hero’ mask – they’d all just take what they needed from him and then walk away.” She paused. “I think he’s figuring out he was wrong about that. Certainly with you, anyway.”

“Thanks.” Theron had finally collected himself by now, giving her a thankful look. Kira just chuckled.

“What I’m saying is, he truly values your friendship. A lot. Even if hasn’t been any good at showing it. So if you ever get an idea in your head that you’ll – I dunno – pretend to betray the Alliance as part of some convoluted plan so you can go undercover and infiltrate some conspiracy… well, please don’t do that. Because then I really would have to beat you up.”

Theron scoffed.

“Oh, come on! I’d never do something that ridiculous!” he blustered indignantly.

“Well, I’d certainly hope not!” she laughed at his reaction. “You’re a good friend to him, Theron.” She bit her lip in consideration, then hastily added. “You and Lana. You just didn’t understand how his mind worked. Hardly anyone does. He still surprises me, and I’ve got a Force bond with him.”

“Yeah.” Theron nodded in understanding. “You know, he spent ten minutes apologizing to us after your debriefing ended. For not trusting us with his relationship with you or that he’d been hurting inside. Then he spent the rest of the day authorizing more Alliance operations than he had in the previous six weeks combined. He’s been on a tear like that ever since. It is stretching our resources a little, but damn if it isn’t good to have him like this. The troops like it, too.”

Kira thought she knew exactly why Corellan Halcyon had suddenly started flexing his operational muscles and what it meant. As her cheeks started burning in a blush, she took another gulp of her drink, eternally grateful to the Force that Theron was apparently too caught in his speech to notice.

“But I’d never want to disappoint him again. Or you, for that matter. That’s why I hope you know you can trust me.” He leaned in, dropping his voice to a whisper. “Both with what you tell me here, and not to tell anyone about your past.”

Kira blinked once hard; her blush forgotten as her blood froze. The Jedi Knight set her glass down as she regarded the Alliance advisor, coolly. To the best of her knowledge, no one outside of the Jedi Council and her old crew knew about her history as a Child of the Emperor, or as a Sith. No one besides the remaining Children, anyway, and they’d been wiped out years ago.

Her eyes narrowed on those of the former Republic agent.

“You pull that little nugget out of my file, spy-guy?” she kept her voice level.

Theron shook his head vigorously.

“It wasn’t in your SIS file.” He said definitively. “I only put it together because of two completely unrelated assignments I worked on. Trant had me close the file on Godera’s errant weapons projects back when I was regulated to desk duty after my ‘trip’ to Hutta. That’s how I found out about Valis on that abandoned mining station. Years later, when we were prepping for the Korriban op, I noticed how Corellan deferred to you a few times when it came to getting around the Sith Academy. Eventually, I put all the pieces together. Never reported it to anyone, though. Not even Lana. I swear.”

He gave her a playful smile. “Your file was thick enough without the extra baggage.”

“Thanks. That’s a relief.” She let out a breath but then caught herself. “Wait, just how big is my SIS file?”

“Oh, it’s not that big. It only got priority at the time because of that resistance group you were running with after Zakuul invaded. Trent and his bosses were paranoid you’d all break the treaty and trigger a new war… which I know must sound rich coming from me considering that’s exactly what I helped do, later.”

Kira suppressed a despondent look at the mention of the resistance group she’d been running with after the defeat on Tython. It was one more wound she had to work through in her own time. Theron, meanwhile, pressed on, apparently oblivious.

“I’m kinda embarrassed that I was able to figure things out about your past but not your relationship. I guess it’s because he looked like a model Jedi otherwise. It was only later I started to see him differently. But genuinely, your file mostly covers jobs you, Corellan and your crew did for us – for the service, I mean, sorry, force of habit there – dating back to Reid Gandon on Coruscant. Nothing from before that, really. Just that you grew up on Nar Shaddaa before Master Kiwiiks recruited you into the Order.”

Kira scrunched up her face in contemplation, trying to remember.

“Reid Gandon. That was that thing with the Justicars, right?”

“That’s the one. Reid’s a good man. We go way back. You know the Justicars’ whole organization collapsed a few weeks after the two of you paid them a visit? I mean, they had other problems. Their supply of weapons from the Empire was cutoff, for one. Also, Illaynah – Major Antilles, I mean – led a Havoc Squad op down there around that same time. That’s two. Regardless, they never recovered.”

