#Dragon would have to learn the hard way just how Bad it would in fact be lmaooo

[moongothic]

Seen a few people too many discuss the concept of Dragodile Baby 2 and my hot take is that there's no way in hell Crocodile would ever detransition just to go through nine months of horrible dysphoria again, let alone go through pregnancy ever again (or allow Ivankov to even touch him, what if they died and weren't able to trans Croc's gender again afterwards? Hell naw, ain't worth the risk)

But this leaves an opportunity for a Funnier Option:

Dragon wants another baby? Sure, but it's his turn to carry it >:)

[trappolia]

NRC FIRST-YEARS ── as school romances

You've convinced yourself that ACE TRAPPOLA has only gotten into the esteemed Night Raven College by some form of nepotism alone, never mind the fact that students are picked out by the magic mirror rather than a board of directors. He's far too lax in his studies and spends half the time in class playing Papa's Pizzeria and the other half bothering you, much to your misfortune. Unfortunately, even the teachers (who are ever so aware of his carefree nature) cannot do anything about him. No, his parents haven't reached out to them with a bribe to let Ace pass his classes. Yes, he's scored higher than you even though the closest you've seen him studying is him sleeping on his textbook. Believe me, they're just as irked as you are. He's not an outstanding student like Riddle or Azul by any means, but he gets by well enough. You think he does have the capability to score higher in the student leaderboard; unfortunately, Ace seems more content with passing you notes and sending you pictures of your focused expression ("l-o-l, nerd spotted," he types) in the middle of class.

Ever the opposite of his partner in crime (never willingly), DEUCE SPADE has all the motivation to becoming an academic weapon, only to become an academic victim when he sits down for the first midterm. He's certainly not lacking in effort or motivation, everyone knows this; he's just a little… slow. There's no other way to put it, really. You do feel bad; sitting next to him in class lets you see his notes which are, albeit messy, as detailed and concise as can be. He genuinely does enjoy learning when he finally gets ahold of the concept he's supposed to be studying, but the journey to that point is hard and miserable, even for you when you watch him. Perhaps that's why you take up the noble affair of tutoring him… as best as you can, really. You're still a student, after all, and by no means an academic weapon. But Deuce seems to think you are, all bright-eyed and eager whenever you come by the Heartslabyul dormitory or the spot in the library that had somewhere along the lines began to be known as "yours". Whether that makes your heart flutter, you can't really bring yourself to admit with your hectic schedule── but perhaps during school break, you'll give "this" a proper shot.

Your relationship with JACK HOWL had a rocky start, as all random classmates who are coincidentally paired up in every single project do. He was by no means a terrible partner or even a mildly annoying person; no, Jack was, in fact, endlessly polite and mindful of your boundaries, not to mention an efficient student and, by extension, the best project partner when it came to actually getting the work done. The awkward nature of your early relationship was based solely on the fact that neither of you had known each other prior to your first ever project, and for good reason. You shared no common interests, belonged to different dormitories and social circles─ the list went on. So imagine your surprise when your friend rushes to you, red in the face as they tell you about the Jack Howl's crush on you. You almost don't believe it, not until Jack approaches you himself the next day, an odd flush to his cheeks and his friends' colourful heads rustling about in the bushes behind him. Good-looking, he calls you, alongside other simple and sweet adjectives that should not make your heart sing as much as it does. He asks to spend more time with you, to know you better in such a way that is so considerate it nearly brings you to tears. In the end, how could you have said no?

EPEL FELMIER is a daydream in velvet, with the big blue eyes and cherubic expression of every ingenue; the object of a knight in shining armour's affections, the sort of person other guys would climb up a tower for or slay a fire-breathing dragon. This is how you've known him, though you yourself have never participated in the word of mouth of these rumours, simply a bystander. It is not until you first meet Epel when he is without his sweet, doe-eyed facade that you realise the rumours are far from the truth. He curses like a sailor when you practically barrel into him in the middle of the hallway, sending papers flying and the two of you careening towards the floor almost cartoonishly, and you discover how those pretty features of his can just as easily contort into a nasty scowl that would make any 5 year-old cry. You also learn that Epel has just as much little regard for his torn dorm uniform as he has distaste for being nagged at by his dorm leader, and that he is quick-witted in all the wrong ways, seeing you as an escape route. One thing leads to another, and you find yourself playing hooky with the last person you ever thought capable of such a thing─ perhaps the first of many occasions, though you don't quite know this yet.

SEBEK ZIGVOLT is loud. You don’t know him well enough to say that he means nothing bad by it, but you aren’t so chummy that you’d say it isn’t a bother either. Still, the volume of his voice never posed much of an issue to you until your final examination week. Sebek, had he known you earlier, might have blamed your poor time management, but that could have done nothing to change the fact that you were in cognitive overload from trying to jam a whole term’s worth of lessons and lectures into your head on the night before your exams. Capable as he is as Malleus’ vassal, he has no idea what to do when you burst into tears and begin wailing in the middle of the corridor. Of course, his first action is attempt to get you to stop crying, which is essentially not synonymous with actually comforting you; nevertheless, he doesn't directly tell you to shut up and tries to pat your back (albeit a little roughly), so you suppose he deserves some credit. You sniffle, too sleep-deprived and upset to register that you've begun to release all your recent frustrations to poor Sebek── or that he's pulled you to the side of the empty corridor, and now he's just crouching down next to you awkwardly as you ramble on. You find that he's a good listener, and capable of a surprising gentleness when he shares some of his own struggles with you. It's a night not so easily forgotten── and the following morning is the same for your friends when they see the notorious Sebek Zigvolt speaking quietly with you at the door of the exam hall, his ears tinted pink as he stiffly wishes you luck on your exam.

[badkitty3000]

Do you have any head cannons of five as a dad? Like just any head cannons how he would behave but also like how that would change him being in the bedroom (like stamina, pace, etc…)!

Yeah, I might have a few *proceeds to furiously write 1.7k words*

I love writing Five as a dad! He's such a strong character that loves his family, so I can see him being a very hands-on, engaged father. I like to think that throughout most of his life he never would have thought having a family of his own would ever be possible, so that if he did become a dad, it would be the best feeling for him. He would want to give his kid everything he never had, which is a solid family life, and unconditional love. 😭❤️

Warnings: A little mention of sex under "pregnancy" and then the very end section labeled "sex" is smut and sappiness

Five Dad Headcanons

Pregnancy: Five is going to be over the moon excited when he learns you are pregnant with his child. Then, he’s going to become the most annoying person on the planet. He will remind you daily to take your vitamins and make sure you eat healthy and remain active. He will be the one reading all of the pregnancy and parenting books, glancing up every so often to tell you some fact he’s just learned and then making a little note in the margin to refer back to at a later time. He will go out of his way to make sure you’re comfortable and safe, to the point of going overboard and insisting he go with you everywhere. What if you go into premature labor at the grocery store and he’s not there? He better go along. Same goes with all doctor’s appointments. He needs a chance to ask the doctor about a few of his concerns that he read about in the most recent 'OBGYN Journal' article. Your car will be equipped with the safest damn car seat money can buy, and will be installed during your first trimester. Just in case. And if you think this is getting you off the hook when it comes to his insatiable sexual appetite, think again. You are even sexier while pregnant, so be prepared to learn some fun new positions. It’s actually very good for the baby! Trust him, he read all about it.

Newborns: Five actually loves the newborn stage. He can’t resist a good stress-project and thrives on no sleep and caffeine. He’s more than happy to let you sleep in while he gets up to take care of the baby and you’ll often find him passed out on the couch with the baby asleep on his chest. Babies are easy. They’re small, have basic needs, and can’t talk back or walk yet. He’ll adapt to fatherhood right away, and he’s not sure why people make such a big deal out of it; it’s not that hard.

Toddlers: Ok, maybe kids aren’t so easy after all. Why are they so loud? And irritating? And sticky all of the time? He loves his child more than anything in the world, but damn…he is old and tired; can he get five minutes of quiet, please? And what is with these absolutely idiotic kids' shows he is forced to watch? This is why the human population is getting dumber! Make no mistake, he will still be the doting father and take them to the park, read them books at bedtime, and play their little make believe games like tea party or dragon hunters. He loves hearing them laugh and his heart will melt when he feels their little hand in his or he gets a sloppy kiss on the mouth. When they fall asleep in the car, he’ll carry them to bed and stare lovingly down at their little sleeping face while he thinks how lucky he is to be their dad. Until he finds wet Play-doh smashed into the pocket of his favorite suit coat and he starts to reconsider a few things.

Hardship stories: Five’s kid will never be able to complain about anything in life without immediately getting an “I had it worse” story. Parents love to tell their kids how bad they had it growing up, so just imagine the jackpot of childhood trauma stories Five would bestow upon his child. He does not want them to suffer in any way, or get seriously hurt, but if they come home with a scraped knee after falling off their bike, he’s going to have a real hard time being sympathetic. “You know, when I was ten, I broke my tibia in two places and suffered a concussion after defeating an armed man twice my size, and I still had to show up on time for training the next day.” When your teenager is complaining about having to do chores around the house, there will be no end to the list of apocalyptic hardship stories. “Oh, you think mowing the lawn is hard? Do you know what I was doing at your age? Dragging all my shitty things in a rusted-out wagon across a barren landscape under the blazing hot sun looking for water after eating nothing but a can of rotten pears and one very scrawny cockroach. But please…go on.”

Powers: If it turns out that his kid has powers like his, Five would be so happy! He has a little mini-me that he can teach to blink and nerd out with about the physics required to do so! Then he’s going to get scared. What if they accidentally blink themselves into oncoming traffic? Or they try to time travel like he did and get stuck somewhere? His fear is going to bring out some of the worst in him; coming up with strict rules and insisting on constant practicing to make sure no accidents occur. This leads to some major butting of heads between the two of them. That’s where you come in to remind Five that he is not Reginald and he needs to stop acting like it before he destroys his relationship with his own child. Once you make him see that he needs to back off a little, things get a lot better and the two end up forming a strong bond over their powers

School: Five, overall, has no real use for school. Not that he doesn’t want his child to do well academically, because he does. Especially in high school, if their grades started slipping, he would definitely be up their ass about it. But school as an institution in general? Not interested. You won’t be seeing Five at a PTO meeting or volunteering to bring in snacks for a class holiday party. If his child gets in trouble for something minor and the school calls him about it, that’s probably the last time they are going to do that. “Let me get this straight…you called me in the middle of my day to tell me my kid said the f-word in class? Well, here’s a thought. How about you just do your fucking job and don’t fucking call me again unless someone is fucking bleeding or dead? We good here? Great.”

