#//sorry this took so long dez

[void-botanist]

Happy STS. I want to know a world building fact that affects the story in your wip :)

Happy STS and thank you for the ask! One of Dez's first challenges on Elbas after Anni and Zel head home is discovering that the fixer-upper house he was supposed to move into has a rustmold infestation. Specifically, the rustmold has eaten away the circuit mycelium in the walls that would provide the house with power. So we get to see one of the only things that Dez is well and truly afraid of (he has various anti-rustmold mechanisms but that doesn't guarantee his mycelium—most of his body—won't get infested) and how he deals with it when his normal supports/people who solve his problems for him (Anni and Julian) aren't around.

Also fun fact: I started out using the term "grid" for mycelial power networks limited to single buildings, then realized that was the opposite of mycelial networks for multiple buildings that are fed from a single source (something much more common in cities where the buildings are denser), which means that being "off the grid" means the opposite in this world than IRL. If you live in a house in the middle of nowhere, you're "on the grid", because there's no sourced network to connect to.

[vacancy-virtues]

I have an idea! I’m always a total suck for hero x villain stuff, and power dynamics.

So how about this: hero and villain have regularly been fighting each other, and it’s always either ended up in a tie, or with the hero winning and arresting the villain, who escaped soon after.

Lots of banter, etc.

Now, for the first time ever, villain managed to defeat hero, taking them prisoner. They enjoy this immensely, making hero kneel for them, etc. To them it’s just a continuation of their usual dynamic and banter. A bit of payback (and also enjoying the view).

Hero however, is genuinely scared about being at villains mercy, because that never happened before and they don’t know what to expect. Villain enjoys the whole thing right up until they realise hero is genuinely afraid of them, thinking the might hurt or kill them.

(I’m sorry if that is too detailed, I’ve never done this before XD. Feel free to leave out or add whatever you want)

Greetings!

There is no such thing as "too detailed" on this page regarding asks! The more material I have to work with, the more I'll be able to write. 'Twas a brilliant idea, and I hope you enjoy the interpretation I have of it.

Your dutiful writer,

Enjoy <3

XXX

#5- "A Change of Pace

Battles shared semblance to a waltz in which Hero was always the lead. Villain either made it out by the skin on their teeth or had to pitifully look up from their cell at Hero to watch them gloat. They knew it never lasted for long. No matter the cell Hero confined Villain in, they and their crew always found a way to bypass security to scheme another day.

The two had been at one others heels for years, and today seemed just like any other day. Intel was able to intercept a delivery authorization by one of Villains' crew members for a hefty amount of radioactive material. It would be likely Villain would be stationed not too far from the drop zone. It seemed too easy, but it was routine after all.

Hero wasted no time in setting up their stake-out by the time the trucks were arriving at the drop point. They remained tucked atop a rooftop behind a vent exhaust. Through their binoculars, they scanned the various windows among the city buildings. Some aglow with warm lights contrasting the cool luminescence of the street lights below. The radio communications of their ear piece were distorted, but their radiation detector hadn't been going off from their position.

"Isn't it just a lovely view?"

As Hero twisted their body to meet the source of the voice, they stopped upon hearing the sound of a rotating chamber and the sight of Villain holding a gun towards them. Their composure was collected and calm, which wasn't much different than their usual cockiness. It was a surprise, sure, but it didn't matter they were up there. It wasn't like they hadn't given each other a few black eyes and split lips, so if Hero needed to fight this one out, they could manage until back-up came.

"Well, a second ago yes, but now I'm not so sure." Hero said, raising their hands up slowly.

"Oh, surely you don't mean that Hero," Villain jutted their gun up briefly, gesturing Hero to stand, which they did. "Deep down you know you love our little ren-dez-vous~"

Hero glanced behind them, hearing the sound of barreling trucks down the alleyways. The familiar smug grin which quirked the corner of Villains' lips, caught Heros eye and they shrugged their shoulders a little, returning a grin.

"Look, I get that you're toxic, but this is taking it a little too far, Villain."

"Well, thats rude," Villain took a step forward, gun still locked on the other just as their eyes were. "But I have no idea what you're talking about. Turn around, take a look."

Villains tone made Heros stomach twitch in discomfort. It didn't help how intently they held their gun either, but at least after all these years they picked up a thing or two from Hero; one being the proper way to hold a gun so someone can't kick it from your grasp.

The other being Villain finally learned was to have the upper hand. With visible hesitance, Hero picked up their binoculars to better see the drop sight. It was to their horror to see Villains crew pulling tarps off the covered back, revealing no cargo in any of the vehicles. No crates. No sacks or odd-glowing tubes. When they looked to Villain again, several red dots littered Hero's body, and the panic started to sink in a bit.

"But, Intel-"

"Discovered plans of a radium delivery?" Villain sighed, feigning a heartbroken look. "Hero, I thought you surely knew by now after how long its been,"

From within the scarf Villain wore around their neck, they pulled up a respirator. Heros mind was racing. What was it they could have missed? The exact location, parameter setting, time, and plate numbers were all there. Their eyes fell, and Villain paused for a moment to sigh before nudging the gun just below their chin to raise their head.

"I don't do business on my birthday."

Villain lifted their mask, and Hero heard something click onto the pavement. A purple plume of smoke enveloped the two. Their mind was grew hazy, and their limbs got heavy. Hero blinked, and next they realized it, they were on the ground.

"It doesn't make any sense.." Hero managed out, pulling themselves back towards the ledge the best they could.

"One of your little bugs missed the cancellation call I put in. None of you realized it, and I saw... an opportunity." Villain knelt down in front of them, a hand snaking through Heros locks only to pull it sharply upwards.

"If you don't work..." Hero hissed out, trying to intake some of untainted air. "Then what is this?"

Villain could only smile as they leaned in, tapping the end of the gun against Heros chin. They moved in slowly, or that is what they assumed. Everything moved a half-second behind and was only increasing in increments as Hero was exposed to the smoke bomb.

"Pleasure." Villain all but purred near their ear.

With a sharp yank, Hero went hurdling into the wafts of smoke. It scorched their throat before it burned their lungs. One ear, they could hear the hiss of the static from the earbud. In the other, the hiss of the spraying smoke bomb. Hero could hardly make out what went wrong, especially in the state they were in now. They at least knew there was no Intel to call out to, and no back-up coming for them.

As Heros vision faded, the last thing they saw was Villain kneeling atop of them with a satisfied smile behind the respirator. For the first time in however long Villain and Hero had been at it, Hero was bested. Despite the incapacitated state, there was a growing fear of what Villain had in store after all these years.

+++

When Hero awoke, it took a while to absorb their surroundings. The windows were bright but not because of light but because of the heavy fall of snow outside. Hero laid atop a deep red, ornate rug set in front of the large fireplace with stone inlays of various colors. The hearth was aglow with a roaring fire which lit up the inside of the cabin.

As their eyes focused on the walls, it was a nauseating realization that there were no portraits on the wall but various mounted animals. All walks of the food chain, from wolves and hawks to sheep and deer, decorated the walls.

In attempts to sit up, Hero realized they were bound. While yes, it wasn't like they would be free range at all, but Hero thought it excessive to bind not only their ankles to their wrists, but to bind both to a rope around their neck to prevent further struggle. Hero waited a moment to let their senses come back to them and not be embarrassed over being hog-tied on a cabin floor surrounded by dead animals.

It didn't take long to hear the thud of boots crossing the wood and softening on the carpet in front of them. As slow as they were, it didn't compare to the steady rise in heart rate Hero felt. Just because Villain had been caught in the past or had plans interrupted didn't mean they couldn't have still worked on something Hero missed somehow. Obviously, a cabin in the middle of nowhere was one of those plans.

"Oh, look at you, a bow and everything..." Villain cooed, slipping three fingers under the rope around their neck to hoist them up on their knees. They adjusted the ropes behind Hero, which loosened the pressure on their neck only slightly.

A dark apron covered Villains shirt, and their hands were poorly washed of blood from whatever it was they were doing in the kitchen. The side-effects from the smoke bomb kept their limbs weighed down like lead, and their head pounded with questions. Luckily, Villain was prompt to handle the latter.

"Do you like it? The cabin?"

"This all seems a bit.. primitive." Hero drowsily responded.

"Call me old-fashioned, I suppose. The snowstorm outside makes it impossible for your team to scope out in terrain recon or aerial surveillance, and you'll surely die out there if you try to escape."

There was a brief moment Hero felt the urge to try at an escape, yet with the upward motion, strain was put on their throat. With a strangled gasp, Hero was forced to settle back on their knees. All the while, Villain circled their victim like a shark in water, footfalls slow and deliberate before they knelt in front of Hero, their lips curled into that damned dastardly smile.

"And far away from anyone who may hear you scream. Unlike my crew, no one is coming for you, Hero."

From Villains hip, a long blade with a pronounced gut hook at the end and a dark leather handle came into view. They've had their shoot-outs, but they knew the two missed each other on purpose (most times). They've had their brawls but still left the other standing to fight another day. However, this was a new leverage Villain had, and it wasn't the heat of the fireplace making Hero perspire. It was pure fear, and it reflected back to them in the blade of the knife.

"Do you know how long I've waited for this?" Villain began, bringing the edge of the blade dangerously close to their throat. "To have you humiliated before me? I've spent years dreaming of how I'd have you at my feet, begging for your life to an unanswering god."

The spark behind Villains eyes made Heros blood run cold. They'd never seen Villain like this before. The bindings around their wrists and ankles offered no give, and any shift of their current position threatened to weigh on their windpipe. The blade edge was sharp enough to cause a paper cut-like string on their neck. So many things went wrong that Hero felt out of depth with what to do and what to expect from Villain.

"P-please.." Was all Hero managed, their voice raspy from the smoke and barely a whisper.

"Please?" Villain echoed in daunting amusement. "Oh, Hero, how the mighty do fall!"

The laugh that echoed in the room felt closer to derangement, and Hero visibly flinched at the volume. Before they knew it, a burn stung their eyes, and their vision blurred and skewed the sight of Villain with fat, hot tears.

Something about the reaction shot down Villain from their victory high. Here, they thought they'd be able to rub their success in their face, to finally show Hero what it was like to seep in their own failures. They thought the victory would be sweet, yet the sight of the true fear Hero held in their eyes left a bitter taste in Villains' mouth. Even with how long they'd been doing this, Villain never truly feared Hero.

Villain had never seen this side of Hero before.

The hook of the blade near Heros throat snugged itself under the rope before it was severed completely. Hero let go of a breath they didn't realize they were holding. After a moment, Hero watched as Villain stood and took off their apron, revealing a crisp white button up and fine dress pants.

"Get up."

"W... what?" They stammered out. With the rope now cut, the restraints seemingly fell apart as Hero moved their wrists.

"Dinner is going to be ready soon, and I figure you'd want to change." Villain said as they casually rolled their sleeves up.

As if they weren't confused before, they just stared at the other in awe and disbelief at the sudden change of heart to cut Hero loose.

"What.. You're not going to kill me..?"

"Not yet, no. I told you I don't do business on my birthday." There was a pause. "Even a belated one. It did take a couple days to get out here."

"Then.." Hero looked about the cabin, the attire, the undeniable smell of something cooking in the kitchen. "You kidnapped me to have dinner?"

There was a flash of that damned grin and an innocent shrug of the shoulders.

"Ah, a birthday dinner, and it's not like you would have made reservations. I mean, you hardly remembered! And you never have a day off, so I simply took matters into my own hands when the opportunity saw fit." Villain held a hand out to Hero, which they hesitantly took.

