#(I wish we could still see more of that timeframe Too)

[lukolabrainrot]

This is going to be long, I am sorry.

So, recent posts, we are all talking about them, assuming things, trying to find 5 differences and all that, but certain comments sparked a thought in me which I would like to share. What if we all are looking into timeline in the wrong way? Now I would need someone with an actual knowledge of how this promo contracts works to confirm or correct or entirely contradict my little theory. Is there a general timeframe in a contract during which L would have been supposed to post about this hotel or is a truly specifically established day? Now hold that thought, I would like to explain why this theory even came into my head and it’s a bit lengthy.

I think we all notices certain patterns and features in behavior of some less pleasant individuals in L close social circle. And even though we don’t have any concrete proof we have some pretty damning evidence that something went wrong post Part 2 premiere and more importantly during the “happiest” Italian gateway in relation to those particular individuals. We can see it clearly in their behavior during and post that, in pictures as well as drastic behavioral pattern changes. Not going to elaborate on this we have all been here during that and there are more than enough of in depth analysis on various platforms, this lovely blog including.

One such evidence which makes me pretty certain that something happened is actually N herself. There were many, many ways to post about her close friends’ birthday, but she specifically chose those pictures and that phrasing. She could have even just post those cute pictures with some other words, but no, she mentioned paparazzi and friends protecting friends. Along with someone mentioning L leaving two days earlier than his friends (not a 100% fact I concur but definitely possible), this makes me believe he truly learned something to shake those relationships, perhaps some kind of betrayal? And we know that N is protective of people in her life, even as just a friend if he shared the situation with her, I can totally see her wishing to throw some shade on people who put in jeopardy her friends’ safety and privacy. (I would have done exactly the same thing) N just coincidentally had a very convenient, easily deniable way to do just that.

Now I truly do believe that likes on SM mean nothing, just from my personal perspective. We also know that L followed and liked J posts on SM for a while even after a break up. This situation though seems different, A is different. I saw someone make a comment that L likes seem almost like a little reminder to A that he still can see what she is doing, we all know SM games she enjoyed playing promoting their supposed intimacy. At that time I dismissed it because it seemed too far fetched, but what if not? I mean, if he finally comprehended her shadiness, as well as some other people’s, what if he finally sees the bigger picture?

And after this essay finally comes my timeline idea. What if it was not A who posted before L, but he who posted after her? Now read that again. When she just posted a day before L, everyone immediately assumed that it looks like Cypress, and that even though she tries to make it look like someone tall is filming her, something didn’t seem quite right, ergo A playing games again. And is it not strange that her first hazy but more or less direct hint at him being in her life still, came after N and L had some interaction on SM (her posting him, and him liking her post for KS), as well as whole JD situation taking attention away from her? What if L saw it and decided to use his promo to clarify any assumptions. “I am in Spain and I am alone,” he connected it to Bridgeton and made sure to emphasize that he is there by himself. This, of course, is just my little theory. The reason I even came up with it is because I never saw similarities in those pictures myself, and I think L expected people to realize that. Which is why he posted another balcony pic after people started commenting on similarities to As’ post, with one towel, one cup, one person. Now I am not trying to be purposely obtuse or in denial, I genuinely do not see anything beyond passing similarities that can be found in many Mediterranean resorts. And if you look closely at the balcony pictures that most seem to be basing their views on, I suggest you look again. Truly. At picture of L in a cap standing in front of balcony with greenery, take some eye measurements. We know he is approximately 185cm high, the greenery is somewhat at his hip area, A is shorter than L but even still that greenery would not be almost reaching her breasts. But as I said, just my opinion, my observation.

.

[fenrins]

im gonna be a hater tonight but idc! its a lomg one but i rlly wanted to rant 😔😔

im just gonna go right in and say it: some house of the dragon characters are unoriginal and lazy, and it pisses me tf off. im sick and tired of seeing the same oc regurgitated in this fandom bc istg half of these hotd ocs are literally just daenerys targaryen thrown back in time under a different name.

i usually dont care abt fanfic because its fanfic. nothing i can do, its probably some child having fun, but like i said im just TIRED of looking through hotd fanfics and seeing daenerys pop up as a faceclaim, and then going on to see that half (or all) of dany’s entire character is put into an oc with little to no actual originality if this makes sense.

before i get into this, what the fuck happened to the originality in original character? like genuinely? this is mainly abt one oc i legit just saw like an hour ago off of tiktok bc but still this applies to the daenerys knockoffs i (regularly) see and cry abt like my grown ass should not care but i do!!!!

starting off, the oc’s name is daenera. cool! fine! she’s not a daughter of rhaenyra which is a slay, but is a daughter of alicent and viserys which eh, good enough. we go on to find out that for some reason vizzy t and ali hate her, and at age 16 they decide to ship her off to pentos so she can marry a dothraki warlord. im not even joking. aside from that, she’s in pentos for a year, and comes back with an army of 550k and three dragons. okay hello daenerys! anyways she apparently fights for rhaenyra, but also bangs aemond, daemon, and cregan in the two year timeframe that the dance takes place in.

no one is gonna read this but my ass is mad and idgaf! i need to complain!! but anyways, i am sick and tired of the ocs that are just cheap copies of daenerys because at what point is this an original character? if youre using a faceclaim of daenerys for your character and essentially adding her entire plotline onto your oc, is it even an oc anymore? like i get being inspired to base a character off of her because dany is literally the blueprint, but copy and pasting her entire character and then going off and ignoring grrm’s established lore (yes, its a fanfic, but ive seen too many oc’s claim both cannibal AND vermithor at the same time and i am TIRED) is just lazy and boring.

i wish people did more with their hotd ocs honestly. like theres hundreds of houses and shit and actual ORIGINAL ideas one could use instead of just taking dany’s whole character and just making it their own. i dont even want to start an argument with this but i NEED to see more original characters. like im writing my own two on wattpad rn (one’s a dragonseed whos like schizophrenic idk and the other’s a mormont who slays the day away) but even then i just need more than aemond x his sister or niece or smth idk yk??

im just reiterating points ive made but man its just ughhhh

[phoxey]

French toast

Bada Lee x fem!reader

CW: none :3 this is pure fluff

AN: sorry for the long absence, and sorry that this is so short, but i promised a comeback, I am still struggling to write, but it's better than nothing.

I love writing, but like in any relationships there are ups and downs. and in such down phases love is hard work. But it's worth it in the end.

Valentines Day was approaching, and this would be the first time, that you wouldn’t spend the day with Bada. You two have been a couple for a few years now and she would always make Valentines Day special. This year Bada happened to be in a dance workshop on the other side of the world for a few weeks, missing Valentines Day. You tried to talk to her every day, but time zones were against you. When she was going to bed, you were waking up, and when you were going to bed, she was waking up. You only had a small timeframe for talking, and her schedule was tight. She thought you wouldn’t notice, but she woke up earlier and stayed up late just to talk to you. You wanted to scold her for it, but on the other hand you were also grateful for every minute you got with her.

You woke up to several messages from Bada, which she sent, when she knew it was midnight in Korea. It was some silly memes, asking you out to be her valentine, but with them came a long voice message.

“Good morning, beautiful. I hope you had the most wonderful sleep and the sweetest dreams. Maybe you even dreamt of us? I know, I always do. Especially when we are apart like this. I dream of holding you in my arms, your head on my chest, while we watch our favorite shows. It’s cheesy, I know. I really can’t wait for this moment to come. I will probably be at work when you listen to this. And everything I am about to say, I could have also written in a letter, but I wanted to say those things directly, so you can hear the sincerity in my voice. I want to tell you, how I feel. I am so very madly in love with you, it drives me crazy to not be with you for every minute of the day. Every day my love for you grows. How that is possible? I don’t know. Every day I seem to invent a new kind of infinity. I have been looking at your pictures a lot more these past few days, and since day one your beauty keeps striking me over and over again. I know you still can’t see what I see, but I swear to me you are the most beautiful woman on earth. I wish I could kiss every spot you are insecure about and make that feeling go away. I love all of you. You are truly beautiful inside and out. You are just perfect for me. To have such a kind, hardworking and understanding woman in my life, and to be able to call you mine, is truly the greatest blessing I have ever received. I love you.”

From the first word on, tears shot into your eyes. You were too overwhelmed to form a coherent thought. Just as you were trying to formulate a good answer, the doorbell rang. Confused, you walked to the apartment door and opened it. A giant bouquet of your favorite flowers stood in a vase on the ground. It was arranged in the form of a heart. You had to chuckle, this was so cheesy, but that was what you loved about your girlfriend. She always did and say cheesy things, but somehow it was never cringe.

“I see I am arriving in time.”, a familiar voice said.

You looked to the side and saw Lusher and Tatter walking up to your door, both of the carrying a suspicious number of bags.

“Good morning!”, you smiled. “What are you two doing here?”

Lusher and Tatter were grinning at each other for a moment. “We are playing Cupid.”, Tatter answered.

Inside, you put the bouquet on the dining table, as the girls sat down in the living room. You joined them after a moment, bringing them coffee.

You eyed the bags; your heart was racing.

“So!”, Lusher began, and Tatter got her phone out, to begin filming. “Your special someone instructed us to give you your Valentines Day presents. She is very sorry that she can’t be with you right now, but she still wants to make sure you are being spoiled on this special day. Like you deserve.”

You opened the first bag, inside was a shoebox. You recognized immediately what kind of shoes they were. The Nike Jordan 1s you had been wanting for a while now. You took them out to look at them. Suddenly something fell out of them. It was a polaroid photo. It was a mirror selfie of Bada pointing at her feet. She was wearing the same shoes.

The second bag was bigger but softer. Slowly you pulled out, what was inside. It was two pieces of clothing. Firstly, it was one of Badas pants, you always stole, when she made the mistake of wearing them to your apartment. The second item was one of her oversized hoodies. It even smelled like her parfum.

Speaking of it, the last bag was a little smaller. Inside were two things. One you recognized as your favorite parfum, which Bada also loved on you. Whenever you wore it, she stayed at your side, not leaving you for longer than one minute. But there was also a second parfum bottle. You sprayed it on your wrist and immediately the smell of Bada filled your nose. It was her parfum. Smelling it almost made you tear up. You missed her so much. Maybe spraying this onto her hoodie and your pillow would ease the pain of her not being with you finally.

With each present your smile got bigger and your giggles more frequent. Tatter smiled just as wide as she filmed your reaction.

“Do you like it?”

You spun around and there she was. Her tall frame leaning against the wall with her shoulder. Hands in her pockets. She wore her finest dress shirt and tie. She looked so beautiful. Tears welled up in your eyes as you ran into her arms.

“Happy Valentines Day, baby.”, she whispered and kissed on top of your head, as you buried your face in her neck, sobbing.

“I thought you couldn’t come for another week.”, you muttered against the skin of her neck, placing delicate kisses onto her pulse.

“I wanted to surprise you. Did you really think I can spend Valentines Day without my forever Valentine?”

Bada mouthed a thank you to the two other girls, who just winked at her and left the apartment, grinning.

“We have so much to talk about! I have so much tea for you! And you have to tell me all about your trip and your workshop!”, you said excitedly.

Bada smiled fondly at you and laced your fingers. Tenderly, she pressed her lips to your knuckles.

“Sounds good. How about we talk, while I make some French toast?”

[gay-dorito-dust]

‘Y/n!’ Your partner exclaimed once he noticed the growing distance between you and Luis and himself and Ashley amidst the chaos.

‘Leon!’ You shouted back, unable to continue fighting against the overwhelming horde of villagers that swarmed your group seemingly out of nowhere as wave after wave after wave kept coming from who knows where, as though they were all waiting for their cue.

Ammunition was running low as was the timeframe for you to make an effort and escape while you still had some bullets saved over. You and Luis were too far away to regroup with Leon and Ashley without facing the probability of running out of ammo, getting captured, injured or worse.

But you didn’t even like the thought of having to leave your partner behind. So needless to say you were quite adamant when Luis then said;

‘We have to go.’

‘No.’ You replied sharply, ‘I ain’t leaving Leon.’

Luis sighed. ‘Look, your loyalty to your partner is admirable, truly, but if you wish to see him -alive preferably- then we must go. Now.’

Neither of you could see it but on the other end of the village, Ashley was doing the exact same to Leon; trying to drag him away while they still could but he was just as adamant in leaving you behind.

‘Leon we’ve got to go! It’s practically suicide to stay any longer!’ She cried, tugging at his arm.

‘I’m not leaving my partner behind.’ He replied, deadest on killing every villager that stood in his way if it meant getting to you quicker.

‘They’re not alone though are they? Luis is with them and I’m sure we’ll regroup with them sooner or later but we can’t do that if we’re both dead!’ She retorted, trying to talk sense into him.

Sure she was worried about you and Luis but you both proven more then capable. So if Leon respected you as a partner enough, as a friend, he’d put his trust into your ability to protect yourself and you would put your faith in him.

Leon sighed deeply, knowing that she was in fact right, lowered his gun, taking Ashley’s hand in his before they bolted a safe distance away from the village.

Once Leon gave himself the luxury to look back, he managed to make out yours and Luis’s forms running in the opposite direction, choosing to fight another day.

His heart already aching fondly for your return to his side.

‘We’ll regroup soon, I promise you that partner.’

