#also the memory thing is FASCINATING i need to find studies on this

[floristmatt]

chris: I'm gonna be honest I almost started by saying it was me, so I don't know who it was

[howtofightwrite]

Was reading through your torture tag and noticed a lot of stuff that was being said seemed to contradict things that were said on the scripttorture blog... do you have any suggestions on how to clear things up? Im not sure which things to trust

And you're asking us, because they've posted once in the last two years?

I'll admit, I have a fairly low opinion of them, and that's not directly their fault. For years, one of their fans, would regularly send some pretty incendiary asks our way. In fact, some of the less hostile ones were answered, and may be the posts you were looking at. Understandably, the ones simply accusing us of being torture apologists, demanding we redirect all our asks to their blog, or insisted that we should sit down and shut up, did not make the cut. With that in mind, please understand, I'm not going to go digging through their blog to refresh my memory, so some of this might be slightly skewed by the aforementioned deranged fan.

Look for the blog that does not constantly contradict or misrepresent their authoritative sources. Which is to say, if you actually pay attention to Shane O'Mara's work, it's basically what we've been saying all along.

If you're unfamiliar, O'Mara is a Neurologist who was (last I time I checked) working at Trinity College Dublin. He published a, frankly fascinating piece, called, Why Torture Doesn't Work, in which, he set about trying to answer why torture is an ineffective tool for intelligence gathering. O'Mara also had the misfortune of being the only expert who said anything close to the perspective Scripttorture wanted on torture.

An open secret about torture is that it is completely worthless for getting accurate information. This has been widely understood for centuries, if not millennia. O'Mara's question was, “why?”

It turns out, that the neurochemical trauma associated with torture, seriously interferes with your ability to accurately access information. For example: If you're being tortured, you can't tell your torturer where you planted the ticking bomb, because your brain literally can't access those memories.

Torture is evil. Yeah. No shit.

And, this is where ScriptTorture stops. “Torture is bad,” and Jack Bauer is an incredibly unrealistic fantasy, end of story.

Except, this is not the end of this.

Now, generally speaking, I don't blame anyone who wants to get off the ride here. Torture is an unpleasant subject, and wanting to stop at, “oh, it's evil,” is entirely reasonable... unless you want to write on the subject, or if you do political analysis and need to understand why people break out the torture implements.

More than that, this is where my academic background in political science actually comes into play. I'm not saying this as an Eagle Scout who had a couple overly enthusiastic hand to hand instructors when I was a kid. This is (part of) what I studied in college, and I have kept an eye on it since then.

If torture didn't work, you wouldn't see state-sponsored torture pop up repeatedly throughout history. It would not be one of the favorite tools of dictators and despots. However, because it does, and it is, simply saying, “it doesn't work,” isn't instructive or meaningful because it's clearly untrue. Someone is finding value in this, so it becomes important to understand what they are doing, and why they are doing it.

When you torture someone, the information they provide is basically madlibs of whatever leaked through their brain. They want the pain and stress to stop, and they'll say anything they can to make that happen. That often takes the form of what they think their torturer wants to hear. O'Mara's research does explain why they don't simply cough up the truth.

So, why do it?

Torture is a very labor intensive process. You (as an individual) can't, realistically, torture multiple victims at a time, and it is a very drawn out process. Some elements can be automated, your torturer doesn't need to be present at every moment, but they're going to spend hours, if not days, working on one victim. Worse, this is actually a technical profession. It's not like you can just pull in anyone off the street and get the results you want. (Though, technically, this doesn't seem to be as true, however, amateurs do have a shocking capacity to screw up torture. So, the point remains valid.)

The value of torture has almost nothing to do with the victim. It's about the message it sends to everyone else.

Torture is about mass coercion of the population. When you are the state (meaning, the government), and you torture someone, you are telling your citizens that you are willing to do the same to them, if they oppose you.

State-sponsored torture is specifically a tool to suppress political engagement. It is, quite literally, state-sponsored, domestic terrorism.

This even holds true in cases where the state employs torture to extract confessions from criminal suspects. The message sent into the general population is that dissent of any kind will not be tolerated, and that the state has the willingness and power to turn these tools on you if you draw their ire.

I get that this is outside of ScriptTorture's area of expertise, and in fairness, I probably would not have studied this with any intensity, if I hadn't taken multiple classes on revolutionary theory.

Torture from private organizations (which is to say, organized crime, and religious institutions, though cults and some other groups might fit this description as well), follows roughly similar patterns. These tend to do the same things, discouraging dissent, and establishing the organization as having power over the population (or community.) (The technical term would be to “establish capacity.” Which is to say, the organization's capacity to enforce its will. The same term applies to states, though in those cases, the state's capacity is often overestimated by its population. It's only when it starts to falter, for example through military defeats or serious civil unrest, that they really need the capacity boosting part of this equation.)

Zealotry or stupidity can create situations where you have a torturer (or, more likely, someone in a position of power ordering the torture) who believes that it is effectively compelling the truth from the victim. This (or amateurs) can easily lead into a distinct problem, which is that all of this has diminishing returns. Torture one person, and you send a loud, clear message. Torture ten, and all you've added to it is that you're willing to keep going. However, as you start stacking up the victims, you do start sending a new message to your enemies, that being, you're going to get to them sooner or later so it's in their best interest to respond now, mobilize and retaliate proactively, before you get to them. This means that a state which leans heavily on torture can easily instigate the civil unrest that exposes their limited capacity leading to a political death spiral. Alternately, if the state does have the capacity to put down the resulting unrest, it further reinforces their position (which does happen with depressing frequency in the real world.)

You're also going to create new enemies in the friends, family, and loved ones, of the people you tortured. This means that any organization that relies on extensive use of torture will, eventually, start tying a noose around its own neck. (Granted, there are a lot of social dynamics that I'm skimming over here, so it's not exactly as simple as “if the state tortures lots of people, it will result in increasing unrest.”)

If you want a partial citation for the above, you can (ironically) find it in a podcast interview with Shane O'Mara, when he explained why torture has been employed repeatedly through history. (Specifically I think it was episode 15 of Your Welcome, by Michael Malice. Though, I'm not 100% sure off hand.) Though that doesn't cover some of the more in depth elements I just discussed. Some of this is coming from a textbook on revolutionary theory I can't locate (it disappeared in a move a few years back.) Though that was more interested in the general structure of a state destabilizing into internecine conflict. Ironically, my preferred citation on torture, Fear up Harsh by Tony Lagouranis is mostly uninformative in this case, because his experiences were on the ground, rather than from a structural understanding of what his job was really doing. However, he does illustrate my comment about amateurs making even more of a mess, both through personal experiences with a few, and also through the eventual trajectory of the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

But of course, torture is evil... again, no shit. Was that really a question? And, I'm apparently a torture apologist for having a structural understanding of why evil people do evil things. Cool. Evil people don't do evil things because they're evil, they do them because they gain some tangible benefit from those acts, and they do not care about the consequences to anyone else. If you ask someone, “why do people do this?” and their answer is, “it's simple; they're evil,” that person is lying. They may be lying to themselves, but they are lying to you.

Why do people use torture? It's a lot more complicated, and unpleasant, than you'd expect at a simple overview.

-Starke

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[cyanocoraxx]

i know millipedes have become the more "socially acceptable" myriapod but the pitting of millipedes against centipedes i see all the time is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. ueughhgh. i adore millipedes, i think they're neat little guys, but millipedes are hardly comparable to centipedes and it's unfair to lump them together as the "good animal" vs the "evil animal." i see countless comments online saying how ugly, disgusting, creepy, and evil centipedes are.

so, centipede propaganda:

anecdotal evidence suggests they have good memory capacity, able to remember escape routes and the location of prey. cool

they can learn to tolerate handling by humans and some appear to enjoy being petted by humans. obviously we can't ask them if they like it but if a lightning-fast worm made of knives doesn't like something it's going to tell you. a centipede just won't allow itself to be in a situation it doesn't want to be in. but obvs disclaimer: don't handle a centipede without experience and handle at your own risk. research bite reports. etc. be sensible, bites can be serious

each pede has its own temperament. some are comparatively chill and lazy, earning them the nicknames "lazipedes" while others are reactive and defensive.

they feel safest under rocks and leaves (in their banky…) if mine are stressed sometimes i just plop a leaf over their head and they settle down instantly

not all of them JUST eat other animals. some dabble in fruits too! the fruit enjoyers .

they spend a lot of time grooming their antennae. you think that sleek aesthetic maintains itself? their relaxed side esp when grooming is fascinating to see. the creature you likely only see darting away from you at 1000mph is also capable of Chilling the fuck out.

they have terrible eyesight. imagine a centipede with tiny little glasses. don't you feel better now? anyway the fact that they don't see well is part of why they sometimes react so viscerally to things. you probably would too if you were small and preyed on by big things.

centipede mothers fiercely protect, groom, and nurture their babies. they do so for longer than they "need" to in some cases. in a study a variety of pede species were found sharing nest sites in forest canopies, demonstrating a lack of negative spatial associations. this was unusual because we typically expect these guys to not be keen on sharing.

not all bites are due to "aggression" but more from using their fangs in an exploratory nature. think of them as kids but instead of hands they have fangs. it's slippery on you so i'll grab on gently with my venomous fangs. i don't know what you are yet so i'm gonna reach out and test the Texture. you smell salty, i'm gonna lick you. etc.

they are ouppies.

even if you think they're ugly they come in so many colours so there's gonna be one that suits ur taste. there's baja blast blue. ridiculously bright red. piss yellow. candy corn black & orange. if you can think of a colour combo there's probably one out there.

anyway. our empathy for animals shouldn't only extend to those we find socially acceptable or easy enough to anthropomorphize

[kerubimcrepin]

Liveblog: Wakfu Season 2 (episode 17)

I find myself liking Eva a lot, during this rewatch, because I really am realizing that Eva&Joris is a very interesting and insane duo to consider.

If Ankama was wiser, they'd make them friends explicitly. Oh well.

Joris watching Adamai say this (Adamai is living through his worst nightmare of the person who loved him dying and coming back without memories, this time for real): 😬💀🚶‍♂️

This seems like some sort of waiting room for the meeting, judging from the fact that all the participants (as well as Grougal, but, to be fair, he's like a baby, it's logical that he'd be present with him until the very last possible moment, before being passed on to babysitters.)

I think it's interesting that Joris is sitting quite neutrally, looking exactly at Adamai and Armand, while Qilby is turned fully towards him.

...Studying him, perhaps?

Judging from the fact that Qilby was appealing to Sadida royalty by having studied their texts, and claiming to have met their god, he seems interested in learning more about people — maybe to manipulate, maybe simply curious.

Considering Qilby's connection with dragons and millions of years worth of memory, I could wager that he can feel/see that Joris is a bit weird.

(I know I am reading way too much into this, but let me have this lmaoo.)

