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#and the other colonies were more fun/interesting
cipheramnesia · 2 days
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I know you talk about movies and TV shows on here a lot, so I'm not sure if you've already a secret this, but do you have any recommendations for things on canabalism? Or werewolves
The cannibalism genre is huge, and you could probably write a book on it. Obviously my favorites are The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 (the originals, none of the remakes, reboots, whatever). They're two sides of the same strange coin with underlying themes of classism and the deep rot at the core of US nationalism. Along with Night of the Living Dead around six years prior, the original TCM was one of those movies that marked a paradigm shift in horror film.
But meanwhile, there was a huge lurid explosion of cannibalsploitation movies. I don't know most of them very well. Like, I've seen Motel Hell and Blood Diner, The Hills Have Eyes movies, but they didn't do a lot for me. Once you start getting to the end of the 80s, directors seemed to start getting an inkling of the satirical or symbolic value of the cannibal, and that's where some really interesting work happens, for example Parents (1989), the absolutely iconic People Under the Stairs (1991), and a left field one from me personally - Auntie Lee's Meat Pies (1992) - which feels almost accidentally anti-capitalist / anti-authoritarian.
One thing about this period is that for the most part there was an associate of cannibalism with being rural and poor (People Under The Stairs and Parents are notable and very interesting exceptions). A degree of the horror lies in humans eating humans, but in a modern lens these old exploitation films tap into other feelings, finding an undercurrent of anger which comes from the way it's so often poor and rural people literally consuming wealthy or privileged people. The cannibals of these movies were often dirty, or old, or fat, or horny. They were loud and obnoxious and tacky - and their victims were so clean and thin and pretty and wealthy. There's no doubt a lot of the exploitation movies in that whole late sixties to early nineties period weren't exactly made with pure intentions, but many of them hit that "eat the rich" sweet spot in a way more recent movies don't.
But anyway, also starting in the 1990s was the shift towards the idea of cannibalism as something transformative - human flesh went from a staple of the poor and disenfranchised, and started to be a luxury item, or something which marked those who consumed it as special or even elite, sort of kicked off by Silence of the Lambs. However, if you want a more interesting example, Ravenous is a fun watch, and has a lot to unpack going on - both for the good and for the bad. It's one of those movies where you'll find a degree of the mythologizing also start to appropriate first nations culture and in particular a figure which isn't meant to be spoken about just in general. Prior to this, there was already a habitual use of "native people" as "savage cannibals" in the exploitative way, but this was where it swung over to the other side of the horseshoe, to stereotype any sort of pre-colonial people's have having a unique and ritualized consumption of human flesh that separated them from white, western colonizers.
Anyway, that takes us up to recent stuff, which is probably too close to see a clear pattern. People are still making the same movies as before, but some of the more interesting modern approaches where cannibalism is in the context of things like coming of age, or finding a place in the world are Raw and Bones And All. These two takes merge some of the original models of cannibalism being a trait of the underprivileged, but having elements signifying it as a unique experience which allows it to serve as a stand-in for the feeling of transition to adulthood, or being someone who is socially othered in some way. A few others which I think have some interesting takes, but maybe not enough to get into detail, are Flesh, We Are What We Are, Feed Me, and Bloody Hell. Most recently, and probably the best new cannibal movie in ages, is Lowlife, which you can find on Tubi.
Anyway, uh, quick off the cuff werewolf take is that there's not really a perfect werewolf movie which in no particular order should have a bipedal werewolf with a wolf head (not human-like) and is queer. Some movies which are a mixed bag are An American Werewolf In London (great writing, terrible wolf design), The Howling series (cool werewolf design, terrible writing), Ginger Snaps 1+2 (should be queer, isn't), Wolf Cop 1+2 (okay writing, okay design, missing the queer), and Late Phases (good writing, so-so design).
Here are the three that you should watch: Dog Soldiers has peak werewolf design, a really interesting concept, and solid writing. Probably your best bang for the buck in terms of cool werewolf fighting time. Bloodthirsty is peak queer werewolf movie writing, with very little actual wolf. It's beautiful and meditative and I love it. And of course the all time greatest werewolf movie ever: Company of Wolves. More of a dreamscape painting than movie, what it lacks in wolf design it makes up in beauty and depth of psychosexual exploration.
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cursedvibes · 2 years
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My Culling Game 1st Phase Ranking
(This is based on my personal taste and very subjective. I have enjoyed all the colonies, so just because one is last place, doesn't mean I hate it. I split up Yuuji and Megumi's parts because they are tonally so different.)
Tokyo 1 (Yuuji edition): A big part of why it's in first place is because Yuuji is my 2nd favourite character but that's not all. The dynamic with Higuruma is just perfect. They are such a good match in theme & personality, we don't really find that in the other colonies (Hakari & Kashimo to an extend but it doesn't run as deep). Yuuji confronting his guilt and getting to open up about it at least a little bit, was very touching to read and Higuruma's development over the fight and how he is changed by Yuuji is so well portrayed as well. Plus, we got a glimpse at Yuuji's childhood which is always interesting.
Sakurajima: Reading it in one bunch makes it flow much better. I don't think that the appearance of Daido & Miyo breaks the flow of the story. The colony's greatest feat is making me deeply care about Noritoshi when before he was barely on my radar outside Kamo lore. Maki and him parallel each other nicely and the little talk about their mothers at the end was the icing on the cake. Maki's ascention and mastering of her new body was beautiful to see. My only problem is Naoya. I understand why he's capable of coming back and how he's supposed to symbolize the full destruction of the Zenin Clan, but his impact was just lacking. Maki didn't seem particularly bothered by him outside of general annoyance. An amalgamation of Zenin Clan spirits could've served the same purpose and potentially been more interesting.
Tokyo 2: I didn't care much for Charles but Hakari makes up for it. Kashimo is bringing some sweet gore, which is always appreciated. It still bugs me that Panda's sister died so easily. I guess Akutami changed whatever they had initially planned for Panda. That death scene in Panda's internal world was still touching. The fight between Hakari & Kashimo is super entertaining and feels much less dragged than when reading it weekly. Actually, I was basically flying through the pages. Love the dynamic of the two and a great introduction to both of them. The Edo flashback got me excited for what they have in store for the Heian era.
Sendai: This one made me love Takako but it also made my opinion on Yuuta go from indifferent to annoyed. He needs a mini-Megumi on his shoulder to remind him of what's important. The colony introduced a lot of interesting new themes and gave us some Heian lore to look forward to, that's why I still liked a lot. However, as much as I love Takako and the cockroaches, Hakari vs Kashimo was more entertaining and versatile than Yuuta & Ryuu's energy blasts.
Tokyo 1 (Megumi edition): Even if it ended up in last place, I still enjoyed this part a lot. I love Reggie, and Takaba & Hazenoki (especially his technique) are fun. Megumi got to improve his domain and kill for the first time. The information Reggie provided was essential and I hope it means the others won't be as trusting of Tengen in the future either. All the lore we got was probably my favourite part of this. Still, there wasn't that much character development on Megumi's part or introspection as in the other colonies, so that's why it ended up here. I just liked the others more.
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lavenderjewels · 3 months
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i miss kenjaku as a villain
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comradekatara · 2 months
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Ik you went into the whole stupid "nonbenders are oppressed" thing in lok in one of the asks I sent you, but it keeps on making me think about how much I wish i got to see mako and bolin's mixed earth kingdom fire nation heritage play a role in the story. Maybe if lok had the themes of atla it could go into how the two are treated differently for Mako looking more fire nation and bolin looking more earth kingdom. I think it'd be interesting if Korra keeps on hearing Amon's followers yell on the streets about how benders oppress everyone but then notice how Bolin gets treated significantly better when he pretends to be a non-bender fire national/lean into his fire nation heritage by ignoring his bending compared to when he is openly an earthbender which directly ties him to his earth kingdom heritage.
right!!! i am literally always saying this. like it’s sooo weird how lok does not understand what it means to be mixed in any meaningful capacity. neither with the kataangs nor with mako and bolin, they’re each just largely tied to the element they bend with no consideration given to the other half of their heritage. bumi doesn’t consider himself an air nomad until he magically gains airbending, despite his father literally being the only air nomad currently in existence. instead of trying to preserve his familial heritage, he completely undermines all of aang and katara’s cultural values and joins the fucking military. kya doesn’t seem to give a shit about air nomad culture either, seeing as she doesn’t even know guru laghima’s name (and he’s the wisest air nomad who ever lived!). despite apparently being an independent free spirit who values her freedom, she seems 100% affiliated with her mother’s heritage, because waterbender. even though the values of community and tradition kind of conflict with her whole “you can’t tie me down” attitude, so. um. and they never once explore how the value of, for example, hunting as an important cultural tradition in the water tribes may conflict with the value of vegetarianism and doing no harm to any living organism. these are interesting tensions that could have been explored!! but instead, tenzin is merely an air nomad who takes after his father both culturally and physically, kya is a waterbender who takes after her mother, and bumi is a…..cosmopolitan, and nobody likes him.
as for mako and bolin, they don’t even get the privilege of being the children of the avatar and the chief of the southern water tribe (i said what i said), so being mixed race in the neocolonial cesspit that is republic city would be bound to cause some tensions. but instead of actually addressing what the ramifications and complex colonial dynamics of inter/multiracial family structures in a postwar society that is nonetheless still struggling to contend with a century’s worth of global imperialism and the lingering trauma of that violence would be, they kind of just….ignore it. yes, mako is a firebender who takes after his fire nation mother, and bolin is an earthbender who takes after his earth kingdom father, and they live in a city that was once earth kingdom land that now functions as a neocolony of the fire nation, but also, the police force are all earthbenders, and there isn’t any sort of lingering racial/colonial tensions in this city whatsoever! you know how mako and bolin were orphaned as children and forced to live on the street and dumpster dive for food and eventually did labor for a gang because they had no other means of survival? are we going to question or implicate the systems that enabled those abject conditions? no, of course not. look at mako fumble two gorgeous, ridiculously privileged girls! look at bolin do the charleston! isn’t republic city FUN???
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lurking-latinist · 10 months
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👀👀 wanna say more about your eusocial timelord theory?
when you sent this ask like a year ago apparently I did not, for which I apologize.
now it's the wee small hours and I'm trying to clear out my asks. but eusocial time lords are so fun. forgive anything that doesn't make sense/jars weirdly in this, I'm trying to explain some quite spitbally worldbuilding.
among other things, it's an explanation for (1) why are there so few time ladies on screen and (2) that very strange thing in I think it's in Gallifrey where Pandora was 'the first female President' and apparently that's a big deal? but like why would a different planet (where they regenerate!!) have the same manifestations of sexism as we have? and also vaguely riffing on the VNAs lore that Gallifrey used to be a matriarchy and Rassilon overthrew it, but also kind of completely transforming that lore.
so forget gender, this is not about gender. "male"/"female" is at best a very rough translation of the binary that Gallifreyans are concerned with, which is worker/queen. They are bees!
The Time Ladies (i.e. Gallifreyans played by female human actors) that we see in the pre-War era (all of this applies to the pre-War era)--Romana, the Rani, Flavia, Inquisitor Darkel--are biologically the equivalent of insect queens. (And the Doctor, the Master, Borusa, the Floating Time Lord, Commander Maxil, etc. etc. are the equivalent of worker bees. The fact that the former all present as female and the latter all present as male is just sort of a translation convention/useful coincidence, I guess.) Gallifreyans evolved from a eusocial species and their early political structures were developments of the hive structure, with reproductive capacity strongly linked to political authority.
Presumably this is what Rassilon, or whatever revolutionary Rassilon stole credit from, is supposed to have overturned--the link between reproductive capacity and political authority. But in my version, it was before that that Looming became a thing: the queens had control of the Looms, so it was the ultimate refinement of their arts and sciences, and it was their way of getting rid of whatever drone class there used to be, if they weren't already parthenogenetic.
And that's why there's the stereotype in Gallifrey--mentioned in connection with Pandora, suggested as a concern about Romana--that a "female" (queen) President will be autocratic. It's seen as a potential return to "how things once were."
And then I did a lot of worldbuilding for how government worked at a stage in history when there was a sort of uneasy balance between reproductive and political power, but that was for a fic Moki was working on and I think she's still working on it, so no spoilers!
So what you end up with is a hive structure where the role of the queen has been sort of abstracted away into... well, the hive itself. The power at the heart of Gallifrey is Gallifrey. I feel like that explains a lot of what's wrong with them.
There might be another branch of the species that evolved away from eusocial structure into something more like solitary bees and that's the Shobogans, possibly, since nobody seems at all clear what the Shobogans are.
Also I read that with naked mole rats, the only eusocial mammal, there are a few in each colony that are predisposed to not fit into the colony and instead go and wander and find other colonies, to promote genetic diversity, and I'm just saying, renegades.
And after the War when there are often maybe two Gallifreyans left, that's why whatever's left of the hivemind keeps trying to get at least one of them to turn out as a Time Lady. Fortunately for the universe, neither of them seems that interested in reproducing.
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poetrysmackdown · 10 months
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hi hiii i wanted to say that your account is so refreshing to see, esp with the passion you have for the arts. as someone who's been meaning to read (and write) more poetry, do you have any recommendations? some classics that everyone and their mothers know? perhaps some underrated pieces that changed you? or even just authors you like, I'm very open to suggestions :]]
Hi! Thank you so much for this kind ask :) So exciting that you’re looking to delve deeper into reading and writing! I had to take a little time to answer this because my thoughts were all over the place lol.
For a review of notable/classic poems/poets, I honestly just recommend looking at lists online or, hell, just binging Wikipedia pages for different countries’ poetry if that’s something you’re into, just to get a sense of the chronology. I read one of those little Oxford Very Short Introductions on American Poetry and thought it was pretty good, but online is quicker if you’re just searching for poets or movements to hone in on. Poetry Foundation also has lots of resources, in addition to all the poems in their database. I guess my one big classic recommendation would have to be Emily Dickinson (<3), but really the best move is just to find a poet you already enjoy and then look around to see who their peers were/are, who they were inspired by, who they’ve maybe translated here and there, etc. and follow it down the line as far as you can.