“Huh.” Kira shrugged, relieved to be talking about something that hadn’t left a wound. “Well. They were jerks.”

“Yeah, they were. But you and Corellan got that sort of thing a lot, huh? People just coming up to you and asking for help?” Theron mumbled in disbelief. “Has he ever met anyone who wasn’t trying to get something out of him?”

Kira’s memory again stirred at that, like a nexu cat discovering a mouse running past its nose.

“Well, Theron.” she gave him a sharp look, her eyebrows furrowing as her lips tweaked upward. “There was this one time, we were docked at Carrick Station, I actually just told him to go out and make a friend outside of our crew. Outside of the Jedi Order and the Republic military. Just someone who… he could just talk to and who he might share some common interests with. Just, you know, a friend.” She shrugged. “Whatever that means, anyway.”

Theron chuckled at the absurdity of Corellan Halcyon heading into Carrick Station in pursuit of a ‘normal’ friendship.

“Really? How’d that work out?”

Kira eyed him knowingly as she sipped her drink.

“You tell me.”

Several seconds passed before Theron’s eyes widened in realization.

“Oh, blast it. That’s when I met him at the cantina, wasn’t it? And practically the first thing I did was ask him to take on an off-the-books mission that the SIS wanted nothing to do with. And then a year later I was calling you guys in again for the Korriban op.” He turned away guiltily. “Kriff. I’ve used him just like everyone else did.”

Kira reached out and squeezed his hand again.

“Oh, don’t be so hard on yourself. He saves almost everyone he meets, never mind saving the whole galaxy from Vitiate’s ritual.”

Theron turned back to his drink, grumbling as he shook his head.

“Who does he think appointed him the galaxy’s defender, anyway?”

“Who knows?” Kira’s eyes looked towards the ceiling, having considered the same question more than a few times in her life. She withdrew her hand. “The Force. Your mother when she knighted him and named him the ‘Hero of Tython’. Scourge when he told him he was destined to kill the Emperor. Lana when she freed him from carbonite and told him he was the galaxy’s last hope to stop the Eternal Empire.”

Me. She thought to herself with a hint of bitterness. When I told him that I had been a Child of the Emperor and that the Sith would never stop hunting me. Corellan just stood there on our ship, having been a Jedi Knight for all of a month, and told me that he would protect me with his life. Those comforting words had filled Kira with a warmth that grew into a fire. And eventually, an eternal flame.

Was I using him all that time, too?

Kira hastily buried away that unwanted thought, mentally recognizing it as a lingering insecurity and refocusing on Theron.

I am not the lost child anymore.

“The point is, he’s spent his almost his entire adult life with people pleading with him for help, telling him that he was the only one who could save them. Look. He’s saved my life about… five times now, and that’s not counting stuff that happened in the ‘natural’ flow of combat. Believe me, that was a blow to my ego. I don’t like feeling like a damsel in distress. We’re supposed to be partners, dammit.”

She frowned, then looked back up at Theron.

“But if I can get over all that, then so can you.”

Theron looked away sullenly, digesting the bantha-sized heap she’d dumped on him. He finally offered a weak chuckle.

“Want to hear a funny story?”

“Sure.” Kira shrugged. She noted with some trepidation that he still wasn’t look at her.

“These last few weeks – ever since the war ended, really – he’d been… distracted. Like I told you before. He’s felt listless. I’ve caught him a few times looking up into the sky like there was something in the galaxy calling out to him.” He turned away from Kira, eyeing the wall. “I kept remembering the old stories about Revan that Master Zho taught me growing up. After Revan destroyed the Star Forge and saved the galaxy, I mean. He could have settled down with Bastila, they could have raised some kids together and he could have happily lived out the rest of his life. Instead, he couldn’t resist the call of whatever was calling out to him.”

He stared blankly at the table.

“Turned out, of course, that it was the Emperor that the Force was trying to warn Revan about. This was centuries before the Republic even knew the Sith Empire still existed. And following that call cost Revan everything he had, including his sanity.”

Theron’s eyes finally refocused on Kira with a hurt expression, like he was reliving something unpleasant.

