#I don't really actively date or search for romance

[cssns]

Please welcome the multi-talented @spartanguard to CSSNS24!

Your Tumblr and any other applicable names

SpartanGuard

How long have you been in the CS/OUAT fandom?

I watched the show from Day 1 until the very final episode; became active in the fandom during 4A, so coming up on 10 years!

When did you start shipping Captain Swan?

Actively after the first date; low-key in 3x14—"If it can be broken, that means it still works." SWOON. (You speak for all of us, Kaitlyn!)

What drew you to this event?

I love Captain Swan and I love fantasy!

What inspired your topic?

I really enjoyed the movie Jungle Cruise and there were a few aspects of Frank's character that really reminded of Killian (not saying what as I don't want to spoil the movie), so the wheels have been turning on how to adapt it into an AU for a while. But I knew it wouldn't have quite the same meaning with the OUAT characters if we just dropped them into what's essentially a historical fantasy in our world, so twisting it into something that fits into the Enchanted Forest (and associated realms) has been fun.

If you would like to share a snippet/sneak peek/summary of your fic or artwork, please use the space below.

Inspired by the movie Jungle Cruise, but set in the world of OUAT; Princess Emma is searching for a cure to help her kingdom's war effort—but so is the leader of her enemy kingdom. Alongside her sister, Snow, she seeks out a guide to Neverland, where the mythical cure supposedly hides, and finds Captain Killian Jones, who is less than eager to help. Adventure, danger, and romance follow!

For our artists: What kind of art do you like to do? Picsets, painting, digital, etc? Feel free to give as much info as you like.

Mostly manips, but the occasional picset if everything I want to convey outstrips my photoshop abilities.

For our betas: Who/what have you beta'd before, or is this your first time? Feel free to give as much info as you like.

I've been beta'ing almost as long as I've been writing fic, and my day job is as an editor. (Fic is much more exciting than the things I edit at work, though!)

What are you looking forward to most about participating in this event?

Seeing all the fun stories and adventures we get taken on!

We are beyond excited to see Kaitlyn's story drop on 8/14/24! She's also going to be an artist and beta, so she's going to be super busy for CSSNS24!

[pseudowho]

mr. haitch and yourself remind me a lot of my parents, which is really sweet for me to see.

my dad is much more higuruma than nanami (big nose, self-depricating in humor and in general, strong sense of right and wrong, etc etc.) while you’re basically a UK-version of my mom, with better dialect (no offense to her, she just has a hard time with words and speaking her thoughts). and i love it a lot. WILDLY in love with each other, and its bore me into a hopeless romantic and seeking love of any shape everywhere i go.

i was wondering, what do you think of the idea that ‘love will find you when you stop looking for it’? do you find it to be true? i worry ive doomed myself for being too loving, in a sense. i dunno, i just like you and your husband’s way of talking about each other, its nostalgic candy.

i hope you are having a good day and your november is more forgiving than whatever cursed october !! much love 🖤

To be honest, I don't think I have any strong beliefs over searching for love, Vs waiting for it. I've seen it work, and not working, in both forms. My closest friend in this country, who is 37, has had string after string of disappointing relationships with guys she's actively hunting for online.

I think the only advice I have is knowing yourself and maintaining high standards for yourself early on, so if someone does come along, you don't reduce yourself or your standards for the chance at 'romance', which fails fast if the person you're with doesn't treat you as you deserve.

Equally, there seems to be this pervasive thought amongst a lot of women that I know, that simply being present and willing is enough in a relationship, as if simply being a woman affords them special dispensation against trying to be the best version of themselves for their partner. This is only amongst my social circle, mind; I'm not sure how this is amongst others outside of my group.

I love that your parents are mad for each other. I think seeing healthy love in action is one of the lost important formative steps in seeking a happy relationship of your own.

I can't say I'm an expert on dating/relationships. I stumbled into mine and I'm still surprised that someone likes me.

Love,

-- Haitch xxx

[best-underrated-anime]

Best Underrated Anime Group D Round 2: #D6 vs #D4

#D6: Villainess dating game isekai

#D4: Two kids join in hunting monsters and uncovering secrets

Details and poll under the cut!

#D6: My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! (Otome Game no Hametsu Flag shika Nai Akuyaku Reijou ni Tensei shiteshimatta…)

Summary:

Most people would prefer being the protagonist of a world full of adventure, be it in a game or in another world. But, unfortunately, a certain girl is not so lucky. Regaining the memories of her past life, she realizes that she was reborn in the world of Fortune Lover—one of the games she used to play.

Unfortunately, the character she was reincarnated into—Catarina Claes—is the game's main antagonist, who faces utter doom in every ending. Using her extensive knowledge of the game, she takes it upon herself to escape from the chains of this accursed destiny.

However, this will not be an easy feat, especially since she needs to be cautious as to not set off death flags that may speed up the impending doom she is trying to avoid. Even so, to make a change that will affect the lives of everyone around her, she strives—not as the heroine—but as the villainess.

Propaganda:

This show is so much fun. The protagonist is a lovable girl himbo, who is completely oblivious to everyone around falling in love with her. It’s a bit of a harem anime, but with equal opportunities: the girls are just as enamored with the main character as the guys are. The increasingly dumber ways in which she thinks she’s going to meet her doom (she is supposed to be the villain of the story, after all) are a delight to behold.

Trigger Warnings: Incest, Rape/Non-Con. The main character gets assaulted like two or three times, but it’s not graphic. One of these instances, where a kiss is forced on her, is by her adoptive brother, who is also her cousin, who is one of her main love interests.

#D4: Karneval

Summary:

While in search of his precious friend, a young boy named Nai falls captive to a beautiful woman, whose looks are matched only by her taste for human flesh. Meanwhile Gareki, a clever thief, is in the midst of robbing her luxurious home. After causing a distraction, Gareki agrees to help Nai escape, but they are discovered upon the woman's return. As she transforms into a ghoulish monster, the boys flee.

On the run, Nai and Gareki are found by “Circus,” a government defense agency that deals with criminal activity too difficult for the police to handle and protects civilians from “varuga”—terrible monsters that devour humans for sustenance. In the hope that it will lead Nai to his missing friend, he and Gareki decide to join Circus. On their perilous journey, they face dangerous varuga and begin to uncover the secrets behind a shadowy organization known as Kafka.

Propaganda:

Karneval has two of the best protagonists I’ve ever seen. Gareki is superior to every other teenage boy protagonist in anime. His character arc, even in this one season that covers just a fraction of the manga, is so well-developed. I like that his arc is an emotionally driven coming-of-age and not a power fantasy.

Along with the main characters, Karneval has fantastic characters across the board. There is not a single supporting character I don't love (even the ones who annoy me). None of the female characters are reduced to love interests and are all unique and interesting, which can be hard to find sometimes in anime.

It is made by a female writer, which is always great to see, and for people who aren't really interested in romance, the anime is extremely friendship and found family driven. The found family aspect is really at the forefront of the series as Circus is not a glorified group and they don't get to have families which makes the bond between members so important.

The tone balance is amazing. In one episode, you can go on an emotional journey from laughing to crying in seconds. The plot is engaging with wild reveals and compelling mysteries to follow. The fantastical world is unique with the contrast of the dark monsters in a bright and colorful world. If you watch it in Japanese, the voice cast is so good and the soundtrack is also really good.

TL;DR it’s an interesting story with amazing characters to whom you will get attached.

Trigger Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Cruelty/Violence/Gore, Misrepresentation of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)

When reblogging and adding your own propaganda, please tag me @best-underrated-anime so that I’ll be sure to see it.

If you want to criticize one of the shows above to give the one you’re rooting for an advantage, then do so constructively. I do not tolerate groundless hate or slander on this blog. If I catch you doing such a thing in the notes, be it in the tags or reblogs, I will block you.

Know one of the shows above and not satisfied with how they’re presented in this tournament? Just fill up this form, where you can submit revisions for taglines, propaganda, trigger warnings, and/or video.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

[cater + honmei]

"ah cater!"

i finally caught up to cater and has been looking for him for hours, but now that he's finally in front of me i feel like running away for some reasons. but of course i didnt. i handed him my gift.

"after learning that you don't really like sweet things, i figured i better give you other things so ,uhm, i made a photo album with our pictures together. i know you prefer posting photos than physical copies but i still hope you'll like them. happy valentines!"

Sweet on You.

He was among the roses when you found him. Heartslabyul students and roses—they went together like bees and honey.

His smile was laidback, as picturesque as the flowers in bloom. He propped his phone against his chin. “Hey, what’s up? Been lookin’ for Cay-kun?”

Your stomach did backflips and cartwheels as you approached. You were already a jumbled mess from searching for Cater all over campus. At this point, your feet were preemptively flighty and raring to take off again. It took all your willpower to keep yourself grounded, to focus on the task ahead.

You thrusted out a thick book.

“Huh, is this your Valentine’s Day gift for me?” The question was posed in a teasing tone, Cater slipping the tome from your hands. “Thanks for thinking of me and keeping my tastes in mind~ You know me so well!

“I’ll check it out now, okay? I’m dying to know what you put together for me!”

He opened to the first page, and was immediately greeted by a plethora of memories. The first shy encounter to your first kiss, and the romance that spiraled into a whirlwind from there.

“Aww, it’s us. All of it is us.”

You had taken care to curate and print out selfies from various outings, then added flourishes and extra trimmings. Lace borders and decorative tape lined photos, stickers embellishing the corners. Gel pen doodles filled in the space between frames, the gaps between your love story.

Pictures worth a thousand words, and many, many more.

Cater grew quiet as he scanned page after page. The smile he had once worn had melted to give way to something more serene, more thoughtful.

“It’s fun to post on Magicam and all, but I can’t exactly be online all the time! Riddle’ll have my head if it’s glued to my phone, and I can’t do much if I’m in a place with bad signal.”

He shut the photobook gently, keeping his hand pressed to the cover. There is something tangible, something meaningful, beneath his fingertips.

“This can last forever, and I can keep it close to my heart without getting into trouble with my dorm leader,” Cater joked, winking. “Plus, scrapbooking’s all the rage these days~ Who knows, it could be a cute date night in activity for the future!”

He leaned forward, planting a quick kiss on your cheek. Your hand flew to the area, which was still warm from his touch.

Cater pulled back, wearing a grin both sly and sweet. “Just promise me that we can make lots more happy memories together for the books, ‘kay?~”

[winterhue]

Like a moth to a flame

15—⁠☆ "alright? alright, friend"

Pairing: yoon jeonghan x fem reader x joshua hong

Genre: fluff, comedy, angst, banter, college romance

~written part below~

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

You could not believe you agreed to hangout with Jeonghan. Not that you didn't like him but mostly 'cause you are not someone who can befriend people easily. You always had a hard time making friends. Maybe that is why you stopped trying at one point. All the friends that you have now are more than enough for you. You love them all and they are aware of it even though you don't actively express yourself.

You convinced yourself that there was no place for a new friend in your life, that making one new friend at this point would be one friend too many and you'd struggle to maintain all these friendships at once. Maybe this is also why you often appear unapproachable to others. You never really tried to socialize other than your active group of friends. It has always been exhausting for you to try and build new friendships.

You remember Seungkwan once told you, "If you put only a little effort socializing, you'd be pretty popular, you know?"

To which you replied, "Maybe, but I like this better"

And you really did. You liked what you had. That is until you met Yoon Jeonghan. He barged in and knocked all your defenses. And you know that sounds cliche but that's how it is with him. He was is so good at this befriending thing. It was almost as if he charmed you into it. Even though you make sure to maintain your distance with others you somehow find yourself willing to close the distance when it comes to Jeonghan.

You do not want to admit it out loud but you are aware of your active participation when it comes to him. You admit you find it fun challenging him with something or the other. You provoke him to act and he does. He does it so well. Always exceeding your expectations.

You challenged him again yesterday to prove to you that he's not boring. You are already aware that he's not. He's anything but boring as he said earlier but it's amusing to tease him. You have been enjoying it more than you'd like to admit.

And that is how you got yourself to agree to go out with him tonight. You were not sure where you were going. He said he'll pick you up after class. So you patiently wait for your last class to end. When you step out you find him waiting for you.

He immediately waves his hand and flashes the prettiest smile you've ever seen. For a second you stand still, thinking whether he was real. You realise you have never noticed how captivating his smile is until today. It was unreal.

He runs to you with that stupid smile and in that moment there is only one thought in your head: fuck.