For some personal recs, here are some collections I’ve really enjoyed over the past two years or so. Bolded favorites, and linking where select poems from the book have been published online. But also, if you want a preview of a couple poems from another of the books to see if they interest you, DM me and I can send them over! You can also feel free to pilfer through my poetry tag for more stuff lol
Autobiography of Death by Kim Hyesoon trans. Don Mee Choi
Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings by Joy Harjo
DMZ Colony by Don Mee Choi
Hardly War by Don Mee Choi
Whereas by Layli Long Soldier
Geography III by Elizabeth Bishop
Dictee by Theresa Hak Kyung Cha
Don’t Let Me Be Lonely: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine
Mouth: Eats Color—Sagawa Chika Translations, Anti-Translations, & Originals by Sawako Nakayasu
The Selected Poems of Osip Mandelstam trans. W.S. Merwin and Clarence Brown
The Branch Will Not Break by James Wright
This Journey by James Wright
God’s Silence by Franz Wright
Duino Elegies by Rainer Maria Rilke (the translation I read was by Alfred Corn—I thought it was great, but idk if there are better ones out there!)
DMZ Colony, Hardly War, Dictee, Don’t Let Me Be Lonely, and partially Whereas are all book-length poems with some prose poetry and varying levels of weirdness/denseness/multilingualism—if you were to pick one to start with, I’d say do Don’t Let Me Be Lonely or Whereas. Mouth: Eats Color is some experimental translations of Japanese modernist poet Chika Sagawa, with other translations and some of Nakayasu’s original stuff mixed in—it's definitely a bit disorienting but ultimately I remember having such fun with it, as much fun as Nakayasu probably had making it. It’s a book that emphasizes co-creation and a spirit of play, and completely changed my attitude towards translation.
If you’re less interested in that kind of formal fuckery stuff though (I get it), can’t go wrong with the other books! Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings is the one I read most recently, and it’s great—Harjo also featured in Round 1! Franz Wright also featured, and God's Silence is the collection which "Night Walk" comes from. James Wright (father of Franz) is one of my favorite poets of all time, though his poetry isn’t perfect. Even so, I’m honestly surprised he’s not doing numbers on Tumblr—Mary Oliver was a big fan of his, even wrote her "Three Poems for James Wright" after his death.
I mentioned in another post that one of my favorite poets is Paul Celan, so I’ll also recommend him here. I read Memory Rose into Threshold Speech which is a translated collection of his earlier poems, but it’s quite long if you’re just getting to know him as a poet—fortunately, both Poetry Foundation and Poets.org have a ton of his poems in their collections. There’s also an article by Ilya Kaminsky about him titled “Of Strangeness That Wakes Us” (!!!!!) that’s a great place to start, and is honestly kind of my whole mission statement when I’m reading and writing poetry. Looking at the books I’ve recommended above, a lot of them share feelings of separateness or alienation—from others, from oneself, from one’s country, from language—that breed strange, private modes of expression. That tends to be what I’m drawn to personally, and that’s some of what Kaminsky talks about.
Sorry of the length of this—I hope it's useful as a jumping-off point! And if you or anyone ends up exploring any of these poets, let me know what you think! If folks wanna reply with recommendations themselves too that'd be great :)
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qierxing · 7 months
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Fathoms Below
Commissioned by the amazing rainbowsillz
TW/CW: Toxic Relationships, Unhealthy coping mechanisms and mindsets, Blackmailing, Threats of Violence Yan!Azul x Mer! Reader
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You're not exactly a go-getter.
It's not in your species' nature to be so, when one of your greatest strengths is to simply go with the flow and see where the sea currents take you. Even in the darkest trench, you'll always find a way through (using your handy glow in the dark biology).
It is, however, just like you to be curious when the waves take you to the next interesting destination. 
This shipwreck must be recent. Last time you were here, you don't recall broken masts and a proud figurehead buried in the sand here. You float along while examining the wreckage with a meticulous gaze. The glimmers of buried jewelry here and there don't interest you. No, you have no interest in such trinkets.
There's a gaping hole within the port side, jagged wood ripped into razor sharp teeth revealing the insides. It's dark and cloudy with mud and debris, but that's no issue for you. Rot and time have claimed the interior, but there's still some items that survive. As you swim closer, you discover quite a few things littering a toppled desk. 
There's a glass bottle that is scratched and covered in dirt but still intact. Within, there's parchment rolled up, perfectly preserved and safe from the salt waters. You tuck the bottle away in your bag, making sure it's snug inside so there's no chance it would fall out. Another cursory glance has you catching a curious metal object, no bigger than a clam shell, with strangely colored needles inside. You decide to also pocket it, just in case it turns out to be useful.
All in all, it's a fruitful exploration that has you quite satisfied. You are tempted to continue, but the rays of light are already dimming above into sunset, and your parents would not be happy about having to spend hours finding you again, especially not in a new unfamiliar area.
But just as you're almost to the colony where your family has settled down, you hear some strange sounds. Mischievous laughter mixed with crying has you turning your head in mild confusion. Following the commotion, you find a clearing with a large metal pot, surrounded by several other merfolk. You vaguely recognize them as your neighbors, their faces somewhat flickering in your memory. 
"What's so funny?" The quiet question has them turning around in panic, surprised by your unexpected presence. There's some awkward coughs and furtive glances exchanged between the gaggle.
A nearly unnoticeable teary sniffling has you glancing at the pot, realizing someone must be inside. When your suspicious eyes meet the clique's again, their faces sour as they sheepishly swim away, clearly annoyed they were deprived of their fun. 
It doesn't take much to piece two and two together. Sighing, you wait for a moment, then two, but nothing else happens. The mysterious sniffling has stopped but there is no sign of them being willing to leave the dark pot.
The calls of your parents carry on the currents, lulling you back home. You chance another indifferent glance back before swimming off towards home.
Apparently, the metal circular item you found is called a ‘compass’ by humans. According to your father, at least. When you pester him more about it, he shrugs and says that human sailors would use it to find their way on their voyages. The red needle would supposedly point you to your path. That was the only thing he knew about it.
You’re absolutely delighted with this fascinating discovery. So much so, that you can barely contain your excitement during class to go and test your gadget. 
"[First] [Last], are you listening?!" You let out a shocked yelp at your compass being swiped away by another finned hand. Your teacher peers down at you with disapproval in her beady eyes. The compass glints in her claws, just out of reach. 
"Pay attention to the lesson. You can retrieve your toy tomorrow." And with that, you watch sullenly as she swims away with your treasure. Snickers echo around you from your classmates but you ignore them, propping open your notebook in annoyance. The day seems longer without your compass in hand, but finally, the bell rings and class is over for the day.
The rest of your classmates waste no time swimming out the door, chattering about plans and playdates and what not, but you still remain in your seat, vindictive and resentful. 
"I can't even test out that compass until tomorrow." You slump over and your head hits the coral slate with a dull thud. Ms. Ulyana can be so stingy sometimes. Besides, you already knew everything taught in the magical theory section today.
"Excuse me?" You don't bother raising your head, still moping about the loss of your precious gadget. 
"What." You're not in the mood to be made fun of or exchange polite conversations at the moment.
"Isn't this yours?" You sit up abruptly, and see a young octopus mer holding the compass in his hands. You vaguely remember him sitting in the back of the room, hunched over his notebook, his glossy silver locks covering his face. 
"How did you…?" He smiles faintly with mischief flickering in his pupils.
"Octo-mers are great at camouflage, did you know?" The boy shrugs casually, setting down the gadget in front of you. “And…” He starts mumbling, fidgeting nervously with his fingers where you can’t hear him. 
“Er, what did you say? I didn’t catch that.” You awkwardly interject. 
“It’s….it’s thanksforhelpingmeout!” He blurts out quickly. This time, you hear him perfectly clear and stare at him in mild confusion. When did you help him out? You wrack your brains but come up empty. Instead of embarrassing him by denying it, you just nod along.
“Well, still, thanks. I’ve been waiting all day to try this out.” You grin. “You’re the coolest, uh…”
“A-Azul. Azul Ashengrotto.”
“You’re the best, Azul,” You hold out a confident hand. “I’m [First]. Wanna be friends?”
He hesitates, eyes staring intensely at your open palm offered. “Y…You want to be friends with me?”
You tilt your head. “I think anyone willing to get into trouble for me is worth befriending.”
“Even if…I’m just a crybaby and octo-twerp?” His lower lip trembles, teary voice nearly cracking.
“Who called you that?!” You put your hands on your hips, raising a tentacle to intertwine with one of his own. “I’ll give them a hearty zap if they do such a thing!” Azul splutters as you administer a gentle shock through your tentacles. It’s absurd enough to make him burst out laughing and you join in happily. 
Within that small classroom, a fond memory is created with that childish laughter.
The compass seems to get wonky underwater in the depths, so you reluctantly take to the shallows where the sea pressure is a little nicer to your gadget. 
It's strange to be so close to the sky as merfolk. The clouds remind you of the sulfurous gasses that are spewed in the deeper marine trenches. But it's much more transparent compared to the opaque heavier gas, lighter and much more friendlier looking. 
The red needle points straight ahead, and you breach just slightly, spotting a beach in the distance. Despite reservations, you drift closer, still only keeping your face above to render your sight usable. 
Misty fog clears and reveals palm trees and jagged rocks littering the golden sands. It's no island, since the land stretches further back into the atmosphere, with no end in sight. But there's no sign of life, save for the seagulls circling above and tiny crabs scuttering below. A little bit disappointing for your destination.
The stories you heard from elders were always about wild islands with treacherous fauna and mysterious treasure buried deep underground. Maybe even a group of thieves lurking around. This was just a barren reef that held naught but the bones of those unfortunate to wash up here. 
Still, you move forward, trying to see if there’s anything at all on the sand. Some multi-colored sea shells here and there, hardly in the condition to be collected, let alone be traded for with others. You glance at the compass in your hands with an annoyed huff.
“Useless thing…” You mutter under your breath. It’s a childish hope, but you had thought it would lead you to somewhere amazing, that you could tell your own tale about. That way, Azul could finally stop scoffing at you for your ‘ridiculous’ dreams and prove everyone else wrong.
The item barely makes a sound when it meets sand, and you turn away. The disappointment has already dampened your spirit to the point where you want to find the darkest nook and curl up and sleep.
A throat clears behind you, and you freeze at the unexpected sound.
“I believe this is yours?” The voice is tinged with specks of haughtiness that has your hackles raising subconsciously. 
A human boy has the compass you tossed in hand, inspecting it with a thoughtful look, before turning that gaze to you. His purple eyes are mesmerizing; they remind you of the vibrant sea shells in the various reefs dotting the Coral Sea. It takes an embarrassing moment for you to compose yourself to finally reply.
“It isn’t anymore.” He raises a judgemental eyebrow, and you almost shrink in on yourself. 
“Why not?” You cross your arms defensively at the judgemental tone. “It isn’t good to litter, you know.��
Your ears burn at the pointed accusation. Is a human seriously going to lecture you about pollution when they’re one of the causes for said situations? 
“That item used to belong to humankind, how is it littering when I am merely returning it to its place on land?”
“In this condition? I’d be surprised if it still works.”
“Well, it clearly didn’t work when I was trying to use it.” You fold your arms petulantly as the boy’s eyes slant in judgemental surprise.
“What use does merfolk have for human gadgets?” You bristle at the questioning tone. “I thought your kind has no need for these kinds of things, since you have an innate sense of direction.”
“So what?” You snap. “Who said that mers weren’t also curious about exploring either?”
“Exploring?”
This back and forth ends in a humiliating embarrassment when Vil (he introduces himself with an air of elegance that makes you think of royalty) informs you that the compass is not some kind of magical gadget that can lead you to your desired location. You thought he would be more smug and condescending about it, but he only patiently explains the usage of the compass and how the red needle is only meant as a stalwart guide, as it will always point north wherever you are. It’s a little disappointing, but still. You could see how it was useful as a human.
“That sucks. I wanna explore a new land one day and be able to tell all about it to my folks.” You flick your tentacle and splash some water out in musing. Vil has settled on a rock near you and now the animosity has simmered away into genuine curiosity for each other. It’s nice. When was the last time you were able to talk this freely about your dreams?
“I’m sure you can,” Vil smiles, and your breath is momentarily taken away. 
It feels good to have someone who believes in you, for once.
"...I think he’s a good person.”
The sound of someone choking makes you whip your head to see Azul keeled over his large book volume. After recovering, he looks up at you with incredulous disbelief in his sapphire eyes.
"You can't be serious? He's a human!" He spits, hostility coating his words like tarred ink. 
"Ugh, so what?" You puff out your cheeks. “Why do you have a problem with this anyway?”
“Because he’s a human! And besides, how do you know he won’t do something suspicious like sell off your fins or tentacles once you turn your back, huh?!” Azul retorts, making you roll your eyes. 
“This is not the age of the Sea Witch, Azul, it’s the modern era,” you coldly reply. “And that’s rich coming from you. Did you get that tome from the library or someone else?”
Azul flinches, cheeks blotching into a mottled dark purple as his tentacles writhed around the book as if to protect it from your disdainful gaze. Of course. Last week you swore one of your classmates had become mute, and another one’s P.E grades had dropped drastically, despite performing well in the past years. Azul sure has been working hard perfecting his unique magic these days.
“I earned this book fair and square!” Azul protests. “That human is another thing completely!”
“His name is Vil.” It’s like talking to a stone wall. You knew Azul disliked hearing about Vil, but not to this extent. “And he’s my friend.”
“I’m your friend too!” Aquamarine eyes narrow as your closest friend snarls at you. “Doesn’t that mean anything?!”
“Not when you’re insulting my other friends!” Without meaning to, your own tentacles begin to thrash in irritation, buzzing with the hum of electricity. “Ugh, forget it. I knew you were going to be like this, just like when you make fun of me for my weird treasure hunting.”