Proud Dad: Five would be so proud of everything his child did and he would tell them so all the time. But he would try and tone it down so he didn’t look so eager to brag about them to everyone he sees. When they are little, he’ll casually point out the picture of a house that is hanging on the refrigerator to anyone that comes over. “See that? Pretty good for six, don’t you think? I mean, I’m not saying it’s a DaVinci or anything, but it’s good right?” If they play sports, he’ll be at every game, but he’s not going to be the screaming, cheering parent in the stands. He’ll be watching everything very carefully, studying all of the players on the opposing team and learning their weaknesses to coach your child on it later. If the ref makes a bad call, though, he’ll be the first one to jump up screaming “Are you kidding me? What are you, blind? That was clearly a foul!” and then mumbling “Fucking idiot” as he sits back down again. At their high school and college graduations, he’ll let his siblings be the loud, whistling, embarrassing people in the crowd as his kid crosses the stage to get their diploma. Five will be standing silently, beaming with pride and trying not to cry (unsuccessfully). 

Sex: Sex after parenthood is different, there’s just no getting around it. In the beginning, you’re both so exhausted that it’s not exactly the hours-long fuck-fests you used to be able to pull off in the past. It’s still good, but it’s straight and to the point so you can get on with your lives or get some much needed sleep. After a while, though, you figure it out again. Five prefers to bang you hard and loudly, but now that’s not an option with little ears in the house. So, he settles on teasing you, instead. “Good girl, staying quiet for me” he’ll whisper with that arrogant smirk while he slams his cock into you with as much force as possible without letting the headboard hit the wall. He’ll get off on the fact that you want to cry out so badly that you’re biting at your lip and digging your nails into his skin. He wants to hear you gasping for air while you bury your face in his shoulder to muffle your moans. Maybe his stamina won’t always be as good as it once was, but that’s usually because he’s frequently getting cock-blocked by his own kid. When he can finally get some, it’s been a while and he’s not exactly performing at the peak of perfection. You better watch out when you have an evening alone, though. Five will happily ship your child off to one of his siblings for the night to get some one-on-one time with you. Now you can be as loud and dirty as you want, and he is going to take full advantage of that. Be prepared to get zero sleep, because Five is going to make up for some lost time. He won’t even wait a full minute after you’re alone before he’s slamming you up against a wall, flattening your body with his and kissing you roughly, or pulling you on top of his lap; his hard-on already straining against his pants while he desperately tries to strip your clothes off. He’s going to fuck you as hard and as long as possible, doing everything he can to make you lose your mind and come all over his cock while moaning his name. Calling him Daddy in the sack might be a little weird at first, but you’ll get past it eventually because he’s never going to get tired of hearing that, and Five is undoubtedly the hottest Daddy in and out of the bedroom. After he’s completely ruined you, he’s going to fuck you softly and sweetly, telling you how much he loves you, because sometimes he misses having you all to himself. Before you fall asleep in his arms, he’ll tell you how happy he is and thank you for making him a father and giving him the life he never dreamed possible  

If you feel like reading more about Five becoming a sexy family man with an eventual wife and son, check out my Halo series on AO3. 🥰

[utilitycaster]

if you're up to elaborating, i would love to hear more about your complicated feelings on Taliesin's reads of this campaign, because that's something that's been itching my brain but I'd been having a hard time pinpointing why and I'm interested to hear your thoughts!

So I think it's best summarized in part as a combination of what was said in this post I just reblogged and these tags from @kerosene-in-a-blender on this post:

#yeeeaaaahhhh#ngl it seems like the characters and parts of the cast got so caught up in the potential moral dilemma of interventionist gods#that they forgot the gods of exandria aren't particularly interventionist#critical role#critical role spoilers#cr spoilers

Ashton feels like they learned something about their own arrogance and assumptions with Shardgate...and then it just vanished. And the fact that Taliesin genuinely read that as what was supposed to happen when like 3-4 authority figures, some of whom (Allura) have existed since Campaign 1 as People To Listen To had said "This is a bad idea" in plain language does give me pause because like...with all due respect, I get why Ashton would do this anyway! But come on, man, how do you hear that and not go "oh maybe it's a bad idea."

I don't want to read in too much to cooldown and 4SD either but I really do just feel that like...some of the cast, and Taliesin isn't alone in this but definitely seems to be using it the most in-game, have come under the impression that the purpose of this campaign is specifically to upend everything we knew...but that idea is just an assumption that is not supported, and as I've said repeatedly, there is no situation in which the world is not drastically changed - there's going to be either a hostile alien invasion, or a friendly alien migration, but either one will be monumental within Exandrian history, and that's not counting the establishment of the Accord/the collapse of local institutions in both the Dwendalian Empire and Bassuras/ If one cannot see any possibility for vast change within the world other than killing/driving out the gods, I don't know how to address this nicely. This is an uncreative and stupid position that I can't engage with because it's so stupid. It's like saying World War II didn't change anything in our world because at the end of it the US and USSR both still existed largely intact. So the over-focus on only one means of change in a way that feels based on an interpretation of this campaign's purpose that isn't even stated anywhere is telling and deeply frustrating.

As the second post indicates, it feels like some of the cast, Taliesin especially, got caught up in a theological argument of divine intervention that personally I had a great time debating in Hebrew school when I was 13, but is not ultimately true in Exandria (or reality, for that matter). On some level it's like maybe read some Harold Kushner and you'll calm down; it feels like you're arguing against like, some very real religious tenets (that are not exclusively Christian for once) but in a story where that's not actually a problem.

I'd throw in that Bells Hells sit in this awkward place of not being nobodies (or Nobodies) anymore but many are still acting like it and Ashton is at the forefront. Indeed, look at the name "the Nobodies." The problem is that Ashton is a Somebody now. He's not like, the ruler of a city, or an ancient dragon, or a god. But they're someone who has the personal raw power and the connections to survive an ill-considered second shard absorption. They're someone who is easily going to survive a fall out of a window, and who can't be bound into service. They are someone who has been entrusted by the world to assist in saving it, and they're too fixated on the gods not personally saving them to consider the vast potential harm to others, and I think it's not inherently out of callousness but rather that they've rather abruptly risen from "orphan criminal who expected to be dead by 30" to "guy tasked to save the world" but they have no option but to rise to the occasion, as the Raven Queen said. To change the world, he must change himself, and I feel like Taliesin, who often enjoys the idea of characters who don't change, is perhaps too wed to that concept for this particular narrative. And, for what it's worth: I've said it before that my personal preference is to keep the gods in place...but I would genuinely be MILES happier with a party that decisively had decided to kill the gods. I would not agree with their decision, but anything is better than this indecision. And since Ashton is pretty staunchly in favor of killing the gods and the rest of the party is varying degrees of strongly against (Orym, Braius), weakly against (Chetney, Fearne, Imogen, increasingly Laudna) and unsure but worried specifically about the mortal impact (Dorian) at some point it's like. Either say "I don't like this, but this is the party's plan" or leave. The decisiveness matters on an individual level too; because Bells Hells does not have good internal methods of resolving conflict for reasons stated above and below, at some point it's like. You have to give it up because no one will make you. If Ashton genuinely cannot or will not yield on this, either commit to betraying the party (totally valid, could be a great story) or have them leave; if Ashton does trust the party, have them reluctantly give in. A party-wide choice must be made and fast. The party is aimless because they are all pulling in different directions and it all cancels out, but Ashton is definitely contributing extensively to that agonizing stasis.

I suppose I should wrap up with what I've been saying a lot but should probably go on this post which is that a lot of the flaws in this campaign are not any singular person's fault. I really do feel like they began with the fact that Matt was clearly building to this specific story, and Bells Hells were not a party terribly suited to it in the first place and then were given an earlier narrative that, because it was heavily on rails to get them to the solstice setpiece, failed to give them the tools to become people who would be prepared for this endgame. I think Matt really wanted the cast to make the decisions here, and did not have a specific decision in mind, and now they're all finding that they're playing characters who can't make that decision. It's a culmination of a lot of smaller out-of-game choices that have failed to gel into a coherent whole. When I say the Raven Queen was right, and if they are not ready for this, to go home, I don't think the party should be tpk-ed or anything, but yeah, if they can't decide what to do when they are essentially tasked with killing the BBEG and diffusing the universe-shattering bomb, they should abdicate. I don't think a story in which the heroes fail is a bad one. I know Call of the Netherdeep has been a touchstone in the fandom throughout this campaign and there's one possible ending to that that's sort of unsatisfying, but the unsatisfying nature itself makes it an interesting story to me. I think this campaign ending with the party saying "we can't do this" is vanishingly unlikely, and complaints aside I think they will probably make a decision now but it all feels exceedingly doylist - Bells Hells are the characters the cast happens to be playing for this climactic final moment so I guess they will play those characters, and those characters will have to make a choice so that the final moment happens, but it doesn't feel terribly organic.