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Previous • Masterlist • Next

Synopsis: You and Joshua have a complicated relationship. You are each other's home. You tag along as each other's dates to parties, you flirt and banter and never hesitate to show PDA. Everyone's convinced you're both in love but the truth is there's someone else your eyes always search for. It's the man you've never shared a single word with, the man who looks like he came straight out of a movie, the man who can make you lose every rational part of your brain. Yoon Jeonghan, the man you find yourself driven to -like a moth to a flame.

An: updating this fic after forever I missed it so much. I can't believe how busy life has been 😭 please leave comments if you do read it. I need motivation to work on the next parts 🫠

Also, i made a Minghao oneshot 'cause I was in my hao brainrot era. Do check it out ♡

________________________

[kiragecko]

what do you think about batcest?

Okay, I believe in Ship and Let Ship, and that fiction can be about whatever it wants to be about. So I'm not getting into a purity culture discussion here. Instead, I'll talk about my actual opinions, rather than a moral stance.

Mostly, I think that it is an uninterestingly large category, grouped together mostly for logistics reasons.

-

First, there's incest-kink. Which comes in two main flavours that I've seen: restitution, and violation.

Restitution incest-kink is when a person either didn't get strong family relational attachments growing up, or idolizes those types of attachments, and finds a way to create them with other loved ones later on, through either sex or roleplay.

Since familial connections were my ONLY stable relationships as a kid, this just ... feels weird to me. Why get that from people who, in my experience, are WORSE at it? I find it mildly off-putting in fic.

Violation incest-kink is when someone is attracted to the broken trust, vulnerability, and shame attached to being harmed by someone supposed to protect you.

I like dark fic, and benefit from reliving helplessness in a safe environment (like fic). I will read a fic like this, but usually for unrelated reasons. Incest isn't the draw, it just often shows up in the same stories as tropes that work better for me.

-

Then, there's the Batcest which isn't interested in incest at all. It's just labeled that way to warn people that characters, which the audience might consider family, are dating/having sex.

I think it's a good idea to label that! Some people might want to avoid it!

(I don't personally think that this counts as writing incest. This type of fic is usually impossible to differentiate from fic about characters who are unrelated. The previous type of fic that I described IS distinct. If something has no effect on the story, I don't think it's an important variable.)

I think people write Technical Batcest for multiple reasons. Some that I've seen are:

They're the characters the authour has seen interact. Which makes them the only available options to ship. I can enjoy this type of fic, though I REALLY like supporting characters, and comics minutiae, so I often find it a bit limiting.

The authour only knows how to interpret canon closeness through sex/romance. Similar to the first type of incest-kink, but without the awareness. I'm way too aroace for this boringness.

The authour has a specific dynamic or theme to explore, and it can most easily be explored through sex/romance. This ... is often extremely compelling. Fiction has tools that really life doesn't. Metaphors, symbols, and mirrored experiences can be amazing ways to explore complex topics. I APPROVE of shipping Bats together if it gets me some deep insights into them, myself, or the world!

-

For me, whether something is Batcest or not isn't really a helpful factor. I'm looking at other tags, the summary, and maybe the first few paragraphs, instead.

The only things I actively search out are a few JayTim tropes that I feel are most successfully explored through their particular history and context, and also work best with sex as ... almost a distancing effect? Like, the thing they're resonating with in me has NOTHING to do with sex, but is far too vulnerable to be addressed directly. Pretend sex happening to other people is enough distance that I can actually look into that part of myself.

(I would like if enough people knew about the 'Incest Kink' tag that I could assume that 'Pseudo-Incest' by itself probably WASN'T the first category. It would make both tags more useful. But I still think it's valuable to tag things even if they don't help me!)

-

Finally, here are my opinions about the actual ship dynamics.

I am not interested in Damian being shipped with anyone, related or not. Find it a turn off. He's little, I don't HAVE to tolerate ships yet!

There is a certain kind of romantic exploration I find compelling in rare Cass fics, but I have no interest in reading about her having sex, ever. (The only other Wayne I've seen this dynamic with is Tim, and those were written before the adoption.)

Tim is shut down enough that sex becomes a valid way to get into his head. Really uninterested in anything but his platonic sibling relationship with Dick. Dark fic with him and Bruce is possible, but can go wrong in a lot of ways. I like him and Jason with a variety of dynamics and interpretations - both canon compliant and completely fanon.

Dick and anyone other than Jason usually bothers me, and I avoid it. I relate to Dick as co-eldest-siblings. That is not what I am interested in with siblings. Even Dark fic with him and Bruce isn't fun. Prefer Dick & Jason over JayDick, but the ship can occasionally work.

I'm more interested in the family dynamics with ALL the characters. That's true with Jason, as well. But with him I have the least strongly-negative reactions to ships. The only Wayne ship I get a lot out of is JayTim, but I'd be willing to read most of them, if the story seemed interesting.

Bruce and his children is ... I'm not a FAN. But, again, when I want things dark, that tends to be one of the places writers gravitate to, so I'll follow them.

Alfred. I do NOT want Alfred/Bruce. No. Not for me. Theoretically, Alfred would be even more affective than Bruce for dark ships with the kids, but I haven't actually found anything that worked for me.

And I haven't seen enough fic with any other relationships that would fit this label to have opinions.

[loopy777]

How do you think Mai would handle being The Bachelorette? Her bachelors are Zuko, Kei Lo, Ruon Jian, and Sokka. Who would get her final rose? 

To begin with, let's note that I have never see an episode of The Bachelor or The Bachelorette and I have no idea what the competition involves. Dating-like activities, I guess? But do they all go as a group while the men try to discreetly (or discretely) murder each other, or does the Bachelorette just run through the same date multiple times and the last guy on the list really needs to being his A-game to keep her from getting bored? At least with Mai, every guy will have to work hard to keep her from getting bored, so that's a bit more fair.

But before we get too deep into the game itself, I think we have to take a moment and explore something critical. Why is Mai picking a husband on a reality show? That makes so little sense there has to be an agenda at work.

Is she being put up to it by her parents? Is it some kind of ironic comedic performance on her part? Is Azula torturing her? Did she swap bodies with Ty Lee in a zany magical adventure again?

The explanation we pick is going to heavily affect who she chooses as her Reality TV Husband, so we have to be responsible about it. We can't just come up with an explanation that will allow Sokka to win, even though that's the objectively correct choice. Mai's clearly not in it to actually find a long-term romantic partner. You don't have to be as cynical as Mai to know that these Reality TV Romances don't last a week beyond the airing of the final episode, if that. And a quick search on my part turned up that The Bachelorette does not award prize money to the winning couple, so it can't be that she needs the cash.

In the end, I think we should stick with the classics- the most common reason for going on Reality TV.

Mai wants the attention, for some reason. And since most of the contestants are from the Fire Nation, it's specifically that nation's attention which she wants.

The fandom can't seem to settle on what the Fire Nation thinks of Mai, and sadly the comics have not really elaborated on the situation. Sometimes it's convenient to make her reviled, either for betraying the Fire Nation or for sticking her tongue in Zuko's mouth or not sticking her tongue in Zuko's mouth or not being Ty Lee or her strange lack of affinity for just-bear-bears. Other times, she's popular for her support of Zuko and/or being the coolest girl in the cast with the knives and the dour sarcasm and whatever is going on with her hair. Her reception amongst the Evil Factions isn't any more consistent, what with her complicated relationship with her father and her father's complicated relationship with being a villain. Even her temporary terrorist boyfriend couldn't decide which side he was on, thanks to her.

So I would personally avoid the question of whether Mai is loved or reviled. Instead, let's once again go on the most well-trod road of the Reality TV Star: she just wants everyone to know her name so she can get a better job later. This mandates that Mai does not start as a famous figure, despite how notable her life has been. But then, Upper Class Fire Nation Teenagers one island over from the capital didn't recognize Zuko's face, arguably the most famous face in the entire world, so obviously if you're not a Reality TV Star, the Fire Nation doesn't care about you.

All right, so we know why Mai is doing this. She wants to be famous. Now, what do the guys want?

The most simple of them is Zuko; he just wants Mai. Even the comics agree on this point.

Kei Lo also wants Mai. We know he doesn't have any other friends, and he seems to really like her, so I can see him being willing to debase himself on Reality TV just so that the girl he likes will consider pretending to date him until a week after the finale airs.

Ruon Jian, from what little we saw of him, seems to be honesty interested in Mai, perhaps even fully attracted to her. She helped wreck and burn down his best friend's beach house, but perhaps he found that amusing. Perhaps he likes dangerous girls. Perhaps he was always looking for the same kind of excitement as she was, and before he met her, he could never really admit it. So he's on the show to give wooing her a go, sure, but also to discover his best, true life.

Sokka is here as part of a scam. Disappointing, I know, but he's too much like Mai -- too perfect as a potential romantic partner -- for him to take Reality TV seriously, either. I can see him annoying Katara, who loves both The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, by insisting that these things are scripted. So he has to have ulterior motives. Perhaps Mai is even in on it with him, helping him out while she's pursuing her own agenda. She probably thinks it's funny.

So with that established, how does the elimination go?

Kei Lo goes out first. I have nothing against the guy, but when he's not being a terrorist, there's nothing interesting about him. The most amount of spice he can bring is offering to pick a lock, and let's face it, he's no charismatic criminal gentleman. In contrast, Zuko lights things on fire and struts around like he owns the place (never mind all that delicious backstory on him), and Sokka is a strange foreign hero who even other foreigners think is compellingly odd. And Ruon Jian calls everyone else a loser while preening for the camera, so he's a natural Reality TV star and will probably be recruited for Survivor next season.

In the next episode, sadly, Sokka is out. He managed to use one of the dates as a cover to sneak his way into Ruon Jian's rooms and find evidence of Lord Ruon (Ruon Jian's father, of course) defrauding his international trading partners. Mai smirks, tells Sokka to hit the road, and he happily does so after giving her a peck on the cheek and asking how much prize money he gets for lasting two episodes. He walks away in a slump when he's informed the only prize is Mai.

In the final episode, it's down to Zuko and Ruon Jian. There's tension in the air on every activity. The boys spend more time insulting each other, sometimes even brawling, than paying attention to Mai. Despite this, neither one is stopped by any of the pitfalls prepared by the show's producers. Neither notices Ty Lee trying to seduce them. They sabotage Azula's attempt to assassinate Mai without even realizing she's there. When they get trapped together in the Spirit World, they manage to work together long enough to defeat the Reality TV Spirit (it's a giant glowing gross bug, formed from the tortured energies of all the gross bugs people have eaten on Reality TV for attention) and get back home. They even manage not to burn the mansion down (I think this franchise takes place in a mansion?) when doing the baking challenge, although Sokka proclaims neither one's bean pastries are sweet enough. (Oh yeah, the producers bring Sokka back for the finale as a surprise guest because he's so popular with audiences. He enjoys judging the baking competition but doesn't understand why the producers insist he not wear a shirt.) At last we come to the final scene, where Mai has to award her rose.

Mai tells Zuko that she's loved him since the day she met him, since before she even knew what love is, and that no one will ever be more suited for her.

Mai tells Ruon Jian that he's kind of good-looking when the lights are low and not quite as boring as most other people, even though she can't remember his name.

Then she gives Ruon Jian her rose.

There's scandal in the Fire Nation! No one can believe Mai picked this random dude over the Fire Lord! Everyone is talking about it. Zuko's fangirls are torn between being relieved and being offended on his behalf. Mai becomes a celebrity world-wide for her individualism and standing up to the weird culture of the Fire Nation that has people compete on Reality TV for love, instead of competing on Reality TV for money and singing contracts like normal people.

Mai becomes the most famous woman in the Fire Nation. Everyone wants her at their parties, even if they hate her. She cuts celebrity endorsement deals and appears at every big social event. She even gets to host the Tonys, which suits her fine because no one watches the Tonys. Mai becomes rich and everyone does what she says. Mission accomplished, she and her family never have to work a day in their lives again!

She also breaks up with Ruon Jian a week after the finale airs, without ever having gone on a real date with him.

She's seen going out with Zuko a month later, but by then everyone is more concerned with how Sokka has managed to get through eight episodes of his The Bachelor season without eliminating a single girl. It's a happy ending for everyone, except maybe Kei Lo but that's okay because he ends up on Celebrity Big Brother a few years later and wins when no one notices that he's been living there the whole time.

That's reality for you.