This is why I find it quite fascinating that Qilby (interested in studying people around him, maybe seeking an advantage) is telling Joris (an old, dragonized Bontarian deligate) about a dragon that razed Bonta before Joris was born (Arty (Goultard's Dead Dragon Husband)).

Trying to gauge if Joris is secretly a dragon? If he knows that dragon? Trying to gauge his age? His opinions? Hmm???

This is one of the most short and uninformative Joris one-liners in the whole franchise. He's so epic for the way he dodges saying anything here.

Considering the fact that Joris is 1. pretty gullable, actually, 2. generally distrustful of people he doesn't know, especially royalty, 3. sounds pretty happy about this interaction here, I think Joris's opinion of Qilby is "this is a foreign leader, and the whole thing is going to cause a lot of issues. Eliatropes' happiness is worth it, though, and also he seems nice enough. But we are not friends."

Basically, I think Qilby has Joris on his side hook, line, and sinker. Lmaoo.

HE LOOKS SO AMUSED BY THE SHENANIGANS.

Joris LOVES Sadida Kingdom.

I'm insane about Brakmar. Of course the prince of Brakmar (a capitalist hellhole) would be the only one to give a lowly servant a coin.

[wipes tear] Tipping culture is real in Brakmar because otherwise people will not survive on their wage alone. Just like in America...

While none of them are shown, this meeting implies the existence of a kingdom for every race. (I need ecaflip lore so bad...)

I love this animation error so much. How did this happen.

Sitting cutely with his hands crossed.

Guys I think Qilby might have supremacist beliefs about his people. Idk, just a hunch.

And in THIS shot, the animation error is gone.

I want so, so bad to know about whatever the Ecaflip equivalent of Cra City/Sadida Kingdom may be...

Kerubim has canonically been to Trool fair and he LOVES fishing for quaquacks, and we know this from the anniversary map commentary (despite his painful and traumatic memories from episode 48 of Aux Tresors de Kerubim. He talks in the MMO about being uneasy about quaquacks since then.)

Another error — Joris sits there quite inconsistently...

@dullard @dullard @dullard @dullard @dullard @dullard @dullard HEY DULLARD HE SAID THE LINE—-

I love this so much. He's been dealing with politics for centuries, and he's so fucking angry that he allowed himself to slip up and say something antagonizing.

This is a bunch of rich people who have not known orphanhood or living in squalor in their entire lives, talking about putting children in mines, and trying to pass off a bunch of children who lost their parents in a war like a hot potato. And one of them, from a country that his country fucking hates, says that this might lead to a war.

I think Joris, with his life story and opinions and the tragedies he's witnessed in life, must be thinking things much harsher than this. Just a hunch.

This "us" doesn't include Bonta, btw :)

While I have issues with season 4, I do like that there was some moral ambiguity to the world leaders: with hindsight, I think we can say pretty easily that Brakmar's concerns are quite valid, even if false this time.

As I've said — Joris, like Yugo and Adamai, thinks pretty simply that everyone should always do good things, and that it's so so simple to be good — you just give people what they need! :) It's literally so so simple.

And that's how he, after becoming the ruler of Bonta in Waven, got to the point of having: cannibalistic wars, using living beings as building material and weapons, having 999 prisoners of war, spies and guards everywhere, implied slavery, as well as—- [I am forcibly taken offstage]

Once again, Wakfu demonstrates that Bonta and Sadida are very closely aligned.

me and @dullard have had countless conversations about this fucking episode, and he said a lot of interesting things. Here are some highlights, which he has allowed me to include:

I literally don't even know how to put my opinions into words, besides including these screenshots.

[scaredshadowsswap]

Hey y’all, I’m cancer-free now, so I’m gonna try to get back into writing random headcanons again. Today, it’s SCP Personnel and the hobbies I think they’d have.

Clef

Clef seems like he’d be an annoyingly fast learner, which means his hobbies switch fast. One week he might be cooking, but as soon as he gets good at it, he’s gonna learn blindfolded axe throwing or something else until he gets good at that. He has a very wide skill set, especially in combat, but he can’t really stick with anything for very long. The only hobby he consistently has is movies. He watches movies and references them all the time, and hopefully you’ve seen the movie because the references convey important information. He’s also really well-read, and will make references to well known classics as well, but he usually saves those references for people he thinks are stupid and won’t understand them.

Kondraki

Kondraki is determined. Once he gets good at something, he wants to stick with it more and get better. Besides photography, he composes music. He played cello in high school, but doesn’t really play anything anymore and instead just writes music that he thinks would sound good. He also, on occasion, goes birdwatching. If anyone gives him shit about it, he will bash their skull in, but he finds birdwatching to be a nice thing to do, especially on a cold morning as the sun is just coming up and almost everyone is still asleep. He’ll take a cup of coffee with him and just watch the sky for a little bit before he has to go to work.

Shaw

What hobbies can an immortal have? All of them! Shaw speaks almost 50 languages, plays 11 instruments, and studied astronomy for a good 20 years. However, most of their hobbies are from earlier, when being immortal still seemed cool. Nowadays, Shaw is just majorly depressed and doesn’t have the mental energy to keep doing new stuff. Thinking all the time like that gets exhausting. One thing they still like doing, though, is hosting parties. They invite whoever they damn well please on the given day, and it never gets old. Shaw knows that these people are good friends, and someday they’ll be dead, so Shaw wants as many memories with them as he can get.

Glass

Glass sometimes feels like the Foundation Staff’s punching bag, and it sucks. His way of managing his feelings is through golf. He golfs, and he is really damn good at it too. Probably could’ve won some local competitions, if he was allowed to participate. He finds it relaxing to be outside in the fresh air, and therapeutic to swing a golf club. Unfortunately, it’s hard to get permission to leave the Site and go golfing during his weekends and off-days, so he jogs when he can. He’s said he’d like to pick up tennis, but you need an opponent, and it’d be weird to play your therapist in a game of tennis.

Iceberg

Iceberg’s hobby is explosives, but I think he likes baking. The warm oven offsets how cold he feels, so he used to just have the oven running whenever he was home. He likes sweets and desserts, so he decided that he might as well learn how to make cookies, and it took off from there. He’s good at it, but he’s also insecure about being perceived as “doing girly stuff”, so he doesn’t usually share the things he makes with people. He’ll usually drop off a birthday cake for people on their birthdays, but he’ll say he bought it at a local bakery or something.

Gears

Gears was always fascinated by calligraphy, but it took him a really long time to get good at it. He doesn’t have time to practice hobbies like that when he’s busy running the largest Site the Foundation has. He also likes cooking, and unlike his assistant, he’s very open to sharing food. He doesn’t really express contentment through words or expressions, but he will occasionally give food he made to the people he trusts. He’d be really good at baking if he tried due to his excellent precision, but he doesn’t like things that are too sweet, so he sticks to cooking.

Strelnikov

Strelnikov likes climbing trees and seeing if anyone notices him. To him, it’s a measure of stealth, and he likes to play a game and see how much he can learn about a person from at the top of a tree. People find this very creepy. He also can play the acoustic guitar, but he doesn’t know anything about music theory, he just kinda knows how the song is supposed to sound.

[abnormallynice]

TWEWY Joshneku City of Angels AU lets gooooooooo when you just gotta admit "who am I kidding Im never coming back to this even though I reaaally want to asdfgh I'll just post what I have"

[Wall of text of lore below~]

TW// Suicidal ideation Angels wander the city of Shibiya to lead spirits to the afterlife. They cannot be seen, unless they want to be and have no personal want of emotions or free will. They cannot feel the way humans do. Physically or emotionally.

Angel Joshua arrives to lead away suicidal teen, Neku. But he wavers and Neku decides against his decision. Joshua becomes intrigued by Neku when the teenager goes out of their way to save the life of another, when Neku was so ready to give up on their own. It's a spark of fascination for Joshua that quickly fades, as time goes on and the depressed-teen-turned-hero-friend fades to memory.

Years later and Joshua is doing the rounds in a local hospital when he spies a familiar face. Neku, now in scrubs, doing his medical residency. During a young patient's last moments, Neku refuses to let the child die and his eyes meet with Joshua's. Neku doesn't see the angel of course, but a familiar spark lights up in Josh. He begins to follow Neku's daily comings and goings in the hospital, then outside of the hospital. Despite careful (but entertained) warning from his angelic colleges, Joshua makes himself known to Neku, and only Neku.

Apprehensive and disbelieving at first, Neku eventually begins to believe this angel and they become closer (or as close as one can get to a being with little comprehension about Emotions). Neku decided on a medical career since the day he helped save a (now) friend's life. He wanted to help people but realized that the job was a lot harder on one's emotional and mental well-being. Unfortunately, you lose as many lives as you save in his profession. In talks with Joshua, Neku remembers another thing he loved to do: sing. He never had time to indulge more in this hobby, thanks to his studies but after Joshua mentions how he's got a nice voice, he begins to experiment with the idea of writing music. We also see the two try to make sense of Joshua's sudden interest in human free will, and thanks to a friend(?) of Joshua's, they locate someone interesting: a fallen Angel. He explains that when an Angel falls from Grace and obtain free will, they become human and receive all the pros and cons that come with it. However, it's not an easy thing for an Angel to do; physically and morally. Also fun fact: fallen angels can see other angels, all the time.

Regardless, Neku starts catching feelings for Joshua and the Angel finds himself mentally struggling to make sense of human attraction. It's like an itch he can never reach, much less scratch. Frustrated and unable to get through Joshua's hard shell (or understand his motives), Neku leaves Shibuya without resolution with Josh.

Joshua is an Angel assigned to Shibuya, and thus unable to leave to look for Neku. The time apart does something to him, and he feels what he believes is loneliness. Or heartache? Whatever it is, the thought of never seeing Neku again is horrifying. He does the unthinkable and Falls. When he wakes up, everything hurts. Hurts. He bleeds, his stomach turns from hunger, his eyes ache and tears stream down his face. But he's...happy. He feels exuberant joy. Joshua travels across the boundaries of his world, exits Shibuya and follows Neku's trail.

Neku answers the door to a rain-soaked, ripped clothing, feet bleeding, wide grin now-human, Joshua. He has little time to process the scene before him, before Joshua word vomits all these new sensations he's been having and confesses his feelings for Neku. How else can Neku respond but with a kiss (now that they can physically touch each other) and they spend the night together.

Neku later explains that he needed some alone time to think, so he cashed in a favor. He left to take a break, but then took the opportunity to make lemonade, so to speak. Neku used a friend's recording studio outside the city to write a song and record it. Upon hearing it, Joshua was brought to tears. It was beautifully melancholic, but hopeful. It suited Neku.

A few days on and the couple is relishing this time together... but disaster inevitably arrives. Neku leaves on a bike to retrieve some groceries, leaving Joshua behind with a "Be right back." Only minutes later does Joshua feel anxiety grip him and he knows something bad has happened. He runs the road that Neku took, finding the young man in the street, having been in a traffic accident. Neku mumbles something about a beautiful light, then dies in Joshua's arms.