[idkaguyorsomething]

Is it weird that I am perfectly fine with Araki giving Jodio a severe mental illness but still wish he had given Jodio a different one?

sorry it took so long to answer this one, i was trying to figure out how exactly to answer it, and it turns out there's a lot of different ways:

from a perspective of representation: mental illness is an incredibly stigmatized subject, and in mediums like manga and comic books even more so, as it is incredibly common for a lot of popular plots in those mediums to go "well, x character went crazy, that's why they're evil", as well as stories in general to associate a lack of empathy with a lack of ability to act in traditionally heroic ways. jjba itself has shown that, as part of dio's initial villainous characterization involves him showing a lack of empathy towards various figures such as dario or george (although this isn't the only way his villainy is characterized, as we're also shown right off the bat that he's very deliberately cruel). with jodio being set up as more of an anti-hero, giving him more traits that could be considered unheroic as well as a commonly stigmatized mental disorder, it makes sense to not have that sit quite right. but taking the history of the series into mind, jojo's is no stranger to exploring more shades of gray in its protagonists in its past. johnny and gappy have certainly committed far greater acts of brutality in their parts, while giorno, who jodio is set up as a parallel to, outright aspires to be a head of organized crime. even josuke, who is portrayed as one of the kindest and most pure-of-heart jojos, basically condemns a guy to a fate worse than death in his first arc. this isn't necessarily anything new the series is giving us, and the fact that the jojolands is largely portrayed from the perspective of jodio himself is a massive plus, as it gives us insight into his thought processes and helps us sympathize with a character we might not have done so otherwise (telling a story from the perspective of someone doesn't necessarily ask us to sympathize with them, but things like the goofy jokes he makes with dragona, his own insight on his diagnosis, and his clear love for his family go a long way towards making jodio likeable). one could view this as the natural progression of jojos tending towards the anti-heroic while araki explores more marginalized communities he's interested in portraying, or a poorly thought out decision that furthers stigma towards said marginalized communities. personally, i think it's still too early in the story to make any real judgements, but the way i see it it's kind of similar to the situation with jolyne. she's the only female jojo, and the only one besides jonathan who ultimately fails in her quest at the end of her part. there are narrative and thematic reasons for doing so, but it doesn't sit right with a lot of people, and that's perfectly fine.

from a medical perspective: according to the dsm 5, a person must fit at least three of the criteria for antisocial personality disorder in order to be diagnosed as having it, most of which jodio does fit. failure to conform to social laws and norms (he's a teenage drug dealer), deceitfulness (when barbara ann asks him where he is and if he's hanging out with paco, he lies), impulsivity (he destroys one of the lava rocks to try and get rohan to cooperate), aggressiveness (he kicks that one fucking cop until he's a stain on the ground, twice, although he is justified in his actions and this kind of willingness to fight people is essentially a requirement to be a jojo), reckless disregard of safety (again, practically a requirement for most main characters), consistent irresponsibility (assuming what we've been shown of him is how he acts all the time, yes, although the story so far takes place over too small of a timeframe to determine that), and lack of remorse (dragona has to remind him not to get too violent in the opening chapter with the cop). so he does fit most of the criteria, but it is also a requirement that, to receive a diagnosis, a person must be eighteen or older, with evidence of having fit some of the criteria before the age of fifteen. so by real world standards, jodio would be on track to being diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder, but actually receiving it from a high school psychologist is bullshit. then again, this is the universe where the president made a cowboy race battle royale where the contestants had to collect magic body parts, so it's entirely possible that psychiatric standards in that world are just different. but you would be entirely justified in not liking his diagnosis, and there are several other disorders that fit the behavior that jodio shows. there's adhd (the impulsivity and tendency to get lost in daydreams and beating the shit out of cops), depression (the sense of emptiness he describes upon being given his diagnosis), anxiety (irritability and angry outbursts), and that's just some of the more common disorders. we haven't even gotten into some other full-on personality disorders or common comorbidities with antisocial personality disorder! from this perspective, your assessment is totally fair.

from a thematic perspective: as mentioned earlier, jojo's is no stranger to making its heroes increasingly reflected in shades of gray, and parts seven and eight especially make a point of contrasting their protagonists with their respective foils from parts one and four. johnny is a paraplegic gringo jockey twink that murders people so hard his friend the executioner had to tell him to slow down, in contrast with the jacked and kindly gentleman jonathan who impressed a stranger so much with his dignity that he immediately joined him in his quest. gappy is a quirky lil amnesiac who beats people to death with shovels while josuke has one of the more normal personalities of all the jojos and possibly the lowest kill count. at first it might seem like giorno and jodio are the most similar duo, since they're both criminals that act a-okay with murder, but while giorno's goals and reasoning for joining the criminal underground are motivated by a sense of empathy towards the people of italy and a belief in a higher ideology that passione can aspire to, jodio is a very self-centered kid. he has a very inflated idea of his own reputation, can't spot obvious traps, and the very first thing we're told about him is that he wants to be stinking rich. he also believes in the ideology of mechanisms, but it's an ideology that is explicitly centered around gain and his own material wealth, in contrast to giorno's philosophy, which involves ideals of self-improvement and certain boundaries that should not be crossed in the pursuit of power. giorno's ruthlessness stems from a place of compassion, so having his counterpart being someone who lacks the ability to feel empathy is a really interesting choice that gives the story a lot of places to go. the fact that the other criteria he fills, like impulsiveness and irresponsibility, stand in direct contrast to giorno's ambition and planning ahead, also adds further potential for the jojolands to explore a completely different sort of crime story than golden wind. so from this perspective, i'd say that your assessment is rather harsh.

tl;dr there's a lot of different angles to approach this question from. it's 90% probably that i completely misunderstood what you were trying to ask, though, so please tell me what i got wrong :P

[polyhexian]

Y'know what, Belos is lucky Jasper didn't exist during Enoch's timeframe. Kids are the one thing that consistently manage to break Jasper out of his brainwashing.

Jasper like "child? in the castle? castle child? live-in castle child? easy access to live-in castle child??" :D

Jasper: *doesn't actually know how to talk to a child* Enoch: *isn't a normal child anyway so it all works out*

Caitlyn wouldn't trust him as far as she could throw him at first because she doesn't trust anyone in the EC, but she can't tell him to leave them alone, and she certainly isn't going to ask BELOS to tell him to leave them alone, because Belos would probably do the exact opposite, the asshole. Over time she still doesn't come to trust Jasper but she starts tolerating him. Ahaha god imagine the first time she sees his face its while he's still new and she hates it cuz of how much he looks like Tell and maybe she manages to say something that has him flinch a bit and from then on out he doesn't take the mask off around her. And then the next time she sees his face its cuz he took the mask off with a wince while he didn't realize she was there and she sees the fresh scars. Ouch.

Enoch keeps seeking Jasper out because he's actually willing to teach her how to put someone in a headlock. Belos is too self-centered to realize any of this is happening. OR Belos says "stop teaching the sick child how to fight" and Jasper goes "well he didn't say I couldn't teach you about POISONS" and Enoch's just like, awesome, you're a very useful resource and I might even not hate you.

At some point Jasper puts together that Enoch is a Grimwalker's kid and Belos is an asshole. Caitlyn opens her door at 2AM to find Jasper on the other side like "hey I'm about to dig up a baby and hightail it out of here, if you wanna join me pack your bags."

Things proceed much like MH except Caitlyn's the one clutching a dirty newborn stumbling around the castle ruins until she finds Jasper. Enoch is pissed he didn't invite her to the impromptu Kill Belos Party.

And then, y'know, they go to the Owl House, except it's Dell and Gwen and the girls.

Jasper and Caitlyn would make an interesting…not power couple, but something. A platonic "we're in this hell together" couple. If nothing else they have the traumabond of being trapped under Belos's control and being terrified for their kids' futures. Jasper's got his Grimwalker trauma and Caitlyn has her Loved A Grimwalker trauma and years of getting intimately acquainted with everything Tell was terrified of. Jasper like "I wish I'd been smart enough to figure it out sooner" and Caitlyn like "he would've fucking killed you and we both know it." Jasper like "I wish I could be more like Tell, he sounds so much cooler and smarter than me" and Caitlyn blinks like "only because no one talks about you the same way I talk about him" and then fixes that.

Meanwhile Eda and Lilith are like "why is Cousin Enoch scary" while Gwen is like "that's just the trauma, sweet fleas, be nice!" and meanwhile Dell is just sitting here like. Okay. His sister is alive, and was in a relationship with a Grimwalker, who is dead, and now there's ANOTHER Grimwalker of the same person, who is not his sister's lover, but he's his sister's SOMETHING because traumabonding, and there's a BABY Grimwalker, and also there's a niece who he had no idea existed who is personally offended that she didn't get to kill Belos herself despite being 12. What even is his life anymore.

Jasper showing up at her door like hey if this is weird you can go back to sleep but do you want to help me kidnap my baby and or murder Belos?

Jasper and Caitlyn aren't romantically together but they're still definitely like. Together, in a way. They're both living together and raising their kids together. I guess it's more like two siblings raising their kids together or two roommates that both have children. They're a parent team. Like if MH Alador and jasper were living together lol

Enoch @ every kid at school "my dad could kill your dad"

[girl4music]

WayHaught’s intimacy/off-screen sex/make out/representation/whatever you want to call it scene.

Some WEARP fans that have watched and reviewed the special have said that the scene feels forced or a little too convenient. I know exactly what they mean by that. First of all - the direction of it is literally in your face. There’s no artistic nuance as far as the direction and framing of it goes. The soundstage is purposefully erotic. It’s meant to be what it’s meant to be. Sex. And the portrayal… well, it’s typical DomKat chemistry, for sure, but it doesn’t feel like it’s their choreography. It feels like this time - it was all the showrunner’s choice. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s just not what we’re used to as veterans in engaging with WEARP when it comes to the way DomKat themselves portray WayHaught’s physical intimacy. It usually looks and feels a lot more natural and improvised. This wasn’t so it didn’t feel as organic as I’m used to seeing it being.

It was still a realistic and authentic portrayal of WLW intimacy. It just didn’t look or feel like WayHaught’s specifically because it didn’t look or feel like DomKat. I mean I could be entirely wrong about that. Maybe this is just how both actors being settled into and fully embracing and comfortable with their queerness are. I’m just saying that it didn’t look or feel that way to me. However, what I did pick up to counteract that about the intimacy scene which was absolutely a return to form for WayHaught - that I always really love - was what caused it to happen in the scene itself. It was emotional intimacy and a useful and effective way to convey and develop on their narrative. It was, to me, a beautifully written acknowledgement and communication of both Waverly and Nicole’s feelings, desires, intentions, ambitions in that Waverly has just received acceptance and validation from Nicole that they could part ways for awhile in order for her to do what she wants to do in Egypt with Jeremy and in how Nicole confesses to her her tendency to delay or stifle Waverly’s potential because she doesn’t want to be without her and because her own personal desires and ambitions include and require Waverly to be around - to be home, with her as partners. I actually really like that this was how their physical intimacy came about. That it wasn’t just made into a scene for the sake of it even though Emily likely did think about that part first because she always makes representation a priority.

Also - as I mentioned in a previous post - I also really like how Waverly’s top came off but Nicole’s didn’t because I genuinely felt that was in respect to Kat being pregnant. Just as I feel it was also in respect to Kat being pregnant that that intimacy scene didn’t go on any longer than was necessary to convey the intention of the scene and so they wouldn’t be left in the awkward position of representing a full-on WLW sex scene because I have no idea how they could without making Kat feel extremely uncomfortable as much as the fans probably wanted and wished for it to happen in and at that moment. Emily thought of Kat.

And forgive me for being blatantly gay and a pervert, but I could not fucking take my eyes off Dom there so obviously, that was also a factor why I love the scene. But I mean, I was pretty much staring at Dom every time they were on screen throughout the entire thing. I cannot believe how much more visually attractive I find the character Waverly with a butch presentation. So yeah, that contributed a whole lot too. I won’t lie. I’m a red blooded queer woman. Fucking sue me 💁‍♀️

All in all though, I was satisfied with what we got for that scene given the 90-minute timeframe restriction and the fact that they had to hide or cover Kat’s belly. I do feel the choreography could have looked and felt more natural to DomKat’s chemistry but it’s no big deal. I’m happy I got a well-written scene regardless.

There’s certainly been much worse WLW representation of physical intimacy in TV art/entertainment. I think what we got was pretty good.

It’s just not what we’re used to getting. That’s all.

[vagabondfandoms]

Falls on Me

Day Three: Evening

Rating: Teen (For This Chapter)

Previous Chapters: Chapter One , Chapter Two , Chapter Three

Characters: Gale Dekarios and F!Tav: Copper

Warnings: Gale POV, Mentions of chronic pain, body image issues, accidental flirting/sexual innuendo, and embarrassment. Also, mentions of Mystra (I think she deserves a warning for any Gale story).

Gale is dealing with a major bout of pain and he consents to Ki Restoration from Copper to help battle the degradation from his orb.

---

The team agreed with only mild protesting from Astarion to give Gale the Sword of Justice to consume. The relief was instant but Gale couldn’t bring himself to tell his party members that pings of pain returned by nightfall.

To be fair they did battle a hag today so maybe Gale just overexerted himself.

All Gale wants to do is lie down and curl up with his newest book and a glass of wine. He is about to kneel down to recline into his plush pillows when a sharp stab crisscrosses his chest and he grunts out in pain. He finds himself falling forward and catching himself with shaky hands. 

"It shouldn't be bad like this so soon," Gale grunts from an aftershock of pain, nails digging into the rug of his tent. He just consumed a magic item this morning. 

Cold dread fills his head at the thought of Tara's treatment no longer working and his life ending with the dreaded little orb eradicating him into lumps of flesh and bone. Everything he was and everything he could have had gone because of his idiotic decision to chase after Mystra’s lost fragment of the Weave.

“Hey, are you alright?" Copper asks, leaning halfway into his tent. Concern clearly on her face. "I heard something falling to the ground."

Sweating and disheveled, Gale tries to wave the monk off. "I am fine. I'm fine,” he says a little more steely than usual. "Nothing to worry about here. I just had too much wine." 

Copper gives him a glare. "You need to come up with a better lie than that to chase me away," she scolds as she gently helps him up. "What's really the matter?”

Gale quickly debates if he should lie again but just sighs and tells the truth.

"My pain is returning. Rather quickly this time." Another spasm causes him to wince and the rest of his sentence comes out more desperately than he wishes to convey. "I just consumed a magical item today…but with this rapid degradation of my health, I don't want to think about how this affects my timeframe to stay in this world.”

“Gale, you remember our discussion about the differences between Ki and the Weave?” 

“I remember you not budging on your points in the argument,” Gale mutters. “I must say, it was very un-monk like of you.”

Copper rolls her eyes at the wizard’s displeasure about her not conceding the superiority of the Weave over Ki but otherwise stays quiet not wanting to start another debate. Especially with the man hurting as he was. 

