#Lily writes...again

[cryo-lily]

Whaat? Has Hell frozen over? I’m actually sorta posting more about pieces I’ve been working on?? Jokes aside, I know It’s been forever since I was able to get back into writing formally with life blindsiding me once again but I digress!

Thank you Thank you to both @pentacass & @magicallulu7 for tagging me in the WIP Wednesday/whenever or Six sentence Sunday thingy. Sorry it took me so long to get around to...Whatever this turned into!

Isadola’s brow furrowed slightly as she tilted her head back up to meet her partner’s gaze once more, “It really doesn’t bother you?” she questioned, trying her best to hide the apprehension in her voice.

“You’re just asking this now? Why not back on Yavin years ago when-” Lana caught herself as she felt a wave of fear from the miraluka in front of her. It became clear to her then that Isadola was still learning to overcome her fear of letting anyone, even herself, see her without her mask; of possibly seeing the unfortunate scars across her eye sockets that she tried so hard to keep hidden behind the mask she always wore.

Before getting a full response back Isadola began to tilt her gaze toward the floor once again before the Sith caught her gently by the cheek and stopped her, tenderly running her thumb across her cheek. What little fear on the matter Isadola still had quickly melted away with the loving gesture, before the pair leaned in for a short kiss before pulling away.

“Does that answer your question?” Lana briefly smiled back, catching the other mid-blush.

“I’m not going to start crying if that’s what you're after…” Isadola joked as she pouted slightly, pulling away from her lover’s grasp. Making it clear if she could joke about it she was already feeling better.

The Sith tilted her head slightly taking in the little details of the Jedi’s face before responding. It was no secret to her by this point of her love’s unique traits even for her species. It being extremely rare for any miraluka to still have any genetic trace of the eyes they once had. Regardless if it was questionable that having only tear ducts allowed her the ability to cry at all, but the scars across Isadola’s face conveniently stopping at such features allowed her to fill in the gaps of her limited knowledge on the matter. It was clear whatever was done to Isadola when she was younger, they wanted some answers to the matter of the species losing their eyes and the connection of their ability to see with the force.

It all mattered little to her in the long run, what was done to Isadola didn’t define the reasons she had fallen for the Jedi in the first place. Noticing the black-haired woman had turned away from her again in a vain attempt to compose herself, “What’s this the wise Barsen’thor herself caught off guard once again?” Lana couldn’t help but poke some fun to try and break through whatever that still lingered in her love’s mind that had kept her so reserved this whole time.

“Do not call me that.” Isadola bristled, “I hated the title when it was given to me back then, and I hate that it still follows me now… Besides I’m no longer a Jedi anymore than you are a Sith'' She crossed her arms slightly frustrated.

“Speak for yourself Darling.” an eyebrow slightly twitched with annoyance with her partner seemingly wanting to be stubborn today.

“Oh forgive my lord. My deepest apologies…” Isadola half mockingly held a hand to chest as she bowed slightly.

A sly smile crossed the Sith’s face when she heard the rare imperial accent slip through the mocking statement made towards her, “Your accent is slipping again dear.”

Isadola bit her lip nervously, clearing her throat before responding back, “Well I suppose it’s good thing it’s just us then. Not that anyone would believe you that it was real at any rate” She couldn't help the gentle smile that crossed her face as she took another step closer once again to her partner.

**I have no idea who to tag for WIP Wednesday or Six sentence Sunday, so I suppose just whoever reads this and feels like they want to do it as well!

[coffeeghoulie]

heaven's grief, hell's rain

or 2.5k about Aether's bracelet, Mountain's garden, and Dew's grucifix.

special thank you to @forlorn-crows for helping with the flowers, hope you enjoy <3

title from Just One Yesterday by Fall Out Boy

It's not a decision Aether makes lightly to stay behind. He's tired. He's been working doubles, between serving the band, the papacy, and serving in the infirmary. And, if he's honest, he thinks he's more useful at the Abbey, using his Lucifer-granted gifts to heal. He's always been taking care of his pack, he's good at what he does.

His pack takes it... well enough. Cirrus gracefully takes over his duties, leading the band pack as they get ready for this next tour, taking the two new summons under her wing. She takes his hand, kisses his cheek. Cumulus takes his face in her hands, presses their foreheads together, whispers that she's proud of him. Rain offers him a smile and a handshake, and Swiss kisses him between his horns and draws him into a tight hug. Sunny grins, bright like her namesake, happy someone else from the band pack is staying behind with her.

His mates, on the other hand? He can count on the claws of one hand the number of times he's ever seen Mountain cry. Dew's hands curl into fists, so tight he can smell the blood where his claws pierce his palms.

Dew storms out, the ends of his hair flickering with flame, smoke billowing from his nostrils. He hasn't been this out of control of his element since those first early days, after they knew he was going to survive the transition, barely out of the woods. Mountain follows, his steps uncharacteristically loud. Dew slams the door to his own room shut, and Mountain flees to his greenhouse.

Aether wishes that he could split himself in two, standing there, struck dumb as his mates turn their back on him. He honestly can't blame them. He fidgets with his bracelet, running his fingers along the silver chain, torn between two directions.

He goes to Dew first. Fire is far more volatile than earth, and he was Dew's before Mountain was summoned and joined their pack.

The door, surprisingly, is unlocked. It's dark, curtains drawn tight, and there's a Dew-sized lump underneath the covers. It's dusty in here, Dew spending most of his nights in Aether's oversized bed, big enough for three ghouls.

"Dew? Darling?" Aether breathes, the tension so thick he can almost taste it, the sulfur smoke scent of Dew's distress heavy on his tongue.

Dew sits up, copper eyes shining in the dark. "What are you doing here?"

Aether furrows his brow. "Checking on you, Dewey."

The fire ghoul shakes his head, covering his face with his hands as his shoulders shake. With silent laughter or tears, Aether can't quite tell. "You should have gone to Mount, Aether. I've never seen Juniper that angry."

"Dewey, I'm here," Aether breathes, taking a hesitant step towards the bed. "I'll go to Mounty, but I know you're upset too. Please."

Dew growls under his breath, grumbling as he shifts on the bed. "Don't want to lose you, Aeth," he whispers, pulling the blankets tighter around himself. He clutches the silver grucifix he always wears so tightly his already pale knuckles go white.

"You're not," Aether promises, sitting down next to his mate. He goes to wrap his arm around Dew's waist, but hesitates. "Satanas help me, Dewdrop, you will not lose me."

Dew sniffles, swallowing with a click as he grabs Aether's wrist, starts playing with the silver bracelet. He counts the links like a rosary, rotating the slightly-too-loose jewelry around Aether's wrist, lips moving in a silent prayer. "You promise?" Dew asks, voice small, not tearing his eyes away from the bracelet. Aether doesn't have to pry with his quintessence to know who he's thinking of. He's thinking of them too.

"Cross my heart," Aether says, letting Dew trace his claws along the lines of his palm.

They sit there in silence, Aether pulling Dew carefully against his side, even though the fire ghoul hasn't been fragile in a long time. "Dew," Aether breathes. "I love you so much, you know?"

Dew hums, his broken tail wrapped tight around his own thigh. "I know."

Another long lull of silence. The tension not quite broken. He pulls Dew closer, turns and presses a kiss to the sharp edge of his obsidian horn.

"Go to Mount," Dew breathes after a while. "Junie needs to hear this too."

Aether nods, pressing another kiss to Dew's cheekbone. "I love you, darling. Nothing's gonna change that."

"Love you too," Dew whispers as Aether opens the door. He smiles at his mate, slipping out of his room and heading to the outside door.

It's a long walk down to Mountain's greenhouse, the glass building nestled right at the edge of the forest surrounding the Abbey. The heavy glass door is unlocked, much to Aether's surprise, and he pushes it open slowly, the old hinges creaking as it swings inward.

Mountain doesn't turn to face him when he enters the greenhouse. He plucks the baby spider plants from their vines, moving the seedlings to smaller pots.

"Sweet thing," Aether breathes, watching the way Mountain's back stiffens. He feels his heart clench as he sees the thorny vines wrapped tight around the base of Mountain's antlers.

"Aether," Mountain says, voice even and bitten back.

"Mount, please," Aether says, taking another step towards his earth ghoul.

"You didn't talk to any of us before making this decision, even though you know it affects all of us," Mountain says, still not turning back to face him. The shears snip, metal on metal, and Aether winces.

"I'm sorry, Mount. I knew-"

"You knew what?" Mountain says, and the worst thing is that there's no anger in his tone. Just cold, still, evenness. "That if we knew that you were gonna stop touring, we'd stay behind too?"

Aether squeezes his eyes shut. They sting in the humid air, or are those just tears? He can't really tell.

"Do you mean to tell me, Aether, that you don't remember what the clergy did to Ifrit when he said no? What they did to Omega, your fucking predecessor? What they did to Zeph?" Mountain's voice cracks, fingers ghosting over a silver striped leaf, the entire vine trembling under his touch.

Aether takes a long breath. The silence is thick, never mind the humidity. "That's why I didn't tell you. I thought that if it were just me, and something happened, even though Papa promised me nothing would happen," Aether stresses, "You two would be safe and away from here. And if I came with, I would crash and burn and they would get rid of me anyways. I'm tired, Mount. I'm sorry."

Mountain turns to face him for the first time, and Aether almost stumbles back a step. Mountain's eyes are red rimmed and puffy, tearstains streaking down into his stubble, lower lip trembling. "Nova," Mountain breathes, so quietly Aether almost thinks he imagines it. "I know you went to Dew first. He'd break if you were gone. If we lost you like we did the rest of our pack. But I need you to know it would break me. I'm your mate too."

Aether can't hold back the keen that he makes when he sees his mate in distress. "They need me in the infirmary, I'm not going anywhere, sweet thing," Aether swears. He starts to twist his bracelet around his wrist, trying to keep himself level. Mountain sets down his shears, tail thrashing behind him, distress rolling off of him in waves like the scent of rotting vegetation.

"You can say that all you want, Aether, but we both know."

"Mountain," Aether says. He runs a hand over his face. "Mount."

"What do you want me to do, nova?" The earth ghoul says, voice wavering like branches in a breeze. "The decision's already been made. You're staying here, while your mates and the rest of our pack leaves. And let's be honest with ourselves. Neither of us know if you'll be here when we come back."