The days both drag on and fly by as Joshua tries to now live as a human without the person he wanted to be human with. Despite it all, Neku had met good people and they help Joshua through his turmoil. Eventually, Joshua decides to release Neku's song to the world and it grips anyone who hears it. His life is lost, but his voice will live on and fill his (and others) world with music.

Congrats on making it this far please enjoy this [your favorite donut]

[kokonut3953]

“You were right, it’s absolutely unbreakable!” Varian TTS x GN!Reader with an electro vision (genshin)

A/N: Hiiii! This is my first ever tumblr fic story, so it’s not gonna be great. I just wanted to say that. Please request anything abt varian x reader! (I’ll make a post of what I do and don’t do later today. It’s 1 am rn). Also, the reader is already Varian’s partner. Anyways LETS BEGIN JKNDSAJIBADSJIBSDWJIBDEJI

Warnings: None

The moment you trusted Varian enough to show him your vision, he was insantly obsessed. With your permission, of course, he ran COUNTLESS tests on your vision to try and figure out what it was made of.

“Y/n, you were right! This is absolutely unbreakable! But I can’t figure out what it’s made of…” Varian examines the vision closely. He seems to have been studying y/n’s vision for days now. Had he gotten any sleep?

“I’ve tried breaking it many times when I got it, Varian. I know it’s unbreakable. You’ve been studying for days, get to bed!” Y/n crosses their arms. “And I’m not taking no for an answer.”

“But y/n, I have to find out what makes it! These tiny rocks hold…power! It’s like…a less powerful moonstone…and electric!” He puts 1/4 of the vision into acid. Of course, it won’t work. “Fascinating…not even acid can break it down…y/n, how’d you obtain this in the first place? Did you go find it yourself? Did someone give you it?”

“I’m not sure. I…I got into a fight. With a thief. After the whole ordeal was over, I went to my room and…it was sitting their on my desk? It was…given to me by a god.”

“A god? Sorry, a GOD?! And you didn’t mention this sooner, y/n?! A literal GOD gave you thing…mysterious rock, and you didn’t think to like- I don’t know- SAY THAT SOONER?” Varian facepalms

They roll their eyes. “I forgot, okay? It’s not MY fault I don’t remember every detail.”

Varian puffs up his cheeks. But then, he erupts into laughter. “Woah, y/n has a bad memory? What a shock. I couldn’t tell from the time you forgot what comes after 4 and needed to use your fingers.”

“Shut up, V.” They cross their arms

Varian kisses their cheek “Whatever you say. I’ll…get to bed now.”

[zorosjuicymelonsx]

Finding You

A/N: Happy Valentines Day!

Dropping in with another chapter! When I'm writing this story, I honestly feel like such a Zoro scholar with how much I sit there and think about how he's feeling XD ya boy is not very expressive but he's still my pookie bear <;3

I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, I don't think this is much of a warning but just in case; you get a bit of acid in your throat from anxiety/shock if ya know what I mean or ever experienced it. There is some fighting but I've not gone into the whole blood thing so its just actions but I know some of you guys do not do well with blood.

Without further ado, I'll be back next week to drop the next one!

Chapter Four Previous Next

A few weeks had passed since your arrival and you managed to settle in with everyone…all except for Zoro. Since your duel with him, he’d made every effort to ignore you. From aired hellos when you greeted him passing by to moving seats away from you at meal times when you tried sitting next to him to him spending more time in the Crows Nest away from everyone.

As disheartened as you felt, you knew you couldn’t force him to talk to you. You assured everyone that you were okay. You spent most of your nights trying to wrap your head around the possibility that something could have tampered with his memory, removing all signs of you in his head. The mere thought of the endless possibilities made your blood boil and kept you from falling asleep soundly.

To keep yourself busy and away from living in your own head, you’d throw yourself into sketching; deciding to start a new project involving drawing everyone on the ship secretly and framing them to hang in the galley. You were able to draw Luffy fishing, Usopp training with his slingshot, Nami in her study working on her maps, Franky fixing the mini-Merry and Chopper taking a nap in his infirmary. You were grateful for your memory as it was getting harder to remain inconspicuous, almost getting caught by Brook whose lurking ghost form had almost given you a heart attack but not before you were able to slam your sketchbook shut and lecture him on how not to sneak (or fly?) up on people.

You’d also been spending more time with the girls on the deck lounging in the lawn chairs, the concept of relaxation foreign seeing as you’d spent so long journeying around the world. Aside from your usual training which you conducted almost every morning, you asked Jinbe to train you in fishman karate, fascinated by the art which he graciously agreed to do for you.

Today, you had planned to sketch and relax to take a break from your usual training schedule.

As you made your way up to the table on the deck, your sketchbook and pencils ready in your hands, you could hear Sanji and Nami in the kitchen quietly speaking. You moved away from the gap in the door, positioning your back against the wall with your ear inline to listen in. You knew you shouldn’t but you couldn’t help after hearing the concern laced in both their voices.

“Nami-swan, we really need to get a stronger lock for the fridge.”

“Sanji-kun, we need to make do with the supplies we have until we get to the next island which won’t be for at least another week.” Nami sighed out heavily.

You frowned at the topic of the conversation, instant guilt seeping in as you felt responsible for the food shortage. You’d outlined that Sanji probably shopped for the 10 of them, an additional person would add strain especially when an appetite like Luffy’s existed. An idea came to mind and you decided to end your eavesdropping. You moved off the wall and peered your head into the kitchen. This caught Sanji and Nami’s attention, both offering bright smiles of welcome to you.

“I’m sorry, I was listening to your conversation. i-I think I can help.” You offered a small apologetic smile.

You explained your idea to use your devil fruit ability to conjure a hole onto an island you visited before from memory that you knew you could get food supplies from. You explained that your ability allowed you to revisit places out of memory or to visit random locations but at your own risk.

At first they both sat in silence thinking of your proposition. Then Sanji protested against the idea and was adamant they could make supplies last till then. Nami counter argued and saw sense in this idea to save them time and strain. Sanji looked at Nami hesitantly before sighing and nodded in agreement.

“Is there anyone you want to bring with us?” You asked Sanji.

“Not at all Y/N-chan, I’ll get ready for our trip.” Sanji said excitedly, his eyes bore hearts at the thought of spending time with you. He danced away to the pantry to get his bags and ready himself for the trip.

“I’ll have someone near the hole ready to take the bags off you guys. I’ll brief the others.” Nami said as she got up and gave you a hug of appreciation.

You hugged her back, grateful for the opportunity to prove yourself to everyone.

You left Nami and Sanji, dropping your sketchbook off back in your shared room. You then headed to the area of the deck where you’d previously made the hole. As you took a deep breath in, clearing your mind and holding your right hand out, you envisioned the other side. You chose to picture a quiet open space of land on an island you’d visited a year ago that you knew would only be a short walk away from the market.

You wouldn’t be able to close the hole until you and Sanji were completely finished so choosing a secluded area was a must away from prying eyes.

With the hole open and ready, you turned back to the door that went below deck to see Sanji approaching you with some empty bags in his hands. Behind him, you could see Nami, Usopp and Brook holding Luffy back. You had to hold back a laugh from the kerfuffle.

With Sanji now standing next to you, you turned to him, gesturing to follow you as you jumped into the hole. As you now stood on what now appeared to now be secluded farm land, the path to the market however remained the same as you’d remembered it. You looked at Sanji who now stood next to you, smiling before pointing to the pathway as you started walking. Sanji briefly stood in awe at the hole, the coolness of the smoke clouds prickling his skin.

“Ohhh Y/N-chan is so talented! MELLORINE.” Sanji sang out, taking out his box of cigarettes from his pocket to pull out a smoke as he started walking to catch up with you. You were usually not a fan of the cigarette smell but you became quite used to it and found yourself thinking that it would be quite weird not to smell smoke from Sanji.

You briefly explained to Sanji that they would need to be swift as keeping the hole open for long periods of time would affect your energy reserve. With this, Sanji vowed to do his best, zooming past you on the path to the marketplace that could be seen from their current distance.

Meanwhile…

“Witch let go of me.” Zoro keened forward, teeth bared out and his ear hot and sore from Nami pulling him from it. He just wanted to nap. Nami stomped forward, her grip still tight on Zoro’s right ear towards the hole you left on the deck. Zoro noticed the hole, feeling a sense of panic twinge him at the thought you were behind the hole.

Both reaching the edge of the hole, Nami let go of Zoro and pushed him down to sit on the floor.

“Now you’re going to sit here and wait for Y/N and Sanji to come back. You should be grateful, your wife offered to help us out.” Nami lectured, and Zoro let out a ‘ha?’ despite being completely aware of what was going on. He’d overheard Nami briefing everyone and he wanted absolutely nothing to do with it despite feeling slightly grateful that you offered to help.

“Why do I have to do it? Isn’t it Jinbe’s turn to help anyway?” Zoro argued, rubbing his hand against his ear to soothe it.

“That's when we get to the next island and quite frankly I’m fed up of watching you avoid Y/N like she's diseased. Now you wait here and if I see you even moved an inch you’ll be sorry.” Nami threatened with her fist balled to his face before walking away, briefly turning her head back to dart threats from her eyes.

He huffed, sulking as he crossed his arms and sat cross legged against the ship. Since his duel with you, he avoided you. Whilst Zoro had accepted that you and him were married, his mind in his resolve that he didn’t want to commit himself to anything or anyone but his ambitions. What he couldn’t explain was the dull ache he felt in his chest whenever he was actively avoiding you and seeing the brief displays of disappointment that flickered on your face. He was adamant it wasn’t guilt or regret. He rarely felt those emotions and when he did, they were much stronger. He couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was but he chose to ignore it.

Time had passed and Zoro was feeling restless, becoming more annoyed that it was you and especially the shitty cook he was waiting on.

“Fuck this.” Zoro angrily mumbled to himself.

On a whim, he sat up on his knees and decided to crouch over to stick his head in the hole to see for himself what the hold up was. He briefly felt a chill run down his cheeks and neck as he plunged his head into the clouds of smoke.

Now Zoro was rarely surprised. He hadn’t anticipated that as his head reached the other side of the hole he would come face to face with you on the other side. His breathing halted, voice choked in his throat holding back any sound as his eye met with yours. He noticed how wide your eyes were with shock, you clearly hadn’t anticipated seeing anything come through the hole. He was so close in fact, he could feel the warmth radiating from your face onto his from the flush of pink that bloomed on the apples of your cheeks.

After a few more seconds, he quickly shot his head back out of the hole, landing on his bum as his whole face burned with embarrassment. He didn’t have quite enough time to recover his breath completely before noticing a masculine hand poking through the hole with a bag in grip. Zoro jumped into action and reached out to grab the bags, setting them to the side until all the bags were collected.