“I can help you feel better if I heal your pathways. So your Ki flows better.” Copper ends up saying.

Reluctance settles in the pit of Gale's stomach but another flash of intense pain makes him reconsider.

“Fine, let's try your not-magic magic healing,” Gale says in his most cheerful tone, which makes Copper gently shake her head at his stubbornness.

“You’ll need to take your shirt off and lay down on the ground so you have something solid to support your back.” Copper says as she reaches for one of his spare blankets and drapes it on the ground.

Gale stills, as his stomach clenches at the thought of showing off his body. He is nowhere near his prime. Over a year of sequestering himself in his tower, growing weak and frail has made him a poor image of his former self. 

“Is it essential for me to take my shirt off? I don’t even like Tara staying in the room when I change my clothes.” Gale half-jokes.

Copper flashes him a quizzical look that she quickly replaces with a neutral face. 

“We can do whatever you are comfortable with. However, seeing your skin will help me notice any abnormalities that I can focus my healing on.”

Gale lets out a bitter laugh. “There’s one large abnormality right here, all right.” As he pats his chest over his orb. 

“What you have a third nipple or something?” Copper asks, with a straight face.

“What!?! Gods no!” Gale says aghast. “I have two perfectly formed nipples. Thank you very much.”

“Then what’s the problem?” Copper gives him another quizzical look that she doesn’t bother to hide this time. “I treated a man at one of the Ilmateri Temples who had an additional hand coming out of his armpit. Not a fully grown hand, mind you but I highly doubt you have anything weird enough to top that. You appear to be a very handsome and normal-looking person.”

Gale finds a small blush trying to form on his cheeks but the annoyance of being called normal clouded out the pleasure of being called handsome. 

Gale was anything but normal...well he once was. Now he couldn’t really argue that he was anything special since he squandered his gifts to achieve Mystra’s love. 

But before he could get lost in his self-loathing, Copper cleared her throat, obviously waiting for Gale to answer. 

“Ohh yeah,” Gale coughs, embarrassed by the lapse of his response. “Well, it is not as strange as an additional appendage but I have a "magical injury" on my chest. There’s a large scar where it’s located and skin discoloration. Plus, I haven’t had much of an appetite since I was cursed with this…thing.” Gale spits out. “My body isn’t quite up to par for viewing but as long as you promise not to run away screaming at my loose skin and bones I’ll consent to taking my shirt off.”

“I promise, I’ll only do that if it was a third nipple,” Copper jokes, which puts a smile on Gale’s face. 

Gale lifts his shirt, and a stab of pain accompanies the motion causing him to be more determined to go through this test to see if Ki restoration would help. Copper turns her face away from him, to allow some privacy as he disrobes and lays down on the blanket. 

At first, all Gale could feel was the rise and fall of his chest but shortly after the hard surface feels strangely nice as the pressure of the earth pushes into sensitive spots on his back. 

Copper kneels down over him, emitting a calm and tender presence that Gale often associated with Mystra in the past before she was his lover and more of a teacher. 

“Here,” Copper says gently as she grabs his hands, which he didn’t notice were clasped together tightly on his stomach, and guides them down to his sides. “I am going to examine you by placing my hands on areas of your chest and releasing a small amount of Ki into your system to figure out if you have any areas of buildup in your meridians.”

“Build up in my meridians?” Gale questions, mainly out of curiosity, instead of worry.

“Sometimes when our bodies are damaged, our pathways get blocked and we end up with Ki building up in unwanted areas.” Copper says as she shuffles, in her kneeling position, readjusting to get a better angle over Gales’s body. Her braid falls over her shoulder, softly tickling Gale as she continues to work. A glowing energy built up in her hands. 

“Ok, Gale. I’m going to start the process now.”

Gale feels a cool but calming sensation touch his skin. If he was honest with himself it felt nice to be touched by another human being again. 

He watches the young monk, a pensive look on her face, as she works. Gale notices Copper’s eyes are very pale and reflect the soft glowing light around them before he closes his eyes and feels a small shift in his energy. The tightness in his chest was evaporating like morning dew but the hungry pit of the orb remained. 

After several minutes of relaxation, Gale suddenly blinks his eyes open at a surprise sensation, as Copper moves from examining his chest, to gently touching his neck. “I’m going to apply some pressure here ok? You have some built-up of Ki in your neck that I need to release.”

“As long as you don’t choke me, I’m not really up to that kind of foreplay right now,” Gale says drily before realizing he let his tongue slip. “Urgh, my mind can be so perverted sometimes without my permission.” 

Copper must have realized what he said because she stilled in her perusal before continuing.

“You must be feeling more comfortable if you can joke like that.” Copper huffs out, as she applies slight pressure to his neck, relieving some pain. “I might have to rethink my decision about helping you if you don’t behave. I don’t think you are old enough for me to excuse your words as just delusions.” 

“Ugh, I am so sorry.” Gale groans out, humiliation staining his cheeks bright red. “Does that happen to you a lot? Some fool running their mouth while you are just trying to help them?”

“You won’t believe how many little old men and women at the temples try to give me a kiss full on the mouth, tongue, and everything.” She says scandalously but with a light air around her that Gale’s transgression wasn’t a big deal. “I became an expert at dodging while changing bedpans.”

“Well, I promise you won’t be anywhere near my bedpan.” Gale jests, feeling physically lighter than he has in weeks. 

“I usually have a spell that magics away all that nastiness anyway. But don’t expect me to tell you where it goes once it gets enchanted away,” he adds with all seriousness before giving Copper a shy smile as she shifts back away from him, her work complete. Happy his embarrassing slip of the tongue wouldn’t put a strain on his relationship with a teammate.

“So how are you feeling?” Copper says as she stands up patting herself clean from the dirt on the ground. “Did the Ki restoration help at all?”

“I feel lighter than I have in months. The crick in my neck that has been bugging me is gone but the pain from my infliction is still there.” Realizing he might not sound grateful, Gale quickly adds. “But it feels duller than before. I am no longer bending over in pain.”

“I am glad it helped a little.” Copper smiles, “There’s so much damage to your heart chakra, I was worried I wasn’t going to help at all.”

“No, it helped. I definitely have to put a little more stock in Ki techniques. Thank you for sharing. Maybe one day, I can return the favor with a lesson in the Weave.” Gale says fondly, getting up and putting on his shirt. 

He didn’t realize until now he wasn’t worried anymore about Copper seeing his disfigured body and she didn’t comment on it, like a true professional. He smiles fondly.

“Ohh, no.” Copper says, waving her hands in protest, slightly backing out of Gale’s tent. “It will be impossible for me to have any talent in the Weave.”

“Nonsense,” Gale reassures while cheekily adding. “You probably didn’t have the right teacher. But alas, a magic lesson will have to wait. I am awfully worn out and I feel a particularly good sleep is waiting for me.” 

Backing fully out of the tent, Copper gives Gale a warm smile. “Sweet dreams, Gale.”

“Goodnight, Copper,” Gale adds as he watches her disappear from view. Laying down on his bedroll, Gale doesn’t even get the chance to read his book or drink a glass of wine before sleep claims him for the night.

Author's Note:

The romance is going to start building up for Gale and Copper moving forward.

[eris-snow]

𝐈 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐝𝐚𝐲

Tags: Deku's birthday series 2023, izuku x fem!reader

Izuku's birthday is always bittersweet. No matter how much you wish, the outcome is the same. He'll always forget you.

I’ve heard that exact phrase from you 7 times.

Izuku stares at the note and frowns, trying to work out the implications of your words as he examines the post-it note on his door.

This is obviously a reply to his previous note about his birthday.

Do you know his birthday already? Since when? Did someone tell you?

His eyebrows knitted themselves together as he pondered more.

What do you mean by 7 times, then?

His frown etches deeper.

And how could you know a phrase he’s only said once?

--

On the 15th of July, 6 years ago, Izuku had been hit by a quirk. Although, with the damage it did to your relationship with your former best friend, the word ‘curse’ seemed to suit it much better.

“It’s an annual occurrence. After each cycle, in this case, each year, his memory would be wiped off you.” The doctor’s words were hazy in your ten-year-old mind, but they’d reverberated off the walls of your head each time his birthday drew near.

“At the stroke of midnight marking the start of the 16th of July, your face will be erased from his consciousness. In each memory, each picture he remembers, every thought he’s ever had of you in that one-year timeframe, you will disappear.” The doctor had put it quite bluntly after your insistent “Tell me, I can handle it!”s. He’d asked your mother to leave the room and had taken you at your word, explaining the painful consequence of the quirk accident.

You had to stop the tears from watering up in your eyes.

“So Izuku doesn’t know me anymore?” You whispered, tears almost bubbling over.

“He doesn’t,” The doctor confirmed. He kneeled down, looking at you at eye level. “The man’s quirk is called Wipe. Say he puts his quirk on Person A. He gets to scan Person A’s memory and choose whoever he wants from his victim’s memories to erase every year. In Izuku’s case, he chose you.”

“Why did I get chosen?” Your voice cracked, a tear sliding down your cheek. You didn’t ask for this. You were a good friend, a good child! Izuku and you were going to U.A. together, and you were going to become heroes together so come on, this can’t happen!

“Can’t we reverse this?”

You didn’t deserve this! You wanted to protest.

The doctor smiled at you, and even though you knew you asked for this you felt like punching him in the face.

“We’ll do our best to find out,” he assured you.

--

They did not find out.

In fact, everyone around you had accepted that the entire situation was a cold trail, and that the effects of the quirk were permanent since the villain was so tight-lipped about it, and had nothing further to say on the matter.

Even you were starting to lose faith in him too.

Glance at your phone, your eyes trace the date as if it had killed your pet dog. It’s that time of the year again.

The start of every July.

It’s always a bittersweet one because it’s the time when Izuku is the most comfortable with you, while you’re left to count down the days until Izuku’s memories are wiped again.

--

Izuku catches a glance of you as he enters the gym after his morning run. You both have a silent agreement to have breakfast together every Sunday, and Izuku always knows where to find you on a Sunday morning. He smiles when he sees you on the treadmill, taking you in with a fond gaze before he calls you out like every week before.

“Hey, Starlight?”

You snap out of your thoughts at the sound of your nickname, almost falling face-first on the treadmill when the green-haired wielder of One For All decides to pop up right next to you like a Jack in the Box.

Steadying yourself, you slow down the pacing of the machine, still panting from the running and the minor heart attack. “In all that is holy, what the hell was that, ‘Zuku!” you bite back, easing yourself off the treadmill.

The teen has the audacity to crack up, laughing so innocently like he didn’t almost just give you a concussion. You’re just glad that he doesn’t flinch away from you and bow his head in apology anymore like you were both strangers.

Your face clouds over rapidly.

“I’m sorry!” Izuku chuckles, wiping his tears away. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“You did though,” You point out sullenly, folding your arms. “Now spill before I give you a concussion.”

Looking wounded, the green-haired teen changes the subject. “Thought you would be expecting me. It’s Sunday,” He pointed out. “Look, I wanted to ask you what you meant by your secret this morning.” He showed you the lime green Post-it, flashing your handwriting back at you. “I don’t get it.”

“You don’t have to get it. That’s why it’s a secret,” you sidestep, reaching for your towel on a nearby bench.

The broccoli boy’s gaze trails your every move. “But I—”

“Just ask Kacchan,” You say, taking a swig at your water bottle. Your body freezes like ice.

Izuku’s eyes narrow on you.

Immediately, you start chugging water from your bottle as eager as an alcoholic discovering vodka for the first time.

You wish, because you don’t think you can do this sober.

Green eyes pin you to your spot like piercing nails.

“Did you just—”

“It was a slip of the tongue,” you explain, trying to come off as defensive as you silently grimace at your mistake. “Meant to call him Katsuki.”

Shit, shit, shit—

You’d sworn you wouldn’t mess up the explosive blond’s name in front of Izuku and yet every year, you were bound to do so. Yikes. His reaction was getting more exaggerated with every year.

“Oh,” Izuku blinks, and suddenly, the hard look in his eyes disappears in the blink of an eye. He blushes crimson, rubbing his neck sheepishly as he averts his gaze from you “Sorry. It’s just a childhood thing, you know? Whenever Kaminari calls him that, even if it’s just for fun, it just…feels wrong.”

You cringe at the word “childhood”, like his words slip tiny pins into your heart and threaten to make it bleed out. “I get it,” You respond, trying to get your smile to come out naturally. It works.

Sort of.

“Wanna head to the canteen now? I’m famished.” He offers you an apologetic, nervous smile that screams Deku, and you sigh in relief at the conversation switch up. “That sounds great. Maybe I can get you to eat something other than katsu don there. If not Lunch Rush then I’ll go to—” your mom “—Katsuki.”

“You’re very funny,” He tells you seriously, making the both of you burst out laughing.

Yeah, this feels right, you tell yourself as you sweep the feelings under the carpet that tells you otherwise. Love isn’t a word you would use lightly, and definitely not to Izuku who perceives he’s only known you for a year. There’s no point in telling him, after all.

It’s not like he’ll remember anyway.

--

Izuku’s note comes back much later that day, returned just as you had returned his. You rip the sticky note off your door and took a great, long stare at it, sighing.

I know you avoided talking about the note. I know that I shouldn’t pry, because it’s your secret to keep, but I can’t help but feel a little disappointed. P.s. Sleep well. The walls are thin. I'm just next door if you need someone to talk to.

Groaning, you slam your head against your door.

He thought you were crying because you had nightmares of the war.

The only thing you could think of as you fell asleep that night was how much you would prefer that.

[thisisyourprincipalspeaking]

I just find it crazy how this situation can be viewed logically on either side and the POSSIBILITY that this man used his real relationship to draw attention is still there, things were planted, remember celebs show us what THEY want. I don’t believe Chris faked an image all of these years, but I do understand we don’t know him like that and many people have other sides to them.

Chris shows what he wants and I have a prime example. When they did the pap walk there were three different angles filmed. The before, during and after the pap walk. I noticed in the before he was calm, cool and collected and walked with stride, during the pap walk, he was hunched over and speed walking, after…. again not realizing he was being filmed except probably during the pap walk, this man went back to his cool walk. I went this has to be PR because wtf?

