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gilverrwrites · 1 month

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Skinny Dipping

Pairing: Dean WInchester/F!Reader

Authors note: This has the been the hardest, and biggest of my re-mastered fics so far. I’m pretty sure the original was an amalgamation of imagines from supernaturalimagine and dirtysupernaturalimagines but I couldn’t even guess at which imagines exactly. This is like, my 4th public/semi-public fic in like 3 months, I’m starting to feel like this is a kink I didn’t know I had. Also, Metallica have not cancelled anything, don’t worry. (and I don’t know jack about cars, people that do, please don’t come for me, I really did try, k, thanks, bye.) 💖

Plot: Reader is a mechanic who Dean's been checking in on, and checking out for a while now. Dean has the perfect excuse to see her after baby breaks down nearby.

Rating: M/18+

Words: 2936

Content: Swearing, consumption of alcohol, reckless drunken/tipsy behaviour, being submerged underwater, skinny dipping, teasing, brief retraining, size-difference, dry-humping, (or I guess wet-humping), semi-public sex, unprotected sex, p in v, water sex, mild angst.

Please remember: If you never try, you’ll never know.

You switch off the radio, listening to the purr of your car's ignition as you pull up behind a familiar black impala. It was a beauty, but it was nothing compared to your ‘70 boss. You watched as its owner climbed out of the front seat and headed towards you.

Its owner being your old friend Dean Winchester. He and his brother had saved you from a coven of witches a few years back, and ever since he’s been popping back into your life every few months. ‘Working on a case nearby’, ‘just passing through’, ‘baby needs a new compressor’. Every visit he laid the flirting on thicker. You weren’t sure if he was just joking around with you, or if he was serious, or if he saw you as a challenge. Either way you’d been making him work for it. Today it just so happened that his car had broken down a few miles out from your shop, the perfect excuse to see you on a Friday night.

You were pulled from your train of thought by a light tapping on your window. You snapped your head to the side to see Dean hovering over your door. His familiar smile set your heart racing. Okay, so maybe his seduction tactics were working, he was hot, who could blame you?

“Is there a problem, officer?” You joked, rolling down your window.

Dean rested an arm on the hood and leaned in. “No, no, just a routine check.” You knew he impersonated officers and agents all the time, but you hadn’t seen it firsthand. It was impressive how easily he slid into character.

“I am, however, gonna have to ask you to step out of the vehicle for a full strip search.”

Act ruined.

“At least buy me drink first.” You quipped.

“If you can help me, I’ll buy you a whole dinner.” He winked and opened the car door from the outside. You raised your brows at him but climbed out anyway before making a b-line for the impala’s engine.

“What’s wrong?” You directed your question to the car in the same tone you would address a small child or animal, gently rubbing a hand across its roof as you walked beside it. "Has someone been neglecting you?”

“Hey!” Dean barked, clearly offended. “I take better care of this baby than I do myself.”

At that you looked back over at him. He’d forgone his usual flannel today, leaving him in a pair of jeans that hugged him in all the right places and a grey t-shirt that clung tight and accentuated his broad chest. By the time your eyes reached his face, Dean was sporting a wicked grin, clearly ecstatic to have caught you checking him out. You avoid his smug gaze by popping the hood of his car to take a look at the engine.

“You weren’t kidding.” You whistled; Dean really was taking care of the thing. The motor was almost gleaming. You felt his warm hand suddenly press against your lower back and turn to look up at him. The expression on his face could only be described as that of a proud father.

“Yeah.” He agreed before pointing to the main battery with his free hand: “This is the problem. It’s busted.”

“Ah, you’re gonna need a new one. I’m surprised you don’t keep a spare.”

“Yeah.” To his credit, he looked pretty sheepish. “I normally do, but guess I forgot when the last one went out.”

“I don’t have one.” You said, pursing your lips to express your sympathies.

Dean didn’t respond, biting his lip while he waited for you to continue.

“But I could give you a jump start if you gotta head out soon.” You bring the hood back down and start heading to the boot of your car.

“No good,” Dean calls after you. “I’m not in a rush, but I don’t have enough gas to get me where I’m going.”

“Well… I’ve got a guy. He’s a few towns over. He’s closed at this time.” You inform as you open your boot and pull out your tow rope, flashing it to Dean with a smile. I can tow you into town for tonight, then drive you there and back in the morning.”

“I knew I could count on you!”

An hour later, you’d slowly but surely managed to drag Dean and his baby back into town, argued with him about him staying at a motel or on your couch (you’d won), and successfully swindled him into buying you that dinner he’d promised. Dinner being take-put pizza and over-priced ice-cream. Now, the two of you were sitting in your backyard, sharing the aforementioned ice-cream and an old bottle of Jack Daniels you’d pulled from the back of your cupboards.

“So,” Dean began, his speech slurred by the spoon hanging from his mouth. How’s the garage doin’?”

You take a sip of the JD and proceed to suck on your teeth as you consider how to respond.

“Honestly, bad. Ever since that shitty corporate place set up shop down the road, we’ve been going downhill.” You punctuate your statement with another sip from the bottle before offering it to Dean. “I’m keeping it up and running by tooth and claw, but truthfully, it’s probably only got a few months left in it.”

He gives you a sombre smile as he exchanges the tub of ice cream for the bottle. It's a touchy subject, but you can’t help admiring the way his neck moves as he tilts his head back to drink. You avert your eyes by scooping up the last bit of cold, sugary goodness and placing the empty container on the grass beside you.

“That sucks.” He places a hand on your shoulder, attempting to offer comfort. “That really sucks. Do you have a back-up plan?”

You grab the bottle back from Dean and take another sip before answering.

“I dunno. Sometimes I think about doing what you do. Kinda.” You begin. You don’t miss the way his entire body stiffens before you clarify. “Without the monsters. Just hit the road, get drunk at every bar in the country, visit Disney, become Metallica groupie, an-”

“You know they cancelled that tour, right?” Dean butts in.

“WHAT?” You shake his hand off and stare up at him in disbelief.

“Yeah.” He shrugs. The smile on his face is anything but sympathetic.

