#highlander

Smallville really just took its formula from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (as did the revival of Doctor Who, same as Angel: the Series doing the same for Torchwood by Russell T Davies’ own admission), which also has a superhero in high school origin story and a strange town overrun with freaky things happening. Smallville’s meteor freaks were exactly like the Hellmouth and the high death rates of their respective student bodies.

Roswell is another show that had a similar setup and was actually the first WB show about aliens with magic powers in high school. Max Evans is not too subtly Clark Kent-like, right down to the famous moment of transforming a lump of coal into a diamond. The alien/human hybrid quartet of Max Evans, Michael Guerin, Isabel Evans and the infamous Tess Harding are reincarnations of alien royalty/elite from a destroyed planet, so the connection is obvious.

Except that show went far further with what would happen if the government found out than Smallville dared beyond a few episodes here and there. Max certainly had more done to him (the White Room and going on the run in the finale) than Clark ever did in that regard. Humans who get a little too close to the inhuman with plans for science or personal gain certainly is a trope that pops up in other genre shows (often humans desiring eternal life at a cost or captive experimentation/torture).

Sheriff Jim Valenti (who was the villain of the Roswell High books the shows were based on!) turned out to be the kids’ fiercest protector, not unlike Lionel Luthor, despite being initial antagonists. Lionel being the king of horrific fathers contrasted hugely with Jonathan Kent. Jor-El’s A.I. practically martyred Jonathan in a trade for Lana Lang, so this version is absolutely not comparable to the Christopher Reeve version’s relationship with Marlon Brando’s! Smallville’s Clark is nearly a reversal of the old films in regards to farm boy Clark being the real deal, not the mere disguises of Superman and the hapless reporter (this is also true of Dean Cain’s iteration), as well as the nurture over nature message of the Kents being his true parents in all but blood, whereas the focus is strictly on Jor-El over Jonathan as the father figure in the 1978 and DCEU versions.

Closest to danger Clark ever got outside of Lex Luthor’s experimentation (only with the anonymous blood vial that eventually led to hybrid Lex/Clark clone test tube baby Conner Kent) was from General Sam Lane and the anti-vigilantism plot, but Clark never got nearly so exposed. Max also told his secret in the first episode, so it’s a stark contrast to how long it took for Clark to tell his love interests and friends. Clark and Lucifer Morningstar are the kings of the long-delayed reveal! By contrast, Angel waited seven whole episodes and most of the rest of the characters mentioned here did so in their first episode, if not their first scene.

The WB was already a home to many shows like Smallville, though it certainly started DC adopting the channel as their home to drop their properties into that already-established format.

Angel: the Series, Smallville and Supernatural were the more masculine side (Angel: the Series and Supernatural are definitely the most mature, horror-based shows, as well) on a channel that also had Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the original genre show on a channel that was heavily just sitcoms and 7th Heaven prior to 1997 and quickly transformed the whole channel), Charmed and Roswell (not to mention Dawson’s Creek and other more soapy, non-genre offerings).

Shows like The X-Files and Buffy the Vampire Slayer were the ones that pretty much formed everything we expect from a modern fantasy/sci-fi/supernatural/horror series now, including the mix of overarching long-form story arcs and soap opera/relationship dramas mixed with the Monster of the Week and seasonal Big Bad formats. Monster of the Week (Smallville used Freak of the Week) and ‘shipping were terms coined by The X-Files’ fandom (yep, the biggest controversy of that show was whether Fox Mulder and Dana Scully should remain platonic colleagues as intended by the creator or become a romantic relationship, which took an interminable slow burn of seven seasons), while Big Bad (and thus arcs surrounding that Big Bad seeded throughout the season) was coined on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. All these terms are used for discussing nearly every subsequent genre show today. Television prior to these shows did not have these formats, minus the old-as-dirt episodic Monsters of the Week, but not using that terminology yet.

Smallville was a marriage of comic book superheroes into the genre show format that was already going strong on the old WB. Some of these other non-comic-origin characters wouldn’t be out of place in the comic world either. Definitely true for Buffy Summers and Angel, as they basically are superheroes. Buffy has the more straight-forward Peter Parker-esque origin story, while Angel’s is told completely non-linear (often through a slow drip of flashbacks–his soul was returned a century prior, not during the course of the show, yet he most certainly didn’t become a hero then).