[rin-bellatrix]

A Man After Midnight

"Won't somebody help me chase the shadows away?" - ABBA

Sasha's gone missing in search of the final vault key piece, and Fiona will be damned if another vault tries to take her sister from her - again. It doesn't matter who - or what - gets in her way, she'll find her sister - even when something supernatural is determined to make sure that she and Rhys never see the light of day again...

Written for the rhyiona lovers who are also Halloween lovers

Header art is by arymus (deactivated ☹)

I decided during the planning stages that this will be part three to "It Takes Two" and "U.N.I." sooo this is a multi-chapter work now I guess 🤷🏽‍♀️

Btw... it's a long one folks, get a snack and strap in lol

Fall leaves dividers from these posts and jack-o-lantern dividers from these posts. Orange swirl divider from this post

Trick or Treat~ ❤🧡💛🍁🍂🎃⚰🪦💀🕸🦇😈

Rhys turned off the car engine, pocketing the key and stepping out of the car with Fiona. The air was chilled and thick with mist that saturated the scenery and painted everything in a dreary sort of gray color. They glanced around and caught the looks of the wary townsfolk as they eyed the newcomers who had just arrived in their small rural town.

Fiona ducked her head, allowing the brim of her hat to cover her eyes - an old habit she never lost from back in her grifting days. 'Keep your head down, do your best to blend in and don't bring any unnecessary attention to yourself,' said the memory of Felix's voice floating in the back of her mind. But those days were behind her now. She was here for one reason and one reason only - to find her sister.

Meanwhile, Rhys shivered in the cold autumn air and tugged his jacket tighter around himself, glancing around the shrouded town to try and locate the hotel he had booked their stay at. All of the buildings appeared looming and ominous in this weather; he couldn't really differentiate one from another as they were half concealed with a wispy blanket of fog.

This was not some romantic getaway for the weekend, but rather an expedition to try and find Sasha. Her last known location had been here, this backwards little hole where she had followed a supposed "lead" to a new potential vault key piece. She had been conversing with Fiona, keeping a regular point of contact with her for the two days that she was there. On the third day, Sasha failed to check in and Fiona's big sister protective instincts flared to life, causing the vault hunter to abandon her current assignment and Fast Travel back to Promethea, where she could load up on gear and head over to her sister's last known whereabouts.

When he got the notification that his girlfriend was stopping by his company's home planet, Atlas' president grew excited at the thought of a romantic night out. Activating his newly programmed assistant, TIMM-E, Rhys allowed the program to take care of Atlas while its president was briefly away. He needed to work on making a body for TIMM-E, because as of right now, he was just an encrypted piece of data floating around Atlas' system. But for today, he could do his job well enough that his body would have to wait for later. Right now, love and romance were what Rhys was focused on.

Donning his expensive cologne and a fresh set of date night clothes, he swept by her apartment with a large bouquet of roses in hand, intending on asking her out for the evening. Expecting a tired but content vault hunter at the door, he was instead met with a laser focused, completely serious vault hunter who was not stopping by to rest for a few days before running off to her next adventure. She was only here temporarily, strapping up for what looked like a big battle.

He questioned her with a concerned wrinkle to his brow as he watched her check the sights of a rare gun before sliding a fresh clip into it. She briefed him about the little she knew, moving on to handle two different grenade mods, trying to decide which was the better of the two. The young CEO placed the roses in a vase, fanning them out a bit as the Pandoran woman clipped the chosen grenade mod to her hip, tossing the other one back into her storage container.

Seeing Fiona cycle through her inventory and attaching high powered weaponry to her belts, Rhys knew he couldn't leave her to face this alone. Sasha was her sister, but she was also one of his closest friends. They were all a family, bound by more than blood. He wasn't some kind of world class assassin, or really a fighter of any kind, but Fiona needed support and he'd give his all to be there for her and Sasha.

When he proposed that he'd come along to help, Fiona had outright refused, claiming that he'd just be putting himself in danger and that she didn't want to worry about her sister and her boyfriend too. But he insisted, claiming that his cybernetic inhancements would make tracking clues and ultimately finding Sasha that much easier. Eventually, the prospect of getting to her sister as soon as she was able to convinced the vault hunter to accept his help.

Rhys carefully reached out and pulled her into his arms, holding her tight. "Don't worry Fi, we'll find her."

He could feel the various edges of her weapons pressing into his body, and truthfully it was a bit uncomfortable. But she returned his embrace and pressed her face into his shoulder, knocking her hat askew, and his discomfort didn't matter compared to his need to console his lover. Fiona was incredibly brave, but he knew that she was also incredibly scared. His own worry over Sasha's disappearance was hard to push back, but he didn't want to add to his girlfriend's already obvious distress.

They eventually broke away, and Rhys soon after hopped on a call to obtain their reservations for a hotel in the town Sasha had last been in. Fiona excused herself, needing to go down to the lobby of her apartment building and purchase ammunition from a vending machine, before getting ready to leave.

Turns out getting there was a little more complicated then they thought. The small town was so sequestered that not only did it not have a Fast Travel designated location, but it was miles away from the closest city that did. So Rhys quickly rung up the nearest rental and placed an order for a high-class (of course) but simple vehicle that would take them the rest of the way.

Now that they had arrived, they needed to grab their gear and make their way over to the hotel to officially begin their search. The company man and the Pandoran woman each took ahold of their own luggage, trying to ignore the feel of being stared at by dozens of watchful gazes. Closing the trunk and stepping away from their rented car, the young CEO activated the anti-theft alarm which seemed to chirp loudly in the lull of this tense silence. Turning towards the hotel, the couple began walking down the street when a voice called out to them.

"You can't park that here."

They both turned to find the speaker, taking in the older man leaning against a support beam in front of a shop. He looked less than impressed with them, his stare cold and unflinching.

"Oh, I'm sorry, is there a lot nearby or somewhere else I can park it?" Rhys asked, trying not to ruffle the feathers of the townspeople who were now all eyeing the newcomers with varying degrees of distain.

He glanced down the foggy street, but only then did he realize that there were no other vehicles as far as the eye could see. In fact, he hadn't seen any at all while driving into town. Their rental could most likely be the only car within a hundred miles.

"Sure," the old man shrugged easily, gesturing vaguely with a slight wave of his hand. "Best to park it in the next town over. Stay with it too, while you're at it."

Atlas' president frowned, not liking the way this guy just told them in a roundabout way to leave and stay gone. He opened his mouth to retort, when his girlfriend moved past him to step closer to this stranger.

"Look, we're only here because we're looking for my sister," she informed, watching his face carefully before turning and catching the eyes of everyone who was staring at them. "Has anyone seen her? A woman with light green eyes, her hair done up in thick locs? She was here for two days?"

None of the townsfolk spoke up or moved, they just continued to observe the couple as if Fiona had never said a word. They both knew that everyone watching had understood Fiona, it wasn't as if she was speaking Eridian. The people nearby were just purposefully ignoring her. The vault hunter pursed her lips, fighting back against the frustration wanting to get the better of her.

Rhys lifted his cybernetic hand, pulling up a hologram portrait of Sasha on his palm display. A blue digitized bust of Sasha sat in his hand, her smile beautiful and bright as she slowly rotated in a full 360 degree visual reference.

As soon as Rhys lifted his mechanical hand and brought up a glowing hologram, the reaction with the crowd was immediate. Everyone seemed to move back away from them, their murmurs of offense and scandle clear in the tones of their voices. They acted as if Rhys had just called forth fire from his hand. Startled, the young CEO quickly dismissed the hologram and dropped his hand, taking a step closer to Fiona. Likewise, she moved to face him, and one of the onlookers caught sight of the official vault hunter patch sewn onto the sleeve of her jacket.

"A vault hunter..."

"Vault hunter-"

"Did you see that-"

"Another one-"

Their frantic words ran together, almost unintelligible, but they both could hear the genuine fear and open disgust when the words "vault hunter" were spoken.

The people living in this backwards town had been coolly contemptuous, then reacting with indignation when Atlas' head had pulled up a hologram, acting as if modern technology didn't exist outside of this settlement. But the tone clearly shifted once Fiona was identified as a vault hunter, the air now thick with hostility and the promise of violence.

What these people had against advanced devices and vault hunters, she may never know, and to be honest, she really didn't care. Right now, they were in her way of finding where her sister was and if one of them even took a single threatening step closer, she'd have no problem whipping a gun out and showing them that she meant business.

"Everyone calm down, calm down now - these people are guests come to visit our fine town; let's show them some of our famous hospitality, shall we?"

A clear voice cut through the tension, making Rhys and Fiona turn towards the woman stepping through the small crowd that had gradually gathered around them. She was mature and elegant, holding her chin high as she swept towards them. Fiona, still on edge, kept her hand posed to reach for a weapon, eyeing the woman with open suspicion.

The older woman didn't seem to mind, looking between the two of them with a mild sort of curiosity. She was wearing what could only be described as an expensive gown, her collar bare and her skirt voluminous. She wore simple yet expensive jewelry along her neck and on her fingers. No one in the gathering stopped her or disobeyed her words, they only watched as she stood in front of the two newcomers.

"You must be the Strongforks, yes? You've procured your reservation for a stay at my hotel. My name is Lady Van Tassel, pleased to make your acquaintances," she stated, extending her hand demurely as she introduced herself.

"Oh! Yes, that's us, erm, t-the Strongforks, yep," Rhys fumbled, stepping over to delicately take her offered hand and give her a dainty shake.

He stepped back and Lady Van Tassel's hand was extended towards Fiona. Fiona wanted to ask Rhys about when they had gotten married and why hadn't she been informed, but that could wait until they were alone. She supposed for now she could play Mrs. Strongfork if it got them out of this situation faster. So she took her hand and also gave a gentle shake, noticing almost as an after thought of how soft her skin felt against her own.

Pulling away, the Pandoran mentally considered her own hands. The life of a vault hunter was rough, but that didn't mean her hands had to be. She made a mental note to moisturize more often.

"Please, come this way. I'll see you to your room," the Lady said, turning and allowing the out-of-town couple to follow behind her.

Glancing at the people who only moments ago were so keen on displaying their outright hatred for them, Fiona watched as they broke away and dispersed, not even sparing them one last disgruntled glance. Either their ire was extremely fickle, or Lady Van Tassel was someone more important than a simple hotel owner.

Entering between the large double doors of the hotel, all three of them stepped into the quiet lobby, with Ms. Van Tassel leading them straight to the check-in desk.

Despite Rhys' long legged height, as he followed closely behind the Lady and her vast swishing skirts, he reminded her of a baby duck, trailing in her wake. Fiona supposed that since she had taken them both in, that would make her a duckling too. She never liked to be indebted to people, especially those who she didn't know, but she had to admit that Ms. Van Tassel had pulled them out of a sticky situation.

"Thank you, for what you did back there," Fiona called out, catching the eye of the Lady as she turned to look at her from over her shoulder.

The older woman sighed, shaking her head once as she rounded the desk. "Let me apologize on behalf of my neighbors. We don't get very many visitors, and those that we do, some end up being vandals who call themselves 'vault hunter's' and only bring chaos to our quiet little town." She glanced up at them, her brow pinched with concern. "We've had a few... Unsavory altercations in the past. So many of us are wary, to put it lightly, of anyone who claims to be a vault hunter..."

Fiona nodded, stepping closer to the desk. "I understand, and I'm sorry for your troubles. But believe me when I say that I'm just here to find my sister. As soon as I do, we're gone. You have my word."

Lady Van Tassel regarded them quietly for a moment, before offering a small smile. "You two certainly don't come across as ruffians or scoundrels... I'll take you for your word, an unbroken promise between two ladies and a gentleman," she granted, reaching over the desk to take Fiona's hand again in another shake.

She then reached down and pulled out a large book, carefully opening up to a bookmarked page before turning it around and settling it onto the ledge in front of Rhys. "Sign here then, Mr. Strongfork," she instructed, pointing underneath a row of names to the next open space. "I'll get your keys ready and escort you upstairs to your quarters."

She turned towards a desk behind her and opened a wide drawer as Rhys scribbled his name across the page. Fiona sidled up next to him and together they scanned the names on the registry, looking for any of the names Sasha had used in the past. None had stood out to them, and so Rhys turned the book around as the Lady faced them, holding two copies of the room key out to them.

Taking one each, Fiona pocketed hers immediately and figured she'd question Ms. Van Tassel now while she had the chance. "Lady, have you seen a young woman in town, green eyes, thick hair locs? She was here for two days, I've lost communication with her almost a day ago."