You’re not a fast swimmer, so even if you storm off, it must look silly, just floating away as your tentacles drift behind you. Despite the desperate calls of your name echoing behind you, you don’t turn back at all.
Perhaps you should’ve thought about at least making up with Azul before you made your decision.
“How are you going to explore the world if you can’t even leave the sea?” Vil had said with a disapproving frown. “You can’t let sentimentality shackle you from your potential.”
The words echo in the back of your mind. Sentimentality. Yes, that was one way to put a label on your relationship with Azul. You can’t deny entirely that reaching out that hand to him that fateful day was entirely out of a genuine desire to make friends. That little regret permeates the way you end up having to cheer Azul up from another self loathing session or whenever you’re having to reassure him that you won’t ever leave him all alone. It’s not that you actually believe in your words, but rather, it was the quickest way to quiet his tantrums. And although Azul matured greatly in magic and smarts, he never did quite grow out of his childish belief that you would always be there to coddle him. Not even when those sly eels attached themselves to him, taking over your role of being an actual friend.
So you take to the surface with your parents’ tearful blessings, leaving only a brief message with an acquaintance you made in your elementary school days. Rielle had hesitated, but ultimately wished you luck up on the surface. You can’t blame him. If you were braver, you would have made the effort to say the bitter words to your friend yourself. But that would be wasted time on a flood of tears and ink and even worse, a complete meltdown that would take days to mend.
When the volunteers handed you the transformation potion, they told you that although you trade your fins for legs, most mers have to adjust for a long period of time, having been so accustomed to swimming and utilizing your unique biology. At the time, you threw those warnings to the wind and chugged down the potion. Nothing would matter if it meant you could break away from the sea foam. You hadn’t realized the gravity of this until you’re stumbling over yourself and constantly ending up with aching bruises on your knees and shins. 
You hadn’t quite realized, until Azul is the one pushing you back and shrugging your apartment door shut behind him with a deafening click. Although it took you weeks to figure out how to walk without falling, Azul moved with an ease as if he’s always been human. It almost makes you envious enough to forget that he’s pinning you back on a wall, pupils dilated and breathing heavily like a madman. 
“Azul, let go! What the hell? How did you even know where I lived–?!” You’re not entirely panicked, more confused and annoyed. Even if he was erratic at times, he was still that baby octopus. He wasn’t exactly like the Leech eels who were known for their sharp teeth and ability to maul things to shreds. 
“It wasn’t easy, you know,” Azul mutters, a thin sharp grin strained across his face. “Do you know how hard it is to follow your tracks after you abandoned me like that?!” You scoff. One month and he’s already thinking it’s the end of the world that you weren’t glued to his side night and day. 
“Abandon? Please. You must be insane to think that me going to the surface to study is the equivalent of abandoning someone,” you spit back in his face and he recoils only slightly, but still remains steadfast in his strong grip over your hands. Even as you wiggle, he gives no indication of letting go. 
“Well, that doesn’t matter now,” you bristle at the way he ignores your reply. Bad habits die hard– he’s always loved ignoring anything he didn’t want to hear from you when convenient. It’s almost relieving in a way, to see that he hasn’t changed a bit. “We’ll be returning back to the Coral Sea.”
“What?!” Now you’re angry. It’s one thing to hear Azul to be delusional, it’s another to have to entertain those delusions. “You must be out of your Sea Witch’s mind to think that I’ll–” Your words die in your throat when something cold and hard presses to your jugular, digging into your voice box.
“You will.” Azul’s pupils are still dilated, black taking over sapphire pools and leaving only a cold abyss. Your eyes dart down, following the magical pen that gleams with a silvery gemstone that makes your heart almost stop in place. “You will, and you know why, my dear?”
“Because I earned you first, fair and square.”
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murderbot-moodboard · 24 days
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Found an Easter egg in the book The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles by Malka Older!
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It's the second (and latest) book in her mystery series The Investigations of Mossa and Pleiti. I can highly recommend both it and the first book, The Mimicking of Known Successes.
The simplest way to describe the series is that it's very similar (I'd say intentionally so) to the Sherlock Holmes stories, but if Sherlock and Watson were reimagined as lesbians with chemistry that was more than just potential subtext, and they lived in a future post-apocalyptic colony in space with definite Victorian-type/steampunk world building, but with a healthy amount of foods and other cultural aspects from many different cultures around the world.
In fact, one thing that surprised me at first was that the books' vocabulary commonly uses not only formal/older English words, but also words and expressions from many different languages, only some of which were familiar to me, but most of which can be understood from context. It's a choice that makes sense, though, for a society that's been removed from Earth for a long time, and what it would look like for different Earth cultures to synthesize into totally new cultures and groupings of people over time.
Anyway, these are the kind of books that you're likely to enjoy if you like TMBD. As a matter of fact, in the first book's acknowledgments, Malka Older listed Martha Wells first among the other authors she was thanking for their writing and how it impacted her. So if you're looking for a fun and interesting scifi read, these books are worth it! :)
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the-s1lly-corner · 7 months
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hii!!!
Could i ask for platonic headcannons (tadc) for jax,ragatha, pomni for a reader who acts like Jane Doe from ride the cyclone ( says the most random facts, doesnt know wtf is happening half of the time etc)
Sorry if this is a long ask.
And tysm
Jax, Ragatha, and Pomni x jane doe!type reader!
funny thing is that today ive gotten a second jane doe reader request, like an hour or so ago :O, so ill probably answer that one right after this so !! originally i was gonna tie the two asks into one post but idk, so uh uh !!! we'll see! speaking of, i need to get into RTC, i never really. got into it, outside of some of the songs (ballad of jane doe, talia, and noels lament have changed me) ill also be relying on the other persons ask to guide me on janes personality, so im not totally blind on this !! apologies for any inaccuracies !
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POMNI:
she kind of finds your manner of speaking.. uncanny, in its own way. the flatness, the fact you dont put many emotion behind your words. and how you sometimes drop the most morbid bits of information (usually) unprompted
one time the two of you were doing an IHA and the topic of ants came up and you just started talking about how if ants find a rival colony they will engage in all out war in order to survive and claim the resources of the place. why did you start talking about ants? because caine conjured up an ant NPC to serve some role in the adventure
now if you have some knowledge on the digital world and its secrets and... perhaps a means of escape, then she may be more inclined to spend more time with you
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RAGATHA:
sometimes she has to keep an eye on you when you guys are having an IHA, just so you dont wander off and possibly get hurt when you decide you dont much care for whats going on
"oh thats nice..! can you tell me more?" when you drop some random facts about something. imagine randomly dropping some facts about centipedes and she just. grins and tries to act casual while you have this sweet little look in your eyes
not much else to be said, i think she would indulge in your little fun facts if she thinks it will make you happy
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JAX:
"no one wants to hear about your net facts, reader"/ref
but like its worded a little meaner, if that makes sense
only really seems interested if he can find a way to use the new knowledge to be a little shit
otherwise, i dont think he would interact with you often :( i dont really see him being the type to hang around a character like that SOBS
he thinks its funny if your facts earn a look or reaction from someone else, though
if not romantic, i could see the possibility for a friendship!
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kaidabakugou · 2 years
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DAY 10: MOSNTERFUCKING FT. NAGA! KATSUKI BAKUGOU
WORD COUNT: 2.9K
WARNINGS: MENTIONS OF ALIENS / MENTIONS OF DEATH / DUB-CON / BITING / APHRODISIACS / BLOOD KINK / TAIL FUCKING / THROAT FUCKING W/ TONGUE / DOUBLE PENETRATION / FINGER LICKING / OVERSTIMULATION / CHOKING / EROTIC ASPHYSATION / NIPPLE PLAY
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for decades, humans have been broadcasting their presence in the universe. sending radio waves into space in the hopes of making contact with possible extraterrestrial life with no caution as to whether there might be dangerous predators lurking in that infinite darkness searching for their next target. and after many attempts, they finally got what they were seeking.
it's been two years since aliens made contact with humans. since then, humanity has evolved substantially. interstellar affairs were the least of worries for all the nations before any of this occurred. with the lack of protocol or proper response plans, humans weren't equipped to handle intergalactic species arriving on our planet. but they did what they did best, and they adapted to their new reality.
when the reptiles from outer space arrived on earth, they seeked mutual exchange with the humans. to provide us with the knowledge we lacked in exchange for a way to progress their receding species. humanity agreed, and the changes in society were limitless. technology became so advanced that humans could travel in and out of earth just as freely as the aliens could, and we kept our end of the bargain.
women volunteered, per governmental request, to have sexual interactions with the foreign creatures, with the full disclosure that the outcome was uncertain. many died in the attempt, not compatible with their dna. but with many efforts and scientific breakthroughs, cross species became possible between humans and aliens, resulting in the birth of nagas.
and with that, society changed forever, birthing centers were made to specifically progress the species for mutual benefit between parties. the space reptiles grew in numbers and humans found many ways to profit from the discovery.
nagas varied in form, if an alien had sex with a human, a creature with human features and anatomy on its upper half and the body of a snake on its lower half would come out, earning the name of nagas. if nagas had relations with the reptiles from space, the serpentine genes would predominate resulting in a more advanced version of the same reptilian alien. and if a naga mated with a human, the chances were uniform, either another naga would come or a human with a higher physical and mental capacity than regular humans would.
with such remarkable creatures, they were sought out for many reasons. they were used for military purposes by every nation, a game of who possessed the most advanced creature that would grant them victory when needed. the markets quickly thrived in many ways. nagas were killed for their skins to feed the fashion industry, underground affairs piqued interest with how many buyers wanted to get their hands on a creature that would surely get them status within their groups. and soon, naga tails were just as treasured as rare blue lobsters at high-ranking restaurants.
you had taken advantage of the situation as well, being one of the first volunteers to explore life outside of the planet. for an entire year, you visited other planets and explored different colonies among them, learning everything that you could about their culture.
but after a long year of traveling, you finally decided to return home. life outside of your planet was fun but nothing compares to the feeling of being on earth. you were currently hiking in the forest near your house, making your way towards the waterfall you’d visited countless times before. enjoying the fauna around you, since it was one of the things you missed the most while being away.
other planets did not have the green landscapes that earth had, or the same animals that could be found here. they didn't have the vast supply of water like earth does, and their plant life was almost non-existent. the majority of them relied on their advanced technology to provide them with the resources they needed, and others would make do and adapt with whatever they could find within their colonies. the animal life was also nothing compared to the abundant species on our planet, most of the extraterrestrial creatures possessed reptilian features, similar to the ones who visited us two years ago.
you were almost near the waterfall, the singing of the birds around you giving you a nostalgic feeling after not being able to hear them for so long. the sun peeking through the trees felt nice against your skin, with spring starting, all signs from the cold winter had started to melt and the weather was finally starting to feel warm again.
you're planning on making your trip to the waterfall brief, enjoy some snacks while admiring your surroundings, maybe going for a quick swim before making your way back home. not wanting to stay outside for too long or allow nightfall to catch you since springtime was the breeding season for nagas.
it wasn't rare to see nagas out in the wild, many would adopt hatchlings in pet shops thinking they could raise one for themselves and regret it later when they would start to grow out of proportion. resulting in them getting released into the wilderness to fend off for themselves and survive any predators that would be interested in them, including other humans.
untamed nagas could be quite violent if they felt threatened, and matings could be rather rough since male nagas would often try to force themselves on females, naga or human, to satisfy their own sexual frustrations.
you had set up your blanket near the rocks that had a clear path close to the water. finishing up some berries you had packed while you read the last page on the current chapter of the book you brought along to pass the time while the soothing sound of the waterfall filled your ears.
deciding to go for a quick swim before it was time to return home, you took your clothes off and entered the water. the warm liquid coating your skin as you sink deeper, making sure to give your surroundings a quick look before submerging yourself fully into the water. swimming near the waterfall as you feel your muscles relax under the soft stream, completely forgetting about the world around you.
floating around the water, a splash startles you as you immediately shoot up, wiping the water from your eyes and quickly looking around to see where the noise came from, frowning when you don't notice anything unusual. you remain still while wondering if it was just your imagination, but before you could fret further on the thought you noticed that the sun was starting to set, and you needed to leave soon.
swimming back to shore you fail to notice the ripples forming in the water close behind you until it is too late. something wraps around your ankle, preventing you from swimming further as a gasp fills your throat. suddenly pulling you harshly as your back hits a strong wet surface. a tail wraps around your center, making it impossible for you to move as you try to wriggle against it, but the large appendage only seems to get tighter the more you fight it.
a hissing sound feels your ears, making every muscle in your body go stiff as you feel your stomach sink. you could feel the vibration of the hissing deep in your bones, only one creature was capable of making such sounds, a naga. swallowing the lump inside your throat, you look back over your shoulder to get a better look at your captor, but the sight makes your breath hitch inside your chest.
the most captivating blown out vermilion irises were staring back down at your widened ones. wet blonde hair framing his face while droplets of water dripped from his ends, smooth skin adorned with brown scales that looked golden under the sunset skies. the tip of a forked tongue flicking constantly from in between his lips while he holds you closer to him.
the different shades of brown scales pulled you from your trance, noticing how some were darker than the others, making shivers run down your spine at the realization. a pit viper, some of the deadliest snakes among the nagas, with venom that could be fatal if not treated immediately.
before you could worry further on the thought, the male flipped you over so you're now facing him as you straddle his waist. noticing his erect cock in between the both of you, your lips parting as you stare down at it, not seeing one like it before. the throbbing pointed tip was already leaking thick ropes of cum that dribbled down his large cock, with long ridges that adorned the top of his shaft and pulsing veins under it, leading down to the large knot peeking from the slit of his tail.
sharp claws pull you from your haze as they grace against the delicate skin of your neck, dragging the back of his claws across your throat before finding refuge at your nape. feeling them tangle with wet strands of hair as he pulls you closer to him.
