#and then we'll go get Nova

[yourmoonmomma]

god im tired

[brainisafk]

They have done The Thing. Ouch.

Welcome to the team, Davrin. We're having another crisis immediately, hope you don't mind.

I might be writing another Thing for them already so I guess I should probably go ahead and post the first Thing shouldn't I. >.>

They're off after the rest of the team first thing next time. Then they get to sulk until their Neve comes back. >.>

[yuzu-adagio]

Done with SLARPG! Every dang thing about that game was right up my alley, from the serious moments to the dumb jokes to the artstyle to the music to the gameplay. I don't think everybody needs to play it, but I think some of us do, and I was one of em.

[radiant-system]

I love that Cruise with Ben and David aren't afraid of being rude to cruise lines. It really makes me feel like I can trust them when they say something is good.

[laurelwinchester]

at this point my doctor’s ‘’chill’’ demeanor is becoming a fucking problem

[wholoveseggs]

A Tale of Tinsel and Turmoil

18+ ---- {Masterlist} {Tag-List}{Five Days of Fluffmas}

{Elijah Mikaelson x Reader} When Kol brings home a Christmas tree too grand for the Mikaelson courtyard, the family’s decorating antics spiral into chaos...

♡♡Merry Christmas♡♡

1.5 words - Warnings: flufffff, holiday decorating gone wrong, mischievous Kol, Christmas tree theme debates, Hope's word is law && lots of love and laughter...

@starkleila @lydia1369sworld @notleylaaa @vampiresluv

@myanmy @xflowerbombxo @maryvibess @always-and-forever-daydreaming

@spnaquakindgdom @amournoir @meeom @damienmorton @wickedmuse

@cs-please @complicatedandconfusing-25 @youcanhavemybuckanyday @akala6670229 @yeaiamme2

@itsjulzandmydiamonds @witch-of-letters @elijahstwink @rosecentury

@amanda08319 @starshipcookie @li-da-savage @veggie-eggrolls @spideybv28

@sunkissedebony97 @idk00sblog @savannaounana @sekaishell @b1tchy

@loving-and-dreaming @fancycassie-stayfancy @hcqwxrtss123 @iamawkwardandshy @ziayamikaelson

@absolutemarveltrash @darkened-writer @nina6708 @evasmlp

@madeinmyownmind-blog @lovelyy-moonlight @blacknightrises @poppet05 @sweetieseven

@xoxo-shy @nova-j @decaffeinatedparadisepost @fandom-princess-forevermore @theotherworld97

@origshipfan @cocoabliss @eternalnoble @darth-laeka

It had been a while since the entire Mikaelson family had been under the same roof, but when Kol came through the door carrying a massive Christmas tree, he was quickly met by an excited Hope, who had been waiting impatiently for him to come home.

"Uncle Kol!" the little girl cried, rushing into his arms and hugging him tightly. "You brought the tree!"

"Well, of course I did, little darling," he said, returning the hug just as eagerly.

Elijah cast a skeptical glance at the towering tree as Kol began setting it up in the courtyard. It stretched nearly to the third-floor balcony, its branches sprawling like a small forest.

"Was a tree of this size really necessary?" Elijah asked, his tone dry but patient.

Kol shrugged, carefully securing the base. "Why not? The holidays are all about extravagance," he replied, stepping back to admire his handiwork.

"Daddy! Mommy! Come see the tree!" Hope cried out, racing off to find her parents.

You leaned against the second-floor railing, watching the commotion below. Kol stood proudly by the massive tree, grinning like a child on Christmas morning, while Klaus approached, already scowling.

"Where did you get this?" Klaus asked, arms crossed. "They certainly aren’t selling these at the tree lot."

"I found it," Kol answered vaguely, his mischievous grin widening under Rebekah’s pointed glare. "Perhaps with a bit of magical assistance,"

"Kol..." Elijah warned, his calm tone carrying a note of exasperation.

Before Kol could reply, a small voice interrupted. "Uncle Elijah," Hope said, tugging on his sleeve. Her big, hopeful eyes were enough to melt even Elijah’s stoic demeanor. "Will you help me decorate the tree?"

Elijah smiled warmly, lifting her into his arms. "Of course, sweetheart."

Your heart melted at the sight. Elijah had always had a way with Hope, his tenderness shining through in moments like these.

"I can help too, uncle Kol can't keep me from it," Rebekah said with a smirk.

Klaus was quick to jump in, "oh please, Bekah, I think we all know I'm the better decorator."

"Go get the decorations, and then we'll see about that," Rebekah told her brother, crossing her arms.

Elijah handed Hope off to Hayley and went to the storage room where the ornaments were kept. As he walked, he caught your gaze, and gave you a soft smile, his eyes twinkling. You found yourself following him into the storage room.

"Do you want me to carry that?" you asked, taking in the large cardboard box Elijah had pulled from the shelf.

"Thank you, but I'm perfectly capable of carrying a box," he told you with a chuckle.

"Well, it looks heavy," you replied, giving him a smirk.

He raised his eyebrow, "are you saying I'm not strong enough to lift a box? My dear I can lift you without even breaking a sweat."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes," he told you, stepping closer.

You bit your lip, trying to keep yourself from grinning. Elijah's eyes darted to your lips, a smirk forming on his face. He stepped even closer, his body almost brushing yours.

"So, are you going to prove it or not?" You asked, a challenging tone in your voice.

He smirked, leaning in close enough for his lips to brush the shell of your ear. His voice was low and raspy when he whispered, "I will be more than happy to show you later,"

Your breath hitched, and heat pooled in your lower stomach. You looked up at him, his face only inches from yours, and his gaze was hungry, but he wouldn't move any closer, not until you told him. The two of you had been dancing around each other for months now, neither one wanting to make the first move, but you were starting to think he might actually kiss you.

"Are you two love birds coming?" Rebekah's voice called out, effectively shattering the moment.

You stepped back, blushing furiously. Elijah gave you an apologetic smile before lifting the box and carrying it to the courtyard.

The ornaments were quickly passed around and the decorating began. Klaus, Kol, and Rebekah were trying to de-tangle the string lights, while Hope was helping Freya and Hayley pick out the prettiest ornaments. You and Elijah were sorting through the tinsel, contemplating which colors to use.

As the family began decorating, the bickering started almost immediately. Rebekah held up a string of red and gold ornaments. "We’re going traditional! Red, green, and gold. It’s classic."

Klaus scoffed. "Traditional? How dull. We should go for a winter wonderland theme. White, silver, and blue. Sophisticated."

"Traditional is timeless!" Rebekah snapped, hanging a gold bauble on the tree.

"And winter wonderland is elegant," Klaus retorted, tossing a strand of silver tinsel onto the tree.

Kol, watching from the sidelines, smirked. "Both of you have awful taste. Let’s make it fun! Bright colors everywhere. I bet this sturdy tree can hold all of our ornaments,"

The three of them turned toward each other, their voices growing louder. Freya sighed and crossed her arms. "Are we seriously doing this? Hope is right there. Can’t we go one holiday without arguing?"

"We’re not arguing," Klaus said, his tone anything but convincing.

"We’re discussing," Rebekah added with a sharp smile.

"Oh, really?" Freya asked, raising an eyebrow. "Then why do I hear so much shouting and so little decorating?"

Before anyone could respond, Hope, who had been quietly observing, spoke up. "I want it all purple! Purple is my favorite!"

Everyone turned to look at her. Klaus, ever the doting father, immediately relented. "Purple it is, my little princess."

Elijah chuckled softly, already retrieving the purple tinsel. "It seems the debate has been settled."

"Smart choice," you teased, watching him as he carefully handed a strand of tinsel to Hope.

As the decorating continued, the tree began to take shape—a towering display of purple tinsel and a mix of ornaments, each with its own bit of family history. Despite the occasional bickering, the atmosphere was warm and filled with laughter.

Finally, Klaus stepped back, surveying the nearly finished tree. "Now, we just need the topper," he declared.

"I want to do it!" Hope said, bouncing on her toes.

Klaus’s eyes widened. "Absolutely not. It’s too dangerous. The tree is massive."

"But Daddy—" Hope started, her pout already forming.

"No, sweetheart," Klaus said firmly. "Uncle Kol chose the most ridiculous tree imaginable. You won't be able to reach the top."

Hope crossed her arms and let out a dramatic sigh, she was so much like her father sometimes. 

"Finnnnne," she groaned. "But someone needs to do it!"

"I got it," you offered, climbing the stairs to the second floor balcony.

Elijah followed you. "You should let me," he said, reaching the railing and offering his hand. "If you fall, you could really hurt yourself,"

"Are you going to catch me if I fall?" you asked, your eyes twinkling with mirth.

He grinned. "Of course, I will.”

In one smooth motion, Elijah placed his hands at your waist and lifted you effortlessly. You gasped, your hands instinctively gripping his shoulders as he steadied you, holding you high enough to reach the top. Hope clapped her hands below, beaming with excitement.

"Easy now," Elijah murmured, his voice calm and steady. "You’ve got this."

You placed the star carefully, adjusting it until it sat perfectly centered. "Done!" you exclaimed, turning to beam at him.

But in your excitement, you shifted your weight too far. Elijah tried to steady you, but the combination of your movement and the tree’s precarious balance was too much. The massive tree wobbled, then toppled, sending all of the ornaments and purple tinsel scattering across the courtyard.

Chaos erupted immediately. Klaus shouted something about Kol ruining Christmas, Rebekah shrieked about broken ornaments, and Freya and Hayley tried to calm everyone down. Hope, however, clapped her hands, laughing as she declared it "the funniest Christmas ever."

Elijah, still holding you securely, slowly lowered you to the ground. His expression was a mix of exasperation and amusement. "I think we may have caused a bit of trouble," he said, his tone light.

You couldn’t help but laugh. "A bit?" you echoed, gesturing to the glittering mess.

His hands lingered at your waist, steady and warm as you met his gaze. For a moment, the chaos around you faded. Elijah’s dark eyes softened, and you felt a pull so strong you couldn’t resist. Leaning up, you pressed your lips to his.

The kiss was soft and warm, a long-awaited moment that felt just as perfect as you’d imagined. When you pulled back, your cheeks were flushed, and Elijah’s signature smirk was firmly in place.

"I suppose toppling the tree was worth it," he said, brushing a strand of hair from your face.

"Completely worth it," you replied, grinning.

Kol groaned loudly from below. "Oh, for the love of Christmas, can you two stop being disgustingly cute for one second? Come help us clean up,"

Elijah didn’t even glance at him. "Perhaps if you weren’t so careless with your magical trees, Kol, this wouldn’t have happened."

As the family bickered and laughed, you stayed where you were, Elijah still holding you close. In the middle of the glittering mess, surrounded by laughter, love, and a little chaos, you realized there was nowhere else you’d rather be.

[heavyhitterheaux]

Not a Baby Anymore

First Babies of Private Garden Fic

Synopsis: You and Jack have to get on the same page regarding Axel, who clearly lets you know that he is tired of being treated what he believes is unfairly by you

Pairing: Husband!Jack Harlow x Wife!Reader

Please Do Not Repost My Content Anywhere

Axel hadn't been your biggest fan after he had asked you if he could go to soccer camp after school was going to be let out in a few weeks. You had your hesitations of him being away from you for a long period of time and even though he was getting older, you weren't quite ready for it. So, of course you told him no. That led to him catching an attitude with you and running straight to his room but not before telling you that ‘You never let me do anything. I wish dad was here more.’

You were trying to explain your reasoning to him, but he didn't want to hear it. Jack was due to be back later that evening and you had a strong feeling that he was going to try and convince you otherwise.

Once Jack had made it in the door and saw you sitting in the living room on your phone, he simply sat down next to you before sliding you onto his lap. Your arms immediately went around his neck and he gave you several kisses.

“I missed you.” You whispered against his lips before giving him another kiss which instantly made a smile come to his face.

“I missed you too. Where are all my babies?” Jack asked as he wrapped his arms around you.”

“Ivy and Autumn are in the backyard, Cam and Cash are with my parents, and Axel was in his room the last time I checked. Nova is working on her science project.”

“Hmm, that's weird. He's usually all up under you. I'm surprised he lets you breathe sometimes.” Jack knew early on that the bond you and Axel shared was special since the both of you almost lost your lives.

He remembered when he was going back and forth from your hospital room in the ICU to the NICU to see the triplets and how he was probably either going to lose his wife or one of his children. Those were the longest few days of his life and he didn't know what he was going to do if you left him before he properly got to have a chance at fixing your marriage.

“Aht! Not too much on my baby boy.” You answered while playfully hitting Jack who laughed.

“Our baby boy is almost fourteen.”

“Your point!? But I know he missed you.” But you didn't mention the argument that you two got in earlier which was why he was now in his room. Because he didn't want to be near you.

“Well let me go check on them. I'll be back.”

Jack slid you off his lap before kissing your forehead and going upstairs to see Axel.

He noticed that his door was open and he poked his head in, excited to be reunited with one of his oldest babies only to see him angrily wiping tears away from his face.

“Ax what's wrong? Did something happen?” Jack asked as he stepped fully into his room and sat next to him on his bed.

“I want to go to soccer camp.”

“Okay, just let me know all the details about it and we'll pay for you to go. Why the tears?” Jack answered, but he could tell that there was something else.

Axel shook his head no and Jack looked at him confused.

“Ax?”

“I already asked mom and she said no.”

“What? Did she tell you why?”

“No, I walked away from her. She never lets me do anything especially when you aren't here. She lets my sisters do anything they want, but I have to stay home.”

This was the first time that Axel vocalized this to Jack and he quickly grew annoyed with you.

“You want to go?”

“Yes. All my friends are going.”

“Then that settles it. I’ll deal with your mother.”

“I don't understand why she always tells me no.”

“Don't worry. I’ll talk to her.”

“Dad?”

“Hmm?”

“Can we have pizza for dinner? If I had asked mom she would have probably told me no too.”

Jack stifled a laugh before answering him.

“We’ll order it when Cash and Cam come back.”

Little did Jack know that you had been standing on the top step listening to their conversation and was going to confront him about it. You quietly snuck back down the steps to sit in the living room and bide your time.

Jack stayed with Axel for another twenty minutes before going to see the girls and then made his way back inside.

—

“Jackman….” Jack heard you say his name as he heard your footsteps approach from behind him and he immediately sighed because he knew a shitstorm was coming. He had just left Axel's room for the second time and had made his way downstairs to find something to snack on.

“Yes, baby?” He replied as he turned around to face you.

“Why did you tell Axel that it was okay for him to go to soccer camp when I specifically told him no?”

“Because you are overprotective of him and never let him do anything.” Jack said being completely honest as he shrugged.

“What? No I'm not!”

“Babe, yes you are. You aren't like that with Ivy and Autumn and let them do anything that they ask within reason. Why doesn't Axel get the same treatment?”

“I do give him the same treatment!”

“Are you trying to convince me or yourself? You let me teach him how to play and it took me months to convince you to say yes. Our baby boy is growing up and it's about time you accepted that.”

“Well yes! He has asthma! That was my entire reasoning.”

“That is well controlled. He hasn't had an attack since he was 6 and takes his meds on a daily basis.”

“But what if something happens and I'm not there? Did we forget that we almost lost him?”

“Y/N…. Thirteen years ago. He is fine and going to make good choices. All of his friends are going and I don't want him to feel left out.”