Once the bags were set and he thought it was over, out of the corner of his eye he noticed you trying to emerge through the hole, your smaller hands were gripping on the edge of the deck. He sensed you were struggling and before he could stop himself Zoro stood up, grabbed your wrists and pulled you out of the hole, bringing you to stand in front of him.

You were too embarrassed, trying your best to avoid his eye. He noticed the flush that was still painted on your cheeks. His eye traced over your features briefly, noticing the smoothness of your skin and the thick curl of your lashes. You could feel his gaze on you and eventually built up your courage to look up at him. His large frame towering over yours as your eye bore into his grey iris. Your eyes flickered to his scar, you’d been tempted to trace over it with your fingertips. You’d wondered what exactly happened to his eye but despite that, you couldn’t deny that it added to his ever-growing handsomeness.

You gave him a small smile but didn’t quite get enough time to thank him before Sanji jumped up from the hole, anger evident on his face as he walked to stand in front of the swordsman.

“Oi marimo, what the fuck were you thinking? You almost gave Y/N a heart attack with that stunt!” Sanji began shouting.

“None of your damn business cook.” Zoro bit back angrily.

You reluctantly moved away from Zoro and Sanji, their impending fight would surely go on for some time as you turned your attention to the open hole.

Once the hole was closed, you slowly sat down on the deck and laid back with your eyes closed, your attempt to hold onto the last bit of energy dissipated.

Zoro didn’t know what made his mind wander back to you during his argument with the cook. His eye had gone past the blonde hair to see you lying on the floor. Abruptly ending his petty fight with Sanji, Zoro walked past the cook to go over to you. Sanji looked back at the swordsman fuming, clearly not satisfied with the ending to their fight. Upon seeing you on the floor and realising why Zoro stopped, a quiet ‘shit’ came out of Sanji as he also made his way over to you.

“Y/N-chan, are you okay?” Sanji asked worriedly.

You looked up to see Sanji and Zoro watching you. You politely nodded, not wanting to make a fuss.

“I’m okay, I just need a min-oof.” Cut off mid sentence, Zoro picked you up bridal style and carried you over the deck towards the girls cabin ignoring the cooks swearing behind him. Zoro really didn’t understand what possessed him to do this. It was like his mind lost control and it had been pure instinct that led him to this.

You let him carry you, all your energy was spent and you were too lethargic to protest against it. You had to stop yourself from snuggling your face into his chest, remembering how much you missed being close to him. You ended up hearing a couple ‘ooos’ coming from Nami and Usopp.

‘You didn’t even know they were watching you…how embarrassing!’ You mentally groaned knowing Nami would definitely tease you about this later.

The sounds across the ship dimmed as Zoro continued to head under the deck.

After a quick wrong turn and correction in direction, Zoro finally made it to the girls cabin. He pushed the door open with his back and walked over to the first bed he saw. He gently laid you down, carefully unfastening your sword from your waist and leaning it against the bedside table. Your head hit and slowly sunk into the pillow, your head and body feeling heavy. Before you could say anything, Zoro grunted out a quick ‘thank you for the food trip’ and left the room swiftly. You couldn’t do anything but stare at the door he left. The exhaustion kicked in, lulling you to sleep for the rest of the afternoon.

After closing the door, Zoro’s grip on the door handle tightened.

‘Why did I do that?!’

Zoro thought, questioning himself.

Zoro felt overwhelmed and decided he needed a drink.

————————————- ⚔️✨ ————————————

Night fell as you slept peacefully for what you predicted was at least a few hours. The abrupt sound of breakage and shouting, hearing unfamiliar voices was what woke you from your slumber. Opening your eyes without letting yourself blink out the sleep, your adrenaline kicked in as you rushed out of bed and grabbed your sword. You slammed the door open, letting it hit the wall behind as you ran out to the deck to see the commotion. What you could only describe the scene unfolding in front of you was chaos; the Sunny had been invaded by pirates! You could see your crew scattered around fighting against the invaders, noticing one of the sails was set on fire that lit the ship in the darkness of the night.

“Oh my god.” You whispered under your breath amongst the sounds of clashes and scrapes of weapons.

Taking a quick breath, you lunged with your sword at a group of unsuspecting pirates quickly bringing them down. You felt the floor vibrate behind you from the sound of running, whipping behind you to see you were almost about to be jumped by another group of pirates until Luffy swung his stretched leg to kick them off the ship into the sea. You looked up to see your captain swinging across the ship like a monkey, truly living up to his name.

As you scanned over the rest of the ship, you saw your crew were holding their own fights until you noticed Chopper was struggling to hold his against another group of pirates. You ran towards him, shouting for him to duck as you slashed the pirates across their chests, dropping one by one to the floor. You quickly glanced down at Chopper to see he was alright, he looked shaken up with tears in his eyes filled with appreciation. Just as you were about to grab him and take him to safety, another pirate walked into your vision.

“Go Chopper, I’ve got this.”

You quickly signaled Chopper to leave as you readied yourself, the young doctor not needing to be told twice as he ran to safety.

Bringing your attention to the pirate who now stood a few feet away in front of you, you noticed he was well kept for a pirate compared to others you had met before. You couldn’t deny he was handsome, his black hair kept short, his strength illuminated through the strong body covered in fine, expensive silk. You didn’t let that distract you as you felt his dark energy practically seeping from him. He held a large, bejeweled royal blue sword in his right hand.

‘Why did he seem so familiar?’

You readied yourself, your sword held strong in your grip. You weren’t going to let him hurt anyone.

“Angel, it doesn’t have to be this way. After all, I’m only here to claim what's mine.” His deep voice resonated out as he grinned.

“Don’t fucking call me angel, who are you?” You angrily bit back as you pointed your sword at him.

“I’m Enver…we’ve met before but you don’t seem to remember me.”

“Why are you here?” You eyed him suspiciously, scouring your memory to try to pinpoint where you could have supposedly met him with no luck.

“Why, I’m here for you.” His voice exhumed confidence. You tried to swallow your anxiety down, feeling acid lodged in your throat and your heart beating faster than it ever had before.

“What do you want with me?” You cautiously persisted, trying to keep your voice from breaking.

He chuckled darkly before taking a step forward and leaning in to face you at your level.

“To be mine.”

[the-bitter-ocean]

10 12 and 15 for isat ask game :3

(FULL GAME SPOILERS + 2HATS/A6SE SPOILERS ) Thank you for asking these questions @aroace-poly-show ! I’m going to answer 10 since 12 and fifteen I’ve already in previous asks! If you’d like to know my answers to those you can find them here (ask 12) and here (ask 15) I have a ton of headcanons for both the setting of the game as a whole and also for individual characters but for now I think I’m gonna focus more on the world building aspect in this ask! I won’t delve into all of them but I’ll grab some that I talked about to my friends:

10- any headcanons about the in-game world? (about the forgotten island, craft types, just like. world building hcs, etc)

For the island I like to think the people living there would collect dandelions, folded paper cranes and looked for shooting stars because all of those are methods of making a wish. I also like the idea of there being festivals and ceremonies where people would make and light up lanterns to put in the sky. I also think that the Island had a close trade relation to places like Vaugarde (Bambouche specifically given how close it is to the island + both areas are coastal and how its cultural aspects seem to have major overlap in some areas as well with the favor trees etc). We don’t know a lot about the island or its culture in game but from what little we see from Siffrin’s memories and optional content in game it is very fascinating. I like to think out of all the countries the island is the more technologically advanced (given the studies on the stars and cultural practices of wishcraft/ time craft that region could have been the main ones studying it, hence the lack of info on either of these things once the island got wiped from everyone’s memories). I love when people in aus and fics and art explore the effects of this post game. Seeing everyone’s interpretations on whether the islands culture slowly gets remembered or more stuff about time craft/wish craft gets discovered or explore the effects of the color red being a permanent thing people can see now due to the events of act 5 is wild to think about.

In general I like seeing the different cultures views/ gods / faiths and belief systems and seeing how that affects the environment and characters who live within it. Odile mentioned having multiple gods aka “Expressions” (polytheistic) and that you build shrines / pray to only the ones you need in that moment, Mirabelle believes in the Change God (monotheistic) and Siffrin believes in the Universe (which to me reminds me more of a way of life/ belief system / conceptual idea of “Fate” itself rather than a conscious thinking autonomous being in the way expressions or the change god is ) All in all having these different elements makes the setting feel more open and interesting/ grounded in reality which u appreciate immensely. In the photos listed down below I said my personal HCS about the country of Mwudu since we don’t really get to hear about it in game aside from passing mentions and flavor text when you click certain objects.

[galebrainrot2024]

Gale x Tav Enemies to Lovers Part VIII/8

I'm cooking with gas now folks, I am locked in so I hope you enjoy this journey - if I have enough juice I'll try to extend it through the entire game arc.

Content Warning: Bullying, Anxiety, Language, Herbs (lol)

“Fucking finally,” Karlach huffed, dropping a majority of their belongings and rations. Without her, Lae’zel and Shadowheart, Tav wasn’t sure they would have made it to the Underdark. The men were utterly useless in this regard and so was she. She had many strengths - strength was not among them. “I’m not sorting through what’s what so come and find your own things. Gale what’s for dinner? I’m starving. No… I need to lie down.” 

“As always, I am deeply in your debt my good Lady,” Tav watched as Gale bowed to Karlach and collected his things from her then winked,  “I’ll be sure to make your favorite.” A pang shot through her - not one of desire or even anger. 

It was jealousy. She scoffed, rolling her eyes at her own behavior. Don’t be ridiculous, she chided, Karlach is your friend and Gale is allowed to talk with whomever he pleases… they’ve been spending a lot of time together… besides, you know who Karlach fancies and it’s certainly not Gale… you have no right to be angry after Astarion… 

Her stomach twisted uncomfortably and she turned away as hot bile rose in her gut. She shook it off and began to unpack her things. 

** 

The Underdark. She had studied its existence extensively in her time at Blackstaff and was both horrified and fascinated by its unfamiliar terrain. Their instructor would pull at the fabric of the Weave to make intricate conjurations of the Underdark’s dangerous creatures, wild mushrooms, and native fauna. Some was so startling to her that at the time she was plagued with night terrors. How embarrassing it felt to have night terrors as a teen. It had been engrained so deep that the fear still dug at her skin and she felt the surge of fight or flight acutely.   

Gale had been in that class with her. 

That grounded her a bit, the memory of his ‘know-it-all’ attitude getting him a severe bind. Gale had famously confused the Duergar and Drow and when their instructor, Flhem, tried to gently correct him, Gale persisted. What Gale didn’t realize at the time was that other than Flhem being an expert on the Underdark, Tav’s father was also an expeditionist there. 

She was intimately familiar with the Underdark and had an insatiable curiosity for it. The obsession took hold when she was wracked with panic that her father wouldn’t return from a journey. Tav turned to her fixation on learning in order to soothe her nerves. If she learned everything she could, she could imagine every possible scenario and outcome so she couldn’t be surprised. 