Hero still hadn't quite moved past the concept they thought they'd be gutted and stuffed a moment ago. The hand which took Heros pulled them close, another arm wrapping about their waist. The cologne Villain wore was subtle, but enough to bring a bit of ease in their shoulders.

"It's quiet here, and warm and away from everything and everyone.. no cameras or recorders, just us.." Villain said, their voice gentle. "Tomorrow you can stumble upon the ski mobile in the garage and be gone before the suns up, and that'd be fine just.. can we have tonight?"

Hero pulled back a bit to look up at Villain with surprise and perplexity. Yet, the look Villain wore resembled closer to remorse than anything. Villains hand gingerly cupped their jaw, a thumb caressing over their cheek. They'd been doing this for years after all, perhaps they did need a change of pace.

"Okay, Villain.." Hero said before the relief allowed a smile of their own to cross their lips. "It's only fair for forgetting such an important holiday."

"I'm glad you can see reason," Villain teased before their expression softened and pulled Hero back into their arms. "And.. I'm sorry for scaring you for you to see that."

The words held Hero like Villains arms did. With a soft sigh, Hero shook their head against their shoulder. At least now, there would be no way to underestimate Villain.

"Maybe I needed my life threatened to convince me that a break won't be what kills me." Hero quipped.

The air had lightened, and the dinner Villain carefully prepared for them was decadent and filling. The drink warmed them from the inside, and when they went to bed, their bodies did an even better job at fighting the cold off together. When the morning came and the light streamed in through the window, Villain was surprised to feel the weight of Hero still on their bare chest.

"You're still here.." Villain said, not quite as a question but more in surprise.

"Mm... it's too cold to go out..." Hero muttered, still not quite awake.

Villain smiled and pulled the blankets over them more, nuzzling contently into Heros hair. The snowfall had long since stopped, leaving glistening icicles to catch the sunlight outside the window.

"I know.." A soft kiss fell on Heros head.

Hero looked up at them with bleary eyes, barely able to process the fact Villain even planned that, before they gave a defeated smile and rested back on Villains chest.

"Happy birthday, Villain."

With a gentle kiss, the two shared the quiet morning together, wrapped up in one another until Villain found themselves lulled back to sleep by Heros calm breathing.

[honeybunniii333]

please stop making me sad. make something happy

(Sorry it took so long for me to write something new. I started a new job! And then my mom died, and then I graduated yesterday! So yeah, it's been a pretty busy month.)

Isaac couldn't quite place what it was. But something was different about Edward. He'd been staring for a while now, trying to figure out what exactly it was. Ed had seemed a bit bothered by the staring, giving him weird looks back every time he'd catch him. and now here they were in the last period. Isaac seated in front of the taller boy, who was trying to focus on his work despite the holes being drilled into his head as Isaac, who'd turned around in his chair to study him. (much to Ed's dismay) stared daggers into him.

And that's when he saw finally noticed them, little red studs in his ears. Isaac's hands shot forward on impulse, grabbing the older teen by the face and yanking him forward, tilting his face side to side as he inspected his ears in awe. "You got your ears pierced!" he blurted out after a long moment of consideration. Ed looked startled, and as he processed the closeness, his face quickly started to turn red. He squirmed a little but didn't really try to escape very hard. He'd long since gotten used to Isaac being close. It didn't freak him out like it used to. "Uhm... yeah?" He mumbled, confused by the sudden interest.

"When did you get it done?" He asked, finally letting go of the others' faces. Ed's hands came up to rub away the soreness the others' death grip had left. "Saturday..." he admitted. "Dez wanted to go get a piercing and talked me into it while we were there. I kinda always liked the idea of it, but I was too nervous to ever get it done before." he frowned, twirling his pencil as he leaned back forward. "Save any nasty comments, please. I'd rather not hear em right now." he rolled his eyes.

"They're cute." Isaac blurted out, as usual, not really thinking much about the things that came out of his big mouth. However, he was met with one of his favorite things as of late. Watching as Ed's expression went blank for a moment. The gears in his head slowly turned as he processed what had just been said. His eyes slowly widened as his face began to turn red. "You- I- SHUT UP!" he huffed, covering his ears with his hands as his face scrunched up. A flustered Ed would never be amusing.

"I'm serious..." he insisted, and he was. They did suit him. Ed pouted for a moment, looking the boy's face over for any hint of mocking. He didn't find any, and that seemed to somehow make him redder, though he lost the defensiveness in his stance. "...whatever.." he wasn't sure how to take a compliment from Isaac of all people. So he simply brushed past it for his sanitys sake. Returning his attention back to his work, face still tomato red. Isaac finally turned back around in his seat. He couldn't help but snicker a little to himself. Boys with earrings were cute.

[dakuyuri]

Junkerqueen x FemReader where reader comforts Jq when she has her nightmares? :3c

It was 3 am. You and Odessa were in her bed and like usual, you slept with your head on her chest and her having her arms wrapped protectively around your waist. You slept peacefully, her scent a comfort that allowed you to fall asleep within seconds when the two of you cuddled. However, something pulled you out of your sleep tonight. You awoke to the sound of rapid breathing and Odessa moving slightly beneath your head. It took a second for you to properly wake up, but when a whimper escaped your girlfriend's lips your eyes shot open.

"Dez?" You rub your eyes and sit up, noticing the knit in your girlfriend's brows. There were beads of sweat on her forehead, and when she let out another soft whimper you decided to wake her with a kiss.

Odessa shot up, instinctively holding you close and panting. After registering where she was and that she and you were safe, she let out a long sigh and tried catching her breath.

"Sorry love...just...a nightmare." She sounded softer than usual, more vulnerable.

Even though she was clearly the dominant one in the relationship, you knew right now as her girlfriend it was your job to comfort her, even if she personally would not request it of you.

"Come here" you mumble, laying back down and opening your arms. Odessa wanted to refuse and pull you back into her own embrace instead, but she was so shaken by the nightmare she gave in.

Now, the taller woman nuzzled her head against your chest, her body finally relaxing. You place a kiss on her forehead, rubbing her back. You hoped perhaps in the morning you could ask her about her dream, but you also knew she had a hard time being vulnerable in front of you, since she was always the one who protected you.

"I've got you...everything is gonna be okay." You mumble into her hair as she begins to drift off again, a small "I love you" falling from her lips.

[junkratsjunkertown]

Omg I love your writing sm!!

*ahem*

If it's not too much trouble, could I get some Queen and junkrat (preferably poly but if you don't write poly, separate is fine) sfw dating headcanons with a super soft and sweet s/o?

Gn or male s/o pls :)

Anyway, take care of yourself and have a great day/night <3

Sure. I’d love to. Have a great day/night too. Sorry, this took so long. Junker Queen's real name is Odessa "Dez" Stone, Junkrat's real name is Jamison Fawkes, and Roadhog's real name is Mako Rutledge.

Attracted To Junkers

Junker Queen x Junkrat x Male Reader

All three of you call each other Drongo when one or two of you does something dumb or idiotic

You guys spend the night in either your room or Odessa's room since you all respect Mako's boundaries

Mako usually drops Jamison at one of your rooms when he needs a break from the loud Junker

Odessa likes to be the big spoon and Jamison likes to be the little spoon

You are quite alright being the one stuck in the middle when all of you wanna spoon while cuddling

Jamison will do a little firework show for every anniversary

Odessa is protective of you and Jamison

If anyone bullies or threatens you Jamison and Odessa will find them and torture them the Junker way

Meaning Odessa uses her knife and axe, while Jamison uses bombs and other explosives

Mako does love hanging out with all three of you

Especially since you are the quietest out in your relationship

You and Mako talk about random things especially Pachimari

You and Mako buy each other Pachimari-related things that remind you of your friend

You also buy Pachimari stuff for Dessa and Jamie

Movie night is a must

Whether it be a horror movie or a comedy

Just no Rom Com movies

You three have photos of the other two in your wallets

And photos of all three of you or of the other two and Mako hanging in each others rooms

[cljordan-imperium]

hey! this is chance & here’s week 3’s prompt. share an excerpt that you’re very proud of from any of your wips.

I thought I had shared this before here on Tumblr, but I've searched both this blog and @theimperiumchronicles and cannot find it. That doesn't mean that I haven't, it means I can't find it. SO...I'm going to take this opportunity to share it again. My piece I'm most proud of is linked under the History link in my pinned post, it is Pixies. This is the 2nd most proud and less shared. The title was "All Things Die". And I cried like a baby writing it, because I felt the emotions of my characters as I wrote it. I hope it will at least a tiny impression on y'all. This is a bit longer than my normal posts at 4269 words.

Standing erect, Abbadon surveyed the courtyard.  He was relieved that apparently none of them had been touching one of those beings that were attacking them.  Nothing they’d done had seemed to affect them.  Only their wards even slowed them down.  He hadn’t been sure that they were even going to survive to make it home.

Turning in a slow circle, he caught sight of Talia standing in Leandre’s arms.  So that is who had found her!  He started to cross over to her, “Talia!”

“Boss!” Thinius tried to get his attention.

“I’m so sorry it took us so long!”  

“Abbadon!”  Thanases growled.

“Did they hurt you?” Abbadon’s face became a mask of concern.

“Your Majesty!” Arioch yelled starting to head towards the King.

“We have a suite prepared for you.”  Abbadon looked down at her as she tried to crawl inside Leandre.

“Hey!  Asshole!” Abbadon turned his head finally just in time for Adriel’s fist to slam into the side of his face. “You seem to have missed your bride is still on that godforsaken planet!”

Leandre let go of Talia and headed for Adriel, “NO!”

Before he could reach the Angel, Adrield slammed his fist into Abbadon’s head again.  Standing up he walked over to where Dez was standing stunned.  He put his hand up to Dez’s head.  “Mist there.  You see it?  You have the power to do it.”

Dez nodded and they both disappeared.  As they did, everyone stared at Abbadon like he’d lost his head.  The way he was behaving, he just might have.

When Dez and Adriel appeared in the center of the tower nothing looked different.  There were no footprints leading out of the black goo that coated the walls and floor.  “We’re too late.  FUUUUUUUCCCK!” Adriel screamed and slammed his fist into the wall.  

“Adriel?”

He heard Brie’s voice but he couldn’t see her.  He and Dez both turned in a circle trying to figure out where it was coming from.

Mithos dropped his ward and both of them appeared.  Well, he appeared and a set of legs between and behind his from what both Dez and Adriel assumed was Brie.  Obviously she had been doubly protected.  Both were relieved.

Mithos stepped forward to shake hands with the two males, “You guys took long enough.  A few more hours and I couldn’t have held a ward any longer.”

“We were only gone a few minutes..maybe five?” Dez looked confused.

“Not here.  Here you were gone several hours.”  Brie stepped up next to Mithos, keeping in close to his side.  “Where is Abbadon?” She looked between Dez and Adriel.  It wasn’t that she wasn’t happy to see them, but why hadn’t her mate come?

Dez and Adriel exchanged wary glances.  How did they answer that without upsetting her more?  “He’s...uh...a little distracted dollface.”  Dez offered, it was the best he could do.  He would not lie to her.  

They could see that upset her, but it completely enraged Mithos.  “Distracted?  His Queen is stuck in this hell and he’s DISTRACTED?!” 

Adriel held his hand up, “we can discuss this later.  Dez, get us the fuck out of here.”

“I’m not sure I have the power to get us back.  Getting here took a lot of power for.”  Dez sighed.

“Then we’ll use mine.  I’ll give you the power, you get us home.” Brie looked at all of them.  Her face was grim, but she was resolute.