“I still don't know. The thought makes me nervous.”

“He's not going to be far from home and it's only for two weeks.”

“TWO WEEKS? No, that's too long for him to be away from us. Absolutely not.”

“So let me ask you this. When he becomes an adult because you know that's eventually going to happen, right? Are you going to be babying him like this? And sheltering him? How is he supposed to experience anything? I'm convinced that you're going to go to college with him too.” Jack explained, but all you did was roll your eyes.

“My answer is still no.”

“And I told him yes. My second born came to me in tears, upset and told me how when I'm not here and he asks you to do something nine times out of ten you tell him no. This is something that he really wants to do and his mom shouldn't be ruining that for him.”

“But he's my baby.” You quietly said as you were trying to blink back tears. All of your children held a special place in your heart but you admit you took extra precautions when it came to Axel because he wasn't dealt the best hand when you brought him into the world.

“And he's mine too. I want all of them to be able to experience things and have opportunities but one child shouldn't feel like he's being left out.”

Just then you heard footsteps and turned to see that it was Axel who was trying to wipe the remnants of his tears away before you saw them making your heart break.

“Axel…” You started to say, but he immediately went over to Jack.

“She won't let me go will she?” He asked as he looked up at him and all Jack did was sigh.

“Ax, turn around and ask her.”

“Why? She's probably going to say no like she always does.”

“All I want to do is protect you.” You said as your eyes started to water.

“I'm not a baby anymore! And I'm tired of you treating me like one. I take my meds every day and I haven't been in the hospital since I was six. I want to go to soccer camp with my friends!”

Crossing your arms, you gathered your thoughts before responding.

“I know that you aren't a baby anymore, but this is hard for me. I know I say this all the time, but I didn't even think that you would make it to six months old. So can you understand why I`m so hesitant. But if this is what you want, okay.” You responded while shrugging.

“Wait, that's it?” Axel asked, thinking that you were going to put up more of a fight.

“Yes.”

“But there are going to be rules that you have to follow.” Jack piped up and Axel eagerly nodded.

“You call us everyday, set an alarm on your phone for your meds and take your inhaler with you. If at any point you don't feel well, you tell them immediately so that they’ll be able to get you the help you need. This will be the test to see if you can be responsible enough to be away from us.” Jack explained while Axel was actively listening.

“Okay, I will. Promise.”

As you stood off to the side, Jack looked at Axel and nudged his head in your direction while you weren't looking.

“Mom?”

“Yes?”

Axel didn't respond, but instead hugged you and you tightly hugged him back.

“I promise that I'll be fine.”

“I know you will.”

—

“That woman has one more time to look at you before I go off.” You told Jack as both of you were at Axel's championship soccer game for his team. It was the last day of summer camp and you could tell that you and Jack made the right choice even though it took a little convincing on his part to get you to say yes.

All Jack did was laugh before wrapping an arm around you and kissing your cheek.

“Baby, please don't. We're here to see Axel play.”

“She is giving you bedroom eyes. I can focus on two things at the same time!”

“The only person that I'm going into a bedroom with is you so she can forget it. But focus on Axel!”

“Fine, but when the game is over I'll deal with her.”

It was down to the last few seconds and the game was tied when Anthony, Axel's best friend and teammate passed him the ball which he kicked right into the net and scored, winning the game.

You and Jack erupted in cheers as his teammates gathered around him and picked him up.

Once the crowd died down, you and Jack made your way onto the field and Axel immediately ran to the both of you. Once he reached you, both of you immediately brought him into a hug.

“So proud of you.” You whispered in his ear as he hugged you both tighter.

“Thank you for letting me come.”

“Anything to see our baby happy. Now where are we going to celebrate your amazing championship winning goal?”

“Hmm Wing Stop?”

“I… seriously?” Jack said as he looked at the both of you.

“Momma's baby. You should already know.” You responded while shrugging.

The three of you were walking back to Jack’s car when Axel turned to look at him.

“Hmm, I guess you are a good teacher after all.” Axel told Jack.

“Obviously, you get your talent from me.”

“I thought that I got it from mom?”Axel playfully asked.

“WHAT? Since when does your mom play soccer?”

“See? Our son knows he got all his good qualities from me.”

“Not that attitude.” Jack shot back and you immediately rolled your eyes as Axel laughed.

“But being a soccer mom does look good on you.”

“I make anything look good.” You said while winking.

“Including dad.”

“HEY! Don't you two start! But I have to agree.”

“Mom, do you think I'm good enough to go pro?” Axel asked as your eyes went wide.

“Um Ax, let's just get through the rest of today first. I don't think your mom is ready to have a constant series of panic attacks if you play professionally.”

“Only if I come with you to every practice, workout session, and game of course!”

“On second thought, never mind.”

“I'll get us all matching shirts.”

“Dad, make it stop.”

“Nope, you asked for this.”

[danaduchy]

all texts from Kerry

Found Henry Holy shit, Henry's on board. Way to go! Check outta rehab of his own free will… thru the window, hehe. Some nurse tried to stop us - at first I thought she wanted an autograph, but she didnt even recognize me. Tell you the rest later How's it going with Nancy? S'all under control That's what I like to hear

Samurai's back together What about Johnny? He amped for this gig or meh? * As amped as he's ever been. Must be important to him cuz otherwise I wouldnt be forced to take this stupid pseudoendotrizine * Hard to say. You know how he is Well I'm amped as fuck, if anyone's wonderin. It'll be fuckin shimra - just gotta remember not to get too wasted before. Old habits die hard, haha

Waiting for you Kerry? Where are you? On the way. Chill. Gotta change

What's up, V? Too bad you split so quick after the concert - we didn't even get a chance to chat I barely know anything about you, except you've got a shit-ton goin on inside You're the one who left early That so? Hm, maybe. Anyway, it was fuckin nova, wasn't it? Shoulda recorded it for you cause you didn't catch anything thru Johnny

Hey! Heey. So I cant stop thinkin about our little adventure. FUCKIN AWESOME. Thats how you live life. ON THE EDGE :> * Who doesnt like explosions and races right? :) Lemme know if the rest of your plan worked out Sure, I'll text or call ;) If I can't convince you to blow up anythin else, then at least we can go for a drink. Take care! * Egh, day just like any other. Hope it helped you tho Pff, sound more nonchalant than a karaoke star from kabuki ;) I'll be in touch

Coffee at Caliente Know what? I'm glad we got a chance to talk over coffee. You're a straight shooter, V. Nothing like the ass-kissers I'm usually surrounded by. It's good we did what we did, right? Blowing that van to bits? Cuz I been thinking… * To be honest, got no clue if anything good will come of it. I agreed cuz you paid me. Honest as ever, huh? Means I was right about you. Appreciate that, V. I really do. Don't ever change. * It was the right thing to do. And you've got nitro running through your veins. Don't you ever let yourself think otherwise! Nitro in my veins? Yeah, and a fuse sticking out of my ass. Least that's what I felt back then. Was worth it, though - slept like a fucking baby for the first time in ages. Talk to you later. Thanks again!

Reward Hey, forgot to send the eddies before, but should hit your account any sec. PREEM WORK :>

Where are you? Well, where are you? At this rate I'm gonna be a fuckin skeleton by the time you get here.. Move your ass or forget about this whole thing Dunno where you are or what you're up to, but I'm a busy fuckin man. Forget about it - don't have time for this shit Srsly, V? Ditched me with the badges and split? Shitty move. We're fuckin THROUGH Where the fuck are you? Grrr doesnt matter. I'm checkin out, goin home. Call ya if somethin comes up

answer yr phone!!! Hey, V. Got a job for you. Corner of Grey and Mallagra. Be there first thing in the morning, we'll talk it over. I'm fucking livid, V! Those Us Cracks bitches clearly didn't get the hint. Instead of cancelling after we blew up their truck, they just moved their show to another date! Meet me at Riot ASAP. We'll deal with them differently this time. The Us Skanks still wanna fuck me over and record the cover, V! On top of that, their lawyers won't stop yappin'. We really need to talk. I'm at Dark Matter right now. Come 'round the back, the bouncers will let you in. It's easier to reach my dead grandma than you, V! Anyway, Us Cracks are done, for real this time. We should celebrate! Stop by Dark Matter. Use the back entrance.

What's up? Hey, hows it going? Ownin the streets of NC? * More like tryna survive. Let's just say the city and I are even Sweet. What's that? What's up with me? Nice of you to ask. Hammerin out some sick tunes. Ok, more like trying to hammer out. Keep your fingers crossed * Hey hey, you could say that. Lotta stuffs been happenin - even without you! :O Yeah yeah, whatever! I'm stringin together some fresh tunes… OK, more like thinking about some fresh tunes. Keep your fingers crossed

Missed holocall! V! Whatever you're doing right now - drop it and come see me at the Marina. Pier four.

Scratch that! Spoke too soon Slight change of plans - waitin on an important delivery and the fuckin gonk's late. Be at the marina at 7pm!

Kova-chek this out :D Kovachek went ballistic when he found out the yacht went up in smoke! Even went back on those pills that turn him into you know, whatever the opposite of a cyberpsycho is. More goo than a man haha this is greaaaaat! * Ouch. Musta sunk a lotta eddies into that float! :P Speakin of dickheads tho - turns out he stashed a ton of drugs on board! Like, two yachts' worth. And we sent aaaall of that to the bottom of the sea :D Bay's full of fish high off their fins now! * Literally zero living organisms in that bay, Ker. Yeah duh they they took their happy fishy asses down to the spaceport and went to la la land. Anyway tellin ya whenever I'm down, I think about our seaventure and it's like insta good feels :* * Wow. What now? Feel like blowing more of his shit up. Think he's got a luxury crib somewhere in the Rockies… Something to think about… :P FUCK NO! I GOT IT! We make a Kovachek voodoo doll! Can't wait to stab that prick right in the dick :D * I really don't care about that dick, Kerry. Fine OK. As long as you care about MY dick, that is :P

Hey :* Heeey, how's it hanging? Everything all right? I'll just come right out and say it - I miss you. Just a little bit though ;) You coming by anytime soon? * Miss you too, if you can believe that. See? We're tuned to the same frequency. I'll try to swing by sometime. Preem. I'll be waiting! * Hey! Well well, look who's suddenly spilling their guts out :P Dunno when I can drop by though :/ Sad face :( But fine - I know the world doesn't revolve around me. It sucks, but that's the way it is. Take care! * Been thinking about you… Thinking about you too. You're like some chorus to this incredible song that's been stuck in my head lately. On loop :) * What's new? Still conquering the world with music? Planning to! :) don't really know if there's anything left to conquer though. You're already mine, right? (I know, I knooooow, it's cringe. But I couldn't hold myself back!) Latest song I wrote - read it and weep. Wrote it while thinking of you: "Where you whisper, open up your heart / Reveal the place where I once had a heart" Whaddaya think? * I like it. It's gentle, but still has a bite. And knowing you, probably has multiple meanings ;) Exactly! I knew you'd get it :*** * Hmm, you were thinking about me when you wrote that? Dunno if that's good or bad :< it's up to you - that's the whole point! :* * Got a bunch of things on my plate right now. Times are tough. Oh, OK, cool. Do what you gotta do. We'll talk later, no prob.

Serious business Check it out, V. Got this email from a lifelong fan. It's serious. Gotta write her back. Dear Mr. Eurodyne, the day we both have been waiting for is finally upon us! I got rid of my husband, my house and all the other remnants of my former life. Now, I'm truly ready to give you my heart and all my other organs, should you desire them. You are the Sun and I am the Moon - I live to bask in your radiant brilliance. I love you, Mr. Eurodyne, and eagerly anticipate the time we'll finally be together. We will meet soon - I'm sure you know exactly where." She also sent me a gift card to a junk shop in Providence, wherever the fuck that is. It's clear she's nuts, just not sure if it's the murder-suicide variety. She writes me same day every year, like clockwork. What if she dissolved her man in a vat of acid, burned down her house and now she's sharpening her sickle cuz I'm next!? What are we gonna do, V??? * You really worried about her? More importantly: Kerry Eurodyne actually reads fan mail? Adorable. Yeah, yeah, Kovachek usually deals with all that shit. Even signs photos and sends them to the fans. But the fucker always forwards stuff from this crazy broad. Gets his rocks off fuckin with my blood pressure. Anyway, thought you might get a kick out if it. Seriously though, I should probably do something. Don't want her to knock on my bedroom door a year from now. * What, your first psycho groupie? Unbelievable :D Don't worry about it. We'll deal with her. Fuckin preem. What should I do, V? Ideas?? * Call the Providence PD. Let them scare her off? Or better yet, put her in a straitjacket? Boooring! 'Sides, cops mean lawyers and I hate dealing with them even more than I hate Kovachek's guts. No worries, I'll think of something else.You're in charge here. * Why not have a bit of fun? Write her back, give her Kovachek's address and say you'll be waiting for her there exactly one year from now :P Hahahaha you beautiful fucking GENIUS! Think I'll do exactly that. He'll shit himself when he sees her! We'll set up a camera and film it, too. Can't wait!Not worth your time. * She probably thinks she's pregnant with Lizzy Wizzy's love child, too. Check if the store has a netpage, see if they ship to NC and get yourself something nice! Smart! I'll see if they have anything worth my while. Get myself a studded choker. Or one of them Russian stacky doll-in-a-doll-in-a-doll things. Thanks, V! Later

Truth or Dare! I'm boooooooored, V. Let's play Truth or Dare! :D * Really don't have time for this, Ker. Cmon, don't be like that. TRUTH or DARE??? * Fuck it. Dare. OK, here it goes. Hope I got your full attention! OKOK here's your dare: "Survive one year with a rockstar" :D * Cheeky ;) Guess I can give it a try ;) * Don't know if I have time for that, Kerry. * Truth! Got nothing to hide. Here it goes: "After a little good morning sex, what I really want is…" * Coffee and cigarettes. Glass of whiskey if I need a little hair of the dog…

* Scrambled eggs. Clearly.

Puzzle by yrs truly V! Made one of them picture riddles for you, V! Wanna see it? :D Fuck yeah you do! Heeeere goes! …69 <3 * Not right now, Kerry. Got some other things on my mind… No worries. Listen, we all have days like this. Thinking of you here with my little puzzle, hope that helps :* * Really, Ker? Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out. Yeah, yeah, just warming up! Okay, get ready for round two! |$| >< #o.O# ;( * Kerry slapped the shit out of Kovachek! * Rockstars are the best spankers! Sorry, all you get is a kiss :* * My man is shit at puzzles :* You got it, you shrewd beast :D Congrats! Your reward - a Kerry Eurodyne sextape! Now all that's left is to shoot it :P I'll send you something sweet <3

Personality test You're not gonna believe this, V. I took one of those personality tests and apparently, I'm a NARCISSIST! Can you believe that shit?? * You, a narcissist? That can't be right. I know, right? Good thing you're smart about these things. You're so sweet, babe :* * Might be some truth to it if I'm REAL honest :) You do… tend to be an arrogant snob. Not to mention your ego's the size of a small planet :* Haha took the test again and now it says I'm a sociopath! Told you it's all bullshit! Told you I'm not a narcissist! Honestly you should listen to me, I'm smarter than whatever "scientist" came up with this shit!