Aether feels something shatter deep in the core of him as he watches Mountain's steady shoulders start to shake. He rushes forward just as Mountain's knees wobble, wrapping his mate up tight in an embrace, guiding his head down into the crook of his neck as he begins to sob.

He rubs his cheek against the velvet coating Mountain's spring antlers, unable to keep his own eyes from watering as he rubs Mountain's back, every muscle tense. For once, he doesn't know what to say. He just holds him, lets him cry.

Eventually, he coaxes Mountain back behind the curtain of hanging vines to his living area, a daybed big enough for the giant and his mates, a small table and chairs tucked next to a basin sink. They sit down on the daybed, their sides pressed flush together. Mountain turns, tucks his face back in the crook of Aether's neck.

"Sweet thing," Aether breathes, praying to the Father Below he can keep his voice level. "What can I do?"

Mountain sniffles, takes a second before he answers, pulling back from Aether's throat. "I miss them, Aeth. I miss them so much."

He's not looking at him, and Aether turns to follow Mountain's line of sight. He's staring almost blankly at the flower garden that blocks off this section of the greenhouse. There's a raised bed underneath one of the rafters, with a dozen hanging baskets that create a curtain of greenery. It's a visual cacophony of colors and shapes, but it's Mountain's pride and joy. Aether knows what this garden means, who each plant represents.

There's hanging baskets of oak-leafed geraniums, dotted with little purple flowers, and ones with fuzzy clusters of edelweiss. Deep purple, almost black irises shoot up from the main bed, petals ruffled and curled at the edges, broken up by bee balm and spider lilies and white and red snapdragons. A trellis of delicate yellow jasmine blossoms stands at the edge of the bed, surrounded by daffodils and catchfly and calla lilies and baby's breath.

But Mountain's eyes are drawn to the hanging cissus discolor vines, the silver striped, deep green leaves. Aether knows exactly who Mountain's thinking of.

"I know, sweet thing," Aether breathes, staring at Mountain's garden. "I miss them too."

Mountain tears his eyes away from Zephyr's plants, snapping to face Aether. "I don't want to miss you, nova," he says, just the slightest growl at the edge of his voice. Aether cups Mountain's cheek, runs his thumb over the prickly, tear-damp stubble there.

"It'll be okay, Mount. I'll be right here with Sunny when you and Dewey come home, promise."

He takes a long, shuddering breath, eyes fluttering shut as he tries to calm himself. "Aether, you and Dew are the only ones of the old pack I have left. Please, nova, you gotta understand."

Aether doesn't respond, just pulls him tight into another tight hug, big hand cradled against the back of his head, guiding his face back to his neck. "I know, Mounty. I know."

They sit there until the sun sinks below the treeline, and eventually, they return to the pack. Aether starts his shifts in the infirmary as his mates start rehearsals with the new ghoul and ghoulette. He has a lot of time to think, intake and discharge paperwork always on his desk, about how best he can soothe his mates with their upcoming departure. He fidgets with his bracelet as he thinks, and he lights up as it hits him. That's it.

He borrows Swiss's utility knife, flipping it open to the needlenose pliers, staring at his bracelet, a little too big for his wrist, how the silver matches the metal of the grucifixes he and his mates wear around their necks.

Aether waits until the night before the pack and Papa are due to leave to act. It takes a little finessing, because while Mountain takes his necklace off when he goes to bed, Dew never stops wearing his, but a little quintosis to put the fire ghoul in a deeper sleep doesn't hurt. He works quickly as his mates grumble in their sleep, subconsciously reacting to the empty space in their bed. Aether sets the necklaces in his nightstand when he's done, muttering under his breath as he struggles to reclasp his bracelet around his wrist one handed, fingers smelling of silver polish and metal.

Once he gets it clasped, he climbs back into bed, holding his mates close as he too sinks into a deep sleep. He's going to miss this, and that's the last thought he has before unconsciousness takes him.

He's woken by Dew scrambling in his arms. "It's- it's not here, I don't- Aeth, Mount, my grucifix-" He paws at his own chest, feeling for something under his oversized shirt that isn't there.

Aether sits up, taking Dew's face in his hands softly as Mountain groans and stretches behind them. "Sorry, love, I took it off while you were asleep. I didn't mean to make you panic, I wanted to do something for you and Mounty before you two head out."

Dew's eyes are still wide, chest heaving as he tries to calm himself down. "Aeth, what do you mean? Where's my grucifix?"

Aether nods, palms up and open as he climbs out from the tangled mess of their limbs. "I have them, they're right here," he says, opening up the drawer of his nightstand, pulling out the two necklaces. Aether sets Mountain's down, turning back to Dew.

"Let me?" Aether asks, avoiding Dew's outstretched hands. Dew takes in a shaking breath, staring up at his mate, and nods. Aether loosens the adjustable cord, slipping it over Dew's head, pulling his sleep-mussed braid through, and sets the freshly-polished grucifix right over his mate's heart.

Dew furrows his brow as Aether pulls away, fingers going to touch the new addition to the necklace; a small ring, plain, unadorned, but the same gleaming silver as the grucifix. "Aeth, is this..."

"Hmm?" Aether asks, grabbing Mountain's and humming as he clasps it around the earth ghoul's neck, his antlers too wide for an adjustable cord like Dew's. He settles the grucifix and a matching ring over his heart as well.

"Your bracelet, nova," Mountain breathes, putting voice to what Dew's unable to.

Aether nods, eyes flickering down to said bracelet. "Thought you might like to have something of mine close to you when you go."

Dew grins, even as his eyes flood with tears, and tackles Aether into a fierce hug. "You're a sappy fucking bastard, Aether," he says, even as his own voice wavers, cheek pressed to Aether's throat.

"Love you too, Dewbug," he says, catching Mountain's equally misty eyes over his shoulder. Mountain has a hand pressed to his chest, pressing the grucifix and ring against his heart. "And I love you, sweet thing."

Mountain grins, standing and wrapping his long arms around both his mates, the three of them soaking in these last moments before inevitably they have to go their separate ways.

Aether's right. Mountain and Dew don't take off their necklaces for a long time, long after they return from tour. They keep that tiny piece of their mate close to them, to where he lives inside of them no matter what happens.

[shares-a-vest]

Steve huffs a laugh as he walks into the living area fresh from a shower. He can't help it, Eddie is too cute when he's all irrationally grumpy, stooped over in an inhumane posture as he mutters away to himself and scribbles furiously on a notepad.

"Nope!" he exclaims, chopping a hand through the air before promptly returning to his musings.

"What's up?" Steve asks, a little cautious but smiling nonetheless because Eddie is now shaking his head, sending his curls bouncing about and tapping his rings on the coffee table.

He looks up, still huddled over his work, his eyes barely visible through his hair.

"This isn't working!" he snaps and yeah, that looks like a glare.

"Sorry," Steve says, mimicking zipping his lips shut as he steps closer.

Eddie continues scratching away, tapping his foot under the coffee table enough to make the floor vibrate as Steve lowers to sit next to him.

"Nope! Nope... Not... right... Watch-a, gah! Fuh-!"

Eddie cuts himself off, garbling a bunch of... noises? words? before clenching his teeth and growling. He palms at the notepad, rips off more than one sheet of paper and crumples it in his fist.

He looks at Steve, scrunching up his nose and frowns.

"How about we have a break?" Steve suggests, delicately plucking the (now) tight ball of paper from Eddie's grip.

He hovers his hand between them just enough for Eddie to drop his pout for a split second. Steve watches as he rakes greedy eyes over him, walking his fingers up his arm.

"Make me feel better?" Eddie lazily teases, still sounding grumpy as he bumps their shoulders. He leans in to sniff Steve (god his boyfriend is weird) adding, "You smell nice, sugarplum."

Steve chuckles and in one swift move, tosses the paper and slides onto Eddie's lap, bracketing him against the couch. He brushes at his tousled fringe.

"You look like a grumpy little kitten when you're cwanky."

Eddie folds his arms and huffs, again scrunching up his nose.

"Am not!"

Steve can't help it. He boops Eddie's nose, earning a not-at-all serious hiss.

[swag696942069]

Marauders AU where the Black family are trained assassins and the cousins (Regulus, Sirius, Narcissa, Andromeda, Bellatrix) were trained like how Black Widows are trained (like the Marvel characters, not the bug, if that wasn't already clear enough)

OH!!

WHAT IF THEY'RE STILL CALLED BLACK WIDOWS!!!?

Omg

Anyway

What if, Sirius and Andromeda were the only ones to ever get out, and they're now living, simi, normal lives.

Until Sirius gets a message from his baby brother, asking for his help to destroy the "family business" because Narcissa is pregnant and they don't want the next generation to go through what they went through

I'm talking Black brother angst! I'm talking minor/background ships! I'm talking Regulus not understanding very many social cues cause he was literally only taught how to unalive people. I'm talking James/whoever you ship Reg with, going fearl when they see him fight so effortlessly! I'm talkin Sirius having a hard time letting Regulus do what he does best, assassin, cause in his mind, he still sees Reg as the little boy who was afraid of thunder and would crawl into his bed at night. I'm talking angst with a happy ending! I'm taling Walburga/Orion bashing! I'm talking freedom!

Please someone write this

[i-am-church-the-cat]

logan's pov on the soulmate au? 👀🙏

😌🕶️🤏🏼😎

--

Logan had grown up dreading meeting his soulmate. His parents were soulmates and had gotten married less than a year after they met. Dalton didn't have a soulmark and his parents always treated it like it was some tragedy. They always told Logan that the day he met his soulmate would be the happiest of his life, that he would fall in love with her immediately and never want to be with anyone else.

That was a problem for two reasons. 1) he didn't think he liked girls enough to want to be around one all the time. And 2) he was always moving around and leaving for karting. Racing was his true love, he didn't have time for a soulmate on top of that.

Despite all of that, his parents hadn't been entirely wrong. Logan knew immediately when he met his soulmate (who was a boy and not a girl, just like he had told them) but he didn't feel any differently about him than he did any of his other friends.

As they got older and got closer, Logan realized how important Oscar really was to him. He'd never had anyone that he could count on to always be there for him. Oscar was that person for him, and he clung onto him like a lifeline. He's glad Oscar didn't seem to mind.

They got older though and Logan got a bit more independent. The day that his parents would claim to be the worst day of his life wasn't actually that bad.

"I think I want to ask Lily out," Oscar said, looking seriously into the phone screen.