“I can’t allow that, M’Lady.  You have not fully regained your power.  It could put you into stasis.”  Mithos took her by the shoulders and bent down to look her straight in the face.  He couldn’t let her do it, wouldn’t let her.

“Take.me.home.  If we stay here we will die.  You all will die.  I will die  And it will be my fault.”  She looked at them with tears in her eyes.  “Mithos, you’re here because you were shielding me and it somehow blocked us leaving.  Dez, Adriel, you came looking for me.  I can’t have you die here; I can’t watch you die here.  I know you will die defending me, which means /I/ die last and after I’ve watched them kill you.  Don’t ask me to do that!”  Tears made slow tracks down her face as she looked at them.  “Take me home Dez.  Take me home where the last face I see can be Cruz before I fall asleep.  Where he will not mourn without a grave to visit, but at least have...something...  Take me home, please.  And live your lives happy and not die here.  We won’t survive, if I’m going to die at least let it mean something.”

Dez wanted to deny her, but he couldn’t tell her ‘no’.  He pulled her into his chest and nodded to the other two.  She wasn’t going to die; no matter what he had to do, he wasn’t going to let her die.  As her power started to flow through him, he made a vow to whatever deity happened to be listening that he would find a way to save her in the end.  Closing his eyes, he attempted to mist them back to the Palace.

While it had been over fifteen minutes on the planet, it was only a few seconds that passed in the Palace.  When the four arrived, they were all weak and fell to their knees.  Dez kept a tight hold on Brie, but she was completely limp.  

“CRUZ!  She’s going into stasis!”  Dez yelled, trying to keep from dropping her.  He was sure that the creepy fucker would kick his ass later, and he’d take it.  

Cruz came running, almost sliding across the ground to take his sister in his arms.  “How?”  He could barely talk, barely breathe, pain so deep and strong it was overwhelming him.  No one else moved, all were stunned into silence.  His hand hovered over her as shock and horror played across his face.  This couldn’t be happening; how was this happening?

“I couldn’t make it back on my own.  Mithos was exhausted from keeping her safe for hours that passed there in the few minutes we were here.  Adriel didn’t have the power.”  Dez explained between heavy pants and fighting back emotion.  He was sitting between Mithos and Adriel.  All now on their asses with their feet out in front of them, they looked ready to drop at any moment.  “She didn’t want to die there bro and she didn’t want us all to die.  We couldn’t have survived if we’d stayed.  She just wanted to be home,” he swallowed as emotion threatened to overwhelm him.  “She wanted to be with you.”  A tear slowly made its way down his cheek.  Maybe they all should have died together; the guilt started eating him alive.

Abbadon stood off to the side, the only one near him now was Talia, who looked horrified.  Hands to her mouth she stared in horror.  Looking over to her father, he appeared blank.  Maybe he was stunned into inaction, but he almost seemed...bored?  Was this some kind of trick the beings were playing on her?  Her head swung back back to look at Cruz and she did something she hadn’t done in a long, long time...she prayed.

“NOOOOO!!!”  Cruz almost screamed as Deacon and Olly finally came running over.  He cradled his sister as if she were a child, her body limp and growing colder.  She wouldn’t die, but she would never truly be alive again.  He hand raised to push hair off her forehead that had been stuck in the black ooze that was the blood of those beings.  “Sister mine, open your eyes.  You can’t leave me yet.”  His voice was wracked with pain and his shoulders shook with emotion.  In his chest, it felt like his heart was being squeezed in a vice, his lungs were refusing to breathe.  He was petting her hair, trying to will life back into her.  There had to be something, anything that he could do.

Thinius and the rest of her guard drew near; none could believe what they were seeing.  How could Abbadon have left her there?  How could he not have gone back?  As they looked to Mithos, he was a man devastated.  The expression on his face said it all, he felt he’d failed and it would forever haunt him.  It was also clear the male had not one bit of strength remaining, Dez hadn’t been exaggerating.

“Fight it, damn it.  FIGHT!  You’ve done this once, you won.  Don’t you damn well leave me!”  Cruz’s voice was strained as he felt Olly and Deacon lay hands on his shoulders.  The shadow of the guard fell over them, he knew he wasn’t alone but he’d never felt more so.  She was the only one who looked at him and smiled, who loved him.  He’d never knew he needed anyone, and one tiny female had changed that.  She’d made him feel again, and now he felt everything he’d prayed he never would.

Adriel moved, slowly and shakily toward Cruz and Brie.  Raguel finally moved to help him, his heart breaking for the Angel.  As much as Raguel had looked over Brie, Adriel had thought of her as his own child.  Now that child was going somewhere that none could follow, and somewhere she’d never come back from.  There was nothing that any of them could do to stop it.  Adriel was becoming an Angel broken, devastation overwhelming him as he laid a hand on Brie’s head.  He’d known she wasn’t strong enough to do this, but he couldn’t deny her wish to be back here.

Still Abbadon stood off to the side, unmoving and his face blank.  Talon looked over and shook his head, tears streaming down his face.  His friends, dear god, they were losing the most important thing to them.  Yet, through this, his dad seemed unaffected.  Where had his love for her gone?  Had his jealousy so overpowered him that he’d lost all touch with reality and decency?

Cruz felt the moment that Brie fell into stasis.  All of her emotions were gone, her breathing almost stopped and she grew even colder.  The sound that came from him was one of utter devastation and loss.  All assembled dropped their heads in mourning and in respect; while all felt loss the all knew that none felt it like he did.

“No greater love.  That’s what my son said.  No greater love has one than to lay down their life for their friends.” 

Heads lifted and turned towards the sound of the Divine’s voice.  Where had he been?  Why show up now?  It was all over.

“Why are you here, father?”  Raguel asked confused.  He was holding Adriel’s shoulders to keep the other Angel sitting upright.

“I was summoned, I guess you could say.”  He said as he looked around at the confused faces that were looking at him.

“Summoned,” Adriel said, breathing hard through the pain he was feeling, both physical and emotional.  “You can’t be summoned.  You’re the Divine..God.”  

“Ah, yes, you are correct.  However, some interesting things just happened here.  Things that quite frankly surprised me some.”  He looked over to Cruz, who wasn’t even acknowledging his presence.  1,500 years of faithful service and now the Nephilim thought he’d been abandoned.  He could feel the loss of the male, and how he now felt lost himself.  His poor child, such a tragedy.  A tragedy that didn’t have to happen, but he’d get to that later.

“Which would be?”  Deacon asked, his voice quiet and choked.  One of the only friends he had in the world, and quite possibly his best friend, lay essentially dead.  He wanted the Divine to get to the point so that they could take care of her, or what was left of her.

“Forgive me, my child, of course.  I hear all prayers, and all are answered.  Some don’t like the answer they get, just as children don’t always like what their parents say.  And today I received some interesting prayers.”  Now everyone but Cruz was looking at him, wondering what the fuck he was talking about.  “Human prayers are rather quiet, I barely notice them.  The prayers of my Nephilim, now those are louder.  The prayers of my Angels, louder still.  Today I discovered something though. Something that /I/ didn’t know because it had never happened before.”  Everyone looked at each other confused.

“See, when Lucifer, the Princes, and all of their followers were kicked out of Heaven, they pleaded to get back in.  I’ve heard their pleading since it happened.  It’s like background noise that you learn to ignore.  But today...today I found out what happens when Demonic Nephilim and pure Demons pray.  Oh and not just pray but pray to ME to do something, not for themselves...but someone else.  They make my Angels sound like they’re whispering.”  His gaze swept over to Mithos then Thinius and the Guard then over to Arioch, all of whom looked absolutely stunned.  “Yes, you were heard boys.”

Now Cruz turned his head to look at the Divine.  His eyes rimmed red, for the first time in 1,000 years, he cried.  His heart was shattered, and the Divine’s words seemed to just be dragging him through the razor sharp jagged pieces of it.  There was a buzzing in his ears that only made whatever anyone said sound like it was through a drive through speaker.  “And?”

The Divine walked over and whispered something in Cruz’s ear.  No one could hear a thing, but Cruz held his sister tighter and openly wept.  Had the Divine said he’d do nothing?  Had he just came down to say he’d been heard?  All knew deities could be royal assholes, but was this really the time for that?

Olly’s hand tightened on Cruz’s shoulder.  He was losing his patience.  “I take it we’re not going to like the answer.”  His voice was hard and cold; it belied his true feelings of loss and grief.

“Oh, we’ll get to that.”  The Divine pointed at Olly.  “Keep that thought.”  He looked around and turned back to Abbadon.  “FIRST, I honestly want to know something from you.”  Pointing at the Destroyer, he started to walk over to him.  “Why were YOU the only one who didn’t pray?  You didn’t just not pray to me...you didn’t pray to anyone!  I asked.  Your daughter did, and she hates Brie.  Your DEMON friends did.  YOU didn’t.  And, even more importantly, why the ever loving fuck am I here? You could have gone back and gotten her. And for pity’s sakes, once they were back you could have saved her yourself!”

“WHAT?!”  Leandre lunged forward to be caught by Thinius and Andronicus before he could get too far.  They looked no happier, but thought it might be better to let the two sons of the Source have it out rather than getting into the fray.

“You bastard!”  Thanases added, helping to pull Leandre back.

“Father?”  Talon asked moving over towards where Talia was standing.  “He’s lying.  Tell us he’s lying.”  No, his father loved Brie.  He wouldn’t have forgotten her on another planet.  There was no way he’d let her fall into stasis.  Was there?

“Abbadon?”  Arioch asked when the other male didn’t move or respond.  “Tell him he’s wrong.  Tell him there is no way you would let her basically die if you could stop it.  Tell him, or consider your life forfeit.”  Someone finally put a voice to the words all of them were thinking.

“He’s not.” Abbadon replied flatly. Growls of rage echoed in the courtyard.  His head dropped, he didn’t know what to say.  He didn’t know what to think or how to feel.  Finally he looked back up at his brother.  “D, I don’t know.  I fucking don’t know.”  He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.  “All I’ve felt since you put those cuffs on our creator is possessiveness, jealousy, and apathy.  I missed that she was sick before, and I didn’t look for her when we got back.  It never crossed my mind.”  He stopped.  If he said more, it would  most certainly lead to extreme violence of which he would be on the receiving end.  

“And you don’t care one damn about any of it.” His brother finished for him.  He nodded.  “Wow!  That I did not expect, but maybe I should have.  We’ve noticed...” 

“Your Lordship, can we make a deal?”  Mithos’s voice cut in, causing all heads to turn.  Everyone, even the Divine, was surprised to see him standing.  Not standing steadily, but the male WAS on his feet.

“What deal?”

“If there has to be a death, let it be mine. I failed her.  It should be me.”  Mithos’s back went straight and his shoulders back, even though he was still swaying slightly.

“You would diminish her sacrifice?”

“She wanted to be here, with her brother.  She didn’t want us all to die on that goddamned planet.  It seemed the only way.  Let her have a life, and her brother have his sister back.  My vow to her was to give my life to save hers, regardless of circumstance.  To allow her to essentially die if I can trade my life for hers, that would be to break that vow.”  Dark eyes bored into the lighter ones of the Divine.

“And you’re willing to be damned into the bowels of hell?”

“Yes.”

“To have me send you to the deepest torture pits?”

Fear laced through Mithos’s heart, but he didn’t even blink before responding, “yes.”

“To spend eternity in unyielding and unending pain and agony, in all forms and fashions?”

His head was screaming for him to sit down and shut up.  The thought of it all was causing him to be filled with fear and almost to tremble; yet Mithos took one strong step forward.  “Did.I.stutter?”