Ah V fuuuck worlds biggest hangover, shakes and willies. Need a kind soul to tell me I'll come out the other side OK :-/ my age be damned ;-| * Textin ya from Dtown, 'hood's the very embodiment of shakes and willies * Got a gig, mebbe not worlds biggest but mondo anyway. This is me needin assurance I'll come out the other end in 1 piece Ever in the thick of shit, eh? It's where your&Johnny's minds meet, both uber vibe on it. JS better be fuckin happy - is he? * Need better candy to pop at raves, physio venting helps, mutes nerves, you'll stride strong, won't bother us workin peeps! Srsly V - soundin like you need time off, ad hoc vacay. U know, throw the monkey off your back, dunno, air your skull sponge. * Could be, just not now Handlin ginormous gig in Dogtown. Elbow deep in it, serious as a heart attack. * That an invite….? ;> Dunno, maybe…? My door's wiiiiiiide open, always ;> * Got this biz I gotta tend to first, one way or another… Oh ok mystery man - you do you. gotta say, findin this diss kinda titillating. Is it the masochist in me? tension's… ooooh, got my mouth watering. * Right, I know. One of these days - surprise! You'll see, be at your front door. Only if I'm home, obvi. You're textin a raucous, go-get-'em busy man… * OOO-K. So get lost, find a release. * Hmm, you're temptin me to call. Will do, given time. Do do do, plz. I'll be waitin <3

OK then I'll play support - we're all gonna all right, better'n all right - golden Which is DEF NOT me now - after a fuckin weird-ass 48 hrs, and this is me talkin…! just straaange… like unbelievably so Ahem, got stories to tell, solid gold * well, yeah, might find it a lil hard to believe… welp, hope you're whole and fine and happy. If you are, suck it. Dissin somebody like this - not nova, choom, supra unpreem * OK spill So dig this - meet-up w the enemy, competing publishing bitchez. Top dogz, bubbly flowin, rails vanishing up noses - all in back of a stretch cuz they out to impress my ass with their asses. Kinda sad, really. Gotta give 'em an e for effort, tho - they say: choom, got a mountain o' eddies for ya. N I say, really - where from? N they say, our mountain's a volcano, it'll spew scratch like lava… Hm i say, how's that? N they say, Zetatech product placement - next tour, choom so I says let's go - Zetatech now! they practically jizz. Zetatech HQ I get out, drop my pants and moon eveybody lookin out the windows of the building while I give the bitchez in the limo the finger at the same time. N i called Delamain.\nDel and me, we rollin, talkin anti-iperialism - any sense in it given the state of the world? Know what? we actually come to a conclusion - that nuthin makes sense anymore. So we go on rollin, and go on talkin and drinnk myself into grief. 18 hours later Del dropped me by my crib. He wished me GOOD LUCK IN THIS WORLD. choom was deep depressed, so much so he gave me a discount * Could've happened to Kerry and Kerry alone, that Plain to see, admit it, I just might be the king of NC's nightlife * vive le roi! and may the consort bask in his light ;> xoxo * hm, yeah, no titles more important than that… BETTER FUCKIN BELIEVE IT. * Oooh could go for a convo about life's futility. But DT takes no prisoners forgives no mistakes - need to focus. salty! somebody's in a m0000d * well, just don't see your parties and hangovers as overly important to me just now, if ever * yeah, sorry, just this gig, shitstorm, tense, lots to handle OK I get it, all crystal. Need a lil cheerin up or just leave you the fuck alone? * may be better off just leavin me alone, I'll ping you later, OK? say no more, luv ya and dreamin daily about your sweet tush <3 Eurodyne out * cheerin up, plz :) OK catch: How ya get a bass player to have that gleam in his eye? Shine a flashlight in his ear. That help any? * yup, did wonders :D thx raise you on the holo later, 'kay? * hm, not great, but I won't hold it against you. cute of you to try ok, so here's somethin to keep you warm at night in the meantime, you sweet precious thing <3

You doing anything? Yo, why haven't you shot me a message or nothin? I'm sitting over here like a dumbass waitin for my phone to start buzzin… * Sorry, Ker! You know how it is, life and shit… I know I know, didn't mean to be a total prick * I was just about to text you! Uh huh… suuuure… * You coulda shot me one too, y'know :P The fuck do you think I'm doin right now?!? So listen, how busy are ya? Gotta admit, I'm gettin the itch real bad. Like, a good itch, to see you I mean. * Sounds great! My megabuilding pad maybe? A megabuilding, huh? I mean, sure, guess that'll work… * Then I'll be waitin for ya at my Northside apartment :) Preem. Then I'll get there when I get there. * Let's meet up in Japantown. Just a hop and a skip for you ;) Perfect! * Can you drive over to the Glen? Love to see you too <3 I can do whatever the fuck I want. * Whaddaya say to a little date downtown? My Corpo Plaza place? Ohhh baby, my ass is already out the door! * I'm free! Wanna swing by Dogtown? You outta your mind? No fucking way! Either we meet in NC proper or I ain't goin out. Don't forget to tidy up a bit, yeah? ;)

Goooood morning, Night City! And you, V! Listen, I'm bored outta my mind. Wanna be bored together at least? You asleep? :P Oh, what's that? You want me to come over? Sure! You're one hot piece of ass, you know that right? You were in my dream last night. A good one. Don't worry, I ain't mad at dream V or nothin - in fact I wanna meet up! I hit a creative block, need some inspiration. I need you. I'm coming over. * Sounds good :) Megabuilding apartment then. Hope you remember which one's mine! On my way! * Genius idea from a genius himself. I'll be waitin for ya in Northside <3 Guess this means I have to change outta my bathrobe. The sacrifices we make! * Japantown. Now. :P Preem! Callin a Delamain right now! * Missed you too. Come to the Glen :) * Sounds like it's time for a trip downtown. My Corpo Plaza pad to be exact * Swing by Dogtown, I'll show you my fixer-upper :P Over my cold, dead, bullet-riddled body! The fuck you even doing there?! Get back to civilization, V! * haha XD so, right now's not good, but don't worry - I'll be thinkin of ya ;) Oh so that's how you wanna play this… nah, just messin, V. wink, wink. I'll catch ya another time!

I like you, V. Thought I owed you a little reminder of that. And hey, not to impose or nothin, but if you wanna spend some more time together, don't be such a coward about it, y'know? Hit me up!! * I like you too, Kerry. I'll let ya know :) Ain't we an adorable fuckin pair of sweethearts! Ha! * No imposing. I'd love to see you again soon too ;) Careful with those boundaries now, V. Let em down too far and I might just move right in! * Course! Soon as I find some time, you'll be the first to know! You honor me, sir! Hang tough out there, V. And remember - don't do anything I wouldn't do!

Hey, Ker! Life's been feelin a lil empty without ya… wanna meet up? So, wanna see me again? Fuck yeah! Your place ok? Heeey! I do, I do! Just… can't right now. Schedule's crammed. But I'll be in touch real soon!

I fucking love surprises! Yo, V, this is a nice ride! Seems like whenever you're on my mind all I can think about is rides ;) * Yeah I know ;) * I love surprising you :) As crazy as my life is, without you it'd be boring as hell <3 Thanks for the flowers! Thank christ they're artificial cuz I'm allergic to pollen. Sneezing, goopy eyes, the whole fuckin thing. Also… "Feedback"? What? Did we hook up at one of my concerts? Honestly I can't remember. * Totally. Speaker feedback fused our audio systems somehow. Made the sex interesting at least. Whaaa, well whatever, I don't need the whole sciency mumbo jumbo :D * You kiddin? How could you forget! Man, what the fuck was I on that night…

Won't see me for a while Gonna need to vanish for a while maybe a month or so. Hope you didn't have any romantic escapades planned and all set up :P Nooo :( Who'm I gonna take to the N54 rave then? :((( * Shiiiit mean to say I'm gonna miss an N54 party? Wanted to surprise you… Real fucking shame :/ I know ;( We'll crash multiple raves when I'm back in town tho :) Promise! * Take someone else feel free but just this once. Long as you promise - no hand holdin' no indecent stuff no INTIMACY mental neither :P Oh please faithful's my middle name :* Fuck really wish you could make it Make it up to you 100%

Long time no see :] There's this merc I know and haven't seen for a while… oh yeah it's you! :D C'mon pick up gotta tell you how wasted me and Slavoy McAllister got at this N54 rave xD Think we might've burnt down half the studio… by accident ofc XDD Hey, V? Pick up, choom Still can't top you 'n' me as a wrecking crew ;) Fuck, you ok? Pick up dammit not funny V 13 missed calls from: Kerry Eurodyne

You ghosting me? Fuck, pick up! Really?! Can't even bother to send ONE word?! Just gonna pretend like nothin happened, huh? COWARD

[concussed-to-pieces]

Arbiter's Solstice; Part Two

Fandom: Resident Evil: Village

Pairing: Eventual Karl Heisenberg/AFAB!Reader

Rating: Holy shit M.

Summary: You had never seen a Soldat in the light before, or as much light as this. It was human-shaped but it did not look…correct. You knew you made a noise, some startled sound, and the thing turned.

A/N: A little Black Friday special. Enjoy!

Tag List: @stargazerofgoldenwords @cookiethewriter @crookedmoonsaultpunk @colesterstrudel @spoopyredacted @velvet-paradox @kotall-ohh @katreneebug @missjasmine98 @sunflowers-and-swear-words @savage-rhi @nova-ivy541 @xyaswrlldd @the-videodame @luvley-shadow @akashiiiiii @spook0 @leediavhs @wysterias-not-so-secret-diary @alldevilsmaycry @writtennotsaid @mulcivert @cedarsmokesrandoms @smallestsnarkestgirl @buttons-beads-lace @vodkafolie @theplagueworm @holydreamerpastadragon @story-chaotic-brain @ohlookapan @topgirl17

[If you were tagged in error, please let me know and I’ll remove you!] 

Part One: Chosen

[!TRIGGER WARNING!: This installment contains gore, mentions of death, canon-typical violence and extreme depictions of mental and physical duress. Stay safe!]

Your head was throbbing, but you still forced your eyes open after several moments of waiting for the spinning to subside. White cloth met your eyes, dim, flickering light filtering through it. You tried to move, only to discover that your arms and legs appeared to be secured somehow. 

Panic thrummed beneath your ribs. The sound of a heavy metal door being firmly closed echoed distantly; you had no idea how far away it might have been. Soon enough, however, footsteps made their way towards you. Confident strides, though not slow or heavy enough to be the Lady's. 

Heisenberg?

You twitched when a firm hand caught your wrist, whoever it was silently taking your pulse. “I know you're awake.” He finally said. “Can you hear me?”

Karl. You nodded, gasping in pain when a headache sprang to life. 

“Easy, easy, don't move. I did what I could for you. Can you open your eyes under the wraps? Tried not to cover them but-” You felt him shrug. “-aesthetics are not ever going to be my concern when dealing with head wounds.”

“What happened?” You could barely hear your own voice, it was so feeble. 

“You got your head split open.” 

“Mmhm, remember that.” You paused, “where is the Lady Dimitrescu?”

“Dead.” 

Your eyes widened behind the wrappings, then filled with tears. “What…what will happen to me now?”

Fingers plucked at the bandages on the side of your head, catching an edge and slowly unwinding the fabric until you could see again. Your head ached anew at the unshielded light of several candles in the room, and the grave expression on Heisenberg's face (riddled with unfamiliar scars) did little to assuage your concerns. 

“What will happen to me?” You asked again, staring up at him helplessly. “I…I don't have anywhere to go, if not House Dimitrescu.”

“No family?” Karl's voice was strangely hoarse when he asked, his hands busily working to apply a fresh dressing to the wound on the side of your head. 

“No one.” 

The man closed his eyes, turning away. “Got it.”

“Lord Heisen-” Karl's head jerked up and he inhaled sharply, the motion startling you enough to make your already-weak voice peter out. His gaze was as intense as ever, but you found it familiar, almost comforting. 

Almost.

“I need you to rest.” The lord said stiffly. “You're still exhausted. You need time to heal.” His fingers grazed your wrist, loosening whatever had restrained you.

“I'm aware.” You retorted, getting him to crack a wan smile. Then, “thank you.” 

Karl's brow furrowed, the man obviously confused. “Rest.” He finally grunted. “We'll reevaluate how thankful you are once you see your stitches.”

“Is it bad?”

Heisenberg groaned, smoothing a palm down your forehead to usher your eyes closed. “Sleep, damn it.”

…

Your recovery was slower than you'd like. After the beating you had taken from both Lord Moreau and Lady Dimitrescu, you knew you were lucky to be alive. Even if you weren't overly mobile at the moment, you were still grateful. What you could gather from Heisenberg's sparse conversations about the incident led you to believe that you were in a very bad state when you had been…recovered.

“I did what I could.”

You couldn't complain, all things considered. It was odd having someone else take care of you, though. Your food was brought while you were asleep; aside from Karl you saw no living thing. But you could hear them in the halls around your room. Shuffling footsteps, metal banging and scraping, the occasional low groan. 

“Are there still Soldats?” You asked one day. From what you could gather, your ‘quarters’ were simply a corner of Karl's workshop that he had partitioned off, the man always laboring over some piece of machinery on an enormous workbench when he was present. 

Karl stiffened from his place at his bench, the muscles in his neck visibly cording when he did so. “Yes.” 

“Are they safe?”

The lord lolled his head back, leaning against the bench with a put-on, languid air. “Why, got a little cabin fever, sweetheart?”

“Definitely not!” You replied hastily, “I can still barely manage to sit up! I was just curious-”

“I know you can hear them. I'm sorry.” He actually looked apologetic for a moment. “Whatever Soldats and Haulers that are left are so fucking old and they were braindead from the start, so I can't exactly ask them to be quieter.”

“I'm sorry, I didn't realize.”

Karl waved you off. “You're allowed to ask questions, don't sweat it.” He turned back to his work, but then swiveled to face you once more. “Do you…want to try to walk soon?” He offered, his tone flat once more, almost formal. “May help speed the healing process if you can…uh, move.”

“What would you recommend?” Karl snorted in response to your question, the man stalking over to your pallet and shifting the blanket off your legs. You shivered without meaning to as the chill air of your surroundings hit your legs and Heisenberg flinched, eyes darting to your own. “Oh, it's just a little cold.” You explained, trying for a smile. “I'll be fine!” 

Karl stared down at his hands for a moment, then cupped them to heat them with his breath. “Let me know if they're still too cold.” He muttered, reaching for your left leg. 

You subtly braced for his touch and you were stunned when his fingers were hot, your calf resting in one broad palm while his other hand ran up and down your shin. 

“Let's bend your knee, alright?” Karl suggested after several seconds of silence. “Nice and slow.”

Your muscles ached when he began to move your leg, but you did your best to keep a straight face over it. It wouldn't do you any good to whine about this, you knew you were lucky to even have your severely-limited range of motion. Most of your bruises and lacerations had healed over, save for one long wound that had needed stitches on the outside of your left thigh.

“Alright?” Heisenberg asked, his voice rasping. You nodded, keeping your lips pressed together tightly. The lord exhaled, continuing to bend your knee slowly. “Good, good. Looks like your range of motion was maintained.” He then lowered your leg and unfortunately you couldn't stop the whimper when the action pulled at your stitches. Karl flinched again at the noise, glancing up at you. “Where?” 