"Lily Zneimer? Your classmate?" Logan asks, looking up from the homework they were doing. Though Oscar and Logan were close, Oscar went to a different school in a different town. It wouldn't take long to get there but since they saw each other most weekends anyway, they didn't bother. "That sounds good, dude, what's the issue?" He asks, cause he could feel that something was bothering Oscar.

"You wouldn't be mad?" The younger boy asked, looking worried.

Logan paused and thought about it. Everything his parents told him tells him he should be mad. But he isn't. If Oscar likes a girl, he should ask her out. Logan wants him to be happy. And the little place in the back of his head that is distinctly Oscar tells him that nothing would ever take the other boy away from him. Logan didn't have to worry about being left behind when it came to Oscar.

"Of course not. If you like her, go for it."

He felt and saw Oscar relax and the younger boy gave him a small smile through the screen. "You know, you can date someone, too, if you want."

"Yeah maybe," Logan says, shrugging the idea off. Over the last couple of years Logan has realized he doesn't have the desire to date and fall in love like the rest of his classmates do, like Oscar does. He wants to be loved and accepted by his friends and family, he wants to race and be the best that he can. He doesn't need another person to do that with, though.

Logan haltingly tries to explain this to Oscar but the boy stops him.

"I get it, mate, I can feel you, too, you know? If you don't ever want to date anybody, that's cool."

Logan gives his friend and soulmate a smile, falling into the easy acceptance that has always been a part of their relationship.

"Well, when you and Lily get married and have tons of kids, I'll be the fun uncle with 3 dogs and a yacht."

"Shut up, Logan," Oscar says, blushing bright red. Logan can't help but laugh at him.

--

"Logan can you get the bread out of the oven, please?" Lily asks as soon as she hears him walk through the door.

"Yes ma'am," Logan says, dropping a kiss on Lily's cheek as he walks by, grabbing the oven mitts where he knows they'll be. It's been a year since Lily and Oscar got this apartment together and between races and sleepovers, Logan feels like he's here more than his own apartment.

"You're late," Oscar says, coming in from the balcony where he was taking a call. Logan just smiles at him, the same smile Oscar always says makes him look like a puppy. Oscar shakes his head and leans down to kiss Lily before slapping Logan on the shoulder in greeting.

"How has your day been, Lo?" Lily asks, moving things around on the table to make space for the bread tray.

"It was good, Elias and I spent most of it training." Oscar shudders at the mention of physical exercise during the off-season and Logan laughs.

They sit down to eat, Oscar and Lily on one side and Logan on the other, and Logan listens as Lily talks about her newest project at work. Despite being around engineers all day, most of it goes over his head, and he can tell it goes over Oscar's too. Still, he's got experience at this point, and knows when to ask all the right questions.

After dinner, Oscar and Lily end up bickering over the dishes, Logan as a "guest" being relegated to the couch. He watches in amusement at the fight, the warm feeling of acceptance and domesticity washing over him.

His parents haven't stopped nagging him about getting a boyfriend and Dalton still tries to set him up every time he's in town. But really, this is all Logan needs.

[loverscrossmp3]

happy belated, lily. hope you make ur bf laugh a billion times more in the afterlife

[mintharan]

I've been burdened with terrible visions. Walk with me.

It struck me how Spawn Astarion with Duke Wyll and Ascended Astarion with Duke Wyll could work as negatives of each other.

For instance, Wyll marries spawn Astarion, they are so happy everyone around them gets hit with the fallout. Wyll singlehandedly makes nightly soirees a thing. "I just think parties should happen at night, there's no point in holding any kind of grand event during the day if you really think about it." Just so Astarion can attend and be the centre of attention and speculation.

Everyone wonders about the Duke's mysterious husband who never goes out during the day. Rumours abound. "I hear Duke Ravengard is extremely jealous and doesn't let his husband out of his sight, locks him up inside the house so none may gaze upon him." "Nonsense, I hear the man is actually a pale drow and the sun hurts his eyes." "More nonsense, I hear he's an insufferable prick who thinks everyone is beneath him and only comes out at night because the sun makes other people's flaws too apparent."

You get the gist of it. Astarion delights in having all these rumours about himself, and tells Wyll to stop trying to dispel them. "Darling, the people of Baldur's Gate get bored easily, let them speculate, it's better than starting yet another cult." They adopt Lily Aurora, who Astarion raises to be a menace. Wyll thinks she's just darling even as people look in horror as she attempts to chew the furniture.

It's all very sweet, despite Astarion's occasional maudlin periods about not being able to go out into the sun.

Now, Ascended Astarion and Duke Wyll get exactly the same story, except no one's happy about it.

This works best imo if they were together before Astarion's ascension and then Wyll broke it off. In this case he'd choose to become a Duke out of an extreme sense of duty to protect the people of Baldur's Gate from the monster Astarion had become.

They would orbit each other constantly, Wyll reminding Astarion that he couldn't go too far without consequence and Astarion testing the limits of Wyll's feelings for him (the love was still there, just twisted).

Eventually the loneliness gets to them both, but mostly to Wyll, who can never get over Astarion, and in a moment of weakness gives in. It feels like a victory to Astarion at first, but like everything else about Ascension he soon realizes it's hollow.

Wyll isn't happy about compromising his morals, even if it's for love, and he despairs in not recognizing the man he fell for in Astarion. Wyll tries to end it many times, but Astarion has him wrapped around his finger, with sex, but mostly with the mimicry of the romance they enjoyed during their early courtship.

Astarion fears one day he'll leave him for good and that he'll be alone. Again. Haunting the halls of his former prison with only his memories for company.

So he brings Lily home, and at first Wyll is horrified but soon he finds comfort in the child's presence. He stays home for longer periods of time. Less 'Duke' duties take him away from Astarion. He's a fucking genius, he solved it.

Except it's obvious Wyll loves the child more than he loves Astarion. He takes to being a father like a duck to water, and while he's home more often all his time is spent with their daughter. His daughter really, he seems to think Astarion will be a bad influence on Lily if he as much as breathes near her.

So his grand plan backfired and now he's so jealous he can barely see straight. He wishes he could take back the damn girl and return her to the Ilmater priests.

But then he remembers. Cazador had made good use of a father's love for his daughter when he made Leon do everything he wanted to keep Violet safe.

Astarion starts doing the same, manipulating Wyll with veiled threats to Lily's life. Wyll knows exactly what he's doing, but he's powerless to do anything. Astarion got the child on his own, they're not married, Wyll has no rights to her.

But he could have, Astarion reminds him. Dangling the promise like a noose. If he agreed to become Astarion's consort, he could have everything.

"Have I not been made into enough of a monster?"

"Darling, at least we'd be monsters together."

It all comes to a head when Astarion threatens to turn Lily instead. "Think about it, she'd be your sweet child forever. She'll never grow up to blame you for anything."

Wyll gives in, allows Astarion to turn him and becomes his consort. They get married, it's a grand event, with the whole city in attendance.

Astarion is triumphant, Wyll is resigned. He becomes more accommodating to Astarion's whims, and Astarion wonders if that's the result of his influence over him through their bond, or Wyll finally accepting the love he can give him.

It kills him that he'll never know.

Astarion has everything he ever wanted, he just wishes he could be happy about it. Wyll still dreams about the shy kisses they traded on an empty beach with only the moon for a witness. Another life.

[eternalchiyo]

The Pianist and the Vampire

Summary: A scary vampire captures a young pianist and refuses to let her leave his mansion.

Pairing: Shuu x Chiyo

❗Content Warning: This is a Diabolik Lovers OC x Canon story. Please keep in mind, that it can and will feature dark topics and canon typical violence, as well as sexual content.❗

Chiyo looked out the big window of the manor. The sickle of the moon big, white and glowing against the night sky. How long has it been that she has last seen the sun? She couldn’t quite remember. Even then, seeing it from behind the window was completely different than being outside and enjoying it on her skin. Most of the time she was not even allowed to do that; the curtains remained closed the whole day.

She pulled her legs up on the large windowsill that she sat on and sighed. She didn’t even hear her captor enter the room.

“Why do you keep staring out the window all the time?”

The sudden question made her jump.

“Shuu…” she said.

Over time she decided to drop the honorifics. Using polite tone with someone who kidnapped you seemed very strange. Although it also seemed strange to her to just casually say his name like that too. She only hoped it grated him that she wouldn’t show him respect. Respect he demanded from her, him being a vampire, seeing himself above her.

She didn’t like how he leaned so nonchalantly against the window wall. Too close to her; way too close. He looked at her expectantly, waiting for her answer.

“I am looking at the moon, is that not allowed?”

Shuu huffed and pushed himself away from the wall, standing right in front of her now. Clearly he didn’t like the way she still talked back to him, but she couldn’t do anything about it, she still had her pride, even as a woman. And she didn’t exactly want to become friends with him anyway. If she was going to rot away in some monster’s scary mansion she could at least rot away defying it until her last breath.

“You’re always talking back to me, refusing to obey, do you have a death wish?”

Chiyo refused to look at him. “You might have imprisoned me here, but I am not your puppet on a string. I still have my free will.”

Shuu leaned his hand against the wall. Chiyo pointedly looked away.

“You talk of free will… what power do you have to oppose me, you’re just a weak human,” he said.

“Half-human…” Chiyo corrected quietly, eyes trained on her feet.

“Is that so?” he asked.

Chiyo pressed her lips into a thin line and kept staring at her feet. Maybe if she ignored him long enough, he’d leave her alone. It only seemed to increasingly annoy the man next to her as he forcefully grabbed her chin and made her look at him.

“Answer me when I ask you something,” he said.

She glared at him. How many times did she have to repeat herself? She had mentioned it before already, but Shuu had never seemed convinced. It wasn’t her fault for being brought up in the human world and leading a mostly human life. All she knew was that her father was a vampire, she didn’t know much else about him as he rarely showed himself to her. Her mother seemed absolutely in love with that man, but she wasn’t sure how much to trust her in that regard. If you fell in love with a monster there simply was no way for your sanity to be completely intact. Nevertheless, she hated being looked down upon by him. Being half human and half vampire at least gave her the illusion of being able to talk to him on the same level, as equals.

Shuu let go of her chin, pushing her away roughly.

“Human or not, you sure are as stupid as one.”

She watched him walk around the room and make his way to the piano to pick up some music sheets.

“I hope you at least prepared for today, the guests will be here soon,” he said.

“Yes…” she said, still not looking in his direction.