But now after he’s now publicly married, I can only go idk what’s actually going on but it’s a mess because either this is pr gone way too far for whatever reason or this man married this girl, it’s real but he didn’t want to lose his fan base so thus we get is he or isn’t he because people refuse to believe Chris is no better than the other 40+ Hollywood and regular Joe’s who seek out young women for whatever reason.

Many possibilities here but the one truth is all opinions, assumptions and theories are NOT facts!

Some could be wrong or right on the nail, but we won’t know unless they end up with a child then at that point no one should be screaming PR. Even if they “divorced” speculation would still continue and those thinking this is real would blame the fandom for breaking them up. While the pr crew would gloat and say told you so, it’ll never end. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I look at the entire thing like this, Chris is willfully in this. The assumption is maybe CAA had him hogtied (yes I’m being sarcastic) and threaten to blacklist him but you see how crazy that sounds, so logically what 43 yr old would be publicly married to a 20 something year old if he didn’t want to? But then you think of the horrific things done in Hollywood and how and why various PR stunts are done and it makes you wonder if you’re right or crazy to make an assumption that Chris might not have as much say so as we’d like to think, I can’t think of many reasons are to why fake a marriage for PR, (dude went from “I’m never doing multiple projects to completing two out of three new ones. Were these new projects his “reward”? The many times he’s stated things that made one “read between the lines” ie “The industry makes you do things you don’t want”, “I’m an alone guy”, etc, many people wondered why he’s never been married, now that he is, no more speculating if he’s gay, or what’s wrong with him that this man who supposedly so great, isn’t tied down) NOTE: I wish society didn’t pressure people into feeling like something is wrong if they aren’t married or don’t have kids by a certain timeframe, but that’s an entirely different discussion, back to the topic……so now we’re back to square one……is this real or PR.

This cycle has been going around and around for two plus year now and at some point I’m like either people will start walking away if this continues or once this ends they’ll walk away or if the unfortunate truth comes in form of a child, the fandom will walk away…….but nope with either outcome many will still be here discussing whatever happens next.

Again…..this (the speculation, stalking, assumption, etc) will never end.

Everything isn’t always as it seems so if one chooses to keep following this shitshow, please keep in mind your brain will fill in things automatically regardless if you think this is real or fake, and that doesn’t make whatever you think TRUTH!

At the end of the day people will do as they please, so please don’t allow anyone to rile any of you up over potential bs. 😎

Happy Weekend to you all! ☀️

i think that the given situation can be logically argued from both sides is an indication of marketing done well.

i may not like or agree with all the details and wish many things were very different, but the fact that there are still people around to discuss both perspectives says the showrunners accomplished at least that. and in a world where people's attention spans are nearly non-existent and news cycles faster than usain bolt, it's impressive.

[elvenbeard]

Paranoia

Cyberpunk 2077 Fanfic

Summary: Something is off with V's medication, but there are many leads and the clock is ticking. What is Mr. Blue-Eyes planning and who is the rat that sold V out? With little expectations, Kerry begins an investigation on his own. (Post-Sun-Ending, mostly canon-compliant, Chapter 11/?, 6999 words, Kerry Eurodyne/V - notes at the end) >> Previous Chapter >> Read from the Beginning

“Vik told you to take it easy, Vince,” Kerry urged, placing his hands on V’s shoulders from behind. He had been lingering on his desk ever since they’d come home instead of finally joining Kerry on the couch downstairs. Watch a show, or just listen to music, just… exist and forget about all the existential dread at least for an hour or so, but no...

V’s half-empty martini glass stood close by the left edge of the table. Gently massaging V’s tense muscles, Kerry leaned down to give him a quick kiss on his flushed cheeks. He hadn’t made his drink that strong, as requested, but V just really didn’t react well to alcohol. In a way it was adorable. This seasoned merc, Night City’s bad boy number one, couldn’t hold his liquor.

“One sec,” V said, a little absentminded, eyes glued to the screen displaying a timelapse of various views of security cam footage of their penthouse. Kerry suppressed a sigh, and he opted now to loosely wrap his arms around V’s shoulders, trying to get his attention away from the computer like this. When he would not budge still, he rested his chin on V’s head and then reluctantly looked at the screen as well.

Selected in the security system’s overview was one of the cameras in the garage, the one in the elevator, one in the armory. Three more that overlooked the exterior of the house, including the entrance. Kerry knew of a couple more that V wasn’t monitoring at the moment. The timestamp in the corner of the footage was racing backwards, as was the video itself, and V had reached mid-August, briefly after they’d moved in here. The recordings eventually stopped at various still frames of him testing the setup on the day he’d had it installed.

“I wish I had footage of my old apartment,” V murmured, more to himself than to Kerry, “Was still spending a lot of time there when I got the first batch of pills from Vik.”

“Nothin’ suspicious here?” Kerry asked.

“No… at least, nothin’ apparent, as in…,” he gestured vaguely, “Masked intruders with blue glowing eyes.”

Kerry chuckled at his sarcastic undertone.

“That would be too easy.”

“I guess…” V shrugged, finally leaning back into Kerry’s embrace now, although with the backrest of his chair between them it was kinda awkward. Kerry shuffled and shifted slightly to better see V’s expression.

“How’s your head?” he almost didn’t dare to ask.

“Alright,” V said, eyes unfocused, but then he paused, “No actually it… was better earlier. Think Vik’s stuff’s startin’ to wear off. But I’ll manage.”

Kerry lowered his head and briefly closed his eyes. The heat of his own drink long worn off he basked in the warmth V was radiating. His warmth, his glow… how many more – or how few – setbacks would it take until it would all fade away forever?

“I gotta cross-reference this with my schedule,” V changed the topic back to the footage, “What date I got which batch of pills, and then see if there’s any weirdness here around those timeframes… Second prescription was around the time we moved in, but there were so many people in and out all the time… And if they got here before the security system was up and running the next best thing is the building’s surveillance outside, but that’s shitty quality and bad angles…”

V rubbed his face with his right hand and took a deep, heavy breath, as if an immense weight lay on his chest. Kerry clutched him a little tighter.

“Ooor, “he suggested in an attempt to ease the tension, “You could just chill until Nix does his job. ’Cause if this AJ chick lied to ya, you’re wastin’ a lot of energy on somethin’ pointless right now.”

“Don’t think she was lying…” V shook his head and finally moved to get up, Kerry letting him, “If she did, she should apply at some corp’s CI department. Better suited there instead of a dingy drug lab.”

He slipped out of his chair and picked up his leftover martini in one fluid motion, bringing the glass to his lips with some reluctance though.

“Y’know, I’ll happily finish it for ya,” Kerry offered with a wink, his forearms resting on the chair’s backrest now, fingers loosely interlocked as he played with one of his rings. V’s eyes met with his, a challenging glimmer in them, a cheeky smirk on his lips. He emptied the rest of his drink in one go. Letting out a long, deep breath V set the glass down and leaned back against the desk, healthy hand holding on to the edge for support.

“I’m so gonna regret this, but…” he still smiled at Kerry, “Not gonna lie, that was pretty good.”

“Despite the olive?” Kerry teased, then slowly pushed the chair aside, and stepped in front of him.

“Even that wasn’t so bad,” he said as Kerry’s hands trailed down V’s sides, then slipped under his t-shirt. Kerry grinned when goosebumps rose under his fingertips as they wandered around V’s waist, down to the small of his back.

“Picked a good one,” he said, trying to keep his mind from wandering as well, too fast, too far.

“Yeah, I did,” V smiled, and Kerry paused for a moment, noticing the slight tilt of V’s head, how he pursed his lips, amber eyes looking up at him through long dark eyelashes. Yeah… he wasn’t talking about the olive anymore.

“Gonk,” he muttered, but then he leaned in, no longer able to resist to kiss V’s cheeks and neck and chest, tongue and lips guided by the dark pink flushes speckled all across pale skin.

“What was that about takin’ it easy?” V whispered hoarsely, grabbing on to Kerry’s waist, leaning into his touch.

“Yeah… you lean back and relax,” Kerry breathed against his neck, “And lemme do what I’m good at…”

V giggled as Kerry slowly guided him over to their bed, accompanied by more kisses, little gasps, and fleeting touches.

Drunk sex usually guaranteed that V would be out cold (blissfully, of course) for at least a couple of hours afterwards. It had been one rollercoaster of a day and night… of a week, really, with both of them getting too little restful sleep. So, Kerry hoped this impromptu afternoon nap would do V good, or at the very least give him a little rest from everything. He seemed at peace at least, lips slightly parted, breathing slowly and deeply, huddled into their lightweight silk blanket the same way he’d been this morning. Kerry stayed by his side for a little while longer, just watching… but Lee and Vicki and a few other studio assholes kept messaging him, interrupting their domestic bliss once again.

They had been trying to get in touch all day, reminding him of deadlines, work that needed to be done, promo events, concerts, collabs… And Kerry had been patiently ignoring them while out and about with V. All he wanted was to stay in bed with him now, help him get the help he needed, force him to take it easy when he just wouldn’t listen to his doctors telling him to.

He lightly brushed his fingers over V’s cheek, the hint of patchy dark stubble along his jawline, eyes lingering on his pulse point for a moment. Kerry had sucked an almost purple bruise into his flesh, right where skin and cyberware met, as V had been flinching and whimpering under him…

Blip beep. Another message from Lee forced the steamy mental image out of Kerry’s head. He huffed and quickly checked his phone, with no intention to respond.

“The situation in regard to the video is somewhat under control now,” it read, and Kerry shuddered, “But N54 News’ showbiz representative sent in another exclusive interview request. They agreed to scratch the questions that had been bothering you in their previous e-mail, but in return they want a statement on the video and your relationship status. Same conditions as before. I think this is as great chance to clear things up and gain you some sympathy – also in light of already circulating rumors. I wrote up some possible responses (attached below) if you want to read them in advance! Maybe we can meet up some time later today, or tomorrow or… whenever fits best. To talk things through, discuss the next steps for the album and everything else. Please just quickly let me know if you’ve read this so I know you’re okay and onboard!”

Kerry suppressed an annoyed groan to not wake V. After a few more minutes of failing to doze off as well, he decided to get up. Drink some more maybe, have a smoke. Smash his phone with a hammer. In fact, what he really wanted was to get high out of his mind, knock himself out with vodka and pills, and sleep for 72 hours straight. Had he been alone, just lil’ old Kerry back at his villa in North Oak… he probably would’ve, and without hesitation.

Instead, now, he slipped into his bathrobe hanging over the gallery’s rail, and as he passed by V’s desk to get to the kitchen, his eyes got caught by the screens once more. A quick glance over his shoulder confirmed that V was still asleep. He had been so sure to find something suspicious on the security footage… but he’d also been high on Vik’s drug cocktail, dizzy from drinking Kerry’s actual cocktail, and pre-occupied with too much else. No surprise he hadn’t succeeded. If there even was anything to find at all.

Then again, Kerry barely knew what he was doing when it came to their house’s security system either. He had left these types of things to his management team for decades, and so far, that had worked out just fine. Mostly, at least. V had said himself, back when they had this installed here, that there simply was no system that was one hundred percent safe and impenetrable. There were always loopholes, exploits to use, and all that other fancy tech terminology Kerry only half understood but loved to hear V talk about.

“You can never fully rule out human error, either,” was what he liked to say.

Hence why Kerry felt a little silly when he pulled out the desk chair after standing, staring, and pondering it all for too long. All camera views were still selected in the review tool, V was visible in one of them, the 180 degrees view into the armory. He was looking up at the lens, at Kerry, pensive and serious. The timestamp read “August 3rd 2077 – 11.46 a.m.“. Just a little over a month ago, but he looked so much less tired than he did most days now. But also, at this point, he must’ve already been working for Blue-Eyes behind the scenes. Kerry realized that maybe that was exactly why he had been so keen on upgrading the security system before they’d even properly settled in.

Kerry sighed, leaned back in the chair, and then pulled up his own schedule. They’d just talked about it, the day Viktor had delivered more bad news to V regarding his initial treatment plan was the same day Kerry finally got out of the contract with Kovachek. The same day Blue-Eyes got in touch with his convenient help offer. He had to scroll past walls of texts and messages, but he finally found the invitation for the meeting with the studio bosses. July 22nd. Yeah, no footage for that. They had been talking about moving in together for a while at that time already though… early, really, given how they first met back in May only. But V had spent most of his nights at Kerry’s villa anyway, and Kerry sought refuge at V’s apartment all other days. Finding a place for them both together had simply felt like the right next logical step. It still did, more than ever. And with how little time they seemed to have left at the moment, there was no “too soon” for nothing, really…

Kerry held the thought and continued to scroll further up through his appointments on his planner’s interface. The scheduled meeting during which Lee had signed him on, a few days after the final conversation with Kovachek. The appointment with the realtor to view the penthouse. Moving in day, various important events at the recording studio, and with medias. A handful of parties, occasions, dinner dates with V sprinkled in-between, an invitation from River to come over some time… He hesitated for a moment at August 20th. It had been surprisingly hard again this year, but V made it easier, like so many other things...

After a few more studio-related appointments Kerry had reached present time.

He looked back at the computer screen in front of him, had to search for a play button. Then the recordings started moving again, at a quite high speed.

“Ah fuck…” Kerry hissed and looked for a way to slow the footage down, clicking some random buttons, but without success. Before accidentally deleting something, Kerry decided to just keep his eyes peeled for anything out of the usual as best as he managed, but there was nothing too obvious… Them both or either of them leaving and coming back home every day around similar times, AVs or delivery drones landing outside. There was quite the commotion with the moving company in the beginning, lots of strangers all at once, but Kerry didn’t recall any of them behaving weirdly, or even getting near where V stored his pills at the time.