It’s surprising that Supernatural never quite went all-out with a real comic tie-in presence beyond some short runs early on. Neither the comics or the novels use Castiel much at all, who is the most super-powered main on the roster (so much so that the show writers were terrified to put him in Monster of the Week episodes and even tried to kill him off in seasons 6/7 due to him making the Winchesters irrelevant). Castiel is the Eldritch being-level angelic equivalent of The Little Mermaid trying to understand humanity, but with the tragic ending of the novel.

Clark himself has a mix of Dorothy Gale (check out that Over the Rainbow shot on the bridge in Smallville’s pilot, which is an image also echoed in Luke Skywalker’s binary sunset, followed by him doing an Ariel pulling Lex Luthor from the water) and Peter Pan (more than just the flying boy–he also has an immortality problem) in his DNA.

It’s that little piece of inconvenient canon (alluded to numerous times through Smallville) that is at the heart of the adverse reactions of many Superman purists who were horrified by Smallville’s Clark choosing to live a human life and have a family with Lois in the CW’s Crisis on Infinite Earths. It wasn’t just because Tom Welling still refuses to wear tights, but because it was the real unsolved existential crisis facing the character. Conversations with the Kents, Dax-Ur and General Lane all exposed this issue as an insecurity he had quite early on in the series. It’s hardly teen angst, nor was it with Angel and the Doctor saying it repeatedly to Buffy and Rose; it doesn’t make it teen angst just because they were teenagers. Clark likewise shares the tragedy of many other inhuman immortals (and yet, they keep doing it!) in that he can’t father children naturally with humans without some kind of sci-fi workaround (like Blue or Gold Kryptonite).

We might like to see these characters be Peter Pan forever, but sometimes even Peter needs to grow up (as in Hook), lest he forever remain a tragedy. Make no mistake, the immortality trope is always a tragedy, which is why so many of these characters either run away from seeing it played out or they most desire to live human lives. Having duties greater than themselves and a need to save lives they’d never be able to as mortals are often the reasons for these sacrifices, but it still remains a sacrifice and ultimately a damnation, not a gift. These characters are either doomed to lose everyone they’ve ever loved or go out in a blaze of glory, which is what television shows using the trope are actually daring to show more recently.

Not being a tragic horror story, Superman tends to avoid it, but it’s the same problem. That brief scene in Crisis on Infinite Earths was more in line with Smallville than Superman purists wished.

The Doctor is Peter Pan. It’s most obvious with the imagery of little and big Amelia Pond in her nightgown, but the story with Rose Tyler juxtaposed beside Sarah Jane Smith also shows his Peter Pan-esque tendencies. He’s the immortal who keeps picking up new companions to take on far-off adventures, only to leave them behind over and over again before he has to face their human mortality. Although the Doctor is older than Spock, he has picked up many Spockisms over the years like touch telepathy (yup, the Vulcan mind-meld), the half-human aspect of the 1996 TV movie that fans and the show do their best to ignore and the 10th Doctor’s sacrifice via a glass case of radiation (see The Wrath of Khan).

Angel, of course, is Pinocchio (with a big dollop of Highlander’s Prize), the Beast, the immortality of Peter Pan, Louis de Pointe du Lac and pre-retcon evil!Lestat de Lioncourt (the retconned one is, of course, Spike) morphed into Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and a touch of Steve Rogers meets Clark Kent, but with the aesthetic (not character) of Bruce Wayne (that mix is all there). Like Pinocchio and the Beast, there are those major elements of temptation, redemption and atonement.

The Buffyverse definitely borrowed heavily from the sympathetic vampire begun by Varney the Vampire, Nosferatu’s plagiarization of Dracula that gave birth to death by sunlight (see the whole aesthetic of the Buffyverse’s Master), the antiheroization (quite evil initially) in Dark Shadows, the archetypes of Anne Rice (the entire Master + Fanged Four are her lineup–Akasha, Gabrielle, IwtV!Lestat/Louis, Claudia and retcon!Lestat vs. the Master, Darla, Angel(us), Drusilla and Spike), the prosthetics of The Lost Boys and the vampire detective setup of Forever Knight (which copied Barnabas Collins’ cure for vampirism arc, while Angel’s Shanshu borrows more from Highlander’s Prize). Blade and Angel added apocalypse-fighting/comic superheroes to that mix.