“Bastards.” You cross your arms and pout dramatically. Maybe it’s the alcohol, but the laugh that escapes Dean's lips is magical, and you can’t help but join in. When he returns his hand to your shoulder, this time reaching for the furthest from him, thus wrapping himself around you, your skin tingles, and you let yourself fall into him.

As the two of you slowly seize your giggling, Dean checks his watch. He quirks an evocative brow at you when he speaks, “It’s getting late. Maybe we should head inside?”

You mull it over, dramatically swaying your head from side to side before you voice your decision. “Actually, I have a better idea.”

You stand up, offering your hand to Dean, who eyes you sceptically. Nevertheless, he takes the bait, placing his hand in yours and allowing you to lead him toward the footpath just outside your garden.

“Where are you taking me?” he asks, and you can sense the caution in his voice. You assume it’s the hunter in him being paranoid, and you know for a fact that his free hand is hovering over the knife he keeps tucked into the back of his jeans at all times.

“I’m taking you here,” you answer as you pull him through the last set of trees and onto the shore of the local lake. You scan the surrounding area as you kick off your shoes. Satisfied that nobody is nearby, you start pulling off your trousers.

As you bend down to pull your socks off, you look up at Dean. He’s staring back at you intensely, mouth open, cheeks pink.

When you start pulling your top over your head you feel his fingers lightly brush against your hips. He’d stepped closer, and you’re tempted to touch him back or to reach up and kiss him. But you don’t. Instead, you throw your top over his head and sprint for the water.

“RACE YOU!” You challenge, discarding your bra and panties before you reach the water and forward dive in. Dean follows you moments later with a cannonball that splashes your face just as you’re resurfacing from your own dive.

“Fuck! That’s colder than I expected.” You yell to him.

“I’ll warm you up.” Dean replies as he swims close to you. You let his hands return to your hips, not expecting it when he dunks you back under the water.

You cough and splurge as he brings you back up. You flail your arms around until you find the top of his head, and you cling to him for dear life, but Deans is stronger, taller, and he’s found solid ground to plant his feet onto below the water. He escapes your grip and throws you under again.

“STOP. MERCY!” You yell when you come back up. This time, you use your legs for safety, wrapping them around his hips. You'd be safe if you could just get a grip on his arms. You’d been too distracted to notice his erection until you feel it poking at you. You’re about to make a comment about it, but Dean speaks first.

“You’re cute when you’re scared.” He laughs, you silence him with a swift but playful punch to the chest. In defence he grabs at your wrists, able to trap both in just one of his hands. His other hand slides up your arms, over your shoulder, your neck, until he reaches your cheek. He leisurely rubs his thumb against your wet skin.

You stay like that for a while, watching each other, before you finally ask, “Are you gonna kiss me or what?”

Without any further hesitation Dean lunges forward, forcing his lips against yours. His kiss is hard and animalistic; he skips straight past the pecking and teasing to roaming your mouth with his tongue. His fingers leave your cheek and weave into your hair, holding you against him, his stubble scratches against your skin.

In a play for dominance, you dart your own tongue out, grazing his chapped lips, but he denies you. Instead, he pulls away from your lips, refocusing his attention on nipping and kissing at your jaw, neck, and collarbone.

“You have no idea how long I’ve been imagining this.” He utters onto your skin.

“What, this exact scenario?” You joke.

“Not exactly.” He lets out a breathy chuckle, and the gust of air against your skin makes you tremble.

“Then what?” You challenge. Your inability to touch him is frustrating you. In an attempt to stimulate him back, you grip your legs around him tighter, using him as leverage to grind against him. The tip of his cock doesn’t quite reach your clit, but its added pressure helps it spread your lips. “Tell me.”

He drops his hand from your head, and cups it under your asscheek. Firmly guiding you up and down, assisting you in rutting against his cock. Shakey breaths become grunts, and after a few seconds he releases your wrists so that he can grip you with both hands. Free to move, you shimmy down his body until you can feel his dick brush against your clit with each grind.

“Come on, tell me.” You plead, reaching up to card your fingers through his hair, your grip tightening every time he hits your sweet spot. You know he's not shy, that he’s just getting lost in the feeling, and it pains you to say it, but eventually, you taunt. “I’m not gonna fuck you if you don’t tell me.”

He whimpers at your empty threat but finally confesses. “Just you. Your body, under me. Every night, I think about how you’d look, how you’d feel squirming, moaning my name.”

“Fuck. That’s hot.” You reply and he smiles as you plant your lips against his once again.

“Can I fuck you now?” He asks, speech slurred as he tries to speak between kisses.

“Yes.” You respond instantly, pulling back to look him in the eye. “Please fuck me, Dean.”

He doesn’t hesitate. His grip on your ass is like a vice as he lifts you up slightly. You both work in sync to position yourselves just right until he lowers you onto his cock, slowly pressing into you. There’s some resistance as he stretches your walls, but the sound of his whispered praises helps you relax until he finally bottoms out, stretching you in all the right places.

“Fuck, that feels so good. You took me so well.” He affirms, and even though he’s already balls deep, you can’t help the heat that spreads across your face.

He begins lifting you again before you can respond, sliding you up and down his cock in slow, steady movements. You grip tight to his shoulders and hips with your hands and knees, using them as leverage points to help move your body up and down. Each thrush is slow and shallow, but Dean seems to be loving it; his head rolls back, and he releases breathy moans with every rock.

“Shit.” You shout, holding tighter still when Dean unexpectedly shifts below you, repositioning his legs to a sturdier position. You watch through hazy eyes as he reaches up and grips your hand, before guiding it down the tight space between your bodies. You get the message quickly, and begin rubbing your clit in lazy circles, keeping in time with the pace of Dean's cock.

The added stimulation had your toes curling in no time. When your pussy starts clenching around Dean’s cock, you see the sudden concentration in his face. His brow furrows, and he bites his lip as he focuses on riding you through your orgasm. The sight was the final push you need to take you over the edge.

“Fuck, Dean. Fuck fuck fuck, that feels good.” You cry out as you hit your climax.

