#a monster so awful and primordial

[hivemire]

I only enforce your precedent. This is the world you chose to live in.

[idkfitememate]

What about otter!creator joining neuvilette in a meeting with wriothesley and sigewinne (I think that how you spell that) and sneaking back with them to the fortress of meropide. Cue fun times with sigewinne, tasting otter safe teas with wriothesley, and a very freaked out neuvilette and furina

The Otter Chronicles Pt. 2

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૮꒰˶ᵔ ᗜ ᵔ˶꒱ა Pairings : GN! Otter Reader x Fontaine

૮꒰ྀི∩´ ᵕ `∩꒱ྀིა W.K. : 2k

໒꒰ྀིᵔ ᵕ ᵔ ꒱ྀི১ Tags/CW&TW : Angst, everyone has meltdown

໒꒰ྀི˶˙Ⱉ˙˶꒱ྀིა Author’s note : I’m gonna write this as a Pt. 2 to the last Otter!Creator request, they just fit so perfectly! ૮꒰⸝⸝> ̫ <⸝⸝꒱ა

As you and Wriothesley only continued to stare at each other, Neuvillette and Furina suddenly walk back in. Both of their faces were stern as they looked at the both of you. But mostly you.

“Monsieur Wriothesley? We apologize, but me and Monsieur Neuvillette have some… pressing matter to discuss. Treats, toys and pillows are inside their pack. Please care for our ˈbābē in this sudden absence. We will retrieve them in a matter of hours. Thank you.” And with that, Furina and Neuvillette left, leaving no time for objection.

You watched as your three friends dissipated, and the duo walked out. Wriothesley was only able to open his mouth before the door shut again. He closed his mouth and turned to you, who shrugged.

His eyebrows raised at you before he blinked once.

Then twice.

Then three times.

“Do you… do you like tea?”

૮꒰づ˶• ༝ •˶꒱づ ˚ʚ ꒰⁐⁐⁐⁐୨🍭🍯🍮୧⁐⁐⁐⁐꒱ ɞ˚

When Sigewinne entered Wriothesley’s office she was not expecting to see around thirty teacups (all empty) around The Creator in the form of an otter with Wriothesley sitting beside them with a wide grin of his face.

“Sigewinne! Meet Neuvillette’s and Lady Furina’s new little Otter friend! Did you hear of them?”

Oh yeah. Sigewinne had heard all about them. From all the melusine. Constant reminders of how cute they were compared to that fake on the throne. Constant stories of how adorable they acted compared to the awful actions of that monster who acted as their God.

To see them in the flesh was… a visceral feeling honestly. And being a melusine herself, she could feel the ethereal aura surrounding them. Shaking her head, she smiled at the older man and nodded.

“Oh I’ve heard some things here and there… have you been testing teas with them?” She mused, a joking smile on her face.

“… I didn’t know what else to do,” he admitted, “I didn’t want to make them do my paperwork..”

She giggled before getting an idea, and idea that had her face scrunched up in an even wider grin.

“What if… we try milkshakes?~”

“Sigewinne.” Was all he said.

As they began a small back and forth about the logistics of given an Otter a milkshake (Wriothesley was losing), you got up from your seat, took a small toy that looked vaguely like a melusine with the same colors are your fur, and just… waked out the office. Ready to explore.

“Uhm… Sigewinne?”

“It could very beneficial to their health for all we know-“

“Sigewinne?”

“I mean, have you even see an Otter consume a milkshake? I doubt their lactose intolerant-“

“Sigewinne.”

“And I… yeah?”

“Where did they go?”

“…. Uh oh.”

And you, at that exact moment, realized why you probably needed a map. Wondering around, you hadn’t realized how many levels you were going down.

You had been trying to get to the Coupon Cafeteria. How in the actually fuck had you ended up in the forbidden zone, in front of the gate that held the Primordial Sea.

What the fuck.

You hugged your melusine plushy closer as you stared at the plug.

And then an alarm sounded off.

God fucking damn it.

૮꒰づ˶• ༝ •˶꒱づ ˚ʚ ꒰⁐⁐⁐⁐୨🍩🍬🍦୧⁐⁐⁐⁐꒱ ɞ˚

Chlorinde had been having a nice, slow day.

Why did the fucking sea just have to choose to be angry today.

Why?

Today was a good day.

TodAY WAS A GOOD DAY-

She sighed and removed herself from the room she was currently in, speed walking towards the room where her Archon and Chief Justice were.

After knocking curtly and hearing a quiet “Come in”, she gently pressed open the door, yet spoke with urgency.

“My apologies for interrupting, but the Primordial Sea. It’s causing issues again.” Chlorinde stated.

The hydro duo looked at each other, they had been no where near done with the conversation, but their darling was in the Fortress of Meropide, where the ocean was being.. dealt with.

“Let us begin on your way then.” Neuvillette sighed.

૮꒰づ˶• ༝ •˶꒱づ ˚ʚ ꒰⁐⁐⁐⁐୨🍮🍧🎂୧⁐⁐⁐⁐꒱ ɞ˚

“Damnit damnit damnit damnit…” Thats all that was going through Wriothesley’s head at the moment. He had sent Sigewinne away to ensure her safety, all while running through the Fortress, all the while making sure to keep an eye out for a stray otter.

His mind flew through the possibilities: you could’ve been caught in machinery, you could’ve fallen off a ledge, you could’ve been snatched up by a criminal on a walk…

There were to many all to possibilities that would lead to him finding your body over you alive.

And if things were going the way they were with the Primordial Sea, then Furina and Neuvillette were going to be back a lot sooner than any of them expected.

And he was not ready for what the punishment would be.

But when he finally got down to the correct level?

He knew his punishment was going to be even worse than whatever they were initially going to do to him.

Because your little body sat in front of the loudly beeping seal before the Primordial Sea.

Fuck.

૮꒰づ˶• ༝ •˶꒱づ ˚ʚ ꒰⁐⁐⁐⁐୨🍪🍯🍬୧⁐⁐⁐⁐꒱ ɞ˚

Honest to god when you saw Wriothesley just appear out of thin air, you weren’t shocked. To be entirely honest you hoped that you’d get to see the whole fight against the Sea with Neuvillette! It was gonna be so cool!

You snuggled against your melusine plushy again as you watched Wriothesley rush towards you, gently pick you up, and move you out of the way.

“Alright, here you go… just have to make sure you don’t get in trouble…” He muttered as he at you down, out of the way. You mentally groaned at this but stayed put. You’d still be able to watch from here, you supposed…

And as soon as Wriothesley walked but over to the seal, Neuvillette, Furina and Chlorinde all deceased from you forgot where. You began clapping quietly and lied on top of your plush, snuggled up and ready for action.

You couldn’t really hear their voices, but then…

The seal exploded!

You watched with bated breath as they fought against the raging Sea, and your little tail began to wag at the sight.

Perhaps you had picked up a love for the show from Furina…

You watched the moves they pulled, the fights they put up, everything was glorious!

That was…

…Untill Neuvillette faltered.

You were confused.

Wasn’t he the one who stopped it in the cutscene? Why wasn’t he able to do it now? What was happening? Was the fear on his face? Why was there fear on his face? Why was everyone stepping back? Was…

Was Furina crying?

You jumped up from your hiding spot, rushing across the floor to the shock and fear of everyone.

Your top hat flew off and your melusine plush fell out of your mouth.

You heard shouts your way but you didn’t give a shit.

This stupid water wasn’t gonna hurt your new family.

Not on your watch.

…

You jumped into the water.

…

Over the rushing waves you could hear Furina scream.

…

It was…

Almost soothing…

As Furina screamed and cried the only thing on Neuvillette’s mind was if you were going to melt away.

If you were going to dissolve in those star studded waters.

‘It would be fitting.’ His mind mused. ‘For the brightest star in his life to flicker out surrounded by stars as well.’

Furina fell to her knees. Why?

Why?!

WHY?!

WHY DID EVERYTHING SHE WANT HAVE TO SLIP FROM HER FINGERS LIKE SAND ON THE OCEAN FLOOR?! SWEPT AWAY BY THE TIDE SHE COULDN’T CONTROL?! WHY WAS SHE FORCED WITH THE MISFORTUNE OF NEVER BEING ABLE TO HOLD ON TO ANYTHING OR ANYONE WHO MENT ANYTHING TO HER?! THIS WASN’T FAIR!