Since there was only about a month of footage sped up dramatically, Kerry opted to just restart it a handful of times whenever he reached the end. Lee showed up in person at the entrance quite often in the beginning, but rarely made it all the way into the penthouse… Kerry hadn’t been aware just how often he did it though, seeing it happen again and again now on loop. He assumed that during some occasions neither he nor V were home to let him in. Kerry in fact remembered only one time Lee had been here in the early days, and how pissed he’d gotten at him for showing up unannounced over something completely trivial. He’d told him to meet up at the studio for these types of convos in the future and he had assumed that was the end of the story of unannounced visits.

Apparently not. Because right now he saw Lee coming back day after day… then not anymore for a few weeks. Then again on two days in a row at the end of August, the 24th and 25th. Kerry was not there to invite him in for any of those visits either…

He paused the preview at Lee just getting out of the penthouse and into the elevator on August 25th. His heart was racing faster than the footage had been, raking his brains… Had V let him in? He doubted that…

He pulled up his holo screen again to read back through the endless wall of text messages Lee had sent him since. Finally, the 25th, on which there had been a little bit of back and forth between them actually, and Kerry’s tension dropped slightly.

“Lee, I’m fucking busy tonight. Shard with demos is still at my new place. If you really need it that desperately, you gotta go get it yourself,” had been Kerry’s final message that night, and it fit the timeframe Lee was at the penthouse.

 So, he’d let him in remotely to pick up that shard, just how he did the other day to feed the cat. Temporary access token, no big deal, right…

Kerry scrolled further back through his messages, but there was nothing in his texts, nor his e-mails, nor his appointments that would explain Lee’s visit on the day before though. Only a reminder to himself about “date night with V <;3”, the reason for his pre-occupation on the 25th and neither of them being at the penthouse.

He dismissed his schedule and stared back at the screen. At Lee with his ridiculous pompadour, bleach-blond still at the time, in his over-priced suit, stumbling into the elevator, frozen in time. Going by the timestamps, he’d been in the penthouse for 15 minutes to pick up the shard which seemed… long for a task that simple. Unless it wasn’t the only thing he’d done there while Kerry and V were out on a fancy date.

No, not him though. The thought alone was fucking insane. That man’s spine was a slinky toy. He almost shat his pants whenever he had to call or speak to Kerry. If all that was an act and he was secretly one of Blue-Eyes’ agents, he deserved a fucking Oscar. Kerry shook his head at his own paranoia, took a few moments to rationalize, think it through. Lee was notorious for his bad timing and inability to just leave him the fuck alone. There were a million possible explanations that made more sense than any deeper, darker purpose behind these numerous, persistent visits and incompetence of fulfilling easy tasks in a timely manner…

He scrolled back through the footage to the several days in a row Lee was there at the start of August, shortly after they moved in. Kerry had his messages to him from that timeframe at the ready.

The one time he actually remembered Lee coming to the penthouse to talk was a Sunday. He didn’t even have a proper reason, apart from “getting to know each other a bit better” and discussing future plans and whatnot. Nothing they couldn’t have done over the holo. Hence why Kerry had been so pissed off, apart from Lee invading his living room unannounced. V hadn’t been there, thankfully.

The day after this incident Lee was on the footage again… No messages in Kerry’s inbox, but a calendar appointment for booking a recording booth. Kerry wasn’t home, and going by the footage, Lee didn’t get into the house either. He lingered in front of the intercom by the entrance a long while though, and Kerry noticed that he was talking – to V maybe, home that day, but telling him that Kerry was at the studio? Lee left the entrance area of the building with reluctance. Then he came back the next day, and again, Kerry couldn’t make a connection to his visit with any of the entries in his schedule or his messages. And then, August 11th…

“Lee… got a problem, forgot to fill the cat feeder this morning. I’ll be at the studio for a while still. Sending you a temporary access token. Cat food in the shelf next to the fridge.”

“You can never fully rule out human error…” shot through Kerry’s mind again. But yes, of course he’d give him access to their house, repeatedly, for stupid little tasks like that. Why wouldn’t he? Lee was a fucking pathetic little loser. He could never harm them in any way apart from maybe, psychological damage, right?

Kerry continued to stare at the screen, the timestamps. Lee arrived on the 11th and then spent almost 45 minutes feeding the cat. Kerry jumped forward to near the end of the collection of recordings, to a couple of days ago. The day he’d been at the med center and instructed Lee to feed the cat as well. Lee arrived at the penthouse quickly and sent his photo of Nibbles eating 5 minutes later. He was out the front door again after just over ten minutes. What had he done for the more than 30 extra minutes during the first “feed the cat” visit? Even his incompetence wasn’t great enough to need that long to locate the cat food and put it in the feeder.

Kerry’s ears were ringing as he watched himself in front of the computer from above. He hadn’t had such an intense out-of-body experience in a while. Trying to come up with a more logical explanation than “he probably searched for and swapped the pills during that time”, he was unable to even lift a finger. The thought ate itself into his brain like acid.

“Lee swapped the pills…” he wasn’t even sure if he said it out loud, so insane the mere idea. For money, for power, for chrome? What could a Mr. Blue-Eyes offer a small light like Lee… Well, everything he wanted, probably, and more. And Lee was dumb enough to believe him, too, if even V could be lured in by someone like that with promises big and times desperate enough.

 When Kerry arrived back in his own body eventually, his paralysis was slowly but surely replaced by rage.

“I’m gonna fuckin’ kill that bastard…” he muttered to himself, got up from the chair, and instead of drinking more, maybe having a smoke, he went to grab his clothes from the wardrobe and then his gun from the armory. V was still fast asleep and none the wiser by the time the Aerondight left the garage.

Of course, Kerry wouldn’t kill Lee. Not really. Probably. But at the very least he wanted to scare the shit out of him and make him talk. Even if he had nothing to do with all of this in the way Kerry assumed, something was up with him, and Kerry needed to give him a piece of his mind before he imploded for good.

He arrived in front of the MSM recording studio in Charter Hill much faster than anticipated… so much so that his impromptu plan to get Lee to talk was still somewhat fuzzy around the edges. He was in the mood to storm in, guns blazing, but there was no guarantee Lee was even there. Maybe he should’ve checked that before coming here. Kerry cursed between his teeth, slightly clammy hands gripping the steering wheel tightly as he parked straight across from the building’s main entrance. Reluctantly he decided to simply call his manager, something he usually never did. It rang a handful of times, longer than he would’ve expected.

“Kerry?” asked the shaky voice on the other end of the line.

“Certainly not Lizzy Wizzy,” Kerry replied deadpan, “Where are ya?”

His heart was beating in his throat.

“I’m at the studio! I’ve been waiting to hear from you, been worried that –…”

“I’m outside the front door,” Kerry interrupted him, “Come down, let’s talk.”

He tried not to let his nerves show, and he was thankful for his AudioVox evening out the slight tremor in his words.

“Uh… why don’t you come upstairs to my office?” Lee evaded, “Vicki just dropped by with two new demos you can listen to, I think – …”

“No,” Kerry said sternly, but he was grasping at straws for a reason as to why they had to meet outside that wouldn’t leave Lee even more suspicious.

“Bring the demos with ya, we’ll listen to ‘em on the road,” was the best thing he could bullshit this quickly, “Been too stagnant lately, gotta move around a bit, get the creative juices flowing.”

Empty phrases he’d flung around a million times before, but they usually worked with types like Lee.

“Oh… okay?” Lee said, then there was silence for a couple of seconds, “Okay, I’ll be right there but… I need to be back at the studio at the latest in an hour, got an important appointment...”

Kerry didn’t reply and simply hung up. No promises.

Lee appeared at the building’s main entrance around ten endless minutes later. Maybe he was truly just very bad at fulfilling simple tasks quickly. Kerry’s doubts were loud in his head as his right leg bounced in a shaky rhythm, the gun in his jacket’s pocket, heavy as a brick, bruising his thigh. Lee jogged across the street, black and blue designer coat fluttering in the wind. When he approached the passenger side of the car, he tried to put on a smile, but it was slanted and forced. Kerry opened the door for him.

“Get in,” he ordered, demanded almost, and Lee slightly flinched, fumbling in his pockets and pulling out a handful of shard cases.

“Got everything with me, I thought maybe we could start with the song demos? But just in case I also brought the interview questions I mentioned, and some other things you can decide on for the upcoming promo events.”

“Wow, great. Now get in,” Kerry repeated himself with zero enthusiasm and finally Lee slipped into the seat. The same seat V had fucked Kerry in so gloriously yesterday… and now Lee desecrated the space with his presence.

Kerry closed the door again and sped off before Lee could say another word, headed towards the highway that would lead them out of the city.

Lee kept babbling without pause, played the demos for Kerry and recounted the producers’ notes on what needed to be changed still and what was good, as well as the opinions of the studio bosses Kerry didn’t give a fuck about. But he had to just nod and smile, because in the end they were the ones that determined his success to an essential degree.

About twenty minutes into their drive, with buildings left and right becoming scarce and nothing but the near-deserted Badlands ahead of them, Lee grew quieter. He stared blankly ahead at the CrystalDome screens.

“Uh, Kerry, at the latest at five I need to be back in Charter Hill,” he reminded him.

Kerry did not respond, only half heard him really, his thoughts racing, eyes scanning for a secluded place he could pull into, wary to not be tailed by gangers, or worse, paparazzi. His GPS navigation pointed out a little dead-end road not far ahead, leading to an old racing track. He remembered the place, knew where he was now. He’d been here with V, very early on in their relationship, blowing off steam after something V couldn’t talk about at the time. That was before Blue-Eyes even, Johnny was still around… In hindsight Kerry was sure it had had something to do with that whole Dogtown mess.

His Aerondight squealed and rumbled across the uneven dirt road, he physically couldn’t go much further than a couple of hundred yards away from the highway, so he pulled over to the side of the road behind a large rock and turned off the engine.

“Uh, Kerry, we still have a long drive back ahead of us, and I gotta – ,“ Lee wanted to protest and Kerry slipped his fingers around the grip of his gun. He tried to breathe away his shaking, but it was no use. They were here now, he had to seize the opportunity, because who knew when – or if – Lee would ever get into the same car with him again.

He pulled his gun and pointed it at Lee, who let out a brief but surprisingly controlled scream and immediately raised his hands.

“K-Kerry I mean… Let’s talk this through, I’m sure you don’t wanna –…”

“Shut your fucking second asshole, Lee, ‘cause there’s only shit comin’ from it anyway,” Kerry ordered sternly, somewhat surprised at his own bravado, “Turn off your phone and put it in the glovebox, and then get out. No tricks, no messing around.”

“Okay, okay!” Lee whimpered, pulled out his phone with a feverish expression and squashed it in the glovebox between condoms, unpaid parking tickets, and one or two satchels of colorful pills.

“Get out, hands on your head,” Kerry repeated, “And slowly start walkin’.”

“Okay!” Lee squealed, eyes big and teary, then Kerry unlocked and opened the door for him before getting out of the car himself.

He looked over his shoulder, listened into the distance, but the desert was quiet. No roaring engines, no gunshots, no yelling. Yet.

With his gun he gestured Lee towards the old racing track, and whimpering Lee obeyed and marched on, white syn-leather boots soon turned orange from the dust. They quietly walked on until Kerry felt there was enough of a distance to the road, and they were at least partially obscured by the tall coarse rock formations and sparse vegetation framing the location.

“That’s far enough. Turn around,” he ordered, gun still pointing at Lee, he gripped it tightly with both hands to keep it steady. His manager slowly did as he was told, turning on the spot, slightly hunched over and squinting against the sun and the barrel of the gun. Kerry just stared back at him, tried to make sense of it still… and wondered if he had maybe lost it for good now. In the end, he had only a vague suspicion, no proof, no nothing. The uncertainty began to gnaw on his to-begin-with shaky confidence in all of this.

“Kerry listen,” Lee then pleaded, “I’m sure this has got to be a misunderstanding of some sort! Let’s just… talk, okay? Without the gun, maybe?”

“Shut it,” Kerry ordered, “I’m makin’ the rules here.”

“Okay, okay,” Lee lowered his head slightly, whispering something under his breath Kerry didn’t quite catch. He never took Lee for a religious person, but a little prayer probably couldn’t hurt in a moment like this.

Kerry still didn’t have a plan of action in his mind on how to move forward. In a movie the hero would probably hold a dramatic speech now, confronting the villain about his crimes and all, but truthfully, Kerry wasn’t the hero here. Holding a whimpering mess like Lee at gunpoint at least had nothing heroic about it. So, he decided to just cut straight to the point.

“Did you swap V’s pills?” he asked, voice not nearly as firm as the grip around his gun. He didn’t even have his finger on the trigger, but the visual alone was intimidating enough, he hoped.

He expected confusion, more bargaining, or just downright denial from Lee. Not for his eyes to grow wide, the remaining color to fade from his face. And for once in his life, Lee was dead silent, stared at Kerry open-mouthed. He’d hit the nail on the head.

“You fuckin’ asshole!” Kerry hissed and took a step towards Lee, pointing his gun straight between the fucker’s eyes, near-blinded by anger at Lee’s reaction. Lee screamed and flinched back, stumbling almost. Now the bargaining began.

“Please, please, I had no choice, they threatened to ruin me!”

“Well, tough shit, guess I’ll do it for ‘em now!” Kerry barked, his chest tight and face hot, and Lee kept screaming, pleading.

“No, no, no! Please!”

“You fuckin’ son of a bitch! To save your own sorry ass you, you – …”

Suddenly Lee’s persistent fear of Kerry and V made even more sense. If he’d been behind this from the start, he’d probably been scared they’d figure it out somehow, sooner or later. Every time they were alone together the bastard was a shaking mess not because he was so bad at his job, but scared for his life. Well, a little bit of both maybe.

“Who told you to do this?” Kerry then asked, “And you better spit it out quickly and as detailed as possible, or I’ll leave your sorry ass to rot out here.”

Lee whimpered and now sank to his knees, hands still on his head, facing the ground and actually sobbing.

“I don’t know them, I swear!” he sputtered, “Never saw their faces, never spoke to anyone in person. It all went over the holo. Directed me to pick up spots and gave me a certain timeframe to do… to do the swap. And if I hadn’t, they’d’ve ruined my life. Oh god… they’re not gonna just ruin my life, they’re really gonna kill me now that you know!”