No one moved.  Any of them would trade their lives for her, but none had thought to do it like this.  Now there was a bit of guilt amongst them all.  No one would diminish what Mithos was doing by trying to step in now though.  How he was even standing was a big enough mystery to them and spoke of his conviction of action.

“No.” The one word from the Divine seemed to almost crush Mithos and he swayed heavily.  Moving to him, the Divine put out a hand to the male’s shoulder to steady him.  “She’s not in stasis, she’s just asleep brave knight.  I fixed everything when I got here, that’s what I told her brother.”  Their eyes met and the Divine smiled ever so slightly.  “She is blessed to have a guard and loyal friend such as you.  I hope she never forgets that.  You are brave, very brave.”

At hearing that Mithos’s knees gave way.  The Divine helped him back down to the ground so he didn’t completely fall and lose face.  When he’d shown up the Divine already respected those of Demonic blood that were gathered.  He respected their Captain a lot more now.  Before standing, he leaned over close to Mithos and said something privately to him that had the Captain nodding his head. Everyone else felt they could finally breathe again, her guard all now looking relieved but also still highly enraged at their King.

Turning back to Abbadon the Divine just sighed and shook his head.  He couldn’t believe his brother, even more so now seeing the loyalty of those who had known her a far shorter time.  “Do you see what her Captain is willing to do?  Yet, again you never thought to even try to bargain with me for her life. Or better yet, to bring her out of stasis yourself.  Fucking hell, A, that was nothing for me to do.”  It was clear the Divine was grappling with what Abbadon was doing, or more correctly...not doing.   “Her guard hates you right now, in case you couldn’t guess.  Your own son REALLY hates you at the moment.  You honestly don’t want to know what my two Angels over there want to do with you.  And those two demons...yeeeeeaaaah...you REALLY don’t want to know.  And the other three Horsemen,” he cast a glance over to them.  “If I weren’t binding their powers, they might just unite against you.  You have completely pissed everyone here off except for your daughter, who is still about to pee herself from terror at this whole fucked up situation.”  The Divine nodded with raised eyebrows and a thin lipped smile.  

“I feel so much better now.”  Abbadon replied flatly, sighing.  “So, what’s wrong with me?”

“You’re lazy.”

“What the fuck does that mean?”  It came out as a growl.  He was getting tired of his brother being cryptic or just flatly holding back information.

“When we bound the creator’s powers, it affected us all.  There was a lot of him in all of us.  His anger and rage was what drove Brie to go batshit crazy whenever she got upset.  His love was what made Aphrodite who she is.  Get it?  We all got a little something from him.  Your basal emotions are all negative anyway, but you are the Destroyer after all, brother.  Unlike some of the rest of us, you didn’t even try to work on the part that was missing, the softer parts that Brie brought out in you.  You just went with what you were feeling and didn’t give a shit what the fallout was.  I guess that worked for you in the past; but it’s not going to work for you anymore.  Without the conscious effort to think about and care for others, you haven’t been.  She’s your bride; you should be devoted to her.  Instead she’s just a possession and something to keep away from everyone else.  Her well-being and happiness became just side notes for you, not to be worried about unless it becomes a problem.  Well big brother, you now have one major motherfucking problem.  Look around this courtyard.  Do it...look…”

He didn’t want to; he knew what he’d see.  They hated him, resented him, wanted to kill him, and right now he couldn’t blame them.  Finally his eyes scanned them all.  Other than Talia, who looked just as his brother had described her,  and Cruz, who wasn’t even looking up from Brie, they were all enraged.  Every.single.one. Of all of his fuck ups, he wasn’t sure there was any way that he could top this one.  This was the mother of all fuck ups.  Not to mention that he had a feeling that Brie was going to want to eviscerate him when she woke up, another wonderful thought for him to ruminate on.

“So how do I fix it?  I know I need to, but…”

“It doesn’t really bother you and you don’t really care if you do.  As long as I keep all of these people from causing YOU any pain, you don’t give a shit how they are affected.  Yeah, I know.”  D scrubbed a hand over his face.  “You know, if you don’t want them to stop caring I’m standing here and as a group kick your ass...you might want to shut the fuck up.  I know this is a new concept for you, you being the Destroyer and all…but you have some major fucking powerful creatures that want to annihilate you and I’m the only thing in their way.”  The Divine sighed, how DID his brother get this bad?  He’d always been a being of vibrant passions, deep and powerful.  Now he was like an empty shell of the being he’d once been.  Maybe there had been so much of the creator in him that removing it really had left him empty.

“Gee, thanks.”  

“Listen, I can talk to our siblings on Earth.  Maybe we can devise a way to help you.  None of us are ready to unleash our creator yet.  Trust me, it’s bad.  He has possibly gotten worse, and temper tantrums are constant.  Come with me to Heaven, we’ll meet with our family later.  However, staying here isn’t an option for you.  If you don’t come with me, you’ve got to go somewhere.”  The Divine looked over to Cruz, “it’s better you're not here when she wakes up.”

Abbadon nodded and followed his brother’s gaze.  That should be him, and yet he felt nothing watching it.  He realized the only reason he reacted to Talia was because he’d actually been rehearsing it for days.  It hadn’t been genuine emotions, just rote activities that he’d practiced in his head. “Let’s go.  I’m useless here.”  He turned to look back at his brother.  One failure after another, he felt pity for himself but oddly enough not for anyone else.

“Yes, you are now and you have been.  Be GONE!”  Everyone suddenly turned to look at Cruz again.  Adriel was now holding Brie, looking all the relieved father he was.  “You are not wanted by any of us either. You heard your brother.  Not by a one of us.  None cares one single fuck if you live or die.  Fix whatever the fuck is wrong with you, or DO.NOT come back.”  His hand was on his sword’s hilt and his eyes were firmly fixed on Abbadon.  Truly, he wanted to end the being, but he knew his sister loved the male.  For that reason alone, he would let the other male live….for now...

copyright 2019 - C.L.Jordan

TAG LIST  @spookyceph @saltysupercomputer @careful-pyromancer @late-to-the-fandom @autumnalwalker @perasperaadastrawritingg @fearofahumanplanet @jessica-writes22 @dogmomwrites @mjjune @verba-writing @blind-the-winds   @outpost51 @inkspellangell  @sunset-a-story @writingmaidenwarrior @clairelsonao3 @toribookworm22 @there-goes-thefighter @aziz-reads @raincoffeeandfandoms @cillmequick @runnning-outof-time @look-at-the-soul @halfbit @touloserlautrec @call-sign-shark @kaiusvnoir

I threw a few extra of you on this tag just cuz I'm showing off. *blushes* I am REALLY proud of this one.... *toes ground*

[bolton-buried]

It took me a while to get this footage usable. Every time I tried to convert the cassette into a digital format, it showed the Desmond I remember. The not-Dez that imposed itself into my life. 

[[Video ID:

The footage is sloppy, especially by Harold’s standards. It seems to be a cell phone’s recording of the viewfinder on the side of his camcorder. The two pixel grids distort the footage slightly, but Desmond—the real Desmond, with red hair and freckles—is visible in it. When he talks, his tone is somber.

“Hiya, Puddles. I’m sorry if you’re watching this. I don’t want you to have to, because I gave Faye strict instructions to wait until I told them to give it to you. I’m not going to tell them to, so you’re not going to get this tape unless I’ve died.

“You know, it’s funny. You’re right down the hall, and here I am, talking to you from who knows how long ago and beyond the grave. Actually not that funny, I guess.”

Desmond sighs, looking down for a moment before perking back up.

“Post this when you get it. I do not want to be a mystery like the real Mr. Al-Ghizawi. Statement of Desmond Parfit, regarding what has to be done.”

Desmond clears his throat.

“I was raised in a veritable panopticon. Ask my mother for a moment of privacy, and you may as well have told her you have sex every night and are addicted to all of the drugs. But my siblings and I found our own ways to cope.

“My brother, the oldest, shut down completely, and my sister acted out. Neither felt like it really fit for me.

“I had my own strategy. A mask—metaphorically, anyway. I hid parts of myself that I didn’t want her seeing, and I covered them up with being perfect in every way. Harry is the—I’ll get to that. Point is, I got very good at doing this under a constant watch. That’s when it started to manifest.

“When a camera is recording, most of the time, there’s a small red dot on it. It’s very easy to spot, and starting in my teenage years, I saw it everywhere. In every window, behind every mirror, I was being watched. I had an audience. And so I put on a show.

“Not sure if it’s funny or fitting that I became a streamer. I knew how to put on a show, be someone else, and I made a career from it. I thought that would be it for paranormal activity—just an infinite amount of cameras, everywhere and forever.

“Then I found that cafe—the one Styx owns. Suddenly there was a world of abnormalities that didn’t care to notice me watching them over a coffee. And when they did? I would laugh and play dumb. Secrets weren’t getting to anyone who understood them, so I was left alone.

“Years later, I met Harold Bolton. I don’t think he realized how fast I clocked that he wasn’t breathing. I’d always appreciated his work. Yeah, the show back then was cheesy and faked stuff, but he always included a full list of what was faked in the credits, so I could deduce any real activity on the outskirts.

“On our second date, in the park, he told me I could drop the act. I told him I would, if he would drop his. Harry was the first person I could truly be authentic around. When he explained the Fears to me, they clicked in my head, a way they never did for Harry—no offense. I understood what I had been on the sidelines of for years, and I helped him out with the more… abstract bits of it.

“When I started streaming the video of him drowning on my channel, more videos started to appear of other people, drowning in the same caverns and tunnels he describes in his puddles.

“My slight ties to the Eye, paired with his strong connection to the Buried, it makes sense that the phenomena developed like that.

“I should have told you. Once I knew what was going on. But you’d have made me stop, and then you’d have run out of fear to feed on, and I couldn’t let that happen. You have noble intentions, but I will not let you destroy yourself for them.

“When Hunting Hauntings started again, I knew something was up with the second episode with the Al-Ghizawis. It was a feeling, but it was one I knew. So I kept going back, keeping Penelope company while I looked into what could have been going on with her late husband. You’d like Penelope, she sees the world for its good parts, just like you. Visit her for me, since I can’t.

“But I learned about the thing that I’m certain was pretending to be her husband. The thing I think is following me. The thing that probably killed me before you got this.

“But if my guess is right, you know plenty about the thing that isn’t me. So I have other matters before I run out of tape.

“The angel is an avatar of the Web—I’m sure you’ve gathered—and they are, I believe, someone you have known in person. I’m reasonably confident that I’ve ruled out Nic, Angie, and Charlotte as possibilities. I’m going to the institute this week to cover all my bases, but I think it’s a Uni peer you’ve mentioned.

“I also think I’ve figured out its niche. There was a philosophical idea you were telling me was stupid—you called it something about the deterministic nature of Newtonian physics, a concept a lot of people would find frightening.

“The angel behaves as though they know the future, and have at several points mentioned ‘doing the math.’ I think that the fear it embodies is the fear that the future is already set out, and free will doesn’t exist.

“But, and listen closely. Old itsy-bitsy isn’t flawless. I surprised them myself, by lying and giving you that raffle award instead of relying on chance. Something I was only able to do because I happened to read your name on a page while it was rolling—my Eye ties manifesting.

“The Fears don’t run on physics, let alone Newtonian. That’s why the angel relies on spiders, nudging things back on course when a Dread Power knocks it off. That’s how you can beat them, puddles.

“I don’t know how much time will pass between my recording this and whatever’s going to happen to me. But, after you upload the HH videos, I’ve been editing them—you really should start logging out of your accounts, by the way—to add a bit at the ends. You can go back and watch those.”

