#Just got back from the grave and I want to talk about unicorns

[thermitetermite]

I return from the grave for one night only to post a Helluva Boss AU. Enjoy my delulu AU about a Christmas tree capitalist clown spider demon and his adopted cyborg clown son.

Also there is swearing and mentions of Fizzaroli's accident.

Mammon being a half decent step-dad AU

Mammon hears about Fizz much earlier though the grapevine (Paimon complaining to all royal demons about how his son got rid of all their shit bc of some clown kid)

Interested, he attends a show in disguise.

He finds that Fizz is good. Like, really good! Dollar signs start popping up in his head. Also the little bugger kind of reminds him of himself.

Immediately asks to buy Fizz from Cash Buckzo. He refuses at first because Fizz is his star but with strong negotiating tactics (money and threats) he caves.

Fizz is nervous about leaving his only home behind but is excited to be "adopted" by Mammon! His hero!

It's giving bought by One Direction vibes

At first Mammon was planning to just train him to be a child actor/clown, give him a TV show and pawn him off to someone to actually raise full-time. He wanted to be the convenient step-dad, not a full time parent!

That changed after the first couple nights with Fizz living in his mansion.

It started with Fizz handing him a red balloon horse.

"Alright, not bad kid, but can ya make a balloon unicorn?"

Fizz ran off to attempt to make it. That'll keep him busy for a few hours, guess that meant he could make some calls and... He was back already with the completed unicorn.

"Give me another!"

"Uh, alright ya little bugger, why dontcha make a Quevie?"

This back and forth happened for the next few hours, with Mammon judging the balloon animal, giving a few pointers when he messed up, and Fizz making the next animal he asked for.

Damn, this parenting shit is easy.

It eventually got so late that Fizz fell asleep on the couch trying to complete a kangaroo.

Sighing, Mammon picked Fizz up and carried him to the bedroom he hired someone to decorate. He tucked him into bed and finally after an entire day was able to make a call.

However, the first call he made wasn't to the networking company or his broadcasting station. Instead, it was to Lucifer, his self proclaimed best friend and a successful parent.

"What is it Mammon? Do you have any idea how late it is?"

"Yeah, yeah. I just had a quick question for ya. What do children eat? Cereal? Oats? Ice cream?"

Needless to say, Lucifer had a long talk with Mammon about how to raise a kid, stating it'd be hard work.

After hanging up and going to bed, Mammon had only one thought on his mind. To raise this kid better than any of the other Sins could. His boy would be talk of the town and the best clown in all of Hell.

That first week of parenting went about as well as you'd expect.

Mammon had the approach of being "The fun step-dad" which included eating candy for every meal, teaching him swear words and showing him how to do all the tricks he thought a capable child could do.

(These tricks may or may not have included tax evasion and driving)

Speaking of, Mammon insisted on bringing Fizzaroli everywhere. Including work.

"Mammon, sir, I'm sorry for filing the paperwork for the expansion of LooLoo Land wrong- is that a child?"

"Yeah, this is my boy. Look attem. Ain't he talented!" Cue Fizz hanging off one of his arms. "Whatdya think Fizzie? Should we keep or fire him?"

"Fire!"

"You heard the boy! Off withya, ya bloody cunt!"

"Bloody cunt!"

Mammon would belly laugh whenever Fizzaroli would copy his swearing or accent. When is children swearing NOT funny?

Mammon's definitely the type to have tons of pictures in his wallet of his kid. Fizzaroli does get a TV show, lots of interviews and the spotlight often but whenever someone asks Mammon about him he immediately opens the photo wallet.

(He would kill anyone who even touched it)

Of course he still has some of the Mammon-ness we know, bribing and pushing Fizz to do shows, acts, commercials and more, causing Fizz to start getting overwhelmed.

Then one day Fizz's accident happened (it's a canon event)

Mammon practically broke down Belphagor's door when he got the news Fizz was hurt, demanding his boy get the best treatment in Hell.

Mammon didn't sleep for the entire time Fizz was in that hospital bed, sitting beside him for days at a time just thinking about how he nearly lost him. He couldn't lose him.

When Fizz woke up/was stable, Mammon was there during his emotional moments. When Fizz asked if Mammon would replace him he scoffed.

"Fizzie, why would I replace you? You're in recovery right now. A break. Yer fans are dying to see that Fizzie face when you get outta here. You're more popular and more in demand than ever. You do the recoverin and I'll show you the huge profit we return."

Mammon to English translation: It's stupid to think I'll leave. You'll be able to return to the stage, I'll make sure of it. You'll get better and I'll be here with you.

Fizz eventually recovered but needed limbs so Mammon sent a request (demand) to the best mechanic in Hell, Asmodeus. If anyone could make limbs for his boy it'd be that rooster fuck.

Of course just because Mammon had faith in him didn't mean he wasn't picky in what he delivered.

"Can ya loop your arm like a bendy straw?"

"Uh, no."

"Then it's not good enough for you!"

Mammon practically sent Asmodeus a list of limb adjustments and upgrades that needed to be done every other week. All other times he had Fizzie trying all these different therapies, practicing with his limbs, and occasionally try doing a trick. (Not clown car driving after last time). Eventually he was mostly satisfied with the work and to celebrate "Ozzie not *HONK*-ing up" he started teaching Fizz how to play the guitar.

Cue a bit of a time skip of say 7 years.

Fizz has his hands in nearly every facet of entertainment. News, sports, cooking competitions (which he surprisingly sucked at), and of course comedy. Fizz didn't want to say it but doing so much had him tired, stressed, and anxious. He was doing this for Mammon, the person who gave him everything. He couldn't just let him down. He'd seen what happened to those that failed him. All those people who got fired for mistakes they made. He couldn't fail.

At the same time Mammon wants to get into the robot doll industry. Not sex dolls because he can't stand the thought of his (boy) brand being sold like that. Instead personal assistance robots that have all the features. It can make coffee, teach you yoga, be a parent, etc. but of course he needs the mechanical help of Asmodeus again.

Once again Fizz is taking trips to Lust to oversee the production of the robots. After 2 years of this the robots are completed (a huge financial success) and Fizz asks Mammon if he can stay with Ozzie.

Mammon is surprised but ok with it as long as he visits and does a show every now and again. Especially guest judging the Clown Pageant.

He doesn't realize Fizz and Oz have a thing until the Clown Pageant (his final one in canon)

Once it comes out, oh boy, Mammon goes full demon mode. Shit gets ugly. Mammon goes on his normal rant (minus the "raised you like the son I didn't want" part) and Fizz, unwaivering because he's seen this a million times, retorts back with all the anxiety Mammon caused. The acting and shows. How it weighed on him. How he was so scared of fucking something up and getting kicked out.

"I'd never kick you out! You're the crown jewel of my empire! My runt turned pick of the litta! I made you in my image! If I pushed you hard it was because you could be better! I raised you! You've got my training in your back pocket so I knew you could be a better clown than I ever was! All of this was for you!"

Eventually Mammon breaks down and asks why Asmodeus. He's worried about their relationship considering he's known Asmodeus since the beginning of hell.

"Why do you need to date him when you have my empire! If you need money, we have it! If you need companionship, we can buy it! If you need power we have that too! We built this empire! Your talent brought in a fortune and you've seen how to run the business! If you need your own power or your own space you can have it!"

"I'm not with him for any of those things! I know I have everything else here! But I love him Mammon! He takes care of me. He's kind, sweet, handsome, and supports me even on my roughest days. I love him."

"...he makes you feel safe?"

"Yes."

"He treats you good?"

"He treats me amazingly."

"You love him?"

"With all my heart."

"...ok."

"Ok?"

"I... Respect your decision. I'm going to make it about me but please bear with me. I know I haven't been the best at raising you. I can be overbearing. And clingy. And I pushed you to do a lot of things that were hard or uncomfortable or er... greedy. I haven't been the best influence on your life but I did my best and if I had to I'd do it all over again."

"Mam..."

"Up up up, let me finish ya little shit. You know I have a hard time letting go of things. And I was kidding myself when I thought I'd have ya forever. I forgot how fast ya implings grow up. I thought I could keep ya safe and smilin but I couldn't even do that right. The second most painful thing I experienced in my life was gettin kicked from heaven. The most was seein you in that hospital bed. I've been smotherin ya since. Yer my boy and I wanted better for ya. Thought I could protect ya if I pushed harder. Taught ya more. Did more shit with ya. But in the end you were always gonna have ta leave ta find a life of yer own.

Mammon paused, taking a familiar but heavily deflated remnant of a red horse balloon from under his hat

"I'm at least glad ya took somethin after me. Yer greedy like me and ya landed the best bachelor Hell has ta offer. I... I don't want to let ya go but... Ya need to do this. Live yer life kid, and live it better than me."

The fucking stadium was in tears (me too tbh)

Before Fizz could say anything (he was choking on his words) Mammon extended a card with his sigil on it.

"Remember I'm always here. Please... Call me if ya need me."

Fizz wrapped his robotic limbs around Mammon, bringing him in for a tight hug.

"I love you, Dad."

Mammon cried on that stage, hugging the son he always wanted.

[madstheintrovert]

Ok so OFMD S2 Ep8 spoilers, you’ve been warned.

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So…

What the everloving fuck was that. I just. I am devastated. Ok well I’m happy for Ed and Stede because of course I fucking am. But. What THE EVERLOVING FUCK.

Thoughts:

1- I refuse to let it sink in that a certain someone was gut stabbed and is now buried under a lovely cross (the unicorn leg, the scarf with the ring, get out stop). I will be anxiously awaiting the fanfic writers to fix this. Plz. I’m going to go on Ao3 immediately after I post this.

2- is that dream sequence of Stede’s actually foreshadowing? Because while Izzy does not die at his hand, Izzy dies due to Stede’s plan. Idk.

3- if Izzy doesn’t fucking haunt someone on the crew I’m done. He better show up like the Badmintons to call everyone cocksuckers or I sue.

4-Lucius and Pete got married and that brings me joy (in this pit of despair)

5- aw Ed. ED. I was cackling when he sucked at fishing and Pop pop was ready to fucking beat the shit out of him. Iconic. Also him just staring at the burning ships and being like “stede”. Stop. Also the I love you and the like I saw u do all that “cool” pirate stuff. And BABE. And THE LETTER.

6- Ed pt.2 IZZY AND ED. THAT SCENE STOP. While I don’t feel like Izzy should have died I think he was awesome this episode and definitely like came full character arc this season (the talk with our least favourite pirate wannabe and final words with Ed - I.e., Ed has so much family now. He can just be Ed)

7- Spanish Jackie being awesome and the bit about poison tolerance amongst the hubbies. I love her and the Swede and the Swede is finally getting some fucking respect and love and aw.

8- the seagull on Izzy’s grave. Hey buttons, love u

9- and the quad lives (shoutout to my lovely 4 Jim, Archie, Oluwande and Zheng Yi Sao). Also that moment between Zheng Yi and Auntie. Also Jim patching Auntie up.

10- ok gotta circle back to Izzy and the pirate wannabes chat and how much I love Izzy

11- how are we feeling about ep 8 Bonnet. I personally think he still needs some humbling. Idk because I’m happy about the progress he’s made re being made out to be a failure his whole life and coming to terms with that and becoming this more confident version of himself (I mean he had confidence from Day 1 but he was mighty plagued by all the Shit he went through in his youth). I enjoyed him “trying to protect” Zheng Yi when she wouldn’t run away when the navy because she was mighty fucked over losing Auntie and her crew (which my poor baby). Also I like Zheng Yi calling him out on his bullshit 24/7. But also idk I wanted him to like apologize or smtg because he was being a right dickhead the previous night. Also idk so happy Ed told Stede he loves him but like life’s a dick but so were u Stede… basically I love that Stede is unapologetically himself this season but also sometimes u do need to say ur sorry for being a dickhead.

12- the crew when Izzy died. The look on Jim’s face. Stop. I need to rewatch and look at Al their reactions but Jim’s caught my eye of the pain and sorrow because WE ALL LOVE IZZY NOW.

13- once again, Izzy better haunt someone or I sue

Ok I’m going to go try to not thing about the fact they killed Izzy now. What I don’t believe can’t hurt me or some shit.

[purpleturtle9000]

I meant to write things and then I spent two hours creating a playlist for reality check, as one does. Song explanations below the cut!

This is straight up just a song about being broken by the loss of somebody, cause that's what characterises little Leo. I regret nothing. (It also technically goes both ways!) But you went away. How dare you? I'll miss you. They say I'll be okay, but I'm not going to ever get over you.

The first lines of this talking about a better time, and having to try to manage on his own while not wanting to talk about what happened to him - really this song has no right to match Pilot Hamato as well as it does. Also he does not know how to be alone, especially with all that's on his mind.

I went looking for a lullaby-sounding kind of song for Baby Blue, cause he's, y'know, baby. Not to mention that Blue's canonical emotional shutdown is referenced in the very first verse! When all those shadows almost killed your light, I remember you said don't leave me here alone.

This was entirely chosen for the verse, 'cause it's perfect for them. Sunflower gets better at healthy displays of emotion, but when they're first found, their emotional state is very much what's described in the song - I might cry, but I don't ever show it, can't let you down, can't let you down.

We all know that Alpha has issues, right? A song about being willing to kill for people but wanting to know if it's possible to be rescued, is quite perfect for our traumatised teen. Not to mention the canon self-sacrificing attitude in If I gotta be sacrificed for the greater good, then that's what it gotta be.

Unicorn was completely unwilling to accept that her idyllic life was shattered by the death of her family. Her song is about upheaval in change - How wild it was to find it, finally feel the climate, instead of only staying dry and warm - and honesty and acceptance bringing tears but also salvation.

Vanilla's loss of his entire family is a nightmare, but unfortunately he can't wake up. Thinking of himself as a leader first and a person second, well, it led to some identity issues. But now he's got the help he needs to start healing, even if he's standoffish - an atittude referenced in my heart is gold and my hands are cold.

Cobalt was the sole non-alien in the world, as far as he knew, for two very long years. It wasn't a very good life, but he made it through - and even among the others, he stands out as a survivor. We lost the control and we're on our own, at least for now. Just surviving, and nothing else.

The first verse references that Spruce is used to a louder world, and has nightmares. Not to mention the feeling of being lost, ready to be blown away, after xyr entire family died in a day. Xe doesn't know if xe's worthy of another family - of love - after not being able to save xyr first one.

You are broken, crushed to the very bone, cut wide open. An angsty opening for a song, and also a reference to Pep's leg being injured (and later gone). Despite the trauma involved in that, and the unsteady healing process, he's one of the most optimistic of the blueberries, which is referenced in the chorus.

Echo's song is directly related to the year he spent in the prison dimension. He fought to get back to his brothers, but eventually began to wonder if they left him intentionally - hence the lines If you get to me too late, just know that I tried and Just let me know I'm not forgotten out here alone.

Lee was also in the prison dimension! But not for nearly as long, so they came out of it more optimistic than Echo did. Their song is also about being 'furthest from myself' and 'invaded by the dark', but has a more hopeful bent - So pick me from the dark and pull me from the grave, 'cause I still feel alive.

River is a cheerful kid, all things considered, so I wanted an upbeat song. This one is about her relationship with Leonardo. He tries to help her adjust by bonding with her and acting like her dad did, and filling Splinter's role is referenced by the line, The more things seem to change, the more they stay the same.

Heiwa has been through a lot of bullshit, tbh, and now that they're out of their world, they're looking for some peace. Somewhere that feels safe, where they don't have to be afraid or hurt any more. Or, to quote their song: Home, a place where I can go to take this off my shoulders, someone take me home.

And now the fic's theme song. There's a lot of lines that exemplify Leonardo's protective, loving nature toward his carton of little blueberries. The ones I like the best are, It will be all right, you'll see, trust me. I'll be there watching over you. Just take a look through my eyes, there's a better place somewhere out there.