IT WAS NEVER FAIR!

HOW COULD THIS EVER POSSIBLY BE FAIR!?!?

And as Furina cried, Wriothesley looked on with a blank face on.

But his mind was a whirlpool of emotion.

Your sudden sacrifice… it reminded him slightly of his past. Of his teenage years.

Of the murder of his foster parents.

How he put his life on the line, knowing full well that it could be the end of him, as long as his siblings would be fine in the end. That he saved everyone he could.

That’s what you had just done, wasn’t it?

But Chlorinde…

She was shocked.

She watched as her Archon screamed and cried, as she slammed her fists into the ground below, as Neuvillette allowed a tear to fall from his eye (she had never seen him cry before now), as Wriothesley stared on, grief and longing in his eyes.

Just…

Just what had you meant to them?

What had you meant..?

What… could you have meant to her..?

…

The water was cold. Cool. And the stars shimmered in a way where they were bright, but not enough to hurt your eyes.

You couldn’t see outside the water. But it seemed bioluminescent. The brilliant blue lighting up your vision with the stars.

You swam gently. The current was slow.

You placed a paw on your bow tie. It swayed with the movement of your body.

You felt something deep inside you.

…

The Primordial Sea.

She called to you.

She cried that her creations feared her.

She just wanted to be whole again. While with her children.

But you told her that she couldn’t.

They were scared because they were their own people now.

They had become their own.

If she were to become whole again…

They would die.

She wept.

She did not want them to die.

But she had to become whole. They were still apart of her.

You told her that soon she would understand. Her tears would no longer be wept out of sorrow, but out of delight.

She didn’t understand. You told her she soon would.

Where you swam, she followed, like a duckling to her mother.

When you went up, she followed. When you went down, she followed. You went left, so did she. You go right, so does she.

You tell her she must go back.

She understands. But she warns that soon her sorrow will consume her once more and she will come again, wishing to have her children rejoin her.

and you tell her that you will be there to comfort her once more. And you will be there until she understands.

She understands.

…

Furina’s cry’s stop. She looks to the water, which has ceased its movement.

It begins to swirls around them, breaking off into pieces that form diffrent creatures of the sea.

From creatures of today, to long lost beasts of times forgotten. They swirl around and around the room, playing and tumbling over each other. The grin and make the happiest noises with one another.

Before diving back into the seal.

Only an Otter of starry water remained, and it dropped between the teary eyed Dragon Sovereign and the crying Archon, chittering and chirping. Picking up the top hat, it places it in hydro god’s hands.

It’s form splits. Duplicates perhaps..

And there you stood.

Their ˈbābē.

Her raison d’être, her preux chevalier, her ange.

His moitié, his raison de vivre, his trésor.

The only difference being your once wide black eyes,

We’re now filled with all the stars in the sky.

Furina gently placed the hat on your head as you walked up and nuzzled her face, licking away her tears.

You then walked back to the Primordial Sea Otter, missing Furina’s out reached hand.

You both nuzzled against each other, making chittering and chirping noises, rubbing up and down each other. After saying your goodbyes, the Primordial Otter waved, running and jumping into the seal, it closing up after her.

You rushed back to them, picking up your plush on the way, and got picked up by a still teary Neuvillette, whose breath was shaky and broken.

You gave him kisses as well, chirping up at him.

All those in the vault - after Furina had stood - crowded around Neuvillette.

Hands were ran through your fur and you took it all lovingly, understanding the scare you had just given them.

Looking towards his Lady, they had a mental conversation, before Neuvillette sighed.

“Chlorinde, Wriothesley. Me and Lady Furina have something to tell you.”

໒꒰ྀི˶˙Ⱉ˙˶꒱ྀིა Author’s note : I think I went a wee bit overboard… but meh ໒꒰ྀི´ ˘ ` ꒱ྀིა! Hehe, I hope you guys enjoyed!~ And honestly, the Primordial Sea I have envisioned (personified) and she’s… kinda hot ngl-૮꒰ ྀི >⸝⸝⸝< ྀི꒱ა

[that-foul-legacy-lover]

you're a diver from Fontaine, one of the best in the entire Court, and are known far and wide for your ability to collect whatever resource people need- that's where most of your pay comes from, collecting beryl conches and romaritime flowers for jewelry, perfumes, and the like. but you also enjoy diving as a hobby, spending most of your time off in the water and enjoying the sights, your Vision allowing you to breathe easily under the waves. there's something about floating weightlessly in oceanic world that helps you feel so calm and at peace.

it's during one of these leisurely dives that you encounter something- or someone- incredible.

you won't lie, you were swimming too close to the Fortress of Meropide. yes, it's technically forbidden, but you couldn't help but investigate the deeper waters and caves around it after so long of staying away from the area! as long as you stayed away from the searchlights, no one would suspect a thing, so you swam down into the murky gloom. it's more difficult to see as you cautiously glance around, slightly on edge- until you come face-to-face with an oddly glowing light, seemingly emitting from a faceted crystal. you don't dare go towards it (you've had enough experience with ocean creatures to know it very well could be a lure), so instead it decides to come towards you, and an enormous slinking creature is revealed from the darkness. your blood runs cold, all instincts screaming to get away, run, but the monster merely chitters curiously, tilting his horned head and blinking at you quietly.

hesitantly, you raise a hand and wave, and the beast's singular eye widens in awe as he waves back.

you come back to visit the odd creature again and again after that day, becoming adept at avoiding the lights of Fontaine's prison. the monster- Childe, as he told you via carvings on the wall- was incredibly sweet despite his intimidating appearance, greeting you with a delighted chirp and a hug, always extremely gentle with you. he follows you as you explore, protecting you and bringing you trinkets that have sunk to the ocean floor, nudging your hands for head scritches. through his gestures and warbling tones you deduce that he lives in a cavern further below, one you refuse to go to- it makes your skin crawl, for some reason. rarely does Childe come to the surface, but occasionally he'll accompany you if he doesn't want to see you go, wrapping his scaled tail around your legs and whining until you give him a kiss on the forehead. he loves you, and you love him, and he was your special secret.

until you began to fall mysteriously ill, your breaths coming out short and ragged and your head filling with cotton clouds. at first you think it's just a common cold, but it doesn't go away, only getting worse over time. the doctors you visit don't seem to have a cure, merely telling you to rest until you feel better, which you never do, no matter how many hours you sit on the shore with Childe's head in your lap. his worry for you makes you feel a little happier, caressing his cheeks and whispering hoarsely to him as he whimpers, claws dancing over your cheeks in an attempt to hold you back. but it hurts and you cough again and again, growing weaker by the day for no reason other than fate's cruel story.

you don't know that Childe is a monster from the Primordial Sea, gradually wearing away at your strength and life, until it's too late.

[monstersdownthepath]

How do you feel about the new Rakshasa lore in 2e?

------

I... I don't know, to be honest. In 1e, Rakshasa were the results of mortals binding their souls to totems and nature spirits, living on the world as parasites. Whenever they died, through violence or through time, they would push a newborn soul from its vessel and take its place, being reborn again and again. It exemplified how terribly selfish they were, so awful and twisted that it physically twisted their bodies. A good rakshasa is practically unheard of, because the ritual to become one is so vile and the method to remain one so terrible that no soul with any goodness in it would dare to undertake it! Much like with Hags, a rakshasa isn't evil because it's a fiend, it's a fiend BECAUSE it's evil, its monstrous behavior transforming it into a literal monster.

But in 2e, this is no longer the case at all. In 2e, Rakshasa are primordial spirits born at the moment the gods decided what was Good and what was Evil. They were born, created by the gods, to specifically fulfill the purpose of enacting Evil in its every form, to give solid and unambiguous definition to the question of "what is Evil?" They do evil because they're supposed to exemplify it, to serve as an example to mortals of what not to do. They literally exist to be evil until good rises to stop them! They're directly compared to actors forced into their role, with some Rakshasa even growing to detest it (though most revel in it), but performing it nonetheless because it's all they've known to do. They rise, they act the part of the villain, they perish at the hands of heroes risen to stop them, and then they are reborn to do so again and again and again.