“Keep saying my name, baby.” Dean begs as he continues rolling your hips together. You feel his body shake as he starts to struggle with your combined weights as he chases his own release.

You try to assist, desperately pumping yourself up and down despite the newfound sensitivity as you chant his name.

“Fuck, yes baby.” You feel the twitch of his cock inside you. He buries his head in the crook of your neck as he hits his orgasm, rutting his cock as deep as he can as he cums inside you. “oohhh yeah.”

You stay in position for a long time following, holding on tight to each other, listening to each other's breathing as you come back down, until Dean guides your body backwards so that you’re face to face again. “How you feelin’?”

“Good.” You reply with a smile.

“Good.” He grins at you mischievously before plunging backwards into the water, taking you with him.

“So, was that everything you imagined it to be?”

He purses his lips in thought before teasingly responding. “Eh, it wasn’t bad.”

You both laugh as you lay your head down on Dean's bare chest; his arms envelop your body as you both blankly look up at the stars. You play with the hem of the shirt you’d stolen from him when you emerged from the water and re-dressed.

“You should do it.” Dean says when you're both fully settled down.

“Do what?” You query, popping your head up to look at him, unsure what he’s talking about.

“Hit the road.” He clarifies, revisiting your earlier conversation. “I mean, life on the road isn’t easy or sustainable, trust me, I know.”

“But…” You prompt, knowing fully that he wasn’t going to stop there.

“But it could be fun for a while. If it’s what you wanna do. Hell, I’d totally be a roadie if… you know.”

“I know,” You reply. You’re smiling at him, but it doesn’t quite reach your eyes. The reminder of your failing business stung, but you didn’t want it to spoil your night. You lean forward, caressing his cheek; his stubble feels rough against your fingers. You gently pull his face forward and plant a chaste kiss on his lips. “I might. I probably will. If it comes to it.”

“I can’t come with you.” He says when you lean away. You hadn’t expected him to want to come with you. Hoped, maybe? But you knew it wasn’t a possibility.

“I know.” You repeat.

He carefully reaches up to run his hand across your damp hair as he pulls you in for another kiss. This one is longer, softer than any you’d shared all night. When you’re done, he lets his head fall back against the ground, and you perch yourself against his chest once more.

“You’ll still call me though, right?”

“Always.” He replies instantly. “You’re my best girl. Well, second-best girl.”

“The car?” You ask deadpan. Of course, the car is his number one.

“Who else?” He replies shamelessly.

You’re not sure how long you stayed like that, entwined in each other’s arms, spent and damp under the stars, until eventually, you feel your lids growing heavy. You fight it for a while, willing yourself to remain awake, until eventually your tiredness wins out. You cuddle closer into the warmth of Dean's chest as you fall asleep.

#dean winchester x reader #supernatural reader insert #supernatural imagine #dean winchester smut #dean winchester imagine #gilverrwrites

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sentate · 2 years

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SENTATE- Haute Couture 2022 Collection

The Sentate Haute Couture 2022 Collection draws on my favourite aspects of fashion; a dark story told through design... A coven of witches hidden in plain sight! They speak in ancient whispers, conjuring incredible power and looking devistatingly chic whilst they do so. Inspired by my long term muse Cassandra Goth, the genius of Alexander McQueen and...SUSPIRIA (2018)!

This years collection features harsh yet feminine silhouettes with tailored cuts, re-imagined wadrobe staples and almost psychedelic prints. The collection is completed by mysterious accessories fit for only those brave enough to wear them.

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Included in the Collection are 22 items available across my standard 25 swatch colour palette in addition to 5 bonus swatches. The collection will be publicly available on the 30th of September.

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#sentate #sims 4 #sims 4 cc #sims 4 machinima #sims 4 fashion show #maxis match #sims 4 custom content #custom content #sims couture darling #sims cc #ts4 #ts4cc #ts4mm #suspiria #alexander mcqueen #cassandra goth #ive wanted to make a witchy show for so long #and finally the time was right

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irlmagicalart · 11 months

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to the crew member who is responsible for the Sprig plush in Hunter's room — i love you i owe you my life <3

(please pretend I finished and posted these last August before Thanks to Them aired - k thanks byyyyyeeeee~)

bonus doodle, thoughts, and reference credits under the readmore :)

POV grimwalker #58 is 8 years and frew up at 3am

Once I caught up on season 2 of TOH last summer and saw the Sprig plush in Hunter's room, my brain went BRRRRRRRR. Even though it's just an easter egg/cute reference someone snuck in, I immediately thought that Amphibia existing as a children's book or book series on the Boiling Isles would be a fun in-universe reason for him to have a Sprig plush; especially since Hunter canonically loves to read, like Luz. I thought it would have been nice for the Amphibia books to have been one of the few genuine childhood experiences he got to have before being fully indoctrinated by Belos. Since we don't have a full canon timeline for Hunter, I made a few artistic choices when I was originally doodling these. 1. His ear notch is from creation, and not an injury. I got the image stuck in my mind of a still clay-like toddler grimwalker, and Belos accidentally clipping his ear in the process of trying to cut his hair 💀 2. Hunter's face scar happens later on, maybe around age 12 or 13 (and almost definitely due to an outburst from Belos). 3. Before Flapjack (❤️), Hunter monologued to Sprig 4. While the thought of Darius, Lilith, or Belos being the adult to help make the plush is extremely funny, I couldn't imagine any of them actually doing that, LMAO. Darius and Lilith might not have even been a coven heads yet, and while Belos may have indulged the fresh child grimwalkers a little, I couldn't see him being kind or patient enough to do more than just allow them to have some of their own childhood interests for a short while. Gotta let your child soldiers have the illusion of personal choice and love so they stay loyal :,) SO, I thought to myself, "Who the fuck would be in the castle, but wouldn't hate Hunter for existing??" and then I thought about how Amity volunteered with the public Library to read to kids and help them with projects, and how amazing librarians are, in general. So I decided the castle library had this kind witch as an employee for a while during Hunter's childhood, and he is the one who helped Hunter make Sprig :,,,) Credits Non-native procreate brushes used: Star Brush Set for Procreate by CK Art & Design Ultimate Dynamic Comic Panels, Balloons and SFX Toolkit for Procreate By Ittai Manero

Hunter's bedroom layout referenced from Hunting Palismen (S2E6), and Leland Goodman's original design for Lilith's room (which it seems was re-used for Hunter's room later on in production).