“I was worried that the Commander was going to leave us. Like Revan left Bastila. That he’d grab his astromech droid and jump in his ship one day, fly off, and we’d never see him again.”

Theron reached for his drink only to find the glass empty. Before he could react, Kira took up the bottle and refilled it for him. Theron just nodded his thanks.

“I guess we all got lucky, huh?” he hoisted the glass in her direction in a melancholic toast, still with a gloomy look. “Revan was looking to chase down the next threat to the entire galaxy. Corellan was looking for you.”

Kira stared back at him expressively, letting the awkward silence sit.

“Sorry. It doesn’t sound as funny when I say it out loud.”

“Maybe not.” Kira assented. “Alright. While we’re telling jokes that aren’t funny, I have one for you.”

Theron shrugged. “Hit me.”

“I had this thought this one time. That if you had wound up growing up to be the Jedi hero and Corellan had wound up the emotionally repressed spy, you’d both probably both have lived happier lives.”

For the third time that day, Theron let out a pained groan.

“Maybe.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Ouch.”

“You know I’m just teasing you, right?” she smiled up at him. “I wouldn’t talk about this to anyone else?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I get that. You’re alright, Kira.” He gave her a smile, shrugging off his fugue. “On that note if I could ask for one more favor. Regarding the Alliance…”

Kira made a face. She’d seen this one coming.

“Uh-oh. This is that second thing you wanted to talk about, right? Is this about that thing with Xalek? Or the one with Kaliyo?”

Theron looked apologetic.

“Well, I know that both were way out of line. But the whole thing did worry us just a little.”

Kira knew by now that by ‘us’ he meant himself and Lana Beniko.

“I’d never take it further than that.” She exhaled. “Look. I’ve been to more than my share of Republic army bases, Theron. I get the whole concept of a ‘General’s spouse’, and all the problems that entails. There’s no way I’m gonna go ‘lord’ anything over anyone, and there’s not a chance I’m not gonna pull my weight around here.”

Theron nodded and sat back in relief.

“Thanks. I didn’t want to give you a hard time about it. The dynamic and identity of this whole operation – what makes the Eternal Alliance what it is – well, it’s still forming. It’s constantly evolving. Morale is high, and I think it’s a good thing overall that people realize the Commander is a person and not some ‘mythic hero’, but it does open up the possibility of people trying to influence him through… backdoor means.” He focused on her intently.

“We kinda need your help making sure things like that don’t happen.”

“I can do that.” Kira nodded in agreement, then gave him a hopeful look. “And you know what? Just as a gesture… I have, in fact, been approached by three different people this past week, asking me if I could ‘have a word’ with the Commander on their behalf. For more resources, or to approve some project or just for some other favor. I very politely told them all to go through you and Lana.”

“Really? Wow.” His eyes widened in surprise. “I mean, I appreciate that. I know Lana will, too.”

Kira studied the former SIS agent closely. She’d almost missed it.

“You already knew, didn’t you?” she smirked. She’d heard that Theron kept an eye on things around the Alliance base, and she believed it.

“Actually no!” Theron’s face turned jovial at the half-hearted protest, chuckling. He had cheered up considerably, and he seemed to be getting used to Kira being able to read him. “I only knew about Oggurobb requesting more funding for his new xenobiology lab and Gault’s little currency exchange scheme. What was the third?”

“The Mandalorians.” Kira grinned. “Khomo Fett talked to me. They were hoping for a larger allotment of recovered Zakuulan equipment.”

“Really?” Theron made a face. “Sheesh. We already gave them ten crates of personal weaponry!”

“They’re Mandos, Theron. They always want more guns.”

Theron rolled his eyes.

“Well, regardless, thanks for telling me. You can always bring these things to me, Kira. I won’t let it get back to anyone.”

“Appreciate that.” She rewarded him with a smirk. There was no sense in developing a reputation as a snitch. “I’m glad we worked this out. And to answer your original question, I’m not gonna tell you he’s doing perfect, Theron. The Emperor… Vitiate… Valkorion… Tenebrae… whatever the hell his name is this week… did a number on him. But yeah, he’s okay. He’s recovering. Honestly.”