Ironically, the more recent examples of the good vampire have gutted their mythologies of evil-default vampires entirely (making the exceptions to the rule far less alienated and unique amongst their own kinds) and certainly kicked out the apocalyptic superheroing for soap opera. The Buffyverse is ironically closer to Anne Rice’s full-blooded, evil, murderous inhuman creatures (no matter the guilt and eating rats in alleys) than it is Twilight and The Vampire Diaries in spite of the human/inhuman romance plots, marking a strong separation between the WB’s era and the CW’s.

That’s a strong example of how the genre show environment has changed in the last two decades, so it’s not just the differences between the eras of Smallville and the Arrowverse/DCEU.

Supernatural is a particularly weird example in that it ran for so long with the same cast (unlike Doctor Who, which is fast approaching its 60th anniversary and has gone through many changes, not just its format) that it was still following the same show format and catering to a generation who grew up along with it (not to mention the actors going from young to middle-aged) from 2005 through 2020. The format all the way to the end (though never again as desaturated, jump-scare horrific as that first season was–its inspirations from The X-Files showed) is most certainly pre-streaming and owes much to its old WB origins using a formula born in the 1990s, despite the CW’s rebranding in 2006. Castiel’s ushering in of the whole angel mythology was the most seismic change in Supernatural’s history, though even he was like a horror creature early on. The show certainly had early comedy episodes, but they definitely got more frequent later. One only has to look at the season 15 premiere’s handling of the Woman in White and Bloody Mary’s returns to see how alien the season 1 atmosphere was to the show by then.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer likewise shed its gothic horror atmosphere and went into the sunlight (not for the better) around the time Angel took his gothic fairy tale-turned-noir with him to L.A. See Lucifer aiming for the same aesthetic in its first season. Smallville was likewise a show that spanned the WB and CW, but before the television landscape completely left that late-'90s/'00s aesthetic. You can definitely start to feel similar differences in the change from Smallville High to Metropolis and Lana to Lois. There’s a pretty stark generational shift in the shows aimed at late Gen-X/older Gen-Y (Millennials) and now Gen-Z (Zoomers). That’s the biggest shift between the WB and the Arrowverse-era CW.

Castiel, despite him learning how to love, is the ultimate example of free will in a mythology that has none by design (he truly did have a “crack in his chassis”) and even adopts a son whom he can finally relate to, ends with him tired, very sad and unloved in return. Not a single character in the history of Supernatural ever tells Castiel that they love him. Frankly, Meg and Crowley, who kept saving his life, showed more care about and affection for him than the Winchesters, particularly Dean (who belittled, refused to help and abandoned Castiel for years before the Jack and Mary drama shattered the relationship irrevocably). Sam, who used to feel the same othering from John and Dean as the Boy with the Demon Blood that got heaped on Castiel if he dared remind Dean he wasn’t “human, or at least like one”, had a bad habit of following his brother in questionable acts like putting Jack in the box. Castiel says he loves others several times, but he never once hears it back. As in The Little Mermaid, Castiel sacrifices himself for someone who will never love him back, except in place of sea form is the black goo of the Empty. At least Jack cared, but you’ll notice Castiel is nowhere to be seen when the Winchesters reunite in Heaven. Not even Sam (who was equally sad and tired at the end, while Dean was just angrily lashing out at everyone while blaming everyone but himself) bothered to place a single photo of Castiel amongst his shrine to John, Mary and Dean. Sam literally knew Castiel longer than he ever knew Mary and his relationship with John was so bad that he left his father and brother to go to Stanford. Boy, did that final episode say it all about Castiel loving, but never being loved in return. Bobby Singer was wrong; it turns out that, for the Winchesters, family did end in blood.

The alienated outsider archetype who doesn’t quite fit in amongst human society (often with an immortality/lifespan problem on top of other interspecies differences), but often desperately wants to find human belonging, love and family, is true of characters like Clark, the Doctor, Spock, Connor/Duncan MacLeod, Angel, Castiel, Lucifer, etc… These are subsequently the shows and storylines that borrow most from the Superman mythos.