Soon after she found herself in this vampire mansion, she found out that the reason she was abducted in the first place, had been nothing else than her piano skill. Had she been a man, maybe she would have been allowed to become a real musician, this way, the highest she could achieve was convincing her mother and her fiancé to let her play in front of their guests at huge gatherings. Who could have known this would inevitably lead to her demise. Maybe she should have had just accepted her place as a woman, quietly living alongside a husband that would have made all decisions for her, caged like a little songbird.

Only that songbirds were not denied their voice.

She wasn’t sure how Shuu had found out or had heard her play, but it didn’t really matter, as it wouldn’t change the outcome in any way. Sometimes Shuu would make her sit in front of the piano and play for hours on end, even whole nights. Every time she’d mess up, he'll punish her in one way or another, mostly hitting her fingers or sucking blood from them, which in turn would cause her to mess up more frequently from the pain she felt.

Shuu eventually left to prepare a few more things for this night’s soirée, leaving the girl alone with her thoughts. It has been many weeks since she had been brought here, surely her family was worried sick. She imagined her mother crying, wondering where her daughter disappeared to. Did her fiancé look for her? Ruki has never been very affectionate towards her, the whole marriage had been arranged for them. His father was an influential aristocrat, but Ruki had a reputation for being quite cruel, especially to his servants. He usually was critical towards her, and they butted heads more than once because of this. Chiyo disliked it when people made decisions for her; a bad characteristic to have in a world where being a woman was treated more like a medical condition than anything. Still she had always been hopeful that they would eventually warm up to each other, she’d hate to live in a loveless marriage for the rest of her life.

She took a look at the music sheets Shuu provided her a few days ago. He really wanted her to play La Campanella in front of a full room of people. She didn’t dislike the piece, but she found it hard to play so many fast paced tunes, and knowing Shuu, he expected her to deliver it flawlessly. Or was he setting her up for failure? She wasn’t sure but hoped it wasn’t the latter; surely he didn’t want to cause a scene at his own event. Although she couldn’t help but wonder why he would host them in the first place. He didn’t exactly seem like a sociable person, so maybe Reiji, his younger, but a lot better organized brother, made him do it?

Chiyo didn’t have any more time to think about Shuu’s true intentions, because Reiji came into the study to fetch her. Apparently the guests were arriving at this moment and her piano performance was to start while they waited for dinner to be served. She rarely interacted with Shuu’s younger brother, mainly because Shuu explicitly forbade her talking to him unless it was completely necessary. In general, she was not allowed to talk to anybody. It made for a rather boring day to day life, given that all she could occupy herself with were some old books and the piano she’d come to hate more than love lately.

Reiji seemed stricter than Shuu, but also more reasonable. She wondered if she could persuade him to let her go from this mansion, although it was probably unlikely.

The big room she was led into was already bustling with people. She heard the faint clink of glass on glass, as the guests started to drink their champagne and wine.

“I trust that you are aware of the proper etiquette for events like these, but just to be sure: do not do anything reckless. You are to entertain the guests with your music, do not initiate any conversations on your own,” Reiji said before he let her enter the room.

Chiyo pressed her lips into a thin line, everywhere the same thing.

Don’t make a sound.

Smile.

Look pretty.

“I know.”

She could feel the eyes on her as she entered the room and made her way to the piano. Most of the glances she got were curious, most likely brought by the fact that she was a new face.  She caught Shuu looking at her. His eyes traveled slowly from her head to her toes, practically drinking in her figure. She had worn a simple dress for this occasion, the only interesting thing about it being the delicately embroidered flowers at the hem. Even though the dress was modest, she felt exposed the way he kept his eyes on her, not sure if her shortness of breath came from her nervousness or the tightly laced corset.

Quickly she tried to focus on the task at hand: she was supposed to play music. Once Reiji announced her briefly, she did a short curtsy and got her music sheets ready.

Playing music was one of the things that always helped the girl relax and get her mind off things. Even while the room was full of strangers, once she started playing, it was as it was only her and the smooth keys of the instrument. She managed to get through the hard part that she was dreading before almost flawlessly. Shuu most likely caught her slight slip-up but didn’t say anything for the time being. The guests clapped once she finished the first song and Chiyo let out a shaky breath.

She provided background music until the last guests left the party. The whole night she could feel Shuu’s piercing gaze on her, it was as if he was staring daggers into her back, and she wasn’t sure why. Did he hate her performance that much? She tried to ignore it and pretended to be deeply fascinated by a speck of dust landing leisurely on the dark lacquer surface of the piano.

The fall board slammed shut suddenly and Shuu was standing right next to her, looking down on her.

“Are you going to keep sitting here forever?” he asked.

She was lucky her fingers weren’t resting on the keys, or she could have kissed them goodbye. It was hard for her to mask her shock at this man’s willingness to hurt her so deliberately.

“What, am I not allowed to do that anymore either?”

She tried to mask a bit of her fear with annoyance.

“I’ll bring you back to your room,” he said, completely ignoring her question. She looked up at him in distaste and sighed. A scene wasn’t something she wanted to make right now, maybe she would get to retreat to her room peacefully like this. She stood up and followed Shuu towards her chambers. Soon, she’d get back to her room, the door locked behind her, so she wouldn’t be able to leave, and she’d cry herself to sleep, as always. It has been a while, but the tears still wouldn’t stop every time she laid in bed.

Shuu stayed silent the whole way and she wondered whether he was angry with her for some reason.

As soon as they arrived, Chiyo made her way to the desk in the corner of the room, to put away the musical sheets. She’d been careless while doing so, because the edges of the paper slid against her fingertips and left a shallow but stinging cut in the delicate flesh.

She hissed and put her left hand towards her lips to alleviate the pain a little. Cuts like these were the worst kind, unassuming but incredibly painful.

“Show me that,” Shuu demanded.

Chiyo shook her head. “It’s nothing, I was careless and cut my finger, that’s all…”

Shuu clicked his tongue in annoyance and came closer, grabbing her wrist and yanking her towards him.

“Why do you have to keep making things complicated and be so stubborn all the time?” he asked as he examined the cut on her finger. She tried yanking her hand back, but his grip was too strong for her.

“Let go of me!” she cried.

“Stop being annoying and—”

Shuu’s attention shifted to the ring on her finger, and he frowned. Chiyo followed his gaze and gasped. She has been successful so far in hiding her engagement ring from him, either taking it off in time or not showing her left hand to him. This evening she decided to wear it to calm her nerves, it made her feel hopeful that Ruki would come for her after all.

As if he was able to read her thoughts Shuu then said:

“What? You still think that guy will come and save you? Pathetic.”

“You don’t know anything about him! I’m sure he’s trying to find out where I have gone!” she cried and frowned at him. Shuu let out a short breathy laugh at that.

“You think he cares enough about such a rebellious woman like you? I bet he’s currently out and about fucking someone else,” he said and looked at her with cold and menacing eyes.

Tears pricked her eyes and threatened to flow down her cheeks. She tried to hold them back, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeing her in her most vulnerable state.

“Liar…” she said quietly. Truth be told she wasn’t convinced by her own words either. Maybe Ruki did not want to get her back.

“Am I now?” he asked while putting her hand to his mouth and running his cold tongue along the side of her injured finger. Chiyo winced at the sensation; it felt so strange but mostly appalling, having her fingers licked by a man she disliked. Having her fingers licked by anybody would have felt weird, but she really didn’t want him close to her right now, if ever.

Her pulse quickened when his tongue went down from her wounded finger, along the palm of her hand and traced the artery on her wrist. She felt heat rise to her face and she gasped.

“Are you also going to call me a liar when I say that you’re enjoying this?” he asked without waiting for a response before he sank his sharp fangs into her wrist.

The girl cried out in pain. He had sucked her blood before, but not like this; she wasn’t sure how to feel about it. This was… different.

“Who… in their right mind… would enjoy that?” she said between shallow breaths and gritted teeth. His dark laugh sent vibrations through her whole arm as he kept sucking her blood. He held her firmly in place and lapped up what little blood had spilled down her forearm.

“A pervert like you, I am guessing,” he said with a dirty grin on his face. She frowned at him but cursed herself for blushing at his comment.

“That was punishment for your little mistake earlier,” he said, “now for this thing…”

He turned his attention back to her engagement ring and her eyes widened in fear. She thought he had forgotten about it by now.

“Time for you to take this worthless piece of junk off your finger finally.”

Despite her protests, Shuu slid the ring off her finger with ease and put it into his pocket. Surely he was going to throw it away somewhere Chiyo would never be able to find it again. It made her feel even more hopeless, having the only thing she had left, that still held some memories of home, taken from her. It filled her with despair seeing it gone.

Shuu took her left ring finger into his mouth and forcefully bit the place where her engagement ring sat on previously, making Chiyo hiss in pain. Once he was done he proudly looked at the result. A ring of teeth marks now adorning the finger.

“This should be enough for now to remind you who you belong to,” he said.

Chiyo couldn’t say anything in return, all fight had left her for tonight.

“You better rest up now, I want to listen to you play the piano again tomorrow. Don’t make mistakes next time.”

With that he left the room and locked it as always. Chiyo slumped down onto the floor, a huge sob running through her whole body. That sob was the catalyst for a dozen smaller ones as she cried her soul out. How, just how did it ever come to this? She never asked for anything like this to happen. The tears ran down her cheeks so violently as if she had never shed a single one of it in her life. She shook uncontrollably as she cried and cried pathetically on the cold floor until her body grew increasingly heavy and tired. Her eyes hurt and she had to close them eventually. She didn’t even notice when she drifted to sleep.

She jumped once she woke up. Looking around the room she soon realized that she must have fallen asleep on the floor. She stood up and looked outside. It seemed like she only slept for a few hours at best, as it was light outside; the early morning most likely. Back then it used to be her favorite hour of the day. Back when her life wasn’t… this. The air would always be fresh at this time, and she had enjoyed taking walks while most of the household was still asleep. The moment she looked at the garden outside, she made her mind up: She had to leave this place!

Should she just jump out the window? No, it was way too high up for her to safely land without hurting herself. Besides, the windows wouldn’t budge when she tried to open them. She sighed. The door was locked as well, so she wasn’t able to use it as an exit.

Unless she could pick the lock somehow.

She tried searching for a brooch or hairpin that she could use for her escape. Reiji had provided her with a wardrobe full of dresses that were the latest fashion trend, as well as a vanity full of the prettiest jewelry she has ever seen. She rarely made use of it though, feeling out of place and like this stuff was not hers; it wasn’t after all.