Theron’s face suddenly turned in an amused expression as he covered his lips with his fingers. Kira made a face as she reached out and swatted him in the arm, playfully.

“And no. It is NOT just because he’s not sleeping alone anymore.”

That got another chuckle from Theron.

“Sorry. Sorry. It’s just kinda nice to see the both of you happy. You both deserve it.” He let out a breath. “I’m sorry we take up so much of his time. I know that can put a strain on things. It must be tough, even now.”

Kira appreciated Theron’s sentiment. She truly did. But the temptation to have some fun with him was too good to resist, so she smirked across the table at him.

“Theron Shan. Everything else I’ve been going through aside do I look like a woman who’s unsatisfied?”

Theron visibly rolled his eyes at the innuendo. “Alright, alright. Fair enough.”

“All that legendary stamina he has isn’t just for fighting, you know.” She pressed.

“Oh stop it.” Now he was starting to get flustered.

“I can deal with the rest of it knowing that the greatest warrior in the galaxy does this thing with his tongue…” she was getting vicious, now.

“Kira!” Theron barely kept his voice down, looking aghast. She noted with amusement that he had turned red with embarrassment. “I surrender. You’ve made your point.”

“Good, because I was going to start discussing the finesse of his swordplay, next.”

Theron groaned, head falling forward in his arms.

“Force. I need another drink.”

Kira managed to stifle her laugh, just watching him smugly.

“Anyway, Theron, I do appreciate your concern about Corellan. And Lana’s. And everyone else’s, for that matter. But making sure he’s doing okay isn’t your job.”

Her smirk widened as his head rose to look back up at her.

“That’s my job, Theron.”

He sat back, with an impressed look at her resolve. “Fair enough, Kira. I accept all of that, and I trust you. But can you do me the favor of telling us if he ever does need help? If there’s ever anything he needs from us that he’s too stubborn to ask us? Because I dealt with not knowing what he needed for almost two months and I don’t want to do that again.”

Kira looked across the table at Theron and felt trust and affection for how far he’d gone. For the galaxy, the Alliance, and for Corellan.

“I promise.” She vowed quietly, now with complete sincerity.

“Thanks.” Theron smiled like weight of the galaxy had been taken off his shoulders. “Still though. Joking aside, this must be rough. Sharing him with everyone else, I mean.”

Kira didn’t respond right away. She simply withdrew into herself for a long moment as, not for the first time that day, she studied Theron’s features in deep consideration.

Should I really trust him with this?

She gave a quick glance around the cantina. If anyone had been paying attention to them at the start of their talk, that had long since passed. People were going about their business. Finally satisfied that they had a reasonable amount of privacy here, she reached down to her waist and unclipped her lightsaber from her belt.

Theron blinked in surprise as she set the double-bladed weapon down on the table lengthwise, but to his credit, he demonstrated no other concern at being this close to such a lethal device. That done, she took up the hilt again in both hands, ignoring the activation stud. Instead, she carefully twisted both ends of the weapon, triggering a mechanism that allowed a small panel in the middle of the staff to slide out of place.

The hidden chamber revealed within Kira’s hilt was tiny, only a few millimeters wide, and not even as long. But it was large enough for what it contained within.

Kira held out the staff hilt towards Theron, just far enough for him to peer into the chamber.

The former SIS agent’s jaw dropped.

Kira’s lips turned up just a bit in another satisfied smile. She gave him a second, then withdrew the hilt, twisted both ends back into place. The weapon was once again much like any other deactivated double-bladed lightsaber. It clipped neatly to her belt, as she sat back to regard him.

Theron visibly swallowed as he recovered from the surprise. Rather shaken, he sipped his drink.

“How long?” he finally asked, struggling to look Kira in the eyes.

“Since before we met you.” She turned away from him now, looking just over his shoulder. Her expression grew wistful, as she remembered that one skiing adventure on Alderaan.

“And he still…?” he left the question unfinished.

“When I woke up, he said I could take it out and hold him to it whenever I wanted.” Kira answered it anyway. “That it was my choice. But he told me that he hoped that I would wait until I had given this place a chance. When I was totally comfortable here, with this place and these people.”

She closed her eyes and bit her lip.