“what’ssss your name?” he asks while dragging the s between his tongue. you tell him your name and he repeats it, testing the words on his tongue before releasing what sounds like a pleased hum. his claws are still scratching against your head while you try your best to keep your eyes on his and not let them wander down towards the twitching cock between you.
“what um, what's yours? you ask, trying your best to stay calm and ignore the tension that's building between your legs.
“bakugou katssssuki”, you give him a small nod in acknowledgement while he starts to untangle his tail from around your body. feeling your muscles relax as you run your hands over your arms to soothe the tension.
you take a quick peek over your shoulder to where your things are waiting for you near the rocks before looking up at the sky, taking note of how it's almost nightfall, pondering if you could even make it back to your house tonight, or if you'll ever return home given your current predicament.
a warm breath against your neck startles you as you turn back to face the naga. bakugou had lowered his face down to your neck, breathing in your scent while nuzzling his nose against the crook of it. you're about to ask what he was doing but you were interrupted by the scream that ripped from your throat.
he sank his fangs into your neck, pain shooting through your body momentarily before heat starts to coarse through you, making you a panting mess while you try to ask what he did to you, stumbling over your words as you find it difficult to focus with the pulsing between your legs.
“relaxssss, female” he whispers against your ear, the tips of his forked tongue tickling against your heated skin. “it’ss jussst a little sssomething to make your body ready for me”
“n-no please don't do this” hissing sounds fill your ears as he quickly turns your face so that you're staring directly at him.
“ssstop fighting, you think you can come ssswim in my territory without a cosssst… and in mating ssseassson of all timesss” he spits before a wide grin spreads across his face, allowing you to see the long sharp fangs protruding from his mouth, still dripping with the aphrodisiac induced venom that he injected you with.
“you had to know exactly what you were doing”, he makes a show of sliding his long tongue across his fangs, drinking the venom from them before wrapping his tail around your center. lifting you up with it while hooking his claws around the center of your bikini bottoms, ripping them off in one swift motion before dragging his fingers between your folds.
slick coating his digits as it dribbles between them, smirking as he brings them towards his mouth. sucking his fingers while staring at you, your walls clenching around nothing at the sight of his tongue swirling around his digits while lapping up your juices.
claws digging into the fat of your thighs before sinking you down on his cock, the tip alone making your body jolt as it stretches you around him. lowering you deeper into his cock, the ridges rubbing perfectly against your sweet spot, not letting a single place inside you go untouched as you sink completely down on him.
the hissing sound returns while he gives you a moment to adjust before lifting you up until the tip of his cock is almost out and sliding you back down on him. repeating the action a couple of times before picking up the pace. raspy moans leaving your throat as he continues to thrust you up and down his cock with his tail.
bringing you closer to him while untangling his tail from your center, wrapping his hands under your thighs as his claws dig into your rear, drawing blood while he continues bouncing you on him. burying his face in the crook of your neck again, this time on the opposite side as he sinks his fangs down into your skin again.
injecting his venom into you before switching to suck on your skin, drinking your blood as the sweet taste of your liquids make his eyes roll to the back of his head. wrapping your arms around his neck to stabilize yourself as much as you could, you let your head fall against his shoulder as you feel the effects of his poison sink deeper into your muscles.
you feel his tail caress the back of your neck before sliding down your spine until it reaches your rear. rubbing it between your ass cheeks, collecting the slick oozing from your tight rim from the aphrodisiac before pushing the tip of his tail into your hole. the action making you yelp as he bullies his tail deeper into your rear. thrusting it while matching the rhythm with your bounces. the knot in your stomach was getting tighter and the stimulation on both of your holes was driving you closer and closer to the edge.
letting go of one of your thighs as he reaches up to wrap a clawed hand around your throat, lifting you from his shoulder as he brings you face close to his, not giving you time to comprehend what he was doing before pressing his lips against yours. dragging his forked tongue across your bottom lip, asking for entry as you open your mouth for him.
your eyes shooting open momentarily before they roll shut again at the taste of your own blood dripping onto your tongue. spilling the mixture of his venom and your blood down your throat as you moan into his mouth, a low purr vibrating in his chest as he devours you. your blood tasting sweeter mixed with your saliva as he pushes his tongue further into your mouth.
the wet muscle getting longer and longer as your lips stretch around his thick tongue while he shoves it down your throat. thrusting it in and out of your mouth while he stares down at you, your vision blurring with tears as you feel the knot inside of you burst. gushing all over his cock and tail as your release dribbles down your thighs.
going limb against his grasp while your holes are completely stuffed as he chases his release. the overstimulation pulling orgasm after orgasm from you as you start to feel lightheaded from the lack of oxygen. retracting his tongue from your throat as you greedily gulp air back into your lungs while he leans down on your body.
dragging his tongue down your chest before the forked tips coil around your nipple, his fangs scraping against your skin before he switches to the other breast, giving it the same treatment as he leans back up to your level. pulling you in for another kiss before burying his face in your neck again, the hissing sounds getting louder this time as he picks up his thrust.
his pace almost animalistic as he chases his release, the feeling of your walls clenching around him and your nails scraping against his scaled back sending him over the edge. his cum feels hot inside of you, filling you up until every last drop is spilled deep inside your warmth.
keeping you plugged as he pulls you close against him, embracing you in his arms as he submerges halfway into the water, keeping you warm while placing kisses on the side of your head.
“hey… you're still with me?” he asks while drawing circles on your back.
“mhm” is all you manage to say while nodding your head softly against his chest.
a soft chuckle leaving his lips as he lets you slip away into sleep while he keeps watch making sure no one else enters his territory while he has you like this. happy that he resisted the urge to kill you when you first set foot into his space, watching you from the trees, curious as to what a pretty thing like you was doing venturing off so far into the forest.
hopeful that he finally found a mate to spend his time with after years of loneliness and suffering. smiling against the side of your head as he activates the purring in his chest to make sure you get a good rest wrapped in his arms.
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♡ kinktober masterlist ♡
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panoffrying · 1 month
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My Dr. Sozonius LORE Headcanons
✨Warning this is a bit long✨
Sozo is a character that has lived for a very long time. Whatever that mushroom was on their head not only influenced Sozo but kept them immortal. We know really nothing bout Sozos past so I made some headcanons for silly fun and for me to visualize who Sozo was and what his life may have looked like. I want to do my best to keep this as game accurate as possible, so there will be quotes from the game. The quotes are not at all in order! I kinda just bring up random Sozo quotes as I go. Also I apologize if this doesn't make sense or if I ramble (I get excited about certain topics) 
thank you so much @7moonbird for going over and editing this for me, Love ya Pookie!
And so we start:
Sozonius was born in the days of the old faith. He was present the day the Bishops declared the genocide of the lambs and he actually played a big part in assisting the lambs survival. However, he almost got caught and had to stop helping the lambs to keep his family safe. He's never seen any of the bishops but his village was part of Darkwood and therefore under Bishop Leshy’s ruling.
VILLAGE 
Sozonius village was mostly a colony of Carpenter Ants, there were a few other species living there too but it was mostly Carpenter Ants. I imagine there are different races of ants depending on the region they’re in; so there could be fire ants, pharaoh ants, and more! Most ants get along nicely and work together but sometimes other races of ants can be more temperamental and cause conflict between colonies. Carpenter ants are a more calm type of ants, they aren't aggressive but they are incredibly strong. Carpenters ants are known to live in trees; they hollow out trees to make their homes and they like to stay off the ground as much as possible in case of floods and other dangers.
In the colony they had their ruler, the “Queen,” who looked over the village and did queenly business (not gonna go too deep into it). Everyone had many different jobs, ants are hard workers and very strong. They made marvelous structures, farmed a lot of crops, and knew how to work together when there was a threat. Sozo’s village was one that many others would try making deals/trades with. I would talk more about his village but that's not why y’all are here lol. 
Sozonius was a fellow damn near everyone in the village knew. He loved his work and he loved to talk about it to anyone that expressed that they wanted to listen. He was that guy that you could get stuck in a conversation with and struggle to end it. He liked to ramble about his work and kids. Other than that though he never really started conversations with others, he would keep to himself unless someone interacted with him.
And I could definitely see him having a science rival but nothing too bad lol.
FAMILY
“Where am I…? Where is… my family…?”  are the words Sozo says when he turns back into Dr. Sozonius. I like to think he had a wife and two children. They didn’t have the best marriage but they made it work out for their two sons. His wife was a bit stubborn and very honest. She would say things before thinking which did cause issues, but Sozonius let it slide because he loved her so much and wanted a happy family for his sons. 
Sozonius was a very funny dude. He made dad jokes all the damn time, his family would pretend to hate the jokes but in reality they did love them. 
Sozo Dialogue “Now all Sozo can think about is mushrooms, mushrooms, MUSHROOMS… They don’t leave mush-room for anything else! Ha!”
(Also, this next idea is inspired off of @kuphulwho headcanons for Sozo. I loved her ideas and I recommend y'all look at her headcanons too!) Aside from Sozonius being a mycologist he had a side hobby of art! He wasn't the best artist, but he was really talented with sketching plants/fungi, he liked to make art of anything that interested him. He most likely wrote an educational picture book about Fungi, there's probably an old copy of it somewhere.
This art hobby caught the interest of his two sons, and they also started to pursue art. Sozonius would take his free time teaching his sons how to draw plants and such. Sozonius would hang his kids' art everywhere in their house, it was like walking into an art museum haha.
JOB
Sozonius studied mycology which means he studied fungi. Sozonius knew fungi could benefit his society and he wanted to help educate others about the importance of fungi. Soon he learned enough of a new discovery of mushroom people, neither plant nor animal…Sozonius then made the decision to go on a solo mission to study the Mushroomo people.
THE MUSHROOMOS 
Dr. Sozonius Dialogue “My name is Dr. Sozonius. I was researching the Mushroomos that live in Spore Grotto… strange creatures, Neither animal nor plant…” 
Sozonius went to Spore Grotto and at first, he studied the Mushroomo people from a distance setting up a campsite near the Mushroomo Village. When the Mushroomo people discovered Sozonius they welcomed him into their home, cheerful happy little things. Sozonius was given the chance to learn more about these strange creatures up close! How could he say no? Sozonius was welcomed into Spore Grotto and was treated like a god. 
Sozonius asked the Mushroomos many questions, but getting any actual answers from them was difficult. The Mushroomos treated Sozonius like he was their most special guest, they danced and sang for Sozonius. They would mimic Sozonius and follow him around, making sure to do anything he asked of them. There would be many times when the Mushroomos would offer to feed Sozonius menticide mushrooms but Sozonius knew a lot about fungi and declined their offers. However, there seemed to be a special Ritual the Mushroomos took part in… 
Sozonius had been in Spore Grotto for many weeks now, it was time for him to leave, he had studied enough and was ready to return home but the Mushroomos were surprisingly sad when he announced this. They wanted to show Sozonius a sacred ritual to them before he left, he wasn't aware of the menticide mushrooms being part of it…
Dr. Sozonius Dialogue “They gave me Menticide Mushrooms, and then… that’s the last thing I remember…”
After Sozonius was tricked into eating menticide mushrooms and also gave Sozonius a crown, a crown that would grow into Sozoniuss mind, he shall be the Mushroomos leader… And the new Sozo was made. (literally just think of Ice Age 2 when the lil sloths take Sid to be their fire king, however they don't sacrifice him)
The mushroom on Sozos head is very powerful, it makes me wonder what it is exactly, it gives the person wearing it immortality, but also causes the user to go insane (don't forget that Sozo is also being fed menticide mushrooms) the mushroom crown kinda reminds me of Chemachs crown. It seems to have a mind of its own and a face. I feel like the Mushroomos for days straight made sure to give Sozo a diet of only menticide mushrooms to make him forget everything and to possibly power the mushroom crown. They would constantly tell Sozo that his mind would be open and free, that it would make him feel better, and Sozo being under the influence of the mushroom listened to them.
A Mushroomo Dialogue "Once you taste the Menticide Mushroom your mind will be opened." 
As the years went by so did all the sanity Sozonius had left, but in some moments Sozonius seems to still be aware but not all there. 
Sozo Dialogue “Sozo had friends... Followers... family... now Sozo has mushrooms..."
Sozo over time seems to start to dislike his followers and call them liars. He even becomes quite cruel to his followers. Yet he also mentions that he trusts the lamb and wants the lamb to protect him from his followers which makes me believe that Sozonius is somehow a little aware and fighting against the mushroom crown’s influence. He is mad at the Mushroomos for lying to him, tricking him, making him into who he is now.
 Sozo Dialogue  “No need to thanks Sozo. Build it at your Cult then come back to me. Sozo shall grant you one last gift. Sozo is always fair. Always repays this debts. Not like those LIARS out there."
"You did it! Now I know I can trust you... not like those nasty liars outside. They are always watching, always listening! Here take this. You are Sozo's best friend, you are Sozo's only friend."
"Sozo can trust you now, Sozo will pledge himself to you! You will protect me from those liars outside and bring Sozo mushrooms!"
(Also a side note that my gf brought to my attention last second lol! Apparently parasitic mushrooms rely on insects to spread. That is probably why they tricked Sozonius into staying and eating menticide mushrooms. Maybe it's been that long since they've seen an insect)
SOZOS IMPRISONMENT
So, this next little headcanon of mine is an interesting one and might be confusing to explain. Was Sozonius imprisoned within his own mind while under the control of the mushroom crown? If he was, I can see him being stuck in a sort of loop, imagining his family and friends. Think like Mabel's Bubble from ‘Gravity Falls’ weirdmageddon. Sozonius is trapped in a mental bubble, stuck in a false reality as the now mushroom-infected Sozo takes over his body and actions. 
In Sozonius’s mental bubble he is in a place where trees are big, tall mushrooms and flowers are mushrooms, everywhere he turns its mushrooms. He knows something is wrong, everything is too strange, everyone he loves is there with him but is it real? It feels like he's living in a dream. Sozonius proceeds to talk to his friends and family as if they are actually there in which I noticed that Sozo will talk to the menticide mushrooms as if they are actual people.