See the many takes on Superman II’s Pinocchio plot, except having to give it all up for a higher purpose (not to mention many other Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Pinocchio and Peter Pan parallels), such as Angel’s I Will Remember You, Smallville!Clark’s Arrival/Mortal/Hidden, the Doctor’s Human Nature/The Family of Blood and Castiel’s season 9 arc.

That’s Superman and Clark’s real impact on the television landscape.

That was never just a Bones reference being made and the season finale admitted it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jv_1dJk5yEM

David Boreanaz played the ironically-named Angel on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel: the Series. His character has *so many* parallels with Lucifer (far more than Booth outside of the law enforcement/crime procedural connection).

Angel’s spinoff also has noir crime drama aspects mixed with the supernatural starring an immortal protagonist with a dark past and infamously villainous reputation fighting evil as a supernatural private detective in the City of Angels (a city known for its dark underbelly juxtaposed with fame and glamor, broken dreams and chasing eternal youth) and navigating human law (including the LAPD and evil lawyers) while not legally existing.

Angel also fell in love with a blonde human heroine (Buffy Summers) after lifetimes of self-destructive, not-so-heroic behaviors (getting his soul back did *not* make Angel a hero and human Liam was a lecherous drunk with unfulfilled ambitions and father issues) who inspired him to become a better man and make human connections.

AtS made heavy use of sprawling nighttime Downtown L.A. cityscape shots, which Lucifer also shared an abundance of.

During both of their first cases, they failed to save the troubled blonde girl they were trying to help (Tina and Delilah, respectively). They also have a connection inside the LAPD through a blonde cop who also takes their identity secrets pretty badly (Kate Lockley in Angel’s case).

Note that Buffy not only screamed (twice, given it repeated during her memory loss in Halloween), but also came after Angel with a crossbow when she thought he’d attacked her mother (it was Darla), so Chloe taking the Devil face reveal (Monster Reveals are iconic old horror imagery) poorly to the point of considering poisoning is par for the course. However, it only took Buffy seven episodes instead of three seasons to get the identity reveal via seeing the horrific second face (arguably also an accident on Angel’s part).

They are metaphorically or literally Hell’s angels. They also had long stays in Hell or a hell dimension.

Lucifer and Angel are also both Prodigal Sons with long-held grudges against their long-absent fathers (patricide in Liam/Angel(us)’s case) and they’re later faced with a situation where they have unexpected, thought-impossible offspring who show up as adults (neither got to raise their miracle child) wanting revenge. Yup, major Connor/Rory parallel there.

Angel is also in a constant struggle with the Powers that Be manipulating his fate and free will (like Lucifer, he’s a champion of free will no matter the cost) and making him prophecy’s bitch.

Bones famously got jokes about how Booth is Angel getting his Shanshu (made human), since the character is given constant Angel-isms like references to a dark past having killed people (Booth is also named after a historical murderer, in addition to having been a sniper), both being Catholics full of Catholic guilt (note that the Buffyverse is most accurately polytheistic, though Angel does face off against a take on the antichrist–Angel has constant biblical imagery/themes and not just because of vampire iconography), kicking down doors (just not off their entire frames–LOL), turning on a dime and threatening people up against walls, constant wink-wink references to the Buffyverse (familiar casting, references to the Hyperion Hotel, etc…), etc…

The Lucifer finale used the words “Close your eyes.” right before Lucifer is sent to Hell. This is literally the BtVS season 2 finale where Buffy kisses Angel and sends him to hell for a century with a stab to the gut (see the season 5 finale, not to mention Lucifer giving up his life for Chloe’s à la I Will Remember You).

Note that D.B. Woodside was on BtVS (playing Robin Wood, whose Slayer mother Nikki Wood was killed by Spike). Aimee Garcia was in both episodes of AtS (Birthday–she’s older than she looks!) and Bones. See her also playing a cross-wearing religious girl on Supernatural who was slaughtered in a police precinct by Lilith. Kevin Alejandro was also in an episode of Bones.