+ bonus song for first blueberry's Don! I don't think I have to explain the lyrics in this one.

[taraljc]

I have been poking through the books while the ones I have which are the Disney Hyperion ones, not the original Corgi ones. And I reread the scene in The Empty Grave (I think? it could be The Hollow Boy) where Lockwood tells Lucy about looking out her attic bedroom window and seeing the emergency vehicles when the authorities came to tell Jessica that their parents had been in an auto accident.

I'm still making notes and curious to see how the TV series handles it. Mostly because I keep picturing Lucy's bedroom back home with the Bauhaus poster, from that scene where she nicks a bottle of her mum's whiskey to celebrate getting her rapier and completing Grade Three with Norrie, And so I can compare and contrast Lucy's bedroom and Jessica's bedroom.

I also found on YouTube an extended version of the footage of Marissa Fittes on a chat show that Lucy watches after the skull first talks to her. flatmate and I had just watched episode 7 her for the first time and I was looking for Ezekiel's source and realised it's the necklace. I probably would not have put two and two together like that if I hadn't watched the Fittes at 50 ball immediately before the YouTube short on The Problem.

also I need to go back and fix my notes because apparently Tom Rotwell dug up Long Henry or whatever his name is in 71, not 72. I'm really confused because in the books Penelope gives conflicting stories about Marissa's improvised rapier (and in the series they have not used the unicorn or the lion for Fittes and Rotwells insignia).

I'm wondering if it's a continuity error or if it's on purpose to show she's not a reliable narrator.

ETA: I like that instead of Lucy having sisters that she has no relationship with, we get a George who has siblings whom he does have a relationship with. he probably has the most quote-unquote normal relationship with his parents of any character on the show.

also I really want MORE WADE. partly because she is from Manchester and she and Lucy are probably a lot alike, And that would mean we've got three pairs of partners. Fittes and Rotwell, Lucy and Lockwood, and Barnes and Wade.

Also I very much want to send Lockwood & Co to Kent, and while they're there I want Lucy to figure out that she can use her Talent break ghost-lock.

EMETA: And the two new rapier practice dummies should be named Fitz and Bertie.

So... here's the thing.

(Spoilers for Lockwood & Co book 3 The Hollow Boy.)

This room?

'The room had once been a pleasant blue, the wallpaper decorated with a child pattern of diagonally arranged balloons. They were posters of lions, giraffes, and horses stuck to a bulletin board, and old animal stickers slapped randomly all over the headboard of the bed. yellowing glow-in-the-dark stars dotted the ceiling.'

That is not the room of a 15-year-old girl. That is 100% absolutely the room of a 9-year-old boy. I'm pretty sure Lockwood fibbed when he told Lucy that the attic room was his when he was little. Because that room? The garrett room at 35 Portland Row absolutely is the room of a 15-year-old girl. And because she didn't die there, and because he has good memories of that room, that's why he offered it to Lucy. And to be honest based on the size of it I'm pretty sure George is actually in what had been the master bedroom.

[mielvicboss]

It’s all about “Unicorns”

It’s the latest saga of “I thought of it first”. If you haven’t heard, Starbucks in currently in a lawsuit... over its iconic sugary acid trip “Unicorn Frappuccino”. The End Café ( claims that Starbucks had ripped off its own creation “Unicorn Latte” which debuted in the December of 2016, before the Unicorn Frappuccino. But let’s just take a closer look at these two flavorful drinks...

On April 19th, Starbucks debuted their neon Unicorn-- a concoction of juice concentrate, color additives, artificial sweeteners, and layers of creme. For those in a pursuit of a healthier lifestyle, this might as well be your worst heart pounding nightmare.

And this is The End’s less attention-grabbing Unicorn. But don’t get me wrong, it’s quite an interesting drink-- a dream elixir born in an era of healthier living. This drink includes cold-pressed ginger, maca root, and it’s main eyebrow-raising ingredient: blue algae. Personally, I wouldn’t try it but if you’re looking for something new, you might want to put this Unicorn near the top of your bucket list. Future food, am I right?

Now, the only real similarities that I can see is in the name. The End is currently in the process of trademarking the “Unicorn Latte” label and that patent is still pending. Yet what about the other Unicorns out there? Here’s a shout out to Toronto’s CutiePie Cupcakes & Co.’s own Unicorn Latte...

So what do you think? Does The End have a point, or are they just throwing a fit that their Unicorn Latte didn’t get as much publicity as the large international corporate giant Starbucks?

For further reading....

----> http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/starbucks-sued-over-unicorn-frappuccino-w480829

----> http://www.newser.com/story/242373/starbucks-faces-10m-lawsuit-over-unicorn-frappuccino.html

----> http://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-friday-edition-1.4079702/this-toronto-bakery-was-selling-unicorn-lattes-long-before-starbucks-1.4079708

[midnightwinterhawk]

I put together a little collection of Sterek and Steter fics for funsies. “Just a few fics”, I thought, “nothing too crazy.” Thirty fics later I had to cut myself off and finalize the list. You can thank @the-cookie-of-doom​ for the inspiration. 

These primarily fall under the Hurt Stiles Stilinski category because I apparently like to see my comfort characters suffer. Most of these have hopeful/happy endings but mind the tags. For reals.

Placed under a cut since I have no self control and this turned into a long post.

Sterek

adore to see your eyes fly by @1001cranes

(11,309 l E)

stiles is a pyromaniac, derek is a sociopath. a match made in some kind of heaven. teen wolf kink meme fill.

take my heart from me by @areiton

(23,188 l NR)

He didn't really mean to adopt Derek's pack of puppies. He didn't mean to make himself important to them.

To Derek.

He just wanted to keep them all safe.

That's all Stiles ever wanted.

"Why Can't You?" by @asterekmess

(3,602 l T)

Now. This was happening now, and he couldn’t be less prepared.

-

After a long night, things between Stiles and his father come to a head.

And You Say You're Alone by bi_leigh_bi

(30,314 l E)

Between the kanima, the Argents, and Peter's untimely return from the dead, everything has fallen apart. Stiles and Derek try to put their lives back together once the crisis has passed. Stiles deals with the aftermath of being tortured, and the distance growing between he and Scott. Derek attempts to become a stronger alpha and keep his pack safe, and that includes Stiles.

A Victory March by @churkey

(2,688 l T)

When Stiles is eight he learns that nothing will be the same. His dad comes home one day after work and sits Stiles down for a talk. He explains that werewolves and all the monsters are real.

They're real and not hiding under anyone's bed.

Bury the Moon by darthjamtart

(16,592 l M)

First things get bad. Then they get worse. Stiles doesn’t know what he’s sacrificed until it’s too late.

Dying is the easy part.

Love's Violent Delights by @dexterous-sinistrous

(10,685 l E)

Derek caught the way the man’s eyes looked over Stiles before lingering on his ass. He waited for the clerk to place the key on the counter before he reacted.

Stiles startled at the loud noise, turning away from the pamphlets in the display box to see Derek pinning the clerk’s head against the counter. He drew in an even breath, looking between the struggling man and Derek.

Derek briefly looked at Stiles, hesitating before he saw the gleam of excitement in Stiles’ eyes and the hint of lust in his scent. “Ever look at him, or any other Omega, like that again, and I’ll slice your eyes out with my claws.” He shoved the man back, not caring of the commotion that was made as he snatched up the key from the counter.

Empty by @discontentedwinter

(48,034 l M)

Jordan Parrish is the new sheriff of Beacon Hills, a town haunted by its past.

Your Vision Borrows Mine by hazyascent

(188,781 l E)

Stiles has encountered a fair share of monsters before, way out of his league - the kinds that children are afraid are hiding in their closets and under the bed.

He’d even become one himself when he was void. The nogitsune was in his house, his body, and his mind.

But the worst monster he’s ever faced took even more from him and got away with it.

It’s why Stiles has never really been as terrified of werewolves and kanimas and darachs as he should have been. They’re really not that scary, relatively speaking, and he has a whole team on his side. They always found a way to win - until they lost someone they really loved.

Stiles doesn’t know how to be normal, not after everything he’s done and everyone he’s hurt. The nogitsune is gone, but another monster is on its heels.

His uncle is back. And Stiles has never felt more alone.

It Was a Wednesday by @isthatbloodonhisshirt

(80,129 l M)

“What happened? Where are you? What’s that sound?”

Derek jumped, having momentarily forgotten Scott was on the phone with him because Stiles had started moving. He’d stalked over to the other side of the cave, still eying Derek warily and growling, then settled protectively over a mass of clothes, leaves and animal innards. It was probably where he was sleeping.

Lovely. No wonder he smelled like death.

“Stiles,” Derek said, answering Scott’s question. Or, one of them, at least.

“Stiles? What do you—Stiles is making that noise?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“How fast do you think you can make it to the south lot of the Preserve?”

Tiny Houses by @ohmyjetsabel-blog

(77,183 l E)

"So this is what Stiles does. He lies in Scott’s bed and waits for Melissa to say she’s found someone to get it out of him, to cure him of the wrongness and the bad, and he dreams.

God, he dreams.

He dreams of fire and swollen bellies and that scene in Alien, of giving birth to jackals through his urethra, the whole horrific nine yards. His head is a terrible place to be, he can’t imagine his stomach is much better, why anyone would want to put a thing inside of it."

I'm There in the Water by @spaceprincessem

(15,878 l T)

“But it’s—” Derek paused, his words unsure, “it’s not like us,” he swallows hard, chin dipping to his chest in frustration, “it’s like a…”

“An abomination,” Stiles finished, nodding his head as he finally lets his gaze really look at Derek since Scott had pulled them from the water.

He suddenly wished he hadn’t because the way Derek looks at him makes Stiles feel like he is ten years old again. Like Derek is seeing him for the first time since they accidentally fell into each other’s orbit all those years ago. Like Stiles isn’t a burden or invisible.

Like he is enough.

Or five times Stiles felt like he was drowning and the one time he finally caught his breath

Gunplay is Not Really Our Kink by theroguesgambit

(2,577 l M)

“The rules to the game are simple. One bullet, six chances. You pick it up and take turns pulling the trigger on the other man, or we gun you both down right now. You play along, only one of you has to die. Fun game, huh?”

--

Derek and Stiles are captured by a group of hunters and forced to play a twisted game that only one of them might walk away from.

The Price by theroguesgambit

(18,452 l M)

Stiles must surrender the most important thing in his life to protect the town… and no one can figure out what it was.

Nieważny by Zethsaire

(2,037 l E)

The pack is gone, everything they've ever cared for destroyed. Now Stiles and Derek hunt the hunters, taking revenge in the only way they know how; blood.

Steter

Make Me Bleed by @asarcasticwitch

(2,304 l E)

Peter’s expression contorts, impressed or surprised, Stiles can't decipher, but the grin on his face proves he’s not exactly disappointed with the unexpected turn of events.

“Which bite exactly were you hoping for, hm?” The older man curls one hand around the back of Stiles’s neck, trailing his thumb along his pale, fragile throat.

Stiles tilts his head back in unyielding submission, giving the wolf no room to debate his sincerity. “I’m sure you can figure it out, Alpha.

Two Roads Converge in a Graveyard Town by @cywscross

(15,645 l T)

The Deadpool brings one more assassin to Beacon Hills. A man's gotta eat after all.

when you're going through hell (keep going for me) by cywscross

(57,022 l T)

Peter is abandoned in the aftermath of the fire, and Eichen House takes ruthless advantage. Six years later, when he's finally able to move again, he finds himself in a cell with a boy in a straitjacket.

(Kate’s biggest mistake was letting Peter live. Eichen House’s biggest mistake was letting Peter meet Stiles.)

Don't Fail Me Now by @discontentedwinter​

(36,315 l E)

Stiles goes to Derek looking for help.

He finds Peter instead.

Peter takes what he's wanted for a very long time.

Sanctuary by DiscontentedWinter

(56,525 l M)

The Hale Wolf Sanctuary isn’t just for wolves.

It turns out it’s for Stilinskis as well.

Bite Down by EclipseWing (@shadow-of-the-eclipse)

(27,586 l M)

In which Stiles is forced to survive the zombie apocalypse with a sociopathic murdering werewolf for company.

Into Eden by @graciebirdie

(12,232 l M)

Stiles deciding to bring home the stray alpha he'd hit with his jeep probably made him certifiable, if it hadn't turned out Peter was as crazy as he was.

Before you let go (and the light takes you in) by Issay

(4,032 l E)

Stiles makes one last errand - goes to leave flowers on all the other graves. Fuck, so many graves. The grief is as endless and as inescapable as the sky.

He goes home and there is a thing wearing his father's face, waiting for him in the kitchen.

Call My Name by KouriArashi ( @gingersnapwolves )

(81,370 l M)

After moving to Beacon Hills, Stiles starts having recurring dreams of a man in some kind of prison, who needs his help. Things get so bad that he ends up in Eichen House, where he finds out that the man is real.

Hide my tears in the rain. by MrsRidcully

(6,865 l M)

After  years spent successfully dodging werewolves, evil spirits and wendigos,  it was a drunk driver who stole his Dad, a drunk driver with a  suspended license and a record sheet as long as Stiles’s arm. Stiles  would have laughed at the irony if he hadn’t been so busy screaming.

In My Veins Like Disease by romanoffbarton

(1,140 l T)

He tries to leave once.

Foreshock by @twothumbsandnostakeincanon

(22,816 l E)

The day Stiles’ mom died, he almost leveled his house.

Not on purpose. Not even by mistake, really. More by instinct.

Since then he's dug his fingers into everything his has left, holding on with desperation.

Desperation never stopped an earthquake.

Your Touch is My Choice by twothumbsandnostakeincanon

(2,171 l T)

The first time John does it, Stiles is two years old and about to run into the road.

“Mieczysław!” Heart pounding, John grabbed him by the back of his neck and got a hand around his tummy, snatching him back. “No, you have to stay away from the road,” he said firmly.

Shameful Company by Whispering_Sumire (@whispering-sumire755)

(38,779 l E)

"Did I turn into a unicorn?" Peter asks dryly, and Stiles glares at him for a moment before the laughter bubbles up, unbidden, nearly unwilling, and he looks so surprised at the sound, his shock dimming it for a moment before it bursts through with even more trembling ferocity. A long, thin, willowy hand curls into a soft fist over his mouth, and he's shaking, frail, more tears falling, but the copper of his eyes are glowing, crinkling around the edges and scrunched with mirth.

"No," Stiles chokes, chuckling wetly. "No, fuck you, a unicorn? What, like, Rainbowcreep? Zombiesparkle?"

[About a year before the fated Hale fire, Peter starts having nightmares that involve a woman with red hair. The nightmares lead to a spell that brings a man back through time, and, eventually, though the time-traveler is traumatized in the most horrific ways, and Peter's never been good with or for people, in general, they develop a bond that neither of them expects.]

Would You Forgive Me If I Called You Hope, Peter Hale? (Hope, By Any Other Name) by Whispering_Sumire

(10,099 l T)

Stiles has scars. He owns that, he accepts it, he's cataloged and memorized every single one, he's hyper fucking aware of them all.

//

"What do you want, Peter?" Having the more untrustworthy of the Pack getting protective weirds him the fuck out, leaves an odd fluttering in his chest, like moths, waiting perilously and suicidally to be burned.

He doesn't like it.

"You're injured," the man says, "and whatever it is, it's put you in enough pain that I nearly fainted when I-"

"- Used your werewolf mojo on me without my permission?" Stiles smirks, and Peter gives him a black look, crossing a leg over his knee and smoothing out some invisible wrinkle on his pants.

"Tell me the truth Stiles, how bad is it?"

[Or: The one where Stiles has scars, is more than a little fucked up, and Peter notices. He helps.]

[winterscaptain]

a horrible first.