#the owl house #hunter toh #hunter #amphibia #sprig plantar #hunter noceda #hunter deamonne #the golden guard #hunter the golden guard #i refuse to tag him as a wittebane; he doesn't deserve that disrespect lmao #consistent art style??? dunno her #i spent way too much time on these. plz clap 💛

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a-magpie-in-gravesfield · 9 months

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So I was asked today on Etsy what scents I use for the custom letters, and I figured I should probably make another post about this - there is an Etsy seller who makes custom candles and fragrances, and I spent awhile researching scents and meanings behind them etc, so I might as well share my list :)

(The one used for the letters is Emperor’s Coven btw ! If you want the custom candles you can tell the seller you came from me and they can re use the same colors and toppings I used in mines, I also let them know they can re use my artwork for the candles :) )

Here are my scents list :

Emperor's Coven (the scent on the letters, what I imagine the castle/Belos smelling like - note : even cooler if you burn Frankincense incense at the same time for those castle vibes :) )

Scents : Incense, Library, Sage & Cypress, Golden Santal

Gravesfield (smells kind of “gloomy”, like sad forest vibes)

Scents : Rainy Morning, Incense, Sandalwood, Noble Pine

Peaceful Memories (based on the happier times Philip and Caleb had in Gravesfield, smells very sweet)

Scents : Firewood, Noble Pine, Moonflower, Red Rose

Lord Belos (based on the caravan I designed specifically, as in, what I imagine the inside smelling like.)

Scents : Mountain Mist, Sage & Cypress, Smoked Oud, Frosted Juniper

Preacher : (based on the preacher era as a whole)

Scents : Firewood, Woodland Snow, White Birch, Sandalwood

Beast (kinda smells like wet dirt)

Scents : Cut Grass, Cedarwood, Rainy Morning, Leather

#Belos #Emperor Belos #Philip Wittebane

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inthefallofasparrow · 1 year

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So, there’s this one specific children’s song that I remember that was written in 1907 (with lyrics added in 1932). Some of you will know it, some won’t, but just thinking about it now; the lyrics without context at first seem to really lend themselves to a dark, slow, ominous cover. I mean the kind of ironic re-imagining of a song that plays during the trailer of some new action horror survival film where a bunch of teenagers are hunted by a pack of rabid animals or something. The opening lyrics are:

‘If you go down to the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise…’

So, already potentially a very menacing scenario. Woods can be pretty creepy places and the fact that we know there’s a vague ‘big surprise’ waiting down there is obviously a problem.

‘If you go down to the woods today, you’d better go in disguise…’

Ok, so, just the idea that you need to take the precaution of hiding your identity in these woods implies some very specific and intricate danger is going on in the undergrowth. Either we’re getting into some evil fae sort of territory or there’s a chance you’re going to stumble upon a coven or some kind of demonic cult ceremony summoning the Thirteenth King of Hell or some such.

‘For every bear that ever there was, will gather there together because…’

All right, so that’s at least clarified the threat. For some reason, despite being territorial and typically not traveling in large groups, the woods are going to be full of ‘every bear’. Black bears, Brown bears, Grizzly bears, Polar bears, cocaine bears, all bears are going to be gathering together in this specific wood. Thousands upon thousands of them will be amassing. But wait, it’s not just ‘every bear on earth’, it’s ‘every bear that ever there was’. Millions of ghost bears from the dawn of time onward will be descending on this wood. Prehistoric Cave bears, Dire bears, the mangy corpses of zombies bear, all bears past and present will be journeying through time for this event. But why?

‘… today’s the day the teddy bears have their picnic.’

Immediate tonal whiplash. The entire dark premise unravels. For good measure, here's the rest of the song:

‘Picnic time for teddy bears. The little teddy bears are having a lovely time today. Watch them. Catch them unawares and see them picnic on their holiday. See them gaily gad about. They love to play and shout. They never have any cares. At 6 o'clock their mummies & daddies will take them home to bed because they’re tired little teddy bears.'

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inexplicablepeas · 16 days

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So I realized that I never shared my Blood & Gold re-read thoughts due to shadow-ban issues on the old blog, thoughts under the cut! It's long!

It was interesting to read this immediately after TVA, it really highlighted Anne's talent for developing distinct voices for her characters as the two books are so different in structure and voice. Where TVA is fevered and rambling with tonnes of evocative metaphor this is logically ordered and somewhat detached. This has none of Lestat's conspiratorial chumminess interspersed with catastrophic existential crises, none of Louis' melancholy poeticism, we're just getting straight facts from Mr Marius . So Marius' voice is a bit drier than a lot of the other narrators in the chronicles but that does feel correct and it gives the book a bit of a cosier and more chill vibe than most of the other entries. It's like story time with Marius.

It's interesting that this one isn't framed as a book being written for publication but as a quiet and private conversation between a lonely guy and a stranger who showed up on his door step happy to listen to him. I think that makes sense for Marius, he doesn't seem like he would publish his life story, he's too private and he would probably have been more tactful land less honest about certain things if it was for publication - less interesting for us!

You do still have to read a lot of his inner journey between the lines nonetheless. He's not really telling you how he was doing day to day after he abandoned Pandora entirely (following an argument about how to deal with the emerging cult of satan worshippers) then spent centuries in Rome pretending he wasn't dying for Avicus' (and Mael's?) company while letting partying mortals have run of his house as he painted the walls subconsciously with dozens of Pandora faces... but you can imagine, he's probably not feeling great!

It was fascinating to get more detail on how he was recruited to be keeper of the parents and to see his tense arms-length relationship with Mael play out over the years. Eudoxia is a great addition to the story as brief as her time in it is and getting his version of Armand's story is very welcome (and of course interesting to contrast with Armand's telling). Getting more Bianca was also welcome, she's such a big presence in TVA, I liked getting Marius' perspective there.