It's a cool idea, certainly, but with so much solid and interesting lore already dedicated to them, it feels... bad? to just throw it all out? Rakshasa felt special in that they all used to be a mortal who was willing to perform the ultimate profanity in order to secure immortality. That each one, from the lowly Raktavarna to the highest of the Immortals, was born because someone was terrified of what death held for them. Now they just... literally exist to be the villain of whatever story NEEDS a villain. It could be good, but I wish that doing it didn't come at the cost of everything else before it, which was ALSO good.

[something-something-peaceful]

Alright guess who’s in the mood to analyze offenderman and how we could rework him because Jesus Christ it’s bad. Also yes I did actually read the wiki this time so yay?

Offenderman’s biggest issue is that he wasn’t meant to be taken seriously. He’s a parody which when he touches on heavy subjects is an issue. He also doesn’t work in the fanon “oh we’re all a family, and we only sometimes want to kill each other.” Because then he will just turn into the uncle that we don’t mention and only shows up for the reading of the will or something because we don’t want them at Christmas. You know? The creepy uncle. You can have slutty characters, hell I make them every time, but they’re not rapists and pedophiles. And yes technically in the wiki he’s not a pedophile but A he easily translates into one and B the youngest he goes after is 14, which doesn’t help his pedophile case. Also pedophile has come to mean anyone that touches kids, so yeah he’s a pedophile. I’m not going to defend him and say he’s actually (insert more specific name that I don’t remember but it doesn’t matter because 14 is still baby). He would be fine if we actually liked creepypasta’s for the pure horror, and was meant to be taken seriously. Instead of an easily rule 34ed slenderman. Now I guess I should get to the reworking bit, now something important to take note of is that I see offenderman constantly being on the move, it’s very rare that he stays in one place. So objectively he could easily be hardly mentioned. Of course it’s not hard to not mention a family member. I think he would be better if he was just searching for love but only understands love as sex and whatever romcom fairytale a primordial being could interact with. Him killing people when he’s no longer happy in the relationship for whatever reason. Killing them out of frustration like “why can’t I just be in love?!” I think I’ll be keeping the stalking bit but he’ll try to spend that time harassing the person he’s pursuing to go on a date with him. I don’t understand the red and blue rose thing, like just keep one rose man. What if I think you’re offering me both? I’m just going to have his youngest age he goes for be at 20. I just don’t want to deal with the pedophila. It’s really hard to make this character likable and no matter what the original intentions of the creator were, he just easily translates into the pedo and the rapist. I think regardless offenderman stays away from the creepypastas that are under his Brothers control.

Also side note while reading the wiki it said something about how since offenderman and humans aren’t the same species it would technically be beastiality. Which is a take I didn’t think about. So um, I’m sorry monster fuckers but that’s just added to his list of crimes. Oh also necrophila was added to the list of stuff. Which since I’m reworking him, I’ll just write it as the after scene of him killing his “lover”. Going something like “I’m so sorry babe, I didn’t mean to, you know that right? Please forgive me. You can forgive me right, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Anyways I’m sure the responses will be that he’s just an awful character that needs to be thrown into the fire. Which go ahead honestly, even if this was how he was supposed to be he would’ve evolved into what he is now.

Thank you and good night, I’m going to make butternut squash bread.

[fictionkinfessions]

I still see you wanting to take the path of least resistance. The frustration of trying to send that massive surge of energy upstream against the gravity that keeps trying to push you downhill over those rocks again. When it feels like the gods expect you to always do the impossible. When you keep getting snagged and pulled under and yet by some miracle you're always able to breathe even below the surface, where the ebb and flow of those currents keeps churning and swirling all those complex thoughts around in that fantastic mind of yours. I know I keep wanting to cast my line out and see what I find in the multiple whirlpools of your emotions, and sometimes it means having the line snapped and having to wait until those waters settle first. I can't control your tides, I know. I don't want to control your tides though. I may have the sign of the water bearer in this life but there is no way in Olympus I could ever hope to contain the entire ocean in one tiny cup. I'm throwing the cup away. I'm coming to you instead. I want to dive straight in, and maybe you're scared of pulling me into those currents too and seeing me drown in my feelings for you. Rest assured though I don't want to stir up the sand for you when you're already trying to process everything else going on. I'm wading in slowly. I'm waiting for the tsunamis to turn to ripples. I'm patient, or at least trying to be for your sake. And the truth is this. I still see the power you may have thought you lost. I still see the very life force of the planet I currently exist on with you, and I see that coursing through your veins. I still see your father's strength in you even in times when you feel you may doubt yourself. You used to doubt yourself so much. But you've slain monsters, taken on immeasurable battles. With the world and with yourself. And every time, it fills me with wonder and awe. You were beautiful and powerful to me in ways I can never hope to ever fully convey into words, at least not without sounding completely infatuated and head in the clouds about it. You know my love for you is electric though. It just builds and builds and I guess I'm battling my own currents, trying not to see those clouds break and add even more volume to your oceans just yet. And maybe it could end up being a hurricane either way, because those elements are as primordial and untamed as ever, but maybe, when the timing is right... we can both find dry land again. Together.

- Not tagging this one. You'll hopefully know who it is when you read it.

x

[awakenedsalamander]

I've seen you talk about many of the CWoD books, but what are your thoughts on Beast?

I really liked reading that book, and I especially enjoyed how it incorporated other supernatural races into the Beasts domain.

I'd love to hear what you think.

I mean, my thoughts on Beast are, of course, kind of twisted up in the facts of its real-world lead developer, and the grossness of all that. I don’t know that I want to recount that all here, but suffice it to say, it’s hard for me to enjoy the game in light of the abuses of the head writer.

That isn’t to say that you or others who enjoy it are doing anything wrong— I really want to stress that I don’t believe that, I think that if people enjoy Beast: The Primordial then they’re getting good out of it and that’s worth celebrating— but for me I just couldn’t get there.

That said, I do like the “mythic monsters” vibe of Beast, and how it adds elements of tragic storytelling to the story. There’s a kind of grandeur to the terrifying creatures of horror, to gargantuan serpents and ferocious dragons, something I feel provokes respect and awe as much as it provokes fear.

And there’s a sorrow to that, as well. As much as you find yourself impressed by monsters like that, they don’t fit in the world, or at least, it’s hard to imagine how something so horrible could find a place among our world. So they are hunted, and they are the villains, but that isn’t like, a happy fact. The monster doesn’t want to be a monster, and perhaps the Hero doesn’t want to be a Hero (or at least shouldn’t be). But so the cycle goes.

That’s what works about Beast for me, and I’d love like, a 2E that dives into those elements. They’re already there in the corebook, and that was the part that worked for me. To play a creature of legend, one that is doomed to a grim fate, and taking the world down with it… I could love that game quite a bit. I just think it as it is Beast gets stuck on trying to make the Begotten relatable and personally sympathetic, and regardless of the baggage there, I’m not sure that’s the right direction.

As for the family relation element of Beasts being kin with other monsters (except demons) I feel… mixed. I like the idea of a type of monster that is so ancient it sees family in all the others, but I feel that trying to connect every other supernatural to Beasts, especially retroactively, feels forced and kind of weird. Again, it’s the kind of thing I’d like tweaked a little, if Beast somehow got a second edition.

All that said, I hope I didn’t come across as too harsh on Beast, I really don’t want to discourage you from enjoying the game just cause it isn’t to my tastes. I know I’m normally very positive on WoD and CofD, but don’t take my more ambivalent feelings as anything other than one guy’s opinion. If it fits into your enjoyment of the setting, then it should stay there.

[skyrim-forever]

NSFW! Devour Me -Teldryn Sera x Serana Volkihar

@t00thpasteface it is done! I tried to emphasis Serena's vampire-ness so let me know if it comes through! Wish I made it more monster-fucking but alas, there's always next time. We did keep the Femdom overtones tho

Words: 2k

“So you’re here with the vampire?”

Teldryn finished his sujamma, placing the jar in front of him on the bar, before answering Geldis’s question. 

“I’m here with my current employer yes” 

Geldis’s eyes dart over to the sultry figure in the corner, Serana is laughing with some of the other patrons of the Retching Netch. In between conversations she briefly looks at him before making her eyes to Teldryn, her tongue swiping across her bottom lip. 

“Have you seen the way she looks at me?” Teldryn says.