Aaron Hotchner x Gender Neutral Reader a joyful future fic

a/n: this takes place during rite of passage, where the unsub is the cop committing murder of undocumented immigrants crossing the border. we pick up right at the end, at the quasi-standoff in the desert. let me know what you think and i hope you enjoy it!! 

words: 1.3k warnings: language, canon-typical violence and death, reader shoots and kills the unsub, mild dissociative symptoms following trauma, nothing too horribly graphic

summary:  “the true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.” ― g.k. chesterton. au!march 2010

masterlist | a joyful future masterlist | ajf faq | taglist | what do you want to see next?

You brace yourself for a screaming stop in the SUV, immediately following Aaron to cover as Boyd flies out of the decrepit structure on an ATV, firing an automatic weapon of some kind. 

You take a shot.

Time seems to slow as you watch Boyd go down, tzhe innocuous red dot in the middle of his forehead beginning to weep even before he hits the ground. 

Derek fires his rifle from inside the car, but the deed is done. Boyd’s dead. 

Aaron raises his head. If you had your wits about you, you’d see him counting off, making sure all of you are there. “You all right?” 

“Yeah!” Morgan shouts as he leaves the car, but you’re stuck in place. 

“No!” Emily immediately answers, turning on Derek. “Are you out of your mind? You blew out my eardrum.”

Aaron’s been there - the ringing is damn near unbearable. 

“What did you want me to do? He was coming right at us!” 

“I told you I had him.” She’s holding both hands over her ears, but you’re sure that’s not the only reason Derek’s raising his voice. 

“He was shooting at us, Emily.” 

“Well, you could have given me a heads-up!” 

“The loaded MP-5 and the lunatic shooting at us wasn't enough? Come on.”

Aaron lets them bicker, but notices something odd. 

You haven’t moved. You’re staring at Boyd’s body, your service weapon still in your shaking hand, your breath shallow. 

He approaches you slowly from the side, extending a hand toward your gun. He says your name quietly, but you can’t hear him. He repeats himself and you startle as he gets a little closer. 

He’s not as brave as you were when you pulled him off Foyet. He’s almost afraid to touch you, afraid you’ll hurt yourself or draw away from him. 

The look on your face also scares him - it’s simultaneously blank and absolutely horrified. For a moment, he thinks back and realizes, with a little bit of shock, that he knows what it is.

You’ve never shot to kill before. 

“Hey hey hey,” he says, his voice barely more than a whisper. He places a hand over the barrel of your gun. “Give that to me, okay?” 

Another voice echoes in front of you. It’s Derek, who’s reached Boyd’s body. “Great shot, kid! Right between the eyes on a moving target. They teach you that at the academy?”

You let Aaron take your weapon from your hand, blinking a couple of times. He flips the safety and tucks it into his pants at his lower back, keeping his hands free.

Derek catches on, turning around and sobering. 

Aaron can feel the rest of the unit creep up behind him, but he waves them off. They take a few steps back, watching with bated breath. 

They all remember the first time they shot an unsub, their first kills in the field. A horrible, wretched first. 

“Can you take a step back toward me?” Aaron asks.

You take a step back and trip, stumbling over your feet. 

Aaron’s there to catch you under your arms, pulling you close. All at once, the levee breaks and you let out a sob, turning into him for refuge. 

He closes his eyes and wraps around you. “It’s okay. You’re okay. You did the right thing. It’s okay.” He huffs, and it’s almost a laugh. “That was a really good shot.”  

You clutch his vest, your arms locked around his waist. He keeps whispering to you as the crime scene techs arrive and start their work, shielding you with his body. 

+++

You sleep on the plane home. Aaron sits across from you, working on the after-action report on your behalf. He looks up every couple of minutes as if he’s afraid you’ve disappeared in the time between his last check-in and that moment. 

Derek, Spencer, and Emily watch him watch you. 

“That sucks,” Emily says. “My first hit me hard, too, I think, but like… days later.” 

Derek nods. “Yeah. It’s a shitty first, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. I’m glad Hotch is over there. Probably the best person for this kind of thing.”

“Best person for the kid, too,” Dave says. Derek and Spencer frown. 

Dave continues, clarifying, “Every one of us has someone we prefer when the day gets hard, whether we know it or not. Anchors, if you will. Good to have.” He looks over at the two of you again and doesn’t elaborate further. 

You stir, and when you open your eyes, there’s a fresh glass of cold water next to you on the little side table. You take it gratefully, taking a couple of sips.

Aaron watches you orient yourself, check the time, and start your search for your report. 

“I’ve got it here,” he says, offering it to you. “You have a bit more to do, and I have to keep your gun until all the paperwork goes through - protocol for use of lethal force with a firearm. It’s a simple review, no need to worry.” 

You nod, taking it and thumbing through the extra pages in the back. You’ll probably ask Derek about the best way to fill them out. 

Could ask Aaron, too. 

Hotch. 

Ask Hotch. 

“How should I fill these out? 

He takes a second, interrupting his own reply to stand and promptly plop himself in the seat beside you. “First things first - tell the truth. You did the right thing and nobody in their right mind will dispute that.” 

“Thanks.” 

The shadow of a smile passes across his face. “You’re lucky - this is cut and dry. Not all of us get a dirty cop on an ATV wielding an MP-5 for our first review.” 

“Lucky?” You sound skeptical, at best. 

His mouth quirks. “I know. Poor choice of words. You’ll probably have some rough nights. Do you want me to set up an appointment with the psychologist? The unit technically has one on retainer but -” 

“You never use them because you’d rather hold all your emotions right there -” You poke his chest “- until you die?” 

 The little smile appears again. “You been listening to Haley again?” 

“What, from beyond the grave? You bet. So, watch your ass, Hotchner.” 

He shakes his head. “I’ll be sure to do that.” He sobers, his eyebrows pinching in an adorable look of concern. “But really, if you want…” 

“That might be nice, actually. To talk to someone.” 

“And you know you can always come to me, right?” 

You nod. “Of course.” 

The dull hum of the plane fills the silence between you for a little while. 

“I was really scared, Hotch.” 

He resumes his listening posture, leaning on his elbow with his fingers laced together. 

“It all happened so slow - and so fast? - at the same time. I don’t know. He just… He went down and I was so afraid that he’d shot Derek or Emily I mean -” You take a breath. “I heard the gunfire behind me and the glass breaking and I just didn't want to turn around and find them dead you know?”

“Yeah,” Aaron whispers. “I know.” 

“I was so stuck that I didn’t even realize Derek was talking to me - he was right in front of me and I couldn’t see him. And then I started thinking about Boyd and all that hate and…”

You trail off, unable to continue with any degree of coherency, so you ask a question instead. 

“Is it always this hard? Does it get easier?” 

Aaron wavers for a minute. “Yes and no. It’s never ideal - you know you’ve made a mistake when you have to use lethal force, but you get more confident about making the right call in those situations as you see more of them. You’ve been with us for two years - I’m - No.” 

He stops and his brow crumples. 

“I was going to say I’m surprised you made it this far, but I’m not. I’m impressed. And proud. It took a dirty cop on an ATV -” 

“Wielding an MP-5?” You finish for him. 

“Yeah. It took that much for you to pull your trigger with any lethal intent, and even then you didn’t want to. The entire way you were talking about a de-escalation strategy - don’t think I didn’t hear you.” 

A flicker of warmth blossoms in your chest and maybe, just maybe, you feel a little better.

+++ 

tagging:  @avengersbau @ambicaos @angelsbabey @arganfics @averyhotchner @bwbatta @capricorngf @cevanswhre @crazyshannonigans @criminalsmarts @deagibs @forgottenword @genevievedarcygranger @hotchsflower @hotchslatte @hurricanejjareau @joanofarkansass @kelstark @kerrswriting @little-blue-fishie @lotties-journey-abroad @mandylove1000 @missdowntonabbey @mrs-dr-reid @pan-pride-12 @popped-weasels @quillvine @qvid-pro-qvo @reidingmelodies @reids-mismatchedsocks @roses-and-grasses @shesbiochem4 @ssahotchnerr @ssaic-jareau @ssareidbby @starsandasteroids @stxrrywildflower @sunflowersandotherthings @sunshine-em @teamhappyme @this-broken-band-girl @ughitsbaby @unicorn-bitch @venusbarnes @violet-amxthyst @word-scribbless @writefasttalkevenfaster @zizzlekwum @iconicc @avatarkorraswife @mooneylupinblack @ssworldofsw @nuvoleincielo @kaemarie23 @violentvulgarvolatile @abschaffer2 @ellyhotchner @rousethemouse @baumarvel @reidtomestyles @dreamsonthewall @jhiddles03 @willlemonheadsupremacy @infinity1321 @messyhairday-me @itsalwaysb33nyou @s-unflowxr @imlottiie @stummdummrumstehen @hqtchner @finnologys @hotch-meeeeeuppppp @hothothotchner

[clairecrive]

"Sunshine" - Sirius Black x reader [Requested]

This is for the anon: Sirius/Remus (You pick) with reader who has problem expressing themselves, so they use stuffed animals? To elaborate they have a dog which is happy, bird which is excited, cat when lazy, frog when sad, owl when tired, and unicorn for confusion? I know it’s complicated, sorry if this was a waste of time, Wish you luck!

A/N: I end up choosing Sirius bc idk it felt more fitting. Hope you like this x

Warnings: nothing, this is pure fluff, maybe language

Word count: 1.4K ish

(let me know if you wanna be added to my taglist)

(not my gif)

"Hey sunshine, I got your frog. What's wrong?" you say when entering the boys' bedroom.

It was just after breakfast so everyone was either hurrying towards their lesson or already in class, leaving the dorms and in general the Gryffindor tower empty.

Well, almost empty considering you and your precious boyfriend were still here.

As a matter of fact, you were on your way to class when Sirius' patronus found you and handed you a frog. Knowing exactly what it meant, you turned around and hurried back down the corridors.

Now, it may sound weird for your boyfriend to send you a frog, out of all the things, but there was a reason. Neither you nor Sirius was very good at reaching out and asking for help when something happened. Since it was something you had in common, you couldn't really blame him. But, after the first month of you dating, it was causing more harm than good and you knew that it was something you needed to work on if this relationship was to go on.

So you talked about it and came up with an alternative system. One that didn't involve words and therefore made reaching out and express your feelings easier. And yes, it involved stuffed animals.  Well, when you were in the same room anyway. You restored to patronus when you were not together.

If anyone thought it weird that both of you started carrying around stuffed animals, they didn't show it. Even if they did though, neither of you would have cared much since this method was actually working and had, in fact, saved your relationship.

It was also a great way to quickly check on each other. Receiving a dog, meant the other was fine, happy even, a bird would mean that something exciting had happened or the other had exciting news to share, But a frog, not that was something you dreaded receiving.

It was bad news. It meant that something happened and the other needed comfort or at the very least for their significant other to be there for them.

Hence the reason you almost ran to Sirius, doing your best to skip the step of the stairs that lead to the boys' dormitory without falling on your face.

Last time you had seen Sirius was yesterday night before heading to bed. You had slept in and therefore missed breakfast. What could have gone wrong in such a short amount of time, you wondered. You just hoped that it wasn't anything gravely serious.

The sight that welcomed you when you finally reached him was disheartening, however.

Sirius was laying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He didn't move, nor when he heard your footsteps nor when you spoke. He just held up an open envelope for you to see and nothing else was needed. You knew what had put him in bad mood.

That goddammit psychotic abusive family of his.

Oh, how you hated them.

The idea that someone couldn't see how wonderful Sirius was and not only that but also the fact that they actively went out of their ways to send him hate and harmful letters even when he was far away and had cut any connections with them?

Fucking absurd.

Sighing, you walked to his bed and quickly stepped out of your shoes before lying next to him. "Do you want to talk about it?" you almost whispered.

Propping you heard on your hand, you gently moved away some of his curls away from his face. He was still not looking at you but he softly shook his head at your question.

Okay, you thought.

You lowered your hand to his face so that your fingers could start tracing his beautiful face. Leaving a small kiss on his temple, you reached out so that your arm was around him. Your kisses slowly moved all over his face. His other temple first, then his forehead. His nose. His cheeks. When it came to his lips, you stopped and just hovered over them.

Gently turning his face to yours, you waited for his eyes to meet yours before speaking. "They don't know the real you, my love."

If only he could see himself the way you saw him. If only he could see how false his family's words were.

"Everything they say is a blatant lie because they do not know you"- emphasis on not - "because if they did, the would agree with me."

The sadness and the hurt in his eyes were so evident that you had to fought tears back. You knew that this was something he had to face on his own and that your words were just that - words. Almost useless. But you had to do something and if there was even the tiniest chance that he'd actually listen to you then you'd try anyway.

"And you know what I think?" you smiled softly at him, your fingers trailing over his bottom lip, "I think that you're amazing. Precious even."

You were sure this was going to come back to bite you in the ass when he was feeling better. Merlin knows how Sirius' ego doesn't need to be stroked. At least, in public, that's how he behaved. But you knew him. You were lucky enough that he had let you in and showed you this side of him that no one knew existed outside his close circle.

He didn't say anything but his eyes didn't move from yours so you took it as a sign to keep going.

"There's no one out there who is so effortlessly brilliant like you are, my love." Leaning back a little from his face, you put some space between you after leaving the smallest of kisses on his lips."And I know for a fact that there is no one out there who cares about others like you do." Emphasizing with your eyes the "no one" part, you were able to coax the faintest of smiles for him.

You had noticed that your weird facial expressions amused him and apparently they worked in these situations too.

"Do you know why I call you sunshine?" You continued, a smile still on your face but your tone more solemn. You had a feeling that it was something he had wondered about since the most obvious choice would have been finding a nickname related to stars. And you knew how much Sirius was interested and fascinated by them.

"Yes, you're named after a star but I don't think it really matches your personality. See? Another proof that they don't know you at all." You lean back to sit on your feet.

"People don't notice stars unless they look up at the sky." Taking one of his hands in yours, you start playing with his fingers. "But you, my love? It would be impossible not to notice you, Sirius." Leaving a kiss on his palm, you intertwine your fingers and hold his hand close to your chest right where your heart is.

"You shine bright like the sun, making everyone around you aware of your presence. And yes, sometimes it can be annoying, but you know what?" At this, his smile grew a little knowing that what you were saying was more than true. Everyone knew that Sirius could also be spelt annoying on most days, especially during class. He got bored easily since he didn't need to study as much as everyone else to understand a concept. Thus, making it his mission to make someone do something with him that isn't studying.

"Everyone misses the sun when it's gone and never tire of it when it's there." Squeezing the hand you were holding, you hoped to have helped a little. Maybe you did, or maybe you didn't but all your efforts were rewarded when Sirius smiled at you. This time he gave you a real smile. As a consequence, yours got bigger.

Letting his hand go, you cradled his face in your hands and gently pulled him to you until your noses were touching. His hands, in turn, moved on your hips and used them to pull you to him as well so that you were now straddling him.

"Come here, you big sap." And pulled you even closer to him so that his face was now in the crook of your neck, his breath tickled your skin. Your arms wrapped around his shoulders in a tight embrace. Oh, how much you loved this boy.

"Only for you, my sunshine."

[eldragon-x]

(kickflips into your inbox) not to talk about my blorbos all the fucking time but luz and viney? and as a treat, talk about hunter too

Keeping this shorter than I normally would have just because Tumblr decided to hate me when I was almost done writing this and I have to start over now 😔

Luz

Fav thing about them The way she usually comes across as cheerful and light-hearted which makes her a very delightful character, but when she deals with a problem, it’s usually by downplaying it in some way or trying to take responsibility for it by herself to avoid “burdening” others. E.g. dealing with her issue of choosing between the human world and the Boiling Isles by helping Kikimora during Coven Day and acting like she Totally Only Did That Because She Wanted To Help Eda And Raine And Felt Bad For Kiki :) Or trying to help Amity connect with her dad which will Defenetly help Luz distract herself from the anniversary of her own dad’s death. What’s really killing me is the current Philip situation. Luz went through hell and back in Hollow Mind, almost got killed, but the first thing she brings up is that she had a hand in it (which is not her fault by any means) and needs to do something about it right now, no time to take a breather and process everything she just went through. I know the next episodes are building up to the Day of Unity but I at least hope Eda will support her as much as she can because God do I feel sad for her.