Sozo Dialogue “Precious, perfect little mushrooms, Sozo is here now, Sozo will always be here…”
”Sozo is busy now… Sozo must commune with the ‘shrooms.”
As time passes more mushrooms grow in his mind prison, and they keep growing and growing until they start to grow on the people he loves. He knows something is happening, he's going mad, and he starts to search for an exit, he needs to escape this false reality that the mushroom crown has created for him. 
He starts fighting the mushroom crown’s hold on him which causes him to regain some awareness. This is when a part of him realizes he’s been tricked, and he starts refusing everything the Mushroomos give him and becomes cruel to them. However, the lambs have never done him wrong before and the lamb (from the cult) begins to be the only person he can trust. At least until it becomes too much and well… we know Sozo’s fate.
SOZO’S REVIVAL 
So Sozo doesn't get resurrected until all the bishops become mortal (at least in my playthrough). So all the bishop siblings are in the cult and learning the ways of mortal stuff and Sozo appears around the same time, still the crazy Sozo we know and love. However, he’s still very addicted to the menticide mushrooms and both the Lamb and night workers have found Sozo digging through the mushroom crops like a lil racoon.
Based on the game, Sozo likes to run around the cult and do his own thing; he often looks very spaced out but the moment someone talks to him he starts spitting nonsense before yelling at them to go away. The only people Sozo will talk to are people that give Sozo what he wants, which is menticide mushrooms! If you do that for him he will talk your ear off with nonsense, in conversations with him he will often talk about his followers, them being liars and disgusting little creatures. One day though Sozo’s personality seems to change? He starts to tell the lamb,
 “Sozo was just here, all alone, thinking about mushrooms... Uh, Sozo means Sozo's little Mushroomo followers!”
”Yes,, they must be so lost without Sozo. They love Sozo! Everyone loves Sozo - especially Lamb!”
“Without their great and beloved Sozo, Mushroomos must be so scared... YOU! You must save them! Save them and bring them to Sozo.”
”They will be trapped in Anura. They are always getting captured when they don't have their great Sozo to protect them. Rescue them and bring them to me.”
But when you bring the followers to Sozo he ends up eating them. At first glance you can assume it's just his addiction, in which it most certainly could be! He sees a big mushroom and he's like oooo~ delicious but there's also a possibility of this being Dr. Sozonius’s anger coming out. The whole fighting against the mushroom crown’s influence and realization that he’s been tricked. Maybe a mix of his addiction and anger for what they did to him? I’m not too sure if Sozo eating the Mushroomos was a problem before he joined the cult.
Of course, this addiction must be stopped so the lamb decides enough is enough and refuses to get more Mushroomos. This causes Sozo to dissent and, with little choice, the Lamb has to put him in rehab. I imagine it would’ve been a struggle getting Sozo to the prison without the Red Crown’s help. With the power of an ant that is Sozo’s size it's a miracle he didnt break that pillory while he was in it. Sozo just stayed silent and didn't fight; the person he had put his trust and hope in has imprisoned him. Sozo is a bit depressed at that moment. 
After Sozo has been re-educated, released, and cured of his addiction the mushroom crown finally falls off his head. Which, like I said before, makes me wonder, was it being powered by the menticide mushrooms Sozo has been eating or is it something else?
But Dr. Sozonius talks about some stuff before saying,
Dr. Sozonius Dialogue “I can’t help but feel that I have you to thank for… something. You have my loyalty, I will remain here and serve you. Please, take this!”
Sozonius was ready to live his life rather than reunite with his family in the afterlife. He wasn't expecting to be resurrected after dying in the cult from old age. But Sozonius gave the lamb their loyalty and promised to stay in the cult and serve them. The Lamb had been so kind as to give Sozonius an immortality necklace, the Lamb didn’t want Sozonius to go yet… and Sozo’s heart was too kind and soft. He will have to wait a bit longer to return home to his family, but maybe some good things will come out of staying longer~
Also! Who do we think Sozo was talking to? 
A Mushroomo Dialogue "Who is Sozo talking to when he whispers in the dark...?"
Is he talking to himself? The mushrooms? Or the Fox?
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anidrawsfanart · 7 months
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I just watched Glitch X !!!! It was so much fun!!! The Gaslight district sounds interesting…..anyways, we just got a sneak peek into episodes 7 and 8!!! I would like to take the time to dissect it! (Heads up: I’m not the best at analyzing/dissecting things)
So the teaser opens up with what seems to be after the elevator drops???
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It’s honestly kinda hard to make out…
Next we see N and Uzi hugging eachother and then UZI CRIES?????? HOLY SHIT
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You know shit is about to go down when a character that literally never cries on screen before ACTUALLY cries on screen
I think that’s when N told Uzi that she eventually has to die soon….and I can’t tell where they exactly are
Next we see N getting forcefully dragged away, and in the behind him is a bunch of hands
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At first I was kinda confused….but then I remembered all the way back in episode 2 where Uzi, N and Thad went back to the colony where they saw a human hand crawling towards them
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Leading it to be revealed to be eldritch J
Which means…..V didn’t make it. The very thing that’s pulling N away could be eldritch V
Although, why does it have multiple hands instead of one?? Could there be the other disassembly drones clones that died??? I don’t really know
Next we got the sentinels with chains and it looks like they might be outside of the manor (UPDATE: I just realized that this is a cathedral and not the manor, somebody also reblogged this and point it out. I was pretty tired when I made this lol)
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This could probably be a flash back
Then we get this shot
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NORI’S ROOM????? WERE GONNA LEARN MORE ABOUT NORI??? NORI FLASHBACK???? IS THAT TESSA’S HAND???? OR IS THAT SOMEONE ELSE’S????
I think they might have found Nori’s old room where she was being experimented at the time (???)…maybe this isn’t a flashback, also it looks like Nori had a similar personality to Uzi, like mother like daughter lol
Then we see N and Uzi hearing something from behind them
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Because of the similar background from the second pic and the shade of red on them, I think this could be moments before N gets taken away by eldritch V or whatever eldritch(es) it could be
Finally we get this
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@bigtittiecomitte pointed out that Uzi seems to be holding a cross on her other hand….maybe they are in a church???
Also N intertwining his hand with Uzi’s looking like he’s trying to calm her down, only for cyn (taking over Uzi) to hurt him
I’m VERY excited for the season finale!!!!
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cursedvibes · 3 months
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What is so special about Takaba that can made him cause the downfall of Kenjaku? Sorry if it's a dumb ask. I was so shock when it really is the end for Kenjaku.....
Also, if Takaba vs Sukuna, can you imagine the outcome? Like, personally, I think the fight will end < 5 seconds......🤣
I actually think the fight between Sukuna and Takaba would be quite long, assuming neither of them loses interest halfway through. Takaba isn't gonna kill Sukuna, just (unintentionally) wear down his consciousness and soul, while Sukuna also can't hurt Takaba. The only thing that might hurt Takaba is the world-bisecting Dismantle and I'm not even sure about that. This Dismantle cuts existence, but Takaba's cursed technique can alter reality, so would this cut be effective or also subject to Comedian? Anyway, I think a fight between them would be a very pointless back-and-forth.
Now as for why Takaba is so special: in short, he is exactly what Kenjaku had been looking for, what they wanted deep down and being led to indulge in that and allow to emotionally connect with someone else is what made them vulnerable to Yuuta's attack.
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All Kenjaku wants is entertainment, discovering new things and also sharing them with others, even if or especially when those people disagree with them. Before the fight started, Kenjaku was kind of lost. They achieved their life-long goal of capturing Tengen, the merger should be imminent, but they discovered that that won't give them Tengen's attention either and on top of that, they essentially lost their oldest friend. Even if Tengen wanted to talk back, by being under Kenjaku's control she lost all will and that is boring. She stopped being an equal.
So the person Kenjaku strived against and who they did all this for is gone. On top of that the Culling Game turned out less exciting than they thought. Everything was quite predictable and there wasn't as much chaos as they had hoped. Even the foreign nations invading and Sukuna switching vessels was quite predictable from Kenjaku's point of view. All they could do was go through the colonies and kill the remaining players to start the merger of Tengen and the Japanese population in hopes that at least that will be interesting to witness. Throughout all that they were still looking for someone who could fill that void their dwindling number of friends caused (mainly Tengen).
That's when Takaba shows up and disrupts all that, already drawing Kenjaku's attention through his extra-ordinary cursed technique.
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Takaba is there with the stated purpose to steal the show and Kenjaku agrees with him because this kind of distraction is exactly what they were looking for. A fun little side project of trying to figure out this clown. The main difference between Kenjaku and Sukuna is that Kenjaku entered this fight with the will to change and take in new perspectives, very unlike Sukuna, who currently makes it his job to try to make Yuuji bend to his worldview. Takaba was so effective on Kenjaku because Kenjaku was willing to engage with him from the beginning and was open to whatever insanity Takaba suggested because things were getting quite boring anyway, so why not. He peeked their curiosity.
Kenjaku is searching for entertainment and Takaba is willing to give that to them. He proposes to find something more interesting/funny for Kenjaku than the merger and Kenjaku even says they might be willing to let go of their merger plan if he succeeds. Even when they just met, Kenjaku was willing to consider his perspective because they were unsatisfied with how their current plan was turning out. All Kenjaku wants is something unexpected and that is what they got in their fight against Takaba.
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The following "fight" they continue to have this open perspective for Takaba's actions. Any time things get a little too personal or they feel his technique trying to influence them, they shut down, but they stay open to his spoken suggestions. When he declares he will make them laugh so hard they will puke up their stomach they are entertained and even the promise of a good one-liner gets them excited.
Which is something I really appreciated about this fight, it showed us who Kenjaku is when they aren't in villain mode. They are quite normal, bit wacky, but most importantly very human and that's the part Takaba brought out of them through their shared love for comedy. And that is what made them lose the fight. They stopped thinking about their insane merger plan, Sukuna's fight, the people they still needed to kill and essentially just "relaxed" and were able to be themselves. Playing around with Takaba's reality-bending technique is what made them actually enjoy the Culling Game, not the prospect of the merger or the bloodshed or whatever. Simply put, Takaba gave them something they didn't experience for hundreds of years because their fixation on Tengen and consequent plan always took precedent. Through that fixation Kenjaku lost what actually made them happy and excited, but they were too far gone to turn back.
Takaba brought that back through their comedy show. The comedy show is essentially all Kenjaku is looking for, in a very ordinary setting. It is a quick exchange of ideas and thought experiments. Since the show was improvised, both had to think on their feet and adapt to each other. They both surprise each other and have to adjust to the new scenarios. It's unpredictable due to the other person's input. Both being able to keep up and build on what the other offered is what made Kenjaku enjoy the experience. It's not just Kenjaku pushing things forward, but a team effort and simply through that they have less control over the process. That goes back to what Kenjaku said in Shibuya, about wanting to create something that exceeded their own expectations and that they have no control over. This isn't applied to people, curses or cursed energy, but I think it is still what this all comes down to and exactly that it is so ordinary compared to what Kenjaku previously stated they were searching for in the Death Paintings for example is what's important here, I think.
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The comedy show was like the illusions they threw at each other before, just in a more grounded setting. Which showed us that Kenjaku doesn't need complex techniques or world shattering events to have fun, be entertained or intrigued. Being able to be themselves and goofing around with someone else who is exactly on their insane wavelength was enough. Comes back to highlighting Kenjaku's humanity beneath all those insane and cruel plans.
Kenjaku wasn't willing to quite accept what Takaba provided them throughout the fight either, holding very desperately on to their carefully curated and collected image that allowed them to go through with their 5D chess plan. Takaba tried to pry them away from that with his antics, but they resisted instinctively. But when they determined the scenario (the comedy show) and there was no emotional manipulation present through Takaba's technique, they ended up having the most fun. They were concentrated on their skits with Takaba, essentially indulging in what they claimed to be their determining factors for friendship and they both didn't want any interruptions to that little bubble they created, which was when Yuuta pried on that emotional vulnerability Kenjaku showed.
So you could say Takaba manages to involve Kenjaku personally and worked through all those defences to pry out Kenjaku's true character. I don't mean this in a "Kenjaku is actually a pure little bean" way, I think they always had a very morbid humour and their curiosity and search for entertainment eventually became obsessive. Likely influenced by their split from Tengen. Tengen seemed to have been the person Kenjaku was most fixated on initially and who they relied on for friendship, attention, fun and exchange of ideas. And when eventually they didn't get that anymore, they became forceful. Takaba instinctively tapped into that original need, since he himself is also very desperate for connection, validation and someone who he can have fun with and indulge in his passions with. They are very similar in that regard and that was why they hit it off so well.
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Kenjaku's last words summarize it pretty well. They echo what Kenjaku realized during their fight with Takaba, except here they don't deny that feeling and there is no cursed technique forcing them to say this. It is unfortunate that they had to tap out before seeing the result of the merger themselves, but they got what they had actually been looking for. Their time with Takaba was one of the most entertaining things they experienced in their life and going out on that high-note makes their death less painful. The base need for fun with someone who doesn't bore them was fulfilled, Takaba managed to do what he initially set out to do at the beginning of the fight.
Kenjaku still put everything in place for the merger to be carried out, but I think what's important here is the focus of their actions. All they ensure is that Tengen won't die with them and that Sukuna has the means to start the merger if he wants to. They don't force him however, in the end it is still up to Sukuna to decide what should happen and that unpredictability is what Kenjaku actually enjoys. Something they can't control. It is unfortunate that they won't get to see it, but that seems to be alright with them. The way I interpret their last words is that they had their fun at the end of their life and now it is up to Yuuta, Sukuna & Co. to find their own deadly entertainment.
So essentially it all came down to Takaba matching Kenjaku's particular brand of insanity, tapping into their special interest and he also showed up at a time when Kenjaku was already questioning their decisions and was very desperate for meaningful company. Then Yuuta showed up and burst that bubble.