“Just the stitches, I'm fine.” You managed to say through your teeth. “Other leg?”

“If you need to-”

“Other leg?” You interrupted him, the pain making you eager to get this over with. 

“You're not some fuckin’ machine, sweetheart.” Lord Heisenberg snapped, standing up. For a heart-stopping moment, you were unsure as to what he might do. It was an immense relief when he simply took a step over your pallet and crouched down on your right side. The man took a short eternity to warm your muscles up on that side, even making the effort to rotate your knee outward slightly to stretch your unmarred thigh. “Nice and slow,” he breathed, his touch impossibly gentle. 

You had seen his ‘siblings’ tear people limb from limb, you knew just how much strength had to lurk in his body.

He killed the Lady, and…and Mother Miranda.

He had effectively ended whatever life you'd had before last year's solstice. Admittedly it wasn't much of a life, scurrying around trying to avoid incurring the Lady's wrath. It hadn't even been safe, but it was what you knew. It was frightening to not have any sort of routine.

This or that.

“Is there…” You swallowed, finding your mouth oddly dry. “Is there anything I can do to repay you for your kindness, Lord Heisenberg?” Karl stared up at you, his hand stilling on your shin. His expression was remarkably unguarded, almost childlike in its lack of guile. He was…surprised. You raised your eyebrows. “What? I know my skills may not be overly…impressive to someone like you, but I can set a table, cook and clean-”

“I don't have a table.” Karl interrupted bluntly. “And no one cleans this shithole.”

“Cooking, then?” You knew you sounded desperate, but his flat affect was rapidly siphoning off your vague hope of being useful to him. 

Heisenberg raked a hand through his hair, looking more confused now. “What would you need to do that, exactly? I don't have…there's not a kitchen in here.” He said awkwardly. You abruptly recalled that none of the food brought for you had ever been warm, or even cooked. It had been apples, cheese, various nuts... “Might be able to wire you up some kind of hotplate?”

You paused, uncertain if you had just insulted him by reminding him of his lack of facilities. “What's a hotplate?”

“Really small stove. One pot, that sort of thing.” 

“How do you cook if you don't have a stove?”

“I didn't need to cook.”

“Are you…do you only eat vegetables?”

His roaring laughter echoed off the walls, Karl wheezing for breath in between his bouts of mirth. “No, sweetheart, I ain't a vegetarian.” He finally choked out, still chuckling. “I've got a parasite in my body, just like the rest of those idiots. I can eat damn near anything, cooked or otherwise, as you've seen.” He made a grand, sweeping gesture to take in the moldering structure around you. “And I was too busy to cook while building my army.”

“Oh, I'm sorry.” You apologized automatically, your brain stuck on one word. Parasite. Parasite. Parasite. He had what inside of him?! “Would you prefer to eat cooked food?”

He looked uncertain. “I mean–I never really thought about it. Easier to digest, I guess.” Karl suddenly narrowed his eyes. “Wait, no. You're not doing anything for me. I owe you my fucking freedom.”

You blinked. “What?”

“You.” Heisenberg jabbed a finger at you. “You helped me. For no reason at all! You defied your master, defied that overgrown bitch, for me.” 

“W-Well, yes, but–”

“No buts.” Heisenberg snarled, seizing the bedding near your side. He stared at you intently. “You were terrified of her. She was a monster.” 

“To me, yes.” You admitted softly. “I never knew her as anything else.”

The man warned, “but I'm also a monster,” his tone bleak. “A worse one than her, all things considered.”

“You have not been cruel to me.” Karl scoffed at that, rolling his eyes. You wondered if he even recalled the first time you had said that to him, insisting, “you haven't! And you've had ample opportunity to do so, I've been helpless in bed for days.” 

“I'm not so much of a bastard that I would repay your kindness with violence.” Heisenberg seemed to be attempting some sort of levity, his head tilted to the side. “Besides, I worked pretty hard to stitch you back up. Be a shame for all that to go to waste.”

“I appreciate that.” You smiled up at him. “I should be able to cook for you in a few more days, once I'm steady on my feet.”

“You cook for you. If there's leftovers, fine,” Karl retorted. “But you don't work for me, got it? You can leave whenever you want.”

Distress sent a pang down your spine. “Do you wish for me to leave? I'm sorry, have I been imposi-”

“No,” Karl interjected sharply. “Christ, that's not what I'm saying. You're not in any position to move right now. I'm saying if you want to leave once you're ambulatory, I'm not keeping you here.”

You hesitated. This was all very confusing. “I'm sorry, I don't…I don't have anywhere else to go, Lord Heisenberg.”

“Then you can stay until you do.” He stomped back to the workbench, your conversation evidently over.

…

“Hotplate, hotplate…” Karl muttered to himself as he sifted through the loose scrap, thoroughly irritated. How hard could it be to make one, anyway? He recalled the enormous, wood-fed cooktop in House Dimitrescu's kitchen with more than a small amount of envy. That was a goddamn stove, with an oven. 

He paused, mentally going over the makeup of said stove. Probably cast iron…I'd need to find a spot for the chimney. Not exactly like the big bitch has any need for her fancy stove now, right?

The idea of pilfering the giant stove from the wreckage of Castle Dimitrescu grew on him immediately, and soon enough Karl was making his way across the muddy grounds of the village. 

The rest of the residents were still in disarray after the upheaval Heisenberg had inflicted, most of them seemingly expecting him to be the one to take the reins. Ha! No such luck, Heisenberg thought bitterly. Let Donna figure it out if they want a leader so damned bad. Her and her freaky doll.

As far as he was concerned, the village could rot with Alcina, Moreau and Miranda. 

The castle still managed to loom even while half-destroyed, one lone parapet stretching to the sky was all that remained wholly intact. The rest of the structure had been decimated by Dimitrescu's transformation and their subsequent battle, the faux siblings so intent on destroying one another that not a care had been given to whether the castle came down around their ears in the process. 

At least, not until after Karl had triumphed. Then he cared, the heavily-battered former lord retracing his steps through the rubble until he finally managed to locate your unconscious form. Through some miracle you had been sheltered from the majority of the destruction when a section of the chamber’s ceiling had broken loose and fallen onto the altar, shielding you from further harm. Moreau, unluckily (or perhaps luckily), was not graced with the same fate. If Alcina dropping him squarely on his head hadn't outright ended him, the simpering, sniveling little shit was crushed beneath the collapsed spiral staircase. And good riddance to him.

Heisenberg shook his head. There was no point in recalling that, he needed to find the damn stove. 

��

“Oh.” You said weakly.

The large, cursive D emblazoned on the front of the hulking stove recalled to you several instances of being thrown around in the kitchen by an extremely-irate Lady Dimitrescu. Oblivious to your plight, Karl asked, “Where do you want it?”, the man hefting the massive appliance to rest on one shoulder. It was an impressive display of his strength, but also a grim reminder that whatever he was, it certainly wasn't human. 

You swallowed hard. Heisenberg stood there for another moment. “My lord,” you began, your voice cracking. “Could I ask for a favor?”

“Anything. It's yours.”

Reeling from the speed and ease of his reply, you blurted out, “could you take the letter off the front of it?”

“Ah.” You watched as Karl's jaw suddenly went tight. “I saw that. On your back.” There was a sharp, metallic pang! and the front of the oven door was as smooth as glass. Perhaps it had been welded shoddily? “Better?”

You nodded, not trusting your voice. He must have seen the marks from the stove's ornamentation while you were unconscious, you usually took great care to hide them. 

“I can run the stove pipe essentially anywhere in here, but my forge tends to be hot as Hades when it's actually functional.” Heisenberg said evenly. “I also don't know whether the cold will affect you in the winter. I don't feel it.” He patted his abdomen absently with his free hand. 

“Where would you recommend, then?”

Karl grunted, placing the stove down and then swearing under his breath when four of the six legs on it broke through the floor, leaving it to teeter unevenly. “Stupid goddamn--out of my floor.” He growled, gesturing with a hand. The range, much to your bewilderment, began to float a few inches off the beleaguered floor. “So it looks like I'll be reinforcing wherever I need to put this.” 

“What are you doing?” You questioned sharply, eyes wide in confusion.

Karl, his back to you while he rummaged through a crumbling bookshelf, paused and glanced your way. “Looking for my factory blueprints so you can decide where the hell I'm putting this?”

“Not that, I mean the--” You made a few panicky noises, pointing at the hovering oven. 

The man hesitated, tilting his head. “Are you…so you don't know.”

“Know what?”

“What the hell was in those fucking histories?” He grumbled, waving a hand at the huge hammer mounted on the wall over his workbench. “How do you think I killed Alcina?”

“I…” you hesitated. “I don't know. I thought maybe you knew of some kind of…weakness she had?” 

The hammer came flying off its mount and Karl caught it with ease. “No.” He replied grimly, palming the massive weapon. “I put every piece of metal in that stupid castle through her body, pinned her to the ground and beat her to death.” 

Oh. You stared up at him, the breath stolen out of your chest. 

Lord Heisenberg shook himself bodily, then tossed the hammer back to its mount. “Sorry. It's uh…I guess it's not your fault for not knowing what I do.” He apologized, his voice strained. “Doesn't sound like you've had a stellar education when it comes to me.” He offered you a feeble smirk. “You did lend me a hand though, giving her the poke you did with the dagger.” 

“I'm relatively certain she barely felt that.” You said, though as the hazy memory returned to you, you continued, “but she screamed when I did it.”

“That knife had so many toxins imbued into it, one wrong move during the solstice ritual and she might have offed herself instead.” Heisenberg's laugh was humorless. “Save me the damn trouble.” He tugged a small crate over next to your pallet, spreading the worm-eaten blueprint out on the surface. “Now, where do you want the stove?”

You got the feeling that he was trying to change the subject, but you obligingly shifted your weight forward to try and make sense of the warren you were presented with. “I'm also going to need cooking implements, like pots, pans…oh, and food of course!”

…

It wasn't such a bad life, you reasoned. Certainly better than how your life had been with the Lady Dimitrescu, though that bar wasn't exactly high. Lord Heisenberg was amicable enough, if a bit stiff and distant. You supposed that was to be expected. He was, after all, one of the lords of the village. Certain behaviors could not be adjusted so simply.

He only put his hands on you in a clinical manner, for which you were immensely grateful, and he had yet to shout at you, though he had the occasional frustrated outburst at his workbench. You would dare to say most days it was almost peaceful.

The afternoon you were shepherded from the bowels of his factory to emerge into the sunlight felt nearly surreal, like you had been sleepwalking, like your time serving House Dimitrescu had been nothing but a bad dream. 

Castle Dimitrescu no longer overshadowed the village with its dour mass, instead sporting nothing but a forlorn tower teetering high above the rubble it had collapsed into. Seeing the destruction, even at this distance, was enough to stun you. You had assumed that Lord Heisenberg exaggerated a bit for your benefit, but looking at it now you weren't so sure.

Karl cleared his throat from his spot alongside you. “The Duke will be annoyed if I'm late.” 

Between the strange and distinct personalities of the four lords (former or otherwise), one would assume that a simple merchant wouldn't stand out overmuch. An incorrect assumption, of course, but a common one. 

For one, the Duke was enormous, his bulky and ponderous frame often ensconced in a small horse-drawn wagon. However, for all his mass he didn't seem to have any trouble actually getting around. If anything, he would set up shop in the strangest places.

The merchant sold items from beyond the village, and was always permitted to come and go as he pleased. Indeed, you imagined anyone would be hard-pressed to impose any sort of restrictions on the man, as his eternal joviality and good nature couldn't help but to heavily imply a fair amount of sway in the local economy. It would be unwise to dissuade such a man from returning to the village, you were fairly sure.

“What are you looking for in his inventory?” You queried, adjusting the padding for the crutch Lord Heisenberg had graciously crafted for you. 

“Information about the outside, mainly.” The lord squared his shoulders, then set off in what seemed to be a random direction. You followed along behind, noticing that after a moment he slowed his pace, long strides shortening to accommodate your lacking speed. “May see what supplies he has, as well.” He mused. “It'll depend on his cooperation.”

“What do you ask him about…well, the outside world?” You had never devoted much thought to that world, bleakly certain in the knowledge that you would not be leaving the village in your lifetime. To be fair, you hardly had the time to think about anything outside of your duties for most of your life. 

“Anything and everything. Hopefully he'll have a current newspaper he's willing to part with for the right price.” The two of you had been angling for a stand of spindly rowan trees just above the valley's edge. As you came up level with the rise, you realized their branches were doing a poor job at concealing the familiar cart of the Duke. The dark horse responsible for hauling said cart had been picketed off beneath the shade of a few more trees, grazing peacefully while you and Lord Heisenberg approached.

“Ah, and here is the man of the hour.” The Duke greeted Karl magnanimously from the bench of his cart, his eyes flicking curiously to you and then back to the Lord. “I see you’ve brought an…assistant. Quite capable too, all things considered.” The large man gave you an appraising look. “Regrettably, my dear, you may need more than a poisoned dagger to put me into the ground, but I appreciated the display all the same. Such a thrill!”

“Enough.” Karl snapped, his brows furrowed. “You know damn well I don't care about your omnipresent bullshit.”

“Come now, is that any way to speak to your old friend?” The Duke feigned hurt, pressing a hand to his broad chest. “My dear Lord Heisenberg, it has been a short eternity since last we did business!”

“I can come back later.” Karl's lips twitched. “I'd have you strung up if you weren't so goddamn helpful.”

The Duke's laughter washed over you and Lord Heisenberg finally cracked a smile. Evidently this was just how they spoke to one another? It all seemed a bit…chilling. “It is good to see you out of your cell, my lord.” The Duke said warmly, clasping Karl's hand in his own and pressing a worn packet of cheroots into his palm. “Your favorite brand, as I'm sure you recall.”

“Gods, how did you–nevermind, I don't want to know.” Karl tore open the packaging, quickly accepting the proffered light from the large merchant. 

“And for you, my dear?” The Duke beckoned you closer while Karl worked to light his cigar. “Perhaps some food staples, or an exotic trinket from not-so-distant lands?”

“Oh, I don't have-”

“Give them whatever they want.” Heisenberg interrupted you, white smoke issuing from his mouth as he spoke. “Now's your chance, sweetheart, find something you wanna’ eat.” You gaped at him, stunned. For all his talk beforehand, clearly Karl wasn't as concerned about expedience as he had tried to imply beforehand. If anything, he looked a bit like a man about to settle in for a good jaw outside a general store. 

The Duke was quite thrilled at the prospect of showing off his wares and you had a multitude of meats, cheeses and other staples slowly paraded in front of you as he carried on a conversation with Lord Heisenberg. The choices seemed nearly endless and while you knew Heisenberg had told you to get what you wanted, you also wanted to be mindful of whatever expense you might incur. Mutton would be the most cost effective of course, maybe followed with some sausage? The Duke did have flour and sugar as well, but those seemed in shorter supply. Evidently you'd need to adjust to a different diet if you hoped to get any sort of length out of the common staples. 

“Any news on Donna?” Heisenberg queried nonchalantly as the Duke wrapped your chosen meats in waxed paper for transport.

“She's settled into her role with a fair amount of trepidation, but I am confident she will thrive. It remains to be seen whether the rest of the village will fall in line.” The Duke gave Karl a thoughtful look. “Are you certain you don't wish to…?”