He tumbled over forward, face-first into the sand and his sobbing intensified. Kerry couldn’t help but feel sorry for him now, a pathetic little loser in way over his head. And his story sadly sounded plausible with the little Kerry and V knew about Blue-Eyes and his associates.

“Fucking hell…” Kerry muttered and lowered his gun, then he closed the remaining distance between himself and Lee. He bent down and firmly grasped him by the back of his collar to pull him back up. Lee neither resisted nor made the feat easy for Kerry.

“Get it together, man,” Kerry hissed through gritted teeth and Lee fell backwards on his ass and just sat in the sand now, a picture of misery. His face and hair were encrusted with dirt, wet streaks running down his cheeks, his hands rested in his lap in resignation.

Kerry knelt down on one knee in front of him, gun still at the ready just in case, and tried to catch Lee’s gaze.

“Hope they at least fuckin’ paid you well,” Kerry said, trying his best to remain calm, scared that Lee would actually pass out if he intimidated him even more. Lee shook his head and Kerry frowned.

“They blackmailed me,” he explained sniffling, “I don’t know how but… They have so much information on me that I was sure no one knew about. How I never went to a prestigious school, the shit my parents did, how many of my credentials are… polished at best, how I… I never would’ve made it this far up at MSM if I hadn’t… improved my background here and there. I’m gonna lose everything if that information reaches the wrong kinda people...”

Kerry sighed deeply.

“Why am I not surprised,” he muttered, but knowing that Lee acted for purely selfish reasons made this somehow so much worse than if he’d just done it for a huge chunk of money. Not that it surprised him though, that was Night City in a nutshell. He got up again and started pacing in front of Lee.

“Lemme guess, you also didn’t know what you were even swapping there, right?” he asked, anger creeping back in, “Cause, surprise, you didn’t exchange some ibuprofen with sugar pills!”

He pinched the bridge of his nose and took a few deep breaths. They still didn’t even know exactly what these pills had been doing to V, but whatever it was, if they came from Mr. B, it couldn’t be good. Some kind of preparation to put V in that artificial body at best, mind control that was killing him even faster than his own body at worst. Everything in-between and beyond seemed possible and plausible, too.

“They said it was none of my concern and the less I knew, the better,” Lee admitted quietly, and Kerry couldn’t help but laugh out loud in frustration.

“You… pathetic shitstain!” he now yelled, so close to losing his temper again, “You’re the worst kind of scumbag, aren’t you? Messin’ with someone else’s life and health without asking any questions, just to save your own sorry ass. Believe me, you fit in just fuckin’ right with MSM and that whole fucking’ shitshow of a corporation. Such a brave obedient little corpo soldier, aren’t ya? Fuck!”

He kicked a small rock into the distance, swirling up orange dust, and its impact against one of the larger rock formations echoed across the desert. The sun was beginning to set over the city far behind them, and Kerry paced back and forth, back and forth, failing to find a solution. Lee held his head low and said nothing either, too shaken and guilty still, probably packing his bags in his mind already. Or shoveling his grave.

V would know what to do now, or at least be able to improvise something, but Kerry was at a loss. He eventually stopped in his tracks, still clutching his gun tightly, but despite his seething anger at Lee he still had no intentions of killing him. The guy had killed himself long ago already by weaseling his way into MSM through crooked schemes. Blue-Eyes was only serving him the bill for it now.

As if he could sense Kerry staring at him, Lee looked up and their eyes met.

“What now?” he asked shakily.

“Dunno, whaddaya suggest?” Kerry shrugged, “Wanna have me put ya outta your misery right away?”

“No no no!” Lee stammered and raised his hands again, hunching over in fear, “Please I… I know I fucked up, big time!”

“That’s the understatement of the century…”

After a moment of hesitation Lee looked back up at him again, carefully.

“I… if there is anything I can do to make up for this…”

Kerry couldn’t help himself but laugh.

“Well now I’m curious what in the fuck you’re gonna offer.”

“I… dunno…” Lee’s brief moment of confidence was blown out like a candle in a storm.

Kerry didn’t know either because, as usual, Lee was useless. Or at the very least he didn’t see a solution that could actually help them either. He needed to tell V about this. As soon as possible.

“Get back in the car,” Kerry then ordered, waving with his gun, “Takin’ ya to your stupid appointment.”

Lee’s eyes grew wider.

“What? Am I… I’m just supposed to continue as normal?”

Kerry frowned.

“What did you expect, that I’m gonna help you escape into a cozy exile somewhere nice and sunny while we clean up your mess and deal with the consequences?”

Lee just stared in response, but Kerry wouldn’t have let him answer anyway.

“You stay put and behave exactly how you always do, play the manager. And you sure as hell will not tell anyone anything about what we just talked about,” he ordered, “If your creep friends call you and ask you to run another errand, you will do exactly that, and don’t let show in any way that would suggest V and I caught on.”

“I… what?” Lee stammered.

“I’m not done yet,” Kerry interrupted him sternly, “Not done with you, either. You will make up for this shit you caused. And I promise you, if I get as much as a whiff of you tryin’ to rat us out or bail or whatnot… V knows people that will track you down to the dark side of the moon to blow your lights out, if necessary.”

The last one was a bluff, although he was sure, with some persuasive words and favors exchanged here and there, even that would be possible, should the need arise.

“Okay, okay!” Lee whimpered, “Understood. I… This meeting never happened?”

“Damn straight. Now back into the car, asshole.”

Kerry was elsewhere with his thoughts for the entirety of the ride back into the city. It wasn’t much, but if Lee managed to keep his mouth shut and not draw Blue-Eyes’ attention, they now actually were a step ahead. Kerry just didn’t know how to use this tiny edge yet, if they could use it at all… and all of course under the assumption that Blue-Eyes wasn’t listening in or watching them 24/7 through some fucked up means already anyway.

“Don’t forget your phone,” Kerry said when he stopped in front of the studio to let Lee get out. They were back early enough so he still had some time to clean himself up, get himself back together before his appointment.

“Yeah, right, thank you,” Lee stammered and stumbled out of the car and slowly started walking towards the building without further words.

The passenger door slid shut and the warm interior lights of the Aerondight engulfed him, but still, it was far from enough to soothe his nerves. Kerry rested his forehead on the steering wheel and let out a deep breath. Something in his guts told him that the studio would call him tomorrow morning to inform him of Lee’s mysterious disappearance or death, and that they already had the next replaceable guy lined up to take over…

“Fuck…” he muttered, smacked the steering wheel, and unlocked his own door. He jumped onto the street, a car passing by honking at him, but he ignored it. He turned to the main entrance of the studio building where Lee was just about to walk through the door.

“Lee!” he called, and Lee flinched and turned around with wide eyes, like a deer in headlights.

“Get back here,” Kerry waved, and hesitantly his manager returned to the side of the car.

“Yes?” he asked shakily, clutching his phone still. Sand was still dripping from his hair and the dirt on his face had dried.

“Get back in,” Kerry decided, and Lee gulped audibly, “Don’t think it’s a good idea to leave you alone right now. These guys that made you do this stuff…”

He didn’t have to say anything else, Lee nodded in strong agreement.

Edge or not, it was so small, so insignificant almost… And no matter how much he hated Lee’s guts sometimes, if Blue-Eyes snuffed him in his sleep tonight… Lee could know more than he let on, maybe even subconsciously. Him already being involved in this whole mess against his will also made him a better ally than any new manager that could be one of Blue-Eyes spies for real this time.

Lee got back in the passenger seat, and Kerry behind the wheel, turning on the engine. How the hell he was gonna break this to V he didn’t know yet. Right as he wanted to drive off, back home, he noted a dark van parked across the street, in good view of them. Kerry hesitated. This was nothing, probably, delivery guys, technicians. Although, no markings, names, or logos on the car.

Maybe this shit was getting to him more than he realized, seeing enemies where there were none. But it had ended with a black van with the Peralezes as well…

He tried to write the thought off as paranoia once again, but just in case, Kerry made extra sure they weren’t being followed before even getting into view of Watson.

*****************

>> Next Chapter

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Notes:

It's been a hot minute, so much has happened since my last update, and I'm so happy I can finally share this ;__; I really had a lot of fun writing Kerry on his own little adventure for this chapter, and I think a few of you will be happy to see Lee back as well XD I've grown quite fond of him and had really been looking forward to this little reveal ever since I first introduced him xD I hope it came as a surprise but not entirely unexpected that he's involved in this mess a bit more deeply than he let on so far.

I hope the next chapter update won't take me as long as this one did, as with black vans showing up unannounced and Mr. B's schemes slowly becoming unravelled I can't wait to continue telling this story! :3

I put a little nod at Dogtown in this chapter, but to anyone who hasn't played Phantom Liberty and wants to continue reading: fret not! Since I started writing this story before the expansion and planned it out without any ties to it, the events of PL will not be majorly referenced here, not beyond what I did in this chapter.

Hope you enjoyed reading this, as always, and are looking forward to how it's all gonna continue (hopefully soon). I would say, we're about to reach the midway point of the story!

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[wildflowerluver]

HI I LOVE YOUR WORKS AND YOURE AWESOME !!! some of my fav hotch fics ever for real <3

if you’re still looking for ideas for the aaron hurt/comfort idea you posted about i thought i'd try to supply you with inspo ! maybe reader is an anxious overthinker (couldn't be any of us hotch stans wdym) and is feeling really anxious bc they feel like they made a friend mad/upset for some reason bc the friend seemed a little off + hasn't replied to readers messages. so poor reader is just so concerned and scared they did something wrong and on top of that they're tired, stressed, and overall overwhelmed so they just CRYYY and ofc hotch comes along and does his comfort thing and reasons through it with them. and then reader's friend texts them back like hey sorry i was really busy today but yeah! we should definitely go out more, i had a ton of fun today!! bc we need closure here LOL and then reader can cuddle and fall asleep with hotch to get out any lingering anxiety and take care of that sleepiness fr

THIS IS SO LONG IM SORRY MY BRAIN WAS TRYING SO HARD TO COME UP WITH SOMETHING AND IT TRIED A LITTLE TOO HARD I THINK LMAO hopefully this sparks something for you tho ! of course feel free to do what you wish with this, change it around, whatever it may be there's always no pressure !! happy vibes for you <3

(ria!!! thank u for ur request ily <33) fem!reader, anxiety, mentions of past friendship issues, hurt/comfort vibes, 1k words

ʚ♡ɞ

you had a natural tendency to overthink.

every interaction, big or small, seemed to replay in your head for hours. had you said something off? did that person see something strange about you?

you were terrified to tell aaron about your struggles with anxiety and overthinking. it hadn’t gone well in the past several times and you didn’t want aaron to leave too. but, he didn’t. it never even crossed your mind.

aaron collected you in his arms, squeezing you tightly and thanking you for telling him. he asked what you needed from him.

“reassurance,” you spoke tentatively. not once had a previous partner asked how they could help. “and maybe a kiss.”

his laugh was full-body, lips upturning. “i think both of those can definitely be arranged.”

___

aaron hadn’t been home a lot recently.

he was away on a case down in texas, then swarmed with meetings and paperwork, another local case, and more paperwork. the absence of him was starting to impact you severely.

just in the way you were open about your anxiety, he was open about his job and the time aspect of it. he called or texted, reassuring (like he promised), that he would be home soon or the timeframe of the case. you just couldn’t help your intrusive thoughts from creeping up. 

you tried to fill his absence in a productive way, maximizing the time you had outside of work by reaching out to some friends to hang out. your friend B and you set up a lunch date. she was a close friend and you knew being in her company would help your mood.

usually when you’re with her, time seems to go by fast and conversation flows easily. this time was the opposite. you had met for lunch downtown and expected it to be like it always was. instead, it felt so forced it was almost uncomfortable. naturally, your brain had drifted into believing it was something you had said.

you were on autopilot going home, brain reeling at lunch. you wanted aaron. he always knew what to say or do and was your number one comfort. but he wasn’t here. 

you trudged into the house, haphazardly dropping your bag. you sat in front of the fireplace, it wasn’t warm but in your mind it was. 

it was the first time in weeks you felt like you had a moment to stop. 

the tears came hot and fast.

you buried your head in your knees, arms wrapping around your legs as your body shook. everything felt wrong and you were so terrified you had hurt B.

you were exhausted. 

the back door open and closed. you hardly took notice. your head was pounding.

“honey!” aaron’s voice rang through the home. “i’m home!”

his voice only made you cry harder, though you kept your sobs muffled by the fabric of your pants. it was early, he shouldn’t be home yet. why was he home?

“honey?” he called again. “i got off early today, sent the entire team home early too. figured we all-”

he stopped dead in his tracks when he entered the living room and his eyes fell on you. “oh, honey.”

in an instant, aaron was kneeling down at your side. the second his hand touched your back, you broke. you threw your body into him, needing to feel him close. he held you while you cried, hand rubbing up your back. he didn’t shush you or help you calm down just yet. you just needed to cry.

after a few minutes aaron pulled back, hands reaching up to cup your face. he thumbed away a few stray tears that continued to roll. 

“what’s hurting you?”

you took a deep breath before explaining. it was always easy with aaron to be honest. you rambled about his absence, how you missed him, how work had been a little tough lately, lunch with B, how you feel like you said or did something that made it feel off. everything.

though aaron had sat back on the carpet, your hands remained interlocked. he squeezed them occasionally throughout your words.

he collected you in his arms when you finished. “i’m so sorry about being away. i shouldn’t be going anywhere for awhile. i’m sure B is okay. you didn’t say anything off. maybe she was just having a bad day.”

your phone dinged on the table.

aaron picked it up, features softening at the text. perfect timing.

‘hey! so sorry if i seemed a little off at lunch today - work has just been super crazy and i got an email right before about a deadline being pushed up so i was distracted. it was still so so nice to get together, we should definitely do it again sometime soon!!’

he showed you the text B just sent. his hand fell to the small of your back again, finding the patch of exposed skin and leaving his hand there. 

B’s text eased your anxiety. you didn’t do anything wrong. she was just having an off day.