Overall, I think it is actually a very good end for Kenjaku because it showed us who Kenjaku is at their core and how they might have initially started out before the fixation on Tengen and the merger took over their life. As The Mastermind and main villain Kenjaku is in control, but by going back to the basic need for companionship and simple entertainment Kenjaku made themselves vulnerable. Indulging in these attachments (ones Sukuna claims to not have btw) they lost. Plays into the theme of strength=loneliness and consequently emotional attachments bring "weakness" as we also often see with Yuuji.
The timing of Kenjaku's death is bad, especially because we haven't gotten any meaningful interactions between the main villain and main character, who are also parent and child. Quite the missed opportunity...and well, having Yuuta do the beheading didn't fit there either, since he's completely removed from all that. I have to say though, chapter 249 made me like Kenjaku's death a lot more. It doesn't even really feel like a defeat because the main threat isn't gone and Kenjaku went out feeling satisfied with how things went. The experiences they had with Takaba feel like a good end for them, it just came too early in the story.
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Doctor Who, but Chronologically: 46
Well. Tonal whiplash.
We advance three years, to 1986, and therefore we go from an almost aggressively mid Gatiss story on a Russian submarine to World Enough and Time, the Capaldi season finale that opens with the Doctor stepping out of the TARDIS mid-regeneration (which we've seen! It was a WW1 story with Mark Gatiss as an actor! He's a much better actor than writer), then cuts back in time to show us lovely companion Bill being horrifically cyber-converted on a Mondasian colony ship. I wish we were still on that submarine.
LOADS of plot though WOW. We get so many answers! Can't wait to update the list. The story proper starts with Bill, the ever-confusing Nardole ("I should go back to being blue" he muses at one point, because what the fuck is he), and of all people, Missy. They step out onto a 400 mile long colony ship stuck by a black hole which therefore has fun timey-wimey stuff going on whereby the top of the ship is moving much more slowly in time than the bottom. This is, to be clear, an absolutely fantastic concept to base a sci-fi horror story around, but only if you have a writer capable of spotting plot holes big enough to drive a bus through, which alas we do not have, so the whole thing is permeated with a constant urge to scream "JUST GET BACK IN THE ELEVATOR YOU FUCKING IDIOTS" at the screen.
So. They arrive, and Missy is pretending to be the Doctor while he listens in from the TARDIS. She describes Bill and Nardole as "Exposition and Comic Relief."
"Those aren't our names," Bill says.
"They aren't names, they're genders," Missy replies.
We are then treated to a flashback in which the Doctor says Time Lords don't care about genders and their associated stereotypes. This juxtaposition seems to be entirely unintentional.
BUT! So many answers. The Doctor explains that Missy is his oldest friend and a fellow Time Lord (our first Other Time Lord! Interesting, since we've been told repeatedly that the Doctor is the only one left.) They were friends together in the Academy, they've both changed gender since, and she's very like him so he wants her to be good.
"She's a murderer" says Bill, and the Doctor straight up compares sapient people to animals in an analogy I suspect Moffat thought was Really Clever, but I suppose it's a very Colin Baker response. In any case, this is presumably why Missy was living in a vault in the TARDIS, and could fly a TARDIS, and it confirms now that she is not, in fact, another regeneration of River. Origins for both! Huzzah. Let's see what's happening back on the ship.
A blue man immediately shoots Bill for being human.
Ah.
He does this because as soon as they arrive, the lifts start moving and rising to their current floor, and whatever is inside is specifically attracted to humans. The Doctor could in fact have prevented him shooting, but rather than actually stressing to the blue man that he will just put Bill back in the TARDIS to hide her, he instead chooses to go on an extensive self-aggrandising monologue about how great he is and is still mid-sentence when the lifts arrive so blue guy just fucking blasts a dinner plate sized hole right through her chest. Some patients in bandages step out, and take Bill's cooling corpse for 'repair'. They go down in the lift.
So at this point two things happen, to whit:
Bill wakes up in a hospital with a sort of coffee maker strapped to her chest, and spends the episode variously befriending a weird fake Russian (why so many fake Russians atm?) with a nakedly rubber face. His name is Mr Razor, and he does provide excellent comic relief. It turns out that the bottom of the ship has been here for generations and so is decaying - the air is engine fumes, the walls are rust, so some medical personnel are trying to upgrade everyone so they can move up in the lift and escape to a higher floor.
The Doctor realises the time difference as the lift with Bill is still going down. Rather than immediately following, he spends ten minutes explaining how black holes warp time to the blue guy who is not even going to be coming with him, and whom they ultimately abandon. This means Bill is down there for years.
Still, good to know the limitations of the TARDIS, eh? I mean, everything would have been solved if they'd simply been able to, I don't know, materialise outside the ship at a safe distance and then tow it away from the black hole. Clearly black holes must defeat the TARDIS. Got it. I shall remember this for future stories.
Anyway, here are several issues:
Of the 50 odd staff who were running this empty colony ship, many went down to the bottom floor when they first got stuck by the black hole. At this point, they did not bother going back up in the lift. Instead, for reasons that are entirely unexplained, they decided to stay down there and form a society, so the ship is now filled with their descendants. We literally know the lifts work; the people came for Bill immediately. There is no reason for the original staff to have done this.
The only difference it should make is that the blue guy would appear to the crew to have not moved in the ten minutes they were down there. They absolutely could still get back, though.
Like I have had days when I have felt 1000% done with my job but I have never decided to just build a house where I'm standing and start a colony so I don't have to go back to the office.
Perhaps, Tumblrs, you are wondering, like me, why the people on the bottom floor now can't just. You know. Get in the lift. Once again, in order to get Bill, several patients immediately got in the lift and came up for her, and then returned with her. So they do literally know it's possible. Bill asks this of Mr Razor. "We sent up an expedition to the higher floors once," he says. "But we never heard back from them."
Yes, that is blatantly the time difference, isn't it.
If there are still humans on those middle floors, why haven't they been retrieved by the patients? They came immediately for Bill, and she was on the top floor.
...and on, and on...
ANYWAY then Mr Razor BETRAYS Bill and has her cyber-converted. There is, fair play, an excellent reveal that these are Mondasian cybermen, which admittedly I did guess but still, credit where it's due. The conversion is shown to be more horrific than you can imagine, too. Semi-converted patients at one point are on a ward, repeatedly pressing speech buttons that say "Pain" and "Kill me", and the nurse who comes in just turns off the volume so they can't be heard. It is, imho, way too fucking dark for this show, actually, but that largely sums up Capaldi's era.
And that's the cliffhanger! The Doctor and Nardole staring in horror at crying Cyber-Bill (apparently she's still flesh inside the suit, though, that sure does imply it's reversible). BUT!
Also Mr Razor finds Missy and he peels off his rubber face.
"I had to wear this mask because I used to be Prime Minister on a different planet," he declares, which is baffling to us as we have not seen this, and also that doesn't make sense. "I'm a past incarnation of you and also the Master."
SO THAT'S THE MASTER! A character we have only heard named in passing. SO MANY answers in this episode.
I also still don't understand Nardole.
“She�� (an unknown person) is returning (NEW INFO: perhaps River returned as Missy. River and Missy are separate! Could be either of them I suppose. Maybe Me? Maybe Clara???!)
There is something on Donna’s back
An entire planet, Pyrovilia, just… disappeared, somehow. (Maybe because the TARDIS is exploding??? Saturnine was also lost, and that WAS because of the TARDIS exploding. The lion man’s planet was also lost but he was a bit of a knob about it if I’m honest. The Thijarian planet was destroyed by some sort of impact). Is this the Flux?
Amy is maybe dead (she’s not)
The Doctor has been cubed (he’s out, but how?)
River is possibly blown up  (NEW INFO: unless she’s Missy. She's not Missy. Nope: she is definitely not blown up)
The TARDIS has blown up  (It’s fine now. Except it’s sort of melting now because it’s corrupted, but it’s fine again. NOPE, back to not working.)
The universe appears to have ended  (the universe is back again)
The Doctor has employed(?) Nardole
(And Nardole was “reassembled???” Nardole had glass nipples and invisible hair?? NEW INFO: he used to be blue, and could apparently go back to it??? WHAT THE FUCK IS HE)
NEW INFO: There’s a vault in the TARDIS and it contains Missy but we don’t know why (sometimes she knocks for the bants) She's a murderer and a fellow Time Lord and he's trying to rehabilitate her.
There’s an immortal Viking girl now. Her name is Me and she’s now looking after the people the Doctor abandons
Why was Rory entirely unconcerned by the entire world suddenly going silent when that is Not Normal and should have been, at the very least, extremely disconcerting?
What did the Doctor do to Queen Lizzie One?
Why is Amy seeing a one-eyed woman in a vanishing window? (She’s with the Silents, but we don’t know why Amy saw her)
Why is Amy’s pregnancy inconclusive? (Maybe because the baby had Time Lord DNA?) She’s deffo pregnant and the baby becomes River, but why inconclusive?
Who is Sarah-Jane Smith?
How is the Doctor Bill’s teacher and why/where does he have an office?
What is going on with the Cyber War and the Cyberium???
What happened with the Other Cyber War?
What happened with the Third War that deleted the void?
Why does Rose seem particularly important?
What order do these Doctors go in? (Eccleston, Tennant, uncertain, Smith, Capaldi, Whittaker)
Which companion just… forgot the Doctor, and how?
Yaz and Vinder are about to die as Mori/Mwri/Muuri (Not anymore, somehow)
There is a Lupari shield around Earth.
What’s a Time War?
What’s the Rift?
What’s Bad Wolf?
In which war did the Doctor become a war criminal, and how?
Who is the Master? NEW INFO: This is now resolved! The Doctor's oldest friend, a fellow Time Lord, but also a murderer.
Why has Amy forgotten Rory? How did she forget a Dalek invasion?
Is Rory plastic or not? Yeah, must be, he couldn’t possibly remember being plastic otherwise
Why is the Doctor sulking on a cloud?
How exactly does the Doctor have a cloud?
What exactly happened with Strax to, uh, tame him?
Which friend killed Strax?
Which friend brought Strax back?
Where did this lesbian lizard and human couple come from?
What happened with Clara as Souffle Girl and the Daleks?
How does Clara actually join?
Why so many Claras? A psychic midwife says she’s just normal human
Why is Missy apparently in robo-heaven?
Why is probably!Missy pushing Clara and the Doctor together?
What is Trensilor and what happened there?
Who is Handles?
The Doctor is about to be dissolved by a beautiful geode man
The universe is being crushed by the Flux
Will the Doctor open the fobwatch?
Sontarans are invading Earth again
Who is Kate?
Who is Osgood? Another name of Clara’s again?
The fuck is the deal with the Grand Serpent
Does Martha get to go to an ice cream planet with 12-fingered massage aliens?
How did the Doctor forget Clara?
Who is Bill’s puddle girlfriend Heather?
How did Nardole die?
When does Bill get Cyberman-ed and die? NEW INFO: Resolved! On a colony ship stuck by a black hole
When does the Doctor shrink and enter a Dalek called Rusty?
Whittaker is falling to her death rn
Was that ring relevant?
Does anyone know the Doctor’s name?
When did Yaz talk to Dan about fancying the Doctor?
When did Dan talk to the Doctor about fancying Yaz?
What’s happening with the bees?
What happened with Donna’s ex and a giant spider?
What war wiped out the Daleks, and is it one of the ones already mentioned?
What did the Doctor mean when he said “The (Daleks) always live, while I lose everything?”
If Dalek Caan is the last Dalek left why are there more now?
How did the rest of the Time Lords die?
How and why did Amy melt?
What’s the question that will make silence fall?
Why do the Silents… want silence to fall?
How and why are Silents at war with the Doctor when he… hasn’t even heard of them?
How does Hitler get out of the cupboard?
What’s the significance of fish fingers and custard?
Why does the Doctor feel guilt about Rose, Martha and Donna?
What happened with the space whale?
When does Rory defend Amy for 2000 years? Since Roman times, it seems
How does the Doctor survive River? He doesn’t, apparently
How does he erase himself from history
Did Captain Jack lose his memories to the same people as the Doctor? What did he lose?
When did the Doctor send the Daleks into a void to save the universe?
What’s with the weird crack in the wall and is it affecting memories?
Why do Amy and Rory think the Doctor is dead? Is it because of River as an astronaut?
Is Matt Smith’s Doctor a tree racist?
Why is the beautiful geode woman stealing people into a Passenger form?
River says she’ll die one day when the Doctor doesn’t remember her, let’s hope she doesn’t mean it
Why doesn’t the TARDIS like Clara?
When was the Master Prime Minister?
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madarasgirl · 8 months
Text
A Night for Hunting Ch.10 -What Makes a Meal?
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T/W: Alucard (Ultimate) x F!Reader, sexually suggestive content, but also some fluff. Romance, Riocard, shapeshifting. Smitten human with a crush. Seductive vampire troll, ‘dating.’ Comedy but not really? (things are amusing for Alucard at least).  Words: 5026 On AO3 @alastorhazbin
Thank you all for the birthday wishes! 
This chapter ended up longer than anticipated. Guess I was having fun too! I think it’s needed before the plot gets a bit more serious later.
I received a new shipment of orchids to add to my modest collection and I’ve been obsessed, if you can’t tell with my plant references.
Please read the note at the end of this chapter.
Alucard insisted on taking your number before you left for vacation with your closest friends. It was only a short trip away from home, but it was what you could manage. You ended up travelling to Scotland and visiting all the attractions of interest to your group, including Edinburgh Castle and the Isle of Skye. The landscape at the Isles was truly the stuff of legends. The soft light of late winter painted the sky deep pinks and purples during sunrise, the dusting of frost atop mountains were glittering diamonds in the morning sun before it melted into a shimmery dew, a series of picturesque waterfalls cascaded into the crystal clear Fairy Pools. It was a land of magic and enchantment more suited for a world of fantasy than reality. You almost wished Alucard was there so you could show him the beauty of the land and those spectacular sunrises. You captured countless photos to preserve the memory.