"I'm sorry, but I haven't seen anyone around here that looks like that. She's your sister you say? I hope you find her soon, darling," the Lady murmured, coming around the desk to offer a consoling pat to the vault hunter's arm, before linking their arms together. "Now, let's get you two situated upstairs, and I'll have a hot meal waiting for you when you're ready to come back down. You can't go out searching on an empty stomach."

She guided Fiona towards the stairs, calling out behind her for Rhys. "Mr. Strongfork, please don't forget your lovely wife's luggage, be a dear and carry them up for us, won't you?"

Had she turned to look over her shoulder at him, she would've found said Mr. Strongfork blushing at the mention of Fiona as his wife.

"Y-yeah, of course... Wouldn't want m-... My... W-wife to-"

"Rhys darling~" Fiona called, interrupting his suspicious stammering.  If this town was as backwards as it has already proven itself to be, then perhaps an unwed couple sharing a room would be the last straw on the belliks back. "Don't keep us waiting, okay~?"

Their room was nothing too extravagant, but it looked comfortable and clean. Fiona was truly exhausted, only allowing herself to sleep on the car ride over, which had been a mere couple of hours. Before that she had been out on the field, completing some side mission for someone on Sanctuary. Now, the temptation of a clean bed called to her, her body desperate for some real rest. But the thought of her sister alone, possibly in a dangerous situation - or worse, hurt - kept her from being able to indulge in some much needed sleep.

So for now she shoved her luggage under the bed and straightened up to look at Rhys. "So... Husband of mine."

The ease with which Fiona could conjure a blush to her boyfriend's face was incredibly satisfying, but it didn't make up for the explanation he owed her.

"So, I'm sure you'd like for me to explain myself right?"

Fiona raised her scarred brow as a silent answer.

He glanced down shyly, rubbing the back of his neck as a subconscious show of discomfort. His still pink cheeks combined with a tentative smile made her soften towards him. "Well, when I called to book the reservation, you had just left to go stock up on ammo, so when Lady Van Tassel answered, I kinda had to wing it when I asked for a double and she inquired if my... Wife... Was coming along... So I just sort of said, yes..."

He looked up at her and she swore that at any moment, he'd start poking his index fingers together like a guilty child. "Hmm, maybe it's a bit too early for us, we still haven't had our one year anniversary yet..."

Rhys chuckled nervously, relaxing a bit but still looking as though he was expecting a solid reprimanding. "Hehe, yeah, definitely too early for like, marriage and stuff..."

Fiona made a show of tapping her chin in thought, humming to herself as he watched. "Though I don't think I'd mind if I was Mrs. Strongfork for a while..."

"...Oh...?" The hopeful tone in her boyfriend's voice brought a smile to her face.

"Yeah. After all, I'd get at least fifty-one percent of Atlas right?"

"Wha- fifty-one percent? If anything, I would get fifty-one percent because I'm the CEO-"

"Am I hearing fifty-two percent?"

"No, come on, that's not how negotiating works-"

"Fifty-three percent."

"You're not even listening-"

"Sixty."

"Please... I'm not gonna have a company left to manage-"

"Seventy-five percent and that's my final offer as your wife."

"...You are a cruel, cruel woman."

Fiona grinned, making her way over to him and planting a kiss along his jaw line. "That's why you married me, dear husband."

He slanted his head and leaned down, kissing her briefly over her ruby lips. "I wouldn't have it any other way, dear wife."

The vault hunter smiled, reaching down to link their hands together. "Let's go eat so we can find Sasha and get our asses back home."

Rhys patted his empty stomach with his free hand, almost salivating at the thought of a hot meal. "You don't have to tell me twice, I really hope it's delicious."

His girlfriend pulled him along, locking the door behind them. "As long as it's not chocolate dill pickle flavored, it should be good."

"Slanderous. I'm telling you, once you try Fran's yogurt, you'll be singing praises to whoever invented such a delicious flavor combination."

"We can only hope so Rhys, we can only hope so."

Their meal is simple but savory, hot and filling so it sits just right in their bellies. They thank Ms. Van Tassel as she collects their dishes and stacks them on a tray to take back to the kitchen. Turning to leave, they stop before the double doors and look back when she calls out to them.

"I should warn you, to please be back before night fall. There have been some... Strange occurrences lately, and I'd hate to see you two suffer from lack of knowledge. When night falls, come back here and resume your search tomorrow morning."

"Thank you Lady, but we're not afraid of the dark," Fiona answered. "We'll be alright, we're tougher than we look."

"I see..." The older woman murmured, clearly disappointed. "That may be so, and I can say nothing else to try and convince you otherwise. But if there is one thing you take from me, please let it be this - find shelter before the lamps go out, or surely you will be doomed."

Rhys glanced over at Fiona as the vault hunter considers the patroness, who stood by their table, the bottom of her apron twisted tightly in her worried grip. As a born and raised Pandoran, she had spent many nights out underneath the moons and stars, both as a penniless child and as fledgling vault hunter. Doing so now didn't concern her in the slightest, but she figured that she'd at least reassure the older woman and try to ease her mind.

"We understand. If we're out that late, we'll take shelter and wait it out 'til morning. Hopefully we'll find Sasha and be back before that's even an issue."

"You brave girl..." Lady Van Tassel murmured, gliding over to the younger woman and reaching up to cup her cheek tenderly.

Fiona thought that it was a little weird, but she understood that some people were comfortable with showing such displays of affection. On top of which, the Lady had been nothing but kind and welcoming to them, so if she wanted to...touch her cheek for whatever reason, Fiona didn't mind it too much.

"I was a lot like you when I was your age... Do be careful out there, both of you." Smiling softly, the Lady lifted her hand from Fiona's face while simultaneously a sharp pinch to her scalp caused the vault hunter to wince. "Oh! I'm sorry, this old ring pulled your hair, my apologies dear girl!"

The Pandoran woman reached up underneath her hat to rub at her scalp, eyeing the couple of strands that had caught on the back of Lady Van Tassel's ornate ring. "Ah... It's no problem, don't worry about it. Anyway, we'll be on our way now. Have a good night Lady, see you soon."

Fiona righted her hat and she and Rhys waved goodbye to the older woman who waved back until the double doors closed behind them.

Lady Van Tassel looked down and carefully extracted the younger woman's hair from her ring, pulling a small book of summoning from her apron pocket and tucking the hair in between the pages.

The couple start their search by checking any areas where Sasha could've gone or was most likely to go. There was a tailor a few blocks down (who absolutely refused to let Fiona in). Rhys went in alone and questioned him but had no luck there.

Next was the grocer (who didn't want to talk if Fiona was standing within ten feet of his shop). Rhys was told a young outsider bought some fruit from him but once, and he claims he hasn't seen her since. Supposedly she looked like Sasha but he wasn't entirely sure until Rhys folded some bills into his hand. (What a schmuck.)

Walking down the foggy street to their next stop, the company man nudged his girlfriend playfully in an attempt to tease her and lift her spirits. "You think any of the people here wanna join your fan club?"

The Pandoran woman rolled her eyes, leveling the taller man with an unperturbed stare. "I'm not here to win their miss congenitality contest, I'm here to find my sister. They can think of me what they like, as long as they don't get in our way."

The florist was next, but as Fiona stepped up to the entrance, the door was slammed in her face (nearly flattening her nose and knocking her hat off), before the OPEN sign was flipped to CLOSED in the curtained window. The vault hunter was about to start kicking doors down to get her answers whether people liked it or not, but Rhys gently guided his fuming girlfriend away to their next stop.

They both decided that Rhys would do the asking, because although he wasn't too popular amongst the locals, the vile vault hunter was tolerated as well as deadly plague. Which was to say not at all.

There was a general shop, owned by the same older man that had told them to park their car elsewhere. Fiona waited outside, arms crossed over her chest as she willed her irritation to subside. Her foul mood wouldn't help find her sister any faster - in all likelihood, it might even hinder the search. So she took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to ground herself and ignore the people passing by who were obviously glaring daggers and muttering to each other about her. A shriveled old lady even spat at the ground by her feet as she hobbled on by.

It was safe to say that she was not making any new friends here.

Her boyfriend stepped out from the shop, the little bell above the door dingling as he exited. She turned to face him and he simply shook his head no. She was expecting that but the disappointment still stung. Glancing down to the small bag in his hand, she looked back up and raised a silent brow of inquiry.

"Wouldn't talk to me unless I bought something," the company man answered, lifting the bag and opening it, showing her that he bought about a dozen sticks of jerky.

"Why so much?"

Rhys shrugged. "In case we get hungry again while searching all night. Plus, if we find Sasha tonight, she'll probably be hungry too."

Fiona couldn't argue with that. "Fair enough. Now, where else can we check?"

Atlas' head ripped open one of the sticks of jerky and bit into it, using the uneaten portion to point down the road. "There's a church of some kind down that way," he spoke around the dried meat in his mouth. "Doesn't hurt to check it out."

The vault hunter wanted to make a comment about him talking with his mouth full, but truthfully she didn't have the energy to joke around right now. Exhaustion was weighing heavily on her mind and the gray skies were growing darker and darker with the night impending. "Alright, let's go."

The church was nearly empty, the only inhabitant was a priest doing some general upkeep around the building. He also observed them with obvious concern, but so far he wasn't slamming doors in their faces or hurtling insults at them, so he was infinitely more welcoming than the other people who they tried to talk to.

Fiona waited between the threshold of the door, half expecting to be verbally thrown out before she could get a word in. Rhys didn't want to waste any time, so he quickly approached and asked the devoted man if he had seen a woman bearing Sasha's resemblance anywhere in town.

The pastor seemed to hesitate a moment, his eyes taking in the sight of the lanky man before him with a glowing amber eye and a mechanical hand that clutched a plastic bag. The silent woman behind him who lurked in the doorway who had to be the vault hunter that people had rushed in to tell him about. He sensed no ill will from either of them, but he still remained wary of their true intentions.

"I'm sorry, I can't help you. Now please, leave."

"Can't or won't?"

Rhys looked back at Fiona, her bright jade eyes leveled on the priest in an unflinching stare.

"My sister is missing and no one in this whole town can tell me where she's gone? No one can help me, not even a man of the cloth?"

The Pandoran walked forward, moving past the young CEO and stepping closer to the priest. "I'm gonna ask you again. Have you seen my sister? Do you know where she is?"

The older man looked down at her, his eyes meeting hers briefly before skittering away. "I'm sorry..." he repeated, refusing to meet her gaze.

The vault hunter stared hard at the man before her. Her boyfriend reached over to put a hand over her shoulder, silently beckoning her away. She ignored him and leaned forward, invading the pastor's personal space.

"If my sister is hurt because no one in this town wanted to help, you will come to understand the truth in the saying, 'hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.' Remember that, Father."

Fiona turned and stalked down the aisle, afraid that if she stayed for one more second, she'd come to regret it. Rhys turned, sparing the sweating priest a backwards glance before quickly following his girlfriend out of the church.

The vault hunter stormed out, leaving the church behind and marching down the street. She didn't know where she was going, only that she needed to get away. Her head was pounding and her eyes were watering for no reason. Her muscles ached and all she wanted to do was find her sister and sleep in her arms for a week straight.

Where was Sasha? Was she hurt? Why wasn't she contacting her? Did something bad happen? What if she needed Fiona right now but she was stuck here dealing with these wretched people?

Fiona stopped suddenly, so so tired and frustrated that she didn't try to fight the tears gathering along her lashes. She tilted her head back and sighed deeply, her breath billowing out in a short lived cloud. Dusk was truly settling in now and the already dark town was growing darker.

Homes with people who had all their loved ones safe and sound under one roof were drawing the curtains and dousing their lanterns. Shops that they hadn't been thrown out of were closing too, the owners locking up and heading home. No one wanted to be out in the dark at night, but Sasha was. She was out there all alone, and Fiona was failing her all over again.

She dipped her head down as she heard Rhys walk up to her. He seemed to hesitate, knowing in this moment that she was fragile. But eventually he sidled closer and whispered softly to her in the last sunlit hour.

"Hey... Can I give you a hug?"

She didn't turn her face up, keeping it turned down and hidden, but she nodded silently and turned towards him. He placed his bag of jerky by his feet before straightening and folding her in his arms. He squeezed her tight, and when her hat threatened to fall, he lifted it and placed it over his own wavy hair to keep it from hitting the damp ground. Her hair exposed, he placed a kiss on her crown and rubbed his hand down her back.