“Like she wants to crack you open like a fine bottle of wine.”

“Ah, so you have noticed” He laughs at this, like becoming the prey of a bloodsucking monster is normal. His friend was always one for danger but even this was a bit much for him.  

“Don’t you worry my friend, I can handle myself.” Although originally he was afraid of his vampiric companion, to the point where he was considering learning to sleep with his eyes open, this fear had subsided into something else. Vampires were wretched creatures but the danger made her all the more enticing. She was plenty attractive as is, with silky dark hair and her dry sense of humour; but it was when the hunger took hold that really drove him crazy. Her red eyes wide, mouth gaping and growling -no something far more primal than growling- admitting from her. Watching her feast on rats, deer, the occasional traveller, left the dunmer both in fear and awe. 

By Azura, I wish that were me.

“Here she comes” The barkeep said, snapping Teldryn back to the present from his thoughts. Serana walk up to where they are at the bar. 

“Hello Geldis” she says, looking at Teldryn instead. 

“Greetings outlander, I suppose I have you to blame for taking my friend away”

Serana laughs, eyes never leaving her hired companion. 

“We’ll be on the island for a few weeks, going to go digging in a few dwemer ruins before heading back to Skyrim.”

“Ah dwemer ruins, forgive me if that doesn’t sound enchanting.”

“It’s a lovely challenge, although not much of a challenge for one of my talents” Teldryn says, entering the conversation. Though, with Serana’s eyes staring into his soul, he can’t help but feel Geldis is the outsider in this discussion. 

Geldis senses this too and adds “the rooms on the end are yours for the next two nights” before excusing himself. Teldryn nods at Geldis and turns his attention to Serana. 

“So boss, what’s the plan for the rest of the evening?”

  “Well the night is still young and the drinks are still flowing, I say we enjoy ourselves for the time being. The ruins will certainly be less than inviting.” 

“I’ll drink to that” The mercenary laughs, about to flag Geldis down again for another round. 

“Oh yes, I have something for you, a bit of a bonus for handling that bear attack outside of Windhelm.”

“Oh, do you now?” 

“Follow me” she says, making her way down the hallway to their rooms. Teldryn gets up from his seat, following close behind. 

Once inside he remarks “so what kind of bonus are we talking about here? You’ve already given me more than enough-”

Teldryn closes the door, turning back to look at her,  yet again she is staring at him. Teldryn notices her eyes are wide, her mouth agape -the hunger.

Serana closes the distance between them, all but pinning him against the door. 

“I’m hungry Teldryn.”

“Are you now?”

“I don’t think rats are going to suffice this time.” She moves her arms up to his neck, with one hand caressing his cheek, a finger trailing down his neck. She is taller than him, towering over him while the lights of the room illuminate her face. Serana is a vision, ancient and primordial, powerful. Teldryn felt his pants tighten and despite the fridge temperatures of her hand, he found himself becoming unbearably warm. 

“I know you’ve seen how I look at you, like I want to suck you dry, eat you alive”

Teldryn dawns a dark smile “Then devour me darling”.

Serana wastes no time sinking her fangs deep into his neck, the contact making him yelp out of a mix of pain and pleasure. She does not nip or suck the skin, but rather plunges into a large artery, quickly drawing blood. At her hunger being satisfied, she lets out a deep, guttural moan. At this sound Teldryn moans even louder. 

“Fuck”

Teldryn brings a hand to her head, holding her closer to his neck, lightly running his fingers through her hair as he deals with the intense sensation crossing through him. She is messy in her feeding, he feels blood begin to drip down his neck and under his armour before she growls and gestures for him to remove it. He does so without question, stripping it away until he’s bare from the waist up. She dives back in, this time leaving the open wound on his neck and licking the stray blood that’s begun to run down his clavicle. Upon returning to his neck proper, Serana sucks the sensitive skin around the wound, before closing it up with her spit. 

Teldryn looks up at her, eyes still wide and blood, his blood, dripping down her face. He grabs the front of her armour, pulling her lips into his. She meets his enthusiasm, running her tongue on his bottom lip to ask for entrance, which he grants more than willingly. Tasting his own blood is not something he ever expected to do but fuck if it didn’t make him feral. The burnt rust taste was rather pleasant and he felt pressure continuing to build in this cock, the organ desperate to be touched. As he lowers his hand to palm at himself through his far-too-tight pants, Serana breaks their kiss and replaces his hand with hers. Undoing the laces of his pants and freeing him, grasping around him firmly, she begins to move her hand up and down his shaft. 

“Fuck” Teldryn manages to say in between moans “maybe I shouldn’t be te one paying you.”

Serana chuckles darkly “No need for payment, just be good for me, you do that for me can’t you?”

All he does is moan obscenely, at this moment there’s nothing he wants more than to be good for her. A woman so dark and sublime, dangerous and strong, is currently jacking him off and he’ll do anything to keep it that way.  Her touch is electric and unlike anything he’s ever felt before. Teldryn was no stranger to lovers, but none had been as magnetic as her. He wondered now, drunk on her touch, intoxicated by the pleasure, if she feared the sun because she knew she was  far, far more radiant.  

It’s when she returns to his neck, the biting and moaning accompanying her touch, that he knows he’s at his end. 

“Can’t, can’t take much more”

Serana takes her lips off his neck for a brief second to utter “then come for me”. The filthiest moan leaves Teldryn’s lips as she pleasures him through his orgasm, her hand rasping tighter and he winds down from it. 

Breathing heavily, he mumbles “That, that was, you were-”

Serana kisses him to stop him mid-sentence. 

“Oh I’m not done with you yet.”

Now it is Teldryn’s eyes that are wide, before he narrows them and follows her as she leads him to the bed. Shoving him onto it, he takes a moment to remove the remainder of his clothing, tossing it to the side. It is not long before her’s joins his on the floor, her boots slumped against the end table. She stands over him, pale skin nearly glowing as he takes in her entirely. Serana climbs on top of him, towering over him once again and gives his cock a few strokes, not needing much to get him fully erect again. 

“What do you want?” she asks.

“You, oh fuck, you” he answers. 

Serana laughs again, sinking into him and moaning loudly as she is filled by him.She is cold but its not unpleasant, her cool body meeting his warmth creates a new sensation that leaves him lightheaded. Teldryn has abandoned any of the already little dignity he has left to cry out “By Azura, fuck”

The vampire begins to ride him, head thrown back and breasts moving in time with her movements. Teldryn reaches up to grasp them, pulling, gently, at her nipple. Upon hearing her low moan, he moves up closer to her, enough to put it in his mouth. His tongue laps at the soft skin surrounding it, before he plunges his teeth into her. This causes a growl to come from Serana and in a brief moment of clarity Teldryn thinks so she likes to be bitten back. He continues his ministrations on her breasts, biting and fondling as she grinds harder on him. Not wanting to be a selfish lover, he moves his hands down to her centre, giving her clit a few experimental touches in order to find out what she likes. Circling her clit with two fingers causes her to tense around him, obtaining a deep, feral sound from both of them. 

“Keep moving just like that, oh you're so good aren’t you”

This woman is going to take his soul right out of his body, her praise just spurs him on, continuing the same motion only harder. Serana’s legs begin to shake and her orgasm washes over her. Now it’s her turn for a filthy moan and Teldryn is sure Geldis and the other patrons have heard but right now he doesn’t care. He just made this vision of a woman finish and he is going to drink in the memory of her coming undone on top of him. 

“Oh so strong, you’re so strong and you make me feel so good” Teldryn hums happily at this, Serana comes down from her high, climbing off him to sit on the edge of the bed, grasping his cock. 

“Can you come for me again, you look so delicious when you do” 

Teldryn swallows, before answering “Yeah I can, I can for you, oh” she rides him, studying how his face contorts in pleasure as she moves up and down his shaft, the dark purple veins pulsating. He closes his eyes to just focus on the feeling, he doesn’t want it to end just yet and he fears if he looks at her too long that’ll be it. He feels her thumb on his slit, before a long, wet, lick forces his eyes open. Teldryn sees her licking along the underside of his cock, her eyes staring at him both asking for his pleasure and letting him know she’s in charge. He feels spent and Serana can tell by the way his legs have begun to shake. She sits back up, once again looking down on him. 