A wave of guilt rose in her when the rest of the memory unfolded. After Gale’s soliloquy, Tav tapped on his shoulder (he was sat in front of her) and she said smugly,  “Gale… I thought you were smarter than that,” all while pulling at the threads of the Weave to manifest replicas of the Duegar and Drow, “Or did you miss the readings? If you look to page 27...” She said while the class held its breath, “there are a number of distinctions between the two races… height being prominent among them.” As she spoke the final word, the two conjurations stood before the class and Gale flipped to the page. She inhaled deeply when she recalled the look on his face when the entire class - including Flhem - burst into laughter. Have you always been so cruel… you wretched thing… the memory weighed heavily on her, and she fingered her amulet. 

He hadn't even said anything in retort. Gale had just quietly shut the book and had turned to look back at her before he left the room. The look he gave was one she would never forget. It made her sick.

Suddenly she felt something graze her back and she jumped, swinging her arm to strike. 

Astarion’s hand caught hers and he rose a brow. A grin spread across his face. “My, my, somebody’s on edge this evening."  Tav huffed, her entire body rigid from the start. She shut her eyes and took another breath to steady herself. “Oh,” Astarion said more seriously, “Are you alright, Darling? Can I get you something?” 

Tav tilted her head curiously. Astarion? Going out of his way to ask something nice? Assuming she heard him incorrectly, she said, “Nothing a bit of Hafling Root can’t fix.” 

“Oh?” He said in a sing-song voice, “Looking to get a little stoned this evening? Far be it from me to keep you from your appetites. Ugh,” he straightened his shirt, picking a piece of lint off his sleeve. “I wish I could still experience that. I’m afraid I’d need an entire field to feel a damn thing. Enjoy for the both of us,” he looked at her and brushed her cheek with the back of his hand, his voice low. “Maybe I’ll join you, still.. keep you company.”  

Tav felt the familiar rush of arousal flood her when Astation’s hand brushed her cheek. Although they had little in common and she wasn’t sure if she even trusted him, biology was a strange experience. In that same moment, her eyes locked on Gale’s - his gaze an abyss that was almost wild. The same one that made her sick all those years ago.  

She took a sharp breath and neither she nor Gale blinked. She fell into the void of his eyes, hypnotized. Had he cast hold person on her? Astarion’s voice pulled her abruptly back into her body, “Well.. you know where to find me.”  

When Tav turned back to look for Gale he was gone. 

[misc-obeyme]

THE THREADS THAT BIND

CHAPTER NINE

MASTERPOST for summary/info/chapter list

a/n: Protective Barb is my favorite thing. I couldn't let Arrie and Sol have all the fun lol. Should you feel that this chapter ends abruptly, just remember that there are four more chapters to this story. This is not the end!

GN!MC x Barbatos | word count 1,775

Warnings: magical violence, MC is in pain, demon OC, sorcerer OC

A few days later, you were at RAD with Barbatos when Arsenios and Solomon came over to where the two of you were sitting.

"You owe me more tea, at the very least," Arsenios said, arms folded as Solomon placed a folded piece of paper on the table.

Solomon laughed lightly. "It wasn't that bad, was it? In fact, I would say it turned out to be much easier than either of us expected."

Barbatos picked up the paper, unfolding it. You looked over his shoulder and saw that it was a detailed description of a counter curse. It was handwritten, clearly something that had been created by Tobias himself.

Barbatos smiled. "I cannot express how grateful I am to both of you. I hope it was not too difficult for you to obtain this."

"It was no problem," Solomon said.

At the same time, Arsenios said, "It was mostly annoying."

They looked at each other, Solomon smiling while Arsenios gave him a flat look.

Arsenios turned back to Barbatos. "All I had to do was sing to him."

You cocked your head to the side. "Sing to him?"

"Arsenios can put humans into a trance merely by singing or playing an instrument," Barbatos explained.

"It was fascinating to watch," Solomon said. "His expression went dull and he simply brought the paper with the counter curse over and handed it to us. I was able to verify right away that it was the right one."

Arsenios glanced between the two of you. "I can also use my song to influence people's future actions. I don't think he'll be bothering you again."

There was something ominous about this statement, but you noticed how Arsenios met your eyes when he said it, instead of looking at Barbatos.

"I tried to convince Arsenios that he probably didn't need to do that," Solomon said, smile still in place. "But really I don't think it's going to cause any harm. I made sure to let Tobias know that we will not go easy on him should he return to the Devildom without permission again."

"You should still be careful, though," Arsenios said, his eyes back on Barbatos. "Don't go getting cursed again, okay?"

Barbatos nodded. "I understand. You have my word. Thank you both."

Arsenios turned to Solomon. "I admit that I wouldn't have known if that counter curse was the right one or not, so I guess it was a good thing you were with me."

Solomon laughed. "What a compliment! Don't strain yourself on my account, Arsenios. I know you find me annoying at best."

Arsenios stared at him for a moment, then he actually laughed. "Man, you are something else. Anyway, good luck with the counter curse, Barb."

Arsenios moved away to his own seat across the classroom while Solomon sat down nearby to get ready for class to start.

After RAD, Barbatos brought you back to the castle, ready to use the counter curse to break the threads. Solomon had offered to help with it, but Barbatos seemed content to take care of things himself. Solomon told you that should the counter curse prove ineffective for some reason, he still had the Night Dagger as an alternative option. All of you hoped it wouldn't come to that.

You were feeling apprehensive. It wasn't that you didn't believe the counter curse would work. It was more like you weren't sure how to deal with how it would feel when your connection to Barbatos was severed.

During the time you had been bound to him, you had observed Barbatos in a way you never had the chance to do before. Every day, you had been by his side as he worked, as you studied, and as both of you began to do things together, moving in sync in a way that you had never done with anyone else. And every night, you had walked in his memories or he had come to pull you out of them so you could sleep peacefully.

And now suddenly he wouldn't be by your side anymore. Or at least, you would be able to move away from him without it causing you pain. You would likely return to the House of Lamentation, which you admit you missed. But that would also mean you would have to readjust to your life the way it had been before all of this.

You stood across from Barbatos in one of the castle's many living rooms. He was frowning, reading the paper with the counter curse on it. Then he looked up at you. Barbatos extended a hand toward you, reciting the spell from the paper.

You saw the threads suddenly, bursting out from your chest still. You saw them rise where they coalesced into the single thread that ran through Barbatos. It rose and rose until -

Snap!

It broke.

And the threads that had been bursting from you, that had been a knot inside your chest, began to unravel. They fell around you, little strands of teal littering your arms, legs, the floor beneath you.

And it hurt.

You gasped and clutched at your chest, which felt like that empty yawning hollow that would form whenever you got too far away from Barbatos.

Barbatos was at your side, his arms on your shoulders.

You watched in horror as the threads turned black. They began to ooze, just like in your dream. You cried out and shoved at Barbatos.

"Get away!" you yelled, pushing on his chest. "Get away before it swallows you!"

Barbatos caught your hands. "MC, there's nothing there."

You looked at him with wild eyes, your chest throbbing, the black seeping toward him bit by bit. "You can't see it? It's going to consume you!"

The pain was dizzying and made it difficult to focus, causing you to simply react with desperation.

The black ooze seemed to freeze in a white light and there was an odd sharp note that rang through the air.

Although the pain was lessened, it still lingered. You managed to look up and a man you could only assume was Tobias stood behind Barbatos, hand extended, glowing with white light. His head was cocked slightly, as though he couldn't help listening to something.

Barbatos was instantly in demon form, his tail wrapping around you protectively as he turned to face Tobias.

"I do believe you were warned not to return to the Devildom," Barbatos said, his voice calm despite the tension in his body. Through the fog of your fear, you could feel the tail around you trembling with anger.

Tobias frowned. "If you think I'm afraid of Solomon and some singing demon, you miscalculated. The counter curse alerts me when it's used and there was always this little unpleasantness built into it. Your sweet MC will fall completely to the hallucinations, believing everything they ever loved to be fully consumed by darkness. I can release them from that torment… for a price."

Barbatos shook his head as though he felt sorry for the sorcerer. "You have been troublesome for quite some time now," he said. "Today you have finally gone too far."

The room was plunged into darkness and you would have fallen if Barbatos's tail hadn't been holding you up.

You looked around and found yourself in the same constellation filled sky of your dreams - the teal streams moving through it as always.

Barbatos was practically glowing with teal light. Tobias instantly dropped his own spell, which brought your pain back full force. Through it you could see Tobias gripping his head with both hands, as though he was experiencing some horrific torment.

"As there was a secret in your counter curse, so there was a secret in Arsenios's song," Barbatos said. "The notes you're hearing now are tied to my power. You must choose to find a way to deal with the loss of your loved one without time travel. Make that choice, release MC, and I will return you to the human world where you belong, unharmed."

"And if I refuse?" Tobias demanded through gritted teeth.

Barbatos shook his head. "It is best if you do not even contemplate that option."

Tobias fell to his knees. You couldn't hear the song that was apparently playing in his head, but it seemed he was suffering even more than you were.

He cast a spell and the pain inside you lifted, though you noticed there was still a single thread running through you. And although the pain was gone, the empty feeling wasn't.

Barbatos opened a portal there and Tobias stumbled through it, clearly desperate to end the sounds that were playing in his mind.

Everything around you felt off, your heart still ached in a way that was worse than what your body had endured.

"Barbatos," you cried out, reaching toward him.

Barbatos turned to you, pulling you into his arms and pressing you against his chest, his tail still wrapped around you.

And suddenly, you were at peace. That last lost thread had simply gone back inside your chest. It filled the empty yawning hole, making you complete again.

You were breathing hard as you slowly calmed down, tears of pain and fear streaking your face. Your arms were clasped around Barbatos tightly and you were afraid to let go.

After a few moments, you leaned your forehead on Barbatos's shoulder. "I'm okay," you whispered.

Gently, you felt yourself being moved through space and once again you were in the Demon Lord's Castle.

"Even after Tobias released you, there was still a single thread trapped in me," Barbatos said softly. "But that magic belonged to you. It was fighting to return to you. Forgive me, MC. It was difficult for your magic to move through my timescape."

"You knew that the sorcerer would show up," you said.

Barbatos smiled. "Solomon suggested that there might be such an issue with a counter curse written by the sorcerer himself. So Arsenios added an extra layer to his song that allowed me to force Tobias to set you free. It was a precaution."

You sighed, feeling heavy. "I hope that he leaves you alone now. This has been tiring."

Barbatos didn't move away, only waited for you to gather yourself, waited for you to pull away first. When you finally did, he shifted out of demon form. You could see that this situation had taken a toll on him, though he hid it well.

Barbatos smiled at you again. You could see the small hint of weariness in it. "That was quite the ordeal, I'm afraid. Shall we have some tea to calm ourselves?"