During a hike, your group’s passage disrupted a colony of hibernating bats, sending them fluttering in a noisy, chittering swarm. You scuttered away with your friends, yet you grinned even while squawking as everyone else did. These bats, however, did not possess scarlet eyes. Neither did they want anything to do with roosting in your hands as another bat did. 
He was at the back of your mind the entire time. Ever since you accepted your attraction to your immortal suitor, you thought of him frequently in increasingly fond terms. He was absolutely charming. It was frightening how quickly he came to occupy your conscious faculties. You hoped he’d appreciate the small gift you were bringing back to him. 
The vampire phoned at night on several occasions. Unfortunately, he did not allow you to elude him with only texting, stating that it was no proper way of communication. Once again, you were pleasantly surprised by the conversation with him. He was the most attentive audience as you excitedly recounted the adventures of the day, then he agreed with your hotel roommate as she teased you about ‘your boyfriend’ in the background of your calls. Curse his vampire hearing. You trembled at the deep voice on the other end. Between them, they had you tumbling into a flustered puddle of stutters and you terminated the call, telling him to let you be and that he was being an idiot.
You fell back on the mattress and pulled the sheets over your head so your friend wouldn’t see the stupid grin on your face. The butterflies in your stomach fluttered again as you recalled the smile you heard in Alucard’s voice during the call. --------------------
At last you were home in England. Considering the circumstances on how you met, the eagerness with which you wanted to see Alucard might be astonishing. His dastardly ways were mostly unchanged, yet his hunting of you for sport was long ago. Your current relationship was decidedly warm. 
There was no way you could treat him to a fancy restaurant, so you invited him over for dinner. It seemed like an excellent choice of activity until Alucard expressed his excitement about the prospects of you feeding him, only for you to repeatedly remind him he was not drinking from you again.
Sweet, I have arrived.
You fumbled with the lid to the pot before catching yourself and safely setting it down. You rushed to the entrance with a huge smile and pulled it open, only to stop dead in your tracks.
Huh?
Your smile dropped at the bizarre sight. It was undoubtedly Alucard on the other side of the door. You would never mistake those fiery eyes, the immense stature, and arrogant demeanour for anyone else. Yet he was different. His thick tresses revealed his hairline and fell straight past his rear. He wore a tailored black suit that fit him to perfection and a conceited smirk that matched the enthralling sunset gaze. There was something about his appearance that made him feel more unsettling and dangerous than usual.
You knew the vampire was a shapeshifter, yet you edged backwards when faced with the unfamiliar. His eyes glittered with mirth at your hesitation and his fingertips landed on your cheek with a delicate touch.
“Surely you have not forgotten me in a mere week, Dear?” He jested, rattling you out of your stupor.
As if that was possible. You shut your mouth. Yup, this was certainly Alucard. “I –I could never.” You meekly stepped aside to let in your guest and stared at him as he strode in like he owned your home.
“This is a gift for you,” he pronounced, setting a basket of yellowish, fragrant orchids in your hands. “It is known as ‘The Lady of the Night.’ It suits you.” It was a living arrangement of the whole plant, not just the cut flowers, and you shook your head at the vampire’s double meanings with a sigh. 
“Thank you. They are lovely.” You accepted the gift graciously and took a quick whiff of the citrusy fragrance that was to die for. The door shut and locked behind the vampire.
Alucard was in excellent spirits. He scented your excitement from behind the door and in truth, he was equally eager to see you. It smelled divine, the aromas of home-cooking and your nervousness mingled to tantalize his senses. He took in the sight of you standing awkwardly beside him, wondering if you were supposed to offer to take his coat, and grinned fiendishly. How adorable without even knowing it.
“Sweet, you should know the physical form I assume is meaningless. I may appear as whatever I desire.” 
His handsome countenance suddenly melted into whispering shadows. You gasped as his snakelike tongue lolled before he warped into a bipedal horned monster leaking darkness. His body stretched and broke open to reveal smooth bone, before sinewy muscle fibres formed over skeletal limbs and were encased in fresh skin. Those overly long, disproportionate fingers dripped of the night and you held your breath. You weren’t sure if you were afraid, but you couldn’t tear your eyes away from the grotesquely fascinating transformation. 
The monster dropped onto all fours, the horns elongating into antlers and with a series of crunches, the beast moulded itself into a giant elk that took up all of your living space. The metamorphosis was disturbing, but Alucard remained the most majestic creature, even as the elk sprouted eyes along its snout and down its hide. It stared into you for the longest moment and you didn’t look away, then it shrank into a dog, though the extra eyes remained.
And suddenly he became your Alucard again. 
The jagged shadows lashed about before flowing back and forming his familiar face, the darkness rippling around him with a crimson glow. It seemed the magic show was over and you were both silent. You finally released your bated breath. Instead of feeling terrified by the gnarly sight of Alucard remaking himself as if he was liquid, you giggled, then laughed out loud in wonder. You approached him to caress his hands, inspecting the digits that were reformed without any sign they were any longer mere moments ago. You stroked his cheeks, then went to the top of his head. No remnants of horns either.
Alucard’s brow lifted at your reaction. You were…excited by the prospect of having your own petting zoo? Yet he was not affronted by your debasement of his abilities as a Nosferatu. He made you laugh again and he basked in the sound. Tucking a strand of hair behind your ears, his smile matched your own toothy grin that showed your canines peeking through, so tiny compared to his fangs. 
You kept giggling, tucking a strand of imaginary hair away, unconsciously mirroring his actions and your eyes glittered as you lunged to embrace him. Such an unexpected and gratifying response you welcomed him with. His expression softened.
“Welcome back, little one,” he murmured, wrapping an arm around your waist.
Your lips parted and then closed. And opened again. You buried your face in his chest. “I missed you too, you jerk,” you mumbled, burrowing deeper when you felt the vibrations of his laughter. “I have something for you too, from Scotland.” Holding out something furry with both hands, you presented to your vampire a little stuffed toy bat. 
His brows raised before the orange pools spun and the light caught their golden flecks. He took the bat and studied it with a toothy grin, flicking a fond glance at you before tucking it away in his duster. “Delightful.”
You beamed bashfully and pulled apart. “Come on in, vampire, dinner is ready.”
You led your guest inside and seated him at the table. The seats were set and everything was just about cooked. All that was left to do was to plate the dishes and pour the drinks. You excused yourself briefly to use the bathroom.
Alucard settled into his seat while you used the facilities, listening to the sounds of your bodily functions, enjoying everything that made you human. Everything that was a normal life. His eyes opened as you returned and finished your preparations, materializing beside you to assist with preparing the beverages and floating the entrees over, making you shake your head in glee at his ‘magic tricks.’
He tugged at a chair to slide it across the floor with a hushed whisper, then tucked you back into the table once you were seated. “Dig in!” You proudly announced, quickly layering your bowl with an assortment of goods. 
As you tore into the deer, you peeked up at him in confusion. He made no moves to serve himself. You almost snorted. He may be your guest, but was he so insufferable he was expecting you to serve him like he was a king?
“You aren’t eating? Go ahead.” You pushed a dish at him and dabbed at the escaped sauce from your lips, not missing the way those predatory eyes followed the movement. 
“I will eat,” the vampire replied cryptically.
“You should while it’s hot. It’s venison stew, perfect for this weather! It’ll warm even you up,” you snickered, plopping a sizable serving into his bowl.
He didn’t reply.
This was getting awkward. You tried to chew quietly as your head spun. Was this some archaic vampire ritual where he was supposed to allow you to finish eating before he began? Did you mess up the dish somehow? Perhaps he preferred his meats more undercooked, bloodier? You somehow doubted it was because he didn’t consume meat. There simply didn’t seem to be a hint of a vegetarian in Alucard.
“The meal is perfectly divine, little one.”
The reassurance didn't help. “Then why…” You trailed off. The vampire was enamoured by the process of you eating. You set down the spoon as you finished swallowing.
“Alucard, you’re getting creepy again. You were expected to eat too, you know, not just stare at me.”
He chuckled. "You still wish to feed me?" 
“That was why you were invited.”
“As you wish, little one, but you are not feeding me.” 
You fixed the flattest, blankest stare in his direction. The quietness was nearly deafening. You made him a feast that blanketed every inch of the table. What game was he playing at now?
Sunset eyes got brighter and that grin grew wide. 
“Oh hell no. You’re a grown ass man! I’m not spoon-feeding you like you’re a toddler!”
“That is the only way I will eat human food.” He licked his lips.
“Then don’t eat! See if I care!” You huffed in disbelief, shoving in another bite to chew angrily. All that time spent preparing this plethora of dishes to perfection for this uncivilized beast. More for you, whatever. There will be plentiful food for the week.
The minutes stretched as you ate in silence by yourself. Childishly, you sliced the already tender morsels with more force than necessary to make a point. Several times, your gaze flickered up to check what your infuriating guest was doing, whether he was bluffing or if he truly expected you to demean yourself. An uncanny stare scrutinized every aspect of the way you consumed your food and suddenly you couldn’t remember why you missed him.
Grinding your teeth, you at last threw your hands up in frustration. “You really are insufferable!” You scooped up a slice of deer and shoved it at Alucard’s annoying mug.
The vampire's grin split even wider with his victory and the meat slid into his mouth. He started purring. “Heavenly. Were I still living, I would have appointed you a chef in my castle.”
You rolled your eyes at his grandiose words of praise. Even if he was a Duke or a Count or anyone of enough importance to warrant living in a castle, his manners were clearly plebeian. His appreciation for your efforts would be more apparent if you didn’t need to basically beg him to eat it.
“Come here, sweet one.”
“I am here,” you deadpanned.
“Your obstinate struggles against my will, as entertaining as they are, will always be fruitless, little human. Come here.” He scooted back in his chair and placed a hand on his lap. 
The audacity! This was your home. 
You had half a mind to demand he leave, but what were you going to do? Try shoving him out the door? He’d just phase through and mock you, if he even let you move him. If sitting in an ancient vampire’s lap to feed him dinner was the only way to expedite the process, so be it. Begrudgingly, you grumbled and plodded over to drop onto one of his thighs, only for him to scoop up your legs and drape you sideways over his lap.
You pouted and glared at him to show your displeasure.
“You really are charming when irate,” he purred, sticking his nose to your throat to nuzzle it. He inhaled. “For the aromas.” He chuckled when you tensed. “I am ready to eat, Sweet.”
You leaned away while pushing at his jaw to create distance, feeling the twitch in the corner of an eye as you picked up the fork and lanced the first piece of deer from Alucard’s bowl before lifting it to his lips. They wouldn’t part.
Not like that. His voice appeared in your mind, immediately followed by an image of yourself holding the cut to his lips between your fingertips.
“You really are going too far.”
“Humour me and you will find your freedom sooner.”
Picking up a slice of stew meat, you shoved it at the beast as you blazed with fury. He accepted the offering instantly, cool lips closing around your fingers to suckle. You squeaked in horror and yanked your hand back while he swallowed what you gave him whole.
“What the hell?!”
He smacked his lips and leered at you through lidded eyes. “Next.”
Gulping down your apprehension, you raised the next piece to his mouth and looked aghast as that scandalous tongue made a reappearance. Alucard made a show of licking your hand, beginning at the palm with a tickle and wrapping around your sauce-coated fingers. He lapped slowly at your fingertips as his eyes flashed, before gingerly taking the deer between sharp teeth and sucking it back with a wet slurp.
The hair on your arms stood on end, making your skin tingle. Your eyes met and his hand tightened around your waist. The other stroked up your thigh and squeezed your hip. Something else like appendages rubbed your shoulders and feet and held you tighter to him. He crooned and licked your jaw before capturing your lips to nibble on. The lounging beast sighed happily as your eyes bulged and you squirmed with discomfort on his lap.
“For the added seasoning,” he murmured against your ear.
That was just rude! 
The vampire cackled and flicked at your bottom lip again, making you flinch. “There exists no seasoning superior to your own taste.”
Piece by piece, you fed the old vampire by hand while he held you hostage in his lap. Despite feeling thoroughly harassed, eventually you couldn’t help but feel slightly flattered about your culinary abilities that elicited a response like this. If he liked your food so much, you supposed you could just cook for him again but skip this degenerate’s feeding kink, although being perched on his lap was not too bad. Neither was his touch wholly unwelcome. 
You pet his cheek while he chewed, his expression the face of pleasure. Nuzzling into your palm with a moan, his eyes opened to slits when you brushed up one side to investigate the pointy earlobe. He kept purring as loud as an engine.
Your eyes focused on the dancing shadows that surrounded him. They floated and twirled and seemingly pulsed at times. So mesmerizing.
Your unoccupied hand dipped cautiously into the shadow tendrils flowing around Alucard. He shuddered and growled, so low it was nearly imperceptible. A single wisp wrapped around your hand and you held onto it. Making contact with it was the strangest experience. Alucard's shadows were just that –not really tangible, yet you were able to physically touch his darkness. It buzzed in your hand with arcane energy that rippled through your being and tickled your spirit. Finally, you let him go, unable to bear the sensation any longer, and dropped your head on his broad shoulder to rest.
The heat was probably too high in your apartment after so much cooking. Your shirt clung to musky armpits and you fidgeted on Alucard’s lap as the undead cat finished another bite. He inhaled deeply, heavy purrs rumbling through his chest and vibrating through you. What a pervert. Always too suggestive. Always too attractive.
You absentmindedly gave him another piece, nipping on your lips and staring everywhere except at him when he started licking again. Something hard slid against your finger, catching your attention. The goddamn vampire was dragging the side of a fang against your ring finger. You held your breath, but again, it wasn't fear you felt, only curiosity at where he was going with this when he plainly stated he had no intention of biting you.
You caught the wicked smirk and glint in his eyes, now a deeper shade than at the onset of the meal. Again with the teasing. The air was heavy, the aura of mystery and danger swirled. His hair was longer and the locks fluttered despite the lack of a breeze. The lights dimmed before coming back on, throwing contrasting shadows across the pale profile you enjoyed looking at so much.