“Come”

And he does, thrusting into her hand and crying out a string of obscenities.

“Fuck, fuck, by the three! Oh you’re so gorgeous, fuck you make me, oh fuck”

As he comes down from his second orgasm of the night, Serana grabs a cloth from the end table and cleans up. He whines a bit at her cleaning him up, more of a reaction from being overstimulated.  After they are both clean, Serana lays down beside him, tracing his tattoos as he hums quietly, grateful for her gentle touch. 

“That was certainly a bonus” he speaks first. 

“I couldn’t help myself, from when I first saw you without your helmet I wanted to know what it would be like to skin my teeth into you. To know what you tasted like” Serana says, staring at him, although now her hunger is quenched, only lust remaining in them. 

“Maybe next time I can taste you instead” He meets her half-lidded gaze. 

Before she can respond, they hear a knock at the door. 

“She didn’t hurt you, did she Teldryn?” The slightly panicked voice of Geldis responses. 

“He’s fine Geldis” Serana laughs. 

“More than fine” Teldryn adds. 

“Definitely more than fine” he says, this time in a whisper only loud enough for them to hear.

[itissadbutitsmy-artblog]

This might sound a bit dumb, but I have an AU idea where Pepper Mint somehow manages to retain control of his Pepperminteppi form & escape with Cadebra. Cadebra: "So my friend is now an immortal Primordial being that can use massive amounts of black magic. Nice." The Cult has to deal with their God not wanting anything to them (& also being in Wizard Jail for, y'know, murdering children).

OK HIIIIIIIIIIIIII

absolute delight and excitement and beige comics under the cut let's go insane

first off this is such a fun idea but i kept getting stuck because how did they get out if he didnt get at least a little violent? they were in a Situation. thats why he started blasting in the first place in the movie! he kills everyone holding cadebra and then kills everyone else who is looking at the two of them funny, and he tells her to get out before he starts hurting her too. but anyways i digress. au! my polite little boy uou (transcipts in image descs to save on space. i realize i should be doing this in the first place to be more accessible but i dont do it. ay. someday ill get over that brain hurdle)

the profs are so. blank eyed about being Stopped. that’s their GOD. they want him to do the prophesied deeds! but he’s not. “aren’t you our god now” no I’m just that kid but I have this primordial god deity chilling giving me horrible advice now in my head. awful. thanks. i just learned real fast real hard how to love and trust myself

and then also i was like. well like. w. what is everyone gonna say. not nice things. thats a scary insect boy (WHY HE INSECT? IVE NEVER DRAWN PEPPERMINTEPPI PROPERLY BEFORE AND ITS KILLING ME WHY IS HE A BEETLLEEEEE).

and also also. also. ???? drinking the ichor SUCCESSFULLY, is quite literally what og peps just,, keeps saying will Recreate Him, OG Peps, so i guess he did that (?? HELLO) or something similar when he was little but as you can tell he did not uh. keep the scary beetle body. maybe he didnt have a bestie to protect

anyways. so. pep likes being big. :)

also have this

poor pep trying to mediate between the gay idiot he used to be in his head (not the gay idiot he still is) and the giant scary monster from the before-nothingtimes he just willingly added to the vr chat

and his poor fuckin teachers

(ron james is too old and anxious for this shit and life giving magus has a thing about not letting people feel sad :( hes an Emotions Wizard being sad makes him do Evil Magic did you watch the episode Little Dude? gotta keep his students feeling loved and safe or else. especially when they’re um. imbued with massive amounts of dark magic. sorry I like the them)

i also have this from discord

I don’t know how to end this post this au is fun. none of the kids and few of the adults know the significance of this guy. pep is like hnnnnn just wanna be a normal kid but also scarypowerfulbig. enough. to protect. blaines over here like we are not letting him in the school like that are we and weaponhead is like well. the important thing is we aren’t letting the murderers back in. Blaine.

Maybe larry (cousin got fucking murdered by the teachers) and pep (reached level 100,000 just by drinking juice and now kinda scares everyone) drop out together. just chill quiet together. what do wizards even DOOOOOO, get COFFEE??? make up entirely new schools of magic kinda like those jerky secret societies but less jerky (ron James s6e13 “thanks for the crabapples giussepe”)????? just sit around and wait for Blaine (RULES GUY) and Deb (needs structure in her life and thinks school is fun) to get out of class so they can go do things?

also also I was gonna be Sad tm that you said pep was immortal now, but I insist on believing that wizards have long lifespans. so it’s not like Deb and blaine and larry just fucking DIE ten seconds into pep’s infinite life. they’re there. for a while. (:

[hivemire]

bane of wives

[noblebs]

one to five tag

Rules: Follow the prompts, change one if you like, and tell the lovely world of writeblr a little something about your WIP! Answers to the prompts can be in the form of quotes or anything you’d like!

another tag from the delightful @fortunatetragedy :)

One word to describe your WIP:

Gooey

Two lines that are your favorite:

(I'm not at my desktop atm, so all I have in front of me is chapters 7 and 8)

They cut a switchback approach down the slope to the outer reaches of the grove. Being this close to it feels like cupping his own heart in his hands to watch it beat; in someone else's company, the feeling is closer to offering his heart out on a platter.

Comprehension creeps in slowly, reluctantly, as he stares at the thing's forelimb connected to the meat of his thigh, in one side and back out to pin him to the ground, plumes of blood clouding the twinkly water beneath its skin.

Three songs from your WIP playlist:

"Desire" by Meg Myers

"Monsters" by Charming Disaster

"Kiss Me You Animal" by Burn the Ballroom

Four feelings from your characters:

Loneliness

Hunger/lust (awful lot of overlap here so it counts as one)

Desperation

Pain lmao

Five tropes featured:

(I'm not terribly familiar with the tropes library, so I had to figure it out as I went lol)

Consuming Passion/Literal Maneater

Womb Horror

Body/Transformation Horror

Sex for Solace

Primordial Chaos

trying to catch up on a lot of my notes today, so Im probably going to leave all of these as OPEN TAGS.

[that-foul-legacy-lover]

original King Dragon Sovereign!reader [like nibelung] who’s powers were taken by the Primordial One then cast and trapped into/in the abyss when he(they?) couldn’t kill KDS!Reader

(humanoid w/prominent dragon features please~)

^ KDS!Reader meeting FL in the abyss (maybe on an exploration for the Fatui, maybe when Childe originally fell in, maybe they knew eachother before Childe! the choice of lore is yours!)

mainly inspired by a plot idea that’s been eating at my brain for the last month or so~ feel free to take the idea in whatever direction you please!

anon, my dear, i won't lie to you. for a split second i actually, genuinely thought that "Nibelung" was a really janky spelling of Neuvillette i'm so sorry

it's cold and dark and claustrophobic in the Abyss, and you hate it. hate it and everything around you, especially that horrible sneering god and the rest of your kind. what once was a proud race of dragons now reduced to just a few including yourself, and yet they still had not a single thought towards the rest of the world. admittedly, you can't even say that the Abyss is a particularly bad place to be right now, with the land above equally as devastated. it's still awful, and you despise the whispers that crawl up your spine and the craggy vines that threaten to entangle you, but there's some semblance of life in the air engulfing your torn wings and battered scales. the ancient blood running through your veins keeps the worst of the Abyss at bay, and you can do nothing but sit and slowly pick at your injuries, everything aching in this diminished form

there's something watching you. something quiet and hidden in the shadows. your ears flick, a soft growl slipping from your throat, and the presence flinches in the dark. slow footsteps tentatively draw near, a crimson mask following suit as an Abyssal monster emerges from the gloom, tilting its head slightly. immediately you hiss, baring your teeth and claws. it jumps back with a yelp, whining pitifully as the beast slowly lowers itself to the ground, trying to seem unintimidating. you growl again as it inches closer, but the sound is quiet and pained. the creature finally sits at your feet, crouching low and looking up at you quietly before reaching out and gingerly placing something on your knee- a length of sturdy plant fiber. it sits back on its haunches again, watching you intently with a single crystalline eye until you struggle and wrap it around the worst gashes on your body

it purrs, and for a moment you almost purr too

he calls himself Foul Legacy, you find after deciphering his rumbling, chirping language, and he's a scion of the Abyss just as you are of the world above. Foul Legacy follows you determinedly no matter how many times you tell him to leave, whimpering and fussing over your wounds and trying to protect you while your power is depleted... or chasing your tail around as it whips back and forth, tapping his talons gently against your scales and fawning over your slit pupils and pointed ears. gradually he leads you up, pushing you forward towards that distant drop of sunlight and sleeping curled around you during your exhaustion, his glimmering wings draped over yours. you need the open sky, and he's always wanted to see the real stars, his dream now including you in his company whenever he imagines it. so he takes you there, guiding you out of the darkness and back to where you belong

you still hate the Abyss. but perhaps you don't hate everything in it, anymore

[rapidmorph3]

I've had Monster Hunter Stories on the brain... and then I was thinking about your art... You think there'd ever be a universe where Quillan and Galleus retire/settle down and they get a monster farm going? Maybe they rescue monster eggs from predators... just a thought that made me happy recently, don't mind me.