Least fav thing about them This is a hard question when it comes to characters I don’t dislike lmao

Fav line “This mama is ready for trauma.” purely due to how it aged.

brotp Gus and Willow are her besties, I just wish there was more screentime dedicated to them and more involvement in the overall story for them alongside Luz. I do have hopes tho, Labyrinth Runners made a point to cast the spotlight on Hexside and remind us that Willow and especially Gus are powerful. Also Luz and Hunter have strong sibling energy, I’m on the same boat as everyone who felt this since Hunting Palismen.

otp Lumity I guess. I don’t consider myself a shipper but y’know, nice canon relationship.

notp Lunter, see brotp.

random hc The Azura book series is her top favourite piece of media but she’s generally very invested in fiction. She’s mostly drawn towards anything fantasy/magic ect. I want to say she loves The Last Unicorn for the sake of projection but I think she’d enjoy more light-hearted stories over it tbh.

unpopular opinion If she would have to choose between returning home forever or staying in the Boiling Isles, there’s not one better option that she “should” go for. Luz made a home, friends and family in the BI, but she still has a home and family in the human world too, not to mention the grave of her dad that she and Camila visit yearly which is clearly an important ritual to her. I personally hope she gets the option to travel between both worlds at will in the end

song I associate with them It’s hard finding songs for characters, I got nothing.

fav picture

Her Grom attire is so pretty. She has some kind of gender going on here.

Viney

Fav thing about them Didn’t pay much attention to her until recently and I need to personally apologize to you because I completely forgot she was actually part of the detention student group until looking up pictures of her for this and I’m going to have to rewatch this episode later but regardless, I really like her design, her choice of studying healing and beast keeping is such a neat combo and I love how casually she handles her big scary pet griffin which is also named Puddles and her baby.

Least fav thing about them /

Fav line None right now but I really need to refresh my memory on her from season 1 as mentioned above.

brotp She and Skara are besties this is a fact.

otp /

notp /

random hc She actually wants to look into more different kinds of magic, she’s just putting her focus on healing and beast keeping at the moment.

unpopular opinion /

song I associate with them /

fav picture

I adore this little scene as a whole actually, her going “Look Puddles it’s the friend you made earlier! :)” reads to me as her trying to calm Puddles down and letting her know that Hunter isn’t a threat (and vice versa) and she’s failing but the energy is there.

Hunter

Fav thing about them There’s just something about him being a young person who has so far spent his life isolated with his abusive parental figure who has manipulated him and taken control over his life, making him believe he’s doing the right thing for his abuser’s own personal gain. And you root for him to change for the better and because you know he’s a good but misguided individual in a terrible living situation that he doesn’t even realize. And when he eventually does realize the truth of his situation, his world falls apart and it’s scary but it’s the first step towards healing and finding his own way in life. He’s still going to deal with the trauma of his upbringing no doubt, but he’s going to get better.

It’s the N Harmonia effect.

Least fav thing about them Nothing rn, I’m just a bit afraid that instead of finding his own identity, he’ll adopt the identity of Wittebro (derogatory) and the show will treat it as a good thing. I’m holding out hope that they won’t pull that though.

Fav line Shoutout to Zeno Robinson for his delivery of: “What did you do to the other guards? To our family! It wasn’t wild magic, was it?” I could feel the second-hand pain and betrayal Hunter was experiencing while watching Hollow Mind for the first time.

brotp He’s big brother material to Luz and Gus, Willow is his bestie, I want him to interact with King again after all that happened and they bond over sharing the horrible experience of learning that their ancestors died horribly.

otp /

notp Lunter again, even worse when ppl ship him with Gus who is twelve years old, people need to remember this.

random hc Hunter is aromantic in the same way Berdly Deltarune is aromantic: Thinks he has a crush on his girl best friend because feelings are complicated.

unpopular opinion Funny one considering what I just said but I don’t care nor worry about the implication that he has a crush on Willow. As long as they don’t become a canon couple within the show, it doesn’t bother me and I’m tired of people loosing their minds over it.

song I associate with them Said this before but “Valley of the Dolls” by Marina is such a him song regarding the whole Golden Guard/Grimwalker thing.

fav picture

This makes me feel so much actually. He’s happy. <:)

[prose-for-hire]

Tomb-mates

Pairing: Buffy Summers x fem!vamp!reader

Request: If you're accepting requests at the moment could you please write a story with a female vampire reader that goes to college and ends up being Buffy's roommate (Buffy doesn't know the readers a vampire and the reader doesn't know Buffys a slayer), at first Buffy and the reader are feuding over petty roommate drama but then their suspicion of each other grows and the drama becomes more intense, ending in romance please?

Requested by: Anon

Warning: Swearing. Fighting/ violence. A little heated kissing.

You were new. New to vampirism. New to dating women. You felt like a fish out of water. You were adapting, but slowly. You always known you liked women, but you had never gotten enough of a chance to explore that side of yourself when you were living.

You may be thinking this a story of repression, perhaps you were growing up in a time where you had to marry a man rather than initiate any relationships with women...

But you had been sired last week. 

The week before you moved to college. Luckily you were taking night classes. So, you weren’t ashamed. Or completely pious or virginal. You just hadn’t dated much, expecting everything to change once you got to college.

Now here you were. Trying to adjust to the bloodlust and the tenuous grip you had on your soul (as well as your attraction to your new roommate). You had never really met many other vampires and so you weren’t aware that you were a lot different than most. Human blood tasted horrible to you. Like rotten fruit. And it made you feel kind of sad inside.

So you ate animal. It was sweeter, not by much. But it was better than nothing. Your sire had dropped you, leaving you to it. She, the vampire you weren’t even sure the name of, went to LA because some store had a rare unicorn figurine she was dying to get her hands on. Or she ‘would totally die… again to get my hands on’ as she had so eloquently put it.

Ever since you moved in with Buffy, things were a little rocky. She could be fun to have a conversation with, she could make you laugh at times and she was honestly the most beautiful woman you had ever met. But there was something missing. Something you couldn’t figure out.

Without realising until it was too late, a gradual tension had permeated the air around you. In every conversation. Every glance when the other wasn’t looking. Every heated comment to or about the other.

The tension became more obvious a few weeks after you moved in together. You were brushing your teeth when she ran in. Teeth meaning fangs. You had changed into your vampire form knowing from experience that it wasn’t good to neglect the teeth that grew when you changed.

You panicked, your face and the reflection would tell her something you really didn’t want her to know. Your face changed back and you shouted at her to get out. You stood closer to her, blocking her vision from your lack of reflection.

She explained that she had wanted to know if you would like to hang with her and her friends. At noon. Also known as sizzle o’clock when you were a vampire.

You stared at each other. You could cut the tension with a knife. Eventually she just backed out and you closed the door behind her, breathing heavily despite the fact you didn’t need to.

You made it up to her after this, you did meet her friends at the Bronze after class one evening. Her pizza delivery guy friend kept eyeing you. You didn’t know if this was because you were under suspicion or otherwise. You didn’t go out with them all again. But you did spend a bunch of time with Buffy.

It was strange, your relationship with Buffy. You were flung together, reliant on each other in some sense. And completely infuriated by the other almost every other hour. But in that alternate hour… God, you would be lying if you said you didn’t enjoy just being in the same room as her.

You arrived back after your night class and dropped your bags to the floor. You didn’t notice that she had stopped still, her eyes wide until you took a second glance at her.

You then realised what she was holding, and then concealing behind her back. A heavy set mace, complete with angry looking spikes.

“What’s that? A mace? Y’know I think they meant the spray kind in the campus talk” You laughed, shaking your head.

“I-It’s for an elective!” She rushed, a panicked look before she pointed as if she had found a better excuse, “They were just handing them out!”

“…You got a free mace?” You questioned, as if it being free was the least believable part of it.

“Well, you know what they say…” You shook your head as she came up with it on the fly, “Maces prevent assault-cases”

“Sounds like it would increase assault cases, but I mean what do I know” You muttered, eyeing her a little confused. She fidgeted under your gaze. You made her a little confused, she loved women. She knew this. But if she had been honest she had never really expected to find someone like you. That she could picture pressing up against a wall and kissing so urgently it made her dizzy with want.

She would never act on it, she told herself. She was scared that you would be uncomfortable. Didn’t want to bring you into the danger that was her life.

Besides, at times you would fight. Pretty heatedly at that. She wasn’t sure if it was tension, her lying or you being hard to live with at times. Perhaps a mix of all of them.

You squinted at her for a moment but then nodded slowly, just letting this one slide. It never crossed your mind that she could be a vampire slayer. You didn’t know they existed. Which, is understandable considering you were fresh-faced and just out of the grave.

It annoyed her how perceptive you were. How interested in her life, in the hours that she kept. It bugged her that you were inquisitive. But mostly, it bugged her that she couldn’t be honest with you. That she found you so insanely attractive and she felt as if there was nothing she could do about it.

You both frustrated her and excited her. She had had more than one dream about you by this time. Luckily for her, it had been early morning and you hadn’t heard her whispering your name. Either way, at the moment all of her attention was on you. She was evening starting to annoy Willow with the amount she would talk about you.

Both of you were becoming suspicious of the other. You could sense something, neither of you entirely able to put your finger on it. Instinct told you that there was something off. Some danger or confusion that made your senses flare around each other.

One afternoon it had become too much for you. You had stepped into her side of the room and started rooting through drawers and cupboards. Just as your hand touched a heavy duffel bag (that contained weapons and thick books on vampire mythology) she stepped into the room.

She caught you. Snooping. Crap.

She pulled you back and asked what you were doing. You explained you were going to a party and thought she wouldn’t mind sharing clothes. She didn’t like this excuse.

She became mad. And weirdly defensive which made your instincts tell you that you had been right to snoop. And you told her this. Which infuriated her more.

“That’s it! My side. Your side” Buffy gestured to a line in the floor that split the two halves.

“Fine” You muttered, tension in the air rising and whipping around you.

“Fine!” She replied. You stared at each other, holding the gaze. The room started to heat up and you weren’t sure if you were imagining it or not.

Neither of you knew whether you wanted to shout or kiss each other. The attraction and frustration was growing more and more.

“You’re impossible!” You muttered grabbing your coat, leaving and slamming the door closed.

Yes, you had been caught out. Yes, you were in the wrong. But I mean you lived with her without her ever revealing anything about herself. What were you supposed to do?

Buffy, despite being angry would feel incredibly guilty if you got hurt because you left in the middle of the night. She didn’t realise but you would usually leave the house for blood and the like in the early morning just before sunrise (so you wouldn’t be disturbing her).

She had actually started to grow weirdly fond of you. She thought you were pretty, so pretty. It was hard getting used to living with you but she found herself almost enjoying the petty arguments. Some days she envisioned holding your hand, maybe asking you to go with her to the Bronze. But, not now you had been snooping.

She had followed you through the night, you went to the library to swap some books. The 24 hour superstore on the corner. You even met up with a friend. Buffy came along with you for all of this, without you realising.

You made one final stop before going back. The local demon bar. They did takeout and some days you really didn’t want to go breaking into a butchers in the middle of the night.

It was a good job too, considering there was a slayer on your tail.

She squinted, frowning slightly. What would you be doing in there? Did you know what kind of clientele actually went in there? She wasn’t sure what to do without having to explain to you the whole demon and slayer jazz. She stayed and waited and you left without an issue.

The only problem was, she couldn’t bring it up without you realising that she had followed you almost all night after your argument.

It was a week or two later and there had been more suspicion. And definitely more arguments. Some petty, some just filled with a tension you couldn’t name. She had arrived late into the night, just as you were curling up with a book. You had finished your classes and began to rest before you would go out after she slept. She sighed twice as she got ready for bed but you just focused on your book.

Buffy left to the bathroom and then came back, sighing again loudly. When you ignored this, she spoke up.

“Turn the light off, Y/n!”

“I’m trying to read here – you’re the one that only just came back!” You warned her, the tone in your voice expecting an argument again. It had annoyed you because it gave you less time to do your errands. She had the entire day to do things she wanted, why did she have to take the night too?

“Well, I can’t stay here in the day you’re always taking those long naps”

“I live here, don’t I? I’m allowed to sleep sometime without your constant interruptions!”

“God! It’s like you don’t even sleep at all at night!” She bit back before turning away from you. She had started to lift back her bedclothes but stopped. She was thinking.

It’s like you don’t even sleep at night… The way you stood in front of the mirror to hide your reflection… The demon bar…. She barely ever saw you eating human food…

Buffy’s eyes bulged at this realisation. Of how you had hidden it for so long. What was your plan? Were you sent to seduce her? She had definitely seen you walking around in a towel more than once and her mouth had dropped every time, her eyes not able to look away.

You had turned off your light and pretended to sleep. You had a habit of doing this, waiting to hear her breathing softly. Imagining her inviting you to slide in beside her. To hold her in those surprisingly strong arms of hers. You often waited until she was properly asleep and then you would get back to whatever activity you wanted. You may even go on a walk and take in the night air if you were in the mood.

But she never got into her bed or allowed you to conjure up your vivid fantasy of holding her while she slept. Lazily staying in bed on a Sunday Evening. Sleepy kisses. Oh God, you had it bad.

No, she didn’t even allow you to imagine so far as her inviting you into bed before she grabbed your shoulder and harshly turned you over to face her.

“What the fuck-!” You shouted, “What happened to my side and your side!?” you gestured from one side to the other your frown setting in almost as deep as when your vampire form changed.

“Up. Now. I can’t believe I didn’t see this!” She rolled her eyes at herself as you got out of bed, only now she realised you had only put on your pyjama top on to pretend you were sleeping.

She tried to punch you several times and you dodged her. You weren’t a fighter but there was something within you now that meant that you were better than a human at least. You didn’t really make any offensive blows, however. You didn’t really want to hurt her.

That was, until she took out a wooden stake. You knew enough to know this would be the end. Like, the real one this time. Your eyes widened and you started to throw desperate punches. She shoved you backwards and you almost had something close to an equally matched fight.

The room was a mess, no counter was safe. The room shook and almost felt as if it would crumble around you. The air was thick, heated. Fuelled by your fight. Your frustration. Your… incredible attraction to her when she became feisty.

“Those things are actually really dangerous – get it off me!” You screamed as the stake came too close to your heart again. You slammed her hand against something leaving her dropping the stake. But she already pulled another from somewhere before you even had time to celebrate this win.

“Introductions. Slayer, meet vampire. Vampire, meet slayer. Me” Buffy stated, a self-satisfied grin that frustrated you as she rushed you.

Both of you now throwing wilder punches. The fight raging on, heatedly. You were trying to get her off you but she was so strong.

“I thought the whole van helsing thing was a myth” you said a hint of humour but you weren’t sure where this was going. You really enjoyed the contact with her but you had kind of hoped she would want to embrace you instead.

“Well, you were myth-taken” She quipped, “A vampire who doesn’t know the slayer? God, you are new”

“Aw, what, you don’t wanna be my tomb-mate?” you teased and she flipped you over your head, leaving you sprawled on the floor. Before you could even think (your brain was left somewhere above you), she was on top of you. The stake had been lost, flung far away by your defensive movement in the fight.

You were so conflicted as she descended on you. You could become so annoyed with her and yet so unbelievably attracted to her at the same time. It was infuriating. And now you weren’t sure what was coming next.

She straddled you, her face agonisingly close to yours. The way her body heaved, her desperate intake of breath. You saw the glint in her eyes, the one where she knew she was right. Knew she had won.