Tricia Helfer was in an episode of Supernatural playing a ghost who reenacts the night of her death every year. BtVS also had an episode along those lines, but with Buffy and Angelus possessed (not to mention Phantom Dennis!). Lucifer having Dan as a ghost is yet another thing they all have in common (ditto referencing Ghost, Patrick Swayze and/or Unchained Melody–Vincent Schiavelli a.k.a. Ghost’s subway ghost was Jenny’s uncle Enyos, whom Angelus killed).

Lucifer name-checked Castiel and Supernatural referenced Lucifer using their Lucifer (crime-fighting angel in L.A. made it a double-reference whammy). Supernatural returned the favor again by having Castiel forced to sing in Enochian. Lucifer’s reference to his singing voice was already a zing about Misha Collins having to put on that monotone gravel voice and Enochian being far from melodious.

Russell T Davies was quite heavily inspired by the Buffyverse when he revived Doctor Who and spun off Torchwood, so there are absolute tons of Buffy, Angel and Spike respectively in Rose Tyler, the 9th/10th Doctors, Captain Jack Harkness and Captain John Hart (right down to the actor). School Reunion is the episode where the Buffyverse inspiration is most on the nose, complete with Anthony Stewart Head saying “shooty dog thing” in a school setting and a Mayor/Angel-esque speech about the curse of immortality. The Time War gave the Doctor a huge genocide-level guilt complex. Note that the creator of DC comics’ version of Lucifer, Neil Gaiman, has also written for Doctor Who and is also the co-creator of Good Omens (the show is brimming with Doctor Who Easter eggs thanks to David Tennant). A barely-recognizable Tom Ellis played Martha Jones’ ex-fiancé Tom Milligan during the Year that Never Was, as well.

A lot of shows take inspiration from the Buffyverse and you’ve probably seen some of them. It isn’t just the copycat vampire romance stories either.

Angel’s forerunners in turn were a mix of guilt-stricken, rat-eating Louis de Pointe du Lac (his Jekyll/Hyde-esque alter-ego Angelus is closer to the pre-retcon, fully-evil Lestat de Lioncourt, who got woobified into an antihero rocker not unlike Spike–the entire Fanged Four mirror Anne Rice’s character lineup), sword-wielding, immortality trope-influencers Connor/Duncan MacLeod of Highlander fighting for the Prize of humanity (akin to Pinocchio becoming a “real boy”–see also Barnabas Collins of Dark Shadows, though he was before vampires became antihero superheroes, not just sympathetic antivillains) and Nick Knight of Forever Knight (vampire detective).

Additionally, Tom Welling was famously the longest-serving Clark Kent of them all (Smallville) on the old WB (there’s that DC comics connection, too), so it’s not just a Fox shows thing (though Fox, not just Warner Brothers, did indeed own the Buffyverse). One of the least-known things about Clark is that he also has an immortality problem where he wouldn’t age parallel to Lois (they wouldn’t be able to have kids either) without a workaround. The Kryptonite line directed at Cain/Pierce by Lucifer was quite on the nose! Lucifer and Smallville sort of crossed over even further in Crisis on Infinite Earths, so Tom is canonically the face of both Clark and Cain in parallel universes of the DC multiverse.

Supernatural had quite recently had their own takes on Cain (played by Timothy Omundson, who also played God Johnson) and the Mark of Cain when Lucifer did it. Dan’s killer Le Mec was, of course, Rob Benedict, who was God a.k.a. Chuck Shurley, the ultimate villain of Supernatural. Richard Speight, Jr., who was archangel Gabriel/Loki the Trickster, directed a lot of Lucifer’s later episodes in addition to being a prolific Supernatural director.

Supernatural and Lucifer use the exact same font for their titles (Supernatural Knight).

The X-Files (which Supernatural referenced constantly) and Supernatural also had stories about nephilim (see the apocryphal Book of Enoch). Lucifer ultimately had two nephilim (forbidden interspecies offspring of angels and humans), even if not saying so as a known concept. Connor can also be compared to the vampire equivalent of being something like a dhampir, though he’s not quite that (mostly-but-not-quite-human offspring of two vampires instead of a human/vampire hybrid–see Blade for an actual dhampir). Supernatural has also covered the even rarer cambion species (human/demon hybrid).