You agreed immediately.

masterpost | chapter one

chapter eight and a half | chapter ten

masterlist | Thank you for reading!

[shirefantasies]

Congrats on 300 followers! You’re definitely one of the best blogs and best writers on this site so well deserved! I wanted to ask if I could get a matchup, I have no preference for lotr or The Hobbit and I don’t have a gender preference either. I have short blonde hair, green eyes and I’m leaning on the chubby or curvy side. I love to create anything and everything, drawing, jewelry making, even tried knitting. I love puzzles, riddles and trivia games too. Besides all that I love to have a special cup of tea at the end of everyday.

I hope you recover well from your surgery and have a wonderful day! 🍄

OMG thank you so much for your amazingly kind comments 🥰 I love being here but words like these are definitely a big part of why I stay. Writing is truly a passion of mine so I’m so happy to hear that!

Also sweetheart I had to match you up with…

Bilbo!

This hobbit never expected to find love outside of the Shire…or at all! But fate has its own plans for us all, hence the hobbit choosing to take the adventure of a lifetime. Maybe after all more than one 😏 Gandalf hadn’t just enlisted one player in the big burglary after all. You were well-studied, clever, crafty, many things needed on a journey like Thorin Oakenshield was embarking on. Bilbo wasn’t looking for love, but when you pulled out your knitting needles what else would you expect?

You’re like a figure from a great Shire tale he’d read with that golden hair and those bright green eyes. Hobbits love curves, too, so you know he is blushing around you! His first questions are anything but forward, though, just wondering where you came from and how you know the grey wizard. Cue stories of the man’s fireworks bursting over the lake! You’ve never visited the Shire, but with every word Bilbo speaks your beautiful eyes widen in wonder and you gush that you’d love to see it and before he can help himself he’s blurting out that he could always show you around there after this whole mess is through. He even finds himself getting quite protective of you, snapping at the dwarves if they say anything that remotely upsets you and finding the courage to draw Sting the first time he sees an orc look your way.

Because you both enjoy riddles and puzzles, whenever you have free time or need to decompress on the road the pair of you find yourselves solving any you have and swapping them back and forth. When Bilbo plucks up the courage, he tells you how much of a comfort you are on this journey; he's spent all this time missing home and yet now he feels like he's found a new one. Somehow even being out in the woods is not so terrible! Your jewelry making is fascinating to the hobbit, so expect lots of questions about the process ranging from is it dangerous to what your favorite gemstone is. Perhaps he is secretly fantasizing about purchasing you a piece for you to keep...

The fact that you both love tea! Bilbo one hundred percent commits your special tea to memory, it does not matter how specific the blend is or if you put an odd amount of anything in it. Both of you could make each other’s perfect cup of tea in the dark. If your tastes are quite different, expect some tittering and head-shaking and general teasing, but you will get what you request every single time.

The look of deep concern in your eyes when the hobbit returns, the way you take him by the shoulders and tell him you thought he was lost, well…let’s just say the emotions get the best of you. Before the orcs catch up the dwarves whoop at the kiss you two yank each other into! When he does use the ring, you can sense the panic striking him when he returns and you go right to him, which he appreciates more than anything. One time you even noticed he looked a bit cold, like all the color was drained from him, so you wrapped him up and let him share in the warmth of one of your handmade scarves…and yourself, of course! He often uses the ‘you look cold’ excuse on you so that he can take your hands!

When the journey is up, all you want to do is go to the Shire, the desire burning in your heart stronger than anything, and who is Bilbo to deny what he also wishes? Years can go by and you never fail to make Bilbo’s heart flutter. The way you pull him into your kisses by his suspenders, the illustrations you add to his maps and letters you surprise him with, inspiring him to do the same. Having a wonderful and creative partner means he can have a cozy life at home in Bag End, yet it is still an adventure every day!

Taglist: @mossthebogwitch @lokilover476 @fuckyoumakeart @kilibaggins @pirate-lord-of-narnia @ibabblealot @joonies-word @stormchaser819 | Reply/Ask/Message to join!

[astarionfixation]

Chapter 5: *Who said it's no fun to play with your food?*

Part of "Am I Fu**ing Insane !?!" A multi chapter adventure in Astarion’s mind

Rating: Mature for mentions of sex and genitals in this one

Word count count: 2.5k

Pairings: Astarion X OFC Tav

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/54356776/chapters/138187864

I have a quite serious praise kink. Which also means compliments in the forms of tags and/or comments might very well spur me to write and post more

** Thoughts "" Dialogue - - Remarks ++ Quotes / Memories

“Why didn’t you just say you are a vampire?”

 He can’t say he’s surprised to hear that question on her lips. Even though yes, this unexpected turn of events decidedly threw a wrench in the timeline of confessions he had carefully planned out. She was supposed to feel safe and desired enough before he would have conceded to that little insignificant admission. Of course they would have gotten there. 

 But at the same time his wildest fantasies had been tame compared to the beautifully warm creature whose red lips are now unequivocally stained with the very same blood he gorged upon

 *I must have missed a spot*

 He smiles to himself, because this accidental expedient proved she yearns for more of him than he even shared with her. And if he has her fascination with immortality to thank for it he bears no issue with it. 

 *It still means I have her wrapped around my finger*

 And who knows how that sweetly obedient side of hers could be put to use soon. His tongue darts out to lick his own lips and indeed, he can still taste the last remnants of the bear’s bloodshed.

 The hold his hand has on her head becomes softer, his fingers running the length of her hair until it reaches the small of her back, pressing lightly so that now she's flush against him again. But this time without any drink to hide intentions behind.

 *At least from her side*

 His eyes search hers and he still finds nothing but curiosity and fascination. A scrumptious half truth starts taking form in his head in answer to her question, and after all, since being allowed out in the sun there are heaps more of energy required of him that all the bears in the world could not satisfy.

Surely the next natural step, considering her infatuation with him, would be playing her just right, so that his need for her blood would see her offer herself freely.

 That is good enough to hide the lie amongst the truth.

 “Because, my darling, you were all lucky enough not to fit my needs nor requirements for a meal”

 She can hold his gaze far longer than this surreal conversation should allow a human, but the look on her face seems still more enticed than disgusted so time to test his luck and set his scheme into action…

 “How long have you known, you clever little thing?”

His hand is now tracing up her back until it reaches the nape of her neck, his fingers grasp at her dark, thick curls for a moment just so she can feel the pull… before releasing her, and he can tell her words come after a soft whimper escapes her throat at that

 “I had my suspicions for a while… if it’s of any consolation I don’t think anyone would have suspected a thing had they not… an interest in the subject”

 The habit of deflection reaches his lips out of a pattern that exists to tempt and be suggestive that is hard to affect

 “Subject, huh? Did you wish to undress me so you could study me better then, darling?”

 And he catches himself just on the edge of what would be the revelation that he knows far more than she has conceded just within the last day, though… is that embarrassment? Now? Not when they were basically dry humping in bed this morning, not at the blood she kissed from his face… now?

 “I… I just have questions… I promise I will keep your secret… I just need to understand”

 And that's when it occurs to him: in a way she's looking at him with the same hardly contained excitement she had for a plant she had only read in books before. 

 *How adorable when she tries to keep lucid*

 He releases her to hear a delicious sound akin to lamentation coming from her lips, surely at the loss of his embrace. He takes one step after another and he's now walking a tight circle around her so that he can study each reaction of her body from every angle. Not dissimilar from a predator stalking his prey. As he comes behind her his hands graze upon her shoulders, making sure his voice comes out as thick honey whispered directly in her ear

 “Oh I know you will keep my secret sweet thing, I know. I just think you should make it worth my while”

 He can hear the way she swallows around nothing, she doesn't know what's best for her because it seems like nothing will advise her hesitation now…

 “Of course… I…”

 *Well, well, well, who said it's no fun to play with your food?*

 With his hands he gathers her long, luscious locks to her back, he repeats the gesture slowly until he's holding her hair in his fist, whilst with his free hand he begins to draw soft patterns on her shoulder, reaching to the front of her neck, forcing her head to bend back and rest upon his chest

 “I will answer, truthfully, each and every question you have on my… condition… but in exchange, I would like to try something my darling… I only need you to say Yes”

“Then Yes”

 *Well that was fast!* Her answer comes after leaving no silence lingering at all. She isn’t even trying to dissimulate her eagerness.

 “Aren't you even going to ask me what you’re agreeing to?”

 But in the next breath she’s already starting her line of questioning

 “So, no food then? No sleep?”

 And that’s how the silent agreement starts then. Neither of them spelt it out but she certainly knows what she’s agreed to. His hands let go of their grip on her so that his pacing -stalking- can resume

 “As an elf I can still trance, it’s been more peaceful since… joining you, so I’ve embraced it again”

 “But no food?”

 “I have only fed on animals, boars, hares, the odd bear like today when I’ve been particularly lucky”

There is absolutely no need for her to know about his diet before he was freed from Cazador's grasp, and all those beasts sound certainly more... dignifying than...

Her inquisitions keep coming, one after the other, and he has to wonder how long she’s been preparing for this. The corner of his eye never leaves her face to not miss any change in her expression, while still pacing slowly, resting for a second in front of her to slowly trace her arms, her collarbones, the back of her hands, and every single spot his fingers decide to mark her, making sure that when the time comes to claim her as his, she will be used to his touch. 

 *And she doesn't even flinch, the vixen!*

 “And you’ve never killed… turned anyone?”

 *Ah yes, that’s where we were headed*

 “Killed when needed but… My master… he made it clear, it was one of his fundamental rules, I could not drink from thinking creatures, and no… as a spawn I cannot turn you… or anyone for that matter. I would need to drink from Cazador and become a full Vampire Lord… but that doesn’t happen often…”

 His pacing comes to a halt so as to measure her reaction to the revelation.

 *Is the knowledge that I can’t give her eternity going to be the end of this sweet little game?*

 “How did he turn you? When…”

*Apparently not then…*

 “About two centuries ago, give or take. I was bleeding out and he offered to keep me alive… it seemed an obvious choice at the time”

 She’s impassible, pressing her interrogation with methodical rigour it almost reminds him of the unremitting inquisitions of what is but a fleeting memory of his days as a Magister.

 “Do you regret it?”

 He takes a moment… how to put this best without breaking his promise of truth?… Then again why should He care as if he ever concerned himself with the authenticity of anything that left his lips beyond what it would get him?

 “A vampire spawn is a slave to their master. The simple fact I can be here instead of at his beck and call is only due to the wriggling worm in our heads. Trust me sweet thing, I have stories that would make you reconsider immortality under my circumstances”

 It’s worth a poke, it’s worth checking if her seemingly resolute position towards eternity is changeable now that she can find out about it from someone who has been experiencing it in less than a glamorous manner.

 “What did he ask of you?”