"Sasha is so lucky to have a sister like you. If I had any siblings, I'd want to have the same relationship with them that you two have." He swayed with her gently, speaking softly against her hair only loud enough for her to hear. "No one in this universe loves Sasha more than you do. Anyone can see that. You're doing your best Fiona, and you're not alone. I'm here to help you and Sasha too, remember that."

The vault hunter sniffled, rubbing her face over her boyfriend's expensive clothing. Normally she was tougher than this, but nearly two days without sleep was really wearing her thin, along with of course the constant worry. Also the abundant assholes in this town were getting on her last nerve, too.

She lifted her face and looked up at Rhys with her watery eyes. "...Thanks..."

He smiled lightly, bringing up his left hand to delicately wipe away any stray moisture from her face. "No problem beautiful."

"Sorry... I just need a moment to get myself together," she sighed, trying to summon some more strength from deep within herself.

"Take all the time you need, I'm not going anywhere," Rhys replied, taking the hat from his head and fitting it back onto Fiona's.

She adjusted it slightly, before tugging at her jacket, squaring her shoulders and lifting her chin. "How do I look?"

"Like you're ready to get back out there and threaten some more people."

An embarrassed smile broke out over her face and she reached out to slap him on his arm. "Well. He deserved it."

"Hey lady... Are you the vault hunter?"

The couple turn to look at a young teenage boy, who was staring at them like they were lunatics. Well, they were, kind of... Making a scene in the middle of the street...

"Yeah, that's me," Fiona answered, looking him up and down. He was watching them like they were loons, but she couldn't detect any hatred coming from him like every other person in town.

The boy looked around, making sure no one else saw him as he spoke with the two outsiders. It was very nearly dark now, and it seemed like everyone was inside already.

He faced the pair and cleared his throat. "Look... My da patrols the town at night, to keep our people safe. He says about a night ago, he saw the outsider lady head up towards the covered bridge, down that away," he gestured, pointing to the outskirts of town where the street lamps faded into the thick wall of mist. "She was by herself... If that's your sister you're looking for... I don't have much faith that she's okay - no one comes back who's been out after the lamps are gone, but... I hope you find her."

Rhys and Fiona looked at each other, before addressing the boy again.

"Thank you!" she called out, turning and almost running in the direction he pointed out.

"Hey, thanks kid, we really appreciate it," the company man nodded, snatching up his bag, digging in and giving the bewildered teenager a stick of jerky, before running off to catch up with his girlfriend.

Night has truly fallen, and the only light available to them now is the faint flickering glow from the street lamps and the light from the overly large moon. The rolling fog that blanketed the area earlier has only thickened with darkness taking over.

Rhys activates his ECHO eye, tracking the foot prints from a pair of shoes around the sparsely wooded area on the edge of town. They are Sasha's size and favorite brand, and they seem to be recent - within the last twenty-four hours. He tells this to Fiona who visibly sags with relief. They haven't found her yet, but they're finally on the right track.

As time passes, they recall the warnings not to be out when the lamps died out, and now they can no longer see the flicker of the tamed flames in town. It is past midnight, and the lights have finally burned out.

Rhys' glowing amber eye pierced through the rolling fog to look up ahead and locate the covered bridge the teenage boy had mentioned. He lifted his robotic hand and activated a beam of light to shoot out of his palm display. He angled it forward until the beam could cut partially through the churning mist and illuminate part of the structure of this bridge.

"I think Sasha had to come through here, her footsteps were leading up this way for sure."

"Can you see what's on the other side?"

"Too much fog right now, we have to cross the bridge first."

Breaching the entrance to this large covered bridge, darkness almost fully envelops the pair as their heeled boots clip and thump against the wooden floorboards. The company man raises the intensity of his light beam, guiding them closer to the end of the bridge. The mist on the other side seems somehow thicker, his light barely able to penetrate through its opacity.

They step off the bridge and start walking over hard packed dirt, following Sasha's trail deeper into the forest. The shrouded mist before them is so dense that they have to slow down to make sure that they're still following in the Pandoran woman's steps. Fiona steps closer to Rhys, even wrapping a hand over the sleeve of his metal bicep, because any misstep could easily separate them in this low visiblity. This was a missing person hunt for one, no need to add anyone else to the list.

After a couple of minutes of tracing carefully over Sasha's tracks, the two of them glance at each other as they can hear what sounds like distant galloping fast approaching. They turn to look behind them and the sound of hooves striking the hard packed dirt grows closer. Becoming uneasy, the couple share a look and Fiona begins to pull Rhys along, heading back towards the covered bridge that stretched over the rushing river below. At least for sure they know there's some kind of shelter to be had there.

Just as they make out the roof of the bridge a little bit away, they look behind them once more as the growing volume of someone or something approaching sounds like it's right at their backs.

The clouds above break, moonlight shining down and illuminating the churning mist in the distance. The fog parts suddenly, and out from its depths surges an equine-like creature with a rider cloaked in shadows. What causes the couple alarm is that the head of the rider appears to be a pumpkin, a crude face sawed out of its husk and spewing flames from its holes. It seems to set its sights on the only other people in the clearing, and after rearing its horse in a show of excitement, it heads straight for the couple like a bat out of hell.

They both turn and make a run for it, sprinting across the now visible clearing and just beginning to make it across the wooden floorboards as the rider draws closer. Rhys looks behind him just as the rider stops before the bridge and takes hold of its own head. The rider winds back and hurtles the flaming pumpkin towards them. Rhys shouts for Fiona and grabs her, pulling her down with him in an attempt to dodge the attack.

As they're falling, they can feel the heat from the fire and the force of the pumpkin fly pass them and explode further up on the bridge. They land hard and twist to look behind them to see... Nothing.

There's no rider on the other side of the bridge. The mist is flowing calmly as if there was never a disturbance.

They turn simultaneously to look for the smashed pumpkin, but there is no jagged pieces of rind exploded on the floorboards like they expect there to be.

Sitting up, they look at each other in complete confusion.

"Okay... That really just happened to us, right?"

"Yeah..." Fiona answers distantly, seeming preoccupied with trying to find a reason as to what the hell just happened.

"So we're not crazy right? Some whacko was really just chasing us, chucking flaming vegetables at us right?"

"Yeah..."

Rhys looks over Fiona and helps her up. "Hey, are you okay? You're not hurt or anything Fi?"

Fiona is staring hard into the distance, where the violent rider had emerged.

"Fi?"

Fiona turns to look at Rhys, a hard look across her face. "Rhys... The last time Sasha was seen was where that pumpkin bastard came out from. Maybe he's got something to do with Sasha disappearing... Listen, go back to the hotel and wait for me there, it's too dangerous to take you along."

"No, no way am I leaving you to go off by yourself after we just met that... That galloping ghost or whatever!"

"Come on, be reasonable here. Even if I gave you a spare gun, would you be able to hit anything with it considering your poor aim?"

"Hey! I've been practicing I'll have you know-"

"Oh yeah? So you're telling me that you're confident that you can actually shoot at and hit your target?"

"Yes!"

Fiona leveled him with a flat stare.

"...And by yes I mean maybe...! A strong maybe."

She sighed. "Juuust as I thought..."

"Look, that doesn't matter anyway because I've got this little doohickey right here~" he preened, opening a digital inventory just like Fiona's, and digitizing a small gun into his hand. He showed it off like it was something special. "What do you think?"

The vault hunter shrugged, crossing her arms across her chest. "What is it, your water jet flosser?"

Atlas' president grinned, unperturbed by her teasing. "Nooo, this is the future of Atlas! A new design for people who have less than ideal aiming skills. Equipped in this power packed pistol is an automatic aim assist, or AAA for short."

"Aaa?" Fiona repeated, incredulous.

His bright smile never left though. "You got it! See, the technology here is two-fold: the actual pistol locks onto your chosen target, then the bullets have a teeny tiny little tracker as the actual bullet head. No way can anyone miss with this bad boy! Buuut, it's a prototype, not officially ready for the market yet. Soon! But not yet."

Fiona was doubtful, but Rhys seemed pretty proud of his little experimental gun, plus some back up to fight this apparition would be nice... What other choice did she have.

"Alright, fine - but on one condition," she pointed a turquoise tipped finger in his face. "Once your shield is low, come back to the bridge to hide until it fully recharges again, do you understand?"

"Well, yeah I get it, but I don't have a shield," he answered, perplexed.

"You're taking mine," she answered, deactivating her shield and removing it from her belt. She clipped it onto Rhys' belt and it flared to life, gradually recharging even amidst his protests.

"Whoa, no no no no, I can't take your shield! You need that!"

She quirked a brow at him in response. "You're gonna need it more, plus out of the two of us, I'm faster on my feet. And don't worry too much about it, I've got a backup in my inventory."

She cycled through her digital items, selecting the other shield she had in her inventory. It wasn't too much weaker than the one she had given her boyfriend, so she didn't feel too exposed as she clipped it on and it rapidly charged to full capacity.

"Now, we've gotta come up with a solid plan on how to deal with Mr. Dramatic," Fiona started, watching as Rhys shoved his AAA pistol down his waistband and put the bag of jerky in the now empty slot in his digital inventory.

"Ooh, Mr. Dramatic, that's nice - but what about Captain Dramatic? Sounds funnier."

The vault hunter rolled her eyes. "Rhys, focus."

"Okay. But just hear me out... Doctor Dramatic, huh? Huh? Come on, you can't tell me that it doesn't sound funny and dastardly."

Okay... This was gonna be a while.

Stepping through the dense fog was anxiety inducing, it almost felt like it was purposefully moving against them and keeping the enemy from sight. At any moment, he could burst through the wall of mist and be upon them in seconds. They really had to strain their senses to catch even the slightest of changes to their environment.

Always aware, all of the time.

They didn't know how much time had passed, but soon it started to feel as if they were safe. Perhaps... Perhaps they had imagined a headless cloaked rider who threw flaming pumpkins at strangers in the woods. Certainly the idea itself was crazy - a far-fetched notion born from lack of sleep and constant worry.

The Pandoran stopped and tugged on her boyfriend's arm, pulling him to a stop alongside her. He had been stalking around just as on edge as she was, and it sort of felt silly to be walking around in circles in the middle of the woods at night. It was late in the year and night at this time of the autumn season was cold and wet. Truthfully, they could just continue to follow Sasha's boot prints rather than waste anymore time on this wild rakk chase-

A sudden glow to their left drew her eye, and immediately she shoved Rhys out of the way, jumping back herself as another flaming pumpkin crashed into the ground where they had been standing. Flaming bits of the jack-o-lantern pelted their shields, but that was of less concern than the rider on the massive steed that had just appeared.

His dark form cleaved through the fog, heading straight towards Fiona as another incendiary jack-o-lantern appeared instantly in his waiting hand.

"Rhys, remember the plan!" she called out, turning and drawing Doctor Dramatic after her as she sprinted towards the bridge for the second time that night.

If he answered back, she couldn't hear him over the sound of the horse's hooves galloping after her, and quickly gaining speed.

She ducked and rolled to the side as another firey pumpkin was thrown at her back, depleting her shield's capacity entirely. She hid behind a large tree by the edge of the clearing, trying to catch her breath as she brought out her assault rifle.

Checking the status of her recharge rate, she watched her shield capacity as it quickly started to fill up from zero. 'Okay, so pumpkins that happen to be on fire are very damaging and dangerous, noted.' She checked to make sure her safety was off before peeking around the edge of the trunk.

Fiona's ECHO rang and she answered it automatically without thinking. She was used to being contacted while crouched behind cover as bullets and/or axes whizzed by her (such was the life of a vault hunter), so this time was no different.

"Yeah?" she answered curtly, emptying a full clip into the horseman as he stormed towards her, before dropping back down behind her cover. The rider took a good sixty bullets to the chest like a sponge - this was not gonna be as easy as she'd hoped. She began swapping the empty clip for a new one when the caller spoke.

"Hey Fi, sorry it took forever to-"

"Sasha?!"

"Yeah?"

Fiona was half relieved, half incredulous in this moment. "Sasha, where have you been? Where are you? Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine, my ECHO just up and died on me, so I had to leave the creepy little town I was in to go to the city for the nearest repair shop-"

"I thought something bad had happened to you!"

"Nah, you know me, I can handle myself. Did you come all this way just for me? I can see from your ECHO location that you're in that old town I was in - it's creepy right? The vibes in that place are totally off-"

Another flaming pumpkin was thrown against her cover, bits of tree bark and pumpkin rind still on fire were raining down next to her crouched figure.