AW 😭😭That's so sweet firstly very flattered you think of my art and them outside of seeing them on the dash hahaha I melted 🥹

I don't know a lot about Stories, I'm still only partly through my first play of Stories 2, but definitely for a Rider AU that'd be such a sweet perfect ending for them. That's such a cute idea, I've thought about them retiring on a farm a lot myself.

I gotta finish Stories 2 and come back to this!

Bit of a tangent; I'm not sure about the continuity between the stories and main games, but I've always thought if riders existed in the same universe it'd be a long hard process for them to learn to trust monsters the way riders do, with Galleus's whole backstory regarding the previous calamity + him still not trusting Primordial after the last urgent quest. For Quillan it might be a very slightly easier though.

[shadypandora]

Obsessed right now with a dnd OC I came up with literally 3 days ago who I won't get to play for 1-2 years at least.

She's a water genasi and a lot of her stuff is based on my friend's homebrew world but to lightly sum up the important bits, basically the god of creation and individuality got into a fight with the physical manifestation of the embodiment of violence, and the god of creation and individuality died in the ocean kinda like mostly dead at least (and a bunch of primordial monsters have been feasting on its flesh and bones and gaining power but that's neither here nor there)

Anyways that was a few hundred years ago and the embodiment of violence finally died (kinda) and people were able to like, have towns and cities and shit that weren't constantly being destroyed.

Anyways this is a long way of saying that my water genasi girl is just a normal sleeby college girl who is a monk. But she's got this really great fun and normal thing going where when she falls asleep or gets close to being asleep she has memories of the moment that the embodiment of violence killed the god of creation and turns out dreams are like small little echoes of powerful magics. And two extremely powerful gods clashing is pretty fucking magic.

So even though her dreams contain just a tiny fraction of that it's still an awful lot of power. So she keeps herself as tired as physically possible (she brews her own energy drinks to help) and then when combat starts she kinda just positions herself or starts an attack and then lets herself fall asleep for just a second to channel that power.

We're using the drunken master monk as the base because it's the same kind of vibes of passing of advanced and precise movement movement as stumbling around but instead of drunk she is just so so eeby.

And she's going to be at the kinda college town school thing studying lost history through the method of reliving the powerful moments of those times as dreams and it's just so good I love her so much. She's. So sleepy.

But God. This character is for at the soonest the next arc... And we've like... Just scratched the surface of our current arc. But I am. Obsessed with her.

[savage-rhi]

Mending Shadows // Chapter 9

Summary:

Y/N was a simple Scavenger of Lucis, until meeting a deadly blow at the hands of an infected creature. At the crossroads of death, they are found by Niflheim’s cryptic Chancellor with his own agenda. Now bonded to Ardyn Izunia, and tossed into the world of Niflheim, Y/N struggles to cope with their new life as an Imperial Icon all the while battling their feelings toward their fate and that of Ardyn’s.

Click here to read on AO3

Ardyn hissed while feeling another needle enter his veins, and he closed his eyes. The dull sting radiated under his skin much like his memories. In quick flashes, he saw himself at the MedZin lab, and how he had been too slow to counter strike the scientist who jabbed him with the unknown substance that was wrecking havoc on his body in the present. He still couldn’t believe he had made much such a grave miscalculation, not anticipating that the scientists would be just as formidable as regular kingsguard. 

Every so often, Y/N’s face came to him. Ardyn could still feel how their fingers trembled against the stubble on his cheeks, before sickle claws drew blood from his flesh. Awe and dare say guilt combed over each and every nerve inside of him. He wanted nothing more than to reach a hand toward Y/N, and stop them from glitching in and out of time--to stop them from lingering between monster and human--but his mind wouldn’t allow him any peace there. Then all he saw was blood and darkness. 

The metallic scent invaded his nostrils, and for a moment, Ardyn feared he was no longer in Verstael’s lab, but was back at Outpost 98. It was only when he suddenly found himself face to face with Ifrit, did Ardyn feel a wave of confusion shut down all other thoughts. There was nothing but a void and the light of Ifrit’s fire that penetrated the plane of existence his consciousness fell into. 

You… Ardyn thought aloud in his head while staring at the primordial deity of fire. He swallowed as the horned god stared him down like an insect. 

You haven’t shown yourself since the day we ransacked Insomnia…

Ardyn swallowed. The sullen red eyes of the fire god pierced through the bravado Ardyn had mentally prepared himself with prior to entering Verstael’s lab. Frozen in time, Ardyn watched as Ifrit smirked and rushed forward. A hand engulfed in flames struck Ardyn in the chest. He yelled at the intrusion, and the upper half of his body jerked forward as he began to feel his very skin melt off his bones. 

“Easy, Izunia!” Verstael’s raspy voice commanded, bringing Ardyn back into the present as he screamed aloud. Verstael used his free hand that wasn’t upon the syringe to push down on Ardyn’s left shoulder, keeping him from lurching out of the seat. “Whatever danger your body perceives, you are safe my friend.” 

While Ardyn panted heavily, Verstael observed with caution as he capped the first syringe full of blood, and prepared to apply another needle and tube to Ardyn’s right arm. He placed the fresh tube of blood on a small platter by the chair Ardyn was sitting in, and breathed out. 

“Where did your mind go?” 

Ardyn blinked several times. There was a brief ache in his pupils before he grew accustomed to the dull illumination of the lights overhead. He almost didn’t register Verstael’s question. 

“It’s nothing to fret about, I assure you,” Ardyn tiredly whispered. “I was simply reminiscing of your old examinations of me. It seems your not-so-gentle hand triggered my body into a panic.” 

“How sentimental of you,” Verstael scoffed. He knew Ardyn was lying to him, but there was no use in trying to pry. Not when he himself didn’t have the energy to pick apart the Adagium's brain. 

“What did you give me prior to taking my blood?” 

“Only a small dose of a muscle relaxer per protocol,” Verstael furrowed his brows. He let go of Ardyn’s shoulder he had been grasping onto to keep him stable. “I’ve never seen you have an adverse reaction. I doubt it was the medicine that had you not feeling like yourself.”

“It’s as I said, post traumatic stress and all the dreary bits that entails.” 

“You certainly hold a grudge, I will give you that.” Verstael darkly mused. While he wasn’t too keen on the experiments he had put Ardyn through decades ago, Verstael felt justified in his actions. For the sake of knowledge and science, putting the Adagium through some mortal misery was a worthy endeavor. Even if the blasted creature continued to hold it over his head from time to time. 

“Tell me again, what your primary symptoms are.” 

Ardyn wetted his dry lips. “Irregular breathing, muscle aches near the injection site, longer regeneration, dulled senses, and capped power. Do you want me to give you Aldercapt’s grocery list while I am at it?” 

Verstael grimaced and rolled his eyes. “Your sarcasm is not needed, my dear friend.” 

Ardyn winced as Verstael finished taking the other sample. He narrowed his eyes at the old man, watching Verstael make his observations at the tube filled with dark blood. 

“Unless your eyes have a power in the realm of microscopics, I don’t believe you leering at my blood like a vampire is going to find us answers.” Ardyn bitterly said while he rubbed his arm, trying to take the sting off. The draw site wound stopped bleeding, and Ardyn rolled down his sleeves to cover up. 

Verstael let out a laugh while his voice rumbled. “I have long forgotten how much you despise needles! You can relax now. I shouldn’t need anymore than two vials of your blood to run some tests.” 