[shorthaltsjester]

It is such a bizarre choice to not have Vex see Percy forgive Ripley. The scene of her talking to him about forgiveness and how it is the only way to grow and how she carved it on Fenthras was such a good scene. Idk if they will still include it in another form now. Not to mention Percy says he forgave Ripley for himself, not for her.

no i doubt they will. and being honest i think this stems from choices they made in s1 with vex’s character that have just echoed down consequences because tlovm vex doesn’t really have anything she has to forgive herself for. she certainly has an ill-built sense of self, but it isn’t based in an actual flaw re: she is not responsible for her mother’s death but she was in fact a thief and frequently selfish during the campaign. but in s1, vex wasn’t really morally questionable in that way, she was just standoffish and cold and dependent on vax. for understandable reasons, she didn’t steal the broom, but she also has no history that’s disclosed to the audience of killing (even in self defense) or stealing and even her gold hoarding is like. one shot in the second episode when they’re fleeing from a dragon hoard. so then it’s hard to have vex be a character where forgiving herself is the sticking point rather than correcting her sense of self. in the campaign it was both because you couldn’t extract her greed (hunger) and self-interest from the fact that she was deeply scarred by her fathers insistence that she could never be enough.

but in the show at every chance they’ve limited vex to having low self-esteem which is fine, but does i think lessen the interest of a character like her if the basis of that low self-esteem is only her trauma and self-defence versus the more. call it self-offence that she did in the campaign. and i think that echoes into the relationship with percy. overall i’ve liked more than i’ve disliked with this version of perc’ahlia, but i do think there was a ramp up in s2 of feeling that hadn’t necessarily been shown developing (time limits time limits 😔) that much, and part of that is the lack of percy and vex reacting to each other being shitty people with hearts in their eyes. because they could both see the pain that was hiding under their shitty actions but were also just. find of the person doing the shitty actions. and ultimately i’ve kind of cut my loses with the level of like. snarky to each other while also being obviously in love and gross about it without ever admitting it to each other because they both have “How Could Someone Like That Ever Love Someone Like Me” complexes but i think im a bit more :( about the aspects of the characters that were truly just like. not good and not clean and not easily dealt with if dealt with at all that didn’t survive it into tlovm. like percy is truly not a good person (he’s not a Bad one either). like he does many many good actions, but he also is very willing to do horrible, horrible things in the name of what he vows to protect. and vex never really sheds the mask she learned to wear. there are people she allows to see through it but it stays for the entirety of c1 and some of matt’s choices suggest it’s something he echoes in portraying her in c3

anyway tldr. i agree about deeply missing the forgiveness percy and vex scene, even beyond the perc’ahlia of it all, it is one of my favourite cr scenes across all the campaigns, but unfortunately is one i’ve suspected to have been cut since tlovm’s version of saundor. i have the most naive of hopes that maybe i’ll be surprised but honestly i think i’d just be more questioning what the point of including that scene without earning it would be.

[thewolfno11-blog-blog]

Read chapter 83, WTF

jefsdhfie.bfvk.esngvnlKkvgnek. EXCUSE ME WHAT?!?!?!. THE HELL DID I JUST READ. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

*One hour later*

Okay..... I am.... calm now....... what a way to end the Sloth arc. More undercut.

First, thanks, Marco. You literally messed up everything. I know you saw that black halo on my son's head. That's your fault. Pointing fingers aside, it seems our favorite priest has truly fallen. You could clearly see how his miracle was tainted, aside from the fact he attacked his friends and colleagues. Honestly, not quite sure how I feel about that. Damn, the exorcist really did fall. I do feel bad for Leah, Barbara, and Mika though. They never wanted Father-kun to go through all this.

The next arc will probably be Pride. I have heard the theory that Mr. Priest and Lucifer are the same. Personally, I would prefer it if that was not the case. Lucifer is considered the first fallen angel. In the entire manga, there have only been 3 mentions of that demon lord. We do not even know what their deal is. I think it would be more interesting for Father-kun to meet the first person who has fallen and learn from them as he has fallen himself now.

Staying on the topic of demon lords. It's super cool that Leviathan helped Mr.Priest out. I am glad he remembered the offer she gave him. Side note she must be pissed. I mean she raised Imuri as her own daughter so if she ever decides to go after Marco. Hope the dude likes sea burials. She's even mad at Mr.Priest "Took you long enough!!". Girl, give him a break. This arc was about sloth anyway, of course, he had a hard time remembering.

Speaking of sloth. I really want to see Bel's reaction too. Like dude and his boy had a proper goodbye and everything. Like, imagine him having 10 maybe 15 minutes of peace and contentment, only to suddenly sense that his boy is in hell with him. Telling you Belphegor will come running as soon as he finds out.

Another thing that has me really excited is that this coming arc we're spending in Gehenna. In the past, I have mentioned that I wanted an arc to take place in hell and I can't believe it's actually happening. That last shot was so cool and were those dragons?!

But let's not forget page 19. We can fix that, right? Right? RIGHT? God, I don't know what will happen to those two. Come to think of it, did the witches even get a demon lord fragment?

Bro, where do we even go from here? I mean stop Satan? Is that even possible at this point? There is also still Baba Yaga we have to be worried about. Do we search for allies in Gehenna?

I am pretty sure that the only people Mr. Priest knows are the demon lords. Levy and Bel will help out. Mammon is a maybe, if my son can beat that guy in a fight I guess it's possible. Asmodeus is also a maybe I guess. Beelzebub probably not. Although he was disgusted by Satan's plan, so maybe. Don't count on it though. If this was all part of his plan, the dude is really shrewd.

Man at this point. Can my son even get a happy ending?

[vorish-wonderland]

Hi again! I think it might be interesting to do a fic where Malleus is the pred and Sebek is the prey? There’s a few different ways you could go with Sebek’s reaction to being eaten. The obvious thought would be that he might be excited, but maybe he’d be kinda scared? It’s up to you!

Includes: Sebek Zigvolt, safe vore, soft vore, semi-unwilling prey, mention of dragon-form Malleus

✭✶Deepest Desire?!✶✭

☆ﾟ⁠.⁠*⁠･⁠｡ﾟ☆ﾟ⁠.⁠*⁠･⁠｡ﾟ☆ﾟ⁠.⁠*⁠･⁠｡ﾟ☆ﾟ⁠.⁠*⁠･⁠｡ﾟ☆ﾟ⁠.⁠*⁠･⁠｡ﾟ

"...ah... are you sure about this, Lord Malleus...?"

"Certainly, Sebek, this is the fastest way of travel, I learned it from the child of man." Malleus looked very confident. "You see, the innards provide safe cushioning and impossibility of falling off while I fly. You will be safe and contained." He paused for a moment. "At least, I think that's what they said..."

"It's just... I would never wish to question you, Lord Malleus... however..." Sebek looks forward into the large, cavernous maw of the dragon in front of him. "I've never heard of this before... and... I don't believe this has ever been documented in any book..."

"No, it has not." Malleus sounded weirdly proud of that fact. "As I have said, the child of man is the one who told me about this, they say they learned of it from a television programme from their world. How interesting, is it not? ...Shroud seemed strangely interested in it as well."

"Wait, so this hasn't even been tested-?!"

"Oh Sebek, There's no way to test something without trying it!" Malleus laughs to himself. "In you go."

Sebek was still quite unsure of this.

Nevertheless, Sebek believed and trusted in his Lord Malleus! He would never lead him astray! And so, preparing himself for whatever may come, Sebek steps into the mouth as it snaps shut behind him.

The throat of a dragon is quite long, and very tight too... quite uncomfortable and slimy... but Sebek, for some reason, did not want to complain. Not just because it was Malleus, but he was... very strangely... excited...?

"See, Sebek? Not so bad, is it~?" He can hear Malleus ask from the outside.

"Uh... well... I..." Sebek is, for some reason, having a hard time articulating his thoughts right now.

"No need to speak, I'll just assume you like it. Now, just sit back and enjoy the flight."

So then, now in the stomach of a dragon... it's surprisingly soft... surprisingly comfortable. Warm, soft, dark, the perfect place for a nap...

Sebek knows he doesn't want to be in here, and he wants the flight to be over already (though he could never tell Lord Malleus that)... however, there's a part of him that wants this to keep going... to stay forever, despite how he knows he truly feels...

...he starts to hear something.

A horrible, unpleasant, screeching noise...

It slowly gets louder and louder until-

BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP RIIIIIIING... RIIIIIIING...

Sebek looks upward, looking at the ceiling of his bedroom... wait, his bedroom?!

BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP RIIIIIIING... RIIIIIIING...

Ah, that's what the noise is... the same thing every Diasomnia student hears every morning, Silver's various alarm clocks all going off at once at 06:00 in the morning exactly.

Sebek was actually fairly glad to wake up, because that means everything that happened was a dream! Being eaten by Lord Malleus, his complicated feelings, his secret excitement about it, it all wasn't real!!

Sebek does his hair in the mirror, gets into his school uniform, prepares everything he needs for the day, and proceeds to the kitchen for breakfast.

Malleus, Lilia, and Silver are also in the kitchen.

"Hmph. Good to see you're awake on time for once, Silver." Sebek says, crossing his arms and closing his eyes proudly.

"Oh, good morning, Sebek! Good to see you so mentally well!" Lilia says to him... for some reason.

"Did you have a good sleep?" Malleus asks, drinking a cup of tea.

"Yes, I had quite a restful sleep, and I feel very well this morning." Sebek explains, lightly hitting his own chest. "Though... I did have a very strange dream."

"Yes, I did too." Silver says. "Actually, we all did, everyone in the dorm. Apparently the "herb" Father used in last night's dinner was actually blushroot... which causes you to dream about your strangest, most embarrassing, deepest desire... one you might not even know you have."

"My mistake!" Lilia smiles.

...

Why was that dream his supposedly deepest desire?????????????????

[darkpoisonouslove]

HotD S02E04

I watched this at 6 in the morning and I have to say that I'm glad I took the risk of ruining my entire day because I loved this episode. It flew by so fast and had me chanting the dragons' names several times. That is not to say that some things weren't questionable or just plain irritating despite actually making sense so lets review:

Daemon was tripping so. hard. These hallucinations are fucking him up real bad and I love it. He's sososososo pathetic. The fucking nerve to just go "Hey, won't you kill your grandfather? It would really help me out." Have fun losing your mind, asshole!

So Alyn and his brother are Corlys' bastards. Corlys gets so little screen time, especially in this second season, and he's still so hateable. At least Otto is funny and a great politician. What does Corlys have? A stubborn refusal to acknowledge his granddaughters despite his wife being denied her inheritance? Anyway, he should have been the one to die instead of Rhaenys.

Alicent, bestie, what the fuck? Not her going around and trying to assuage her guilt by still clinging to the delusion that Viserys might have wanted Aegon to be king. What even is this behavior at this point? Her grandson's death should have confirmed what Otto told her so many years ago - that Rhaenyra pursuing her claim to the throne would kill her children in one way or another. We should be past this by now, my god!