But rather than moving, doing anything to hurt you she stopped. Your wrists pinned where she held them.

The moment slowing down. Time standing to a stop.

You felt her hands slide up, now on resting on your once curled hands. Her fingers locking with yours. The most life, most alive you had felt. Her grasp on you was firm. She was incredibly strong.

But her brow furrowed deeper. She was debating something. Deep within, you could almost hear it her mind was so loud. You started to breath deeply, from habit and anticipation. Your own chest heaving at the proximity. Her eyes dropped to your lips. It was only brief but you willed her to do it again.

Willed her to give all of her attention to you, even if it was to say goodbye. To end your very short unlife.

You would take it, you would take any of it. You licked your lips, eyes scanning her face. Daring to hope.

Your hands, rather than curling into fists were now holding hers just as tight as she gripped you. There was an intimacy to it, no other way to describe it.

Within moments, life rushed back into motion. Her lips instantly on yours. It was passion and urgency and she near knocked the breath back into your body. Her mouth willing yours open, her tongue meeting yours. Desperate for you and willing you to stop her at the same time.

The room around you was on fire. Crackling with the ember of desire that was starting to rise. The room surrounding you was igniting. It could burn down for all either of you cared. You only had eyes for each other. Hands, mouths, everything. For each other.

Her lips sloppily kissing down your jaw, along your neck. You sighed in pleasure, her lips felt so good. She relaxed her grip, only for a moment. As you began wrapped up in the kisses she pressed against your neck you decided to wrestle against her. Managing to roll her onto her back. Allowing you to move on top of her. Your thighs either side of her heavenly body.

The kiss waged on, hands tangling in hair. Grasping at skin. The touch sizzling, warming each other inside and out. You were addicted to her. Her lips. Her hands.

Just as she was to you. It was gradual and sudden. Every sense of hers was wrapped in you.

You knew then. This wasn’t the end. Not of your unlife, not even of your relationship with Buffy. It was just the beginning.

The beginning of the intense and intricate dance you would choreograph together. Weaving between such animal attraction and adoration that blurred into one.

You adored her even when you shouldn’t. She couldn’t get her mind off you, even though she tried.

[chudleycanonficfest]

Day 32, Story #2 is by @ahankar1610

Title: The Castle of Agony

Author: Ahankar1610

Pairing: Ron/Hermione

Prompt: AU / Mythological/Fairytale

Rating: T

Trigger Warnings: Mentions of death.

The Castle of Agony

-------

“Weasley!” a booming voice rang in the east corridor, Auror department, Ministry of Magic. A young man, who was going through the paperwork of recent strategies their head of Department hand introduce and also half paying attention to Chudley Canon’s recent stats in the ongoing league, jumped from his seat in fright.

He ran out of his cubicle, storming past every cubicle and ignoring everyone who had their heads stuck out of their cubicles to see what caused their head of department, Alastor ‘mad-eye’ Moody, to shout this loudly in the corridor. Yes, he was pretty loud, but never that much loud.

Ron Weasley reached the door of the office of Head of the Auror Department, he breathed a sigh and checked his features. He plated his bright red hair to look formal and checked his attire which is thankfully fine, because he’s been busy with paperwork which was thrusted to him by Jenna, the receptionist of Auror Department, and he didn’t get a chance to do anything else after that.

He knocked two times, “Come in,” came Moody’s voice from behind the door. Ron breathed in again to prepare himself and entered the office. He closed the door behind and Moody is not the only one present at the office.

James Potter, The Trainer of Aurors is also present at Moody’s office. He gave a nod to both of them and stood there with his demeanour and stance stiff.

“Auror Weasley,” said Moody in a formal voice, “Our magical control department informed us of rare and immense waves of magic are detected in Barnton, Cheshire. Its an old abandoned castle from where it was detected. Though it is not our work to handle the accidental magic, but it is for the first time this immense amount of magic is recorded,” Moody sighs, Ron can tell that his boss is not happy with the arrangement.

“We think it’s a ploy. by the smugglers. Barnton’s forest had a herd of unicorns and we are sure that their main purpose is to distract us and the rangers,” said James who looked a little reluctant, he exchanged a glance with Moody, “Ron,” he said tenderly, he had always treated Ron like his own and they both are now share a family after the wedding of Harry and Ginny.

“We only want you to check the perimeter of that Castle and report us about every single activity, either it is smugglers or an accidental magic by a brat. Is it understood?” Moody growled.

“Yes sir,” Ron replied in a firm voice.

Moody nodded, “You will reach the spot and try to stay under the cover. If you see anything peculiar, you will contact the headquarters.”

Ron nodded and turn to walk out of the office, his had just turned when he heard James called his name again. He turned and James is watching him with a grim expression, which was a first for Ron, as this man had always had a smile on his face since Ron can remember.

“If anything happened, anything. Just leave the spot and return to the headquarters,” he said gravely. Ron made an odd expression, bewildered by James’s word and behaviour. He nodded and leave the room.

“What happened Potter?” Moody asked quietly, his eyes on James who is sipping water from his glass of his water. His face quaint and unreadable.

“I don’t know,” James said silently, he wiped a little amount of sweat from his forehead by his sleeve. “There is something, something wrong. I feel today is there is something bizarre, about the day today.”

____

Ron landed on his feet at the soft ground. The chilly air of late November hit his cheeks, he shuddered at the sudden contact of coldness.

He quickly casted disillusionment charm on himself. He currently had a tree for his cover as he took around his surroundings. He was at the end of the forest, a place which smugglers usually used for their hideouts.

He shifted a little, he had his wand out. “Homenum Revelio,” there isn’t anyone in the perimeter. Ron frowns, it cannot be possible for the magic trace to be vanish that quickly. His spell tells him that there isn’t a source of magic present in the forest.

The smugglers can’t be gone that quickly. Then suddenly Ron felt something, a shiver, like someone is present around him. His body stiffened as he prepared for a combat, but nothing came.

He glanced around, his disillusionment charm is up and he can feel that someone is watching him. He knew that the attack will upon him. He decides to confront, his location is known by James and Moody and he feels that he can overtake smugglers if he tried. He wants to know their position and the only way to find that is to lure himself to them.

He undid the charm and step out of the cover, nothing happened. He had expected them to jump on him the moment he came out but nothing came. He gripped his wand firmly. The anticipation of an ambush is the only thing in his mind now.

He walked a few step forwards and a breeze of wind passed him from his left, he turned to his left swiftly “Stupefy!” he yelled.

The curse flew past piercing two trees in his way and vanished when it reached the third one. His voice echoed in the dark forest and Ron knew that there is something peculiar is going on in this forest.

“Homenum Revelio,” he whispered again, and this time he felt something. On the north side of the forest, he had felt it. A source of heat. A single source of heat.

He thought about James’s words but he feels but then, he didn’t know why but every part of his body wants him to follow this trail. His instincts are telling him to go to the north side of this forest.

At the moment of this decision, Ron choose to trust his instincts than his teacher. He walked into the depth of the forest.

The north side of the forest is more darker and Ron had found it confusing that many of the plants are magical and it was rare to find the magical flora to be found in muggle visited areas.

His steps died down as a stone appeared in front of him, something is, or something was carved on it. Before someone had scratched it, it seems like it was a name of a place. It was scratched by a sword and there is something which was also carved which made Ron’s eyes twitched.

‘AGONY’

It was carved in the middle of the stone and Ron can tell why someone would do something like this. Ron was mesmerized in the stone that he didn’t notice a shadow standing at the end of woods watching him closely.

Ron’s eyes twitched as he felt a tug in his brain and he felt his blood racing, he noticed the shadow. His left hand reached his wand but the shadow noticed and moved backwards a little.

“HALT!” he yelled and the shadow stopped for a second.

“Don’t move!” he said his wand on person’s back. “Raise your hands!” he ordered and to his surprise the shadow, he can tell is a person, obliged.

He cautiously started walking forwards, he reached a little closer to the person, “Turn around,” he ordered and when the person turned to face him, wind got knocked out of him.

There is a woman, well a beautiful woman, is standing in front of him. Her face looks like she is annoyed at him but their eyes met, he felt something. There is something familiar in those chocolate brown eyes, something familiar, like he had known these eyes for years. Her lips, her face, her hair.

Ron didn’t know why but he feels like that he knew her. It feels warm in his chest as he admired those brown bushy locks.

“What do you want!?”

Ron blinked and blinked again, “Yeah,” he said breaking his reverie and then looked at the woman who has her arms crossed over her chest and she looked really crossed.

He coughed a little, and then cleared his throat. “Um,” he awkwardly glanced at her face and it shows that she wanted answer. “What are you doing here on your own, ma’am?” he asked.

“Why do you think that it is something of your business, Auror?” she snapped. Well Aunt Muriel always said that handsome people are always arrogant. He sighs, wait!? Auror?

“You’re a witch?” he asked.

The woman rolled her eyes, “Yes I am.”

“Then what are you doing here?” he asked, his voice firm and gaze unmoving. He’s an auror.

“I am here for research,” she said.

Ron raised his eyebrow, by the mention of the research he surmised that this woman is a muggle. Obliviating her is the best option but he didn’t want to and the reason is unknown for him. He sighs, as per the protocol he has to obliviate her.

“Don’t even think about it,” the woman said, her eyes flashing. Ron’ s hand which was about to reach his wand stopped in mid-air. He frowned sceptical of this woman’s sharpness.

“Don’t make that face,” she said, “I know you were going to obliviate me.”

Ron’s both eyebrows shot up, “So you’re a witch?” he asked. The woman rolled her eyes, “Took you long enough to figure out,” she said, her voice irked and Ron scowled at her snappish behaviour.

“You should not be here ma’am,” he said, trying to keep his voice gentle and formal. The woman seems on guard. “What is your name?” Ron asked “And what is your purpose to be here?”.

She hesitated to talk, “I am Hermione.” Hermione, the name feels warm. “I came here to visit the old castle of Barnton.”

Castle? He never heard of any castle here in this deep forest of Barnton. “There is a castle auror,” she said as if she knew what was going in his mind. “I didn’t come here for no reason. I had heard the tales and infamous stories of the abandoned Barnton castle which was infamously known as the castle of agony.”

Ron glanced back at the stone he was admiring before and then at the woman standing before him. Her clothing is similar to him, heavy black robes hung till her knees and looking at her face, he can tell she’s in no mood of abandoning her search.

“I am Auror Ron Weasley,” he introduced himself. “This place is not safe for any civilian. I am afraid you would have to return.”

Her eyes went wide of anger when he suggested that. He expected a rant from her, but she didn’t. She turned around and started storming towards the direction he thinks the castle is.

He sighed, he can tell that the woman is stubborn and she won’t leave, he is sure of that, so. “Wait!” he yelled and she stopped in her steps and turned around with a frown plastered on her face. “I know you won’t leave until you find that castle, so let me accompany you. This place is full of smugglers and I can’t leave a civilian roam into this perimeter alone.”

Hermione stared at him, contemplating his word. After a minute of eying him in distrust, she nodded.

She started walking again and this time he is walking with her, though he is four or five steps behind her.

“Why is this castle abandoned?” he asked out of the curiosity. Hermione glanced back and then said, “It was the first castle of Barnton. Nearly eight centuries ago, it was ruled by King Regenweald before it was abandoned.” Hermione said, her voice serene.

Ron noticed many of the stones which he can tell were used to be walls and are just ruins now. “We have just entered its boundaries, Auror Weasley.”

“How come it was abandoned? If it was a castle of a dynasty. Why no one knows about it?” Ron asked.

Hermione sighed, “This castle is haunted as they say,” she said and Ron glanced around them. “It was all because of one woman.”

“A woman?” Ron asked.

Hermione nodded her face solemn, “Long ago when King Regenweald was just a prince, he met a girl. A girl named Elene, who he met during a hunt. They both fell in love with each other the moment their eyes met for the very first time.”

“Elene’s healing techniques were unique and best, many believed that she was a witch and that I think she was.” Hermione rubbed her hands to feel warm as the weather is started to get cold. Ron took out his wand and casted heating charm on both of them. “Thank you,” Hermione said with a smile and Ron returned it. She smiled for the first time and Ron thinks it was a charming smile.

“Then they married, many stories tells that it was one of the most beautiful wedding someone ever had witnessed. They both were so in love and it was celebrated in their kingdom,” they both reached a simple place which seems like a garden, Ron was going to ask Hermione something when he turned towards her, but her eyes are glued on a statue which has been turned dark. Ron can tell the statue is fragile, it had turned dark and many of parts are gone but something has kept this statue alive.

“This is them,” Hermione whispered, “Regenweald and Elene.”

Hermione eyes are shining and Ron didn’t know but he feels that this statue means something to her. Though reluctantly he placed his hand on her shoulder.

“Then what happened?” he asked. Hermione smiled, but sadly. “Elene was a kind queen. Her skilled healing prowess helped er kingdom. Barnton was the happiest place for their people. Their life bloomed when Elene found she is pregnant.”

“But it got tainted,” Hermione said, her voice queer.

“Tainted by what?” Ron asked.

“By blood, by war,” Hermione sighed. “The stories say, that the other kings, who were envious of King Regenweald’s kingdom, believed that Elene was a witch and should be executed. They demanded her to be hanged. King Regenweald protested. He declared an order that whoever touches his wife will face death.”

“The other kings attacked Barnton with their combined armies. Vicious war took place in these grounds. The warriors fought valiantly but faced defeat. On the last day of war King Regenweald lost his life. Elene distraught with her husband’s grief miscarried and lost her child two days after she had lost her husband.”

“She went mad, they say her grief led her to burn down the enemy camps. Nearly every soldier of those kingdoms died at the hand of a grieving wife. She wanted everything back, everything which was stolen away from her. Her agony was killing her alive.”

Hermione went quiet and Ron stares at her with anticipation building inside him. His eyes went towards the statue and searched for face of Elene which was gone.

“Hermione?” Hermione turned her serene eyes towards him, “What happened to Elene?”.

Hermione stared in his eyes, he just realized how much he loves her eyes. “She broke all the limits of magic for her love,” said Hermione. “She practiced or created that magic that even the greatest wizards of that time could not behold. She searched and searched and one day she found the branch of Necromancy.”

Ron’s eyes went wide at the mention of the darkest branch of the magic. “The people of Barnton, now scared of her magic decided to call the spirits of gods to help them. They did the ritual, the sacrifices but no god came to their aid. But one day an old man entered Barnton wailing for help, he was frail and sickly, his whole body covered in boils and his eyes red from crying. He asked for the queen’s help. He begged on the doors of the castle for queen’s help, queen finally came. He begged her, ‘Cureth me, prithee mine own queen and I shall grant any wisheth thee shall asketh me f’r.’

“Elene may be the queen and a witch who had surpassed every branch of magic, but she was a healer first. She cured him with her knowledge, she cured his every derange part of his body. When the time came for the queen to ask the wish, the man transforms into himself into the celestial we all know as death.”

“Death was always cunning,” said Hermione with a grim expression. “Death was impressed. It never expected Elene to help, Death had planned to drag her for playing with rules of nature. But Elene earned it’s respect when she decided to help it.”

“It gave her a choice. Death promised Elene that it will return her husband, but, Elene had to wait. The wait which could last for years, decades or centuries. Death asked her, ‘Can thee waiteth? Can thee survive? Doth thee has’t the strength to cope the t’rture of timeth,”.”

Hermione fell silent after that, Ron stared at her, shaken or lost. After a minute which passed like an hour for Ron he asked, “What did Elene choose?”.

Hermione took a shaky breath and her eyes went towards the statue again. “Elene chose to wait,” she turned her head and the ocean blue drowned in the colour of chocolate brown. “’F’r regenweald, aught.’ Elene told death.”

Ron now realized that he can feel her warm breath on his face as their faces are too close now, “So?” Ron asked quietly as Hermione’s eyes roam over his face, it feels like she is counting freckles on his face.