"Sasha, look... Rhys and I are in the middle of something right now, so I'll call you when we're done."

"Ew, I really don't wanna know that..."

Fiona's face burned red. "It's- NO it's not-" The vault hunter sighed in frustration over the sound of her sister's light giggles.

"I'm just teasing~ Enjoy your date and call me later. Bye Fi!"

"Bye, brat..." the Pandoran woman stashed her ECHO device away, turning to help her boyfriend finish this thing off.

Rhys was following the plan, drawing the horseman's attention to him by running and firing an entire clip into his broad back. Doctor Dramatic turned the horse and started charging at the young CEO. She couldn't hear him from across the clearing, but she could certainly imagine the sound of the yelp he let out as he fell back behind some cover.

She shot out of her hiding spot and ran down the edge of the treeline, keeping her sights locked onto their opponent. When he got too close to the small boulder that her boyfriend was taking cover behind, she stopped and lifted her assault rifle to point it at the rider's back.

She used the sights to aim because any stray bullet could miss and possibly hit Rhys, and even though he had a great shield, she still didn't want to take any chances. As soon as she had the middle of his cloaked back in view, she pulled the trigger and shot massive amounts of hot lead into their pursuer.

The rider seemed to lurch forward, dropping a pumpkin and almost falling from the force of being shot at, and Fiona started to hope that this would be the end of it. But her hope was fleeting as he seemed to shake off the attack and right himself in his saddle. He turned, and reached out to his side, materializing a sword out of nowhere. He swung it in a graceful but powerful arc, the sharp blade singing as it cut through the cloudy air.

'Oh shit...' she thought, having no time to panick as he forced his mount to start barreling towards her.

She threw the large gun onto her back and booked it towards the bridge. Drawing the vegetable tossing rider closer to the only safe space they had was part of the plan. She could just make out the roof ridge in the distance, its peak high enough that the mist seemed to thin closer to the top.

But the rider was on her sooner than she expected.

She heard the singing of the blade as it swung towards her from behind.

Rhys' shout in the distance, the heavy billowing breaths from the horse, the blade cleaving through everything with no resistance. Everything was happening all so fast and there was no time to react.

The sword sliced right through her shield, immediately making it crash to zero. In the arc of the same swing, the edge of the blade cut cleanly through her neck. Or it would have, but Rhys was unloading the last of his bullets into the rider and that altered Doctor Dramatic's aim. Instead of decapitating her, the sharp edge of the blade cut upwards and sliced through Fiona's hat.

She landed hard on the ground, her breath getting punched right out of her as the rider changed direction and started heading for the company man. She looked ahead of her as her beloved hat - now in two evenly halved pieces - tumbled onto the ground in front of her.

'My hat...!' she despaired, staring at what was left of it in absolute heartbreak.

Her eyes hardened and she pushed herself up, the fury of a thousand bullymongs making her seek not only victory, but revenge now.

Rhys pulls the trigger to his prototype gun, frowning at the empty clicking sound it was making. "Out of bullets already? Note to self: get the R&D department to extend the cliiIIIIP-"

He dropped down and covered his head as the horseman rode up to him and swung his blade over the young CEO. Fiona was on the other side of the clearing, and whatever she was doing was making enough noise that it drew the rider's attention again. This close to Doctor Dramatic, Rhys could activate his ECHO eye and see that the being sitting on top of the steed really had no head... His entire bodily form seemed as if it was constructed of shifting shadows. Even his gleaming, deadly blade looked as if it was made out of solidified moonlight.

Before Rhys could take in any more details, the horseman kicked off and raced back towards Fiona. He couldn't see his girlfriend from this perspective, the bodies of the rider and his steed obscuring his view. But she was still fussing with something by the sounds of it, so she needed more time. But he had nothing left...! Nothing, except for that one thing...

The vault hunter slides the last of the rockets into the chamber, loading the launcher properly as her enemy comes barreling towards her. As she flicks the safely off and moves to lift the giant weapon, she can hear her boyfriend shout from behind the fast approaching rider, "IT LOOKS LIKE YOU NEED A HAND!"

From behind the horseman she can see Rhys lift his cybernetic arm, leveling it at Doctor Dramatic's back before it explodes out of his sleeve and rockets towards his cloaked back. Rhys'... Mechanical fist strikes the rider down, making him tumble off of his horse. The horse then collapses into a cloud of smoke, blending with the fog swirling around.

The rider stands up and redraws his sword, but before he can come any closer, Fiona fires her rocket launcher at him, the kickback almost knocking her off her feet. The projectiles meet Doctor Dramatic, a massive explosion obliterating their relentless attacker in a rain of pumpkin guts that gets splattered all over them.

The vault hunter flinched upon impact, taking a moment to lower her heavy weapon from off her shoulder to rest at her feet, reaching up to wipe away stringy orange innards and pumpkin seeds from her face.

The head of Atlas jogs over to her, stopping midway through to retrieve his robotic forearm from the pile of pumpkin innards, shaking it off before walking over to her.

"Well... That was eventful."

She looked down at the partial arm he held in his left hand. "So when were you gonna tell me about that?"

Rhys shrugged, the beginnings of a shy smile twitching at his lips. "Eh, it's also, sort of... A prototype. I don't even have a name for it. Got the idea from a video game, heh."

He held out his partially empty sleeve towards her, and she reached over her rocket launcher to start rolling up the fabric. Once it was up over his elbow joint, he fit his mechanical forearm over the slotted edges and sealed it back in place. He flexed his metal hand to ensure everything was synced up properly.

"Hey... Did you say anything cool when you fired your rocket at him?"

The Pandoran tilted her head, "Why would I?"

"Aww, it's just, you missed an opportunity to say something badass like 'Take two of these and don't call me in the morning,' ya know, because we called him Doctor Dramatic? It would have been cool and funny..."

She scoffed in amusement, shaking her head at him. "Rhys, I think you're mixing up being a vault hunter with a movie star," she said as she dematerialized her launcher back into her digital inventory. "So is that what that whole 'Looks like you need a hand' thing was about?"

Clearly embarrassed, Atlas' president cleared his throat and brushed a hand down his jacket, flicking off pieces of wet pumpkin pulp. "By the way... I got a text from Sasha that said 'winky-face' so I'm assuming she's okay."

"Yeah, she called me in the middle of all that and told me her ECHO device had just died, but she's fine. I told her I'd call her back after we were done, so let's start heading back."

He pulled up his palm display and began entering a short message to Sasha as they headed towards the covered bridge. "I'm checking her location now and it says she's nearby. I'll text her back and ask her to meet us at the hotel."

"Great..." Fiona managed around a yawn, so glad that this awful situation was finally over with. "Hey, thanks for everything by the way. I couldn't have done it without you." She smiled tiredly up at her boyfriend.

He reached out and tucked some of her hair back behind her ear. "Hey, that's what husbands are for, right?"

She chuckled and reached up to flick a pumpkin seed off of the tip of his ear. "Whatever Mr. Rocket Fist..."

Rhys nudges the woman at his side and says "I don't know about you, but this has kinda put me in the mood for some pumpkin pie... What about you?"

"...Rhys... As much as I love you, I will strangle you. I don't wanna see another pumpkin for a long, long time."

"Aww, you said it first this time...! I love you too Fi."

Fiona looks over at him incredulously. "I want a divorce..."

Rhys shrugged, a bashful smile on his face. "What can I say, I just find you so cute when you're violent."

Fiona rolled her eyes, but as always, couldn't mask her affection for the dork by her side. She linked their pumpkin stained hands together and pulled him down for a quick kiss. When they broke, she looked up at him with a tired smile and said "Let's head back to the hotel and clean up, this is officially the worst honeymoon ever."

They turn and start walking hand in hand across the dark and quiet bridge, back towards the edge of town.

"A shower and a bed sounds really nice right about now..."

Fiona smirked. "Even better than a pumpkin pie?"

Rhys snickered, slinging his arm over his girlfriend's shoulders and pulling her against him. "You're never gonna let me live that down, are you?"

"I could be persuaded to forget... With a little monetary incentive..."

"Of course, what else should I have expected?"

Fiona wrapped her arm around his slim waist, allowing them to press closer then before. "Well, I'll be nice and give you the soon-to-be ex-husband discount, of course."

"Ooh how generous, my sweet, kind hearted, vault hunter soon-to-be ex-wife~"

Fiona chuckled, nudging him lightly. "Dork..."

Entering the double doors of the hotel, the tired couple were immediately greeted by the one person they came to find. Sasha looked damn near radiant, breaking out into a big smile as soon as she saw them.

"It took you two long enough," she quipped, way too chipper for the likes of the incredibly exhausted pair.

"Shut up~" Fiona groaned playfully, stepping over to give her sister a hug.

She was stopped when Sasha held up a hand with a slight grimace. "Save the hugs for later, when you're not covered in..." She waved her hand in a vague gesture over the two of them. "Whatever this is."

"Fair enough," the older sister shrugged, dragging herself towards the stairs with her lanky boyfriend in tow. "Shower first, hugs later..."

"Actually," Sasha called out, "just get your bags, I'll drive us to the big city so we can get some five star take-out and bedding with a high thread count. My treat."

Rhys and Fiona sighed in unison at the thought of such luxuries after the ordeal they just had. Quality food and quality bedding sounded nothing short of heavenly in this moment. They quickly mumbled their agreement, heading off to fetch their belongings.

After retrieving their bags and coming down, they spotted Lady Van Tassel by the check-in desk. Something had soured her once sweet demeanor, and now she was watching them leave with clear irritation on her features.

"Sorry Lady," Rhys spoke, apologizing for such a quick exit. "We're canceling the remaining reservation but I'm happy to pay you for the night."

He took a step towards her when Sasha put a hand on his arm to stop him. "Go sit in the backseat with Fi, I'll pay for your stay. After all, you came all this way just for me, it's the least I can do."

"Oh, are you sure? Thanks, Sasha, I owe you one," he promised, eager to finally get some rest. "Thank you again Lady Van Tassel, goodbye...!" He turned and both he and Fiona make their way over to the car, the two already practically asleep on their feet.

If Rhys would have waited to see the older woman's reaction, he would've witnessed the scowl full of hate she was no longer able to hide.

Sasha looked over at her coolly, aware of who she really was. "Your attempt on their lives is payment enough, right... Witch?"

Lady Van Tassel glares sharply at her, but says nothing.

The younger Pandoran woman smiles knowingly, before turning and leaving the hotel behind her, making her way over to the car. Fiona and Rhys were just snuggling in together in the back when Sasha settled into the driver's seat. The company man had already inserted the key into the ignition, so all she had to do was start it.

She pulled out from the parking spot, turning the wheel easily and driving through the town. She glanced down to her right to see a plastic bag on the passenger seat. Slowing down to check its contents, she laughs quietly to herself as she finds it's full with sticks of jerky.

Continuing the drive, she finally makes it out of town and starts heading towards the cluster of city lights in the far off distance. Glancing in the rear view mirror, she smiles at the sight of the couple leaning against each other, fast asleep. Rhys was already starting to drool and Fiona was snoring softly, both of them clutching their luggage like teddy bears to their pumpkin stained chests.

This story was heavily inspired by Tim Burton's movie "Sleepy Hollow". Who doesn't love a good headless horseman?

♡ Tag List ♡

for everyone who interacted with these posts promoting (?) this fic (let me know if you'd like to be removed from the Tag List):

♡ @sanzosin ♡ @andaxay ♡ @admiralsweko ♡ @timothylawrenceatlas ♡ @elusivexx ♡ @yuuki-mishima ♡ @goddessluver27 ♡ @karedevil4ever ♡ @mordecaixhope ♡ @multi-ship-writer ♡ @anothergameofwickedgrace ♡ @z3pp3l1

©rin-bellatrix 2022

☆ borderlands masterlist ⋆ main masterlist ☆

[aroaceconfessions]

tbh I think I worked on my duality of being sex repulsed and hypersexual as a means to manage how uncomfortable I always felt whilst feeling unable to properly express it to my friends. I learned not to blush at the mention of my friends speaking of sex or anything looking phallic being remarked upon or even sitting on a sex scene in silence by watching a lot of porn/sex heavy movies and shows and reading a lot of smut. with YT I expanded my searches by watching videos about sex and sexuality (and tbh I am curious because I am so confused about who I am and the way I see sex/sexuality) too. it's better to be silent and nod along as everyone sounds off about sex because they don't know how to manage their discomfort. intellectualize it so no one can scoff at me being a prude/inexperienced.