The disrespect to Baela is so unreal. I love that she snapped back. "We StIlL kNoW vErY lItTlE" And without Baela you'd know fucking nothing! The fact that even Rhaenys has to deal with this bullshit and Corlys had to come in after her for everyone to remember their place is just an insult.

Criston haters must be so mad at how he's succeeding despite everyone thinking the odds are against him.

Larys not giving a fuck about Harrenhal is so funny. If he thinks it's useless to them outside of the possibility of it driving Daemon mad, then you know it really is. (I am curious about Larys' feelings on Alys, however.) And the way he bragged about controlling all the finances of Harrenhal. He really drained it and the whole situation back in 1x06 to the fullest, got everything he could and then left the castle and everyone in it to rot.

Aegon at that Small Council meeting, the poor soul! No one gives a shit about him, only enough so to steer him away from messing up their plans. And his brother bullying him back (deservedly so tbh) but I have big question marks about that part. Why would Aegon not know how to speak High Valyrian? This doesn't make sense considering how they later show him being so close and affectionate with Sunfyre. High Valyrian is the only way to control the dragons. Unless Aegon and Sunfyre's bond is so strong that he doesn't even need words to direct his dragon, which is actually such a great implication that I could relinquish my anger about this choice otherwise. For the umpteenth time the writers make choices to make Aegon look bad but the implications just decimate the effect.

Alicent has certainly grown less bothered by Larys or at least learned to hide it better. To be fair it seemed like he'd lost interest in her lately but at the same time, she has been evading him pretty successfully for the last few episodes. Not to the point where he doesn't know everything that's been going on with her but at least enough so that she hasn't had to deal with him. And this conversation was more a veiled communication of the truths they've uncovered rather than her depending on him. I am enthralled with how their dynamic evolves and hope we see a lot more from it. He did run to her first chance he had, though I find it interesting that this conversation is only happening now with Criston out of the way. Alicent's relationship with him is certainly reflecting on the dynamic she has with Larys, much to his chagrin, I'm sure. His behavior towards Alicent is fascinating. He was certainly attacking her, digging into every weakness he noticed, and yet, he validated her "indulgence" and seemed pleased with the conclusions she's reached. It's so obvious he wants to wrest her from her faith and conscience because he identifies with the woman he believes she would be without them. And for the purpose of accomplishing that he's not moving in to decimate her relationship with Criston (tbh they're doing that well enough on their own). He said "It's important that she has sex. Doesn't have to be with me. It just needs to happen to draw her away from clinging to her morals." His obsession with her is so insane and deeply twisted. I can only watch mesmerized. Next they should make him run around trying to fix Alicole, make sure that they're having all the sex. That would be the funniest direction to take this love triangle.

I love how Alys is just toying with Daemon like he's her food. Harrenhal is really not agreeing with him. He is haunted as fuck and it's so funny. Him seeing himself as Aemond especially was 10/10. The implications! Aemond is a kinslayer, who's hurt Rhaenyra the most by taking her child away and the fact that Daemon sees himself as a reflection of that says so much!

Aegon is also having the worst time. The fact that Alicent instantly assumed he's destroyed the books says how much faith she has in his ability to actually consider the consequences of his actions. Unfortunately, I can't defend him because he instantly proved her right about that. However, I believe we're seeing the alternate version of that scene where Alicent found him crying and left play out. This is what would have happened if she'd tried to comfort him back then. She's been angry with him her whole life and it's really been brought to the forefront now when his rash actions have hurt them and she has to face the guilt over her own actions. She's not capable of comforting when she's so angry but while in 2x02 she was looking to avoid hurting him, here she just doesn't care after the realizations of last episode. She's viewing Aegon and his impulsiveness as obstacles (and his temper and recklessness certainly are) but she doesn't care about approaching with care to cultivate the behavior she wants. And I doubt that would work regardless when Aegon has his whole life as proof that whatever he does will never be enough for her but he can't understand the why. He just wants her to love him and he doesn't have all the context of how he - most of all her children - is the embodiment of her pain and suffering. They really are a tragedy and it's heartbreaking. Though, this scene wasn't as bad as I feared. It makes sense for Alicent to act this way despite how frustrating her refusal to deal with her own feelings is. Not to mention the fact that she brought up her own reign with pride and self-confidence. That was more than I could have hoped for!

Jace being so angry with Rhaenyra is the first interesting thing he's ever done but, of course, they refuse to linger more on these feelings and instead give us a bonding moment where Rhaenyra passes down her father's legacy on to Jace. They could have focused a little more on why she waited so long and why he was so angry but I guess we can't have even a little trouble in paradise. I mean, for someone who wasn't sure she believed the prophecy, she sure made it out to be her whole reason to fight for her claim. It's almost like she's in denial about the fact that she's not doing this out of noble intent but because she wants the crown and the vindication of being queen when so many are against it (which doesn't at all mesh with the sense and wisdom they've tried to imbue her with). Her and Alicent are such mirrors when it comes to that.

Rhaenyra wanting to go into battle herself is legit on the same level of bullshit that Aegon is pulling, regardless of motivations. It's almost like she was hoping to get killed so she won't have to bear the consequences of engaging in this war. Again, I know what they intended for this scene to accomplish but it doesn't really do her any favors. If anything, she should have sent more than one dragon to ensure victory. You know Aemond has Vhagar and you're willing to walk into that alone and later send someone else alone? Girl, be serious! It's just bad strategy.

Sunfyre being so playful with Aegon is the cutest thing we've seen on this show. He's like a big puppy. I was, however, literally yelling at Aegon to stop drinking and he did... only to go driving while fucking wasted. What was he thinking? (I know what he was thinking but, god, he's never beating those reckless fool allegations.)

Aegon being grounded both figuratively and literally so fast was just painful to watch. The way that Sunfyre was screaming in pain hurt me personally and Aegon's attitude changed from "I'll show them all. Fuck Aemond in particular!" to "Thank the Seven, my bro is here to bail my ass out of trouble" to "Fuck, I'm cooked!" so swiftly that you know he was regretting probably all of his life choices. He really doesn't use High Valyrian to communicate with Sunfyre, though. The only word in High Valyrian he used was "dracarys". His part in the battle wasn't long but I sure am living for these implications like I said above.

I do hate what they've done with Aemond. If he'd joined sooner, Aegon probably wouldn't have gotten so badly injured. He certainly had it coming but that makes it practically three times Aemond was looking to have him killed in the span of about as many minutes. But the last scene in the woods with his sword drawn? Wow, okay! They decided to really go in full force on that kinslayer title and I just don't think it makes sense. Not after the way Aemond felt guilty even for killing Luke. Aegon bullying him for a minute surely wouldn't have set him off that badly if he felt regret over killing the boy that slashed out his eye. They're just trying to make you hate Aegon by making everyone around him hate him.

Criston scrambling to do PR and fix their image was so funny, though. You know his inner monologue is just "Shit shit fuck shit" but externally he's giving a motivational speech. XD This is what I wanted to see from him being Hand - having to deal with Aegon's whims. While I'd say he failed there, it wasn't like he could do anything once Aegon was on his dragon, and otherwise his plan was pretty good so... Criston keeps winning, I guess.

I love the way that it was shown how Rhaenys is more experienced than both Aegon and Aemond. Vhagar also took some damage in that fight that would have been more fatal if she just wasn't a whole, entire mountain. But at the same time, it wasn't just Vhagar's size that won this for Aemond (though that certainly did most of the heavy lifting). This man rides the largest dragon in the world and he managed to hide it in the midst of battle and ambush his opponent. That certainly took a little strategical thought if nothing else. And then Vhagar's size did all the rest. The boys certainly are not experts in dragon battle and it will be interesting to see them proceed from here on out, see if they've learned anything from this or not. I'm sad to see Rhaenys go so soon. She should have gone back to Dragonstone when she could. Rhaenyra certainly took a big loss with that.

The way I just knew Criston would get knocked out. I was yelling at him to watch where he's going... and he didn't. He survived AND won the battle but at what cost? The way that soldier crumbled to dust under his touch was bloodcurdling. And Criston's prominent worry for Aegon might be the first time it occurred to him that this war could take away the people he loves.

P.S. Why was Aegon wearing his crown on top of his helm? Unless that's another crown that's specifically designed to go with the armor, it shouldn't fit him both with and without the helm.

[feralcatalyst]

Do you have any tips for drawing?

Never stop. Just keep drawing. No matter what your evil brainworms whisper in your ear, no matter what the public or the internet says about it, no matter what you do, do not stop. Take breaks, of course, stretch and refresh yourself with water, but never GIVE UP on drawing. The more you do it, the more you study and watch and learn and the more time you spend actually drawing, the more progress you will make. Hitting a wall? Does what you draw look bad to you? That's GREAT!!! Study what you made, and figure out WHAT and WHY it looks bad to you. Are the eyes wonky? Get to the grindstone and study different styles of eyes, from toony, to realistic, find something that looks and feels good to you, and practice practice practice. Is the hand looking off? Look at your own hand! Look at hands other people have drawn, study and watch and learn and replicate, even tracing and reference is okay so long as credit is given when and where necessary! As long as you are taking steps to learn what you are doing *wrong* then eventually you will find solutions and ways to make them look right! It may take you days, weeks, months, even years, but if you never give up, you will eventually continue improving. My personal art history below the cut for context, I hope it helps and brings some form of inspiration to everyone, even non-artists trying to learn or get into hobbies or new skills <3

I've been drawing ever since I could hold a pencil, so let's say since I was about 2. No one taught me how to draw, as I aged I started to notice that things were 'wrong' with my art and I would work to fix them. I realized very early that most animals don't have 4 legs on one side, so I'd draw two legs and add the "missing" two behind them, I saw the sun did NOT in fact wear sunglasses or have a face so I stopped with that childhood trope, I drew and drew and drew the things I loved the things I wanted the things I found beautiful cool or mysterious. (Dragons and yoshi's...) I was easily the best artist in my elementary school and I won some award for a recycling calendar our whole grade submitted art to.