They both closed the distance and their lips met, it was tender. It feels warm, he had kissed before but not something like this. They both parted, both of their forehead touched as they leaned into each other. Hermione chuckled, “Funny, isn’t it? We barely know each other.”

“I don’t know about you,” he whispers, “But it feels like I had known you for ages.” Hermione stares at him with tender eyes, her hand reaching his cheek and cupping it.

“Hermione?” Ron asked.

“Yes Ron,” she whispered.

“Are you hungry?” he asked with a goofy grin. A smile appeared on Hermione’s face, “I think, I am.”

Ron took a hold of her hand and with a grin he started walking with Hermione. The ruins are as same. The castle which was once there was all gone by time. But in the depth of the land, deep inside there is a chamber. A chamber which was created for her.

On the wall of that chamber there is a huge portrait. The portrait of King Regenweald who was sitting on his throne. His handsome face covered with star like freckles and eyes blue like ocean, his hair flaming red. Behind him was standing his wife Queen Elene, her hair brown and bushy with eyes brown as chocolate and a smile gracing on her face.

The Ron who is walking beside a woman he had just met doesn’t know that he was sent here on a purpose or he was born for this purpose.

▪

She walked with him, admiring every part of his face, he’s not changed even in this life he is that same goofy boy she had fallen in love centuries ago.

Her wait is over. For centuries she was here waiting for him, relieving every memory of him. Her pain is over he is with her, he is here.

Her eyes had watered when she first saw him. Her wait is over, her suffering is over. She walked with him. Ron, the parents who had given birth to him in this life have given him the same name. She thanked them for raising him as the person as he was before.

Elene adores his smile and it feels like a gift after all this time. She is Hermione now, a name she had learned from the time and accepted it for herself.

They both walk hand in hand like the very old times. She noticed a raven, sitting on a branch of a tree watching them keenly under its dark gaze, she meets its eyes and smiled a little, death did not cheat her. Death is not a liar.

Death is Cunning, not coystrill.

[bitchfitch]

i know I've been bouncing between blorbos a lot lately but i think that's bc my brain is trying to make up for the bout of art block that kept me from doing much for a few months.

but like rn I'm bouncing at top speed (imperceptible to the human eye) between:

that came back wrong thing:

specifically the part at the very beginning when Bagri says he's done attempting treatment and would rather just let himself die before he's at the point he's both no longer able to be himself and would be leaving massive amounts of debt on Einer's shoulders. Plus he doesn't want to loose his last days with Einer to him having to keep working double and triple time to pay for Bagri's medical expenses.

and they'd be talking about the burial and how Bagri doesn't want anyone to cry and so on. and he makes Einer promise to live good for him. And einer does swear he'll do what he can to be happy after Bagri is gone. That he'll move on.

It's about a week after the funeral that Einer has Bagri's corpse in his arms, carrying him to the hill to beg that he be brought back. He knows the hill has been granting more boons. A man's statue was brought to life and made to love him. A woman was given her revenge on a golden platter. A beast roams the woods now, but if that's the price that must be payed for the miracles the hill seems happy to dole out now then so be it.

And the hill grants him one too, Bagri wakes up.

The final scene is the one where Einer realizes that's not his husband anymore. It's only a monsterous echo of him.

That asshole unicorn thing:

Just something short and sweet where an eclipse gives Arlo's mother enough power to manifest herself once more. And Arlo is ecstatic and bouncy and happy the entire day leading up to it. It's genuinely the most joyful Conall has ever seen him.

And he gets why that is. Arlo's family has been dead for centuries. His brothers manifest on the full moon, but his mother is only able to visit on solar eclipses. and he just misses them all so much.

Conall knows of Queen Rhiannon, she and her monsterous sons were a chapter in their history book. Her spilt blood was sited as the reason the hill curses those who come to it, as it's not widely known Arlo has been brought back. The land still bares the scars of her reign and the day she and her sons were slaughtered is celebrated even now. It's a bank holiday and everything.

He's very careful not to mention any of that while she and Arlo's brothers are there. Instead he says it's the day of her daughter's coronation that is celebrated and that Queen Masal was well loved. Despite Masal having been the one to kill them all, Rhiannon is happy to hear her daughter is doing well, as she and her sons are still in complete denial that Masal killed them of her own accord and ruled for a normal length of time instead of following in her mother's foot steps and making herself immortal to all who didn't have a lifetime of unicorn blessings to keep them safe from her.

The few minutes this family is once again back together comes to an end as the moon and the sun part, and Conall watches as Arlo is once again left alone. Adrift in a world that left him behind.

Conall thought he'd resent that Arlo got to see his family regularly despite their deaths, while he was left to mourne his at empty graves. but after seeing Arlo collapse back into his usual awful and miserable self, Conall decides he's glad he can't get trapped in the past by the people he loves.

that dragon thing:

When Twohir and Daeodon have completed their quest and found everything needed to bring Tahir back, Twohir is in charge of getting the elixir ready. He considers messing it up on purpose to prolong the time he has with Daeodon before he's cast aside in favor of the original Twohir was never quite able to match up to.

But he doesn't. Because he loves Daeodon, and knows that Daeodon suffers everyday Tahir is kept from him. It feels unfair to Tahir that he could be raised his entire life to love someone, to be a replacement for their deceased spouse, and then to deny that fate and do whatever he can to escape it, to become his Own person, only to fall in love with that person just in time to return him to the spouse they never stopped loving. It's cruel. He denied fate's path and fate turned around and punished him for it.

Tahir is brought back, and Twohir spends the rest of the story waiting to be told to leave. But he isn't. Tahir is everything the priests said he was. Kind and soft and Warm. and Tahir hears his story, and is the first person Twohir tells about his love for Daeodon. And Tahir, the actual god of love and beauty, just smiles at him and asks why he's been sleeping out in the living room then. Their bed is far from small, there's room for them both.

[marvels-writings]

Make it Right

Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow) Masterlist

Requested by @sg00 : Can you do a Natasha×fem!reader with 4-19-40 angst questions, please happy ending😊

4: “Do you know what it’s like?”

19: “Don’t you think you’ve done enough?”

40: “How could you do this?”

Word Count: 1,557 (Longish, angsty but happy ending!)

A/N: This is one of my fav Nat things I’ve written, hope you like it!

“How could you do this?” You demanded, running your hands through your hair as you paced through your home.

This wasn’t the first time Natasha’s work had become more important than her family. You knew for a fact it won’t be the last. But this was the worst of it. Your wife was missing her only daughter’s seventh birthday because of a mission. Your daughter had been looking forward to it all month, wondering when she would get to spend time with her mama again.

“It’s not like I wanted to,” Natasha argued, throwing her hands up exasperatedly.

The redhead felt as bad about it as you did. She had seen how excited your daughter was to spend the entire weekend with her. It was breaking both of your hearts to have this conversation.

“Then explain to me why the hell you’re taking a mission on our daughter’s birthday?!” You shouted back, furious with your wife.

There were unshed tears in both of your eyes. You hated shouting at her, it always caused her to grow more defensive and push you away. But you couldn’t help your anger, it was your only daughter’s birthday she was missing.

“Because they need me!” The redhead fired back, knowing this argument wasn’t going to end soon.

“And she doesn’t?!” You demanded, gesturing in the direction of your daughter’s bedroom.

“Mama?” A voice interrupted your argument.

You turned to see your daughter standing at the bottom of the staircase, clutching the stuffed unicorn Natasha had brought her from a mission. One hand was rubbing her eyes while the other held onto the unicorn’s horn with a tight grip. Emma looked exhausted but also concerned somehow.

“Hey, what are you doing up?” Natasha asked, voice soft as she moved to kneel in front of your daughter.

“I heard you shouting,” Emma answered, hand coming away from her eyes and clutching the unicorn as she looked from the redhead to you.

“It’s nothing sweetie,” Natasha assured, smiling down at her and lifting Emma so her head was on the redhead’s shoulder.

“Nothing,” You scoffed quietly, not loud enough for Emma to hear.

Natasha threw you a quick glare over her shoulder while leaning against the couch. You scoffed and moved to stand next to her, brushing the hair out of your daughter’s face.

“You’re coming to my birthday, right?” Emma asked excitedly, turning to face Natasha. Your heart broke at the look of pure excitement on her face. Natasha wore a look of pure regret, she didn’t want to break her daughter’s heart. Again.

“I-,” Natasha began.

“We don’t know yet,” You cut her off, determined not to make your daughter cry before she went to sleep. Natasha noticed and let you take your daughter from her and walk towards her bedroom.

“Why don’t you go to bed then you can find out tomorrow?” You asked, faking excitement while you walked up the stairs to put your daughter to bed.

Smiling, you told your daughter a bedtime story, watching her fall asleep through half of it. You stayed there for a few minutes, knowing Natasha was waiting downstairs to talk to you. But you just wanted a moment of peace to look at your daughter. Emma looked so peaceful while she slept, she was so excited for her birthday tomorrow.

It was going to break your heart to tell her her mother couldn’t be there.

You kissed her forehead, pulling the blanket closer to her shoulder and closing the door with a quiet click. Sighing, you made your way downstairs to find Natasha pacing. Your wife’s hands running through her red hair as she paced. When she noticed you standing there, she stopped and started fidgeting with her fingers.

“Do you know what it’s like?” You asked, voice wavering as you climbed down the last few stairs. Natasha opened her mouth to ask you what you meant but stopped when she saw you weren’t done.

“Do you know what it’s like to put her to bed every single night you’re gone only for her to ask where you are?” You asked, blinking back tears as you stood in front of your wife.

The hurt in your chest increased. The pain of seeing your daughter miss her mother more than anything was breaking you. It was breaking you to put her to bed every single night when all she wanted was for Natasha to tuck her in and stay with her.

“I, I’m sorry, I’ll try harder,” Natasha stuttered, reaching forwards for your hands. You didn’t pull away yet.

“I’ll do more,”

“Don’t you think you’ve done enough?” Tears slipped down your cheeks, you pulled away from Natasha and ran one hand through your hair. A sob broke through your chest.

“Our daughter can’t even, I can’t even remember the last weekend you spent at home.” You stuttered, voice breaking as sobs were breaking out of you.

“Can you even remember the last time you were able to tuck your daughter into bed without leaving the next morning?!” You demanded, gesturing towards your daughter’s bedroom.

For the first time in months, Natasha truly understood what she was putting you through every single day she was gone. She finally understood her job wasn’t worth what she was forcing you and your daughter to go through every day.

“I…” Natasha trailed off, tears glazing her emerald eyes.

“I don’t want your apologies,” You stated flatly.

You waited for your wife to say something. Anything. Beg for you to forgive her, call the mission off, anything to show how much she cared. But Natasha just stood there, stunned.

You scoffed and left towards your bedroom, leaving Natasha to do as she pleases.

The redhead stood there, unsure of what to do. This wasn’t the first time she didn’t know what the right thing to do was. Every mission she sacrificed your family over had confused her on what the right thing to do was. But somehow she had convinced herself that helping others was the right thing to do.

Licking her lips, she decided to sleep on the couch. Trying to sleep in your shared bedroom would set off another argument which both of you were too tired for. But before she could settle to go to sleep, the bright red colors on the dining table caught her eye.

Walking over to the table, she lifted the piece of paper to eye level. It was a drawing, a rather simple one. It had your name written over a stick figure on the right. with hair/color hair. On the left, there was Natasha’s name written. A large stick figure with bright red hair and a black suit on. ‘Emma’ written over the smaller stick figure in the middle of the two large ones.

It was a drawing of her family. The same family she was tearing apart.

————

You woke up to an empty bed, which didn’t surprise you. You didn’t expect Natasha to spend the night in your shared bedroom after your argument. Noises from the kitchen caught your attention. You left the room in a hurry, scared it would be someone here to hurt you.

But what you saw surprised you. It was Natasha, wearing the same clothes from last night. One hand crossed around her midsection while one handheld the phone. The same phone she was shouting into while her back facing you.

“I could give less shits about missions Steve, I’m taking the month off.” Natasha hissed into the phone.

You heard a little more chatter but you zoned out. You had never expected your wife to take the chance to change. But she did, she was finally doing more than she had promised.

“Hey,” Natasha said, drawing you out of your thoughts as she approached you on the staircase.

“You finally did more,” You chuckled, voice gravely from sleep.

“Did you expect me not to?” Natasha asked, eyebrow-raising in mock offense.

“A little,” You confessed, shrugging as Natasha took your hands and pulled you towards the dining table.

“Don’t. Look…” Natasha trailed off, unsure of how to apologize to you.

Her eyes looked down at the ground, you hooked one finger under her chin, guiding her face to look at you. The redhead took in a deep breath and started on the apology she had been practicing all night.

“I’m sorry about everything,” Natasha apologized, licking her lips and rubbing circles in your hands. “I just got so caught up in clearing my ledger and helping other people I forgot about my family who was helping me all along.”

By the end of the apology, your wife was tearing up. You smiled softly despite the circumstances. It made you fall in love with her all over again to see how much she cared about you. You pulled her into a hug, hand coming up to cradle her head as you rubbed her back.

“Hey, shh,” You whispered.

Natasha wrapped her arms around you, head buried in your shoulder as hot tears soaked your t-shirt. You started swaying from side to side, trying to comfort her. A piece of paper on the dining table caught your eye. Moving towards it, you saw it was a drawing of your family. There were small, barely noticeable, tear stains on it.

“It’s okay, you made it right,”

A/N: Thoughts?

Tag List: @capcarolsdanver, @versdan​, @lesbian-girls-wayhaught, @lovebotlarson, @dhengkt, @hstoria​, @natasha-danvers​, @veryfunnyal, @xxxtwilightaxelxxx , @ophelias-heart  , @never-didbefore , @justarandomhumanhere, @the-most-unicorn-of-them-all , @thatssocamryn , @lesbian-x-blackwidow , @marvelbbyx , @wlw-imaginesss , @hcartbyheart , @summergeezburr , @imnotasuperhero  , @dversstark , let me know if you’d like to be in any of my tag lists!

[roughentumble]

geralt and roachie

@avrupasya​ asked for a fic/continuation of this post of mine, where modern au geralt’s roach is a stuffed animal. sortve told in, like, vignettes, i suppose?

[read on ao3 if you like!]

The one constant in Geralt's short, stressful life, is Roachie. The little brown stuffed horse, named after a fish with similarly colored eyes("I'm gonna' study animals when I'm big!" he proclaims to anyone who will listen, which isn't many, so he whispers it into his horse's mane instead) has been with him long enough that he has no memories without her in some peripheral corner-- clenched in his fist, sitting on his blanket, overflowing from a fit-to-bursting pocket of his shorts. She's been with him through two houses now. He likes to think that she was given to him the day he was born, that they'd never been separated, but he can hardly ask anyone for confirmation. It's just one of those certainties you hold in your heart as a child.

So of course, for his seventh birthday, a dog eats her.

(The kicker is that it isn't even his birthday. It's a government assigned day that may or may not be in the vicinity of the actual day of his birth. It's not like he was dropped off at the fire station with paperwork or anything. He is vaguely, sort of, aware of this, just enough that it feels like an extra kick while he's down.)

She is utterly and completely beyond repair. Her shape isn't even recognizable, and for all his inconsolable tears, she's gathered up and unceremoniously dumped in the trash.

He cries when he finds her, cries through dinner, cries late into the night, cries until he is informed by one of his caretakers through what seems to be a rather impressive headache that if he doesn't stop crying, he would be "given something to cry about," which...

He already had something to cry about. Hence the crying.

He chews on his fist, however, startled into silence by the shouting, and hiccups softly into his pillow. Even as he's left alone, in the dark, he can't settle-- the thought of Roach thrown away like garbage is one that just doesn't sit right with him. He waits until the house is silent, into the wee hours of the morning, then sneaks on silent feet to the kitchen. He rustles through the trash as quietly as he can, pulling out pieces of his old friend, now not simply in tatters but also covered in what was left of dinner.