“No. The place can burn for all I care.”

The Duke inclined his head, his contemplative gaze shifting to you once more. When next he spoke, however, he was still addressing Lord Heisenberg. “I don't suppose you'll be needing prophylactics, my lord?”

Heisenberg's overgrown canines abruptly crushed through the cigar, the stub of which he spat vaguely in the Duke's direction. This prompted the bulky merchant to roar with good-natured laughter, nearly toppling himself off the cart bench while Karl silently glowered at him. 

After several uncomfortable seconds had passed, Karl finally stated, “We're leaving,” the lord seizing you by the arm and hoisting you up onto his shoulder, crutch, groceries and all. The Duke tossed a rolled-up newspaper to him as if in farewell, which Heisenberg easily caught and stuffed into his bag. 

“May your chosen path bring you happiness.” The Duke called, blue eyes twinkling with some kind of secret joke. Heisenberg fished around in his satchel for a moment, finally withdrawing a messily-wrapped parcel. He proceeded to whip it at the Duke's head, which only made the large man laugh even harder.

Judging from Lord Heisenberg's reaction you weren't overly certain you wanted to know the punchline, even if you had no idea what a prophylactic was.

…

Karl spent the following few days slamming things around uselessly on his workbench or smelting at his forge, attempting to tire himself out before eventually coming back to rest and read his precious newspaper by the light of an electric lamp at his beleaguered bench. 

Usually you were asleep by the time he returned from the manufacturing area, but you would always leave him a carefully-covered plate of food to enjoy. As your strength returned, you took to foraging in the surrounding area for berries, evidently willing to battle the local wildlife for a few precious morsels of vibrant fruit. Karl mutely appreciated the scraps you could acquire, the man so used to surviving off of a gray amalgamation  that anything above it was a culinary delight. As much as he didn't want to give her any credit, clearly Alcina hadn't tolerated you being anything less than a decently-competent kitchen aide. 

Tonight's dinner was a few slices of pork with some kind of fruit…sauce, accompanied by a small loaf of bread. 

Karl absently chewed on a piece of the pork, his eyes roving to the partition that separated your (his originally, not that it mattered) sleeping area from the rest of the room. You must sleep like the dead, because nothing ever seemed to rouse you once you tucked yourself in for the night. It's either that or you were still weaker than he had anticipated, and just doing a little scavenging and cooking wore you out entirely.

Karl grimaced, tearing off a bit of the roll and popping it into his mouth. To be fair (and honest) he had never given human recovery time much thought. Your appendages were attached, extremities operational…you had higher brain function, for God's sake. 

It had never mattered. 

Karl shook his head, disgusted. It wasn't something he had ever concerned himself with before, he would be damned if he started now.

Damned regardless, really.

He shuffled his stool back a step from his bench, reaching into the scrap bucket for a large rag. Despite the area's somewhat-lacking agricultural endeavors, it seemed that there was still a budding market for wagon kingpins and singletrees. Karl had never fancied himself much of a wainwright, but pieces were easy to make and he trusted the Duke to put them into the right hands. To supplement the more specialized pieces, the lord would also make groups of five or so hammers, maybe screwdrivers or wrenches. The old witch's mold tore through most materials, but Karl always ensured that his tools were heated to a temperature so vicious that not even the Black God’s ingrained spores could survive.

After he had wrapped the quintet of screwdrivers and kingpins, he carefully set them aside and picked up a fresh rag.

Motion out of the corner of his eye caught his attention and the lord lashed out, iron fingers seizing hold of an arm. You gasped, losing your grip on his dirty plate. The item struck the side of the bench with a resounding crash!, sending shards of ceramic tumbling to the floor.

Karl hesitated, desperately trying to will his hand to release your arm before he bruised you (or snapped your arm off at the elbow). He was just so used to-

“I apologize for startling you, my lord.” Your voice wavered slightly, but other than that you seemed remarkably calm. Alcina. “I was unable to sleep, I…I wanted to make myself useful.”

Finally, Heisenberg managed to peel his fingers off your arm, the muscles in his hand spasming wildly. “Of course.” He murmured blithely, like his reaction had been the most normal thing in the world. “Thanks for that, sweetheart.”

The side of his mouth ticked up slightly when you sputtered something and began to look flustered. He really ought to get this…whatever it was under control. It wasn't practical for him to be constantly bemused by every little turn of your expression. Soon enough that would lead to him just–doing things to watch how you behaved, doing specific things that he knew would give the reaction he wanted. As intriguing as that sounded, the lord could feel his mood souring. 

“Get some rest.” He ordered you, his tone curt. “I'll clean that up.”

“I–yes, Lord Heisenberg.” You acquiesced even though you clearly didn't want to, your eyes glued to the floor. 

Heisenberg's brow furrowed. Christ, he did not like this feeling, whatever the hell it was. 

…

“My dear! I see you've been allowed to roam the countryside today. Could I tempt you with a crystal figurine?”

You shook your head, smiling up at the Duke. “No sir, I was wondering if you had any more lamp wicks, or perhaps some twine.” You rummaged around in the satchel Heisenberg had generously allowed you to borrow for your errands, searching for the list he had scrawled in a messy hand. “My lord has requested another current newspaper. And...” You paused, squinting at the letters. “Cam…camembert cheese?”

“Always work with that man!” The Duke complained good-naturedly, “I understand, business is business, but even so. He's moving nearly quick enough to outpace my sales! Clearly he cares nothing for artificial scarcity or supply and demand.” The look he gave you made it seem like you were supposed to agree, so you gamely nodded. Truthfully you had no idea what he was talking about, but that was a common occurrence in the life you had led. The Lady always spoke of grand plans, her machinations seeming leaps and bounds above your comprehension.

All that being said, you were a bit curious, attempting to slyly broach the subject moments later while the Duke tied a fresh layer of cheesecloth securely around a somewhat-battered wheel of cheese. “Lord Heisenberg has personal dealings with you, then? I imagine they must be much more important than what he sends me to do.” Had you been more familiar with the corpulent merchant, you might have picked up on the mischievous little snort he let out.

“Our dear lord is the only one keeping the village running, my child.” The man chuckled, giving the wheel one final pat and then passing it to you. “What on earth do you think he's been up to in that factory? He is manufacturing.” 

Midway through depositing the cheese into your satchel, his words caught up with you. You paused, furrowing your brow as you attempted to recall what you had seen Lord Heisenberg working on. “He's absent by the time I wake up, and most evenings I'm already asleep when he returns.” You realized aloud.

“Ah.” The Duke leaned back, folding his hands over his generous stomach. “So you don't know, then. The Lord Heisenberg is working, you see, always working. The Iron Horse, tireless and unfeeling, unaffected by his lengthy imprisonment.” He arched a conspiratorial brow. “Or so he would have us all believe.”

You suddenly felt as though you had overstepped, your fingers nervously gripping down on the threadbare strap of the satchel while you bid the Duke a hasty farewell. 

The merchant inclined his head graciously, offering you a slow smile.

…

“‘I went into town today, saw some people with familiar tools’.” You shook your head at yourself, staring down at the soup on the stovetop. “He wouldn't believe that! I should just be honest. The Lady said to be honest-”

“You don't work for that Amazonian bitch anymore.”

You nearly jumped out of your skin, whirling to face Lord Heisenberg. “My lord! Forgive me, I didn't hear you approach.” 

Karl grunted, reaching for your shoulder. You barely resisted the urge to squeeze your eyes shut, bracing yourself for whatever might come.

The strap of your large apron had slid down your shoulder, and Karl's fingers brushed your shirt when he tugged the fabric back up. “I don't care if you're honest to me or not.” His voice was low and harsh. “Honesty born of fear isn't something I'm interested in.” 

“O-Of course, my lord.” You quickly agreed, looking everywhere but his face as you attempted to change the subject. “Are you hungry? You've returned early tonight!”

There was a long pause. “...I think so.” Heisenberg sounded slightly baffled (if such a person could ever be baffled). “It smelled good, so I clocked out early.”

You replied brightly, “I'm glad you think so! It's not quite done yet, but the biscuits are r–” The pan of biscuits that had been cooling on the stovetop was suddenly in Karl's hand. The lord jammed an entire biscuit into his mouth and you blinked, stunned. 

“Did you get the cheese?” Karl asked once he'd swallowed, his eyes lighting up when you nodded. “Duke's good for something, I guess. Paper?”

“On your bench, as always.” 

For that, you received a clap on the shoulder and a devastating smile, the man happily taking himself (and the tray of biscuits) to the workbench.

You had never seen him in such good spirits. It was…entrancing, in a way. You stirred the soup absently, thoughts in a tangle. 

…

Truth be told, you ought to have been an expert at balancing a bowl. To your credit, however, the last time you'd had to do it your path had at least been illuminated and free of debris. Now you had the added excitement of toting an old railway lantern in one hand and cradling the bowl in the crook of your elbow. 

You had been so sure of yourself earlier in the day! If Lord Heisenberg doesn't come back for supper before I go to bed, I'll bring him his supper at the forge. It had seemed like an intelligent idea; clearly if he was working late he was busy, and he would need to keep up that pace, which a hearty dinner of leftover soup would help with! You had even made another small batch of biscuits.

The only problem with this plan was, well, you had no true knowledge of where the forge was. Oh certainly you had an idea, and there seemed to be an increase in heat along your chosen path, which was heartening. You carefully picked your way along, mainly keeping your gaze trained downward to prevent you from tripping or stepping on something a bit sharper than your boot’s old sole could manage. 

A warbling groan immediately tore your attention upwards and you desperately tried to steady the lantern without burning yourself on the hot globe. What is-?

You had never seen a Soldat in the light before, or as much light as this. It was human-shaped but it did not look…correct. You knew you made a noise, some startled sound, and the thing turned. 

Lord Heisenberg had never precisely explained the process of creating his Soldats and the stories you had heard never went into much detail, only mentioning how fragile they were and how easily House Dimitrescu had overwhelmed them.

A motor thrummed, sputtering to life, and as the Soldat faced you you realized why it hadn't looked correct. Its left arm had been replaced by the bulk of some monstrous machinery that was crowned with a sluggishly-spinning drill. Its right arm was just a stump, pale flesh hanging from the remainder of the joint. 

You hesitated, unsure of the thing's comprehension and whether it knew you as friend or foe. The lycans were unpredictable, you didn't see why this would be any different. “H-Hello,” You called nervously, struggling to be heard over the drill (which seemed to be gaining speed). “I'm here to bring the lord his dinner, if that's alright?” Of course, there was no reply. 

It took a heavy step towards you. Then another, and another. The drill began whining at a high pitch, and you took an instinctive step backwards.

The Soldat broke into a clumsy, loping run, drill reeling back for some sort of blow. You turned and bolted, fleeing the way you'd come. Desperately you tried to remember the path you'd taken in reverse, hoping against hope that you'd be able to outrun the thing. Twisting, turning, stumbling over things in your path-

Out of the nearly pitch-black darkness ahead, you heard Lord Heisenberg's voice calling, “Sweetheart? Where are you?” 

You screamed something as a section of rotted flooring gave way beneath your foot, swallowing your leg up to the shin and sending you tumbling to the ground. The lantern flew out of your hand, globe smashing and the last of the meager fuel going up in a rapid flare of light. That flare illuminated the hallway ahead, reflecting off of Karl's eyes like he was…

Well, you had known he wasn't exactly human. Not that now was the time to be dwelling on such thoughts! You rolled over, desperately fighting with the jagged wood that trapped your leg, and you tried not to think of the amount of times you'd butchered animals for dinner and the way their joints snapped under a little pressure–

A red glow heralded the Soldat's approach and you struggled harder. Karl barked, “hey! That's close enough, freak!”, but it was as if the Soldat didn't register he was speaking to it. Maybe this one didn't have ears? “I said-” A large boot hit the floor beside your ribs, Heisenberg's body overhead lit by that hellish red light. “-that's close enough!” The Soldat's drill began to grind and shriek as it came down, like it was being forced to spin in the wrong direction. You didn't even have the wherewithal to scream, your whole being dedicated to freeing your leg. 

There was a sharp grunt of exertion. A hand slapped against your elbow momentarily before fingers crushed down in a chokehold on your upper arm. Fasteners erupted from the floorboards around your leg and as they did, you finally managed to wrench yourself loose. When Karl heaved you backwards out of harm's way you caught only a momentary glimpse of his free hand bracing that terrible drill, the skin of his palm mangled by the still-spiraling machinery. 

Once the lord released you, you scrambled away on the floor until your back hit a wall. The Soldat issued a garbled yell and Heisenberg roared in reply, ripping the drill off its shoulder. Nuts and washers clattered to the floor, hydraulic fluid coming in arterial spurts while the Soldat clumsily flailed at its maker. 

Half-blind in the dark, all you could do was stare as Karl tore the Soldat limb from limb. When it inevitably toppled to the ground it could barely be considered a torso, that red light on its chest flickering weakly and starting to slowly fade. You shut your eyes tightly, aware that Heisenberg was speaking but your ears were ringing too badly to hear him. You felt nauseous and lightheaded, the floor seeming to buckle and spin beneath your trembling body. 

…

You would have been fine, if the damn floor had held. You would have outpaced that old junker in a flash. You wouldn't have even been in any danger!

Karl crouched beside you, barely resisting the urge to grab your chin and force you to look at him. “What the hell were you thinking?” He asked incredulously, but it was as if you couldn't hear him. The man huffed in irritation, getting back to his feet and walking to the hole in the floor to inspect the damage. His boot landed on a domed object, startling the lord somewhat as he'd assumed he knew every piece of junk on the floor between here and his forge. He bent to inspect the object and he realized it was a bowl, christened with the splattered remains of leftover soup. Beside it were several sad and dirty biscuits, their plate having overturned and skidded along the grime of the floor. 

Food.

“I'm sorry, I'm so sorry my Lady, I'm so sorry, please, please, I'm sorry-” Your voice was pitifully quiet. You'd put your hands over your ears and you were rocking, pleading, begging some specter of his faux sibling for mercy. Karl felt his heart sink and he realized in a sudden burst of uncharacteristic clarity that he hadn't been angry.

He had been afraid.

Afraid of what might happen to you. 

Gods.

“It's alright.” He breathed, settling to the floor in front of you. He nearly reached out to touch you, but hesitated when he caught sight of his bloodied fingers, forcing his mangled hand into a fist at his side instead. “It's alright. It's just me.” 

You sobbed hysterically and Heisenberg wasn't sure for a second whether you'd even heard him, then you flung your arms around his neck, clinging to him and crying into his shoulder. Karl froze, stunned. No one had ever…

Well. It didn't matter. 

“I've got you.” The man said gruffly, resting his intact hand gingerly on the top of your head. “You…you're safe.”

It felt like you just crumpled against his chest. Like every ounce of fight in your body had departed, leaving you limp and frail in his arms. All Karl could do was gather you up, the man rising to his feet after a moment of fumbling. It seemed as though you had lost consciousness, your arm dropping to hang and your head lolling back in the crook of his elbow. 

I've got you.

…

You started awake, unsure for a moment where you were, what time it was…what had happened to you?