I started growing up into a cringe teen that loved wolves and anime and emo skater aesthetic. My focus went from free-handing art to learning to do "real" practiced and professional style art, IE sketching the drawing in pencil and then lining it in ink, and then coloring it with colored pencils. I got my first drawing tablet around 13, when i was also old enough to join deviantart. I made fanart for everyone that reached out to talk to me, I drew characters I wasn't used to drawing, I wanted to make people happy so I drew and drew and drew for my friends and artists I looked up to. I started drawing fanart of my favorite tv shows, I dabbled more and more into digital art and I was BAD but I kept at it. I didn't let my mediocrity stop me. I knew I would never get better if I didn't at least TRY. There are no failures in art, only happy accidents. The only time you 'fail' is when you refuse to stop trying. But you can pick the hobby/job/skill back up whenever you ARE ready to try again. It's never lost to you.

Then I got into a car accident at 16. I had a concussion and a traumatic brain injury. I was injured severely enough that I had to relearn how to do… Well almost everything. I had trouble walking, speaking, playing games, and worst of all for me at least, drawing. I couldn't do it anymore. The wires in my brain weren't bridging the right connections anymore, trying to draw was like trying to speak a different language and no matter how hard I tried everything I had in me was just…. gone. I had to start from scratch, a blank slate but this time I had everything going against me, a brain that struggled to remember retain information and learn, and a body that struggled to move and react as I intended. I was so depressed, it took almost a year to get back on some semblance of improvement, and just as I stubbornly refused to stop drawing, I stubbornly forged my path forward. I got into a new fandom, started seriously practicing the human form since before then I'd only focused on animals and fantasy creatures. Yeah I sucked, my anatomy was shit, my understanding of the body the facial expressions perspective it was all off. But I kept doing it.

I started drawing smut when I was 18, it helped me immensely in practicing how bodies could interact, what made poses or people feel rough or stiff, I studied porn and cgi and famous smut artists, i took time to learn what I liked about it, what was right but looked wrong, what was wrong but looked right, how light and textures were supposed to look, I had no obligation to improve I just wanted to. I had striven to keep going and make small steps in the right direction, taking time to study all my old pieces and figure out WHY they were bad, all the things that were WRONG, how how I could edit or fix the issues to a point where I would deem it acceptable. I never deleted any 'finished' works. I can still access my art from when I was a cringe tween, I can see my mistakes from every year I was active on the internet. I also did my best to not self deprecate, I would objectively critique my abilities and pieces and not take any feedback negatively no matter how harsh or scathing it may be. If someone had a strong enough opinion to voice it then I should have a strong enough backbone to listen and hear them out.

I started taking commissions once I felt comfortable in myself and my abilities. I never turned a commission idea down (Unless it was genuinely unethical) and used every opportunity to give MY BEST to my clients. Even if it was content I did not enjoy or characters with complicated designs or anatomy, I vowed to TRY and give my best and if I didn't know how to do or convey something I studied whatever it was until I felt confident enough in my understanding and embraced the challenges as they came. Study, learn, draw, reflect, redraw, rinse and repeat. Never give up. Try new styles. Try new mediums. Just keep trying! Do and do and do and see and watch and study and keep going.

[notebooks-and-laptops]

I'm thinking about the Andraste cult "the disciples of Andraste" who believe that Andraste is now reborn as a dragon and I honestly have so many questions.

According to this codex they're all completely mad because of "inbreeding" by the time we reach them in DAO, but we actually know surprisingly little about them other than the fact that a) they at some point turned away from worshipping the ashes to worshipping the dragon which got them locked out of the inner sanctuary and the gauntlet, b) they looked after the dragons young and eggs and the dragon and her children never attacked them but instead let them drink dragons blood to become revers d) they distrust outsiders and c) their chantry officials are male much like Tevinter but unlike Orlais.

It's implied that the village possibly practices human sacrifice in DAO, although the exact reasons are unspecified (to feed the dragon? Are their mages blood mages? Why? I have questions!!!) And it's also possibly they were just sacrifing outsiders (the knights of Redcliffe) who managed to find their village? Other than that, there is little to learn by walking through the original haven.

Nothing much more is revealed by the series of quests you can do on the wartable about Haven in Inquisition either (much to my own disappointment). They point to the fact that the cave systems and the temple were built pre-andraste, but they kind of trail off in a very unsatisfactory manner regardless of which agent you pick to complete them.

We also have Tamar who was imprisoned by the inquisition and then began to fight for them to secure her freedom. She has some very interesting dialogue:

"Your Chantry goes belly up, the Inquisition steps in. Always something to keep the same people in power."

"The gilded Chantry says only one truth exists. And its servants lie, steal, kill to make it so."

This reads almost identical to what I would imagine the Dalish might say; and cast the cult in a very different light to "inbreeded mad men". From these quotes and other context we get the idea that she belonged to a group who secluded themselves and kept their own traditions away from regular society, and so her people were slaughtered to preserve the chantrys "truth" and deny her own. Even with the dragon gone (possibly dead) she still believes in her cults traditions and is faithful!!!! (Let me talk to her more PLEAEE.) But regardless, this is about as sympathetic as the games really get towards this cult.

So....what were they? I'm so facinated by these guys.

Because like. They clearly have different ideas about magic, ideas possibly handed down from Andraste herself? Or ideas that developed later? Regardless they have many mages in their group and there isn't any evidence those mages are restricted in any way. If anything their mages are sent to do important things like be the main religious leaders or to impersonate Wylen. Their ideas might honestly be closer to the Avvar which would make some sense geographically (did they have contact with the Avvar? Did they trade with them? Farming would have been hard in their snowy mountains as we know from needing supply routes to Skyhold/Haven in DAI so other than hunting, did they have contact with these groups or not?)

And I have MORE questions!!! Did they have similar religious holidays to regular Andrastism? How did they see Andrastes death most pre and post the arrival of her reborn dragon self? Did their belief in reincarnation spread beyond the dragon (to people as well) or was it something special that had only happened to Andraste? Did they have any religious texts that were important - maybe oral history was particularly favoured in this group like with the Dalish? If so, any oral history dating back to Andraste would have died out when the cult itself did.

I want to anthropologically study these people so bad and like learn everything there is to know but unfortunately they are fictional and in a game and bioware doesn't seem to have any plans to develop them so :/

[duraxxor]

Good Morning

This is a story designed to catch all of you up on recent events. And is told from the perspective of the duality that is Duraxxor. Please enjoy!

A phrase that I have not known for some time. There was always this bittersweetness in basking in the rising of the day star. The myriads of hot colors that are often shown through in the atmospheric reflection that is our skies. It’s like… an ozone autumn one may say. It always reminded me of the Sin’dorei homelands. Wait, why does it also remind me of… someone?

“A dragon. It reminds us of that dragon of Azeroth’s blood. Delicious blood as it is, Azalora is a fresh slate. Much like we were. Or should I say… I was. Fate has dealt her a chance, unlike I. “

Hmmmm. A fresh dawn, one might say that one is. That’s right, meeting her was an interesting turn of events to start off with returning to Azeroth. Life always seems to find a way, in the strangest of places. That includes unlife. As logical as her mind is, she still has a lot to learn in her experiences.

“And that isn’t just about how she likes her cut of meat and flavor? Everyone knows there is only one way to eat a steak. Hahahaha… “

Ha! I do hope that we meet again soon. It was a most pleasant experience to have a new face to look at you as helpful and not entirely a threat. Although, that may come back to bite one in the tail. Wait… Why am I talking to myself?

“Really? We have fought against aberrations and had voices in your head so many times and you are surprised to be speaking to yourself of all people? Oh Alphus, you really haven’t been yourself for some time, have you? I suppose that comes with the fact that we haven’t been whole for so long. It reminds me of the current conflict between the Gravekeeper and the Courier. Oh, that was a most painful night, one I won’t soon forget. “

Ah. I take it you are the part of me that is Duraxxor, the name we have gone by for the past what? Decade?

“It’s been a little over fifteen years, old friend. “ 

Old friend? Look, we aren’t exactly separate entities like the two involved. You aren’t a leftover of my past; you are every bit as part of me as much as I may dislike the notion of me being a blood sucking monster. Why do you think you chose to meet with the Courier and hear her story out if she so wishes to share it?

“On the contrary, I have my pessimistic opinions that she won’t fully share. Remember, while Annaliese Handhour is a death knight, she was also a warlock in life. And with warlocks come complicated stories. Complications that they wish to not share. That is how we wound up absolutely getting our shit rocked when we tried to bargain with the Gravekeeper. We overstepped a boundary line, one might say. “

As if you really hoped to care about overstepping boundaries. That’s always been your specialty in these desolate years of conflict. Let us hope she at least forgives us for doing so in the future. Then again, you already plan to tread in waters that could already place her on our bad side by meeting with the Courier.

“Now see here, I have betrayed no one’s trust. If anything, there have already been a few betrayals already. When one doesn’t quite share their details, it is already a sign of bad faith and trust. And after we worked so hard to bring her back from her second death. “

Didn’t we also have a second death? . . . 

“That is highly exaggerated. That was merely a setback, and we are fortunate enough to have had the Lady in Red as a dear friend. An ally who understands the raw potentials of what it is we have tried to accomplish! An evolution that will secure our birthright to no longer be a curse! A monster fraternizing with another monster. “

Is that really what you tell yourself? You and I both know if she had to choose between herself and us, it would always be herself. Even so, I can’t help but feel like I know her from the past. A deep, forgotten memory that goes all the way back to my childhood? Why do you think that is? 

“That is precisely the point I wish to make about your confusion in speaking amongst yourself. Though the name Duraxxor may have come from the Scourge itself, I have always lived within you, Alphus. I am as much Alphus as you are. And yet, I am your shadow within your soul. “ 

. . . The darkest thoughts that were born from our curse. The beast of rage and the chaos that swirls within our heart. You mean to tell me you are exactly what was learned within the Shadowlands? You are that fragment of my soul that is foul and destructive? 