The camera beeps. It’s running out of tape.

“I don’t have much more time. I know you wanted us to grow old together, but I don’t think that was ever in the cards for us. Shake the not-me, take care of yourself, beat the angel, save your father, for God’s sake stop blaming yourself for my death. And, Harold. Remember that I lo—”

The video ends, the camera out of tape.

End ID]]

[justsomeoneintoomanyfandoms]

Hey! Can I get a matchup for MHA & Haikyuu plzzz?!

My name is Dez, my pronouns are she/her, I'm straight i guess lol, my zodiac is taurus, my MBTI is estp

Appearance wise, I'm 5'10, biracial, tan complexion, slim figure, long & curly vibrant orange hair (dyed) almond eyes, eyebrow piercing, I have a medival sun tattoo on my lower back

When it comes to personality, I have a sweet & easygoing demeanor, which is often mistaken for shyness, but I'm a bit of a "firecracker." I'm energetic, flirty, independent, playful & have a more humorous & sassy attitude to me. I like to party & I'm easily bored. I like to express myself artistically. I have a thing for visual & performance arts. I speak my mind & can be a little too direct for others, but it's all in the sake of emotional honesty, not rudeness. I have a reliable reputation, I'm very protective of my loved ones & and am always down to help both friends & and strangers.I'm naturally ardent & competitive sometimes. Negatively, I'm easily annoyed & have a sort of petulant, moody manner. I have a headstrong & rebellious streak and don't like it when others try to dictate me, I hate not being taken seriously.

Likes: parties, boys, red velvet cake with buttercream frosting, pop rock music, skateboards, trampolines, sci-fi & fantasy films, pranks fashion magazines, video games, roses, rollercoasters, dancing, shopping, skydiving adrenaline, electric guitars, challenges, supporting girls

Dislikes: boys, being told what to do, arrogance, boredom, you! ( just kidding 💕)

My hobbies include a variety of sports like soccer, motocross, & skateboarding, tennis. I'm also a huge gamer. I actually compete in competitions, I skateboard, even in platforms, I'm a dancer & can sing a bit too, I train constantly & want to pursue a career in the field, I play guitar, it's a flying v, I painted like a purple british flag I named her fiona, I'm really into cosmetology so I love skin & hair care & always trying out weird recipes & products lol

That's it, thanks. can't wait to see the results! 💕

Hi Dez! Thank you for your request! Sorry it took so long. I hope you like your matchups!

In My Hero Academia, I match you with...

You and Denki are fairly similar as far as personality is concerned. You’re both funny and flirty and you certainly have no qualms about speaking your minds.

There’s no need to worry about getting bored when Denki’s around. Whether he means to or not, he’s always bringing energy and chaos wherever he goes.

Loves skateboarding with you. He thinks skateboarding is heaps of fun and loves that he’s able to skate along with you right beside him. He will try to do tricks to impress you so just be ready to administer first aid if need be.

Honestly, Denki loves doing almost anything with you. Roller coasters? Absolutely. Video games? He’s got a spare controller. Watching movies? Whatever you pick, he’s getting invested in it.

Would never dream of not taking you seriously or telling you what to do. He thinks you’re certainly more than capable of taking care of yourself. He will make sure you know he’s there for support if you need it though.

In Haikyuu, I match you with...

Shoyo is a lot like Denki in the sense that every day spent with him will be its own little adventure. You’ll never get bored with him around.

In the same sense, Shoyo won’t ever get bored when he’s around you. He finds you fascinating and endlessly entertaining and he loves spending time with you.

He loves being able to share his passion for sports with you. Sure, his main focus is volleyball but he’s more than open to trying other sports as well.

Your competitiveness can sometimes lead to arguments and conflict but Shoyo would never dream of letting it ruin your relationship. It might take some outside pushing but a simple competition will never end what’s between you two.

Shoyo likes running his fingers over your sun tattoo, as long as you’re comfortable with it. He finds it relaxing and thinks it’s really cool.

[encyclopika]

I am going offshore for a week starting this coming Monday and I'm trying to finish my chapter for Escape Artists before then but...

Guys it's a long chapter and no I can't split it more than I have, and no, I really shouldn't rush it. I surpassed 12k the other day and I'm still not done with the first draft.

It's just, we're past the midway point, so everything that's been building up is either getting revealed, starting to come to a head, or building up more to the climax, so there's a lot to cover in this and next chapter.

So, while you wait, I'll share a snippet hot off the presses from tonight's writing session! [What you read here may not be how the final product is presented]:

**Diana is Keeper's real name, which has already been revealed.**

---

“So, you must know Irina, then. Can you tell me when she joined the flock?” Funai asked.

“I don't really know Irina. I never got a chance to really talk to her,” Pat said as she gazed at the ceiling in thought. “Diana…captured her…when we were in Moscow, or right outside of it, about five years ago. Then we came to Japan, and…I didn't see her much. They were keeping her in the basement of the hotel we were put in with another girl, I think?”

Pat's audience of heroes stayed silent as she told her story. That was, except for Krow. At some point in the story, he'd backed out of the doorway and disappeared down the hall. Uravity was too enthralled with the story to reprimand him or drag him back to the room. The story seemed to make him bristle and she wasn't about to provoke a scene. Not just that, but he wasn't the only one struck by what Pat had said.

Pat had stopped speaking, becoming meek at how much she'd said already. She looked up at Funai to check and see if he wanted her to continue, but, he seemed to have become frozen in place. His eyes were wide and his mouth hung open, but Uravity was certain he'd stopped breathing.

“Sir?” Uravity prompted.

It seemed to smack him out of his trance. He ran a hand over his face and wiped at his mouth under the beard, nodding for Pat to continue. “P-please continue, Pat. Sorry. I was just…thinkin' about the case. Just thinkin' it all through. You're being a great help, so please, tell us what happened next.”

“I just remember, after that, Diana took us to Mexico right after, and Irina wasn't with us. And then in Mexico, Dez joined us. And…it's been like that for a while. Diana split the flock up after that for a while…”

Read Escape Artists on AO3.

[pupmusebox]

More chats via text but also a slight reveal too.

Like his hunch had predicted was right when imagining a bigger brood being had this year and oh so right of it when much bigger than normal, “Mrmm… over 450 for the entire brood? Guhh… most nghh… interesting.” being fed more than milky honey jelly and groaning softly when adjusting in his bed to sit better. The batch number sure surprised everyone when it was on the higher side this year and all.

“Ahh… mmm! Then she said I would be having 35 for this first batch, ooh! Haa… today from how I'm… gahh!”

His entire body felt that this batch would be wanting out soon and bearing down out of instinct while few nurses were ready to catch any young ones, squirming when everything was going by quickly and crying out when the first few young bees would come out with adorable sounds.

“Doing wonderfully your Majesty! Only 27 left to go!²

“Ngh! You’re… kidding… hah…”

Oh so wanting this first batch be quite insisting to be first ones out and softly growling when clutching at the sheets, white knuckles when the nurses are working hard on getting the new bees started giving stuttering buzzes of such little ones be so cute when cleaned up.

Biting down on a cloth when offered one to help his delivery a little and groaning in pain when having such a big batch on the first try.

-Much time later when little ones finally having come out and resting against the many pillows he been given-

Moaning softly while having brought his first batch forth and searching for the phone until finding it, wanting to share some news despite it being the first batch round till every batch would be released according to the number he had for this year.

[ TXT ] : “Ahh… hello my dear Dez, haa… just letting you know that my first batch finally came. Oof…”

[ TXT ] : “Bigger than my usual batch numbers, total of 35… guh… I'm a bit surprised. Eheh… mrmm… I do wish that you were here to soothe me, ah!”

[ TXT ] : “What meant was I… hrmm… soothe me by touching my royal fuzz floof, my apologies for such a strange request. I'm missing you so much, oh dear… I'm… crying? I don't know why…”

Sniffling when wiping his eyes while having a confused emotional time but the deep loud sound of hunger be demanding his attention, for he was indeed famished from such a long process that took up his day and enjoying the calming down of things.

[ TXT ] : “Sorry for crying, oh my… I think my hormones are fluctuating so much. Joyous for one but… sad that I can't see you, sounds funny of how a demon royal bee is emotional like this. Also hungry too… dah, mmm.”

[ TXT ] : “I like to be just cuddling up with you and just enjoying your presence, along with how much texts have been too. Mmm, I'm so happy with any texts that you send me. Oops… I better eat otherwise my demon form will be demanding before force feeding me jelly to nourish myself.”

Oh boy his hunger was making it loud and clear on making his demon form shine through before hushed with many spoons to his mouth, groaning softly when fed like this and trying to text his sweet human when blushing deeply considering it was a bit embarrassing for him while texting.

[ TXT ] : “Too late I think, agh… although I'll be fine. Not like that extra arms be much to fuss about, not like it happens often but it's a little embarrassing when it does eheh. I can't even speak due to the many spoons taking turns in my mouth right now.”

[ TXT ] : “I don't know if you have seen demons much before but… hope that I don't scare you off, that would be too horrible… especially when on pleasant terms so far.”

Having a little break from the spoons before allowed to take a picture though the horns and limbs are quite the sight, golden filigree covered claws when seeing his other arms and those fine horns that looked marvelous to look upon that have a similar golden covered look like his claws.

[ TXT ] : “Ahaha… a little difficult to capture via a picture but does this do nicely? Oop, I better let you get back to whatever you are doing my dear. I'll text again whenever I can, don't worry I'll be doing fine. I'll show you my demon form in person during our next visit after this is over with and I can have nice chats again, love you my dear and miss you. And yes I'll take care of myself, what sort of royal would I bee if I didn't? Haha 😂”

[thespookiestprincessofthemall]

Thanks Dez

I'm sorry It took so long for me to participate

I was debating on whether to add the demonic features or not, I have another pic that almost look exactly like this but without the horns and wings and looked side to side and decided this.

Tagging: @millenniumproductions @zazzxxzazzxcallie and anyone else who's interested

Maki stop spending my money-muichiro

*prompt: Maki just got brace's and went to hot topic after stealing muichiro's creditcard*

tagging: @muichirothehashira @theyluvsmilo @theyslaydemons

@tokito-dulya20 @sakurasunkiss Anyone :33

[worldbecomefantasy]

 @queen-of-this-eternal-night liked for a starter

His trip to Altissia with his brother has been rather eventful thus far. They’ve hit up several bars, taken tours of the city, stayed out far too late, met up with far more fans than he expected, and overall gotten into trouble in all the best of ways. His vlogs for the week are certain to get tons of feedback, both from the locals who were excited to meet him, and the ones back home that are missing him. Despite all that though, what he’s about to get into may just be the biggest bit of trouble yet, and Monty isn’t around to stop him. 

Princess Anastasia is a known public figure. News of her presence in the city was hardly hard to come by. Everyone either talks about the Princess being in Altissia, or the upcoming wedding of Prince Noctis and the Oracle. Needless to say though, when Dez spots Anastasia alone in public, he’s quick to pull out a camera and go introduce himself. 

The camera is pointed at her, and there’s a friendly grin on his face as he holds out a hand, either to shake or take her’s for a kiss on her knuckles. That is what royals do isn’t it? 

“Hello Princess, I’m Dez Malley. If you’re not busy I’d love to chat for a bit.”

[thehouseofthedead]

"Alexaaaaandr.. you have.. the cutest face." She squished his cheeks with her hands and giggled. "I just want to smooch it.. all the time.." who gave Dez wine?

“Good grief, who gave you alcohol?” 