I've got some of the same kind of complaints I had with TVA about what was left out. I guess that structuring a life story that spans millenia is no easy task and it's inevitable that some stuff is gonna get left out. Anne probably didn't want to rehash the same events form different perspectives over and over again but I really was disappointed that the narrative doesn't touch on his thoughts on his reunion with Armand in QotD, the brief Night Island coven times, how Daniel came to be in his care (???), his reaction to Armand's suicide attempt (!?), how was it that he and Santino ended up being the team on clean up duty together for that anyway (???), his reaction to learning that Armand was in fact alive(!) and his subsequent turning of Benji and Sybelle.

Marius:

And Pandora of course, I hadn't read her book at the time of reading this so I was disappointed about how little detail we get on the centuries they spent together. You can imagine his motivations for leaving a lot of this stuff out, it seems that some things are still too painful to talk about and he is also telling a specific story to a specific audience here (to influence a particular outcome, perhaps? *squints suspiciously at Marius*) so it makes sense for him to brush over or leave some things out entirely but it's not always the most satisfying result for a reader that's already invested in these characters and their stories.

The framing device with Thorne is great, I can't emphasize enough how immediately I fell in love with this guy, this stoic but sensitive viking titan of a vampire. I found the final chapter to be the most exciting really, I guess because where most of the story is Marius explaining from his perspective why he's alone (apart from Daniel who doesn't count because he's too obsessed with his model cities, sorry Daniel!), it's all a foregone conclusion where we're heading and we know what happens to most of the major characters but once we get back to Thorne's contemporary POV hey, anything can happen! And thanks to Thorne, stuff does happen! He's kind of the MVP of this book. We also get a teeny bit of Daniel in the framing chapters at the start of the book and hey, it's nice to see him alive and still sassy, if a little worse for wear.

Overall I find it a pretty enjoyable vampire chronicle. I do love the lore of Anne's vampire universe, how rich it is both with historical details and with her own world building and Marius is, of course, very key to it as guardian of the parents for millennia, so I do want to know everything about him and I'm glad this book was written to give us more of his story. His chronicle of his very lonely life, caused in no small part by his own stubbornness and terror of losing control is sad and often frustrating but I did find all of it a compelling read. He's a very strange guy and it really is fascinating to get more of his perspective, even if he doesn't quite have the zazz of a Lestat or the poetry of a Louis.

#b&g thoughts #marius #armand #thorne #daniel molloy #pandora #eudoxia #vampire chronicles #vc memes #mael

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crimeronan · 2 months

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RE last post about bb Luz and Hunter

Just imagining Belos coming into Hunter's room every night after Luz arrives once he's finally decided he's going to do a murder and that he doesn't need the grimwalkers anymore, only to be dissuaded by the fact Luz is right there curled up asleep on top of him contentedly as he purrs.

This is despite the fact that they do not sleep in the same room and Belos is not entirely sure how she got there from her room and no matter how many locks he puts on both of their doors or guards he assigns she somehow gets in there or Hunter ends up in her room through similar means (it's the vents or guards blatantly collaborating) and just being constantly perplexed at how they constantly end up with each other and how he keeps being outwitted by a four year old and a six year old.

Eventually he gives up on just disappearing Hunter in his sleep and tries doing it in the day which is when the aforementioned meltdown happens but the image of Belos being bested by a four year old has seized my brain.

this is hilarious and delightful. i LOVE the idea of luz and hunter charming their guards. luz keeps going "but WHY can't i see him" with her giant baby doe eyes & her assigned coven guard of the week is like "....you know what. i have no idea." and keeps sneaking her over.

if luz DOESN'T manage to charm her guard of the week, hunter paces fretfully about it and bangs on his door until HIS guard of the week is like oh for fuck's sake. Fine. Let's Go

belos is certain the guards are conspiring despite them swearing they aren't & so he keeps switching them out & luz + hunter KEEP charming them & belos is like. WHAT MAGIC ARE THESE POWERLESS CHILDREN USING. WHAT IS GOING ON

actually. god. i haven't fleshed out much of luz's inner guard (besides hunter, obviously), but what if it's made up mostly of older guards/scouts who broke belos's rules when she was a baby. hunter would still do his due diligence wrt making sure they're steadfastly loyal and have no ulterior motives, but like. hunter like hey. i've known you since i was six and i know you'll do anything for luz.

& these people WELL into their late thirties and forties being like. i've known YOU since YOU were six. and yet somehow you have become my boss.

.....ok.

#replies #toh #princess luz au #horrible mindscape trauma pals #i dont think there'd be much resentment among the inner guard though bc i think hunter would pick people who like....#people who obviously know how to keep their mouths shut but also obviously clocked that something was Wrong when hunter and luz were kids.#not enough to defect about it or openly stand up to belos. but enough to take enormous quiet risks regardless #one big difference between AU hunter and canon hunter is that while AU hunter is similarly single-minded and obsessive #he's not nearly as interested in policing people. nor is he nearly as interested in following the rules #he's annoying in many of the same ways his canon self is annoying. but also better at securing the loyalty of very specific people #also this exact thing happens with declan and ronan in greywaren which is one part of that book i actually Really Liked. so. YES

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hearsayhorizons · 5 months

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Holism’s introduction and the confirmation that there are more ships/intelligences on ART’s level with their own idiosyncrasies and quirks has a real possibility of opening up that coven/school house fertile field of fanfiction that makes people grab other series and hold on tight (not that we weren’t doing that already with this one).

Perihelion’s secret function is in confirming lost colonies and providing initial response for the purposes of safeguarding “”assets”” from predation.

Based on its interactions (attempted interactions) with SecUnit, Holism’s function/special interest is to provide infrastructure after Perihilion’s crew has argued/forged their way into securing long-term protection for those people.

Perihelion is a secret agent ship and befriended Murderbot, who watches thrillers and other media. Holism the infrastructure/”look at this neat thing!” ship is probably going to find a receptive contact in Three, who seems most comfortable with nonfiction and educational materials (some other good poster pointed out that Three’s interests are tied to its introduction to freedom and choice via Murderbot 2.0’s autobiographical files; I want to put a pin in that for later).