“I’ve been sharing Corellan Halcyon with the rest of the galaxy for years, Theron Shan. I can share him with you guys for a little longer if it gets all of us all to a better place. A better galaxy.” She sipped the last of her Tatooine Sunset, her deep blue eyes looking up at Theron. “I know that when I… cash this thing in, it won’t be the end of it. And that’s okay! Yeah, part of me wouldn’t mind spending the rest of my life lying on the beach on Rishi, working on my tan while he rubs me down with lotion. Or soaking in a hot spring with him. Or even just laying curled up in bed with him. But I’m an adrenaline junkie. I know I’d get bored of that eventually. I know there will be more missions, and fighting, and lunatics trying to burn down the galaxy. I’d just like to be able to kidnap him for a vacation now and again without worrying that it’ll plunge the galaxy into war.”

“But for now, it’s enough for me to have it, and to know what it means.”

She set the empty glass down.

“So yeah. I can play ball with you. I can objectively tell you when he needs time off. And I can promise to do all I can to help you and Lana keep the Alliance going, and not keep him in bed late into the mornings. But I do need something in return from you. And from Lana, I guess. Someday, I’ll ask the two of you to do something for me.”

Theron tried to keep his face nonplussed at the offer and did a pretty good job of it. No surprise, given that he’d been a professional spy. Playing it cool, he took the second empty glass Rex had given him and filled it, lightly pushing it in Kira’s direction before topping off his own glass.

“Sure. What is it you want?” he asked. Theron’s words were nonchalant, but he couldn’t entirely keep the wariness from his voice.

Kira felt her lips turn upward in a sincere smile. Her eyes drifted over Theron’s shoulder again, as she watched an assortment of Alliance members lingering around the cantina’s dance floor. Nothing particularly remarkable seemed to be going on. Most of them were just talking and laughing. A pair of couples were slowly dancing to that Force-awful Huttese music playing on the jukebox. They were just idly socializing.

They were just living.

She sipped the Corellian whiskey. It was a bit dry for her tastes, but even with her slight buzz going, it took the edge off. And even after her Sunset, she needed that right now.

“Someday I’ll ask for the two of you to tell him that he can finally stop fighting.” Kira’s voice dropped to a murmur. “He’s always been a hero. For as long as I’ve known him, and since long before your mother called him one. But he’s always had to be a hero because no one else could do it. Someday I need for the two of you to tell him that it’s okay. That he’s done enough for the galaxy. That its someone else’s turn to be the hero and get shot at. That he can just… walk off into the sunset.” With me on his arm. She didn’t bother to add. “That he can finally try to find some peace in this lifetime.”

“That he can finally just live.”

Her eyes refocused on Theron’s. He was looking back at her with a sympathetic look in his eyes.

“Don’t you think he deserves that much, Theron?” she pressed quietly, seeking affirmation.

Theron’s eyes turned away from her, regarding his glass. He finally downed the remainder of his drink.

“It… might be awhile before we can do that, Kira. A long while.”

“I know.” She had no illusions regarding the state of the galaxy, or of people’s natures. There’d always be someone causing trouble who needed to be dealt with, just as there’d always be someone out there who needed help.

But maybe – maybe – someone else could be the one to answer the bell when it rang.

“Okay.” Theron nodded. “I promise you: I’ll do everything in my power to find a way to make that future happen.” He looked back at her a bit puzzled. “I do wonder about one thing: What will he become if he’s not the hero?”

Kira bit her lip, then finished off her own drink.

“I dunno. I just know I’ll be there for him when it happens.” She looked down at the last drop of whiskey in her glass, then back up at him.

“Thanks for the drinks.” she offered.

“Well, thank you for the favors.” He smiled, raising his glass to her in a toast.

She grinned, picking up her own glass and clinking it to his for the second time that day.

“What’s a few small favors between friends?”

_________________________________________________

Author’s Notes: For the record, having your girlfriend come back into your life does not magically heal someone of trauma. But sometimes, it does help, especially when you’re the type of person who has a difficult time sharing their issues with others.

For those who’ve missed it, I am diverging dramatically from the storyline post-KOTET. Kira running with a resistance movement during the five-year gap was alluded to in the Master Ranos conversations but was then ignored or abandoned. The ‘Traitor’ arc basically doesn’t happen here with corresponding changes to other events.