This smug vampire knew he was magnificent.
Your body responded aptly. After being subjected to hearing and feeling him purr all night, as well as the sensation of having his hands on you all night, you fell victim to his allure… the devilish monstrosity was simply irresistible. It felt like you were sitting in a furnace when you lowered your gaze from his triumphant one.
There it was, the scent of arousal. Alucard inhaled loudly, nostrils flaring as he absorbed his victory, ensuring you knew he was fully aware of your state of restlessness. Human food may be disgusting, but the taste of your skin was sweet ambrosia. For it to be finally paired with this ravishing perfume? Alucard believed he would never have enough of this gourmet delicacy.
The vampire was rock hard. A stiff shaft prodded your rump, large enough to make an impression even through fine wool and the awkward positioning. Your wide eyes lifted slowly to meet his, your shock at odds with his amusement.
The hands returned, the touch now lewd compared to the gentle exploration earlier. A shadow hand massaged your breast, alternatively kneading the mound between its palm and fingers. He traced circles around the tip to create a pebble before he pinched it. Your guest took your lips, prodding insistently until you yielded to his demands. Cold muscle delved into your mouth and he growled as he slid around to conquer and explore. Something firm held the back of your head when you attempted to escape. Another hand. His hands were everywhere, stroking and grabbing until you writhed in his grasp.
Your musk got heavier as your underwear became saturated with fluid. Even you smelled it. Alucard keened and encouraged you to touch him. A strange energy embraced you, leaving you gasping and he smirked with satisfaction. 
Curiously, you rested a palm on his chest. He had no heartbeat. Your heart was pounding, but there was nothing beating in his, nothing to show that you weren’t the only one hot and bothered. A moment of trepidation flashed by and passed. Resting your forehead to his chin, you trailed down his torso to rest lightly on the front of his pants. It was held up with steel that strained the smooth material into an indecent tent. You cupped it width-wise, its girth taking up most of the curvature your hand created, and tentatively ran your palm down the length. Down and down and down your hand travelled, until the end ran under your leg and disappeared.
Sweet Jesus, how big was this monster?
He hissed in pleasure as he made another show of licking your fingers, sucking them into his maw one by one. The devil held you spellbound through glowing vermilion orbs. No…you searched within your consciousness…the ancient vampire wasn’t hypnotizing you. This was all you. The revelation was more frightening than anything.
You shivered.
“What say you? Shall we search for nirvana this fine evening for dessert?”
“E-excuse me?”
“As I proposed, I will mount y–”
“I know how the mechanics work!” You screamed, your face on fire as you suddenly found yourself free of your prison and you scrambled off of him in an uncoordinated tangle of limbs, tripping over yourself and landing on your rear by his feet.
Alucard threw his head back and roared raucously as he leaned back to watch you. Eyes opened on the ground and curled in laughter to join in. The extra extremities disappeared. As did your desire –in just these few seconds, your libido jumped off a cliff and died, to be replaced by total mortification.
Not knowing how to recover, you picked yourself up from the floor as the vampire shook his head and chuckled. Stomping down the hall, you turned and hollered, “Time for you to leave! I’m going to bed!” Nevermind the fact that you just ate. 
The door slammed behind you and you crumbled to the floor in a panting heap, the mind racing to process what happened. A vampire, you were about to lay with a marauding predator of the night. Sinfully beautiful, but a ruthless murderer nonetheless. You hugged your legs and tried to calm yourself.
It was futile. You too craved his presence.
“...”
You sat alone longer at the edge of a precipice, the distance providing some much-needed clarity, until you finally stood shakily with your fingertips lingering on the door knob, about to flip the switch when you stopped yourself. If you were to be honest with yourself, you didn’t detest this vampire anymore. You would not mind if he stayed the night. 
…The bedroom door was left unlocked.
-----------------------
You stirred, sticking out a leg and kicking over to the other side of the bed, the cotton sheets brushing softly against your naked skin. With an arching back, you stretched the entire length of your body, from the tips of your fingers to the bottoms of your feet, and yawned. The muscles in your legs cramped from being perched in one position last night. Your toes poked out from under the blanket.
“I bid you good morning, little human.”
You sat up abruptly and found the unblinking crimson set of eyes in the corner of the room. For a moment, fear shot up your spine, the terrifying recollection of being at the mercy of a red-eyed monster who wanted to rip into you on another occasion made your blood run cold. 
But there was no need for alarm this time. Your heart raced even as the fright dissipated.
There he was, sitting on the grey loveseat with his legs crossed and a frown marring his features, his fingers loosely intertwined. Shooting a panicked glance over to the window, you saw there was indeed light filtering around the edges of the curtains, illuminating the bedroom with the gentle rays of morning. But the sun! Why wasn’t he going off in flames? Did he just watch you sleep the entire night? 
“Why are you here?” You asked dumbly.
The frown turned upside down and the vampire cackled, two rows of jagged teeth gleaming like a bear trap. “You invited me in, little one.”
“But you stayed the night?”
“Watching you breathe,” he purred, “listening to your heart beat.”
Creepy, psychopathic behaviour, but then again, this was Alucard you were referring to. You held the sheets closer to your chest before remembering to check on your state of undress beneath. You were the same as how you went to bed, crotch still clammy from the devil’s seduction last night.
“I meant the sun. How are you alive? Shouldn’t you be a pile of ashes?” 
He smiled. “Your legends generally do not apply to a true vampire like myself.”
Indeed, Alucard actually looked fresh and well-composed, as if he didn’t spend the night sexually harassing a young woman and then ogled her as she slept. The fog in your mind slowly retreated. A true vampire… There was so much you didn’t know about the supernatural.
You rubbed your eyes and blinked at him. "So the sun doesn't hurt you?"
"No more than it harms you, though I may despise the day."
"Then how about garlic?"
He snorted.
"Crosses? Holy water?"
"Mere irritations."
"Silver?"
"Ah– that may cause injury." The vampire closed his eyes and snickered. "So curious about my existence, little one. You want me dead?" Hellfire bore through your soul.
Dead?
You froze, unsure of how to respond. Did you want him dead? Vampires were a menace to society, a scourge. Wouldn't the world be better off without demons like him wandering it? “You are already dead. But…I can’t say I want you gone for good anymore…”
Silence. The fire burned warmly in those molten pools. "You are such an intriguing creature," he murmured.
You shuffled in bed and propped up a pillow behind your back, being careful to keep the sheets draped over your chest, thoroughly conscious of your nakedness. A million questions bloomed in mind as you sat quietly across from this ancient creature a few paces away, who witnessed the eras come and go. Was it okay to ask now?
“So…how did you become a vampire?”
He sat back and tilted his chin up in thought before staring down his nose at you. “At the end of my human life, I chose vengeance and hate."
You perked up. To be or not to be. "So your sire gave you the option to become a vampire?" You recalled his reaction the last time you inquired about his sire. Hopefully vampirism wasn't a fate that was forced upon him.
Alucard didn't respond immediately. "I have no sire, little human."
You were mildly confused. That was how vampires were born though, wasn't it? Vampires created vampires, as they also gave rise to ghouls. Alucard himself told you so. It seemed the more you learned from him, the less you knew. There was always another secret.
You blurted it out, much more directly than the last time you broached this topic months ago. "...Do you ever regret it?"
He looked sad, wistful, and your heart churned for a demon. What was this feeling? His gaze dimmed, turning downcast as the frown returned.
"Cherish your humanity, child."
Not knowing what to say, you reached for him and he came to you immediately, kneeling by the side of the bed and resting his face in your hand. You ran your fingers through the silky hair you adored and the vampire sighed against your touch.
You pondered Alucard's words as you pet him. So many questions. "Then what about that vampire you shot? Is he like you? Are there other vampires like you who don't bite?"
Alucard tensed before smiling slightly, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “I’m not something so vulgar and cheap. And I do bite.” A hand shot up to grasp your wrist by his face.
You were undeterred. You put your other hand to his chest and once more noted the lack of comforting beats. His touch wasn’t gross like with the other vampire. In fact, physical contact with Alucard no longer made you feel the need to shower. His aura no longer urged you to run and hide, or face mortal peril. Actually, this was quite pleasant.
His face came within inches of yours and you felt his icy breath as he spoke.
“If you can kill me, I would gladly die by your hands.” He purred at you, pressing your hand hard into his chest, leaning heavily into your touch and lowering his head to rub noses.
To be or not to be. You snorted, “As if that’s even in the realm of possibilities.”
“Only a human can kill a monster.”
“You are not making any sense.” You’ve seen what he can do. He had superpowers while you were a normal mortal. Kill him? What a joke.
Alucard chuckled, “No, I suppose not.” A gloved finger bumped softly against the tip of your nose and he closed the gap between you. Luminescent irises whirled, his gaze affectionate. You stared back into the balmy gaze as you let your lips and foreheads touch in a tender meeting.
Minutes had passed when you pulled apart.
“Okay, you got your show. Time for you to leave.” You sighed, brushing a thumb against his cheek one last time before dragging your sheets with you to keep yourself modest as you rose from bed to pull open the curtains.
He was gone from your room when you turned back.
~To be Continued~
Chapter 11: Interlude I Chapter 12: The Feeling of Safety
Notes:  For those of you not familiar with Shakespeare’s work, Hamlet, “To be or not to be, that is the question” is probably the most well-known line from his play. This infamous soliloquy is referring to the decision “to live or not to live,” something Hamlet pondered as he discussed how painful living is and how death may be preferable, if it weren’t for the uncertainty of what came afterwards. Hamlet was suicidal. It is deeper when Alucard said it because he wasn’t merely referring to his ‘cowardly’ decision to turn (“to be a vampire”), but also how by choosing ‘to be,’ he ended up damning himself to an eternity of unlife instead. Alucard wants to die.
While I think Alucard wasn't constantly shagging everyone prior to meeting us, I headcanon that he is normally open to sexual relationships with humans should they be interested (and if they interest him). And if Alucard is sexually interested in someone, he will certainly at least try to seduce them. Alucard is extremely suggestive, very sensual, and the type to take a mile if you give him an inch. If you let him in your pants once, he'll be seeking opportunities to charm them off again. He knows he's attractive, good in bed, and that we’re hot for him. 
So now I feel like I kind of lied when I said "no smut" in this story's initial tags (hey it was supposed to be a oneshot), but I think I actually can't avoid some racy content if we're to get to the point where we want to give Alucard all of ourselves. This fic had mature themes from the beginning, so I believe most readers won’t have too much issue with more sexual content, but explicit smut scenes will be mostly in the interludes from this point on. It is now officially “eventual smut/NSFW." Things will be spicier here and there. The Interludes can be skipped and readers will (probably) not miss too much. Just FYI, they eventually do pretty much everything except fuck “all the way,” ie. P-in-V sex. BTW, next chapter is an interlude. It features period blood and is really not for everyone (but hey, our dear monster is a vampire), in which case I hope you’ll enjoy Ch.12 more!
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Above: Brassavola nodosa, The Lady of the Night. Not my orchid, but one I eventually want to add to my collection. I wasn't aware of this, but apparently in some cultures, it represents the connection between the living and the dead. Only at night it is fragrant, releasing a smell that is described as citrusy or like gardenias.
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motsimages · 7 months
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I am stuck with this here and the longer I look, the more questions I have. I will make this post here because OP is quite young and it is a silly post after all.
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First, it assumes that "your country" now is the same as it was when "great-great grandparents" and the same as "farther back than that". When the reality of most countries is that they've been changing borders.
I am not going further than the 19th Century (great-grandparents time) because things get really interesting before that, amongst other things because Nationalism was a big thing then and it's when governments really tried to make a statement about This Is My Country and when many colonies gained independence. Before the 19th Century, the world as we know it now was completely different and the further back into the past you go, the stranger it gets.
Without leaving Europe, which is what I know better, Germany and Italy had what is called "the unification" in the second half of the 19th Century, which means that before that they weren't what they are now. In recent years, Germany also had the Federal Republic of Germany, which was technically another country which disappeard in 1987. And Yugoslavia became separate countries in 1992. So Yugoslav born singer Zdravko Colic is now Bosnian-Serbian. How would he answer to this? He didn't move. His country changed around him. And he is old, but think of all the 30-35 year-old people who were born in a different country. All the people who never left their native city and who have children born in a different country.
Africa has the before and after Western colonisation to thank for borders and countries and to also complicate this reply. Again, just in the 20th Century, because of colonies, some countries were what is now France, Portugal, UK or Spain. Maybe the status wasn't the same as being born in Europe, but still, a different country.
I don't know how Asia has been in this regard but I bet similar things apply with colonisation between them and then Europeans. Even America (understood as the whole continent, North and South, not just the US) was changing borders up until the 19th Century.
If you go to before the 16th Century, which is when Western colonisation really began to change the shape of the world, it gets even more fun. This would be between" "farther back but I do know when" and "too far back to remember". Without getting into colonies, Spain as a country was formed in the 16th Century. Before Christopher Columbus (and even during his lifetime), it was two separate kingdoms united by the mariage of the king and queen who agreed to send Columbus to America. And that was more or less the looks of everywhere around the time.
And now we reach the difference between "too far back to remember" and "indigenous". Polynesian people remember when they went to certain places, when they reached mainland here and there for thousands of years. Europeans do not. Polynesians are indigenous and Europeans aren't. However, even Europe has indigenous people (because of all the mess with countries and borders).
Many people can actually answer to both of these. The poll assumes that, unless you are indigenous, you are an inmigrant, except indigenous people also travel and migrate and non-indigenous people also stay in the same place. Indigenous is a thing completely unrelated to migration.
There is also the succint assumption (bias, if you will) that people only migrate willingly. Sure, it can be a choice you make for the sake of your family, for a job, for safety and whatnot (how "willingly" that is, it's up to the person), but there is a moment in history when many people were migrated forcibly, so to say, as they were kidnapped and made into slaves.
In short... it's one of those post that feels a bit too white US.
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