Everyday is the best day when I’m with you.

(Fae and Alrek Khaine. Screenshot by me.)

A Sweet Moment

“Alrek, do you promise you still love me?”

“Until the moment I draw my last breath, my love. In this life and a thousand after it.”

It Finally Happened!

The wedding of a lifetime. Fae herself never thought it possible, that the man she fell for so fast and so deeply, would meet her at the altar. The venue was perfect. Absolutely stunning.

The flowers, the linens, all of it came together with utter perfection. The lights were low, giving the chandeliers that were lit a romantic glow. Friends, family, and a few lucky fans of the Desert Rose were in attendance. The chapel was nearly bursting at the seams with happy, smiling faces.

Fae was in the bridal suite, nervously bouncing her legs as she did her best to stifle anxiously chewing her manicured nails. She didn’t spend all that gil on a manicure just to eat it. With her hair and makeup finished, the bride was a sight to behold. Now if only she would find her groom waiting for her.

Their entrance was grand, because would the Desert Rose really do anything normal for her big day? The couple arrived on a golden float, serenaded by Moogle trumpeters. From there, the couple dismounted and walked to the altar, gazing adoringly at one another. They couldn’t keep their eyes off each other, staring in disbelief that it was all taking place. They had only met a few months before, and now they were walking down the aisle together.

Together, they walked down the snowy white carpet to the altar set before them. Flowers of red and pink lined the aisle, but did little to draw the attention from the bride. Faeylyn is already a beautiful woman, finding it difficult to walk the streets and go unrecognized, but today! The eyes of every person in the chapel were on the Rose. Her long ebony curls, her rosy cheeks, her luxuriously long lashes. She didn’t need much makeup at all.

The pair finally made it down the seemingly mile long aisle and arrived at the altar. The high heels of Fae’s fancy shoes clacked on the white marble floors as they arrived. She offered her dear friend Miyu her bouquet as the ceremony began.

Words of love and hope were shared by the couple, a small joke thrown in by the bride. The love shared between them was palpable, and felt by everyone in attendance. The ring exchange was heartfelt and beautiful, and the Miqo’tess had a tough time staying strong. A tear slid down her cheek, which she cursed for attempting to ruin her makeup, drawing a laugh from the crowd. Fae had concerns about sharing a passionate kiss with her groom before hundreds of people, as she knew where those sorts of kisses often led, and while she was a performer, she didn’t believe that sort of show was appropriate for a wedding. Instead, they shared a toast, exchanging glasses filled with rare wine.

Now married before the Twelve, souls joined for eternity, the couple jogged back up the aisle, hand in hand, giddy at the prospect of their future together and absolutely overwhelmed with feelings of love and devotion toward one another. They were met with cheers and well-wishes before riding off on chocoback to meet everyone at the reception to be held at their new shared home.

And they (hopefully!) lived happily ever after.

(Screenshots by my dear friend Rhaiya! I’ve been terribly busy and haven’t had a chance to post these yet. Alrek and Faeylyn Khaine, everyone!)

Here Comes the Bride

On February 28th, U’faeylyn Khaine will be joining her beloved bodyguard under the blessing of the Twelve. Ever the star, the kitten decided to head to the beach for some bridal photos in her gown. Mostly an excuse to wear it more than once, regardless, the songstress is eager and ready to become one with her love, Alrek.

All are welcome to attend! For an invitation, feel free to whisper Fae or Alrek in game. Ceremony will begin promptly at 8PM EST on February 28th.

A Steamy Evening

((NSFW story))

The tension between the Highlander and the Miqo’tess was palpable. Heavy flirting, stolen glances, and even a few kisses peppered in had driven poor Fae to madness. Any time she saw the swarthy Highlander, she felt her heart skip. She could lose herself for hours in those steely blue eyes.

Tonight would be the night the tension finally reached a head. She couldn’t survive another night without him. Inviting the Highlander into her office, she hopped up atop her desk and beckoned him over with a single digit, smirking. Obediently, the man approached, grinning. Small hands found their way to his hips, pulling him closer.

The Highlander ran a strong hand through her cropped hair, smiling affectionately to the kitten. They had grown quite close in the short time they spent together.