From his place at his workbench, Karl cleared his throat. There was a snap as he folded his newspaper, then tucked it beneath his arm as he stood. The former lord approached your bedside and you couldn't help the way you shrank down into yourself, barely fighting the urge to hide beneath the covers. 

Heisenberg stopped further away than normal, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “How do you feel?” A mild enough question, given the circumstances.

Honesty. “My leg hurts a little,” was your truthful response. “But I suppose it serves me right. I shouldn't have-”

Karl cut you off by clearing his throat, the man fixing you with a stern look. “In the future, if you get any ideas about bringin’ me dinner, just yell for me. It'll save both of us a lot of trouble.” 

Shame sent a hot flush out across your cheeks and you nodded, hoping that was the end of your discussion. 

“You could have been seriously injured. I know you probably don't grasp that, but I sure as hell do. I've seen what my Soldats were designed for.” Lord Heisenberg's expression had gone grim. “It ain't your fault. I'll start decommissioning them.”

“Oh, but don't you need them?” You burst out, concerned for the inhabitants of the village that you had only recently found out relied on Karl's craftsmanship to thrive. 

The lord shrugged elegantly in reply, stating, “Before, I needed them to help because of the scale of the operation. Now though…I think I can afford to cut back on a few dozen units.” He sighed, momentarily looking exhausted. “A lot of them just wander anyway, it's not as though they're vital.”

A thought struck you and you exclaimed, “my Lord, your hand! I…” Karl tugged both of his hands out of his pockets to display them to you, raising an eyebrow. They seemed wholly intact, not so much as a crooked finger! How-?

“I heal quick.” He informed you with a flippant rotation of his wrist.  

“It was a drill, I saw it rip--h-how did-?” You were nonplussed by the whole thing. Were you so damaged by your previous trials that you had begun to imagine travesties occurring?!

Karl, however, raised an excellent point. “How many times did you wipe the blood from my back and you're worried about some fuckin’ drill yanking off my pinkie? Did you forget that I was Alcina's favorite vintage?”

“No, but-” You struggled with your words for a moment. “I just…I apologize. I did not fully comprehend the extent of your...talents.”

“Suppose that's for the best.” Karl muttered, seemingly half to himself. He abruptly clapped his hands together, giving you a stern look. “I expect you to stay put until you fully recover, understand?”

…

Karl yelled some random assortment of expletives, the latest collection of tools rocketing at the Duke. “-nearly killed! I nearly got them killed! What the fuck was I thinking?”

The Duke, having caught the bundle with ease, began sorting the tools out on his lap while Heisenberg continued to seethe and stomp around the cart. “You seem vexed, my lord. Has something occurred?” The merchant asked blandly. 

Karl shot a blistering glare up at the enormous man. “If you don't stop laughing at me-”

The Duke raised his hands in a peaceable manner. “I meant no offense, my lord! You are simply entertaining when you are so…undone.”

“Keep your commentary to yourself,” the lord growled, “this is all your fault anyway!”

The merchant had the audacity to look surprised. “My fault, my lord? I fail to see the connection.”

“It's all because you had to make your little jab, you piece of shit! If you hadn't said anything, I wouldn't have thought about it!” Even as the words left his mouth, Karl knew he was lying. 

Long before the Duke had cracked wise about prophylactics the incarcerated lord had harbored certain thoughts about you. Granted, at first they were nothing but insane fantasies. He wasn't getting free, what was the harm? He couldn't exactly gratify himself either, bound as he had been. There was little he could do aside from think, and Gods had he thought. 

And then you had released him. 

“Ah.” Heisenberg had no idea how one simple noise could sound so unbelievably smug, but he supposed if there was anyone who could manage it, it would have to be the Duke. He debated the benefits of ripping the man's head off for longer than he would care to admit, before he just slouched against one of the cart’s wheels in defeat. The Duke chuckled quietly, his girth shifting enough to make the axle creak. “I can see you are having some trouble, my lord.”

“I really ought to kill you.” Karl muttered without any real bite behind the words, dragging his hands down his face. He had spent the better part of a week tracking down every Soldat left and disassembling them, throwing the spare parts where he had amassed the bits from the Haulers. It had been an involved and tedious process, but he could always make more if the need arose again. He also made sure you watched him take apart multiple Soldats, doing his best to involve you in several related tasks so they weren't so…so much to you. You originally had shied away, but closer to the final one you displayed some tender curiosity, some minor touch of interest in his old servants. “I don't know what the hell to do.”

The Duke made a thoughtful noise, stroking his chin. “My honest opinion is that I believe you overcomplicate things.” Karl scoffed but the larger man persisted, “they have a good heart! I don't understand your resistance, I'm afraid.”

“Alcina once had me convinced that I was doing things for the right reason.” Heisenberg rested his forehead on the side of the cart. “I believed her. Trusted her.”

“Your…assistant doesn't strike me as the scheming type, my lord.” The Duke paused, then continued, “and in regards to your behavior, you are not the Lady Dimitrescu, nor are you her thrall any longer.”

“The debt I owe is extensive and I don't know how to repay them.” It was so simple to say, but it made Karl's skin crawl. All he had ever been good for was furthering someone else's ambitions. What could he do for you? You didn't exactly harbor any great expectations; you seemed wholly content to tend the fire and cook meals for the rest of your days.

Something brushed against his leg and a familiar, grating voice said, “well, don't you look like death warmed over!”

Karl punted Angie as hard as he could, unable to keep his laughter in check while the doll tumbled end over end through the air. She finally crashed to the dirt and Donna scurried by, the veiled woman gathering her beloved doll up into her arms. 

“What's the big idea?!” Angie shrieked at Karl, moving like she was going to free herself from Donna's grasp. “Is that any way to treat me, after all we've been through together?”

“You?” Karl's good humor swiftly turned foul, the man striding towards Donna with his fists clenched at his sides. “You, little rat, were the one who sold us out to Alcina! If it wasn't for you-!” Heisenberg paused, inhaling through his teeth. Donna seemed…smaller. Not that she had ever been particularly sturdy, but now she appeared like a strong gust of wind would knock her over. “You look like shit.” He said instead, grudgingly reining himself in.

Donna inclined her head. “I am. Not a leader.” She whispered, her words stilted. “It is difficult.”

“I could have told you that.” Heisenberg tugged free a cigar, the man lighting it after a moment. Meanwhile Donna just…stood there. As if she was waiting for something. “What the hell do you want, Beneviento?” Karl growled around the cigar, barely fighting the urge to rudely blow smoke in her face. “No mind games, either. Come out and say it or fuck off.”

“I can't–" Donna paused, and Angie continued in a whining tone, “it's hard, and we don't want to!”

The former lord gestured at the treeline, offering his faux sibling a joyless grin. “So leave. I'm sure there's a million other places that would happily accept a freak like you.”

“Or you!” Angie shot back tartly. 

Karl chuckled without humor around the cigar, nodding. “Yeah, ‘or me’.”

“You look better.” Donna whispered.

“I've been eatin’ right, getting in my exercise.” It wasn't technically a lie; your cooking was much more rounded than he'd ever eaten in his life. “Not exactly difficult to look better than I did while I was withering in the giant bitch's cellar.” 

“I'm sor-”

“Don't.” 

Donna inclined her head, dutifully falling silent while Angie snickered to herself. Heisenberg barely kept from biting his cigar in half, the man painstakingly removing the cheroot from his mouth before he did something he'd regret.

The Duke then spoke up, “I believe Lady Beneviento had a proposition for you.” Karl nearly jumped at the sound of the large man's voice; he'd practically forgotten he was even there, witnessing this little spat. 

Tucking his cigar back into his mouth, Heisenberg puffed a few times to ensure the thing was still lit and leaned back against the cart wheel, his arms crossed firmly over his chest. “Talk, Donna.” 

“I need equipment.”

Karl raised an eyebrow. “You do?”

The woman hesitated, obviously struggling to articulate herself. “I…the people need. Farming equipment. A-A tractor.”

Ah. “One?”

“Two would be b-better. One is…acceptable.” Donna paused again. “The cornfields-”

“-got real messed up when you fought with Alcie!” Angie finished, the doll's jaw clattering a bit. “Plus you ruined half the vineyards!”

“I'm not talkin’ to you, you little shit.” Karl grunted, making Angie sputter. “Unless you want to fly again, I suggest you stay out of this.”

“Leave Angie alone.” Lady Beneviento's tone was abruptly icy and firm. “We are having a discussion, Heisenberg.”

Karl dutifully obeyed, ignoring the doll to focus wholly on his faux sister. “Do you even have an old tractor? Scrap? Blueprints? Something, woman, I can't fabricate a tractor out of nothing.”

Beneviento produced a small, rolled piece of paper from her sleeve, handing it over to the glowering man. She then clasped her hands in front of her nervously. “We have two…two tractors. Very rusted.” She warned.

“Probably more like moldy.” Karl mumbled, only half-listening as he looked over the smudged manual page. “I'll need to see what you have for a carcass.” He finally said grudgingly.

“Ha! I knew it, I knew he would-!” Donna swiftly scooped Angie up, muffling the doll's mouth with an artfully-placed section of her black veil. The woman then offered Karl a deep bow, after which she beat a hasty retreat back down the hill while Angie continued to squall around her makeshift gag.

The Duke snorted, obviously attempting to stifle a laugh, which set off Karl’s own mirth. 

…

“Hold it–hold it steady, dammit.” 

Obligingly you adjusted your posture with the lantern, your hands too sweaty in their protective mitts to maintain the lamp's position for long. Late summer had truly set in to the valley and you were hard-pressed to find a moment where you weren't sweaty.

Heisenberg had begun repairs on an old tractor in earnest shortly after his unexpected conference with his ‘sister’, but the working conditions weren't exactly ideal. It was either labor in the shade of the moldering, poorly-lit barn, or work in the farm yard and be wholly at the mercy of the eager sun. 

The man grumbled something under his breath, the majority of his upper body currently beneath the engine as he wrestled with some unseen bolt. There was a loud thud and he began swearing in a continuous stream, shuffling out from under the machine while shaking his hand. “Rat bastard, son of a bitch,” Karl huffed, examining his quickly-reddening knuckles. “Jammed that good. Dammit.”

“Can I…?” You offered hesitantly, not really sure what he needed but willing to give it a try regardless. 

The man blew out a breath. “Yeah, damn it all. You've got smaller hands than me, maybe you can get them into where it needs to go.” He then held out one of the many rags he kept nearby, muttering, “cover your head though, you don't want to get greasy.”

Once you'd extinguished the lantern and removed your mitts, you obliged Heisenberg and carefully wound the rag around your head, making certain to pull it low on your forehead after noting the grease smeared on his own. Then, you laid down on your back and tugged yourself beneath the rickety machine alongside Karl. 

A small rubber tube was shoved into your hand, and the man gestured up at the arcane workings of the small engine. “This stupid little thing needs to go up there. In between–look, see that slot sweetheart? It needs to be fed through there so that it can be plugged in up above.”

“Why didn't you feed it down from the top instead?” It was an innocent question, you hadn't meant anything by it! But the silence that followed was deafening, broken only by the noise of Heisenberg's teeth grinding together.

Karl snatched the tube back and scuttled out from beneath the machine. You heard scraping for a moment, and then a triumphant “aha! Can you grab the other end of it now, sweetheart? Just hold it for me.”

You managed to slip your fingers into where he had indicated, just barely grasping the end of the tube and tugging it a bit further. “Got it!”

“Finally, alright.” Karl threw himself down once more, using the front axle to maneuver into position alongside you. “We need to take that and plug it-” His hand closed down on your own without warning, startling you to the point that you went stiff. Heisenberg clearly noticed; he stilled for a second but then immediately carried on, “-place it here, see?” He guided your hand to hold the hose to its appropriate inlet. “Then, we screw down the clamp to keep the hose attached.”

“Oh.” You murmured, watching him twitch his finger and the fastener on the clamp rushed to respond, twisting itself tight to secure the tube. “How would you do it if you didn't have…if you were like me?”

Karl looked at you sideways for a moment before it seemed to dawn on him, the man tapping a finger down on the screw. “Flathead screwdriver, see the groove? Pop the driver head in there and give it a twist.”

“Thank you.”

He scoffed, “‘course,” rolling out from beneath the machine and offering you a hand up. “Job isn't done yet, grab the lantern again.” He barked, “gloves!” when you almost touched the scorching handle of the lantern in your haste to obey his directive.

…

“Are you ready?”

Your head swam. Ready for what?

“I'm not moving otherwise.” 

Moving?

Somehow you were beneath the tractor again. Had you fallen? Karl's forehead bumped against your own, his body crowding yours in the small space. His eyes–

He was back in the cell, but he was no longer restrained. The lord lunged at you, groping, fondling, touching–

No, you were in his workshop, machinery crashing to the floor so Karl could press your back to the workbench, the large man burying his face in your neck and–

You started awake, intensely aware of the slick sensation between your upper thighs and the heated flush on your face. Blinking in the dim room, you struggled to comprehend what had just happened.

What was that?! You thought in a panic, frantically fanning your face to try and cool off. You had rarely ever dreamt, and you'd certainly never had a dream like that! 

You jerked your eyes up, darting a glance at the workbench, but it was mercifully vacant. Lord Heisenberg must be elsewhere.

Lord Heisenberg.

That's right. Lord Heisenberg. Not Karl, not someone you were close to, regardless of how kind he was to you. Your place was beneath him, and it always would be. 

No matter what pretty words he had said.

You helped me. 

You can leave whenever you want. 

You shook your head, frustrated and embarrassed. Maybe this…infatuation was to be expected, you had tended to the lord for quite a while. You understood his needs to an extent, you cared for him, but you may not necessarily care about him. It was to be expected that the waters might get muddied, the lines between servant and more blurred by the passage of time and the familiarity that came with it.

I hope.

Part Three

[internetskiff]

If u ask me the biggest crime valve committed on the Half Life franchise isn't the perpetual lack of a third installment and it's definitely not the fact that we'll never get to see the Borealis. No. What I want to see the most is Breen's idea of televised entertainment. I wanna see the jugglers. How does that even work. I have made a rough interpretation in Garry's Mod.

How does he even get entertainers to appear on his show. Isn't it all filmed in the Citadel? Does he just have Elites come in and put bags over people's heads and drag them to the Citadel's TV studio? Or does he dress the stalkers up to look as presentable as possible and then make them juggle for the camera. PLEAAASE we need more Breen-TV. All Freeman ever saw were the designated propaganda cultural education hours. During his little adventure in Nova Prospekt he missed like a dozen different episodes. Breen's going through all this trouble tracking down ex-entertainers currently living in City 17 and bringing them over to relive their glory days and we NEVER see that.

[misfitclassismyfreetherapy]

Let's all agree that THIS is a gold mine for making OCs without it being called a furry right? Also, great ass lore. I love the idea of them having sensitive hearing bcs of all the ears.

Once again, I am in awe on how divergent some characters are, I knew MeiMei seems to stand out more than others, that is so cool. Also, not Mairuma managing to compensate for lack of race representations by paralleling it? Ah, ofc they always exceed expectations. Nishi needs to stop feeding us so well, we'll get greedy (do not stop. continue)

I am once again, ASTOUNDED on how Mairuma manages to represent subservient relationship without it being icky. (MeiMei is such an icon. Independent woman, my beloved ♡)

Once again, a valid reason for the patriarchy (surprisingly. but again this is mairuma, so.) Also, it's not much of a 'discrimination' situation in my eyes, since I think most demons aren't oppose to them being independent as shown with MeiMei. I'd even go as far to say the demons would be impressed with how accepting the netherworld seems so far!