I think this is one of the top reasons as to why I'm an enthusiastic smut writer. It's the only place I feel safe and comfortable to work out my thoughts and feelings on sex. if my friends or peers read the smut I write they might mistake it as my literal fantasies, that I want to be romanced and be sexually active. But that's really not it...like, the act of thinking it and writing it, that's the comfort. I really don't know if anyone will get it. In my head, I have to become comfortable with it and the only way to feel comfortable is to control every aspect of it. And I know the only way to do that is to create a story in my head and write it down.

And I don't know if I explained it to anyone they would get it or if they would believe me? So I just stay quiet and write my smut fics in secret. I tell my friends and family I don't intend to date or have kids. Telling them outright I'm aroace will just be an invitation for them to "fix" me by coming up with arguments to get me to change my mind. or finding the "right guy" to change my mind.

as a WOC in the US I feel like a lot of Ace folks stay quiet about being Ace because we simply know our family/community will just see it as a new method of "The Gays" destroying tradition and it's not worth it to bring on a new issue to push up against. simply saying I have no interest in dating or having kids is enough.

[skele-bunny]

Hello! It's is me again in to cause chaos but the fluffy kind this time, let's let my boy phantom have a break of my horrific angsty ideas. I was curious so do you have any Cumulus hc or ficlest you would like to share? She doesn't have many that i can find and it's a tragedy 😔

(Also since i thought it would be fun would you mind if identify myself with a lil 🎃?)

Hi pumpkin!! You can totally be my pumpkin anon that's adorable wnkekd

Unfortunately, I have 0 Cumulus fics 🥺 I don't actively search her out, or write her that much as I gotta be real, I'm a ghoul person. It genuinely is a tragedy and my heart goes out for the Ghoulette lovers (I love those ladies but I'm better at writing males snejdk)

But!! I most absolutely do have some hc's I'd love to share about her!

Obviously, Cumulus is an air ghoulette. While she may be short in stature, she's still super intimidating and can be at ass. I like to think air ghouls have the ability to literally travel with the wind, mostly with running. That little lady will be across the abbey and then back to her den within SECONDS. Got some pretty claws she likes painting and always staying sharp

She's a big hugger! Will happily open her arms for anyone that wants/needs a hug, and she's honestly so soft. Air ghouls have feathers usually on their chest/neck/ankles/stomach/abdomen, which makes them silky to the touch. It's also good at helping maintaining temperature for hotter/colder weather!

Keeps getting nicknamed "birdy" by Cirrus as she has a habit of sitting in higher altitudes (trees, rooftops) and just singing. She enjoys not only the view, but the similarity of the pit when she'd be in the clouds doing the exact same.

Cumulus' hair is a pain in everyone's ass. Sheds like it's not bodies business. Giant white strands on the couch, in laundry, stuck to the towels, LAWD.... Her brush always stays full 💀

Her and Mountain can be seen in the kitchen together with her reading off from a cookbook, Mountain actually doing the work. He'll have her go through his many collections to pick out a new recipe for him to try and make for dinner. Lus' always picks the wildest things just to tease him, but she is genuinely curious about the food. Mountain rewards her for her help by making her be the taste tester jekdkd

Her, Cirrus, Sunshine, and Aurora love hanging out together the most. Constant little spa days or self care time, gosh those ladies gossip so much. She loves staying up to date with Sister of Sin issues, just filing her nails and listening to how "Janet slept with Abraham when she knew Alice and Abraham were on a break and Alice was thinking about getting back together again." Does the stereotypical "no she did not!"

Mist and Cumulus are really, really good friends! They don't hang out as much as they'd like to, but when they do they just talk for hours. Ranging from the pit, shows and ones of past, what's going on their own lives, and their mates. They never seem to run out of topics and even though Mist isn't a big cuddler, let's Cumulus snuggle right up to him and will comb through her hair with his nails

She knows how to play the harp! Down in the pits they have harp-like instruments and that was their main source of melody. There's one in the chapel she likes to sit down and play when it's empty

Her and Cirrus are inseparable, they're so in love dude 🥺 air ghoul culture, trading your feathers with one another and weaving it into your hair/clothes is a significant of bonding and romance. Big.... Big romanticals.....

Cumulus is a switch, and when that lady tops? You ain't surviving /j. Loves working her partners up on the ever increasing strap sizes she has, makes them work for it too.

[theninthdoor]

im from the same silly christmas request 😅 can i request for nct dream again? another thing i am curious about is that since being an idol makes it hard for them to date, what do each members feel about the idea of dating/getting into a relationship in near future?

if two requests is too much it’s okay if you can only do this one request 😄 thank you #tarotquickquestions

keep in mind that i didn't look into whether or not they are in a relationship right now. i'm strictly answering your question! if something does come up regarding that, it's because it was somehow relevant for what we're reading on.

Mark || the hermit, seven of wands: It would be rather difficult, with everything that is going on in his life. He would have to fight very hard to keep the relationship going, or at least that's what he thinks at the moment. It seems like he wants to be single for a little while, or simply until someone he deems worth the fight comes along.

Renjun || knight of pentacles, the world: He's up for it, and willing to put in the effort to turn it into something stable and fulfilling. I also think he has recently come to some realizations over what he truly wants out of love, and now he finally feels ready to put it into practice.

Jeno || knight of swords, the moon: It depends… At times he might feel like he'd really enjoy that, but then all of a sudden he's not so sure about it anymore. If the right opportunity comes along, he might take it, tho.

Haechan || temperance, six of wands: All good. He thinks he can handle anything that comes his way. Haechan has no problem managing both his career and his love life at the same time. Although, mind you- I don't feel like he's looking for something too serious at the moment.

Jaemin || seven of swords, three of cups: He's certainly up for it, but he'd want to keep it very, very private. It would have to be with someone he's already familiar with.

Chenle || six of swords rx, five of swords: Chenle is still dealing with some emotional baggage from past connections. He's just not yet ready to move on towards something new.

Jisung || king of wands, knight of cups: Jisung would be up for it, absolutely. I do feel like he's really desiring to bring some romance and excitement into his life, and might be actively looking for it (that doesn't mean that he's going around town searching for potential partners, yall...).

(Disclaimer: all readings are alleged and for entertainment purposes only.)

[rewritingrosie]

ᥫ᭡ roleplay partner search !

hello, hello! I’m Rosie, and I’m calling for all those actively seeking new roleplay partners! I’m aiming to pick up a couple new writing partners, as I am 20, all applicants are preferably 18+ at minimum! check and see whether we’d be a match! ‹𝟹

about me !

Hello, hello! I’m Rosie :3

I just turned 20 this past year in october! I’m an admin assistant full time in the rv industry currently, on top of being a writer and a part time artist, so I’m seeking someone who is comfortable with 1-2 responses a day, & is flexible. I’m CST.

I’ve been role-playing / co-writing for about 4-5 years, DnD for about 2 years, and it's a beloved past-time of mine! If I’m not writing or working, I’m spending time with my boyfriend or cats, or playing a game! Eventually, my big dream is to publish a book, even if it's with a writing partner — but really I just enjoy creating!

ཐི WRITING PARTNER QUALIFICATIONS:

AGE RANGE, OTHER:

19-27! I’m not comfortable with writing with minors or men, regardless of whether the content is NSFW. I prefer to write with women or nonbinary individuals over men for the sake of comfort!

PAIRINGS:

I enjoy writing FxM, with me playing the female, unless we double! In that case, I’ll make your sweet dream of a character any day! :)

DURATION:

Longterm writing partners preferred, not into one-shots! We put a lot of our energy into our stories, and I don't like to see that go to waste! When one story ends, I love to see another begin!

ACTIVITY & OOC CHATTER:

fairly active! As we all have lives, provided you let me know if something pops up, I don't mind at all if you can only do 1-2 responses per day! That being said, I am VERY OOC-chatter friendly! I love brainstorming head-cannons, making playlists, pinterest boards (as a pinterest fiend), send tiktoks, and oc info sheets! I also want to just be friends with my writing partners!! It makes the writing come easier, and we spent a lot of time together! :)

PLOTTERS, NOT PANTSERS:

I prefer to be able to world-build to some degree with my partners, even if it's in a modern setting! I want to have someone as invested as I am! Of course, it's perfectly okay if the energy pulls us in an opposite direction later when we get to know our characters better, but the effort is what's important!

WRITING DETAILS:

I typically write in 3rd person, and can comfortably write 3-5 paragraphs per response, while I can scale up if I’m excited! While I can write more, I do tend to have slower responses the longer they are, and can get overwhelmed once we head into the Novella area! :) But I’ll always communicate that! Genre-wise, I thrive in high, dark, or urban fantasy, but I also enjoy historical or modern settings as well!! I LOVE writing romance, and fluff, so don't be scared if high intensity rp’s aren't your thing — I’m a big softie!

N/SFW:

I am N/SFW friendly, but this is not mandatory by any means for any of my partners! I prefer tasteful spice — 30/70 to 40/60, and by that, I mean I want the chemistry to be there, and I want our focus to be on connection and plot-building! :)

FANDOM / ORIGINAL:

I prefer writing originals over fandom-based stories! That doesn’t mean we can't taken inspiration though!

SOME TROPES / PAIRINGS I ENJOY /DYNAMICS:

enemies-to-lovers, rivals, forbidden love (not to be mistaken with taboo!), secret identity, soulmates or ‘bonded’ souls (soulmate tattoos), opposites, protection tropes, academic rivals, deity with a mortal, artist with muse, assassins sent to kill each other, fake dating, forced proximity, royalty ANYTHING, dating shows, masked character, fallen angels, detectives x criminal, and a LOT more!

* the roleplay itself will take place on discord! I like making personalized servers for us! If interested, feel free to dm! can’t wait to chat!!!

[jerzwriter]

Thank you for answering.

4. Is your oc's environment supportive about their identity? How does this impact them?

11. Is your oc open about their identity? Are they more lowkey or more blunt about it? Why or why not?

13. Would your oc be open to a poly relationship? Why or why not?

Hey Nonnie, Thanks for sending these in! From this list.

4. Is your OC's environment supportive of their identity? How does this impact them?

Currently? Yes, they are all in environments that are very supportive. In OH land, Casey has a supportive partner, her friends are either queer or allies, and even her workplace is supportive - even if the last one is just for PR reasons. But it wasn't always that way. She chooses not to speak with most of her mother's side of the family because of their queerphobia (among other things).

Trystan and Carolina are both bisexual, and they absolutely love having a partner who "gets it." While Trystan is the opposite of demiro, he's always been very respectful of Carolina's boundaries.

Their friends and the family they choose to surround themselves with are supportive, but there are people in both of their families who would not be. In Trystan's case, even though some of his younger siblings were out, no one cared as much because they were further down the line of secession. Carolina also has some old-school Catholic family, but they're distant relatives, and she keeps her circle small.

11. Is your OC open about their identity? Are they more lowkey or more blunt about it? Why or why not?

So Casey is 100% open. If you google her name, you're going to see her activism pop to the top of your search, and that includes articles and interviews where she is loud and proud. That said, her end-game romance is with a man, so her relationship is straight presenting. And when it comes to clothing/style, especially at work, she is rather conventional. So, some people are surprised to learn she is bi. This hasn't always been liked in the fandom, but I don't care. Because trust me when I tell you, there are plenty of people who fit that very description in the community. But she's 100% open. Her children know she's bisexual from the time they're young and it's nothing she ever hides.

Carolina is also open and always has been. She really has had an "IDGAF, this is who I am." attitude from the time she was in her teens. But her identity is part of who she is. It's not all that she is. So it's not like she introduces herself by saying, "Hi, I'm Carolina, and I'm queer." But she's definitely not hiding it.

Trystan is also out, but I don't think he's "as" out. This stems from him being a public figure and in the media. Everyone in his personal life/realm knows, but he doesn't make much about it publicly. Now, people know he's dated men and women, so it's obviously known, but he doesn't focus on it publicly simply because he feels his private life is his private life.

13. Would your OC be open to a poly relationship? Why or why not?

I recently answered this, I think for you, actually lol! But here is my answer again:

Tobias & Casey (OH) : At one point in their lives, they might have considered this, likely with other partners (not each other). While Casey may have been willing to try, I don't think it would have worked well for her. She might have been OK with having an open sexual relationship, but love? No. Deep down, she has some security issues, and she would not be able to accept her partner being in love with someone other than her. Prior to Casey, I don't think Tobias even wanted the level of commitment he'd have to have in polyamoury. He was just having fun, no strings attached, and he never cared enough about anyone to really go beyond that. But, like, if he met Casey and she was poly, would he have given it a go? Hmmm. Never really thought about it, but I don't know. I honestly don't think he'd be keen on sharing her. Now, this is all in HC, I do have some AUs in WIP folder where they have an open/poly relationship, so I may explore it that way in the future.