 “Only to hunt, to prowl, to find sacrifices for him. Every night I’d go out to entice the most beautiful creatures so that before sunrise they would come willingly to Cazador’s palace and meet their demise”

 She pauses for a moment *Finally!* as if to ponder her next line of questioning. Her eyes search for something and when they find him again she seems… hesitant? shy?

 “Why not drink the blood of the people he… sent you to find?”

 *Oh yes, somehow this is what shakes her… well… let’s see how much then* 

And with that though his next words are measured and pour out as tempting as he can make it sound

 “The word you are looking for is “seduce” my darling.”

 Yet she's relentless, the words come out steady despite the rosiness that's clearly rushing to her cheeks. How he'd love to put to the test that implacable persistence of her in other, much less appropriate contexts.

 “Why the seduction?”

 His gaze caresses her up and down till his eyes halt on hers again, he licks his lips as if she’s the most delectable course of a meal. He closes the distance between them to let his fingers reach for her chin, to make her feel the pull and she can’t look away from him now.

“It worked on you darling, didn’t it?”

 How refreshing to be almost honest, to play in the open and still see her struggle not because she wishes to escape but if anything because of how she tries to fight her own bashfulness

 “I am not… we… you really never broke his rules?”

 “Not his rules… but I held back on his command once. Only once. He buried me alive for what seemed like forever, truly eternity’s way to turn into a curse… you can’t imagine his reach… this is actually my best chance to disappear while I can still walk in the sun…”

 “You couldn’t?”

 “Not before the tadpoles, no.”

 “Why the rules? Why keep you from… people?”

 “I am not sure, but knowing him I’d wager to keep his control over me? Maybe your blood holds some secret to my own strength…”

 That's when she finally catches her breath, her eyes searching for something... is she trying to find words? Her? Whose unyielding mind would not let go, desperately grasping at things he didn't even know he could portray when a flash of her words, committed to paper, comes back to him, to remind him, if he ever needed, how certainly she must care, beyond his nature, beyond immortality... otherwise why...

 +Maybe the disappointment Astarion carries in his eyes is resignation to the eagles eating his exposed liver, while doves never nested around his heart+

 The memory comes in her voice and it becomes entangled in her actual next sentence

 “Maybe you should find out…”

 *Oh should I !?!*

 At that sweet concession he can’t help but relent a little confession of his own, surely just to make her feel as if they were peers in this exchange, his eyes soften and a smile, as sincere as he can conjure, barely pulls at his lips

 “Aren’t you even a little bit scared? My ego would be extremely grateful if you could ever so slightly tremble”

 But she holds his gaze as if everything else is redundant now, and from the recess of his mind beautiful images come back. Her face contorted in an expression of pure, unadulterated pleasure, as he pins her to a tree, his cock buried within her wet softness and finally, his fangs get to be inhumed in her flesh too, piercing the thin resistance put up by her skin and *Maybe there is nothing else I would need, for a moment at least*

 “I want to help… maybe we can both help each other”

 Her words bring him back to the glade, and the twitch in his lower abdomen reminds him there needs to be a time and place to set the stage for those mesmerising visuals to become reality.

 *Careful what you wish for little dove*

 He studies her with what he hopes looks inviting for her when truly, she’s managed to bring back a tinge of hunger in his guts even after he devoured an entire damn bear! He lets the silence hang on just a bit longer, hopefully feeding her doubt and therefore desire to do anything and more to please him now that they are so close to share an intimate moment.

 “Why don’t we take this delightful conversation… somewhere more private?”

 She nods, and his hand goes back to her neck to be entombed within her soft curls as his thumb grazes lightly on her jaw, pressing just enough to force her to bend her head back, exposing that delicious spot just behind her ear

 “How about… you work your magic on that tonic for our friends…”

He relents from the grip on her hair, just so the back of his hand can now caress one of her soft cheeks to punctuate and emphasise the words

 “You make sure you have a proper supper, none of this morning nonsense”

 The hand now reaches for her other cheek and he can tell the touch alone, his skin still warmer from the bear meal, does something to her, because her lips part slightly, silently. His voice lowers suggestively, leaving the implications linger in the air at his next sentence

 “If we’re going to do this properly… I can't have you faint or anything like that…” 

 And he doesn’t even need to spell it out for her and she’s already letting out a breath that’s on the verge of becoming a moan at the unspoken idea of what they both know is going to happen… she wanted to help after all, she kissed the blood from his own skin…

 *She wants to be tasted*

 That thought makes him swallow on nothingness as well, but he finds this plan laid out for the evening a delicious tease… which he wants to make harder for her as well. His head lowers slightly while his fingers reach for the nape of her neck, grazing the skin with just the tip of his nails, bringing her close… his lips brushing against that tender, pulsating spot that is just pushing relentlessly against his mouth. He plants a soft, open mouthed kiss on it, and he sucks her skin in just enough to make sure a faint bruise will appear. 

 Then his last words before he leads her back are spoken just against her outer ear.

 “And once you retire for an early night… I will come see you in your chamber.”

[cherryheairt]

Even Cregan, who smiled sometimes in his sleep, seemed to have pleasant dreams.

Cregan was probably smiling in his dreams because they were only suitable for those over 18 and included the memories of Daenys' legs, as well as the memory of her nakedness.

His infatuation with the dragon appeared to be some sort of puppy love.

Dusk is very much aligned and in tune with Cregan's feelings. It is obvious that Dusk's fascination with Daenys began at the same time Cregan began to fall in love with her. Now that Cregan has internally acknowledged his love for her, it makes sense that Dusk would choose to sleep next to Morningstar.

My wife's honor is as sacred as mine, to father a child that was not hers would be unforgivable."

It's as if Cregan is a male bird spreading his feathers to show the female that he would be a good mate for her. However, Cregan's sense of loyalty and fidelity to his future wife makes sense, since wolves in the wild form monogamous pairs until one of them dies or is lost.

She smiled in reminisce. "You remind me of him, slightly."

This makes sense. Although the phrase "opposites attract" has become popular in popular culture to describe when two people of different temperaments are sexually attracted to each other, unfortunately this can only be applied to magnets. Actually, it has been widely proven by psychological, anthropological and sociological studies that people fall in love with what is familiar to them. That is why people who grow up in dysfunctional families tend to repeat this pattern with their future partners and find it very difficult to leave these toxic relationships.

"Mm. Perhaps it is my audience, then. In front of my septas, their stares were so intense that I nearly cried when practicing in front of them. My dragon does not judge as they do, she sings along."

I am sure that the next audience Daenys will be singing for will be her future children. Surely when Daenys disappears for a long time, Cregan will only have to look for her in the babies' nursery and there he will find her singing to them.

"Cregan, please. I need you." She whimpered, cold tears falling onto his face as she leaned over him.

I'm sure Cregan was dreaming of something like this, but surely he had Daenys crying out of pleasure and not out of fear or anguish.

"I love you, my sweet dreamer. It would truly kill me to see you at the mercy of some old and cruel Lord, who would keep you from happiness. If that makes me a selfish man, then so be it. But at least I am an honest one."

Awww! At last Cregan told her, it was so cute, sweet and above all, sincere. It's obvious that man is dying of love for Daenys and has been for a long time.

"How could I not? All I have seen, I adore. Do not simplify your entire being to your dreams–that is merely one part of you."

With such a declaration of love something tells me that Cregan's dreams included Daenys pregnant or holding his baby in her arms.

Return to me safely, Princess. That's all I ask of you."

It was obvious that Cregan's heart was bleeding at having to be separated from his other half. The good thing is that Daenys' heart knows she belongs with Cregan, even if she is too unsure of herself to accept it.

ahaha maybe he was. quite like anthony bridgerton and kate sharma in that one hunting scene 🫣

The wolf of the north (cregan) protects the lightbringer (daenys) just as dusk insists on protecting Morningstar (although she's the being being in westeros who needs it).

yes, i love wolf pack parallels! the dragons of westeros are also seen to be monogamous, like Vermithor and silverwing and caraxes and syrax. I think they both hold a lot of anger to their parents for siring bastards, knowing the kids from the affairs are the ones that suffer from it.

unfortunately that is very true, people with toxic parents often find partners who act the same way. I'm glad Daenys had good parents, or maybe she'd have been with aegon lol

Daenys would be quite unlike other noblewoman mothers. They usually tend to distance themselves from their babes after their birth and leave them to wetnurses and septas. I think, because of her dislike for septas and a want to be close to her babes, she would personally nurse them and oversee their teachings.

LMAO i feared that her words when waking her up sounded a bit double-meaninged, but they were all i could think of

I'm glad you liked the confession scene! Daenys did not get her own yet, seeing as the news was a total mood killer, but I also think she has to figure out her emotions for him a bit more. she sees him as her pillar and associates him with many good things (seen more next chap), but doesn't know that is it as intense as love yet. especially with her stress and mourning.

[thereaderinsertlady]

snarles here sneaking into your asks to request snatcher x reader for questober 👻🎃 okay so i had a few ideas for this since you said you like prompts and I've had quite a few laying around because I'm too shy to actually get into writing fanfiction myself hope you like them~ if not feel free to ignore any ones you don't like! - reader was either already a ghost or recently passed away and was reborn as a spirit - i had this idea where subcon has this yearly tradition where all the subconites and other spirits of the forest would make masks and dance in front of a big bonfire in the middle of the village - my random silly lore for this is that snatcher originally set this up as a way to celebrate the rebirth of subcon aswell as mourn the loss of everyone who died when the forest froze over (and also to spite vanessa lol) - after being in a relationship with y/n for a while now snatcher decides to invite them for the first time that's as much as i had for ideas but i think that's a pretty good place to add on from also most of this would probably just be fluff but honestly go wild

:0 hello there!! I tried my best to fit everything you put into one fic- I really liked all of the ideas you put down lmao. Anyways, here's the link on ao3, and I hope you enjoy!

Snatcher x Reader - To be a Ghost

Unfortunately for you, you… were dead. 

And have been for a while. 

It took nearly a year to get used to being dead and having your bottom half end with a tail instead of legs, but you found a way to cope via messing with people with your newfound abilities. Making objects float was very easy– a little too easy. Though, trying to paint a floating mask with a floating paint brush? A little difficult, even for you.

“How’s it coming along?” Snatcher said encouragingly, peering over your shoulder.

“I think it’s… somewhat coming along,” you said, tilting your head to look at it from a different angle. “I think. It seems like it’s missing something…”

“Missing something?” He hummed, leaning in close to look at the mask. “Hmm…”

As you floated in front of the mask, trying to coax the ethereal paint into cooperating and not to drip onto the tree-home’s floor, Snatcher's presence was oddly comforting. His encouragement was a balm to your spectral soul, and you were grateful for his support.

Snatcher leaned in more, his translucent eyes studying your creation intently. "Maybe a touch of cerulean blue around the edges? That might give it a bit more depth. Either way, I think you’ll be able to finish before tonight."