Here's where I think happened, they chose to have this role. Listen, I know they said themselves without exceptional talent, it's only natural to be codependent on stronger demons. Not the best mindset, but studies prove their not wrong either. Remember, Mephisto asked them for their cooperation, the many ears are the one who brought up that they'll be the subordinate. Keep that in mind. This relationship haven't really seem to be all that bad, the demons who work with the many ears don't seem to oppose such idea, because they're demons. If someone offered to be an assistant to help you achieve your desire, why would they say no? It's sad, my reaction was like Iruma as well, it felt kind of somber but it's still universes better than ours. How ironic that the real world's patriarchy sistem is worse than hell's.

I love Nova already. He's such a good kid, with such a stubborn (a bit cynical I'd admit) mind that I cant help but go 'okay, so, thank the fucking god this kid gets pagetime.' This correlates to stereotypes that we, in real life. Deal with as well. Also, can we talk about how in every arc, we get such gender-nuetral looking characters? I absolutely love that, honestly.

Lastly, of course Iruma would be the best boy. Holy shit, I adore how the manga constantly reminds me 'yeah, Iruma bcms more greedy, yet he's still best boy.' It's just such a great feeling. Not even a few seconds into the introduction that Nova already finds Iruma ethereal. Like- honestly.. same. I love this chapter so much. Leave it to Nishi for surpassing our expectations.

[thedevilrisen]

Pain

"You do this once a month?!"

"Novs, I don't want too but I can't let you stay at home today." Sid had whispered to his daughter who was bundled into a mountain of blankets, on the couch. "You're going to have to come to the rink with me beautiful."

"Dad, I really fucking hurt." Nova had shot back in response, her voice wavering.

"I know, and I'm sorry. I have to bring you though." Sid had sighed, rubbing a hand down gently down Nova's side, through the blanket. "What can we do to optimise the situation? What do you need to bring with you, what do you need Uncle Kris or Geno to get for you?"

"Some dark chocolate, strawberry creams and chai." Nova mumbled, "on almond."

"I get one of them to drop by the shops on the way through, yeah?" Sid continued his soothing rub, up and down her side. "You want to bring your blankets? Will you need any products with you?"

"Yeah, I've got some stuff upsta-" Nova started speaking but she was cut off.

"I'm making Kris get that stuff there, so we have some stuff at the rink in case you need it at the future." Sid had spoken, fishing his phone out of his pocket to send Kris a message.

"Thank's dad." Nova had mumbled, bringing her hand out to wrap around his. Something she does to express her gratitude, and had always done.

"You want me to carry you to the car?" Sid had offered.

"Could you?" Nova had asked, she started trying to wiggle out of her blanket.

"No, No. Stay there." Sid had stopped her, he bent down and grabbed Nova, blankets and all and walked out to the car. He opened the car door, placing the girl down, adjusting her blankets and and dragging her seat belt over and fastening it. "You comfy?"

"Yeah," Nova had mumbled "Can we get chai on the way?"

"How much chai do you need!" Sidney had exclaimed, laughing. "Yes, we can."

"Thanks Dad." Nova had smiled at him.

-

After Sidney had stopped by the local cafe, got some chai and his prefered coffee he drove them to the arena. Sidney looked over the center console,

"You want me to carry you in?"

"Yes please dad." Nova replied in between sips of her chai. Sid, exited the driver's side of the car. He unbuckled Nova and slid her into his arms, "Let's go! Kris told me he put the stuff in the common room. You happy to chill on the couch in there?"

"Yeah, I should be fine." Nova answered, "Can I put my show on the tv?"

"If you would like!" Sid had smiled down at her.

"Thank's Dad." Nova had mumbled into Sid's chest, as he walked along the halls to the common room. "I don't know if I would be so lucky with someone else."

"I'm lucky to have you, kid." Sid said.

Sidney carried his daughter the rest of the way down the halls into the teams common room, where most of them were lounging. Sid walked toward the couch.

"Can you boy's move please?" Sid had asked, Drew O'Connor and Jansen Harkins. They both complied and Sid dropped her down on the couch. Handing her the chocolate and lollies, leaning down and kissing her head. "You stay there, call me if you need anything alright. I will come and check on you regularly."

"Wait, why are you here Nova?" one of the boys asked.

"Pain." the girl grumbled in response. "You can't expect me to function."

"It can't be that bad!" Someone else exclaimed.

"You try some of this pain then tell me that." Nova shot back.

"Fine, we'll get one of those simulator thingys!" Erik Karlsson stated.

-

This is the prerequisite part to the pain simulator! I hope you like it!

[thrandilf]

Arc 3 Aaravos and Claudia- Love or Revenge?

I've been mulling over how arc 3 may go for Aaravos and Claudia and I'm really leaning towards an emotional arc where Aaravos does indeed see Claudia as his daughter and is forced to choose between her and getting vengeance

We've done so much set up across several character arcs culminating in S7 that I honestly think this is where we're going

Of course most people know my preference here (I'll be Aaravos sympathetic forever) and want to see him get a full blast of character development after stagnating for millennia

The layout I envision is:

Season 8: We posit the question, does Aaravos value his vengeance more than Claudia's life?

Season 9: We get the answer (I'm leaning Claudia, "I won't watch another daughter die")

Season 10: Resolution, which is that the Cosmic Order is unraveled (and therefore able to be rewoven) by either Aaravos and the protagonists together teaming up against a common enemy or Aaravos himself causing damage and fully going out with a bang and leaving the remains to be remade by the protags

Season 7 was our trial season as we learned all the different options for the protags to take down Aaravos and it ended in tragedy. Ezran points out that every single one of the trio had become the worst version of themselves, on the verge of giving up all they were (Ezran being determined to use violence, Rayla being determined to kill Callum, Callum caving into dark magic and discarding himself)

Note: Aaravos won in S7, or at least his Plan B benefited him greatly. As he's pointed out, he plans for contingencies and seems to have given Ezran the Novablade, potentially was the Dark Callum that Callum spoke to in the forest, he obviously allowed himself to be captured by Ezran, and he gathered every single archdragon to himself to begin the fight in earnest, in which he barely fought at all, knowing that his nova would kill his enemies for him

Aaravos has eliminated threats and gotten vengeance on not only the dragons but Akiyu as well, all boons to himself. Callum has a white streak which also leads me to believe Callum is falling into his hands in Arc 3, with Aaravos already referring to them as an "us"

With how dire things went for the protags and how they nearly lost themselves trying to kill or capture Aaravos, and playing right into his hands as they do it, I think that next arc has to offer other options other than a rehash

Which would happen if Aaravos came back different and/or let himself change priorities due to loving Claudia. (I'd like Claudia to have some pull over him as a result of her developing enough to tell someone what to do instead of always looking to others for guidance, but we'll see)

Aaravos referred to himself as Ezran's greatest ally, which makes me anticipate the Cosmic Council doing something like intervening in Xadia, such as specifically targeting Callum for his arcana and making an explicit enemy of humanity as things begin to change. The Cosmic Order hates change, including the positive change as we're seeing unfold

Aaravos would be his best ally in standing up to other Startouch elves

A lot of people's frustrations with S7 amount to Aaravos seeming to not be a part of the themes that have echoed across the series regarding grief, pain, revenge, forgiveness, healing, ect. He's been the one without closed wounds or another chance. Since we have 3 more seasons to go, I'm suggesting that everyone else's arcs are set up for him to have his. Aaravos being able to heal and care for others and himself again symbolizes an end to the longest-standing cycle of violence in the show, a total world state change. If he, an immortal, can move past violence and if not completely forgive, but at least see that no amount of suffering will bring Leola back, there's hope and truth to the idea that it's possible for anyone to do so

So his arc has to be last to wrap up the show

Ezran has had the most difficulty with this sort of arc, but he, Callum, Rayla, and characters across the show have all had to come to the conclusion that causing pain doesn't ease your own. Aaravos, after S7 and returning to the heavens, may see this firsthand as the stars perhaps don't even care about what he did, or that their suffering does nothing for him

There's also been recurring themes (particularly with Viren) about it never being too late to change

Terry this season also introduced the idea of becoming someone else/changing for the worst out of love for someone, and in doing so becoming unrecognizable to the person you love. IMO, this is a direct line to what's happened to Aaravos, who's been acting out of love, and Leola, who would be horrified by his actions

I suppose Aaravos could just not change, but since we already had a Karim, I think this is the most likely route and not just because it's everything I've ever wanted

TLDR: I don't see a way for Arc 3 to not further humanize/make Aaravos sympathetic and have an arc of his own in which he's at least a temporary ally, which will mirror many themes and trends we've seen across the whole show, scattered across many other characters over and over again. Even if he manages to permanently die (doubt it) he'll have peace at the very least for the show to land

[the-morningstar-family]

So what are you guys gonna do?

Alastor is finally feeling good enough to get himself off the bathroom floor. He cleans himself and brushes his teeth.

Then joins Lucifer on the bed.

Alastor: “I didn't know it was possible in the first place-”

Lucifer: “Okay okay, but take a breath, you're kind of freaking out”

Alastor: “Because these plasted things are positive!”

The demon tenses up. Then takes a long deep breath in, closing his eyes, before slowly releasing it.

Alastor: “Angel thinks it might've been whatever Valentino cooked up…”

Lucifer sees how on edge Al is. A bit of worry washes over him.

Lucifer: “You don't have to keep it”

He mumbles before realising that the words left his mouth. But he does mean them. Even though it makes the king feel incredibly sad.

He takes Alastor's hands, but he doesn't looks reassured. More scared actually.

Lucifer: “Are you… happy about it?”

Alastor, voice raw: “I don't know”

The demon sniffles again. And more tears threaten to escape him. He hates his fucking emotions right now.

Lucifer: “Oh Hun”

The angel hugs him tightly. Running a hand through Alastor's hair.

Lucifer: “That's the hormones. Remember that I had Charlie? I was a crying mess all the time.”

It doesn't really change his mood. But it reassured him a little. The king knows a thing or two about it. Oh shit. Is he going to keep it? What if he decides not to? Oh dear …

Alastor: “I am not exactly sure what to do now.”

Lucifer hand stills for a second, then continues.

Lucifer: “Tell you what. We'll go to a doctor tomorrow. They'll look at you, and everything. So you'll know what you're getting into. Sounds good?”

Alastor, teary eyed: “Yes...”

Lucifer: "....But?"

Alastor: "Should we even?"

Lucifer: "... What do you mean?"

With a sigh, Al rubs his eyes dry. But it does little to soften the emotional turmoil he's feeling. Why is it this intense?

Alastor: "We just adopted Nova, and we'll kill have to care for Felix soon as Well-"

Lucifer: "Wait- what?"

If he were calmer, Al might've found his head-in-the-clouds-partner cute. But he isn't, so instead he's annoyed.

Alastor: "Lucifer! Willa doesn't have any family besides Felix. Would you rather a stranger take him when she....?"

Lucifer: "I- I really haven't thought - man, I missed the obvious again..."

The demon's shoulders droop in exhaustion. His ears twitch, and he looks forlorn out of the window.

Alastor: "Wouldn't it be unfair to them?"

The king cups his partner's face, looking him in the eyes.

Lucifer: "It might be a bit much. But I think only unfair if we'd leave them hanging. And I don't think either of us have that intention"

Alastor: "Alright..."

[alexissara]

Sapphic Games List Summer 2024

Welcome to the Upcoming Sapphic Games List Summer 2024. This is a series where I the divine goddess of the lesbians grace the video game information I painstakingly researched onto you my humble sapphic audience. This is not a review series or a series of pitches but a best guess series with some amount of impressions and details to give you an idea of games you might get to see yourself represented in if your a person who wants sapphic romance in their life. These are upcoming games so I really can’t promise their quality, the details, and even games with clear cut queer romance could idk pull a shocking homophobic ending or something so remember this is based just on trailers, demos, previews, interviews, and me asking questions to developers. These games are still in development, things can change and some of these are just strong guess although I try to make my reasoning make sense or put it in high probability rather than any other section.  You can check out the last two ones I did of these here and here.

I am making this before whatever Nintendo Direct in June happens, I attempted to wait it out but they hadn’t announced it by the 14th so I decided to simply wrap up this article. To that end I may do a quick extra addition with a few more games as I keep digging, which I am always doing plus whatever has potential from there if there is anything new. 

It takes a lot of research to make these so if you’d like to send any support at all my way Patreon and Ko-fi are the best ways to help me keep making these while I work on making my own lesbian art for sapphics of all kinds to enjoy badass sapphics. 

Action Lesbians

Nova Hearts 

Nova hearts is a magical girl dating sim RPG. While a bit closer to a Visual Novel then say a persona game Nova Hearts still has solid evolving RPG combat paired with social sim mechanics that grow relationships between your main character and the cast both in the party and outside of it.  It's really cute and you can play the first chapter of the game yourself for free with Nova Hearts: The Spark.

Food Devils 

This might be more of a Make Your Own Gay but given the roster has 3 women and 2 men plus an avatar of your chosen gender it’s pretty hard but I guess possible to make it where the game ends in all MF pairings. That said I have a strong feeling that there will be some degree of canon queerness outside of player choice given the game has chosen to default to the female avatar and the main romance they showcase is her romance with another woman. It's an SRPG with base building and it seems like romances will go beyond the devils too and give the player some options to romance maids and butlers as well thanks to kickstarter goals being met. It seems like it's going to have like an interesting twist on some coz vibes of cooking food and romancing hotties. 

Sword of the Necromancer: Resurrection

A remake of an amazing Lesbian Roguelike game is in the works and set to be released probably pretty close to when this goes up. You play as sword Lesbian Tama who is willing to do anything to save Koko who eas tragically killed recently. You gain The Sword Of The Necromancer and use that to revive monsters and fight through the dungeon to gain enough power to revive Koko. 

Sword Of The Necromancer: Revenant

The original intended game from Sword of the Necromancer: Resurrection, Revenant adds a man to the fold which, yes boo, tomatoes, tomatoes [or at least it seems to] but it keeps our main two adorable lesbians in the plot after their happy ending and brings them into the fold in this new chaotic story remaining main characters. Spoilers for the above game I guess, the lesbians are unburied in one of the possible endings and this game follows that.  We'll have to see how it ends up working but Tama and Koko both seem to be playable in it and so it seems like you'll just have a little party to use in the plot. 

Abyss  X Zero

This game is getting a gay benefit of the doubt. The creators are queer, their last game is queer, I can assume somehow it'll be baked into the story of A and Z probably them being gay for each other despite them both needing to fight the other.  The games a 3d metroidvania with a super nice art style, some level of customization and two Playable characters. They look great and the game looks great, very cool action and really brimming with style. 

BRIGHT RED SONG OF LOVE

A new game being developed by Lily Valeen, creator of Boss Game. Boss Game was a game about girlfriends being gay and working gigs and fighting monsters so and this game looks gay too, so expect some gay ladies doing some cool stuff. All we have is screenshots and it’s probably like omega early in development but I wanted to mention it because lily Valeen made a really cool game and this is a great reminder to follow her and maybe check out boss game on Steam or on your phone or on Itch.io. 