“Yes, Miss Fae?” The Highlander asked, his husky voice sending shivers down the spine of the songstress.

“Alrek, I…” She began, her teeth worrying her plump lip. “I wish to be with you tonight.” Her words stirred him, and his very obvious physical reaction to her drew a smirk from the kitten. “And it would seem you want that as well.”

“I do.” He stated simply. A large hand cupped her cheek before drawing her in for a kiss. Their lips met and the songstress’s eyes fluttered closed, hands tightening to fists on his hips as she pulled him as close as she could manage. Arms engulfed the small woman as he lifted her like one would a child’s toy. Effortless, he carried her to her small bed. She didn’t think she would be sharing it with another so soon.

Those mismatched orbs scanned his face as she was gently placed on the edge of the bed as his hands began to make quick work of his belt. He slid his tight leather pants to the floor with ease, those steel blue eyes locked on hers.

“I want you to taste my cock.” He said, his voice soft but quite stern. It wasn’t a suggestion. The kitten obliged quickly, looking between the massive organ that pointed directly at her face and his expression. Within the span of a heartbeat, she was upon him. Her small hand wrapped around the base of his long, girthy arousal and her painted lips wrapped around it. He released a guttural growl as her pink tongue began to massage the flared head of him. Eventually, she took him all the way into her mouth; a feat that left the Highlander very impressed with his Rose. A hand gripped the back of her head, holding her in place for a moment before releasing her, allowing her to breathe once more.

Alrek watched the songstress work, admiring her ethics as she bobbed her head, taking him in until he met her throat. Once it did, she’d take him in further, his thick member sliding down the back of her throat several ilms before re-emerging once more. Satisfied with her work and believing himself to be ready, he pushed the Miqo’tess onto her back and pulled her ornate dress overhead, leaving the kitten exposed to him. She put up no resistance, absolutely ready for the events to come. Always the tease, however, the tiny dancer sat up once again, batting her eyelashes for the swarthy bodyguard, almost begging him.

More than ready, the Highlander pounced upon the small songstress, engulfing her in his embrace as their lips met once more. Her entire body was alight, her desire for him already so strong that she felt herself throb and ache for a touch she had yet to experience. The man wasted no time, pulling her flesh to his, their bodies flush together. A large hand wrapped around the base of his girth and he angled it to meet the petals of her flower. He rubbed the head of his pillar along her crevice before he slowly pressed inside. Ilm by ilm, the kitten received her lover, her back arching as he plunged into her core until that flared head of his pressed against her innermost wall. How she managed to take him in his entirety is a question neither of them had time for. Her long legs wrapped around the Highlander’s hips as they began to rock with a hunger that he’d not felt in some time. The slow pace lasted only a few strokes before becoming wild, hips slapping against her plump rear as he began to furiously pound the little Miqo’tess, powerful legs propelling him into her.

Fae was known for many things, but being a quiet lover was not among them. Her singing voice could easily fill an amphitheater, and those powerful pipes similarly filled the office. Her voice rang through the small chambers, echoing off the walls, very likely bleeding into the early evening hours outside. Any passers-by would turn red in the face upon their realization of the origin of the sounds and briskly walk away. Each joining of their hips sent a jolt of electricity up the kitten’s spine, her painted nails found their way into his dark tan flesh. She, too, hasn’t experienced a need this great in some time. Not since he left. The pair melded together, a tangle of flesh, teeth, growls, and cries of pleasure.

A new angle was needed, and the large male sat up, pulling the Miqo’tess upon his lap. He gave her a quick spin and hugged her tight against him, her back pressed to his chest. She bounced upon his lap, dark brows knitting as the veiny underside of his thick shaft drew along the small bundle of nerves just inside her flower like the string of a bow pulling across a violin. Within moments, her head was thrown back as unimaginable pleasure washed over her like the sea during a storm. Wave after wave of bliss filled the kitten, her voice ringing through the rafters as her ecstasy persisted. For a moment, she believed she had felt her soul exit her body, the pleasure was so intense.