“I suppose if you wish to look at it that way? Yes. Except I am the beast, as you put it, that has kept us ongoing ever since you crumbled into tiny, little shards of a mirror that were once your core memories. Memories that have only returned because we finally. . . “ 

You are trailing off. You realize it too, don’t you? The woman before us at this moment. She was the key, and she has always been that key even before I died. I wish I had known sooner who I originally was in life. I wouldn’t be sitting here, holding her hand with a severed ring finger. My beloved wife. . .

“It’s not entirely your fault, Alphus. What could you do? If anything, it was my fault. It was I who chose to believe in the bitter rumors that were plastered into the minds of even our blood children. Ravlynn and Aiden couldn’t know. The legacy of that foul man was nothing more than a children’s bedtime story in their hearts. Instead of investigating that claim all those years ago, I bitterly snarled and refused to acknowledge the emotion that is love born of understanding and kindness. That is why I made the mistake of trying to wed one of my own kind. A lie in a lie. All this time, I had been chasing pieces of your wife because of old emotions I didn’t quite understand. Because as much as it pains me to admit, I am quite the malevolent thing when it comes to what makes Duraxxor. “ 

We both have our sins, Duraxxor. I have over five hundred years' worth of questionable morality. It’s not about the wrong and right we do. It’s about how we choose to live. To fight. People live and they also die. For what purpose, that is up to them even if another force chooses to intervene. And this lady. This woman. She chose to continue to live even in the worst possible conditions because she chose to hold onto hope. Hope that WE will come for her. 

“Hmph. You mean YOU come for her. This isn’t some fairy tale that w- “

Cutting yourself off again, I see. You know that was always a nasty habit. Tell me, how did the story go again? The one she told the kids. You heard it once from them, right? 

“. . .Once upon a time there was a monster, most feared by all in the land. It was a terribly angry thing, all teeth and claws. Where it walked, death followed close behind. There was also a very sad princess, who lived in the land. They say she cried so much that she put the rains to shame. The king and queen wanted the princess to marry a grand duke, but he was ugly and wicked. Rotten straight to the core. The princess cried all day and all night, because she didn’t love the duke. She could never love a man like him.”

And with good reason. Ostidal Tindervale always was quite the pisspot of a noble.

“Now that I have had the luxury of meeting that excrement, quite so. Anyhow, she told the man that she didn’t want to marry the duke, that her parents were leaving her no choice. The man took her hand, stared deep into her eyes, and told her she -always- had a choice. “

Oh, that sounds vaguely familiar. It almost sounds like something you have said once before. That WE have said before. There is always a freedom of choice.

“Are you going to keep interrupting me? The man told the princess that she could run away. He took her far away… and even though her family sent many men to retrieve her, the man killed them without mercy to protect her. that he would protect her, help her get far away from there so that she could finally be free. He was so brutal in his efforts, that it was only a matter of time before the princess realized that the man who saved her was also the monster that everyone else feared. It didn’t matter to the princess though, because by then she’d realized that she’d fallen for the monstrous man… and he was with her. “

Here comes my favorite part of the whole thing. . .  

 “They ran away together, married, KISSED… and lived happily ever after! ~ Mwah Mwah Mwah Mwah!~ “

It’s a wonder you and I haven’t died more than twice with how insufferable you can be, you know that? Do you understand now what I am getting at?

“Of course I do! Duke the puke was a horrid pisspot that never let things go. History has a tendency to repeat itself and the monster in the story was always. . . Me. “ 

It was you and I both, wasn’t it? That numb feeling even before death where one after another, we killed people that threatened our livelihood. Her livelihood. It didn’t matter who they were, what their status quo was, or even if they were the Regent Lord himself, we fought for what we felt was the right choice to make. We didn’t let others dictate it. The shadow that turned monster because the world labeled us the moment we came out of the womb. 

“And speaking of Arrydhalia, I believe it’s time I let you have the floor completely. I have… certain, internal affairs to take care of. I’m sure you will intermingle really soon. “ 

The timing was always impeccable for us both. But, as usual, he wasn’t a dishonest creature by any means. I looked upon the face of the storyteller that had passed my legacy onto our children through story. Sunken eyes with discolored skin begin to crinkle and stir as the light of the daystar bled through the window. The grasp onto the hand that lacked a wedding finger tightened. Where said finger would interlock like, the tips of chew nubs pressed against one another like some sort of a pact. No other would have this finger, just as she promised in her own, darkest hour. And yet, as the light caressed her dark curls and brought those azure eyes to creep open, I felt this desire to sing an unfamiliar song about the day.

So Good mornin’ Good mornin’ Sunbeams will soon smile through. Good mornin’ Good mornin’ to you and you and you and you.

[ Tagging for direct mentions: @azalora-the-azerite-dragoness , @gravekeeper-anna , @safrona-shadowsun , @sanguinesorceress , and a special thank you to @nyyght not only for Arrydhalia's character but the fairy tale story that started it all. ]

[ Art credits also go to the following: @frrrozi for Azalora, @handhourgalleries for Gravekeeper and Safrona, and @caladhel-iarian for Malakortana and me for the shot of Arrydhalia sound asleep. ]

[musicoftheheart]

i am not in a Positive Mood atm and so i will be picking a bone with disney because there is one song that has frustrated me since the day i heard it and i vow here and now that one day i will rewrite it and that song is My Once Upon A Time from descendants 3

for context, the song comes right after all of mal's closest friends and her fiance have just been turned to stone. unless she can find a way to turn them back, they are - for all intents and purposes - dead, essentially. and, as she says in the song, its her fault. i dont 100% agree with that, but its not the bit i want to pick at

no, what id like to rant about is the fact that the whole song - the whole song - is her talking about how she needs to fix it because its not how she wants to be remembered. what?! im sorry, her friends have been turned to stone and shes concerned about whether she'll be portrayed as a hero in history books? what the fuck.

allow me to point to a song that achieved exactly what mouat shouldve: the next right thing, from frozen 2. in this song, anna learns her sister is dead, because olaf (who's life relies on elsa) dies in her arms. anna's song shows how she picks herself back up, not for herself but because she has people relying on her who need her. because its the right thing to do. not because she wants to be seen as a saviour, but because she wants to save the lives of everyone still in danger. shes already lost her sister, she doesnt want to lose her kingdom, her people, too.

tnrt in frozen 2 was an impactful and emotional moment. mouat in d3 showed mal brushing off the fact her friends were gone and instead focused on her reputation. and i get it - i get that the whole point of the descendants trilogy was that you get to write your own story, and that nobody is wholly good or bad, and that youre in control of your own decisions and whether they help or hurt - but this should be a moment of pure emotion for mal as she recognises how her own actions have led to the loss of her friends, but that she has to carry on if she ever wants a chance to save them; to save everyone. it should not be focused on her being good for the sake of reputation

and, to add to this, im fully aware that throughout the three movies, we see how mal values other people's perception of her, especially so at the start of d2, and then again at the start of d3 both as her role as future queen, and when she doesnt tell her isle friends that it was her call to keep the barrier closed. shes afraid of how theyll see her, yes, but we had the character growth during d2 where mal became more confident about not fitting with the perfect princess look (represented by her transformation into the dragon, and continued use of such magic despite it coming from her evil mother, as well as her dress changing from auradonion colours to her signature purple), so any insecurities there shouldve been wrapped up. and her lies in d3 were, ultimately, for the good of everyone, and only temporary. the barrier had to stay closed until they could figure out a way for it to be safe for everyone. if she had let them bring down the barrier too soon and a villain had caused chaos, then that would ruin the chances of the barrier ever coming down forever. and if she had told her friends - specifically evie - that it was her call, then she knew that evie would convince her to change her mind. but changing her mind at that point was not for the greater good, therefore she lied. as much as a small amount of it was for her reputation among her friends, it was also for the good of auradon and the isle

therefore i refuse to believe that muoat shouldve been focused wholly on her reputation. we know mal cares so much about her friends and about ben, so why didnt the song dive into that? why were we not looking at her guilt, or her determination to carry on so that she could save her loved ones and her home? why, instead, did we focus so hard on the way she wants to be remembered for her heroics and good deeds?

i also understand that mal may be compartmentalising to an extent, by ignoring her own grief for her friends and instead focusing her attention elsewhere to keep herself going. she very clearly does have insecurities about her decisions and her role in auradon, so it would make sense to distract herself with that rather than letting herself break down over her friends. if this was what they intended, though, i think it was poorly done. at least, i certainly wouldnt have brushed past it quite so nonchalantly. mal hardly seemed to care that her friends had been turned to stone after the first - what - two lines of the song? and even then all she says is that she deserves it. she deserves it?? like it had just been a shove in the playground or something, and not an attack on her loved ones - one that, remember, could very well result in her losing them forever

quite literally, her only lines in the song about losing her friends are: "here you are alone and you deserve it // your friends have turned to stone and thats on you" and that is it. everything else is about her story being written, or about serving a cause, or her reputation not being linked to her parents'

i really do not like this song. i havent watched d3 for over a year, so i do apologise if ive missed/forgotten important context, but from everything i remember and listening to the song itself, i do not believe it does the moment justice. i want to rewrite it one day, ive no idea if i ever will or how, but i dont like it the way it is.

[jeffsfavoriteknife]

Can I req some Toby x male reader?

Where reader likes to wear collars, but they’re always covered up by long shirts and jumpers.

& Toby is just really into and it and wants to fuck reader on the spot the moment that he spots it?

Yes you can!!! I hope i got what you were looking for but if i didnt my excuse is its about 3 am and im exhausted. Tumblr doesnt give me inbox notifs either so im sorry i delivered late! Enjoy 🫶

(18+ male reader x toby! Fic)

You knocked on his door loudly, the door opening as a tall man let you in. This was your best friend toby, you both had known each other for a while and often had occasional gaming sessions, he didnt game much but when he did, it was amusing to see him get riled up about loosing. You had completely forgot to take your collar off that you enjoyed wearing in the comfort of your own home so you were glad you had thrown on your way too big at the sleeves Garfield shirt, it was long but big enough to hide most of the collar, hopefully toby wouldnt notice.