This establishes a thematic setup I want to play with. I was going to fiction this up, but I have weather-related migraines and it is WEATHER lately.

My contribution is [namepending]. Once you have safety, once you have infrastructure, you look at connections and community. And you know what would be a great way to jumpstart an ambassadorial program or knowledge exchange? A university where everyone is doing something new, going somewhere new, where you might have interactions that last a few years and still mean a lot to you later, OR they might help define how you choose to live forever—there’s no knowing, even in real life, how experiences as a young OR older person going to school will influence you.

Why does that student wear something no one else does? Why do those hand gestures stand out? That’s an unusual set of facial features. But no one, literally no one, is going to look at a batch of shaky college students and assume they’re all from a/a variety of colonies 40+ years out of contact with the wider world.

So yeah, I know ART is already the Magic School Bus with weaponized pathfinders, but I posit that our next/a great fanfiction point is... [pending], much more a school bus. Maybe ferrying back and forth between colonies to keep the info exchange open too, but I think the university would be SO useful to give colonists a knowledge base without overwhelming them or forcing them to assimilate into other cultures.

Now, I imagine that just like Amena has to do some learning modules before she can join the University, there’d be sims and modules for incoming students or people going between colonies. And just like System Collapse chapter 8, you hit them where it works—right in the media. So this [pending] has a huge collection of, and is interested in, games.

As a side note, part of me thinks a fully mechanical system like ART would be a bit better able to perceive/use games without a SecUnit filter than media; sure, there’s music and mechanics meant to emotionally motivate the player, but non-visual novels non-dating-sims (eg: “game games”) have goals, mechanisms, more hard input than media.

Remember my pin from earlier re: Three’s interest tied to its path to freedom? I posit a SecUnit (either one of the two freed at the end of System Collapse, or someone else if there’s...)

Actually, if I’m already spitballing fanfic bullshit and ComfortUnits presumably have resources for interacting on a more emotional basis with clients, the CU. I want that construct on [pending]. The odds of that happening are miniscule unless it was maybe at a wit’s end, didn’t know what to do with itself like other units after having its freedom foisted on it.

Yeah, so, it has access to surreptitious funds secured by Tllacey. Maybe IDs. It doesn't have weapons and I get the vibe that no one would be looking as hard for a rogue CU, so I don't imagine it's hacking or has to hack anything. Maybe it can't, since it isn't a security system.

But it IS probably meant to be fluent in current events, folklore, random shit random clients care about. Ergo the Ganaka pit bit.

It searches for SecUnit activity in the news. Oh, or maybe info on ART, maybe it picked something up during its last scene. Murderbot does have a whole aside in SC panicking about the news and what info about the kidnapping could mean for the University’s colony-saving scheme, but that doesn’t go anywhere given the timeframes. So, maybe there is something there, some way to pull the ComfortUnit back in.

It finds the University. It finds, or [pending] finds it, and [pending]’s whole schtick is orientating confused people. It introduces CU to some sims, some games, maye interactions in reality or through games with young people.

I posited in previous posts that SecUnit probably wouldn’t be super into games because the ability to passively exist alongside an atmosphere presented by a story or music is the appeal of its media; it is an actor DOING things during its day job. But CU has presumably been always acted-upon in its day job. So now it has a risk-free method to DO things. Maybe it prefers solo games, or it participates in group games where its identity as a CU comes up only as far as it is comfortable.

I’m sure my [pending] would be thrilled to have a contact/friend who can both communicate comfortably with newcomers while also relating really hard to them. Plus, I feel like the CU construct just sort of gets set loose and abandoned by Murderbot and the narrative. Sometimes those loose ends happen, but I kind of see a way we could work it back in now that we know there are more ships and they want filters/friends/units.

Now I just gotta find a name for [pending].

I do think I have the first few lines of the fic, though:

The shuttle came within range of the bigger ship annotated in the smart glass: Perihelion.

This is you. I transmitted an image of a young human and what the news broadcast identified as another human.

Oh, fuck off.

#tmbd #the murderbot diaries #murderbot #system collapse #system collapse spoilers #spoilers

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ffangedd · 1 year

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CRI Jackal sketches

#Covenant Re-Imagined #alien

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fanged-xeno · 2 months

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Halo grunts re-imagined

#Covenant Re-Imagined #halo #unggoy #grunts #halo grunt

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wrenhavenriver · 1 year

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Okay I’m not done talking about this actually. Re: the Dishonored series’ attempts to reconcile its critical views of imperialism with keeping the characters who sit at the very top of the Empire likable, I think DH1 is considerably less obvious/glaring about this internal conflict than DH2 because: 1) it’s, duh, the first in the series, and suspension of disbelief comes a lot more naturally the first time you’re told “things will be better now, for real” than the second; and 2) Jessamine’s rule sees so little screentime it’s much easier to portray the miseries of the game as entirely attributable to Burrows’ rule (and the actions of other assorted Bad People™) without directly confronting the imperial system that put them all in a position to seize and promptly abuse power in the first place. Under a read more because I can't shut up, sorry.

Like, say you play DH1 for the first time on low chaos: you get the happy ending epilogue speech, and even if it seems to smooth everything over a little too optimistically for a game that otherwise shows a collapsing society and the corruption that brought it to that state in grim, unflinching detail, well, that’s mostly okay—you maintained low chaos, after all, in essence proving the Outsider’s “Perhaps that’s just the nature of man” theory wrong, and the good effects just rippled outward to a much a larger scale, which was pretty much the point of the chaos system in the first place. If it all sounds a little bit like the happy ending to a parable not particularly grounded in the realities of systems of power that the rest of the game was critiquing, maybe that’s just what happens when an entity as long-lived and far-sighted as the Outsider summarizes a period that is little more than a miniscule blip in time to him. Stand far enough back from something and all the rough edges blur out to nothing.