He nearly loses it at the sight of her, destroyed and filthy. Tears well in his eyes, blurring the world around him, and he sniffles once, weakly, but he doesn't want to wake anyone, and who knows what they'd do if they found him rooting through the trash, so he steels his resolve. Stomps down on the urge to give into another round of crying fits.

The night air is cold against his hot, sticky face. It's refreshing, but he barely notices it as he shuffles into a far corner of the yard. He digs a shallow hole with his hands and reverently lays her body inside. He covers her back up, tamps the earth back down with his palms, and then sits back on his heels. He's a little too young to fully understand what goes on in a funeral-- he's never seen one before, after all-- but he's seen TV, and he knows you're supposed to say something nice, so he says something to the effect of "Roachie was the bestest friend, an' the prettiest horse, there ever was in the whole entire world," and then sits in silence for a few moments longer, sniffling in the cold night air.

He suddenly recalls headstones, and he doesn't have any rocks-- doesn't know how to carve words into one-- but he does see a stick nearby. He shoves it in the ground like a stake and looks over his work. About as good as any grave dug by a seven-year-old could hope to be. He stays there until the cold starts making the tip of his nose and the joints of his fingers hurt, and then he stumbles back inside and curls up in bed.

He's moved to a new house a week later.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

He starts skipping lunches. He goes to school hungry, and comes home hungrier, and devours his dinners in this new house voraciously.

Every penny that would be spent on school lunches gets shoved in his pocket, then consolidated and shoved in his sock drawer when he gets home. Once he's gotten a decently-sized pile, he gathers it all up in his tiny little fists, shoves it in his pockets, and walks all the way to the local thrift store.

He'd gotten it into his head, somehow, that Roach still existed. Some childish idea that'd popped into his head as a comfort, and that got ingrained in his mind as he repeated it to himself over and over at night. He'd seen the rags, of course, what'd become of her after the dog had had it's way, he knew she was buried in the dirt a state away... but the core "soul" of his Roachie, that'd been with him and loved him and cared for him, was out there, in some other brown stuffed horse, waiting to be found again.

He marches into the toy section in the back of the thrift store with the determination of a soldier on a rescue mission.

And at the bottom of the bin, underneath all the teddy bears and off-brand babydolls, is one single brown stuffed horse.

Logic would dictate a coincidence-- but to his little eyes it looks a lot like magic.

He snatches her up instantly and runs to the front of the store, lest anything come and rip her from his arms again. He has to stand on his tip-toes, but he pushes her up on the counter, then pushes over the pile of money and asks if it's enough. The old lady looks at his pile, then pushes her glasses down the bridge of her nose to get a better look at the tag on the horse's ear. She squints, then glances at his wide, desperate eyes. "Well!" She announces. "Would you look at that. That's the exact right amount. Must be fate." Then winks down at him.

He gasps loudly, eyes getting impossibly wider. Fate-- Roach really had been waiting for him! He reaches up and makes a grabbing motion with his hands. "Can, can I... can I hold her, then?"

"She's all yours." The woman says gently, and places it in his waiting arms.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Roach stays with him all the way to the doorstep of the Kaer Morhen Home for Wayward Boys. He's thirteen, and she has a few weak seams, a few patches where the fur's been worn away. She's heavily loved, and he hasn't spent a night without her since they were "reunited". He's worn as well-- tired of the constant cycle of new places, new "families".

A few months later, with no prospect of leaving in sight, he takes back his wish for someplace permanent.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

He rooms with a boy named Eskel, who is about the only bright spot in Kaer Morhen, as far as Geralt is concerned. He is only mildly mocking of a thirteen year old sleeping with a stuffed animal every night, and it's mostly companionable ribbing, so even though the thought of anyone mocking Roachie gets under his skin, he lets it go. Eskel is his friend, after all. Of course, though, because that's the way of the world, some older boys overhear Eskel's teasing.

He comes back to his and Eskel's room that night, expecting to find Roach under his pillow-- he's too old to carry her everywhere, now, so that's where she lives-- and instead she's strewn across his bed.

He's old enough, now, to know that it maybe looks a little ridiculous from the outside, but he's too upset to be self-conscious, and Eskel is nothing if not understanding as Geralt sobs into his shoulder that night, quiet except for the occasional little soothing noise as he strokes a hand up and down Geralt's trembling back.

It's unsalvageable, at least for their inexperienced hands. Neither of them is a seamstress. After lights out, Geralt sneaks out-- this time with Eskel in tow-- and creeps into the backyard. Just like last time, he silently digs a hole and places her inside. That's what you do with Roaches, after all-- you bury them, then you find her all over again. The idea of Roach not existing out there, somewhere, is inconceivable.

He curls up next to Eskel that night, and it isn't the same, and he doesn't quite sleep... but it helps.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

His first Roach had been about the side of a Beanie Baby, and had been a light, palomino sort of color. His second had been more the size of a Build-A-Bear, with slightly stiff limbs and brown fur so dark it was nearly black. The third time he finds Roach, she's a reddish sort of Bay, peeking out at him from behind a large Lego set on the thrift store shelf.

He'd already searched the bins three times and had come up empty-handed, not even a miscolored unicorn, or something else close-but-wrong to show for his efforts, and... there she is, sitting right there, like it's some sort of game. He gasps, and Eskel turns away from the slightly melted Barbies he'd been toying with at the sound. Geralt shoves the box aside and grabs at her, cradling her carefully in his hands. She's already a little on the worn side this time around-- one eye's a bit loose-- and she's right in the middle, size-wise, compared to her other two incarnations.

He loves her instantly.

It must show on his face, because Eskel laughs a little and throws an arm around his shoulders. "So, is this the fated horse, then?" He asks, teasing.

"Yeah," Geralt replies breathlessly, too excited to meet the teasing tone back, "I think so."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Lambert shows up when he's thirteen and they're both sixteen.

He's loud, and violent, and instantly hones in on Geralt's preternaturally graying hair and the shock of white growing out of the back of his head(poliosis, born from stress, though none of them know that term). He's inhumanly annoying, a real pain in the ass, and somehow, against all odds, Geralt and Eskel both instantly adore him.

Maybe it's the way he talks back to their "caregivers", or the way he sometimes gets into fights on smaller kids' behalf, who knows, but the three of them form a little clique fairly quickly. Lambert pretends it's begrudging, but it's not hard to see that it's mostly a front. He's a brat, through and through, but he's their brat.

Which is why he's even in their room-- they're all hanging out, Geralt flipping through a book and Eskel attempting to study, while Lambert fiddles with Roach. He turns her over in his hands, examines the spot where the loose eye had fallen off a year back, picks at one of her loose seams. "I just don't get it," he says, scrunching up his nose, "like. What does it do?" He asks.

"Be careful with her." Geralt says, flicking a glance over at Lambert before returning to his book. "And she doesn't do anything. She's a stuffed animal, she just sits there."

"Well, yeah, no duh." Lambert replies, rolling his eyes. "I'm not stupid." Eskel mumbles 'Could've fooled me,' from his own bed, and Lambert hisses back 'Watch it,' and kicks his leg as he snickers. "I mean, what do you do with it? Give it wots and wots of hugs and kissews?" He asks mockingly. He's holding her by the front legs, wiggling them up and down like some sort of dance and shoving her in Geralt's direction. He's about to tell Lambert to knock it off, trying to bat him out of the way to continue reading when, one of her legs just... pops off. There's a stunned moment where Lambert just stares at the two pieces in his hands.

A strangled noise works its way out of Geralt's throat, and he snatches Roach out of Lambert's hands.

"I-- I didn't mean..." He tries, looking between Geralt and Eskel helplessly, but the tears are already welling up as Geralt clutches her closer to his chest.

"Oh, shit," Eskel mutters and scrambles to his side drawer, which hides in the bottom a small sewing kit. Lambert slips out of the room in between Geralt sobbing and Eskel rushing to reattach the limb.

The fabric is weak enough around the seam, and Eskel is inexperienced enough at sewing, that the limb is noticeably shorter than the rest, but she's whole and in one piece by the end of the night.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Lambert awkwardly shuffles in place in their doorway the next day. "I-- fuck, man, I really didn't mean to..." He mutters, rubbing at the back of his neck.

Geralt holds Roach a little closer. "It's fine," he says tersely, "but no one's allowed to touch Roach anymore. Ever." He says firmly.

"Yeah, no, that works." Lambert tentatively steps into the room and then, when he isn't shooed out and no one starts crying, grows a bit bolder, sitting down on the edge of Eskel's bed. "I mean, except for nursemaid Eskel over here, right?" He says jokingly, and earns himself a punch on the shoulder from Eskel.

"Piss off, ya' little brat." He mutters fondly.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Years pass and Geralt and Eskel age out of Kaer Morhen. They get an apartment, split the costs, because they've basically never not shared a room, and they need all the shoulders to lean on they can get. All they really get is each other, so they settle for that. A few more years and Lambert is shoved out at the healthy age of eighteen-- just like they were. He's invited to their little apartment, and he's loud, and complains that he went from one roommate to two, bitches about how they're both sticks-in-the-mud who don't know how to have fun, and that they snore, and that he'll never get a good night's rest.

It's exactly what they were missing, and Roach watches all of it from her spot on the shelf near Geralt's bed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Then, Geralt meets Jaskier.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The first time Jaskier comes over, Eskel and Lambert are both at work, so they have the apartment to themselves. Geralt opens the fridge to pull out two beers, and Jaskier flounces past him towards the shared bedroom. "I'm gonna' go root through your stuff without permission." He announces teasingly as he opens the door and slips inside.

Geralt snorts and rolls his eyes, taking his time popping open both bottles. He hears an exaggerated 'oooohh, interesting,' from the other room and carries the beers to his room. "There's really not much here to see." He says as he bumps the door open with his hip.

"Oh, I don't know about that." Jaskier replies from his place on Geralt's bed. "Who's this little cutie, huh?" His tone is light, teasing, and he's got Roach in his lap, playing with her ears.

Panic crawls up Geralt's throat-- she's old, now, and her ears were always a weak point. It's been years since he was sixteen, and her leg had come off so easily back then, so now... he shouts something strangled at Jaskier, maybe 'no' or 'stop', he isn't really sure, and Jaskier looks up with wide, startled eyes. He rushes over and drops the bottles on his night stand before scooping Roach out of Jaskier's hands. He doesn't yank-- terrified of what might happen to her stitching if he did-- but he isn't nice about it either.

He ignores Jaskier's stammering entirely, swiping his hand across her shelf to make sure there isn't any dust, before carefully sitting her precisely where she'd been. His hands tremble a little as they hover in the air in front of her, waiting to make sure she didn't fall, glancing over her to make sure nothing was out of place, that she still had all her limbs. After a moment, he lets out a shaky breath and steps back from the shelf.

"No one touches Roach." He says firmly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know," Jaskier starts, and Geralt whirls on his heel, grabs Jaskier's wrist.

"Swear it." He says, squeezes Jaskier's wrist tight. "Swear you won't touch her."

"I won't." He sounds a little mystified at the afternoon's sudden turn, but he gently places his other hand over Geralt's. "I promise."

Geralt deflates a little with relief, loosens his grip and lets Jaskier's wrist slip from between his fingers. "She's..." he starts quietly, eyes averted, guilt and embarrassment creeping in over his sudden outburst. "She's really fragile. I... I didn't mean to... just, please don't touch her." He finishes weakly.

Jaskier agrees once more, reaches out and squeezes Geralt's hand reassuringly. They drink their beer in the living room.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Months pass and his friendship with Jaskier deepens.

Then, he meets Yen.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Hmm." She says thoughtfully, arms crossed over her chest. "I like your stupid little horse."

Her tone is light, teasing, and it strikes him right through the heart all the same. But, at least she isn't trying to touch Roach. He pulls her down into his bed, and the conversation is forgotten.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

They dance around each other like that for far longer than either reasonably should. Fuck, then fight, then silent treatment, only to fall back into bed and start the cycle anew.

He cares, really he does, and he knows Yen cares back, in her own way, but it's just all so... much. It's a little hard to take, most nights. As he lays there, unable to sleep, he catches sight of Roach out of the corner of his eye. His bed is cold and lonely, and thoughts of Yen won't stop swirling around his mind, and he just... he just wants to feel settled. Before he can talk himself out of it, he's carrying Roach down off her perch and curling around her to sleep with his old friend for the first time in a long time.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A few months later, Jaskier uses his spare key to open the door to Geralt's apartment after a few rounds of knocking goes ignored.

He's got snacks, and a six-pack of beer that he deposits in the fridge, before calling out into the apartment, announcing his presence. He gets back a muffled 'in here,' and opens the door to the bedroom to find Geralt planted on the middle of his bed, Roach cradled carefully to his chest. "Sorry," he says weakly, sniffling into his palm, "I- I guess I forgot we were supposed to hang out."

Jaskier's by his side in a moment, kneeling in front of him on the bed, gently brushing his hair out of his face. "Oh, Geralt, what happened?"

He shrugs a little, helplessly. "Yen and I broke up." He pauses for a moment, rubbing little circles into the back of Roach's head, and then adds, "For good this time."

Jaskier reaches out and gathers Geralt up in his arms, lets him tuck his face in the crook of his neck. "I'm so sorry..." He mumbles, nosing into Geralt's hair.

"It's fine," Geralt replies weakly, voice cracking, "it was bound to happen sooner or later. We're kinda'... volatile."

Jaskier huffs out a humorless laugh. "Yeah, that you were..." The past-tense on Jaskier's tongue hits Geralt like a bolt to the chest, and he chokes out a sob. "Oh," Jaskier croons back, reaching up to cradle the back of his head, "oh, it's alright... it'll be alright..."

As he collapses forward into Jaskier's arms, he lets himself be soothed by Jaskier's voice, his arms enveloping him, and the softness of Roach's fur beneath his fingers.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A few months later they kiss for the first time there, on his bed, in full view of Roach, which doesn't occur to him until later, but once it does it makes some small part of him wish he'd turned her around. She's seen enough of him, she doesn't need front-row seats to... that.

Then he realizes that she was also there for Yennefer, and he feels a sudden surge of guilt mixed with a healthy dose of shame.

His poor little Roachie.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The first time they fuck in his room, Geralt pauses with his hands on Jaskier's hips, blushing faintly. "Do... do you mind if I...?" He asks nervously.

"What is it, dearest?" Jaskier asks lowly, smoothing his hands up and down Geralt's bare chest, eyes all want and smoldering heat.

Geralt clears his throat awkwardly and lets go of Jaskier for a moment to reach up and carefully turn Roach so she was facing the wall. It's deeply embarrassing, but he hasn't been able to stop thinking about it ever since he had the realization about his time with Yen. He turns back around, expecting to be mocked, but Jaskier looks nothing except fond.

He laughs a little, but not meanly, and wraps his arms around Geralt's neck. "Good call," he says, pressing a kiss into Geralt's cheek, "don't want to subject poor Roachie to anything she didn't sign up for."

The complete lack of judgement, paired with the nickname, has a surge of affection swelling in Geralt's chest. He grabs Jaskier by the hips once more, and gently tosses him onto the bed. Jaskier laughs again, delighted, and opens his arms to grab at Geralt, who happily follows after him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Geralt, look at this!" Jaskier announces from the couch, tilting his phone screen to the side as Geralt scoots closer and hooks an arm around his shoulders for easier viewing. "It's a stuffed animal repair service, but she runs a blog with pictures of the process and calls herself Doctor Beth. Isn't that the cutest thing?"

"Hmm." Geralt hums back. He glances at the screen, scrolls a little, but he quickly abandons it in favor of burying his face in Jaskier's neck and depositing kisses along its length.

Jaskier laughs and snuggles closer, but holds out his phone screen more insistently. "C'mon, Geraaalt," he whines, "you have to actually look. It's cute! You have to say it's cute."