Toby angrily huffed as he lost for the 3rd time in a row, you giggled in victory. “Its not that bad toby, you just gotta learn how matchups work, dragon doesnt work against fairy silly” he seemed to smile and chuckle to himself a bit before freezing, you hadnt caught on that he had noticed the bright blue of your collar poking from your shirt. He grabbed your hand and yanked you forward, ignoring your yelp as he looked at it closer, his eyes werent lying to him, you had a collar on. “Did you wear this just f-for me?” Your face dropped as blush creeped into your face, entirely coating it as you hesitated to answer, did you wear it for him? You could have taken it off before you headed over to his place but the fact you didnt had you questioning yourself. “M-maybe”

What happened next was a blur to you, for some reason the collar made him loose his shit, his hands were all over you, his mouth on yours with his tongue shoved down your throat as you had give up trying to fight for dominance long ago, his hands down your pants as they feverishly gripped at your ass. He pulled away from your mouth, saliva dripping down his chin as he stared at you, huffing as he gripped your legs and spread them wide open causing you to hide your face in shame. You were rock solid, even through your jeans it was so plain to tell that toby made your body react in the most beautiful ways. He grabbed at your belt, undoing it before grabbing your wrists and tying them up with it before yanking your pants and boxers down with ease. Your eyes looked up at him as he yanked off his as well, however slight panic set in as you looked down at his cock, he was big and you had no idea if he could fit. “O-oh toby i dont know if thats gonna-“ he silenced you by turning you on your belly with your ass up to him “it w-will, ill make it fit” he spread your ass open and spit on your hole, coating it in his saliva as he also spit on his hand and pumped himself a bit. His hand pushed onto your back, making you lean down more so he could raise your ass a bit higher as he positioned himself.

He spent no time shoving himself in you, making you cry out in pleasure and pain as he immediately bottomed out in you, your legs shaking already just from the sheer size of him. He untied your hands and grabbed them, one on each side of you so he could pull you by your arms and started ramming into you, your head leaned back as his cock started railing into your prostate, if you had known tobys weakness was collars you would have worn them way sooner around him. “Your so f-fuckin pretty with it wrapped around yoir n-neck” he complimented you, his words going straight to your cock as you struggled desperately not to cum “wouldnt it be b-better if it had my name o-on it?” With this said he bit into your neck hard, no doubt leaving a mark, this had cum spurting out of your cock and you wailing his name like an absolute whore. He gripped your arms tighter, pounding into you a few more times before pumping you full of him cum. You laid down fully on his bed, the smell of his sheets slowly putting you to sleep, but the sound of jingling made you move your head to look at toby, he was taking one of his dogtags off and sat u up, putting it onto the hoop of your collar, you looked down at the tag and read it, it had his name on it, with this you smiled

[sorinethemastermind]

Sorpeli Week 2025 | Prompt: Heart/Care

 Soren is a lot sneakier than people give him credit for.

 He waits in one of those weird little passages Kpp’Ar loved so much he found until everyone in the infirmary has gone for the night and all the lights have gone out. He knows that sneaking around in the dark right after being pardoned by Ez- King Ezran probably isn’t the best look, but he couldn’t think of anything else to do. It’s not like he can go waltzing in and ask for help.

 Well, he probably could have. If he’d wanted to.

 Instead he waits until no light seeps into the corridor through the tapestry that conceals it before pulling the heavy fabric aside and stepping out into the infirmary. In hindsight, he probably could have waited a little longer, just to be sure everyone was gone. But broken ribs hurt, okay? So much that he was almost reconsidering Claudia’s offer of Dark Magic healing. Almost.

 Soren stepped out into the darkened room, taking a passing glance around before letting the tapestry fall back into place behind him. He would be in and out, he told himself. All he needed was a little something to help with the pain. Then he would-

 “Soren?” 

 He nearly jumped, and probably would have, had both his legs been capable of holding his weight. Instead Soren spun awkwardly, crutch scraping on the hard stone tiles, to see who had spoken. Opeli was standing in the doorway, eyes wide and alarmed, a candle held before her. The flame stuttered, casting ominous shadows across her face.

 Soren gave her his widest smile. “Hey, Opeli! Long time no see.”

 “I saw you this morning.”

 “And that feels like… way too long, don’t you agree?” he tried, grin feeling more like a grimace.

 The High Cleric just sighed, the little candle flame flickering as her breath disturbed it. “How did you even get in here? I didn't see you come in.”

 She raised an eyebrow, and Soren could tell she was getting suspicious. Alright, maybe getting wasn’t the right word. Was already incredibly suspicious. 

 “I… couldn’t sleep,” he said, making his way gingerly over to a nearby cot and sitting down. He let out a small sigh of relief as the weight left his injured leg. It wasn’t a lie. He had been unable to sleep. "So I just... poked my head in here. Thought I'd see what was up."

The High Cleric's lip quirked (he wasn't sure what that meant), but then her expression softened. She left the doorway, walking into the room and setting the candle down on a nearby table. “How did this happen?” she asked, gesturing to Soren’s bandages and crutch and, well, everything.

 He ran a hand through his hair, “I, uh, slayed a dragon.”

 She raised an eyebrow.

 “I tried to slay a dragon,” he amended. “But it turned out to not be totally, uh, dead. So yeah.”

 “You’re lucky to have survived with so few injuries,” she said, giving him another look over. 

 Soren glanced away. “Yeah. Lucky.”

 Opeli raised her eyebrow again (she seemed to do that a lot, when she talked to him, at least) but Soren didn’t offer any explanation. Seeming to make peace with the fact she’d be learning no more of what he might have meant, she walked to a nearby cabinet and opened it, fishing around inside.

 “There’s not much I can do that hasn’t already been done, but I should be able to give you something to help you sleep.”

 “I’m fi-”

 “You wouldn’t have come to the infirmary if you were fine,” she cut him off before he could even begin, and Soren snapped his mouth shut, not having anything to say that would contradict that point.

 Instead he watched the High Cleric as she took a bundle of lavender and plucked each of the little dried flower buds off the sprigs, dropping them into a small mortar and pestle. She ground them up, taking other herbs and things off the shelves and adding them to the mix. It reminded him of the way Claudia would make spells and things, but not icky or gross. And it didn’t smell bad, either. Actually, it smelled kind of nice. Like the tea his Mom would make when his cough was really bad and-

 “Hey, Opeli?” he said, the silence suddenly too heavy. “Can I ask you a weird question?”

 She didn’t look up from what she was doing, but he could tell somehow that she had raised an eyebrow again. If she kept that up, he thought, it would probably become permanent.

 “Your questions always tend to be odd, Soren. That has never stopped you before.”

 “Do you remember when you knighted me?” he asked, not entirely sure where he was going with this, but suddenly desperately needing to know.

 Opeli paused. Then, “Yes.”

 “You sort of… well, you kind of scowled. Why did you do that?”

 “Oh,” then Opeli did pause in her work, turning to face him. She was frowning, but it didn’t seem directed at Soren, for once. “I didn’t know you’d noticed that.”

 “I mean, a little,” Soren admitted. He didn’t tell her, though, that he had thought about it afterwards for days. Wondering what he had done. How he had already managed to let her down, even before they had been formally introduced. 

 He remembered her, from when they were kids, and his mother used to bring him and Claudia to the temple. She hadn’t seemed to dislike him, then. She’d smile at them as they came in, greeting everyone and helping them to their seats as Avelina began with the opening prayers. Claudia always complained about how long the congregation gathered for, but Soren had liked it.

 “Is it because we stopped going to the temple?” he asked, looking at her. “After… cause my Dad didn’t bring us?”

 Opeli sighed, “No. It wasn’t that.” she seemed to be mulling the question over in her head, as though searching for words. Eventually, she shook her head. “But it was because of your father.”

 Oh, Soren thought. It usually was.

 “But I should not have held that against you. And I should not have let my personal feelings be so present. The knighting is a ceremony between a soldier of the kingdom and a cleric of Lady Justice, not between you and I.”

 “What was it, about my Dad?” Soren pushed. 

 Opeli turned back to her herbs, pouring them from the mortar and into a small infuser.

 “You reminded me of him,” she said, finally. Then she looked back at him with those grey eyes. Not cold, like Viren’s. But sort of warm despite their lack of vibrance. Pretty, even. If you could think those sorts of things about a cleric of Lady Justice. 

 “But I was wrong.” Opeli told him, “You are not like Viren. You have a good heart. And you are true to it. Or, you try to be.”

 She turned back to her herbs and Soren just stared at the back of her head for a moment, sort of grateful that those piercing eyes weren’t on him anymore. Like if they turned back to look at him again, they might see all the parts of him he tried to hide. And he’d gotten good at hiding them, too.

 He didn’t know if it was a good feeling or not, having someone notice them. Maybe not.

 Soren glanced back down at his feet. “I think you’re right.”

 Opeli snorted, “Very humble, oh knight.”

 “No. I meant, about my Dad. I think I am like him.”

 That caught Opeli’s attention and he felt her eyes on him again, piercing through the layers of armor to the truth underneath. Soren’s voice grew fainter. 

 “My Dad… he has one idea of what’s right. And it’s what helps the most people. So that’s got to be right, you know? The thing that saves the most people has to be the right thing. But what if… what if to help a lot of people, you have to let one person get hurt? I don’t know-” Soren stared at his hands, clenching them into fists as they began to tremble. “-I don't know if it's right, then. I don’t know if I’m strong enough to do that. To do the right thing.”

 “That doesn’t sound like you are like your father, then.” Opeli observed.

 “But I want to be,” Soren looked up, meeting those familiar grey eyes. “I want to be strong enough to do the right thing. I have to be.”

 “There’s more than one way to be right, Soren.” She said. She considered the infuser in her hand, it’s bundle of herbs still filling the room with their pungent scent. “Why are you actually here?”

 “I couldn’t sleep... and Clauds offered to do a Dark Magic healing spell but… I didn’t want to do it. I said it didn’t even hurt,” Soren admitted, looking down again. “But-” he let out a little laugh, wincing at the pain in his ribs. “-that was kind of a lie.”

 Opeli held out the infuser to him, “Here, this should help. With the pain, a bit. But mostly with sleeping. Make it into a pot of tea.”

 “Thanks, Opeli.” He took it from her, taking a deep breath despite the twinge his lungs expanding sent through his chest. It really did smell like the tea his Mom used to make.