(Plus it’s a video game after all, so maybe you can suspend your disbelief/any personal political beliefs about real world empires you may have brought with you. Maybe it's nice to imagine that things can change meaningfully for the better for Dunwall and the other Isles simply by plopping a Kaldwin back onto the throne.)

The existence of DH2 makes it clear, though, that the ending monologue to DH1 really is more fairytale than reality (or, you know, what happens when a game gets greenlit for a sequel the devs of three years ago didn't know they'd get). A Kaldwin takes the throne—under the watchful eye and protection of her witchcraft-using Serkonan father, at that, a man with viscerally personal history with the Abbey, the City Watch, and the deeply xenophobic nobility—and despite all those very real family connections and personal reasons to want to reform things for the better, we step into Emily’s rule to see the people of Serkonos being trampled on and worked to death in the silver mines, the Abbey still freely hunting down and torturing or otherwise “disappearing” people suspected of witchcraft, and the Guard casually beating and murdering citizens—in one notable case, by throwing one directly into the same brutal Wall of Light technology mobilized to great effect by Burrows’ corrupt regime and that is still in wide use around Emily’s Empire fifteen years later.

Some of this chaos was instigated by Delilah and her inner circle (especially the Duke) leading up to the coup, but much of it is preexisting corruption that can’t be blamed on her—she and the coven certainly had no reason to prop up the Abbey, for one, and she didn’t have to create the aristocratic bitterness motivating turncoats like Ramsey, only give them an outlet for what was already simmering. Meagan, Sokolov, and Lucia Pastor all make it abundantly clear that this was not a momentary slip-up—Dunwall Tower had been looking the other way while violence and unrest grew for some time, because the human cost of keeping silver flowing was out of sight and out of mind, a function basically built into the system of Imperial rule. Not a bug, but a feature. A tendency toward retaining corrupt institutions, an erosion of empathy, because that’s what keeps the wheels turning and wealth being funneled upward.

So when low chaos Emily professes in mission nine that she’s learned her lesson and that from now on she’ll Pay Attention, really! to the four nation Empire she’s the head of, and the happy epilogue plays and we get another Outsider monologue about the golden age ahead, it just seems…vaguely absurd? Like, we already saw this! Burrows, Campbell, and the Bastard Trio™ of the loyalists were deposed or otherwise gotten rid of, making room for Good People™ with Good Intentions™ to take their place in charge and fix things—you’ve got Emily on the throne with Corvo to guide her; Yul Khulan, a “kind” man and eventual close personal ally of Emily’s, becomes High Overseer; Curnow, widely reputed as a Reasonable Authority Figure and rare man of principle in the Guard, has survived (and presumably still has some years of service as a Captain before the retirement mentioned in The Corroded Man).

And then we fast forward fifteen years and all these groups...still suck? The Empress hates her job and is eating off plates made of silver mined by Karnacan laborers dying hideously of terrible respiratory ailments, the Overseers we see in Karnaca are ransacking homes and torturing Outsider worshippers (a group including such dangerous people as *checks notes* newspaper artists), half the City Guard is on the payroll of the shitty aristocrats supporting Delilah’s coup, and the Grand Guard is passing the time by throwing people into Walls of Light. Emily’s reign began with a veritable A-team of Certified Good People and fifteen years later it's barely made a dent, because the system of imperial rule is built from the ground up to shelter corruption and complacency, to resist change, no matter who’s in charge and whether that person is “paying attention” or not. It’s beyond the power of one sufficiently motivated Empress and a team of well-intentioned people in positions of authority below her.

It’s tempting to say “no, it really was just an issue of Emily not taking her duties seriously, look at Jessamine’s rule, or Euhorn’s before her!” but the thing is Obvious Disasters like Violent Coups Aside we really don’t have much evidence that their rules were all that much better, or at the very least any less prone to corruption? DH1 again has the advantage over DH2 here, mostly by way of omission. We don’t get to actually see what life in the Empire is like under Jessamine, just that tiny sliver of time in the Prologue returning as Corvo to Dunwall Tower, where despite the player being told there’s a deadly plague about to bring the city to a “breaking point,” the scenery is beautiful and calm and the staff are polite and affable. It makes for very compelling contrast when the game fast forwards six months to the dank misery of Coldridge Prison, and then later the grim state of the streets filling up with corpses and weepers.

Mission six completes the comparison with a return to Dunwall Tower, where the courtyard is now brimming with hostile guards and surveillance towers and tallboys, and one lone maid who openly laments Jessamine’s passing. Life under the authoritarian despot who purposely instigated a plague for the purpose of wiping out the lower classes is, obviously, much worse than life under the benevolent Empress who is introduced to us passionately advocating for saving the lives of all of her citizens. But, in the same way Emily and her inner circle of Well-Intentioned People weren’t enough to dislodge the entrenched corruption and brutality—or prevent a new wave of it—Jessamine’s kindness can’t paint over the miseries of the imperial system she presides over. We the players see Coldridge Prison for the first time in the six-months-later flashback of Burrows’ rule, but it existed during Jessamine’s time—guards state explicitly in the DLC that she and Corvo used to come inspect it, in fact. Jessamine wholly loves Corvo, a native of Serkonos, but anti-Serkonan prejudice runs rampant in her court and city. Corvo and Emily wholly love Jessamine too, but the people of Dunwall are somewhat divided on the matter (“Long live the Empress!” “She was a WENCH!” / “Not everyone did, but I really liked the Empress…”). Burrows deceived Jessamine and took advantage of her trusting nature, but he only had the resources to do so in the first place because of the system that promoted him to Royal Spymaster, a position of incredible power and very little accountability.