Geralt flicks his eyes towards the screen once more, then away just as quickly as he deadpans the word "Adorable." right into the curve of Jaskier's jaw.

"You are the worst!" He announces, but he's grinning like a fool, and he turns his head into Geralt's affection all the same.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Once the kissing has died down, and Jaskier is seated side-saddle in Geralt's lap, he pulls his phone back out. "In all seriousness," he says, tucked up comfortably against Geralt's chest, "it's actually very interesting. She's really good at her job-- look at this, the bear's practically rags before she reconstructs it."

Instead of trying to distract Jaskier again, Geralt dutifully listens, watching the pictures as Jaskier flips through them. She is rather good, he has to admit, and there is something interesting in watching the stuffed animal go from rags to repaired, in the same way it's relaxing to watch an episode of How It's Made. He 'hmm's again, though it's a more thoughtfully, agreeing sort of ‘hmm’ this time.

"I've actually been following her blog for a little while now, and... I was just thinking..." Jaskier fiddles with the edge of his phone case, "maybe you could... send Roach to her, and--"

"No." He says, swift and firm. The playfulness has left his tone entirely, just the thought of sending Roach anywhere enough to make anxiety race through his chest and his palms turn clammy.

Jaskier's mouth twists into a frown. "Oh... sorry. I just... I know she's fragile and I thought this might help, so I--"

Geralt slides a hand up and down Jaskier's back soothingly. "It's alright. Thank you, for thinking of her, just... I... I can't."

He nods in return and straightens up to press a kiss to Geralt's cheek. "Alright, love, whatever you're comfortable with."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Now that Jaskier's said it, though, the thought won't leave Geralt's head. He scrolls through Doctor Beth's blog when he's alone, gets a feel for her track record.

Roachie is fragile now. Close to ten years with him, and she was already thin in some places before he got to her.

On the other hand, does he really trust some stranger on the internet to treat her right? What if she comes back wrong? What if, somehow, she doesn't come back Roach? He reaches out to run his thumb gently across her snout, looking to soothe himself, and watches as little tufts of fur come away under his feather-light touch.

He's already buried two Roaches. He really doesn't want to do again.

"Well, Roachie," he murmurs into the empty room, "third time's the charm, right?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

He is the closest to a nervous wreck that Jaskier's ever seen him in the intervening weeks. He'd packed the box with Roach so delicately, gently surrounding her with bubble wrap so she didn't get knocked around and somehow lose pieces in shipping, and as soon as the box was shipped he took to pacing the apartment and checking his phone every twenty minutes. Jaskier thought it was endearing, if a bit worrying.

It drove Eskel and Lambert up a wall.

There were a lot of movie nights in those weeks in an effort to keep Geralt's mind off of things, but inevitably about halfway through the movie he'd get a bit of a distant look in his eyes and he'd reach down to feel his phone in his pocket, make sure it was where he'd be able to feel it if he got an email.

Waiting to confirm materials, what color cloth to use and what eye matched best with her other in his opinion, what to do about her now rather sparse tail and mane.

Jaskier would touch his arm gently, bring him back to the present, and he'd turn his attention back to the movie, maybe sling his arm around Jaskier's shoulders. It was nice, and very sweet to see him so very concerned, but Jaskier did wish he could do a little more to ease some of Geralt's worries.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

There are, as Jaskier recalls, a few posts where people had sent in video of the results, of them opening the box and seeing their little stuffed animal friend all fixed up. And he knows for a fact Geralt's going to be excited to see Roach again, so when the box finally arrives and Geralt sits down on the couch with it, Jaskier opens up the camera on his phone without much thought.

And then has to set it down almost immediately.

As soon as the box opens, before he could even get his hands on her, big, fat tears start rolling down Geralt's cheeks. Jaskier drops his phone on the table without even bothering to turn off the recording, rushing forward to envelop Geralt in a hug.

Geralt's hands grip the edge of the box so tightly his knuckles turn white, and Jaskier holds him closer, runs his fingers through Geralt's hair soothingly. "What is it, what's wrong?" He asks softly. Geralt shakes his head.

"She just-- she didn't even look this good when I first got her and I--" He's cut off by another sob, and Jaskier holds him a little tighter. "I just can't stop thinking about e- every time she... she broke and I couldn't fix her and I h- had to just... just buy a new one and I... I..."

"Shh, shhh..." Jaskier quiets him gently, pressing a kiss to his temple. "It's alright..."

"I know, I know, she just... she's like new, you know?" He says weakly into Jaskier's shoulder.

That gives Jaskier pause. "Love... are you," he asks incredulously, "are you crying because you're happy?" Geralt nods, and Jaskier can't help the little laugh that escapes him. "Oh, my dear heart..." He murmurs, almost sickeningly fond as he nuzzles into Geralt's hair. "Why don't you pick her up, then? I'm sure she missed you."

Geralt reluctantly pulls back from Jaskier's embrace to look down into the box.

She really does look good as new, and Geralt's almost afraid to touch her. Maybe the new stitching isn't as sturdy as it looks, maybe she'll fall apart in his hands, or maybe she just won't feel right... He sucks in a breath and carefully curls his hands around her. All his breath leaves him in a whoosh.

He holds her in his hands, and something he didn't even know was unsettled, settles in his chest.

As he presses her close to his chest, she still feels like Roach.

Except now she looks like herself again. Whole and complete and strong.

"Thank you," he turns to Jaskier and wraps an arm around him, tugging him in close while the other keeps a hold of Roach, "I never would've done this if you hadn't brought it up. I... Jask... thank you so much."

"Of course, love," he says gently, carding his fingers through Geralt's hair, "got to look out for dear Roachie... where would you be without her, hmm?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"You know, she's so much sturdier now that she's all fixed up." Jaskier points out gently, after a few quiet moments have passed. "She could handle... well. Being handled more, again. She doesn't have to live up on that shelf anymore."

Which, kind of had been the whole point, but Geralt hadn't thought it through in so many words. The tears come back with a vengeance and he sniffles into Jaskier's shoulder, clutches her to his chest firmer than he's dared to in years.

That night, he falls asleep with Jaskier behind him, and his old friend clutched in his arms, and it's maybe a little silly, a little childish, but it's the best sleep he's had in his life.

[rodeoxqueen]

Hi hi!! I was wondering if you could do hcs of DMC boys spending times with their kids at the amusement park and at the end they take pictures with each other thank you so muc ^^

Howdy Howdy,

Of course I can, gorgeous. 

Enjoy,

Rodeo. 

Dante 

“Kids! Wake up, wake up, we’re going to the amusement park!” He screams as he kicks the door down. The kids aren’t expecting it but they were overjoyed regardless. 

Just as excited as his kids to go to amusement parks. He drives them the whole way over talking about which rides they should go on. They miss their turns several times. 

Daddy Dante got the full dad in amusement park attire. Hawaiian shirt, board shorts, and flamingo socks with sandals. 

It helps to be super strong, he holds all their stuff. 

He races the kids to the lines. He basically lets them do what they want but he wants to go on the scary rides. Good thing it’s not their turn with the Sparda brain cell, they fear nothing. 

“Wow, they say this ride is not suitable for sick people, pregnant women, old people, and people with common sense and self-respect. Well kids, it’s good that’s not any of us.” 

“Dad, you’re pretty old.” 

“Do you want to ride this death trap or not?” 

“Nevermind, you don’t look a day over twenty, dad.” 

“That’s what I thought.” 

He wins them all the prizes. One of his kids runs around with the largest unicorn known to man while the vendor tells Dante that no, he cannot use Ebony and Ivory to win anymore stuffed animals. 

“It’s so fluffy I’m gonna die!!” 

“Kiddo, can that wait? We still have several rides to go on.” 

Dante even has the dinky cameras with the photos you get developed at the print store. All of them are blurred or one of the kids makes a weird face in it. He wouldn’t have it any other way. 

You know those punching bags they have that measure your strength? Well, Dante is super cocky stepping up to punch the daylights out of it. 

The goofy dad misses, his fist going straight through the machine and lifting it out of the cement. His kids cheer as he realizes what he’s done. 

“Did I win?” 

“Sir, you need to pay for that.” 

“Kids, book it and scatter! They can’t catch all of us.” 

They are banned from that park. No regrets. 

They go home, sunburnt, faces sticky with candy and all sorts of fried foods, and arms fulls of prizes. They don’t even make it to their rooms before they all pass out in the living room. 

Dante buys so many pictures they took from the rides. They join the rest of his wallet photos. 

Lady and Trish are mad he spent so much on one excursion, but seeing how happy he was with his kids, they don’t say anything. 

Vergil 

It isn’t until his kids plead and whine to him for weeks that he will open a portal to this “amusement park.” 

“But Father, all the other kids get to go!” 

“It is a frivolous waste of time.” 

“Uncle Dante is so cool, our cousins got to go-” 

“Where is it.” 

He’ll be damned before his brother is considered “cooler” to his own children.

He’s the dad that doesn’t want to be there but relented for his kids. Another unamused dad stands next to him as they watch their kids go feral. 

“You too, huh?” 

“Don’t talk to me.” 

He stands next to them in the long lines to ensure their safety. He glares at anyone who tries to cut in line. 

“Cut in line in front of my children again. Try it. I will cut you.” 

His kids get first in line since no one wants to stand behind Vergil. When the ride takes their photos, employees are shocked to see he is stone-faced the whole ride. 

“Hell had better drops than this.” 

His kids win prizes by themselves, Vergil once again relenting and handing them bills. 

They run over to him with their own prizes and he pats them on the head. 

“I expected nothing less.” 

Vergil does not want his kids to get sick from all the sweets they wish to consume. He lets them choose a few things and then he cuts them off. 

He sits down in the shade as his kids continue to play and run around. 

It isn’t until they point to the strength tester that Vergil gets up again. He knows it’s rigged. He initially refuses, but when someone calls him a wuss he removes his jacket and snatches the hammer from the vendor. 

Vergil hits the scale so hard that the puck flies straight off the scale and enters the stratosphere. 

“Are we done now?” 

He is handed an armful of tickets. His kids praise their father while he smugly smirks at the people who taunted him. 

“Foolish.” 

The pictures booth is thoroughly stuffed with all of his kids and their toys and stuffed animals. He is literally shoved into the background, all the weight on his lap as he tries not to asphyxiate. When the photos come out, you can only see the top part of his face. 

They all go home, thoroughly entertained. Vergil acts like he doesn’t care and that the trip was mundane. But only he knows, he was smiling in all of the booth photos. Good thing he’ll take that to the grave. 

V

His children see the posters around town for the amusement parks when he takes them out on afternoon strolls to the park. He’s an observant father, who notices how his kin gathers around the idea of this “amusement park.” 

“Dad, can we please go?” They shyly ask. 

“But of course.” He says. 

He is not prepared for the chaotic nature of these crowded social events. It’s hot, he’s sweating, everything is so expensive, it’s loud……

Since he is unnaturally pale, he always applies sunscreen. His kids are also slathered in it before they go running about. 

Bless him. He tries so hard to keep up in the sweltering heat. His kids notice he’s lagging behind so they decide to stay in one place so he can sit and observe. 

At least the burgers and fries are good here. His kids run about, asking him to try what deep-fried and sugary creations they have found. He’s very fond of cotton candy and how it disappears on his tongue. 

Shadow tries to eat garbage and Griffon is heckling the street performers. 

V’s children beg him to come with them and practically drag him to the rides. He pales at the screams of other people. 

He relents and he goes on the rides. His kids feel awful after he throws up after the third repeat of the most infamous attraction. 

They leave him alone after that, letting him recover at a table. His familiars follow his children around to make sure nothing bad happens.

It’s not his scene, however….

He’s the new champ of guessing how many things are in a jar. He rests his head on his cane as he observes each marble, each little figurine before he guesses an incredibly close number. 

His children are shocked to come back to him and find the piles of tickets he’s won. 

His kids get themselves giant chicken and cat plushies. 

“Hey, V! Not funny!” Griffon declares in indignance at the chicken plushies his master’s children run about with. Shadow is quite a fan, keeping one in her mouth. 

Finally, it has gotten late and they all decide to take pictures. You know damn well that Griffon and Shadow wish to partake in this. 

V keeps the photos tucked in his book. 

Despite the literal spiraling rollercoaster that is amusement parks, he would do it all over again to see his children so overjoyed. 

[alyblacklist]

would love to hear your take on this: why do you think Liz slept with Ressler, thought about him, worried about him, called him over and over to say good bye but at the same time she was thinking about Tom and the washer and all that? Do you think she has really moved on from Tom?

I do think Liz has moved on in the sense that I believe her feelings for Ressler are genuine. (And I think John Eisendrath, who was at one time the biggest promotor of Tom/Liz, agrees on that).   

I didn’t take Liz reflecting on Tom or the washer as some sort of regret or guilt for sleeping with Ressler, or an inability to move on (her face in that opening car scene tells me she enjoyed her night with Ressler and regretted nothing). Tom has been dead for more than three years in real time and closer to 5 years in “show time.” The fans who still expect him to magically return from the dead (despite the morgue scene and the endless interviews confirming he’s really dead) seem to struggle more with moving on than Liz does.

I think Liz reflecting on Tom is tied directly to the fact that she’s once again a fugitive and getting ready for life on the run with a fake identity and an invented backstory, the passports stored in his box, the gear stored in his spy apartment.  All of that is Liz trying to embrace her dark, criminal side. As Red said back in season 2 regarding Tom, “I understand what it’s like to be drawn to something that is unhealthy, to a part of yourself that you are afraid of.” Liz is trying to embrace her dark side and emulate Tom right now. 

If that washer was truly sentimental to Liz, it would have been kept at home. Instead, she left it behind in the abandoned apartment until she seizes it like a talisman to give her strength to do what she needs to do. As she explains to Esi when Esi asks about the washer:

Liz: He was – much better at this than I am. He never would have let Agnes get taken into custody. Esi: You know what you got to do.

And what does she do?  She uses all of her relationships with her friends at the Task Force to get her daughter back and to steal Red’s money. As Liz said herself when she spoke to “ghost Tom” at his grave at the end of Season 5:  “I learned that from you, how to prey on the emotions of those that love you most.” 

Later, talking to Agnes on the plane, Agnes points to the unicorn socks Liz is still wearing (the ones she bantered about lightheartedly with Ressler):

Agnes Did they bring you luck?

Liz: Oh, yeah. They did, honey. So much. You want to see what else brings me luck? [she shows Agnes the washer]

Agnes: What is that?

Liz: Did I ever tell you how your Daddy asked me to marry him?

Again, she’s using Tom as inspiration for this dark journey that she’s now on by spinning a warm tale to her daughter of the proposal that she actually wanted nothing to do with the last time she was a criminal.

By contrast, I think her relationship with Ressler represents the “good,” lighter side of Liz, the lawful, “Agent Keen” side. The side that, despite everything, I think she’s still having a hard time letting go of.  The regret of leaving him is palpable when she speaks to him in 8x01 after their kiss and especially in 8x03 and 8x04.  For example, after she kisses him and then takes the gun in 8x01:

Liz: You didn’t trust me when we first met. We’ve come so far– just to end up right where we started.

And in 8x03 when she asks to stay the night:

Liz: I’m a fugitive again– and you have to come for me, but before you do, before I start running – I need a rest. Even if it’s just for one night. Will you let me do that?

And their phone conversations in 8x04:

Ressler: Why’d you call? Liz: I don’t know. I guess– because every time we say goodbye, I’m afraid we might actually mean it.

Liz: I got to go. Ressler: No, you don’t. Liz: I do. And this time I have to mean it.

I was happy to see Liz get Red’s flash drive to Cooper in Ep 8x05 because that, to me, was a sign that the “Agent Keen” side of Liz is not entirely gone. That side of her that wants to be “good” and lawful is still there somewhere and hopefully will prevail in the end.