Even though it was always night time in Subcon, they were having an event in the middle of the village. Some sort of reconciliation with life and death and to aid with mourning… or something. You weren’t a hundred percent certain what it was for, but this was the first time Snatcher has invited you to join. 

Really, you were just excited to dance and hang out in front of a warm fire. 

Despite the fact that most of your senses have eroded; taste, smell, touch– you could still feel temperature. You couldn’t warm up by yourself, of course, so you had to find other sources.

“...Say, do you miss being alive?” Your voice was soft.

“Do I miss being in a meat sack?” He snorted. “That old thing was a hindrance! I couldn’t do anything that I can do now!” Snatcher floated past you, flopping down into his maroon chair. 

You chuckled at Snatcher's candid response. "Fair point," you mused, a smile tugging at the corners of your spectral lips. "But there must be some things you miss about it, right? Like... the taste of food, or the smell of roses?"

Snatcher tilted his head in thought, considering your question. "Well, I suppose there were some pleasant moments, yes. I… suppose I miss the taste of bacon, but overall, this form suits me just fine. No need to worry about trivial mortal concerns."

You nodded, understanding his perspective. It was fascinating to contemplate the stark differences between your current existence and the memories of your past life. The transition from flesh and blood to this ephemeral state was a journey of its own.

You continued to refine the mask, each stroke of the brush imbuing it with a sense of depth and mystery. It was shaping up to be a truly unique creation… or so you hoped. It might look a little dumb at an angle.

Snatcher watched with curiosity as the mask began to take on a new dimension. "I can see it coming together," he said, a hint of excitement in his voice. His tail flicked against the floor. "You've got quite the talent."

You waved a hand, feeling just a little embarrassed. “Oh, it’s nothing. I’m sure your minion’s masks look much better than mine.”

“Well, as they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder!”

“Did you steal that quote from a book somewhere?”

“...Maybe!”

You lightly laughed, continuing to work on painting the mask. You could pick items up in your ethereal hands, but not for long. Even sitting down was an issue… Well, that is, if you weren’t sitting in Snatcher’s lap. You blushed at the thought, recalling a few instances where he allowed you to sleep on him.

“...Say, when does the event start, again?”

“In a few good hours,” he answered. “Why?”

You carefully placed the mask down on the table, finished with it and wanting it to dry. You turned towards Snatcher, trying to put on a non-embarrassed face. “Well… maybe we could… I dunno… read a book together or something?”

“A book?” Snatcher seemed amused. “Is this a ploy to come sit in my lap again?”

You grunted, your tail swishing. “A-And what if it is?”

He took a moment to pretend to think. “Hmm… I suppose it wouldn’t hurt…” After a pause he patted his lap. “Come hither.”

You tried not to look excited. As quickly as a mouse to cheese, you plopped down onto his lap, cuddling up to him. 

Snatcher chuckled, his purple form providing a surprisingly comfortable perch. You could feel a sense of warmth emanating from him, despite the lack of true physicality. It was a small comfort, a reminder that even in this ethereal existence, there were ways to find solace… Though, you wondered how he was able to sit down for so long without phasing through the chair… maybe it was an experience thing?

As you settled down in Snatcher's lap, he produced a worn, leather-bound book from the folds of existence, teleporting it to his clawed hands. It was adorned with cryptic symbols and strange glyphs, a testament to the otherworldly nature of this place.

He flipped it open, revealing the unique language used. “I’ll read it to you,” he told you, likely seeming your bewildered expression. "Now, let's see what tale we can unearth from the annals of Subcon's history," he mused, his eyes glowing faintly as he flipped through the first few pages. “It’s been a while since I’ve read this…” 

“...Anal?” Your lips quivered upwards as you tried not to laugh.

“Annals, as in yearly.” He pouted. “Silly ghost.”

After a moment his clawed fingers passed over the ancient text, expertly navigating the script and reading it aloud. The words he spoke seemed to come alive, weaving a vivid mental tapestry of Subcon's past. It was a tale of struggles, of rebirth, and of the enduring spirit that lived on in this forest.

…You rubbed your eyes, leaning back into him and getting comfortable. Although sleeping was a bit… difficult to do as a ghost, you found yourself drowsing off, head bopping a few times before settling backwards, against his chest. Although you were always interested to learn more, he was just too comfortable to lay on.

You weren’t exactly sure when you fell asleep, but reality faded away as you snuggled up to him, resting in his lap and comforted by his soothing, rumbling voice…

[pvnkesttt]

TLOU Spidey AU: A Rundown.

titled: katipō.

tlou-verse: a masterlist.

Featuring the pairing: Joel Miller x Athena Kallis (OC). Other OCs included/Mentioned: Rowan, Dev and Uncle Ari. Notes: Hi, Hello! So, I recently made a mini post about wanting to start a Spidey AU of sorts for TLOU/my OC, Athena Kallis, who essentially becomes a spidey/spider-woman variant. In this post, I'll be doing just that: sharing my thoughts and idea on the spidey au I have in mind for my OC as well as her relationship with Joel Miller and how it's effected in this AU. I hope y'all like this and if you like this, please feel free to let me know!

Let's begin, shall we?

For starters, let me introduce Athena Kallis and her lore in this specific AU:

Athena Kallis was born on November 1st, near a settlement in Auckland, New Zealand. That settlement was known as Piha. Growing up, she'd love exploring the beachside and creating her most memorable memories there as a way of distracting herself from the mournful loss of her parents.

Her parents died of a tragic accident while she was young and at the young of 9, she would find herself moving in with her uncle. Where? San Marcos, Texas. However, she moved within the inlands of that area which arises some conflict with who she is and where she's from.

Later on in life, after graduating high school, Athena took the road to college, moving away from Texas and finding herself in Seattle, Washington where'd she study up on her education and use her degree to become a wildlife biologist at the age of 25. Her Uncle Ari had soon moved into Seattle as well, hoping to be near her whenever he'd like. He also found a job working for a nearby homeless shelter, one in which Athena would volunteer at from time to time.

Getting back to Athena, though, being a wildlife biologist was great! She got to provide expertise on conserving the biological diversity of national forests and grasslands while working to protect and recover endangered species. One particular species she worked on a lot was that of a spider: the katipō. The young woman grew fascinated with how it worked and what it's species was like. The spider, itself, also became crucial to Athena's life after the incident.

One night, while getting so caught up in her work and studying up on the spider, she hadn't realized that she got bit by the venomous spider she was studying. For a time (more like a few hours), nothing abnormal seemed to have happened after getting bit....that was until things started changing. Soon after, Athena found out just how much she had changed due to the bite. Things were sticking to her glue, she had a strong grip on objects and....she could shoot out webs AND climb up walls. She was living, human spider in a way. There came a time where she took advantage of these spider powers, it happened during robbery near the homeless shelter her uncle worked at. At first, Athena didn't know if she could help out or not but luckily she did as she managed to stop a criminal from going around the city and robbing other places. HOWEVER, that also came with the scar she now bares under her eye, a scar that she got while chasing down the criminal as he struck her with a knife. Athena figured that, if she can stop a criminal like the one before that, she'd be able to stop many others. It's what the city needed: A hero.

So, she became just that, a hero that Seattle needed. She managed to make a suit for herself, one in which the colors were reminiscent of her favorite bird: the wrybill, that meant her colors were white, black and gray. With the suit, she could keep her identity hidden while still being able to save citizens from criminals and turning them in. There was a cop, Dev Burman, who had become curious of why this spiderling was roaming the streets, why they were suddenly coming in to take out bad guys. He still keeps an eye out on the spiderling, hoping to one day get to know her a bit better even if he already knows about the girl behind the mask.

The people of Seattle loved this spiderling and Athena loved seeing how much she was loved, even if some had doubts about her. Her Uncle Ari was quite fascinated over a person in suit taking the streets to fight off bad guys, he just hoped that whoever was under there was staying safe. Speaking of Uncle Ari, he's important as he's the one who unintentionally gets his niece into a budding romance with his best friend, Joel Miller, without even knowing it.

The Beginning/Relationship of Joel and Athena:

Joel Miller was close friends with Uncle Ari for a while, a bit after Athena left for college. Sometimes, Uncle Ari would mention him to her on the phone, was yapping about what the two discussed that day and everything like that. Athena never knew what he looked like but did have curious mind as to what he looked like.

Joel Miller was around Ari's age, having met him a bit after Athena left for college. From then on, him and Ari have been the greatest of friends. Sometimes, whenever Athena was mentioned, Joel was reminded of his sweet baby girl: Sarah. Sarah was Joel's daughter, his everything however, she was gone from him to quickly after a tragedy happened, he'll never forget what was taken from him, how someone he loved so much can just vanish like that.

While Athena never knew what Joel looked like, it was quite the opposite for Joel as he knew what Athena looked liked. Ari would show baby pictures of his niece to Joel from time to time and had even showed a recent picture of her attending some local event with friends Athena had sent to Ari. It was a polaroid picture of her and, while Joel would never say it out loud, he thought Athena was very pretty in his eyes. It seemed as though she could light up his whole world if ever got the chance to meet her.

and she did.

When Joel came up to visit with Ari, he'd told he'd like to stay for a few months, see what it's like away from Texas. Ari was thrilled about this visit, excited to see his best friend after months and even more thrilled that he'd be able to properly introduce his niece to Joel.

Both and Athena and Joel had met when Athena came in to help volunteer at one of the many cookouts the shelter threw every few months. Athena's mind immediately sensed that a handsome, older man was standing in front of her as soon as Ari called him out. Joel's brain was no good either, here Athena was, standing right in front of him. She was real!

The two introduced themselves, making small talk that day but both would eventually hit it off. Time went on and soon, Joel and Athena were gaining strong feelings for one another, feelings that would be admitted. They just couldn't help themselves around each other, it was a spark that matched between them. So, they do eventually get together and things are better than ever for the pair.

For a time, Joel doesn't know about Athena's identity as "The Katipō", and Athena keeps it that way for a while. In fact, the only person who knew at the time was Rowan Bauer, her best friend (and has a thing for Dev) and he's done a (almost) pretty good job at keeping it secret. She doesn't want Joel to freak out over his girl practically risking herself to save the city. Eventually, though, it's revealed to him that Athena is the web slinger he keep seeing on the news and tv. Things are a bit complicated for a while but, in the end, Joel realizes that all he wants is for Athena to be okay out there. That she comes home, still in tact, still carrying her love for Joel. That's exactly what she does because both she and Joel couldn't live without one another, they deserved one another and belonged together.

Bonus fun facts:

Joel has a calico cat named franklin.

Athena has a tattoo in honor of her heritage/culture and where she comes from.

Athena also has a blind salamander named Palo (though, sometimes he's referred to as "Matty" also 😉)

notes: there you have it! a rundown on the tlou spidey au I've got going on! I've been loving this AU so MUCH that I wanted to share with you all. If you enjoyed or have thoughts, like I said, please let me know! I'd love to know. :))

(also, I apologize if there are any grammar mistakes in this post lol)