“do you feel better? about B at least?”

you hummed. “a little, yeah.”

you slumped into aaron’s side. “can we go lay down for a little?”

he kissed your cheek. “absolutely.” 

aaron guided you upstairs, stopping though to put his work things away though he motioned for you to head into the bedroom to get settled.

you kept the lights in the room off before crawling into bed. physical and mental exhaustion was clouding your brain.  

aaron padded in a few seconds after you, quickly changing out of his work clothes and into soft sweatpants and a shirt. he stopped at the edge of the bed, eyes peering down at you.

“how are we doing this tonight?” he motioned toward the bed with his hand.

“can you just hold me?”

he smiled softly. “of course honey.”

aaron slid under the covers beside you. he raised one arm, an open invitation for you to curl up. you did, sliding over and tangling your legs with his. he, in turn, tucked you under his chin and brought his arms to cocoon around you.

“it’s gonna be okay, i promise.”

he sealed his words with a strong kiss to the crown of your head. 

somehow you knew it would.

[askfallenroyalty]

"After a few months of post-pacifist, Chara feels they "have to true reset" after something bad happens to Flowey"

Ruh-roh; if it's not too spoilery, what happens to Flowey that causes Chara to feel the need to True Reset?

//probably won't be explored for AGES. cause the kids have so much on their plate they're not going to reminisce on why they got on this quest to SAVE Asriel.

And because the True Reset wasn't a year (cause really, that was too extreme in my writing) Frisk isn't like, THAT upset over losing that timeframe. I mean, don't get me wrong, it still sucks, but they were struggling with life post pacifist which is something I regret not committing to. (Frisk implies this way back in Chapter 1)

Frisk likes the adventure underground because its predictable. It's easier than the scary unknown, and Frisk missed their ghost buddy. (another change where because it was so long, Frisk forgot Chara which. I feel is a bit too mean/sad as a story beat. the two saved monsters together. they literally shared a SOUL! of course Frisk cares about Chara and wouldn't forget them!)

anyway i'm going to spoil this plot point. ignore this if you just want to read it in comic.

like in Chapter 4, 5 monsters go missing. (Sans and Papyrus aren't included so it's 5) Frisk is staying with Toriel and is ambassador. There's a lot of tension from that responsibility where they feel torn to just be Toriel's child and being responsible for the peace. Tensions become high but Asgore brushes it off, more humans start to visit monsterkind's home base area. Monsters start exploring the world, more and more monsters go missing and more conflicts build up. Frisk is Scared. The underground is predictable and safe once you know what happens. This is scary, and Frisk has to deal with humanity up front.

Meanwhile, Flowey is the caretaker of the Ruins, mainly gardening and overseeing Chara's grave. When humans start to see Mt.Ebott as a tourist spot, Flowey's home is invaded and defiled. This gets bad enough that a bunch of humans picnic at Chara's grave and get upset when Flowey tells them to scram.

This leads to the humans stomping on the grave (not that anyone knows that it's a grave, but I think on some level Flowey sees it as it. Canon Flowey only pieces that together in NM). Flowey freaks out, gets hit when trying to stop them. Chara's life force is within the flowers + their worry over Flowey causes a True Reset.

This time, while Frisk is upset at being ripped from their life, they understand Chara's dilemma more. Their worries as ambassador and their wish to escape makes this a bit of a relief. (in my thought process that this hard period would of been passed and Frisk would of been happy, but they didn't get the chance to cause of the True Reset)

Also, I want to show Chara and Frisk's bond is greater and more mutual in this version, so Frisk also missed their ghost pal. Cause Chara went through all of that with them. They understand Frisk more than anyone else. They literally shared a SOUL together. Of course Frisk wants their friend back, and right now they're upset. Of course Frisk would see their job as peace keeper and savior incomplete.

in the first writing of AFR I never explained why Chara wanted to True Reset. I was saving to reveal Flowey and Chara had a fight, or that Flowey was growing more depressed and it'd be foreshadowing for Asriel's present day depression but I already felt bad over how the backstory was handled and didn't wanna add more onto it.

Now, when Asriel is king Frisk can reflect on what the original timeline was like, and how stressful it was and Chara can be like "yeah and humans coming in only caused problems for us too. we couldn't protect ourselves." which shows the stakes of what could happen if Asriel doesn't handle things "correctly" this time. Which obvs builds up to the border closing, which while, yeeeessss monsters were unsafe and public understanding of them was limited and humans can suck, is STILL VERY BAD.

hoping this all works better to show character motivations and makes things feel more organic and less angsty x-x like the whole point was they were trying to help Flowey, the focus should be on the kindness of that. And yes, its important to respect Frisk's life too, but I feel it can be in character if pushed in this scenario to want to use the SAVE power alongside Chara. Which is why they can remember true resets, cause they're still a team

[slusheeduck]

For Want Of A Wish

[I]

II. Last Night

“So you two are really venturing off into the Feywild?” Gale asked the next morning—well, afternoon, really—over coffee and leftover tart. “That’s a death wish to most, you know.” 

“Most people aren’t fey-favored,” Falerin said with a little smile, scratching Zel’s ears as she hopped up into his lap. “But my patron won’t come over here, which means I need to go over there.” He shrugged. 

“But I’ve been there before, remember. And we’re going to the Summer Court, with the Seelie; not nearly as dangerous as dealing with the Unseelie.” 

“I thought there was no such thing,” Astarion said, stitching as he listened. “I mean, Seelie and Unseelie. I thought that was something we made up.” 

Falerin tilted his head back and forth. “I mean, it’s not actually good versus evil. But the Unseelie are…less patient, and more easily offended. And it’s already easy to offend the fey.” He made a face. “I learned that the hard way a few times.” 

Gale leaned forward. “So how does one get there? I’ve only heard of people making contact with the fey that have come here, and those who found themselves spirited away one way or another.” 

“Oh, just a fey crossroad. That’s how I did it before.” 

Gale’s eyebrows shot up. “Those are real? I thought it was just stories.” His eyes lit up as he leaned in closer. “How do they work?” 

Falerin looked over the table for a moment, then grabbed the paper with the design Astarion was working on. “Can I use this, love?” When Astarion nodded, he held it out to Gale. “It makes a lot more sense than the astral prism we were carrying around, for one. But imagine this end of the paper is our world, and this end is the Feywild. There are points where they…” He brought the two edges of the paper together. “…touch, like this, and that’s where the crossroad is.” 

“Are they stable?” 

“I wouldn’t use the word stable, but they stay in one spot for quite a while. The one I went through should still be there.” He gave Gale a smile. “You could join us, if you wanted.” 

Gale squinted at Falerin for a long moment, clearly weighing it. Finally, he shook his head. “Much as I would love the chance to see the Feywild myself, I don’t think now’s the right time for me. After all, there’s the issue of time and…” He trailed off, then looked to Falerin. “Time moves differently there, you’ve said.” 

Falerin grimaced. “It…does, yes.” 

Astarion looked up from his stitching, face serious. “How long were you away again?” he asked quietly.  

“I…I had guessed about ten years,” Falerin said slowly. “But it was a century here in Faerûn.” He shrugged. “But one year to a decade isn’t a hard and fast rule. It could be less time.” 

“Or more,” Astarion said. 

Falerin rubbed his face. “Or more, yes. But there’s…there’s no way to know. Sometimes it ends up like me. Others are there for centuries and it’s only been half an hour out here.” 

“And they crumble into dust the moment they cross the threshold back,” Gale said quietly. “I’ve heard those stories, too.” 

An uneasy silence grew around the table, only broken by Zel’s purring.  

“Well,” Astarion finally said, setting his cloth down. “I’d best get the current orders done quickly, shouldn’t I?” 

“We could find another option,” Falerin said quietly. “You’ve already lost so much time.” 

“Yes, well, so have you,” the vampire replied, sitting back in his seat. “But what’s the other option? Spending the next decade hoping that this is the lead that pays off?” He let out a long breath, head falling back. “I know you hate acknowledging it…” 

“Astarion, we have company,” Falerin said through his teeth. 

“It’s Gale. But we have a limited timeframe to work with. I don’t want to spend our time together just…hoping for a solution.” Astarion looked to Gale. “You’re doing the majority of research. What are our chances of finding a cure in the next ten years?” 

Gale’s eyes flicked between the two of them. “It’s…not good,” he finally said with a sigh. “Not unless one of you suddenly becomes one of Elminster’s rivals in terms of magical prowess.” 

“And do you think you can manage that, Falerin? I sure as shit cannot.” As Falerin shut his eyes with a long sigh, Astarion leaned forward, hand wrapping around his wrist. “It’s up to you, whether we go or not. But I don’t want to miss a chance for us to have a full life together. Not when we have it. I’d give up a hundred years in Faerûn for this, gladly, if it meant being at your side for however long I can.” 

Falerin stayed still, eyes still shut. Slowly, his free hand went to scratch Zel’s ears. 

“Gale, would you be able to watch Zel for us?” he asked quietly, opening his eyes. “However…however long we’re gone?” 

A pained sort of smile crossed Gale’s face. “Of course. Rest assured, she’ll be suitably spoiled in your absence.” He hesitated, then leaned forward. “And, when you do go, I’d love to be able to witness it. Not every day you get to see a fey crossroad in person, after all, and I don’t think I’ve had quite enough once-in-a-lifetime opportunities just yet.” He looked between the two of them and added, much more quietly, “And I’d like to see you both off.” 

Falerin gave him a small smile, then let out a long sigh. “This time, I want to prepare before we go. I went in blind last time, and we have the time to plan.” He looked to Astarion. “And I’m not letting you out of my sight.” 

 “Do you ever?” Astarion teased, picking up his work again. “Look at us, off on another big adventure.” 

~

The luxury of being able to plan a harrowing adventure at their leisure was really rather remarkable. No threats of ceremorphosis hanging over their heads meant they could actively set up how they wanted to go about this—and prepare for the chance that it may be a very long time before they returned.

Over the course of two weeks, their home was packed up, with instructions given to a neighbor to move their things out and sell it if they weren’t back in a year. Astarion blazed through orders, making sure to mention his poor sick aunt back in Baldur’s Gate when passing off the finished product. (Yes, yes, terribly sad—he’s her favorite nephew, so of course he’s going to be the one to take care of her. Oh, who knows how long he’ll be gone—it could be six weeks, it could be six years. But luckily, he knows an excellent tailor in the area who could take over while he’s gone, provided they come back to him when he’s back in town.) All that was left was for Gale to come pick up Zel, and it was off into the Feywild.

Falerin sighed as he dug out his armor from a purposefully forgotten trunk, making a face.

“Do you think we’ll need that?” Astarion asked, hand grazing his lower back as he passed to fetch a few stand-by potions for their journey.

“Better safe than sorry,” Falerin said, setting his armor aside to dig for Astarion’s. “I don’t know what we’re going to encounter while we’re out there. Have you still got your blade?”

“Naturally.” Astarion took his armor—drow-made, with dark, feather-like engravings on the chestpiece—and looked it over. “Good thing we didn’t sell these like you wanted to, darling.”

Fal let out a groan, gripping the scarlet leather jack in his hands. “I hate armor. And I hate that we’re going out into danger again. We just got comfortable.”

“You really shouldn’t lie, darling. You’re awful at it.” Astarion shot a knowing smile to Falerin. “I saw that brightness in your eyes when you were talking about the Feywild with Gale. You’re excited to go back.”

Falerin made a face, tossing the jack aside. “Excited isn’t the right word. It’s more like…” He looked up, thinking for a moment. “It’s beautiful there. It’s…painfully beautiful. And I’m glad to be back home, but…nothing compares to it, love. But even so, it’s…going back to somewhere familiar. I haven’t had that in a long time.” He looked over to Astarion. “Best I can describe it is that it’s like…” He puffed out a little laugh. “…it’s like bringing you back home for a visit. I get to show you where I spent…well, most of my life.” He set the jack aside before going to drop down on the bed. “It probably won’t even be that different, after only being gone for three years.”

 Astarion went to go sit beside him. “Bit like meeting the family, isn’t it?” he asked with a small smile. “Certainly can’t be worse than meeting mine was.”

“Well, I’m assuming my patron isn’t going to be trying to kill me to get unimaginable power,” Fal said dryly. He laid back on the bed, letting out a sigh as he looked up at the ceiling. “Are you ready for tomorrow?”

“As much as I can be. I do feel a lot better going with you, even beyond the fact that you know what we’re getting into.” Astarion laid down beside him, also staring at the ceiling. “I hope we’re not gone too long, though. I’ve gotten fond of our little home, and I’m not keen to lose it.” He rolled onto his side, looking over Falerin. “You know, this may very well be the last night we have in this bed.”

“Don’t say that. I like our bed.”

“I do, too. We should make the most of it.”

“We won’t be able to sleep in. Gale’s going to be here just before twilight.”

Astarion rolled his eyes, then pushed himself up to straddle Falerin’s hips. “I’m propositioning you, you idiot.”

Falerin’s two-toned eyes went wide, and his lips parted in surprise even as his hands went to rest on Astarion’s thighs. “Oh.”

The vampire laughed, shaking his head as he started unlacing his shirt, only for Falerin to bat his hands away to take care of it himself. “You always look so shocked, darling.”

“Well, how can I not be?” Fal pushed himself up to sit as he pushed Astarion’s shirt off his shoulders, pressing soft, adoring kisses over the newly exposed skin. “I always feel so…unfairly lucky, getting to call you mine.” His lips dove down to Astarion’s throat, pressing hard against the hollow of it before working his way up. Teeth found his earlobe, and Astarion melted before turning his head to pull Falerin in for a deep kiss.

“Well,” he said, voice practically a purr as he drew back, “let’s hope that luck holds through our trip. And…” He plucked at Falerin’s shirt. “Let’s be free of this, hm, darling?”

Falerin grinned, pulling Astarion in for another kiss as the elf’s clever hands made quick work of his laces. His own hands traveled over Astarion’s back, tracing ever so gently over the scars etched in his skin–one of too many reminders of their lives before. His fingertips traveled further, tracing over the ridges of his spine before teasing beneath the waistband of his trousers.