Digging through the jewelry box, she finally found a piece with a big enough needle and got to work. It wasn’t the easiest task, as she has never had to pick a lock before, but she needed to persevere. This was the only plan she had. Her only chance for freedom.

After what felt like an eternity she heard the lock click. She gasped and tried opening the door slowly. It had worked! It had really worked! Shuu and his brother were probably asleep right now, so her only worry were the servants that might be walking the hallways. Cautiously she stepped out, the brooch clutched tightly in her hand. It was so quiet she was scared to breathe, so scared was she of alerting anybody of her presence. Steadily she willed her feet forward, hoping that she would reach the entrance soon.

The hallway was long, and she was on a higher floor than the main entrance. Since she wasn’t allowed to walk around freely she also didn’t know the mansion well, so she wasn’t entirely sure which stairs led where and which she had to take to actually arrive where she wanted to arrive. Her shoes clanked uncomfortably against the hard stone stairs, no matter how softly she tried to set her feet down. Once she finally reached a carpeted area she let out a sigh of relief. She didn’t encounter any servants, or familiars as the vampires used to call them, so far and she wasn’t sure if that was a suspicious thing or not. She didn’t know much about their schedules either, only that one of them would bring her meals at set times.

Finally she saw the biggest pair of stairs of the mansion, the exit almost in her reach. As she began climbing down, she noticed how the walls were full of paintings. A particularly huge one caught her attention – it portrayed a beautiful woman, blue eyes and wonderful blond hair. This woman oozed elegance even when it was only an oil painting. The closer she looked the more she noticed how her features looked similar to Shuu’s. Was this his mother?

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Chiyo gasped and turned around in surprise; she got caught. At the top of the stairs was standing none other than Shuu. She had to act quickly; the door was only a few flights away after all.

Turning around again she dashed down the remaining stairs towards the door. She could hear him groan in the background as he went after her, but she wouldn’t waste this chance, not when she made it this far already.

She crashed against the door, frantically trying to turn the knob, but it wouldn’t budge.

Locked.

Desperately she looked at the massive piece of wood in front of her. Why wouldn’t it open?!

Before she could try anything else, her body was turned around and shoved roughly against the door. With both of Shuu’s hands on either side of her, she was trapped with no place to run now.

“Did you think you could just waltz out the door like that? And then what? Would you run back home and tell everyone how a big bad vampire violated you? Good luck getting that fiancé back with that,” he said.

Chiyo glared at him.

“That’s not even true—”

Before she managed to finish her protest he smashed his lips onto hers. Chiyo’s eyes widened in shock, no way this was happening. She tried her best to push him off her, but he didn’t budge.

“Sto—”

Her protest was in vain, and her opening her mouth only let him slide his own tongue in. Him sucking on her tongue like that felt shameful and embarrassing; she wanted to cry again. The chances of anybody taking her back when another man already had his way with her diminishing by the second.

She put her arms over her head defensively, which finally made him leave her lips alone and pull away a little.

“Please! I’m sorry! I’ll stay here and behave and do whatever you want, just please… please don’t do this to me!” She started sobbing uncontrollably, sliding down the door until she was a crying mess on the floor. Then it dawned on him.

“You…” he started and crouched down in front of her, “you've never kissed a man before…”

Chiyo put her arms down and looked at him confused with red eyes, face full of tears. What was he saying? Of course she had never kissed a man before!

Shuu sighed, an expression on his face she’s never seen before. Was that… regret? He stood up suddenly and reached out his hand to her.

“Come on, let’s talk in your room. I don't want you to sit on the floor.”

Moments later she found herself on her bed, leaning against the pillows. Shuu sat at the foot of the bed, not saying anything at all. Once she calmed down enough she decided to break the silence:

“I thought you wanted to talk…”

Shuu sighed.

“Let me ask you something,” he said.

Chiyo fell silent, waiting for him to go on.

“Are you scared of me?” he asked.

She looked down at her hands, starting to fidget. There was no use lying here, it wasn’t as if they were best friends after all.

“I am scared. Scared of this dark house and being all alone in here. Scared of making you angry and scared of you biting me because of stupid reasons. And I am also scared of you kissing me without me wanting it,” she said, still not looking up at him.

“I’m sorry about that,” he said, “I didn’t know you were that inexperienced.”

“But you’re not sorry for keeping me here?”

Shuu shook his head.

“No… because I don’t want to let you go.” He turned his head towards her when he said that. Her breath hitched in her throat at the look he gave her. It looked so sincere and almost… sad.

“I like listening to you playing the piano. It lets me relax and fall asleep. And I also don’t feel like that other guy deserves you, so no, I am not sorry for keeping you here.”

Something in his words made Chiyo’s heart beat faster in her chest and her face get warm. She felt touched at his sincere appreciation of her. For the first time she felt almost seen by someone. A slight grin appeared on Shuu’s face.

“What? I say something nice once and you become a mess? Your face is red,” he said with satisfaction in his voice.

“Don’t tease me, people don’t usually compliment my skills much…”

Shuu leaned back on his hands; his eyes trained on her face. The blush on her face pleased him, she looked adorable like that, but he would never admit that out loud.

“What about that fiancé of yours?” he asked.

She averted her gaze. “I don’t know, he didn’t seem to particularly mind whatever I occupied myself with… but he also didn’t seem to particularly care.”

Shuu seemed in thought, as he played with the chiffon trim of her dress. Then he let out a long breath. “Do you really want to go back? To him?”

Chiyo shrugged and crossed her arms above her knees. Both situations were quite shit for her, no matter how she looked at it. Yes, she would be unhappy in a relationship with Ruki, where she would most likely have to be a docile wife, submitting to her husband. But here she was trapped in a dark house where she was never allowed to see the sun again, much less feel it on her skin. Locked away in this room, with all those dresses and jewelry she never asked for until Shuu would decide to come see her on a whim.

“I don’t like being locked up,” she said, “not figuratively or literally.”

“I feared you’d run away if I gave you too much freedom… so I ended up taking it away from you,” Shuu said. He sounded like he was sorry.

“That’s what made me run away in the first place!” she leaned forward, her hands dipping into the soft mattress.

“I know!”

He grabbed her hand, making her lose her balance. Her other hand landed on his shoulder on instinct. She gasped; their faces were so close now. She never noticed before how long his eyelashes were, how pretty his clear blue eyes looked framed by them. She has never seen the ocean, but she was sure that it would look exactly like what she was seeing in front of her now.

“I know…” he repeated.

Chiyo felt his arm around her waist, holding her in place, giving her balance. It was strange… she didn’t dislike the feeling at all. She let out a shaky breath as her eyes darted to his lips briefly. He pulled her closer, and it felt like her heart would fall out of her chest any moment. She was sure he could hear it hammer, even though he chose not to comment on it. He also didn’t try to kiss her again; even though now she felt like she wanted him to do it? Maybe this time he waited for her to make the first step. To show him what she wanted.

It took all her confidence and willpower to make her body move. She moved her face closer to his and gently pressed her lips against his. A clumsy and timid attempt at a kiss.

Shuu smiled against her lips. “Opening your mouth would make it easier,” he teased, taking advantage of the girl’s surprise, deepening the kiss. His cold tongue ran across her lower lip and traced the fangs of her upper teeth, making her shiver.

“Heh… you are a little vampire after all,” he said and kissed her again. His hands guiding her to straddle him. Her legs landing on either side of him.

Chiyo’s face was burning up from how much she was blushing, a sudden moan escaping her, making her blush harder. She was so embarrassed but was left wanting more. Shuu’s chest vibrated against hers as he chuckled.

“Nice sound… hey, it will feel even better when you stick your tongue out,” he said.

Stick her tongue out?! She wanted to protest, but the way his voice sounded so deep in her ears, she couldn’t help but do as told.

It wasn’t long before she was a moaning and panting mess in Shuu’s arms. She didn’t mind his hands roaming her body, slipping under her dress, grabbing the soft flesh of her thigh, rubbing his knee between her legs. Her head was spinning; she didn’t know what to do with her own hands, so she buried her fists in his shirt. She was sure it would wrinkle terribly afterwards, but she couldn’t bring herself to care enough.

Suddenly, Shuu drew away. She looked at him panicked; did she mess up somehow?

“You look like a deer in headlights,” he said amused.

Then he sighed. “You know that if I keep going you won’t be able to go back anymore, don’t you?”

The fog in her head that was caused by her arousal lifted momentarily and she blinked at him dumbfounded. She looked down, frowning. She had to make up her mind now, stay here with Shuu or hope that she could go back to the life she had to leave behind. As much as she hated the way she was brought here and treated initially, it seemed like Shuu genuinely took an interest in her. His touch was gentle, and she couldn’t deny how good it made her feel. But if she let him continue, her social standing and reputation would be ruined forever, at least amongst the human society.

“I will give you this chance right now. If you say no now, I will bring you back,” he said.

“Y-you mean I can really choose to go back?”

He nodded.

Wasn’t this what she wanted all along? For him to let her go? But then why did her heart feel so heavy at the thought suddenly?

“If I decide to stay… you’ll stop locking me up in my room?” she asked.

He nodded again.

“And I’ll be able to go outside during the day?”

“You’ll be able to go wherever you want at any time you desire,” he said.

His words were sincere, she could feel it. It was almost as if there was another person in front of her than the one she got to know before. Chiyo’s heart fluttered in her chest, a fuzzy feeling spreading inside of her.

“Then set me free…” she said.

Shuu frowned.

“…from the life I’ve led before.”

Set her free from the expectations and bounds of a society that cared nothing for her and her desires. Chiyo was fed up with having to hide parts of herself, of having to hide her passions. To hell with it, to hell with all of it!

She could feel the tension leaving Shuu’s body, as he leaned forward, his nose brushing hers.

“Gladly.”

His kiss was hungry, possessive, different from before. But loving, still so loving. It made her melt in his arms. Soon, she found herself pressed against the pillows again, Shuu placing a thousand wet kisses along her jaw and neck. Her hair, that she had previously put up in a low bun, came loose, pooling around her mostly naked shoulders and neckline.

A loud whine escaped her as soon as Shuu sucked the sensitive spot behind her ear.

“Do you have any idea how sinful you sound right now?” he groaned against her neck.

Not knowing what else to do with her trembling hands she grabbed the linen fabric of his shirt again. Much to Shuu’s amusement.

“Go on,” he whispered in her ear, “undress me. I know you want it.”