Not exactly sober himself, thanks to his vodka stash, Aleksandr is more than happy to let her mess with his cheeks all Dez wants. Not that he really would have stopped her were he sober either. His hands reach to cup her face, bringing their lips together gently, tenderly. 

“You have all the time in the world with me, Dez, you know that.”

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

What’s yours is mine 1

Warnings: nonconsent and rape, allusions to abuse, stalking, possessiveness, pregnancy, and more tags to be added.

This is a dark!fic and explicit. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Pairing: dark!Ransom Drysdale x pregnant!Reader

Summary: After five years, your past is far behind you but just as you think you can live your happily ever after, your ex shows up at the worst moment.

Note: I couldn’t sleep and ended up writing this and it will not be a long ongoing series but it will be a few parts. But Roo you say that all the time. Yes, well, I’m trying and I’m sorry but I’m gonna try to not be the worst.

Hope you enjoy it. Thank you. Love you guys!

Please leave some feedback, like and reblog <3

“Oh my god, is that really you?” the voice made you stand stalk straight.

You took a breath and forced a smile before you turned to the indomitable woman. You never expected to see Linda again, not after you broke up with her son almost five years ago. And there she was, as rigid and righteous as ever, her thin lips curved in a mocking grin.

“Linda,” you greeted her in a singsong and looked around the grocery store. You never went to the overpriced organic market but your local shop didn’t have dragonfruit and you had a painful craving, “how are you?”

“Darling, I’m just great,” she held an empty basket on her arm, an odd sight as you never expected her to do her own shopping, “oh, and look at you!” Before you knew it, her hand was on your stomach and you struggled not shy away, “how far are you?”

“Um,” you looked down at the large ring on her finger and resisted the urge to step away as you often did in this situation, “almost five months.”

“And married?” she grabbed your left hand and pretended to admire the small teardrop diamond, “gorgeous.”

“Mhmm,” you waited for you to release you and swayed in place, “you barely look a day older than the last time I saw you.”

“You’re well? You look well,” she primped her short hair at the compliment, “oh, a baby.” She reached out again and you sighed as she rubbed your stomach, “for luck.”

You tried not to frown and ended up laughing at the tension, “well, it was nice running into you.”

“Oh, you know, I barely come down here but we’re headed up to my father’s place, you remember, such a cozy house, and Joni is in charge of food and well, I wouldn’t trust her with a plastic spoon so of course, I have a back up plan.”

You nodded along with her awkwardly, frozen in the spot as the dragon fruit barely seemed worth the torture. Linda was hard to please and alway derisive, but for as long as you were with Ransom, she had taken a keen shine to you. That alone came with an edge but it was rarely used to cut you.

You forced another laugh, “that sounds fun, getting away from the city.”

“Ugh, just another family gathering,” she waved it off with her free hand, “I’ll have to tell Ransom I ran into you, if he even shows up.”

“Well, I don’t think--”

“He’s grown up so much,” she interrupted, “you wouldn’t believe it. He got his own imprint in my father’s company publishing true crime. He’s really making a place for himself now.”

“That’s great,” you tried not to falter at the mention of her son. You hadn’t ended on the greatest terms and your relationship had been tumultuous and regrettable.

“I hope you have a great weekend, Linda,” you said, “but I got to--”

“Oh, not at all, I’m keeping you,” she squeezed your arm, “God, he was such an idiot to let you go.”

You nodded and swallowed through your tight throat, “I’m glad he’s doing better for himself.”

“You too,” she trilled, “oh, before I let you go, darling, is it a boy?”

You blinked and your smile wavered, “how did you know?”

“I could always tell,” she said, “so precious.”

She gave your stomach one last pat and disappeared into the produce section. You blinked as you looked down at the scaled fruit in your right hand. Chocolate, you needed chocolate.

You were rattled as you waited in the express line and put your things on the belt. You hadn’t thought of Ransom in a very long time. Not much. His shadow followed you around in those moments when your heart raced and your head spun, but you had learned to work through those fits. No one else knew what happened behind closed doors, they only knew Ransom, not Hugh.

You paid and shoved your fruit and candy into a paper bag. You headed out into the misty spring air. The rain had finally stopped and left the streets slick and shining. The sun was hazy as it clung to the last of the clouds and you inhaled the wet scent of grass and gravel.

You let your key hang from the ignition as you took a moment to gather yourself. You stared at the modest ring on your finger and held your stomach and you swore you could still feel Linda’s bony hand there. 

You had a loving husband, Dez, and a son on the way. Ransom wasn’t a part of any of that and this was just a blip on radar, the aftershock of the storm that ended years before. You sniffed and turned the engine. You wouldn’t go back to that store, it was far too expensive and the clientele were certainly not of your ilk.

🍼

Dez was in the kitchen when you got home, the smell of steak and peppers rose from the frying pan. You kissed his cheek as he kept one hand on the spatula and you dropped your bag on the counter beside the stove. You went to the fridge and poured yourself a glass of water. You turned and leaned against the marble and drank deeply.

“So, hon, how was your day?” he asked as he put the spatula down and peeked in the bag, “hmm, odd pairing but I don’t hate it.”

“I had a craving,” you shrugged, “it was… okay,” you heaved, “what’s for dinner?”

“Steak fajitas,” he said, “I trimmed the fat for you and,” he turned and reached out to you, “and I got you some champagne… non-alcoholic, obviously.”

“You know it doesn’t have the same effects,” you kidded as you put your glass down and settled into his arms, “and well,” you looked down at your stomach, “we already got one drunken night growing.”

He laughed and bent to kiss you on the lips. He rocked you as the pan sizzled behind him. You closed your eyes and tensed as suddenly your head flashed with the memory of Ransom, of the way he’d kiss you, harder than Dez, and the way it always turned to more whether you wanted it or not.

“Hey,” Dez pulled back, “you okay?”

“Yeah,” you lied, “hormones.”

“Aw, hon, well I have the perfect dessert planned,” he purred.

“Oh yeah?”

“Mmhmm, strawberry massage oil,” he framed your face with his hand, “a nice long back rub…”

“Perfect,” you giggled, “why are you spoiling me?”

“Don’t I always?” he smirked.

“Hmm, rarely without reason,” you said.

“Well…” he voice trailed off and slowly he dropped his arms. He turned his back to you and grabbed the pan, stirring the contents with a shake, “I didn’t want you to miss me too bad.”

“Miss you?” you came forward and bent your arms over the counter, “where are you going?”

“Chicago, there’s some evidence down there we need to look at and they refuse to transfer it to our office so… bullshit confidentiality clause, but we need it.”

“How long?” your heart dropped.

“Well, I gotta leave in the morning but I told Gary I won’t stay longer than Monday.”

“And what did he say?”

“He laughed,” Dez shook his head, “I promise, I’ll do my best to be back as soon as I can--”

“No, I understand,” you said gloomily, “it’s just…” you cupped your chin and tapped your lips with your fingertips, “I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too,” he said as he turned the burner off, “and this little guy,” he touched your stomach and you shivered as you remembered how Linda had done the same with her cold palm, “so, you choose a name yet?”

“Still not naming him Superman, babe,” you chided, “but no, I can’t make up my mind. God, it’s like my mind is in shambles, I can’t remember why I go in a room or even focus on one thing for more than two minutes before I’m distracted by what colour I want to paint the nursery and I can’t even decide on that because then I’m thinking about what kind of wood the crib should be--”

“It’s fine, you’re fine,” he assured as he opened the bag of tortillas, “you’re still there, you’re just… sharing a brain right now.”

“Wasn’t enough to go around in the first place,” you scoffed.

“Shh,” he arranged the plates carefully, like a five star restaurant, tortillas stacked, steak and veg together, a little dish of cheese, some sour cream, lettuce, salsa, all divvied out in a spectacular salsa you would only make a mess of.

“I thought the pregnancy would give me a chance to finish my book, but--”

“Well, you got maternity leave after that,” he said.

“From what? Sitting at my keyboard and crying? I’ll just be holding a baby and crying,” you sighed, “you said you’d take some time off.”

“I did say that and I will,” he grabbed the plates and nodded you out of the kitchen. He set the plates on the table and you sat as he went to grab two glasses and as many bottles. He poured you your spineless champagne and had a beer for himself, “I don’t want to miss anything.”

“You can’t take forever off,” you muttered, “we both know that. I could go back to copywriting and maybe--”

“Babe, that job made you miserable and you will finish your book,” he handed you a napkin, “I’ve read your stuff, it’s… you said your ex was in publishing?”

“Did I?”

“I thought you did, you never really… talk about the exes, which I love but, I think you said something about it. You don’t think he would--”

“No,” you snapped, “no,” you said softer, “he wouldn’t.”

“Sorry,” he said startled by your reaction, “I didn’t--”

“It’s nothing, I just-- exes, right?”

“It was a stupid suggestion,” he said, “I’m sorry, but… I have a client, he might have some contacts.”

“You don’t have to do that--”

“I don’t have to, I want to because the world deserves to hear your voice,” he insisted, “I hate to share you but I’d be selfish to keep you to myself.”

You smiled and unfolded a tortilla. Still, your heart raced as the second mention of Ransom that day had you on edge. Dez watched you build your fajita and you looked up at him.

“Well, since you’ll be in Chicago, maybe I’ll get a few pages done.”

🍼

The call came on Monday, Dez wouldn’t be home that night. You contented yourself to stay in with your laptop and sugar cookies. Still, you barely got a sentence done before you snapped your computer closed and gave up with a frustrated grunt. You slept, not well, and got up with some trouble as your hips ached.

A good morning text from Dez made you smile but there was still no promise of an impending return. You felt pent up in the apartment and lonely as its emptiness reminded you of your absent husband. Too tense to sit down and type, you opted to go for a walk, hoping it would calm your nerves.

You walked past the shop windows and stopped to peek in at used books and handmade candles. You had no destination in mind, only a restless step. There was a little store at the corner with locally made quilts and knitted sweaters. The smell of potpourri wafted out from beneath the painted door and made your throat tickle. Even so, your curiosity drew you inside.

A small woman greeted you from behind the desk. She held two needles as she crocheted some indistinguishable craft. You smiled and said hello as you headed down the centre aisle. You looked along the racks of quilts, floral, striped, plaid, and polka dot. You stopped at a bright yellow piece with honey bees along the border. You hadn’t thought of yellow for the nursery.

You felt the soft fabric and checked the tag. You lifted the quilt from the bar, content that it was worth it and a great motivator. You stopped before you could turn back, a familiar voice chilled your blood.

“It’s cute,” Ransom said as he stepped up next to you, “kinda girly for a boy though.”

You glanced over at him and folded the blanket over your arm. You backed up but as you turned he did too. He blocked your bath as he stretched his arm across the aisle.

“My mother told me you were expecting,” he said, “and she was right, you look good.”

“What do you want?” you whispered as you clutched the quilt.

“Nothing, just saying hello,” his mouth slanted.

“Hugh, I’m not stupid,” you hissed, “it’s been five years.”

“Hugh,” he repeated dully, “you remember your manners.”

“Leave me alone and let me past,” you tried to duck under his arm but he shifted his body over and backed you up to the end of the aisle.

“And married,” he taunted.

“He’s outside,” you lied, “if I stay too long--”

“I didn’t see him when you walked up,” he intoned, “he must be easy to miss.”

“Have you been following me?” you uttered.

“Only from the cafe,” he shrugged, “short walk.”

“Please, get away from me,” you quivered.

“I’m not doing anything--”

“You know exactly what you’re doing,” you hissed, “now I will scream so move.”

“Mama Bear,” he crooned, “I love it, you’re so protective.”

“Hugh,” you warned.