Crescent County 

You ride on a motorbroom and try to make some cash cuz your broke as fuck. You are a gay witch looking for cute girls, new friends and new rivals, maybe all three at once. It looks really cool and fun and she kisses a girl in the trailer so I know it’s gay. It sounds like you might have several romantic options but it doesn’t seem like optional queerness just romantic options. I didn’t have a queer racing game on my bingo card of types of games I’d update y’all on or see but here we are, so cool, I love it. This seems like it has a queer dev team making a queer story in a new interesting way that I haven’t seen many games do. It sounds like the romance system is pretty neat too the dev mentioned that like you need a bed frame to have a girl over cuz she is going to have more self respect then to fuck you if you just have a matress on on the floor. So like, it sounds like a lot of fun.

Unbeatable 

You are a pink haired girl who beats up cops and is in a rock band and the cast seems to mostly be women, if you are not gay in this game I believe it to be a hate crime and I will fight the developers. The game looks incredibly cool and the stunning hand drawn animation is just great. It is a kinda rhythm game I think in a setting where music is illegal and you love doing crime. I’m sold on this game I just need it to be gay, that’s it. I’ve bought it in my heart already but make it gay please, please, please.  Also it looks like it’s tagged as LGBT+ so you know, it’s possible, I believe, I chose to believe. It looks too good to not be gay. 

Make your own Gay

Demonschool 

In This game you do tactical combat against a flurry of demons and build relationships with other characters. I had romances confirmed and well the trailer shows our main protagonist reaching for another woman’s hands. I also had confirmed there is some side stuff that isn’t the main character Faye with someone so there may be some canon sapphic stuff that isn’t just player directed and optional. This is a tactical RPG with shin megami tensei flare but doesn’t play like any other SRPG I’ve played even SMTs own SRPG, Devil Survivor. This game is heavily focused on unit placement and doing things in really tight deadlines. I hope they have an easy mode or something in the full release because I utterly love the social sim elements here and would love a bit more room to fuck up. On the sapphic end the roster seems to have tons of cute girls even outside of the probably intended to be canon romance girl there is a haughty rich girl who seems like a perfect enemies to lovers arc and a cool delinquent girl, there is a lot of range for a lot of dynamics but we’ll have to see how all of those systems work on release. 

Long Story 2

A very kid friendly visual novel type experience. It’s cute, it’s sweet, it’s simple and it’s the kind of soft story you can get excited about if you just want something wholesome to enjoy. You really Get to craft your story so it's very craft it yourself. 

Moonlight Peaks 

We really do not have a ton of details but it’s likely to release in 2026 since that’s when they said it would and have have a pretty strong publisher in Marvlous behind it. This is one of the most exciting farming sims I've seen. You play as a vampire and unlock new vampiric powers over time. It looks as if there will be 7 women who are different kinds of super natural for you to romance in this. Also an interesting talked about feature is the werewolf romance options might shift in personality a little on a full moon and stuff like that which makes for a neat way to push for a different vibe in a farming sims cast.

Monster Prom 4: Monster Con

The 4th game in the monster prom series, the potentially PVP dating sim is back at it again with more goofs, new monsters to fawn over and a new setting.  If you're fiending for more Monster Prom, Camp or Road Trip then you already are gonna be grabbing this but if you're new to hearing about this series or finally wanting to check it out because one of the characters designs it’ll be an exciting jumping on point. Romances are player focused, characters themselves though are canon queer sometimes having same gender exes and stuff. We have a canon queer trans woman as one of the main love interests this time so that is really excited and also a really cool set of two new women. If you come with a full party of lesbians as it stands you’ll have to fight over at least one girl given there is only 3 women to romance and 3 men but if your playing 3 players you can each aim for a different girl in a run if you want to avoid PVPing or simply play in single player for a chiller romance comedy vibe. This is a really silly game series that is all about the bits but there is a lot of good stuff even outside of the comedy. 

Arcadia Fallen II

Arcadia Fallen 2 is the follow up to Arcadia Fallen. The first game let you be sapphic and this game probably will also let you be sapphic as well. I think it’s a safe bet, they say there will be 3 body type so probably the typical choice of He/She/They pronouns with a chose whatever body suits you best choice. This should be a choose your own adventure style visual novel with a magical setting and while I haven’t played the first yet, I am keeping my eyes on this one’s kickstarter to see where it goes. The artstyle is gorgeous and it’s always nice to see artists from across the world making games where you can be sapphic, in this case some awesome Danish devs. 

Sensei! I Like You So Much!

This game bills itself as a fangirl simulator where you create your own favorite characters and geek out with fellow fans, take commissions and gather in community with others. My vine is this game will have no romance however, I feel compelled to bring it here because I mean you can be really into a lesbian ship and geek out with other women who are really into a lesbian ship or so it seems from the trailer. Obviously, like any of these I only have whatever the devs have said and whatever I see in trailers, screen shots, etc to go off of but it looked like you could make a girl and it looks like in the trailer they made yaoi so I am gonna guess you can make yuri. So, here we go, it’s sapphic but like, different than other sapphic games, probably, I’d personally be way more into romancing a fellow fan of something than a lot of other concepts for a dating sim so I’d love to be wrong and there is some secret dating sim element. 

Reanimation Scheme

It’s an Otome visual novel where you can date four men but also there is one sapphic wrote. I hate these kind of gender rations but hey, this exist, it’s upcoming, you should know about it, maybe it’s written super good. The art style is solid and if you like the design of the exactly one woman you can date in the game you can prep for some sapphic fun even if a lot of your time in the game will be interacting with men, You play as a Necromancer which is always really cool and ya, enjoy. 

The Crush House This is a reality show managing sim with a spooky mystery. It’s like putting you managing the sims lives in context where you try and push people to behave particular ways based on audience demands and what you feel like. You can make women be gay with each other and even run a show for Girls for Girls audiences and stuff so there is a lot cooking here for a silly and strange little game. 

Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Dragon Age, a little known indie series from abusive publisher EA from Abusive company Bioware now potentially hanging onto it’s last chance for life with a brand new game. Dragon Age is a fantasy roleplaying game where the people who look like lesbians are straight and the people who look straight are lesbians at least that’s the classic Bioware flavor.  This time though, unlike these other games, an actual queer woman is the director [after like 4 directors left] and she seems like a really cool person with good taste so I want her to be successful and for this game to not crash Bioware into the dirt like so many other studios under EA. You’ll likely be able to make a character of one of two genders and have them fill a role in this plot.  We know that every character will be pansexual in the game meaning you’ll be able to romance anyone and if you don’t romance characters they will romance each other. 

Grave Seasons 

Like farming sims, like murder mysteries, want to make sweet sweet passionate kissy faces with a murderer? Then Grave Seasons might be the game for you. You do typical farming sim stuff but a randomly generated one of the NPCs that are romanceable. You need to figure out the mystery, if the hottie you're making heart eyes at is the killer and if they are what you wanna do about it. If it’s not you might want to find the killer and fast lest your cutie get taken out too. At least that’s what it sounds like to me. There should be several women you can romance and it seems like a fun game to replay and a farming sim that puts the romance at the front even for people who want to be efficient because well you don’t want a bunch of people dying do you [unless you do]. 

Freeride

So this one is really making your own gay cuz I do not think they gender proto and proto is just supposed to be a stand in for you but I flirted with a cool looking bunny girl in the demo and she seemed to be into the conductor who was a demon girl so like maybe it'll even be explicitly represented in this. It's hard to know with so few details but you can gift people stuff and everything.  It's a physics based game mostly focused on choices and doing a secret personality test on you. 

Fable 

It looks like this Fable game just has you play as a woman, like I am just taking precedent here to say that romance to some extent will exist and you can in fact marry women. It be weird if you couldn’t so I’ll say that is very likely here. If you like RPGs with big budgets then this might be the one, it doesn’t seem to be as silly as some of the previous games but they weren’t always going for silly so I think the tone seems just about right. 

Narrative Games 

Cage of Roses

Lesbian vampires are always a good time. It's a visual about some lesbian vampires. You're in by the art style and visual novel or you're not. It sounds exciting to me. 

Rainbow Valley 

A game from yuri game developer and publisher Studio Elan. This is a collaboration with a monster high focused YouTuber and you can see the Monster High inspirations in the designs. I imagine this is really going to capture the vibes adult fans of monster high really have been wanting to explore while not being locked down by the big company. 

Tithe In Blood 

Another  game from yuri game developer and publisher Studio Elan. This is a darker yuri story about a woman practicing blood magic after the loss of a loved one.The romance and blood magic lead to a lot of deadly twists and turns. 

The Witch's Bakery

The Witch’s Bakery is a game coming to Kickstarter soon that’s about running a cozy bakery and being a little gay witch doing it. This game is coming to kickstarter at some point in the near future at the time of writing. It has a canon romance so I don’t think you’ll be picking who you swoon and instead you’ll get to play out a soft little love story while you bake, run a shop and make friends. 

Lost Records

Life is Strange and Tell Me Why Developers are back with a new game and the first trailer had the main four women of this plot kissing so it’s gay, that’s like locked in it’s not even like Life Is Strange 1 optional gay it’s just gonna be gay. It seems like a nostalgia trip featuring a bunch of sapphic women in the lead and that seems like the most perfect game for Dontnods main audience. 

Cabernet

A gothic vibe lays over this game, it tickles at horror while also not being terrifying, you are the vampire newly created and enter this society. This is another one that might be more of a Make your Own Gay but it’s vampires and that’s inherently gay so I gotta put it here. I had the devs confirm to me that this game will include gay romance and you can have your girl read Carmilla so as far as I am concerned I think her sexuality has a decent shot at being part of the narrative and not just an option. 

Tavern Talk

This is a game inspired by exclusively other queer games in the same style of those queer games, I am gonna say it’s safe to guess this is a soft little queer game that will take you through an interesting narrative perspective all while mostly being behind a bar and making drinks for people. 

Psychroma

This is a horror game with what seems to be a queer non binary protagonist but it may not be all sunny and rainbows, for sure prepare yourself for angst. The protagonist has amnesia and doesn’t remember who seems to be her girlfriend. This is a cyberpunk horror which is shockingly not a super standard combination despite the clear synergy between the two. It has a sapphic energy, it’s always hard to draw the line on a non binary character and if their sapphic or not before you get the context because well that’s a massive umbrella of genders, identities and feelings. Still the vibe test for me passes as sapphic and I am here to tell you about vibes, that’s the point of this series, I have an extremely high success rate and so I will take the shot here. If you're looking for something creepy and queer then this is for sure it even if the sapphic vibes are a false flag. 

Life is strange: Double Exposure

IDK if they’ll make Max and Chloe canon here or how they will right around it but also like the game studio making this game has a bunch of like allegations against them so I don’t particularly care too much. I do want to find out so I will look around for details but ya know I mentioned Lost Records earlier maybe look to that one instead if these come out around the same time at least. Otherwise, idk you do dialog and stuff in this one and mess with timelines. It does look like Chloe is dead so, you could go to your local library and read Life Is Strange: After The Storm for free instead, a possible suggestion too. 

Love Ghostie

Your a lil ghostie and you play match maker and you can make little sapphic pairings so, ya you can make sapphic stuff happen in this game and it’s like part of the point. It’s a very adorable game with very adorable little monsters and looks to be a great game to cuddle up and just live your best shipping life. 

Sigh of the Abyss Sigh of the Abyss is doing something really cool in the visual novel space and it’s bringing a feature I’ve wanted in games with mix gender romance for a long time to the table. You can in your options at any time say your looking to romance Men, Men and Women, Women or no one. In the game you play as a woman and the game defaults you to being bisexual but you can actually have it where the game simply does not have men push romance on you which is such a relief because it’s one of the world part of mix gendered dating games for me is being here for the women but having to be flirted with by every man and never able to say “Hey, I’m a lesbian.”  How deep these options will go I am not sure but it was really swift in easy in the demo. If you're looking for some dark fantasy story telling this seems like an exciting place to go for a story. 

High Potential 

Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines 2

I mean it’s got vampires and roleplaying like probably. Maybe it'll be too uptight and serious but we'll see what it's like. 

Sorry We're Closed

The games listed as LGBT and the main characters on the art and stuff are women so pretty clear. It’s a horror adventure and it seems really aesthetically unique, I think this is one to keep your eyes on it might just be a big new thing.

RPG Maker WITH

I mean it just depends on if people make a sapphic game in it and share it. It's like a game about making games. There's a good chance someone will want to make Yuri but also I wouldn't expect it near launch.

Ra Ra Boom

There is a vibe here, it's a beat um up which is a kind of game not famous for it's story but idk the vibe tells me these super cheerleaders are gay.  That’s all I got to say really, it looks fun and if it’s gay bonus points to me.

Fighting Games

So Fighting games are hard to cover on this because fighting game devs are cowards an also don't make their narratives compelling and their mostly about men with women relegated to the sides. I love fighting games though and I don't want to ignore them so I put just a general pin on potential sapphic characters dropping in 2024. Like Skullgirls recently added Marie who has some queer coding with Peacock and she's like a main villain so there's stuff. Guilty Gear Has a season 4 coming out which could add a story expansion and idk confirm Bridget is a lesbian. Granblue's next characters are likely datamined but there is a chance of a suprise appearance and many likely candidates are sapphic characters. Plus a new game might come out, maybe Diesel Legacy will have the cool mobster girl be a lesbian, we just won't know util stuff comes out. 

gillford academy 

This is an rpg putting a lot of emphasis on your choices mattering with characters. The characters are pretty young but there is a chance they might be sapphic at least in a if player chooses the right choices way. 

Mixtape

I think I saw a gay moment in this trailer. It's like 90s nostalgia the game, I have no idea how it’s supposed to play. I assume it's kinda standard narrative 3D gameplay  which I think is always a pleasant time.  I don’t know a ton about this game but I am keeping my eyes on it in the future that’s for sure. 

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If you enjoyed this post and want to help me do the level of research I put into these please, please, please consider funding me on Patreon or giving me a one time donation over on Ko-fi. I am a writer for a living so that means being professionally poor and any bit of money really helps so much. Every dollar helps me make new sapphic art myself from making TTRPGs to working on my own game project and lots more. If you don’t have cash following me, sharing, etc is always lovely and I love nice comments. 

There should be more of these in the future. I couldn’t fit every single game I saw with potential or even straight up confirmed into here so I am hoping to make this more regular maybe even pivot to video and do game by game chats or something. We'll see what the future holds but I hope you found at least one new game to look forward to.

[pmdnightfall]

NOVA: Whu-- OUKA: GOOD MORNING!!

OUKA: Hi Nova!! NOVA: Hi Ouka OUKA: Come on and let's get going, we got to become an official Exploration Team!! and go to class, that's important too!! Nova blinks incredulously, having just woken up and immediately being bombarded by their new friend's excitement. What even is "class"?

The Espurr barely finishes processing everything before they're once again whisked away by Ouka.

OUKA: We've still got time!!

OUKA: We'll stop by the Post Office first, then go to Treasure Academy right after!! NOVA: Ok

The duo continue into the foyer, preparing to set off for the new day.

OUKA: Actually maybe I should ask father to send the form for me, I'm sure he'll be OK with it!!

DAD: Vho is zhis 'mon, Ouka? OUKA: Hi father.

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