She would be lying if she said she didn’t want to do it, but she was still embarrassed; she has never seen a naked man before. As if sensing her hesitation, Shuu kissed her again, giving her the encouragement she needed. Her fingers were still trembling as she tried to unbutton the shirt, earning herself a chuckle from the man above her.

He kept whispering dirty things into her ear, spurring her on. She pulled the fabric over his head, messing up his hair a little in the process. Somehow he looked even more attractive to her this way.

Her eyes ran down Shuu’s naked torso, taking in every detail, running her fingertips along his abdomen, mesmerized by how his muscles flexed under her touch. Hands trailing lower and lower.

“Dirty girl… are you having fun?” he teased, and she snapped out of it. She looked up at him, a sheepish smile and faint blush on her face.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

"Don't be..."

Shuu pulled her into an upright position, his hands getting to work behind her back. It was his turn to undress her now, his fingers working swiftly through the hooks of her bodice. He was no beginner and Chiyo could not help but feel somewhat glad that he knew what he was doing. Still, she felt exposed, chest heaving, her top half only clad in undergarments now. He kissed her again, his arms working their way under the lower half of her dress and the petticoat layers, pulling her hips closer to him. Her own arms snaked around his neck, pressing her chest against his, moaning into the kiss when she felt his hand slide up the leg of her undergarments and squeeze the underside of her thigh firmly. Her back arched in pleasure, making her hips brush against his.

She gasped, breaking the kiss.

“You’re hard…” she breathed against his lips.

Shuu hummed in approval. “Hmm, and you’re wet.”

Chiyo let out a drawn out mewl when he traced a finger along her folds, brushing slightly along a bundle of nerves that made her hips buck into his hand involuntarily. How did he sneak his hands down her underwear without her noticing?

“Dirty girl… keep making those beautiful sounds for me,” he said nibbling on her earlobe, moving his fingers up and down gently.

Every inch of her felt hot, her skin flushed, yet whole body was shivering. Her nails dug into his skin, the sensations making her head spin again. Shuu’s voice rang in her ear while he dipped one finger in, then two. They went in easily with how wet she was. When she looked up she could see right into his eyes, watching her intently, his gaze helping her relax a bit. There were so many new sensations she had to get used to, his fingers inside of her feeling foreign but not unwelcome.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yes…” her voice came out as a short breath, body jerking when Shuu curled his fingers inside of her. A cry of pleasure escaped her.

“Good, because I’m not stopping.”

He bit her earlobe again and moved his fingers faster inside of her. Chiyo’s hips moved on their own against his hand, she needed more friction. It was as if her body knew what to do on instinct, the way she moved, making him adjust, so the palm of his hand rubbed perfectly against her clit. She thought she’d go crazy if it went on for any longer. A loud cry filling the room.

“S-Shuu, I don’t think… I don’t think I can take it any longer…!” she moaned.

Shuu groaned against her ear, his fingers sliding in and out of her faster and faster.

“That’s okay, just let it out… you can do that for me can’t you?”

Shuu’s voice kept egging her on, the knot in her stomach feeling bigger and bigger. She fisted the skirt of her own dress, arching her body, pressing herself further into his hand until finally she felt a wave rush over her, all muscles in her body relaxing at the same time. Her hands let go of the fabric she was clutching so tightly before, only now noticing the sweat on her forehead and how out of breath she was. The fingers inside of her moved slowly for a while longer, helping her ride out her high before retracting, leaving her feeling empty.

She whined weakly as she watched him put his fingers to his lips, eyes widening when he licked them clean.

“What? Don’t make a face as if what I am doing is so scandalous while you lay in front of me half naked,” he said with a teasing grin on his face. She grumbled, embarrassed by his words. However, her body still ached for his touch, so she really was not one to protest.

“You know…” he said coming closer again and hovering over her, “I’ve been wondering how this part of you looks undressed for a while now.”

Chiyo gasped when he pulled down her chemise, revealing her naked chest and hard nipples. Even though her body still felt sensitive, she still arched her back again when he started playing with them, rolling her nipples between his fingers and relishing in the beautiful sounds this made her do. He grabbed her harder, massaging the soft flesh of one breast and planting kisses on the other side. His tongue traced her other nipple, and she could feel him suck on the flesh above, causing a red mark to form there. The girl’s breath hitched in her throat when she felt him graze his fangs against that very spot.

“Shuu—”

He sunk his fangs into her chest, her protest turning into a desperate mewl. She has never felt like this while having her blood sucked before. Fingers fisting in his blond, messy hair she pulled him closer. She was so dazed she didn’t notice him working his own hands to remove her skirts. He pulled them over her head swiftly, leaving her bare and exposed in front of him. On instinct, the first thing she did was try to cover her body; however Shuu held her arms in place.

“Don’t hide your pretty body from me,” he said.

Pretty? Chiyo could feel her face heat up again. It’s not like she disliked her body or anything, but hearing a man compliment her – having Shuu compliment her, made her burn with want. She reached up to cup his face and kissed him, taking the initiative herself for once. It took Shuu aback and almost made him lose his balance, but he quickly regained composure and kissed her back.

Guiding her hands down his body to the hem of his pants, he whispered in her ear seductively: “Come on, don’t make me wait longer.”

Curiosity taking over her, she couldn’t help but touch him through his clothes, earning herself a deep growl from him. She felt that one in her core. Impatiently and still a bit clumsily she unbuttoned his pants and helped him out of them. She was mesmerized by the way his hard length looked, already leaking from the tip. She swallowed hard, unable to tear her eyes away. Timidly she reached out her hand.

“Can I—”

Shuu was amused that she even felt the need to ask but told her to go ahead. She stroked him slowly and carefully, unsure how much pressure to apply. He closed his own hand over hers, helping her find the right pace and groaning into her ear, giving her a confidence boost. She leaned forward and started kissing his neck. His skin was only a little colder than her own, but she could make out a faint pulse underneath.

Suddenly she was grabbed by the hips and pushed into the mattress, hearing Shuu curse above her head. His breathing was ragged, and he seemed to be getting impatient.

“I’m going to make you mine now,” he said.

Chiyo looked up at him, her hands on his shoulders. She could feel him hard against her wet entrance; the thought of him stretching her out and claiming her caused her to moan.

“You’re that eager for me to make you a woman? Don’t worry, I’ll even be gentle,” he said, placing a kiss in the corner of her lips. He slid the tip up and down along her folds, making her legs tremble when she wrapped them around his waist.

He inserted himself slowly and steadily, but it still wasn’t enough for Chiyo to feel completely comfortable. It turned out a man’s length was much more difficult to take than a finger. Tears pricked in her eyes; she really wanted him to fill her whole, but it still hurt. She tried to focus on Shuu’s deep voice that whispered into her ear.

Good girl.

You’re so wet.

Relax.

You’re doing well.

Take it all like the pervert you are.

He took a moment to let her catch her breath when he was finally fully inside her, waiting for her to give him a sign to move. Once the initial sting subsided, she could feel her muscles twitch around him, how nicely he stretched her insides. She hummed in satisfaction and pressed him closer, tightening her legs around him.

Shuu got a hold of her hands and pinned them above her head, thrusting in and out of her. His pace was steady and slow at first, forcing shivers of breath out of Chiyo. But he wasn't able to keep it like that for too long. His thrusts were deep and hard, getting faster and faster the longer it went on. Soon the girl could feel nothing but pleasure pool in her abdomen.

“Aaaaah! S-Shuu—"

“You’re such a dirty girl, moaning like that and sucking me in on your first time. Go on, cry out my name louder. I want everyone to hear who you belong to.”

Moans kept on coming out of her mouth, out of control, a mix of incoherent pleas and his name on her tongue.

Shuu started thrusting even harder and faster inside her, his forehead resting against hers.

“Tell me you’re mine—” he breathed.

“I’m yours, Shuu. I’m yours!” Her own hips moved up to meet his halfway, feeling a carnal need to have him even deeper inside of her. Soon she would reach another peak, she was sure.

He hit a spot inside her that made her shut her eyes tightly and arch her back. Making her clench down on him so tightly that he cursed. He buried his face in her neck, pressing himself deeper inside, his pelvis rubbing against hers.

“Fuck… the sounds you make— You lewd woman.” He let go of her hands to grab her hips and pound harder into her.

“Aah-Haah! Shuu! If you do this I’m going to—”

“Then come. Come for me and I’ll fill you up nicely.”

Desperation seeped into his voice; he really needed her as badly as she needed him. And so she came. Toes curling and fingers digging into his back, leaving red marks, crying out his name in so much pleasure, it turned into sobs.

His lips found hers. Her pussy gripping him so tightly he simply had no other choice but to reach his limit shortly after. His warm seed filled her as he held her in place by the hips, his grip bruisingly strong. She moaned against his kisses loudly, the unknown sensation overwhelming her yet again.

Shuu looked at her as he tried to catch his breath. He looked the most beautiful to her right now, his hair messy, cheeks slightly flushed and his eyes looking down on her filled with something that she could only describe as love.

She looked up at him, a tired but satisfied smile dancing on her lips, earning herself a comment from Shuu. But she was too tired to talk back, or move, for that matter. Eventually, Shuu pulled out of her and maneuvered them around on the bed, so they were laying properly on the pillows and under a blanket.

Chiyo’s head was resting on Shuu’s chest as she listened to his heartbeat. It felt oddly human, this situation. His breathing was steady, as he was dozing off. She smiled to herself and hugged him tightly.

This big bad vampire was not that bad at all.

A/N: Not an Everlasting Spark update but a treat nonetheless! This piece has been sitting in my fanfiction folder for quite some time now, as I kept revisiting it, thinking it is not good enough yet. But I decided to battle perfectionism today by posting! This little one shot is an AU where I wanted to explore a hypothetical situation in which Chiyo would have been raised by humans. I don't remember exactly but I think I aimed it to be set around the 1860s, but please don't expect a lot of historical accuracy... In any case, I hope you enjoyed and thank you for reading!

[rookflower]

Potential Thunderclan deputy candidates!

[james-stark-the-writer]

feel like pure shit, just want her back

[saintchaser]

“you’re beautiful,” mary says, and they’re eleven. she looks at lily, at the constellation of freckles dusted on her face, at the pink lips, at her soft skin, at the auburn hair and emerald green eyes and she decides that lily evans is, undoubtedly and absolutely undeniably, beautiful.