“Cheeky as ever,” Astarion murmured, lips dragging down to Falerin’s jaw.

“That’s why you love me. Budge up so I can get these off.” He pushed Astarion’s trousers down, then set to wriggling out of his own. “Gods, remember doing this in the forest?”

“Are you trying to tell me you miss our romantic bed of sticks, leaves, and who knows what manner of insects?” Astarion snuck a kiss to Falerin’s temple, then leaned over to dig in the side table beside them. “If you want that again, go visit your druid. I enjoy creature comforts of a much less literal nature” He returned with a small vial of oil, pouring a bit into his palm before reaching for Falerin’s hand. His eyes flicked up, meeting Falerin’s gaze from under his eyelashes as he slicked up the half-drow’s fingers. “Help me?”

Fal let out a shuddering breath. “Always.” His eyes were riveted to Astarion’s face as he reached around him. His fingertips grazed over his skin as they found their mark, and he slowly pushed one into him. His breath caught as Astarion shuddered, lashes fluttering against his cheekbones.

“Fuck,” Astarion breathed. “Keep going.” He pushed forward, hungrily meeting Falerin’s mouth as the other man slowly pumped in and out, gently adding a second finger before starting to stretch him. Blunt teeth caught Fal’s lower lip, carefully tugging at it as he swallowed down a moan. Astarion nodded as he released him, tossing his curls back out of his face. “Yes, perfect. Perfect.”

Falerin’s mouth twitched, opting to slip in one more finger before pulling out. Astarion’s eyes widened, and a sharp groan was just barely muffled by clenched teeth. He panted, lips turning up. “You’re a bastard,” he said. “Gods, I love you.”

Falerin let out a breathy laugh, finally pulling out. His free hand went to Astarion’s cheek, eyes flicking over his face for a moment. “Bite me,” he said, voice low and rough. “Right as you’re about to come.”

Astarion’s brows drew together, and Falerin could see the struggle in his face before he shook his head. “You’re…you’re not…”

“I’m fine, and I want it. I miss it, Astarion. Please.”

Astarion swallowed, an argument starting to bubble up on his lips. But then Falerin’s hand snuck down to his cock before he could say a word, nearly making him yelp as he gave him a firm stroke. 

“Fuck, fine! Fine.” He pushed Falerin’s hand away. “Quit that or I’ll finish before I can.” He pushed himself up on his knees, reaching behind him for Falerin’s cock. His gaze ticked down as he managed to stroke it without so much as glancing back, lips curving smugly as Falerin’s head fell back. Unlike Astarion, he didn’t so much as try to hold back his moan, hands going to grip Astarion’s hips for dear life.

“You always make the most beautiful noises, you know that?” Astarion purred. “I’ve always liked that about you.” Slowly, teasingly, he sank down onto Falerin, tossing his head back with a luxurious groan as he took him. He took a few breaths as he pushed himself down flush against Fal’s hips, then reached forward to grip his shoulders as he rolled his hips. He dove down to meet Falerin’s lips as he began to ride in earnest, a full-body shudder coursing through him as Fal’s hand circled his cock, lazily moving in time with his hips. 

 There’s no lasting like this, that much was clear. Their kisses were all teeth and tongue, Astarion just barely able to keep his fangs from digging into Falerin’s skin too early. His hips quickened, and Falerin’s hand tightened, and they weren’t so much kissing anymore as they were sharing breaths, gasping in the other’s sighs.

As they reached a fever pitch, a familiar ache settled in Astarion’s jaw. It’d been so long since he’d tasted Falerin, and he’d never truly been able to get rid of that need, that desire to sink his teeth into his throat. For a flitting moment, he thought about being the bigger person and refusing. But he had permission, and gods, his mouth was already watering.

Falerin’s breath hitched–that was his tell. His hand tightened on Astarion’s cock, and there went the last of the vampire’s self control. A growl escaped him, deep in his throat, and his head dove to Falerin’s neck, teeth burying deep into his flesh.

Oh, this was heaven.

Again, he never had fully gotten rid of his craving for Fal’s blood, even as he’d exercised restraint. But now, as it flooded hot and thick over his tongue, it was all he could do to keep from draining him dry. 

The taste alone was enough to send white-hot pleasure through him, and he couldn’t even take a pull before falling over the edge, finish painting Falerin’s stomach as he groaned against his neck. Fal followed in short order, shuddering almost violently beneath him as he tumbled, but Astarion didn’t dare loosen his bite. Not yet. 

As they both came down, breathing hard, he finally took a drink. Just two swallows, mostly from muscle memory. But even so, gods. What a difference it made. He carefully dislodged his fangs, tongue dragging over the wound to catch every drop of blood. His head felt the clearest it had in ages, and like so many times before, he was happy. 

Well, happier. Wasn’t that nice?

Carefully, Astarion lifted his hips to gently let Falerin slide out of him, then he rolled off of him to  collapse onto the mattress, one arm splayed over the half-drow’s chest. After a few moments of catching his breath, Falerin rolled to pull Astarion flush against him, curling around his body and resting his lips against his hair.

“I love you,” he mumbled. 

“Surely not just because I let you come inside me?”

“Don’t you dare suggest that.”

Astarion let out a breathy laugh, then turned around to face Falerin, legs tangled and eyes bright as he cupped his face and leaned in for a kiss. He tasted of iron and salt, but Falerin didn’t complain in the least as he returned it. 

Sated in every which way, Astarion tucked himself up against Falerin, letting out a sigh as he started to slip into trance. Just as he was edging close, though, Falerin shifted.

“You can play the flute, can’t you, love?” he mumbled. It took Astarion a long moment to untangle that as not gibberish.

“Is that an innuendo?”

“No, I’m genuinely asking.”

Astarion made a face, shifting a bit. “I…can, yes.”

“Any reason you learned?”

Astarion blinked, and he shifted back to look at Falerin. “Is this the time to ask about my musical experience?”

Fal gave him a sleepy smile in reply, and he leaned in to kiss his nose. “It’s for tomorrow. I’ll explain later.”

Astarion let out a sigh, eyes rolling upward. “I…wanted to be a bard,” he muttered, almost too quickly to be heard. But Fal caught it, and his smile widened.

“Oh, that’s adorable.”

“Shut up. It was a ridiculous daydream from when I was very young. Now, why are you prying?”

Falerin shut his eyes. “We’ll have to get past the crossroad guardian, and the best way to do that is with music. I mean, or riddles if you have any.” He peeked his dark eye open, and Astarion shook his head. “Yeah, music’s the safer bet. But when we go, I want you to remember how you felt when you first decided to be a bard.”

“Why?”

“Because skill’s one thing, but heart’s more valuable to them.” Falerin leaned in to kiss him with that. “And I know you have more than enough of that to cross over, even if you don’t want anyone else to know.”

Astarion looked over him for a moment, then gave a sigh. “Then I’ll be sure to warm up before we go,” he said, then tucked himself up against Falerin again. “But in a bit. I want to enjoy our little death before we go off to what could be our big one.”

Falerin smiled, pulling the vampire into his arms. “And you won’t get a single argument from me.”

[Next Chapter]

[shinakazami1]

New Tales Ep 4 live review!!

- Before the intro sequence, I thought Anu didn't know Octavio friends? I don't know the timeframe in all this so it does feel a tad bit weird though, in this run I had killed Juniper so...

- Dear God Octavio not noticing it's Fran's Frogurt is so stupid 😭😭 literally no words. Till this exact moment, I could excuse a lot of the writing... Please.... He's not this dumb, right,,,, ouu,,

- "SAY UNCLE" "You're my sister and I'm your uncle" - I want to know the story behind this sm

- Fergus looking saved it with L0U13 free labour dance but.... Why did we even have the the mental worry, and then the stupid hitting Fergus butt,,, I know the games have this humour but this whole bit felt like not so well timed break

- This game cannot get where it is standing with the killing hmmmm, like no character in this run had a constant (though idk why L0u13, after his crisis, gets once again pro killing,, gonna try replaying better version)

- BROCK BACK AND HE JUST STRAIGTH UP SHOT ANU-PLEASE OFAIHFAS

- GUYS U HAVE THE GUN THAT HEALS 😭😭😭I know they wanted to make this joke but PLEASE

- I feel weird about FRAN being seen as newbie in business. Sure, she only knew one but she kept it going for a long time so I feel she knows a tad bit more seeing it's a fam business for years. Esp after that Susan talk in ep 1. She feels she should know sth more

- Bivington showing up,,, I did expect him to but I wonder. I can tell this is some setup but I wonder what type (future me I say hi) (hi past shina - dear god not one i expected, diluted elon musk oifashfiaos)

- can I propose an overpriced drink AS SIGN OF SUCCESS IS KILLING ME

- it's weird that any didn't realise she could use the lab for their project cud they need

- Anu from being a Newby to being a big fan of Maya Vaultfinder mega ultra player,,, I'm so proud

- JABBER PUBLIC PEEING AND SOOTHING MUSIC PLEASE WHAT WAS THAT WHY DID I STUMP UPON

- Anu being seen as genius and then most the work is just,,,, the goggles,,, the slapping,,,,, it's all so silly

- I was curious what would be Fran's wish and the synth sad music in there reminded me of Hyer Light drifter soundtrack. But Rita,,,

- BADASS SUPERFAN IS MY FAV character beside Rhys and all Tediore soldiers wjjwh

- Foopy PLEASE??? FOOP POOP??? The only thing broken is you HELLO - WHY WE GOT BOTH PISS AND POOP THIS EPISODE

- I wonder if Fran's focus on sexuality is a trauma response, too,, future shina here, but based on what you can tell LOUI3 I think that is the case

- 😭 Why did so many people know and could reference before Fran's traumatic experience tho??? Like it puts her so down and others just know it

-VVIP IS MORE LIKE WIP WORK WORK WORK and i got Octavio to sniff the substance cus I imagine he would try it sjshhehe

- VVVIP,,, WHAT'S NEXT A VVVVIP CUS I HOPE TO SEE SOME WWIPS,,, Also I made Octavio dance

- BADASS BEING FIRED NOOO I hope I will see him in fifth episode :0

- Susan having a gun. You go girl boss actually

- HELLO UNPROTECTED DATA STDs??? dear GOD I EXPECTED THIS AND YET I AM STILL BAFFLED

- THE FACT THERE IS A TRANSLATOR FOR YALL TALK

- I get why people like Susan, I love the translator bit, the bitchy high atittude, she gets it

- BRO THE FACT KATAGAWA SR IS NEXT TO RHYS IS LIKE 'haha remember how my son wanted to kill you well now another person does'

- "dangerous, yes?" girl it's a glowing rock

- I took around 20 screenshots of Rhys alone 😭😭😭I'm down BAD

- I wish got control of Octavio if he would say Susan is the boss... I feel it's a wasted potential

[arcxnumvitae]

The library was scoured for any lingering patrons before those of the Tengmen Empire sequestered themselves in a quiet corner, speaking in low tones. Xiaodan stood guard a few feet away, on the lookout for any new arrivals. It might look suspicious to be huddled up as they were, but considering the events of the night that were already public knowledge it probably wouldn't be surprising to witness a delegation having a meeting among itself. That is, if it weren't missing a member.

"Where is Zhaohui?" He looked to Zhifeng and Meihui, the two who had remained in the main palace of the Aegis. Neither seemed to have an answer.

"Am I your prisoner's keeper now? He went off somewhere."

Meihui at least seemed more sympathetic. "The last time I saw him was when he was speaking to you after Prince Tristan wounded Princess Chercia. I haven't seen him since, Your Majesty."

Unbelievable. At least there wasn't truly a kidnapping plot going on, but that didn't mean that Zhaohui couldn't have found his own trouble to get into, easily. He resisted the urge to rub at his temples. The night was beginning to wear at him, and it may prove longer yet still.

"We'll circle back to that at the end of the meeting then. Firstly," he looked to Meihui and Zhifeng, "we must fill you two in on what has happened."

After recounting their story, the group fell silent. Huaxiu's own brows furrowed, and he turned to Minglian.

"Princess Allisae told you that her and her children would be leaving? And yet Princess Chercia was also there..." Minglian nodded, biting down on her lip.

"She didn't seem like she wanted to go, but it looked as if it was important that she went with them nevertheless. I didn't get to see much more though before one of the ones present got me out of there." She never did get his name either...

Jianhuren shook their head. "A revelation Emperor Charidynn will not want spreading, no doubt. Yet news of the disappearance of several members of the royal family will be difficult to keep hidden no matter how much he wishes to do so. Perhaps he could buy himself some leeway by claiming Princess Chercia was bedridden by her illness, to buy the time out of the public eye necessary until the guests have left. Still, the guards in the East Castle were knocked unconscious by King Yukaine of Namodia apparently. Who also was roomed there? Greenhaven? We cannot discount the possibility that one of their delegation saw and spread word of anything amiss. Considering the history between them and the Vanystean Empire, we cannot be too certain."

"I don't think any of them saw me around at least," Minglian helpfully offered. Huaxiu rested a hand briefly on her shoulder.

"That's good. The fewer people who witnessed you out and about, the better. I am considering not informing Emperor Charidynn at all of our part in this."

Surprise spread across the other's faces, and it was Meihui who asked, "But why?"

"Partly because an irritant reminded me of several favors I owe, and I can consider the debt repaid with this. Mostly, however, because I think it would be best if we weren't tangled up in this mess at all. Emperor Charidynn will be displeased, no doubt. You can see as much in the way the gates remain raised, and by the increased presence of guards. After seeing the way his own heir behaved unfettered, I would rather we stay as far away and as unremoved from this mess as possible. If there is no one aside from those involved to report to Princess Minglian's presence moving about the East Castle around the timeframe of the royal members escaping, then that is all the better. Which means we all," he fixed his eye on each member present, "will remain utterly silent as to what we just discussed." It was not a request, and all nodded. Even Zhifeng, albeit reluctantly.

Picking idly at their clothing, Zhifeng nonchalantly added, "By the way, there was some sort of explosion at the North Castle. Who knows what that's about?"

Huaxiu couldn't help but gape. "Seriously? That's what that was? 哎呀, always something!"