“Sweetie,” he hummed.

You shoved his shoulder but he didn’t move. You hit him harder and he winced. He chuckled and stood straight. He waved his arm down the aisle and stepped aside.

“Don’t make a scene,” he said, “you always did like to be dramatic.”

“Fuck you,” you snarled, “don’t come near me again.”

“Don’t act like you don’t miss me,” he called after you as you dropped the quilt on the counter, “we were so good together.”

You left without buying, a shrill apology to the lady at the counter as you went as fast as you could out the door. The bell tinkled after you and the door clamored shut. You felt nauseous and dizzy. The last thing you wanted or needed was to ever see that man again.

[persephone-plasmids]

The Funhouse

Deacon and Sole Fanfic

[AO3]

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3]

The Funhouse

“I take it finding Danse and MacCready is now our second priority?” Deacon asked as he followed Sole from the junkyard outside of Nuka-World to the Kiddie Kingdom.”Because you know they’re investigating Dry Rock Gulch, right?”

“They’re big boys, they can take care of themselves,” Sole answered dismissively with a wave of her hand. “And I already told you, we’ve got more important things to do.”

“More important than finding the kidnapped Synth?” Deacon asked, a grin on his lips as he trotted to catch up with Sole.

Their hands brushed accidentally as he walked beside her and he quickly pulled away. Deacon was finally starting to learn to keep his physical distance from Sole. He needed as many safeguards from whatever spell she had over him as he could get. The sunglasses were a start, but avoiding their regular casual contact was starting to be a necessity.

Trying to ignore his attraction to Sole had become a losing battle, so Deacon was playing the defense game.

“Obviously nothing is more important than finding the kidnapped Synth,” Sole said. “But there’s no reason they might not be in the funhouse at Kiddie Kingdom.”

Deacon gave Sole a skeptical raise of his eyebrows. “I mean, while we’re at it, the kidnapped synth could very well be on the roller coaster in the Galactic Zone. We should probably check there too.”

“We probably should.” Sole nudged Deacon with her shoulder, giving him a cheeky smile.

He laughed nervously but took a tiny step away from Sole to discourage any further touching. It wasn’t because he didn’t want Sole to touch him. It was because he did.

“Listen, Charmer, I’m all for having a good time, but isn’t this place… kinda creepy?” Deacon asked, glancing at the derelict theme park over the top of his sunglasses.

Sole stopped in her tracks and turned on her heel to face him, the apples of her cheeks round with glee. “Are you scared?” She dragged out the last word in a taunting way, poking her finger into his chest as she said it.

Again with the touching.

He wished he didn’t love it so much.

“Obviously I’m a big strong man. I’m not scared of anything,” Deacon began. “I’m just worried about your poor feminine sensibilities. I’m not sure they can handle this place. Women’s brains just aren’t wired for this sort of thing.”

Sole narrowed her eyes at Deacon, sizing him up. She knew he was joking, but she still took the opportunity to take a step closer to him, her voice low. “I think we both know who the brave one is in this partnership.”

She was much too close to him. He swallowed hard and tried to play off his discomfort with a laugh, but it sounded wrong.

“If you’re so brave then why don’t you go into the funhouse first?” It was a lame dare, but he needed any excuse to get her away from him. All he wanted to do was crush his lips to hers.

“”Watch and learn, stealth boy,” she said, using her favorite nickname for him.

Sole walked confidently through the funhouse doors, swaying her hips as she did so. Deacon hated the way his eyes automatically roamed over her curves when she wasn’t looking, but he couldn’t deny that the view was impeccable.

“Are you coming?” Sole asked over her shoulder.

Deacon gave himself a little shake and ran into the funhouse after her. “You know, if you wanted to die, there are much quicker and less terrifying ways to do that.”

“But where would be the fun in that?” Sole asked, taking Deacon’s hand in hers and leading him through the first set of doors they found.

The two were immediately set off balance by a black and white room with a spinning floor. Sole collapsed into Deacon’s arms, knocking him against the wall as he held her up with his arms around her waist.

His plan to limit their physical contact wasn’t off to a great start.

Carnival music played in the spinning room and when Sole regained her footing, she didn’t pull away from Deacon like he thought she would. Instead, she leaned her weight against him, pushing his back more firmly against the wall.

“Thanks for the assist,” she said, wrinkling her nose up at him in a smile.

Why did she have to be so adorable?

“Any time, Charmer,” he answered, his voice as unsteady as he felt. “You need help getting back on your feet?”

He was trying to get her away from him again. But she didn’t move. Instead, she only leaned against him more firmly with a devilish grin on her angelic features. “I actually like where I am right now.”

Deacon tried as hard as he could to keep his cheeks from flushing. “I can’t say I blame you. I tend to have that effect on women.”

When in doubt, default to joking.

“I spend most of my life breaking hearts. It’s a gift and a curse.”

Sole bit her lip as she looked up at Deacon through her eyelashes. “More gift than curse I’d say.”

Deacon was incredibly grateful for the sunglasses that hid the fact that he was openly staring at Sole’s lips now. They had a cherry tint to them from the lipstick she’d been rationing since leaving the vault. And they looked even fuller when she took her bottom lip between her teeth.

It took Deacon a moment to regain his senses and when he did, he desperately thought of some way he could joke his way out of this. “Just imagine how hard it is for the people who don’t get to see this beauty up close? All they can do is fantasize. But you? You’ve got a front row seat to this walking piece of art.”

“A front row seat?” Sole said with a challenging raise of her eyebrows. “Is this an interactive show?”

The room was still spinning, though Deacon wasn’t sure how much of that was the actual funhouse anymore.

“It could be,” he said.

Why had he said that? He was trying to keep his distance.

Sole let a tiny grin tug at the corner of her mouth as she stared at Deacon in the spinning room. She almost looked like she might pull away from him and at the mere thought, panic rose in his chest.

He didn’t care how complicated it would make things. He didn’t care that he had sworn off personal relationships. He wanted to be close to her.

Without another thought, Deacon pulled Sole tightly against his chest and pressed his lips to hers. She instantly melted into the kiss, moving her lips over his softly at first. Her softness, however, was quickly replaced by more desperate kisses as she pressed herself against him. Sole took a handful of Deacon’s Cappy shirt to pull him closer, even though they were already incredibly close. She tangled her hands in his hair that he’d grown out and dyed dark, just because he knew Sole liked it that way.

She inhaled him as they both moved together, fitting like puzzle pieces. Deacon didn’t even care that the room was still spinning and that there were probably ferals nearby. All he cared about was this moment with Sole. This perfect moment where he was finally taking what he’d wanted for so long.

When Sole moaned into his mouth, he got chills all over his body. He’d thought making Sole laugh would always be his favorite accomplishment, but this sound he’d just elicited from her had just topped the list. It only encouraged him to deepen the kiss, hungrily moving his hands over her hips, across her waist, up her back, and into her hair.

He felt like he couldn’t breathe, but that was the last thing he cared about right at that moment. He’d happily die like this. Sole continued to kiss him like she’d wanted this as much as he did, even though he had a hard time believing that.

Deacon wasn’t sure they’d ever break apart, until a raspy voice rang out over a scratchy loudspeaker in the room, instantly causing Sole to jump away from him. “While I appreciate the show, I’m usually the one providing the entertainment here.”

Even though Sole had broken the kiss at the sound of the mysterious voice, she still held Deacon close, her arms around his waist.

“Who was that?” she asked in a panic.

He wasn’t sure if she was panicked because some mysterious person  was apparently also in the funhouse with them, or because they’d been caught in a compromising position.

“Just thought we’d be an opening act,” Deacon said to the otherwise empty room. He was trying to play it cool when he was internally losing his mind over the kiss he and Sole had just shared. “What can we expect from the main attraction?”

Deacon kept a protective arm around Sole in the spinning room, his eyes darting all over to try to find the source of the voice.

“I am Oswald the Outrageous, and you two are trespassing in my territory.”

Spotting the loud speaker overhead, Deacon took Sole’s hand in his and pulled her through a nearby red door that led to a hallway full of spinning tunnels. If he hadn’t been dizzy enough from the kiss, this room was sure to do him in.

“Sorry for the inconvenience,” Deacon began, making sure to speak loudly enough for Oswald to hear him over the hum of machinery in the funhouse. “We were just looking for a friend of ours. Goes by the name of H3-56.”

“You weren’t looking very hard, were you?” Oswald asked, his voice sly and suggestive.

Had Deacon not been worried about how much of a threat this stranger posed, he might have been embarrassed by the man’s words.

“H3-56 wandered into my territory, much like you two did.”

“And did you give him the same warm greeting?” Deacon asked.

“We need to find out where this person is,” Sole whispered to him, her eyes full of concern in the green glow of the hallway.

Deacon nodded in understanding but didn’t respond.

“Turns out H3-56 is a freak like me,” Oswald said. “He understood what it’s like to be cast out by the rest of society… so I let him go.”

Sole gave Deacon a surprised look. “Well, we appreciate your hospitality,” Deacon began. “I guess we don’t need to keep searching. Thanks for doing our job for us. We’ll just be going, but don’t worry, we’ll visit your gift shop on the way out; pick something up for Dez.”

Deacon began walking back towards the spinning room with Sole’s hand in his, but the door instantly slammed in front of them, barricading them in the hallway.

“Not so fast,” Oswald said, his voice full of menace. “I let H3-56 go out of the goodness of my heart because they were a kindred spirit. As far as I can tell, you humans don’t have to deal with the same hardships as Synths and Ghouls. So I think it’s time we have a little fun.”

Sole inhaled sharply at Oswald’s words. “Listen, we came here to rescue H3-56, not hurt him. We’re sympathetic to Synths and Ghouls alike. One of my best friends, the mayor of Goodneighbor, is a Ghoul.”

“Oh, I see,” Oswald said. “So because you have one Ghoul friend, you’re sympathetic to my kind?” His voice sounded incredulous now.

“I’m not trying to say--.”

“Tell me, Vault Dweller, do you kill Ghouls out in the wasteland with that fancy gun of yours?”

Sole looked down at her holstered gun with a furrowed brow. “Only when they’re feral and I don’t have a choice.”

Deacon could see the regret in her eyes as she spoke. He knew Sole didn’t particularly like killing, even when someone deserved it. It was something she’d held onto from her pre-war days. Maybe because she’d seen the effect it had had on her former husband when he was in the military. Maybe just because she was a compassionate person. But the fact that this stranger was accusing her of being a heartless killer when Deacon knew she was anything but, set his teeth on edge.

“Listen, drama queen, Sole doesn’t need to defend her actions to you. Now either you let us go, or you can step out from behind your wall of protection and we can handle this one on one.”

“I think you’re forgetting about the third option,” Oswald said, his voice now much happier than it had been only a moment before; almost manic. “The one where I show you that anyone is capable of being a monster. Even your sweetheart.”

Deacon didn’t have time to ask what Oswald meant before the hallway filled with green noxious fumes. He let go of Sole’s hand to cover his mouth. At first he worried that it might be aerosol radiation, but the sweet smell of the gas only gave him a headache.

“HalluciGen?” he asked, coughing slightly as the gas continued to fill the room.

Deacon looked over to Sole to make sure she was okay but the look he saw in her eyes terrified him. Her wide green eyes were darting around the room in pure abject horror.

“Sole?” Deacon asked, stepping closer to her. But the second he moved towards her, she lunged at him, her hands finding his throat and squeezing tight. “Sole!” Deacon choked out, trying to wedge his fingers under her surprisingly strong, nimble grip.

“Amazing, isn’t it? What the HalluciGen gas can do to ‘good’ people.”