Ardyn suppressed a growl that wanted to conjure up from his throat at the first remark. He briefly remembered the months that followed after Verstael had freed him from Angelgard: how he had been poked and prodded at like an animal, just to see how far he would go to survive certain conditions. As if being imprisoned for 2,000 years wasn’t enough… he thought to himself. Growing too irate for his own good, Ardyn neutralized his features. 

“Pray tell how long we can anticipate the wait?” 

“These things take time as you know from experience,” Verstael sighed. Now that the fun aspect of the process was complete, he braced himself for the more serious conversation at hand. “We have much to go over since you’ve returned home.” 

After putting the vial down on the tray next to the other blood filled tube, Verstael huffed while he pulled up a chair and sat across from Ardyn. A bottle of wine sat on a small table between the men along with two glasses. He raised a brow, watching Ardyn immediately grab the container and ripped the cork off with his bare teeth, surprised he didn’t chip a tooth in the process. 

“I see that you are eager to roll back into old habits,” Verstael chuckled. “Being in Lucis after all these years must’ve done a number on you in more ways than one.” 

“You don’t know the half of it,” Ardyn huffed, smirking while he poured himself a full glass and then merely gave Verstael’s cup half of that. His gold eyes peered up at Verstael with a mischievous glint. “Consider this payback for the blood work.” 

“I wouldn’t expect anything less from a man consumed by vengeance.” Verstael smiled. He grabbed his wine glass, and took a cautious sip before consuming more. Ardyn more or less mirrored his motions, although he downed his whole glass and quickly poured himself another. 

“So, how much did MedZin come to find regarding our affairs?” Verstael swished the glass around with his hand, observing the dark color of the wine before he stared at Ardyn. 

Ardyn sighed. He leaned further back into his seat, letting his legs relax while the alcohol numbed his nerves. He tilted his head up, getting comfortable while examining Verstael’s office. The space was large enough to house an entire family. The imperial aesthetics accompanied by ancient relics and scattered paintings would’ve made for a welcoming environment akin to a museum. However, with only two people present, it was rather dull. 

“MedZin was narrowing down their list of suspects of the Adagium’s identity,” Ardyn began. His voice was weary as he felt the weight of all his travels sink in. “My name showed up in their database, but it was so far down that I could easily be written off compared to other suspects. Their spies that ransacked our laboratory months ago had a firm hold on our priority projects. Namely daemonic applications, the artificial crystal we created, and of course the extraction device plans for the Lucian crystal itself. I can confidently say, that has all been obliterated. No stone was left unturned." 

“Good, good,” Verstael let out a sigh of relief he had been holding back for weeks. He nodded repeatedly before taking another sip of his wine. “Outpost 98 has given us so much strife over the years, that I thought we’d never have the opportunity to squish them like the insects they are. I must say I’m almost jealous I didn’t get to participate.” 

“You didn’t miss out on much. For the record, an old one such as you shouldn’t overextend himself, nor overstay welcome.” Ardyn chuckled darkly. He propped his elbow on the armrest of the chair he was sitting in, and his head rested against his palm. 

Verstael laughed. “Speak for yourself, and be grateful the Gods didn’t bestow upon you a body that matches your age.” 

“They very well can’t let their little prophecy play out if I'm emaciated like a mummified skeleton.” Ardyn scoffed in jest. 

“Ah, if only,” Verstael chortled. He furrowed his brows, feeling his demeanor shift as he lingered on the facts of his and Ardyn’s respective situation. 

“Now that MedZin no longer has a hold of our research, King Regis's feeble attempts to defeat our magitek army are squandered, along with the ploy to unmask you. We can once again focus on our long term goals: you fulfilling your destiny, and I becoming the ruler of Niflheim.” 

Ardyn felt the wine wanting to come back up his throat. He wasn’t morally superior, but Ardyn took pride in having tact unlike his counterpart. He reminded himself that Verstael was an end to justify the means, and one day, much like the King of Light, Ardyn too would snuff the old man out. One day… Ardyn repeated to himself. He needed to continue playing the game, and use the chess pieces he had painstakingly aligned after all these years. 

“I wouldn’t celebrate an early victory as of yet,” Ardyn watched Verstael’s ego take a few steps back at the proclamation. The old man stared at him with puzzlement. “There was a tracking device on my car. I found it after I settled the situation at the Cape. While I haven’t had any informants tell me of suspicion, we may be dealing with another round of spies coming our way.” 

“Why didn’t you tell me this right after discovery?!” 

“Because I was preoccupied with getting back home in one piece.” Ardyn shrugged as if he couldn't be bothered. 

“Blast it!” Verstael made a fist, slamming his free hand not holding the wine glass into the side of his chair. He felt blood rush to his face. “Your little Lucian friend wouldn’t have anything to do with this development, now would they?” 

“A beg of your pardon?” Ardyn asked with bewilderment. He leaned back up in the chair and put his glass down on the table, having lost his thirst for wine for the time being. 

“Don’t be daft, Izunia.” Verstael sternly replied. “We are fighting a war against Lucians, and you are safekeeping an enemy. One that MedZin planned to slaughter for research as you eloquently said before I took your samples. Medzin could've seen you coming from a mile away, and conveniently planted them into your peripheral. I can easily foresee this being an inside job!" 

“Y/N has nothing to do with the mishaps that have occurred under my watch. If you recall, I chose them at random to assist me with MedZin’s sabotage. You are giving our adversaries too much credit for being smart.” 

“So you’re on a first name basis now with the thing? How quaint.”  

“Don’t start.” Ardyn callously replied. 

“I’m merely making a statement based on observation,” Verstael said as a matter of fact. 

“Well then you must be blind. There is nothing to gain from accusing my guest. If they were in league with our enemy, I wouldn’t go through the trouble to bring them here to our doorstep.” 

Verstael narrowed his eyes, noting the glimmer of light in Ardyn’s gaze that normally was never present. “You’re hiding something from me, I can feel it.”

“What do you believe I am keeping from you?” Ardyn countered. 

“You were supposed to kill the poor soul you chose after they led you to Outpost 98. You didn't follow through. Based on that, I can deduce this… person, is important to you, but the why though, that is what bothers me. And don’t even think about resorting to your little idea on the airship, using them for social gain because of the empire’s founding day approaching. I know you well.”  

The energy in the room became stifled in a matter of seconds as two powerful men stared one another down. Ardyn’s right hand balled up into a fist, and his thumb rubbed over his flesh tenderly. He looked at Verstael’s veiny left hand, and watched wrinkled fingers flex against the arm of his chair. They were both at an impasse of sorts, and something had to give. Ardyn carefully weighed out his options before he decided to play a risky hand.

“If you must know,” Ardyn sighed. “I performed a scourge bond with them.” 

Verstael’s eyes widened, and his breath hitched in the back of his throat. “You did what?!” 

“I had no choice!” Ardyn raised his voice. “After my power had been capped by MedZin, I performed the bond. Y/N can provide me with a plentiful tap of scourge on hand while we determine how my abilities are being repressed." 

“I know you were in dire circumstances, but did you really--”

“Do you think I so easily chose this course of action?” Ardyn harshly whispered. He gave himself a mental pat on the back for his desperate little performance, finding it hard not to crack a smile while watching Verstael begin to settle down. Concern replaced the cold suspicion the old man held moments ago. 

“If I didn’t make the call, I wouldn’t be having this conversation with you. I was nearly slaughtered at Outpost 98. With my healing factor diminished, who knows how long it would take for me to regenerate if I were to suddenly be killed. Perhaps decades. I couldn’t risk that. Not when we are so close to accomplishing our respective goals. This is why I am adamant on having Y/N at my side. If I find myself in a predicament, I can siphon their life force to save mine."  

“Gods above,” Verstael breathed. He shook his head while his left hand stroked through his beard in contemplation. “So it’s only been a short time since you’ve been bonded?” 

“Correct,” Ardyn lied. 

“Have you experienced a bleed through?” 

“Nothing of the sort,” Ardyn shook his head. He shuddered while thinking back to the first time he was forced to undergo a bond at Verstael’s command. Scourge bonding was a harrowing ordeal, much more than he had confided to Y/N. “I refuse to undergo the ferocity of that experiment all over again.” 