 “It’s an old recipe,” Opeli said, seeming to read his expression. “I believe you should be familiar.”

 He looked up at her, surprised, and she gave him a rueful smile. “You have become quite fond of flirting with death, Soren. Perhaps find a better recipient for your affections. ”

 “Yeah. Maybe,” he said with a small laugh, looking back at the bundle of herbs in his hand. He closed his fingers over it, holding it close.

 The cleric sighed. “Now the hour is late, and I must be getting to bed. As should you. Tomorrow is going to be a long day.”

 “Today felt pretty long,” Soren said with a little chuckle, throwing her a half smile.

 Opeli picked up her candle again, moving to the doorway before she glanced back at him over her shoulder. “Every day is a long day.”

[final-milf-ratchet]

Dreadwing/Optimus/Magnus/Predaking again

Optimus and Ultra Magnus have been separated for soo long, they don't even know if the other is still alive..

Optimus is so happy that Dreadwing agreed to live with them, he really had a feeling something bad would happen otherwise.. The rest of the team gets used to Dreadwing at varying speeds (Arcee being chill with him is so funny but also I can see it perfectly). But Optimus *really* gets attached, spending a lot of time with Dreadwing (which makes sense, he's the team leader and the one who convinced Dreadwing to stay !)

Optimus and Ultra Magnus are SO relieved once everything calms down and they can finally rejoice that the other is still alive.. Despite all this time spent lightyears apart, despite the War, they're together again and still as in love as ever..

Though of course, Optimus is quick to explain to Magnus how Dreadwing joined them, how he's gotten attached to him and how he thinks it's more than friendship.. They have a long talk - while cuddling in bed - and Magnus ends it by giving Optimus his blessings to pursue Dreadwing.. though now he really wants to learn to know the guy better ! It's no small feat to snatch his husband's heart.. (Magnus and Dreadwing do form a friendship, at the same time Optimus and Dreadwing get involved romantically)

Then somehow Magnus, after being taken during the fight, convinces Predaking of their side of the story, and soon enough he's coming back to the team with Predaking, and there's some weird thing going on there as well.. Optimus is wary, but as long as Magnus is happy then he is as well. And Predaking seems to get along with Dreadwing - they're both warriors of honor etc, they have quite a few things in common - so really, all is good...

Oh my GOD. Dreadwing and Magnus are already pretty big mechs (a truck and a jet !) but Optimus is HUGE, and Predaking, somehow, is even more huge. The space they take up standing is already a lot, but laying down ? It's ridiculous. Of course, Dreadwing and Predaking HAD to curl up together, no other way around it..

The first thing they do, when everyone is getting settled after winning the War.. is get the biggest berth ever, so they can all cuddle up together and be comfortable..

Now. They have an appropriately sized berth. Perfect to pin down their blue boyfriends.. Dreadwing and Magnus are clingy in bed, so whenever they can they're kissing and holding hands.. Optimus and Predaking LOVE watching them do that as they rail the two into the berth.. watching their kiss get more and more messy the longer they go, until Dreadwing and Magnus are basically just holding and nuzzling each other..

luckily nothing bad ever happened to Dreadwing :) never ever :)

augh.... Optimus and Magnus cuddling and talking about how their lives have been since they last saw each other... Optimus telling Magnus more about Dreadwing..... Magnus HAS to get to know the mech whos captured Optimus' spark!!! Magnus and Dreadwing fwiendship 🥺🥺🥺

Magnus somehow convincing Predaking to at least listen (magussy)(actually it was facts and logic™ and mostly Magnus being a fairly stoic put together guy, but also the magussy definitely was a factor)

ohhhhh noooooooooooo Predaking and Dreadwing have to cuddle. oh no 😈😈 Dreadwing has to be the little spoon to his big buff dragon boyfriend-in-law 😈😈😈 (meanwhile Magnus and Optimus are having very soft cuddle time) a massive berth is a MUST!! maybe its a gift from the other autobots (and because they're tired of hearing everything)

hehehheheheheheheh 😈😈😈😈😈 Magnus and Dreadwing being fucked so hard they can only cling to each and moan~ it's so embarrassing for them at first, but Optimus and Predaking are both SO into it, seeing their cute boyfriends make out is so hot! Ehehehehehe... After they're done they give Dreadwing and Magnus a break, and then they switch sides 😈😈😈😈

[dardinan-ingellvar]

Interview About Emmrich

(These are the questions asked about Dorian toward my Inquisitor. Figured I'd answer them about Emmrich this time) Hello, Dardin'an.

Hello!

How are you doing?

Alright, could be better, I suppose. Bit worn down after the whole 'fighting two gods' thing...But I'm good.

Let's begin.

1. Who is your partner? Tell us a bit about them.

Emmrich Volkarin. He's a professor in the Necropolis, smart, charming, kind, witty....handsome as hell, and quite the silver fox...

2. How did you meet, and how did you get together?

Oddly enough, we never actually met during my time learning under the Mourn Watch...I'd heard his name float around, I think...It sounded familiar anyway. And I always got the feeling we'd met before, but...Ah well...We met after a bit of a catastrophe involving two dragons in two different cities...I picked Treviso...but it wasn't enough, and we needed a dragon expert, and a Fade expert. The first time I saw him, his head was a glowing green skull, but I fell hard and fast. And then he showed his true face after a few moments, and I was done for. He was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen...Somehow nostalgic, like filling a void I didn't even know I had. After some light flirting, a couple dates, and almost being lost in the Fade forever, we made it official...I mean, I was bound to him the moment I laid eyes on him, but...You know...'official'...*wink, wink*

3. What is your partner's best physical feature?

His smile, his eyes, his hair, his mustache...his height...I really might be able to list every single thing.

4. Name one hobby or passion of theirs.

Hmm...I mean, he is big on alchemy, and he has numerous collections...books, skulls, jewelry...I think that last one might be the strangest. And he has this one bracelet he says started it all...I swear one of my first lovers had one just like it, but it looks custom...And I don't remember which one, even though I seem to remember giving them one...But...Uh...Can we move on? Something's...weird.

5. Name one thing you like about their personality.

He's kind. Like, in ways most people aren't. Even though he did wish for Lichdom, and being truly immortal like them, nothing he does is selfish. He even sacrificed his chance at his dream to save our son's life. Our son, the...talking skeleton, by the way. He's quite the wisp. Even knows magic now.

6. Name one thing you dislike about their personality.

He can be a little obsessive. Don't get me wrong, that's not inherently bad. In fact, I find it endearing more than anything. But he has tried to take half the library with him on certain ventures, including a camping trip with Harding. It's cute, but it can get in the way of actual experiences. It's about the worst thing I can think of...and it's not even that bad. Oh! That, and he's a little *too* proper sometimes. I do think he could do to relax more, you know? Let loose, let his hair fall out of place a little from time to time...But I also think it's part of his charm...So...Heh...I'm so disgustingly smitten, I know it.

7. What is something you absolutely love about them?

Haven't I gushed enough? No...Scratch that. I'll never gush enough. He's just the best thing that could have ever happened to me. He's always putting me first, while I'm doing the same for him, we're wildly compatible, in just about every way, and even when we aren't spending time together, everything just...feels right, knowing we're together as a couple. Like, in ways I've never felt right before...

8. What is something you absolutely cannot stand about them?

Yeah, I really listed the worst things already...There's nothing I can't stand...Well...Actually...That's a lie. I would like to wake up next to him, but the man wakes up at the most Blighted hours of the morning, so I'll never beat him to it. I do hate that.

9. Is your partner the romantic type? Do you want them to be?

He is a true, old-fashioned romantic, in the best way...And I wouldn't have it any other way. He was entirely about sweeping me off my feet before we...'consummated', and wouldn't even kiss me until we had a proper dinner by candlelight. I am constantly in awe of how much effort he puts into the more romantic moments...

10. What makes them special to you personally?

I...know this is going to sound weird, but...I don't know. Like, he just makes me feel a certain kind of way, like I knew him before...Well, before I existed. And after I met him, looking back on past loves, I think I was always looking for him? Like, I was meant to find him somehow, or more like I needed to...He isn't my first love by a long shot, but he is the only one that's felt real...But I didn't know that until I met him. It's hard to explain.

11. How much do you think your partner loves you?

As much as I love him, at the very least. He wears his heart on his sleeve, and he shows it every time we're together. I often wonder if he feels the same familiarity I feel with him...even though it doesn't make a lick of sense.

12. Do you want to be with them for the rest of your life? Do you think you will be?

I...may have a ring and a promise at the ready. But that's just between us......As to whether we will be together for the rest of our lives? I mean, I lead a dangerous life, but he is 20 years older than me. I'm not blind to the fact that he's likely going to die before me...though I could just as easily make a wrong move and die in a fight against some new ancient horror that's been unleashed on the world. But we'll be together as long as we can. That much I do know.

...And before you ask, yes, it's an age gap...I get it. I'm a proper adult, and I know what I'm doing. If I'd met him when I was freshly 18, I would understand the odd looks and questions, but I'm 30. I'm aware of who I am and what I can handle.

13. How are they in bed? Do you enjoy the sexual side of your relationship? Or do you not want to talk about it?

Heh...He's surprisingly less 'proper'. I'll leave it at that. But I love it. He knows how to light up the nerves at the slightest touch...He really wasn't joking when he said he was 'familiar with the finer points of anatomy'...The man is an expert. In all kinds of ways and practices. So...Okay, maybe I went deeper than planned, but it was worth it.

14. What is your partner's family like? What do they think of you?

Well, they are dead, but we visit his parents' graves often...He says they'd have loved me. They were apparently very kind, much like he is. So...It is nice to think about. I only wish I could give him the same promise, but my parents left me in a tomb...So...I don't know if that was so I'd be found, or to bury a regret...And I don't think I ever will.

15. Do you think you and your partner are good parents to your kids? What is the best and worst part about parenting?

Manfred is in the best hands he could possibly be with Emmrich. And I do my best. It's oddly natural with him. Maybe it helps he's not a baby though. I've always been a little uncomfortable around those.

Thank for taking this interview, Dardin'an.

Anytime! I'm an open book!