“Sole,” Deacon choked again, trying desperately to pry her fingers away from his throat.

Her eyes were crazed and watery and she tightened her grip on him. And while he had been reveling in their close contact only a moment before, this wasn’t quite what he’d had in mind.

“Sole, you have to let go,” he choked. “I’m on your side… always have been.”

At the familiar words he’d said to Sole a million times before, her grip loosened ever so slightly. Her brows were still knitted together in confusion and terror, but the moment of clarity was enough for Deacon to forcefully pull her hands away from his throat and pin them to her sides.

Sole almost immediately began fighting back against him again, trying to break free from his grasp. Deacon wrapped his arms around her middle, sure to keep her arms pinned in place as he lifted her off the ground and unceremoniously carried her to the opposite end of the hallway, where a door stood open, leading back out to the lobby.

Once they were away from the green HalluciGen gas, Sole’s fighting grew weaker. She still struggled against Deacon’s grip, but her heart wasn’t in it. Instead he held her tightly while she whimpered, her eyes opening and closing rapidly as she came back to herself.

“You back with me, Charmer?” Deacon asked. “Or are you still going to try to pop my head off with those tiny little hands of yours?”

Sole’s eyes met Deacon’s behind his sunglasses as she blinked a few more times. “Deacon?”

“There she is,” he said, his smile returning. “You must really be into some weird stuff in the bedroom,” Deacon joked.

“Deacon,” she warned, her voice low.

“No, I mean it. I enjoyed our kiss too, but that escalated quickly.” He puckered his lips at her as he smiled.

“It’s not funny,” she said. “I… I couldn’t tell it was you. I couldn’t even tell what I was doing. I just knew I was trapped and needed to get away.”

Deacon’s face fell at her words. Maybe joking wasn’t always the best default. “You’re safe now,” he said.

“Is she, though?” Oswald asked, though now his voice sounded clear; unchanged by the static of a loudspeaker.

Sole and Deacon turned to find the Ghoul standing near the entrance to the funhouse in all his dramatic glory.

His scarred skin glowed green between the cracks, only making his suit and top hot that much more impressive.

“Pleased to meet you both,” the Ghoul said with a deep bow and a grin.

Deacon didn’t know whether he should be furious at the Ghoul or impressed by his showmanship.

“Dude, I appreciate a dramatic entrance as much as the next egotistical narcissist, but you could have really caused some damage in there,” Deacon said. “Also, I totally love your hat and want to know where I can get one as soon as we sort all this out.”

Sole hit Deacon on the arm, but he simply looked over at her and shrugged.

“It’s a killer hat,” he said.

“I feel like my reception of you was more than fair, given that you trespassed in my territory in order to hurt a Synth,” Oswald said, his voice much more impressive in person.

It had a dramatic quality that reminded Deacon of the old Silver Shroud radio show.

“I already told you, we were trying to save the Synth,” Sole said, her voice heavy with annoyance. “We thought he’d been kidnapped.”

Oswald regarded them for a long moment, his green glowing eyes moving between the two. “I don’t suppose…” his words trailed off as he screwed his face up in concentration. “Do you have a geiger counter?”

At his words, Sole’s face lit up. “Mine’s in the shop,” she responded.

The instant those two sentences were spoken, the tension in the room seemed to melt away.

“H3-56 told me to use that phrase if someone came looking for him,” Oswald said. “He told me it would help me know who was a friend and who was an enemy.”

“He was right,” Deacon said. “Although I wish you would have used the phrase before you tried to poison us with your Hallucigen gas.”

“Don’t be so dramatic,” Oswald said. “It wouldn’t poison you. It would just make you two kill each other.”

Oswald waved his hand as if this were an important distinction.

“Why didn’t it make Deacon go crazy?” Sole asked, looking over at the spy in confusion.

“Extensive Railroad training,” Deacon said. And when Sole gave him a look like he was joking around with her again he pressed on. “I’m actually serious this time. After Dez and I found the HalluciGen Inc. lab, we knew this stuff would be dangerous if it got into the wrong hands.” Deacon gave Oswald an accusatory look as he said this.

The Ghoul just shrugged in an unconcerned way.

“Dez had the field agents work to build up an immunity to it,” Deacon went on. “It’s not easy to do, but it’s not impossible.”

Sole gave Deacon a guilty look at his words. “So you were totally lucid while I tried to kill you?”

“Like I said, if that’s the kind of thing you’re into, I’m not going to shame you. I’m an open-minded guy.” He gave Sole a grin that made her cheeks turn a dark shade of red.

He loved that he could make her blush.

“Okay, well this mission has been sufficiently awkward,” Sole said, tucking her hair behind her ear as she looked over at Oswald. “Thank you for… not killing us… I guess.”

“My pleasure,” Oswald said with another deep bow.

“And thanks for the intel on the Synth. I’m happy he was able to get out of the Commonwealth safely.” Sole gave Oswald a tight-lipped smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Deacon? You ready to go find Danse and MacCready?”

“Sure thing, boss” Deacon said, giving Oswald a nod.

Sole began walking towards the exit of the funhouse, careful to avoid Oswald’s eyes as she walked. When Deacon followed her, he stopped just short of the door and turned to the Ghoul with a grin.

“Okay, but seriously, where did you get that hat?”

[Part 5]

[reflectionsofacreator]

Time for William’s conversations -- and he has five of them. Wordy motherfucker. As per usual, you can go here to listen to the voice inflections, though not many of them stood out to me for this set of convos. 

Will: Son?  Will: I ... I owe you an apology. I shouldn’t have lashed out like that. You have to understand I’ve never been very good at this. Nevermind that we live rather... extraordinary lives.  Desmond: Yeah... I kinda liked my ordinary one.  Will: You can’t escape who you are, Desmond.  Desmond: So I’ve noticed.  Will: Look... It’s silly for us to go back and forth like this. I admit, I did a shitty job raising you. I apologize. I’m sorry. But it’s important you understand that it didn’t come from a bad place. You’re my son. I love you. I guess I was so busy trying to make sure nothing bad happened, I didn’t... consider the consequences.  Will: Truce? 

Notice how Desmond doesn’t say a word to all of this. No agreement to a truce, no real word for Will’s justifications other than a few noncommittal snarks. Sighs. As much as Will says he loves Desmond, that doesn’t change the fact that Dez faced abuse at his hands. The way that Will talks just grates at me, trying to frame it as a “let’s make up and move on”, not really with any sort of actual like, real acknowledgement of it, and the way that William phrases brooks no room for argument. 

Onto the next convo. 

Desmond: I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to ask, but - how’s mom. She’s not...  Will: No, no. Your mother’s fine. We decided it was safer if we split up for this job.  Desmond: Always assuming the worst.  Will: Hmph. For good reason.  Desmond: Can I at least say hi to her?  Will: I’m sorry... It’s too risky. Maybe when we’re done...  Desmond: ... Right. When we’re done. 

Please, sir, a crumb of a canon name for Desmond’s mother, last heir to Altair’s bloodline? Please, sir, a crumb of acknowledging that mothers are important figures too to a person’s life, not just fathers? 

God who am I kidding, ac3 is just “daddy issues: the game” isn’t it, with both Desmond’s and Ratonhnhake:ton’s mothers thrown under the bus for the sake of father-oriented narratives. Sigh. It’s worth noting that Dez actually sounds pretty resigned on that last line, like he doesn’t quite believe it. Ha ha. Yeah. 

Desmond: Have... Have we ever tried to make peace with the Templars?  Will: Throughout our history there have been moments... Several, in fact. But... It’s impossible. There are... existential differences. Insurmountable. If there were to be unity, it wouldn’t be a truce so much as a submission.  Desmond: But knowing what’s about to happen... Wouldn’t it make sense to try and talk to Vidic? Come to an arrangement? Even if it’s only temporary?  Will: We’d all be so busy watching our backs, nothing would get accomplished. [slight chuckle] Imagine that. We’re more productive at war...  Desmond: Well have we ever tried... sending in someone? Doing to them what they did to us with Lucy? Or Cross?  Will: We have. And it’s never worked. We’ve sent people who were either too weak, and found themselves turned - or too strong, and were unable to carry out the charade.  Desmond: I just feel like we all want the same thing.  Will: We use the same words, but that’s all they are... words. In the end it all comes down to freedom. We seek it. They detest it. And so there’s never an end to the fight. Not until one side is completely gone.  Desmond: Is that even possible?  Will: Probably not. Our two groups have existed in one form or another since .. well... forever. But things can be better than they are. And that’s something. 

You know, when the person that was inhumanely experimented on advocates for peace with the people that did so, I’m a little more inclined to think he’s got a point than the Mentor of the Brotherhood who just outright refuses.  Honestly I think there’s something to be said for the fact that Desmond is largely an outsider looking in, and he’s able to see that this war is getting them nowhere, especially in the face of everything else. He’s spent his last 9 years living as a civilian, trying his best to get rid of the ideologies of the Assassins, and that leads him to having a lot of interesting perspectives. 

Honestly, it’s probably what the Brotherhood needs. They’ve spent so long trying to get the upperhand on Abstergo, or a lot of other things, and they lose sight of what’s important, I think. Like, yeah, you can say that Desmond is being naive, sure, but I just -- it’s like how Ratonhnhake:ton pushed back against Sam for saying he’ll grow out of his own naivety. Like, the game isn’t exactly being subtle with the parallels between Desmond and Ratonhnhake:ton, but man if it doesn’t make me worried. 

I know, ultimately, that the modern day plot kinda goes to nowhere (save for maybe the Origins onward), and that there’s not much in the way of change that happens. Also, I know that Ratonhnhake:ton’s efforts for his own people are futile in the long run, resulting in a very similar feeling futileness that these two characters have to grapple with. But like, that’s the rub, isn’t it -- ac3 is more tragedy than anything else, with inevitable failures that can’t be circumvented. 

It interests me that Desmond lumps Lucy in with Cross though. Like as not he doesn’t exactly know the whole story there, but still. Makes me think. 

Desmond: Did you look for me, dad? When I was gone.  Will: Every day.  Desmond: Come on...  Will: I mean it. Every night I’d look. Searching for you name - or variations of it - hoping you’d slip up. Abstergo only found you first because they had better access. A few more days and it would have been me.  Desmond: Well, I’m here now.  Will: And I’m glad. 

Desmond sounds resigned on that last line, damn. Tbh, the vibe I got from this one is that Dez couldn’t really believe that his father actually cared about him. (I mean, I can’t either, but that’s neither here nor there) I do vaguely wonder how long it took for the frantic searching to become just an ingrained habit, how long it took before William would just click through results and never actually hope to find anything, resigned to never knowing the fate of his son. 

Dammit I think I just made myself feel for the bastard. [beats with stick] back! Back I say! 

Desmond: Do you think Lucy regretted what she was doing?  Will: I used to think I knew her well, but clearly that wasn’t the case. So I really can’t give you an honest answer.  Desmond: She seemed so sincere, though. Like she really wanted to make a difference.  Will: Yes, well when I first met him, I thought the same thing about Cross.  Desmond: It just keeps happening over and over again.  Will: What does?  Desmond: Everything...  Will: Don’t get weird on me, Desmond.  Desmond: No. It’s fine. I’m fine. Don’t worry.  Will: Alright, then. You should think about getting back in the Animus... We’ve got to find that key. 

Catch me worrying anyways :D Like, really worrying :D

Groans I just. there’s so many worrying signs in these conversations, and I don’t like where it’s going!! at all!! 

If you liked this, or what I do, consider checking out the rest of my ac3 playthrough!  Or my other playthroughs in general!