Verstael sighed. “We both know that is false. If I needed you to perform such a task to help us both maintain power, you’d do it without a second thought. That being said, even with your justifications, I am failing to see why you’d put yourself through something you despised so much.” 

“It’s as I said, there are gambles I don't want to take that makes undergoing this process easier for me to accept." Ardyn made it clear in tone he was becoming irritable with having to repeat himself.

While Verstael pondered in silence, a thought came to Ardyn that had him smirk. “I’m failing to see why you are dreading on my behalf.” 

Verstael made a face and huffed in defense. “Not that I am a sentimental sort of man, but we are business partners at the end of the day. It would be inhumane of me to not share some remorse toward your little fiasco. Just--"

“I’m listening?” Ardyn quipped. 

“Report any changes of symptoms is all I ask of you,” Verstael’s tone softened before he bitterly breathed. “And if you get worse, you must cull the Lucian. Sever the bond before it breaks you. The last thing either of us need, is you having an existential crisis at the height of our climb.”

For a split second, Ardyn wasn’t hearing the stern words of an old scientist, but a man who had so much ambition, that he was scared to lose what enabled his pursuits. While he knew Verstael wasn’t someone of warmth, there was a part of Ardyn that was thankful for the worry. He decided to take advantage of the vulnerability Verstael displayed, and redirect the conversation so as to not reveal anything further. 

“Speaking of culling a Lucian,” Ardyn chuckled darkly. “I never got to divulge my idea to you regarding how the empire can use my dear bonded.” 

“There is just one trivial thing I need to address before I fire off,” Ardyn mused. 

As quickly as Verstael’s humanity peered out out of the shadows, it relinquished itself back to the realm of his psyche while a sinful intrigue lurked in every crevice of his wrinkled face. He gestured with his right hand.

“You’ve had my interest piqued since you brought it up aboard the airship. Lay upon me your concept." 

“And that is?” 

Ardyn gestured to his empty wine glass “We’re going to need more alcohol for this conversation.” 

Verstael laughed so hard, Ardyn was surprised the man didn’t wet himself. 

“I hate to admit it, but I have so missed our talks these past several weeks!” Verstael said in between fits. “I’ll order another vintage, and you and I shall plot on how we are going to impress the Tenebrae Ambassadors.” 

Long into the discussion, Ardyn laid out his ideas, with Verstael offering tactful approaches on how they best broach things with Aldercapt and the imperial council. For the rest of the night, Ardyn made sure the first strings to his intricate web had been spun and Y/N’s fate in the country was sealed. It was one less thing he had to worry about. 

It was only after Verstael and he hashed out the details, did Ardyn feel the weight of his vision with Ifrit. He found himself alone in the lab after Verstael took to his quarters to sleep. His amber eyes glanced at the five empty wine bottles near him while gingerly taking a sip from the sixth bottle in his hand. He was lazily situated on a couch, sitting across from a painting of the gods. Verstael had procured it from a collector in Tenebrae some odd years back.  A chill went down Ardyn's spine, and he could’ve sworn Ifrit was behind him. The sensation was enough to warrant Ardyn to glance to the side, and see if the god of fire was present. When that turned out to be false, he sent daggers to the entire Hexatheon within the painting. 

“Whatever it is you lot have in store for me, know that I’ll tear you all down.” Ardyn said aloud, mostly to reassure himself. He couldn't help but wonder if perhaps he should've been truthful with Verstael regarding the vision of Ifrit. Alas, he knew better. Confiding in such a man was dangerous, especially when Ardyn understood that they both saw each other as a means to an end. No, he had to do this on his lonesome, and trust that the blood tests would yield fruit to helping him figure out how to solve this problem on his own.  

Ardyn nearly choked on the wine when he felt a throbbing pain shoot up his neck. He went from slouching on the couch to rising up like a soldier being summoned for boot camp. He coughed a few times, letting out a dry hiss when his nerves lit up again and again. Through the darkness, Ardyn could feel Y/N’s immune system desperately trying to attack the scourge from proceeding further in the hijacking of it’s host. Given the distance between them, there was little Ardyn could do to make Y/N’s woes go away. Nevertheless, he put his intentions out through the hive to get the scourge to take it easy on himself. Little by little, the pain began to subside. 

While it wasn’t a true bleed through, Ardyn knew it would only be a matter of time before such an event would transpire. A warm feeling grew in his chest while he lingered on Y/N, and daresay guilt. His brain nearly had a short circuit. 

Guilt…? Ardyn thought to himself. He had nothing to apologize for. Every action he committed with and against Y/N was in both their best interests, yet the more Ardyn lingered upon it, the more his heart felt like it was trapped in a vice. A brief flash of Aera's smile pulled him out of contemplation, and he looked disgusted with himself. 

The feelings bothered Ardyn a great deal while he glanced at his phone nearby and debated about calling for a wellness check on Y/N. He decided against it, and looked elsewhere, not before texts began to blow up the screen. 

“What unfortunate timing,” Ardyn bemused as he sighed and reached for the device. He scrolled through, reading order after order that Aldercapt’s secretaries had for him. At the rate things were looking, Ardyn knew he wasn’t going to have time to see Y/N for the next few days. Not with him running around bringing order to chaos. Bitterly he began to dial the main line for the palace residency. When it went to voice mail, he growled under his breath. 

“This is Chancellor Izunia. I will be unavailable to tend to my guest in the foreseeable future. They are to be kept within my residence until I return. I respectfully request that up to three Imperial Help be assigned to them until further notice. The help are to stay put, and heed to my guests requirements. I expect updates hourly through the network. If something transpires in my absence, please call me. I will be in touch with more detail.” 

Ardyn hung up, and he downed the rest of the wine within a few chugs and rose to his feet. 

“Looks like we’re not going to get any rest,” Ardyn said to himself, smiling in defeat. Not that sleep mattered anyway, not to an immortal, but he did find himself missing it back at Lucis. “Might as well tend to the menial tasks first before dawn.” 

Putting his best foot forward, Ardyn made his way out of Verstael’s lab and put on his mask as Chancellor of Niflheim. 

[str8sub4domdudez]

Rehabilitation Excerpt: Jason Todd vs Astrophysics

____________________

"You've got to be fifteen feet tall," Jason says in awe. "Who are you?" Jason thinks he knows, but for many reasons, he doesn't want to assume.

"I'm your father, the Titan Átlas. And right now I'm about six meters tall. Like I said, humiliating."

"You're amazing," Jason says, still in awe. "You're really adopting me? Not that I'm a kid."

Jason's insistence of maturity is a counter to how he feels at the moment – small, but safe with his father.

Átlas scoffs. "I'm much older than the Earth. You're pretty young, even by modern human standards. And I'm not 'adopting' you. I'm claiming you as my son. There's a big difference. You're your own man, and I respect that."

"In the legends, you hold up the Earth," Jason says as he stares at his new Dad's beautiful masculine features. "If you're here, who's holding the Earth up? Hercules?"

Átlas thinks for a moment. "What do you know about astrophysics?"

Jason looks uncomfortable and a little embarrassed. "Not a lot," he says, "but I know the bare basics like orbits and stuff."

Átlas sighs. "Your education system is horrendous. By the time Gargareans are twelve, they know advanced science and mathematics, have Olympic-level athleticism and speak, read and write hundreds of languages. Anyways, solar systems generally orbit their star or stars in a pattern called an ecliptic discus. It's like a gravitational platter that the planets sit on, but it has to do with how solar systems are formed on a protoplanetary discus from the spinning of the clouds from which the solar system is created.

"Gods, Celestials and Titans, along with other cosmic entities, are conceptual, primal or primordial forces of psychology, civilization or nature who can manifest ourselves via proxy. I'm the ecliptic discus of our solar system and this body is an avatar, a corporeal representation of myself created by my consciousness in order to interact with creatures on this incredibly miniscule planet. I have a soft spot for Terran life, so my avatar spends a lot of time here on Thalarion."

"Holy fuck…" Jason says as he tries to wrap his head around this new information. Suddenly, religion in general makes more sense to him even if the institutionalization of it gives him the creeps.

Átlas laughs gently. "Not yet, Son. We'll have a holy fuck much later. You're traumatized and going through a lot right now. I'm not a monster. I love you, Jason."

_____________________

Rehabilitation

https://archiveofourown.org/works/45611230/chapters/114771091