“you’re beautiful,” mary says, and they’re fourteen. lily’s going on her first date ever, and mary’s not jealous, but something deep within her wished that the boy lily was going on a date with would be her. lily blew her a kiss; mary caught it, and kept it in her pocket for the rest of her life.

“you’re beautiful,” mary says, and they’re sixteen. they’re only slightly tipsy, and her face is so close to lily’s, she can see freckles again (they fade during the colder months, mary knew that). their eyes are closed, and their lips ghost again the other’s. mary will keep lily’s secret, if this will be their future.

“you’re beautiful,” mary says, and she’s nineteen. she looks at the pictures sent with the thin letter, and lily looks ethereal in her white dress, the veil over her face. mary can see, through it, the twinkle in her eyes, and pink lips (she wishes she could kiss them). she slips the picture back, and she cries.

“you’re beautiful,” mary says, and she’s twenty one. the casket is lowered into the ground.

a single tear rolls of her cheek, staining the hardwood. no one looks at her, no one comes to comfort her. she sees remus, as miserable as she is. neither makes the first step; both grieve.

mary no longer sees the beauty of the world.

[lili-loves-whump]

lili-loves-whump presents, for @mirohtron,

Secret Santa

(AN: I’d like to say right now I’m honestly ashamed at myself and my circumstances that meant I couldn’t post this on time. If you, miro, want compensation or an explanation I will happily give them to you.)

Villain walked slowly, careful not to jostle the box I their hands. They shifted the oversized gift into one hand and fished around in the pocket closest to their hip.

The paper was thin and rectangular and had a few words written in Villain’s loopy cursive.

“To Mastermind,” they muttered, placing the slip underneath the bow that sat on top. The glittery details shone in the wrapping paper as it caught the light. “From your secret Santa.”

They smiled to themselves. The Corporate’s annual Secret Santa was a hard thing to get included in, but this year, after nearly three of being excluded, they finally got to draw a name.

Villain frowned internally at the memory. Everyone jeered as they went up. “Softie,” they jeered, “why do they even try? Everyone knows they’ll fail at being evil.” There were worst things to be told, of course, and the Corporates were all villains, of course. They should’ve expected the newcomer to be picked on.

They hadn’t.

The jeer had turned into a chant. Every previous turmoil was destroyed for the new idea of making villain uncomfortable as possible. “Softie, softie, why even try? Everyone knows they’ll fail, fail, fail, fail…”

The gift had to be placed outside of Mastermind’s safe house. Villain placed the box gently on the step, adjusting the bow before stepping back and ringing the doorbell.

At first, nothing.

Villain wrung their hands.

Then, the door swung open, and a tall Ann snatched the box into the house. His reflexes were lightning quick- Villain barely even blinked.

The ran a hand through their hair absentmindedly before reaching down at plucking the tiny envelope left on the doorstep.

The house seemed to sigh with relief when they walked away. The inhabitants shuffled, but didn’t make themselves known.

Villain walks quickly away from the safe house, heading towards their car.

They unlocked it and tossed themselves into the driver’s seat, eager to escape the summertime sun.

With a sigh, they opened the envelope slowly. It was pristine, the brightest white against their eyes, but minuscule.

Inside, a tiny card, obviously handmade, with messy pink details on the edges. Villain smiled- the bordering looked a little like lace.

They opened the card slowly. Inside, an address, name, and multiple hundred dollar bills. The money fluttered into Villain’s lap. They felt their cheeks burn when they remembered their own gift.

About 2 minutes walk away, Mastermind cackled with their Rubric’s cube, placing it back inside the wooden puzzlebox. The shades of purple kn the cube were so similar it was virtually impossible to solve, but easy to tell if it was scrambled. They locked the puzzlebox closed and tried a different method to opening it.

(AN: might do a part two?? Felt shorter than what I was going for. If so I’ll tag @mirohtron)

[evelili]

working on A Thing at the same time as my thesis means i have never done so many hours of proofreading before in my life

[shares-a-vest]

Eddie might just be the dumbest person Steve has ever met. He's seriously sitting beside him as they remain stationary in the Beemer outside Family Video, mid-argument with Dustin insisting Suzie (of all people) isn't real.

Jesus fucking Christ.

“I do so have a girlfriend!” Dustin argues, jumping forward from his seat and jostling Steve's headrest.

He attempts to swat him away, but the kid just scoots to the middle of the backseat. Despite the fidgeting, he's being surprisingly neutral about the accusation (meaning he isn’t screeching back insults). Anyway, Steve's pissed enough on his behalf. And also ever-so-slightly annoyed that he's in love with an idiot.

How has Dustin not forced Eddie to talk with her on the phone? Jeez, the number of times he's shoved the phone in Steve's face while he has been at the Hendersons while Claudia yells about call charges to Utah. And the sheer amount of time Dustin actually spends talking about Suzie surely makes it impossible for it to be an elaborate lie. The kid is smart. But not that smart.

“Eddie...” Steve finally musters, even though he stops there.

He pinches his nose, certain that mere exposure to this argument is going to permanently rot his brain. And everyone thinks he's a dumbass of the group.

He shakes his head and looks at the store. Squinting, he can see Keith arguing with Robin as they both flail about with VHSs in their hands. He wishes he was in there, refereeing their pretentious movie snobbery as they argue about boring black-and-white movies from a hundred years ago. That would be easy.

“Still don't think Suze is real, dude,” Eddie shrugs and cracks his knuckles, seemingly to punctuate his argument.

“So you think I'm as pathetic as Jan Brady?” Dustin seethes, his voice up-ticking at every word until he's doing that annoying shrill-talking that makes Steve's ears bleed. “Eventing George Fucking Glass out of thin air to save the embarrassment of being single?”

“Stop swearing, dude!” Steve chastises, holding out a frustrated hand in Dustin's direction in hopes of getting him to exercise some volume control. They are in the confines of a car for Christ's sake.

“That's it,” Dustin says, abruptly opening the car door as he gathers up his backpack. “We're going to Cerebro.”

He opens the passenger door and begins tugging on Eddie's sleeve, eliciting incoherent grumbles.

“Cerebro, what? No! Just call her!” Steve yells across his boyfriend, who just yanks his sleeve back from kid's grip.

“No!” Dustin insists, going for Eddie's wrist now.

“What the fuck is Cerebro?” Eddie scoffs, extending an arm to block their young friend from laying another hand on him. “What, are you secretly Professor X, or something?”

The shit-eating smirk Eddie makes is enough for Steve to remove his keys from the ignition and exit the car, resigning himself to walking all the way to fucking Cerebro because Eddie has gone from being a total dumbass to a full-blown jerk in one fell swoop. He waves his hand to beckon Eddie out of the car, fully intending on leaving it parked outside Family Video (which will probably draw questions from Robin, who’ll act like Steve’s missing). But putting his boyfriend in his place is the priority right now.

“Where are we going?” Eddie asks, confused but never the less stepping out of the Beemer and slamming the door.

“Highest point in Hawkins,” Steve grumbles. “Come on pea-brain.”

“You mean Weathertop? That’s halfway across town from here!” Eddie complains as they both begin to follow along as Dustin rushes off far ahead of them.

Before Steve knows it, they are on their way up the hill towards Cerebro, the highest and clearest point in Hawkins. They are all breathless, both unprepared for the walk and exhausted with sheer annoyance at each other after the near-wordless trek, speaking only to bicker about the quickest route to Weathertop.

“Steve?” Eddie says, sickly sweet as he turns around and extends theatrically limp arms with a pout. “Can you carry me?”

Dustin is far enough away to not hear them, already at the top of hill examining his communication device.

“Nope,” Steve replies, smacking his lips at the ‘P’ and placing his hands on his hips. 

The gesture seems to make Eddie chuckle, so he shoots him a glare that promptly shuts him up as he walks straight past him, intentionally bumping into him on the way.

“Stevie,” Eddie repeats, this time cooing, somehow sounding both flirtatious and apologetic.

“I’m annoyed with you,” he shoots back and slows his pace.

He stops, folds his arms and turns to Eddie who looks like a puppy that just got kicked. But it's still likely a part of Eddie's sucking-up-without-actually-apologising routine. Steve narrows his eyes and pouts. That does the trick. Eddie creeps forward, looks around presumably to make sure Dustin isn't watching and snakes an arm around his middle.

“I didn’t think it would go this far!” he laughs, brushing a hand through Steve's hair. “Sorry I ruined our date night, sugarplum.”

“You hurt his feelings,” he retorts, suppressing a satisfied hum at the feeling of Eddie's hand in his hair.

“Serves him right for being an annoying twerp,” Eddie offers, raising an eyebrow. “Besides, can he stop asking me if I have a girlfriend! Of course, I do!”

He thrusts his hips forward but Steve recoils (even if he feels his cheeks burn).

“Not funny, dude.”

Now it’s Eddie’s turn to dramatically pout. He’s even worse than Steve suspects he looks. He steps back and begins twisting his hair up in a makeshift ponytail with his hand, puffing out a breath. Steve wordlessly reaches into his back pocket and produces the communal scrunchie - a forest green one that satisfies Max, El, Robin and Eddie whenever necessary. Eddie takes it and chews at his bottom lip as he ties his hair up, avoiding eye contact.

He always looks so pretty with his hair up. Steve shakes his head and continues up the hill.

“Hey, Henderson,” Eddie calls, staggering up the last of the incline. He pats Dustin on the shoulder. “Dude, I’m sorry.”

Dustin looks between them for a moment. His eyes narrow before he snaps back to the task at hand.

“Nope. Steve told you to apologise, I can tell.”

“Jesus Christ!” Steve laments, slumping down onto the grass and hanging his head in his hands.

Forget a date night. This stupidity is just going to ping-pong back and forward until they wither away on Weathertop and Robin will have to send out a recovery operation. There’s a thud and he turns to find Dustin sitting in defeat on the ground, radio in his hand.

“It isn’t working,” he says, more confused than disappointed.

Steve looks up at Eddie and they have a silent back and forward before Eddie rolls his eyes and couches down.

“I’m sorry, Dustin,” he says earnestly.

Dustin shrugs.

“I just wanted you to talk to Suzie.”

“We can go to my house and you can call her,” Steve suggests, chastising himself for not offering a solution that didn’t involve walking halfway across town sooner.

“Don’t worry about it. You two can go on your date, or whatever,” Dustin says nonchalantly as he lowers his contraption to the ground.

Eddie makes some kind of incoherent gargle of words before standing up and turning away.

“What?” Steve shrieks, digging his fingers into the grass.