Euhorn we know the least about, but we are told he enjoyed a “prosperous age”—a sentiment that falls somewhat flat when we learn that he had an affair with a chamber maid (the power differential of which is highly questionable at best), strung along the resulting illegitimate daughter with promises of elevating her to a princess that he never intended to keep, then took his chance when said daughter was blamed for breaking a vase to throw her and her mother out onto the streets, where the mother is brutalized by a prison guard and eventually dies in agony in debtor’s prison, leaving the daughter to fend for herself alone in the world. All of which shows us that the Empire is, in this age of “prosperity,” still a place of extreme power imbalances where the Emperor takes advantage of women in his employ, debtor’s prisons exist, guards can cause fatal injuries to civilians on a whim and face no consequences, and children are thrown with disdain onto the streets to die. Which, on many levels, is not all that different from the ages of other rulers who follow.

tl;dr these games show us over and over again that the Empire is built on a fundamentally broken system that perpetuates corruption and then try to append “but it’s okay so long as the people in charge are good people who are paying attention to their jobs” to the end of them for the sake of keeping those characters likable, and while the first game can get away with this by virtue of being the first game and using Jessamine’s rule primarily as a way to showcase how bad Burrows’ rule sucks by comparison, this falls flat when the very existence of the second game provides ample evidence that the Good Intentions of Generally Good People are not enough to counteract the entrenched cruelties of the institutions that keep imperialism afloat. Okay I'm going to go get another hobby now bye.

#kathryn plays video games

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mythorhuman · 3 months

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would you write for Bonkai? I know you prefer Klonnie but do you have a Bonkai plot in mind

I'm so bad at replying to asks. Sorry that I'm just getting to this! I already partially answered this I think but I can expand.

Would I ever write Bonkai? I feel like my perspective on Kai isn't seen in a lot of Bonkai fics. I think he's mentally ill (sociopathy/ASPD) and his parents neglected to give him the care he always needed. I'm not sure I'm capable of writing that in a way that feels right. I'm a happy ending girlie (mostly). I don't think Kai can really be redeemed (does he need to be?) without some serious healing.

Do I have a plot in mind? Yes, I've been sitting on this idea for years now. Imagine Bonnie and Kai in the 1994 prison world. Bonnie recognizes that her sanity and emotional stability is slipping. Out of desperation to escape, she makes a deal with Kai for them to work together and leave.

What's the deal? Kai can leave the prison world with Bonnie ONLY if he agrees not to seek revenge on his family or attack innocence. This wouldn't fly with Kai and he would want more than his freedom. He wants his coven. All Bonnie has to offer him is her family legacy. She promises that they can re-establish and rule the Bennett coven together. Of course, this leads to a marriage of convenience.

Naturally, Bonnie and Kai can't trust each other to follow through on the agreement. They seal the deal with blood as a compromise. This all leads to Bonnie and Kai traveling the world to recruit Bennetts. Kai has to face his demons while struggling to understand the enigma that is his new wife. Bonnie manages to find him a power source that won't leave him defenseless without the presence of other magical beings. Bonnie gets a husband who worships the ground she walks on. They work through trauma as they build a coven and a family. I'll probably never write this but I think about it all the time. I could go into more detail, but I'm not sure you want to read more of my rambling.

#bonnie bennett #kai parker #bonkai #the vampire diaries #lee answers

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volterran-wine · 11 months

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ʀᴇQᴜᴇꜱᴛᴇᴅ ʙʏ ᴀɴᴏɴʏᴍᴏᴜꜱ: “ I don’t have anything specific in find but I need more Santiago headcanons Please -🔮”

It it always a joy to receive requests for our dear Santiago. Though his popularity has grown slightly on my blog, he is far from the most popular man in the palazzo. Though, I hope my continued peddling of piping hot Santiago content will convert the masses. I know this request took a good while to get to you dear CrystalBall!Anon, but I hope it greets you well.

!𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒! None.

𝐀𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬, 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐰.

⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆

𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐀𝐆𝐎

Now, where do you even begin in order to explain a vampire like Santiago in the most appropriate manner. If I were to use a single word it would be “Enigma”, it is the only one that I can fully agree with.

In a sense, he is one of the secret “weapons” among The Volturi. Not like Jane & Alec, but in the sense that very few vampires outside the coven takes him seriously besides the general respect vampires have for guards. Santiago comes off as a very friendly and jovial type, he does not particularly flaunt his smarts or expertise, because that does not benefit him in the long run. All of this to keep one thing shrouded in mystery; Santiago is a mighty good fighter. There are few ungifted vampires that can take him in hand to hand combat, the ones in the Palazzo being Felix, Caius and Marcus. In a similar vein that Afton (Santiago’s unofficial official best friend.) operates, Santiago has ensured that he almost always have the upper hand. Nobody sees an underdog coming after all.

I have previously spoken of how Vampires in my worldbuilding do not all sparkle in the traditional sense, it is more like a glow and luminescence that is uniquie to every individual depending a lot on what ethnicity and race that they are, and the paritcular strain of venom that ends up turning them. Santiago happens to glow like the most beautiful bronze statue you can imagine, with a tint of green if the light hits him correctly. It is a sight many have marvelled at.

Santiago speaks five languages; Portuguese, Spanish, English, Italian and Latin (most of it through Caius’ cursing during drills).

At the moment he has the second most cluttered room in the palazzo, he only loses out to Alec who is eternally a thirteen year old boy in many regards. Demetri and Santiago are in fact the same level of messy but the tracker claims it is an aesthetic and blames part of it on the cats that frequent his room. Santiago is not convinced.

A fun fact is that Santiago is the only person in the coven who has an inkling of what chocolate tastes like. Import of cacao to Europe did not occur until 1500 AD or so, a time when all Volturi members had already been immortal for a good while.

One time Santiago and Afton was sent out on a mission together to spy on a coven that opposed The Volturi to some extent. The pair were gone for quite a few days, Demetri kept reassuring his masters that the two were still well and alive despite being in the enemies camp. Two days later Santiago would return with two of the opposing covens members as recruits for the lower guard. He had managed to befriend them and had the coven stand down. Ever since he has been part of the vampires who get sent in if The Volturi has to calm a situation down peacefully when fear of exposure is imminent.

Santiago is the fifth tallest vampire behind Felix, Afton, Marcus and Caius. Though Afton is a fair bit taller than him, he could bring the vampire to the ground with his eyes closed.

Santiago is the only coven member who has had his head ripped off and re-attached again. It was a surreal experience he is not fond of talking about.

#Santiago Volturi #Santiago Volturi Headcanon #Twilight #Twilight Renaissance #Honestly who would not like Santiago?#Queue

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