It would seem he experienced it as well, his needy grunts becoming growls of lust. He released his essence into her, his orbs draining of their load into the songstress. She felt every string of seed enter her, coating her core. They remained joined for several long moments, the Highlander gently turning Fae’s head to expose her neck. He planted long, lingering kisses along the curve of her shoulder, a happy rumble in his chest. Fae, too, continued to moan and whine for a few moments, taking a little extra time to come down from her blissful high. “Gods, that was amazing.” She purred, reaching a hand back to run through his long, dark hair.

“You’re amazing, Fae.” He said in return, his husky voice tired but content.

The pair remained entwined for a few more minutes before the energy was drained, and they laid down together. The Miqo’tess lay towards the middle of the bed, the large Highlander wrapping his arms tightly around her as he lay behind her as a big spoon. The kitten fell asleep within seconds, her lover a few minutes later. He found himself gazing at the sleeping songstress, wondering how he’d gotten so lucky to nab a woman like U’faeylyn. She was an enigma; one he would happily spend his entire life figuring out.

((No screenshots today because last time I tried, it got flagged. I hope you enjoyed the post!))

A Quick Nap

After spending so much time getting her set list ready for her big tour in a few weeks, the Miqo’tess dozes off on the shoulder of her bodyguard. He doesn’t seem to mind and lets the poor kitten rest. She’s earned it.

((Screenshot by me!))

Thirteenth Time’s the Charm?

It’s been a long and lonely road for U’faeylyn. Time and time again, she’s loved and lost, experienced grief so profound, she thought she may never let her guard down again. She’s built up walls so tall, no one may ever see the tops of them, lost in the mist and clouds.

Untilhe came along.

Alrek was a quiet man, new to The Black Shroud. He came from Ala Mhigo and picked up a position in security at The Winter Rose, where ironically The Desert Rose caught his eye. Instantly, they clicked, spending time in the main hall, bonding over tales of daring and hot cocoa. He embraced her playful nature, and she fell for his charm.

The pair bonded quickly, and she soon found the Highlander to be chipping away at the walls she had worked so hard to erect, to fortify so no man could destroy her heart again. Every laugh, every story, every warm cup of cocoa was like a pickax to the walls surrounding her heart.

Physically, she was drawn to him. His dark olive skin and hair as jet black as her own gave him an air of mystery. Tall, dark, and very handsome, she was hopelessly attracted to him, and him to her. Their bond grew to one of passionate romance, and quickly.

Theoretically, Fae is still diligently working to maintain those walls, gently reminding herself of the terrible pain she’s experienced through the years, how even now, she’s meant to be on her honeymoon with the man she believed she would be with forever. The man that swore he’d never break her heart.

All but ready to give up, she found Alrek. She’s doing her best to stay strong, not to commit herself to any individual to save her the heartache of their inevitable disappearance. Everyone always left. That’s the curse of Fae. She wants someone to love more than anything in the world, but love’s never loved her.

This hasn’t deterred Alrek in the slightest, and he does his best to offer comfort to the kitten, simply wishing to be there for her. Through rain or shine, he’s promised to stand by her. A small part of her wants to believe he’s true, but the pattern of her previous lovers leaves her with little trust in the words of men.

((Screenshots by me!))

life-love-geekculture:

Duncan MacLeod is like the Hufflepuff who was accidentally (on purpose) adopted by a posse of Slytherins and they constantly fight over who gets to spend time with him.

The Artist in residence will work with our First World War archive to bring to life some of the interesting stories and characters which exist in the original letters, diaries and photographs kept by Highland soldiers during the conflict.

‘The Highlanders’ Museum is delighted to announce the appointment of Robyn Woolston as Artist in Residence for the first 6 months of 2017. Thanks to a grant from Museums Galleries Scotland, we have been able to appoint our first Artist in Residence who will be working with our World War One collection to generate a creative response, engage local primary school children and interact with visitors to the Museum. The residency will be followed by an exhibition of Robyn’s work alongside pieces generated from the schools workshops.’

Gill Bird - The Highlanders’ Museum (Queen’s Own Highlanders Collection)

Location: http://www.thehighlandersmuseum.com

Residency:January - June 2017

Exhibition:October 2017 - March 2018

too much ffxiv and work in my life… but i made some time to draw my partner’s WoL and mine uwu