Ethan & Kaycee (OH): Nope. That's the answer. lol He is 100% not wired for a poly relationship and she is 99% not wired for it.

Trystan & Carolina (COP): No. Trystan is a one-person kind of guy. Once he commits, he commits. As for Carolina, while it is possible to be demiro and poly, it's not possible for her. She has very little interest in getting to know anyone in a romantic love sort of way. Trystan was almost a fluke (one she's really happy about, but a fluke nevertheless). Plus, they just get each other so much, and they don't really have any desire to go outside of their relationship.

Eli & Zoe (WTD): Truthfully, I've toyed with the idea of them being poly. Mostly because I think being polyamorous in their world actually makes sense - it's practical. You don't know who will live to see the next day, so having a strong polycule could actually be a wonderful thing for the individual and for children should they come in the future. But with that said, I don't see them as poly. But again... maybe in an AU. :)

Thanks for asking!

[pridelessdaydreamer]

PLOTTER / SHIPPER

taken from: nat's linoan!

tagging: flutters my lashes like a funny lil guy :eye::sparkles:

1. CONNECTIONS

write about how our muses could connect with each other! ex. what does your muse like to do that other people would be involved in? do they have interests that other people might share?

Linhardt is a Black Eagle, and one native to Fódlan. Any who decide to study the politics of the continent would easily stumble upon his house, and connections can be drawn from there (accurate or otherwise).

She is a frequenter of the library though, even if she's most often found there late at night. Aside from her chronic reading, she also likes to fish! Not competitively though. She's not that competitive.

If you can't find them in class, the library, or at the Fishing Grounds though, just wander around the monastery a bit—they're probably asleep underneath a tree somewhere. Or in their room asleep, in which case, good luck finding them.

2. PLATONIC

write about your muse and their concept of friendship. ex. how is your muse like with friends? do they make friends easily or do they find it difficult to connect with others?

Friendship for Lin is... interesting, to say the least. They'll regard you much the same as they would any other person, but perhaps with slightly less rudeness/sass (unless you're really close, then it's worse *cough cough* CASPAR *cough cough*). The chance of summoning them with the click of your heels increases by 0.5%, so that's also a neat bonus! Really, the big thing is that they'll consciously worry about you now (when they think it's necessary to worry, otherwise, you're on your own).

The thing is, once you actually manage to pin him down, so long as you aren't asking him to do work all the time, you'd be pretty alright in his book! The threshold for 'friendship' though is rather hard to pin down—one day you're acquaintances and the next you're friends. It's not really easy to draw the line.

I can't say she makes friends easily considering she... doesn't exactly try, to be quite frank (it's part of the reason the previous bullet is so nebulous). She'd be completely content being alone forever (minus that one hamster), and she doesn't really rely on others that much except to do work she'd rather not do! Actively seeking out a friend isn't really something she does. I can't say she struggles either though—there is simply no effort made at all. Alas.

3. ANTAGONISTIC

write about your muse and the conflicts they have with other people. ex: who are they on bad terms with? what kind of people do they not get along well with? how do they act around people they don’t like?

Hubert. Also Ferdinand. Edelgard to an extent. Caspar sometimes (it's a best friends thing) /j. Yeah. Yeah.

To elaborate, anybody who expects her to put in more than the minimum amount of effort gotta be joking fr! It's not that bad if it's a misunderstanding, but if you try to force it? Yikes. (Edelgard ain't that bad fr cuz she knows when to quit! Also when to appeal. She's cool ong)

Admittedly, antagonism for Linhardt is basically the same as their normal behavior, just snarkier. More witty rebuttals and sharp comments—this man can never be anything but blunt! They're already very likely to just walk away from a conversation, but if they don't like you? Ohoho!

Won't lose sleep over it though. That's a bit too much.

4. ROMANTIC

write about your muse and their relationship with romance. ex. are they searching for love or not interested in it in the slightest? what’s their dating history like? how do they act around crushes? how would they treat their partner if they were in a relationship?

Okay 'cause this is hilarious when the muse is aromantic gwahaha!

This is an aroace lil guy—completely disinterested in romance for romance's sake (because someone tell me how he tells how many different girls they're gonna have kids together in his A-supports? Also in basically every instance it's got something to do with crests and studying them. He's a bit insane).

Their dating history is completely blank. There is actually nothing to see here.

Similarly, there are no crushes for her to act different around! This one is fairly normal (<- this post was brought to you by the Aspec Gang)

As for how he'd treat his partner if he was dating—the same way he would act if they were friends? lol? Literally nothing has changed in his mind except that there might be kisses or something. (Is there a book he can read somewhere on this? Probably.)

Oh well she's probably gonna get married off for political purposes anyway. (This post was brought to you by the Noble Clique.)

[bindupthesebrokenbones]

For Self-Care Sunday this week, I challenge you, my readers, to take yourself out on a date. As I often will for this blog, I have a couple of links at the end of this post for worksheets/printables related to today's content!

What is a date, really?

In terms of romance and partnership, there tend to be three types of dates.

Testing the waters These are the initial dates where you determine compatibility. It's important before starting a serious relationship to see if you and your potential partner are physically, mentally, socially, spiritually, emotionally, and even financially compatible with one another. These initial "testing the waters" dates can often determine those things fairly quickly.

Getting to know you These are the more serious dates. You've worked out that you're attracted to each other, you get along, and neither of you have a weird habit or behavior that serves as an immediate turn off. Great! "Getting to know you" dates are exactly what they sound like. These dates focus on socializing together to learn about the less obvious aspects of yourselves. A "getting to know you" date might be in public or private, and these also tend to be a little more adventurous than testing the waters. These are the dates where you introduce your hobbies, quirks, passions, and dreams to your potential partner.

Maintenance Maintenance dates are the ones you hear about long-term couples enjoying. People who are married but still go on dates are "maintenance" dating. The point of this type of date is to 'maintain' your relationship. All relationships require work and effort - if you don't put that work in, the relationship will eventually fail. Maintenance dates tend to be activities that you know you enjoy with your partner, and you've specifically set time aside to do that activity.

If dating is about relationships, how do you date yourself?

Good question!

If you think about the three types of dates I described above, apply those to your relationship with yourself. Everyone in the world has a relationship with themselves - we hate ourselves or love ourselves, we take good care of ourselves or we don't, we know who we are or want to be or we're still figuring it out.

Taking yourself on a date is all about improving your relationship with yourself and learning who you are. Keeping the above descriptions in mind, what dating stage do you think you're at with yourself? Are you still figuring yourself out, or do you have a strong sense of who you are?

Today, dear reader, I want you to either take yourself on a date, or make a plan for a self-date later this week. Make sure you stick to it!

Ideas for Dates

You're welcome to use these ideas for partnership dates as well, but for today focus on just you!

Testing the Waters

For a "testing the waters" date, try something safe, low/no cost, and if you're comfortable with it, public. The following options may or may not fit those criteria depending on where you live!

Search online for "things to do in [state/town you live in]" and check out your local culture

Visit a museum, zoo, or aquarium - even the ones that have admission fees will often have reduced rate/free days if you check their websites!

Attend an outdoor concert - many venues will have free lawn space where you can bring a blanket or chairs and food, and sit and listen to the performance

Have a picnic - grab a blanket and some finger food and head out to a park to sit, relax, and enjoy nature

Go to an amusement park - This one might be on the pricier side depending on what park you go to and whether or not you can/do bring your own food and drinks. But any amusement park can be enjoyed for just the price of admission!

Getting to Know You

These dates are meant to be adventurous! Explore new things, try things that you've been meaning to try, do things that you know you love but haven't made time for before.

Try an art class (painting, pottery, woodshop, whatever interests you!)

Go for a nature walk

Sing Karaoke

Go mini-golfing

Go bowling

Go skating (roller or ice!)

Have a shopping day (window shopping counts if you're trying low/no cost!)

Visit your local farmers market/art fair

Take a road trip and visit places that catch your eye along the way

Go to a comedy show/open mic night

Check out a renaissance fair or living history museum

Go see a stage play/musical

Cook something new

Visit a local farm - most of them have something happening every season, even winter, and they tend to be VERY affordable

Do some volunteer work

Take a photo walk

Attend/host a trivia or game night with friends

Go to the flea market

Try an escape room

Go to an arcade/have a video game night at home

Visit a nearby lake/pond/pool and enjoy sitting by the water or swimming

Beach day!

Maintenance

Book a spa day (or do an at home spa - I have a post about this for next week!)

The traditional dinner date

Have a weekend getaway (ski trip, weekend at a cabin, or even just a weekend at a local full-service hotel)

Revisit somewhere from your past/recreate an event that meant a lot to you

Start a new tradition

Plant a garden

Go to a drive-in movie (or DIY one at home!)

Make holiday decorations

Indulge in a loved hobby

Yoga/Pilates

Go out with your pet (if appropriate!)

The maintenance list is a little tricky because a major part of taking yourself on maintenance dates is to set time aside for taking care of yourself and doing things that you love. So a maintenance dating list for me might look very different from someone else's!

As promised, here are some free worksheets to help you plan your date with yourself! (All worksheets designed for these daily posts are specifically designed so you can mix-and-match them in your own set up!)

You can buy a PDF and PNG set (with 5 more worksheets) for $1 on my Ko-Fi!

[salemontrial]

Except theyre literally not heterosexual lmao. Just because someone may choose to only date someome of the opposite gender doesn't mean they're sexually attracted to them, how is it different than if a bisexual aromantic girl dated a woman. Soley appearances? There are hundreds of queer relationships that are hetero passing, if you go around using Us VS Them as a background check for who deserves to be in the queer community then you're just making this space just as exclusionary as the cishetero spaces you claim are so toxic.

As for discrimination against acearos you're just wrong. Aside from you yourself providing a stellar example of verbal aphobia with this limp ass take, ace/aros do in fact get subject to violence. Have you never heard of corrective rape, because I personally know more than a few aspecs who've been a victim of that. And with amatonormativity as pervasive as it is, being acearo in the world is pretty much a left-right-goodnight to your mental health right off the back.

No one is forcing you to share a community with aspec people because aspec people have always been a part of this community, denying that shows you haven't actually done much research on queer activism through the decades. And you wanna know what's really fucked up? Seeing someone clearly searching for a community to relate with others like them and find solidarity within and outwardly verbally ostracizing them because they don't match your personal standards of queerness. If you want to push aces and aros to the side to our own little sub community then what about everyone else. Do you just want to carve up the community until we can't rely on eachother anymore? That's a very slipepry slope and also doesn't work. Asexual bisexual people exist. Grey asexual people exist. Romance positive aromantic people exist. And not to mention the overlap between the aspec and trans community. What takes precedence over what when it comes to isolating ourselves for our identities? Your logic is flawed.

I know you aren't going to change your mind on this because you've probably got some sunk-cost fallacy going on with this but I just want to put this up on my dash and respond so less people start peddling the same freezing cold opinions. Goodnight

I'm not trying to come off as aggressive or passive aggressive, I'm simply curious. Why do you believe that straight aromatics/asexuals aren't a part of the community? It would be interesting to hear the reason behind an opinion like this one, as this opinion can be seen as reclusive and homophobic by many people. Would you mind explaining your thought process?

Thank you for being polite, it is nice to read. I do not mind explaning my thought process at all !

You see, we first created this community for same sex attracted people, because society is oppressing us for being attracted to the same sex. Gay and bi people can get killed, kicked out, arrested, fired, etc... because of their sexual orientation. We created this community and fought (we still do, actually) for our rights, for the right to love the same sex in peace. I am sure you know how much many of us have suffered for being gay or bi.

Straight aro/ace people aren't same sex attracted, so I don't believe they should be a part of this community, simply because it's a community for same sex attracted people and they aren't ! It doesn't mean I don't want them to be free or happy. It's just that this community isn’t for them. It doesn't even fit their need.

And forcing same sex attracted people to share the community they created against their oppression with their oppressors (heterosexuals) is kind of fucked up, don't you think ?

Aro/ace people should just have their own community. That is what I believe as a lesbian.

Have a good day/night!