Their young friend sighs as he looks out over their surroundings. The sun is setting now.

“I know the two of you are dating," Dustin explains as if it's something they should know. “Have for months actually.”

He stands and begins separating pieces of Cerebro according to size like he hasn't just delivered an earth-shattering revelation.

“Shit,” is all Eddie says, continuing to be so very helpful. He twists at a loose strand of hair with one hand and reaches for a cigarette with the other.

“You two aren’t subtle at all. Pretty gross and obvious, really,” Dustin chuckles before his face drops. “I mean, it isn’t gross that you are two dudes just… Lovey-dovey gross stuff.”

Steve barks a laugh. He’s one to talk.

“You could have told me!” he continues, sounding a little hurt. “Oh and everybody else knows too.”

“What!” Steve yells and Dustin practically falls to the ground in a fit of laughs.

Eddie starts giggling and Steve looks up. They just shrug at each other, accepting their fate of being annoyed to death by the kids. When he recovers, Dustin sits upright, wiping tears from his eyes as he continues pulling the broken Cerebro apart.

“I must warn you,” he begins, shoving the smaller pieces into his backpack. “The guys have been taking bets about when you two got together and who will crack and blab about it first. Now, I didn’t participate, of course.”

He places a hand on his heart and gives them that condescending look he gets when he is, one hundred percent, in on the stupid shenanigans with the rest of the Loser Squad. He hums and looks around, gradually raising his eyebrows, his cap tipping upwards as he smirks.

“Y’know, this would be a romantic spot…” he starts.

Steve shakes his head, “Nope, no, no, no! Absolutely not.”

He waves his hands around to emphasise his point, but it is lost on Dustin, who only laughs. Great, the little shit wasn’t actually fessing up to show his support, it was merely a means to opening another dimension of teasing. And he wasn't about to enter into receiving relationship advice from the kid either.

He looks to Eddie for some kind of assistance, only to find his (now not-so-secret) boyfriend smiling and twirling a strand of hair across his face, barely shielding his too-cute dimples. Steve can’t help but feel giddy at the idea of coming back here for a quiet picnic.

Dustin groans and promptly shoves the broken-up aerial in Steve’s lap making him jump.

“So, you're okay with me dating Mom?” Eddie says, a wolfish smile creeping across his face.

Okay, the bitchiness and malfunctioning is over. Back to utter stupidity.

“Please! Do not say that!” Dustin shrieks, pinching his nose.

Eddie laughs maniacally in the direction of the sunny heavens for far too long. Steve playfully slaps him on the arm and points to his assigned pile of parts. He needs to help. Especially if he was still wanting to go on the date he had to make up for mildly ruining.

As they make their way back down the hill with Dustin’s invention split between Eddie and Steve, he starts on about what might be wrong with Cerebro. Steve isn’t a scientist by any stretch, but he’s sure it is broken from being left out here during an almost-apocalypse. Eddie juggles around the items in his hands enough to link arms with Steve, leaning in close.

“Wanna come back here for a moonlight picnic?” he offers in a flirtatious version of his Dungeons and Dorks voice that makes Steve shiver.

“M’kay,” he smiles back, cheeks flushing as he manoeuvres to hold his hand.

“Ew!” Dustin chimes, scrunching up his nose for just a moment before he smiles and runs for it down the embankment. “On second thought, I shouldn’t have said anything!”

[as8bakwthesage]

My Experience With Lily Orchard + Fuck Her

Now, if those of you who know me or have been following me for a while will know that I used to be a massive Lily Orchard fan. I used to support her, I defended her, and I was once a member of her patron even.

I’ve heard stories from people, former friends, former fans, about how much of a manipulating and nasty bitch she is. At best, she’s lashed out at fans for drawing innocuous fanart and for bringing up topics in stream that she doesn’t approve of (I’ve been there, I’ve seen it), and at worst she’s a lying abusive cunt who can’t help but make people around her miserable.

And while I’ve not been the subject of Lily’s abuse, I have been witness and bore the blunt of her passive aggressive horseshit, her manipulating situations to make me appear like a cunt for daring to correct her on an opinion of a book she never fucking read, her shamelessly putting me on blast in one of her videos where she insinuated I was stupid for asking a question about LGBT+ rep, for telling me and other fans to stop talking when we tried to defend our positions in chat.

I’ve had to walk on eggshells around her because I feel like every word I say or anything I do will be seen as an attack on her despite me being a fan of hers for literally fucking years and she knows this. I’ve been a fan of hers since I was 15-16 and I’m 22 now. With no other content creator have I felt the need to be so fucking careful of what I say.

And when I sent her an ask telling her that her yelling at others on stream for seemingly no reason was actively triggering me (mind you, in the nicest way possible because I couldn’t hurt Ms. Orchard’s feewings oh nuuuu) she ignored my ask. Do I have proof she saw it? No. Is she a large enough content creator that she receives so much interaction/asks on her tumblr that my ask got swallowed? Also No.

If you’re a Lily Orchard fan, I am not a needless hater, I am not a stalker or a troll or a bigot. I’m a transgender and biromantic/asexual person myself who is Native and actively participates in activities regarding my tribe and culture. I’m white passing like Lily is. I used to be a fan of hers for fuck’s sake and an active one too.

But here’s the thing - she’ll suck you in with her bold commentary and criticisms and some of it is genuinely really thought provoking and interesting. On the outset she has a “no tolerance for abusers” policy and she’s charismatic to an audience of teenagers who were being abused. Fuck, she helped me realise I was being abused and when the Toonkritic shit came out, that slowly started to help me realise I was being groomed by my exe (TheHauntedReader)

I convinced myself for the longest time that just because Lily wrote “Stockholm” that it didn’t mean anything. That all of her weird takes and opinions were just a quirky “haha i did this in my youth and i regret it” moment. But this isn’t 13-year-old me writing weird fanfiction between an adult and a child when I didn’t fucking know any better and was being actively groomed and abused, this was an adult who wrote CP and romanticised it and tried to get away with it and who should have known better!

And once you are a fan of hers, it’s hard not to become emotionally invested, especially if you’ve always seen her behaviour as normal, which I did. A lot of her fans are abuse/trauma survivors and she knows that. So many of us have confided to her that she helped us realise we could be happier and that we could escape. That we were more than our abuse. These are powerful things to talk about.

But she doesn’t care about us. Never has. Never will. She convinced me and has convinced others that us asking her stupid/silly questions is damaging to her. That it’s caused her so much emotional damage and stress that she can justify lashing out and verbally abusing her audience, y’know - the people who gave her a career. By her own admission, she hates us, but expects our support when she’s being harassed??

Girl, fuck off.

But that is just my own experience. I’ve seen some shit in the past couple of days that I can’t unsee and I encourage you all to look into it because it’s such a dark hole that the phrase “stare into the abyss for too long and it stares back” is what I feel like right now.

And I know why I feel like this - I invested energy and money and emotions into this woman and her channel. I’ve supported her. And no, Lily, this is not about me wanting to be your friend. It’s about me asking for some fucking decency as someone you at least know of and at most you know supported you? To not lie and misrepresent what I’ve said and then vaguepost about me?

Have I made mistakes? Yes. But that’s no excuse to berate and yell at people who have only asked stupid questions or fuck, even made goddamn harmless jokes??

Also, if fans/friends of Lily’s are harassing @asunnycoffee you guys are the fucking worst. Don’t fucking attack my friend you raging cunts. I have a couple ideas of who you might be, but I know you won’t air out your dirty laundry with me, Ginger.

You guys are pathetic.

Lily doesn’t care about her fans, she doesn’t care about her friends, and she’s certainly not going to start anytime soon.

[doodle17]

Could you maybe tell us what future Raz and Lilis relationship is like now?

*vibrating with excitement*

Putting this under a read more because it might be really long hemngh

So I'd decided to study their characters and how they interact a little more (mostly from the second game, but a little bit of the first too) and think about how their relationship would develop as they got older.

I came to the conclusion that I want to portray them as two people who have some level of affection for the other, but don't have time to focus on being sappy "boyfriend and girlfriend" because of work. The "fun" part their relationship ended waaaay back when they were 18-ish and went from Junior Agents to Official Psychonauts. It ain't exactly easy to go on dates and save the world at the same time y'know, and both of them have a lot of personal stuff going on.

Raz is almost always busy. Constantly filling out paperwork, running around in Sasha's lab, doing agent stuff, Circus stuff, the WHOLE shebang. Lili, is still trying to get over her dad's retirement, as the while thing still feels very surreal to her. Not to mention Hollis and her dad trying to push her to become the next Grand Head, much to her dismay. It's not very easy to have a social life with that much going on to be 100% honest.

Theres also taking their very different personalities into account. Lili's "Fuck around and find out" and Raz's sticking to a solid plan type of methods tend to clash quite often, and many newcomers have a hard time telling whether or not they're dating or competing with eachother.

Lili is probably the most complicated woman Raz has ever worked with, and while he finds it endearing he also finds it incredibly exhausting. Sometimes, It feels like she'll do the exact opposite of what he tells her just to get a reaction out of him, out of spite. But it's not like she can help it. She absolutely hates being told what to do, and one of her least favorite things about Raz is when he decides to become "Mr. Boss man" and order everyone around during missions. Despite all of- that- however, they do end up having very successful missions!... Most of the time.

There's also the pressure to keep up professional appearances for their fellow agents and new interns. One thing the both of them can agree on, is that they'll avoid showing any PDA in front of their coworkers. They still cringe thinking about how a little too comfortable they were as kids, and how almost EVERYONE in the Motherlobe knew about it. Luckily, most of those people are retired, quit or fired, and gives the two a better chance to be a little more professional with their relationship in front of the newcomers, because if they have to hear, "You guys are like the next Sasha and Milla!" One more time...

This isn't to say that things are always rough and gloomy for them. They still have a very special connection, and after knowing eachother for half of their lives, it's not like they're going to get rid of the other anytime soon. So might as well make the most of it, eh? She'll never admit it out loud, but there's really no other person Lili would rather be tied up and dangling over a pool of pyrokenetic sharks with than Raz (which has actually happened before btw) There's no way you won't catch them holding hands or sneaking a quick kiss at least once.

Anyways, to sum all of this shishkabable up best I can: They're WAY too close to be considered "just coworkers", but they also have way too much going on to focus on a serious relationship at this time.

Good on you if you managed to read my nonsensical ramblings all the way through! Take a prize from the prize bin you deserve it 👏 👏👏