#barbarian youth

[thissortofsorcery]

Hi! Now that I'm posting my fic for the @bigbangharringrove 2024, I wanted to share something with you.

My fic takes us all over Hawkins, and it's hard for me to keep track of where everything is because I have terrible sense of space and direction. So I made/edited this handy map based on the season 4 official map of Hawkins. Some things are vague, others very specific.

Feel free to reference this post if you ever need to while reading my fic, Barbarian Youth.

The grid is not meant to be an exact depiciton, it's only there as a visual aid.

[thissortofsorcery]

It’s because they’re like soooooo busy all the time!!!!!! 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

Billy trying to figure out why Steve and Knight are never in the same room

Barbarian Youth - @thissortofsorcery

[malchivist]

tweek did NOT pray today

[beholdingslut]

no one has suffered more than me (can’t decide on what time period to write gay historical fiction for for our friend group nanowrimo challenge)

[evilhorse]

With cat-like speed, the Cimmerian youth avoids a wayward shot and dives deeper into the fray.

(Conan the Barbarian FCBD 2023)

[inkedintothepaper]

Some art I drew over the past few days-

[sreppub]

still collecting these!!! Gonna draw as many as i can during movie time with @heydocpotts tonight <3

would love some cute or funny mcu avengers family drawing requests! could be 2012, endgame fixit, whatever....

[beastwars-transformers]

1984 intro speech but it’s about vtubers in ASMR

[lilacgaby]

can i request more on barbarian bakugou x godess reader??

Have a nice day!!

when barbarian!katsuki arrives back at his kingdom, the chiefs are surprised that the heir, who was so hellbent on not coming back without his own splendors, suddenly returned, with a proclaimed goddess!wife at that.

he ignored all their questions and concerns, demanding a wedding be prepared at once. many villagers eyed your wearily, you looked out of this century, wearing expensive silks and gems they'd never seen, with an otherworldly shine and aura about you.

barbarian!katsuki was so obsessed with your every action, he vowed to you in his own blood, that he'd be your final and main worshiper as your husband. he'd slice down the heads of a villager who had gotten to critical of his choice and protect your honor at any cost.

the gifts he'd bring to you were gorgeous, the amount of offerings he'd been making to you restored you to your former glory in just under a week, with barbarian!katsuki only asking small things of you as reward, like to be able to kiss your hand or to ask of a kiss from you.

when he finds out your true abilities of controlling fertility of the earth and life after death for those you deem worthy? he does everything to be deemed dignitary. he'll kiss your feet if he has to, he just wants to live an eternity by your side.

after the most grand wedding the barbarians could muster, he grew obsessed with the way you felt against his skin, his lips against yours, your hand against his, he didn't know why but you were just so irresistible to him.

the whole kingdom soon fell in love with you and the gifts you brought to their land, famine was nonexistent with you and katsuki in reign, and any threat towards you was dealt with by a rabid barbarian king who'd destroy any threat against you without thinking twice.

when you finally deem katsuki worthy, you don't only grant him life after death, but eternal youth as a god, same as you.

you two, who now rule alongside eachother for all of eternity, which granted katsuki's greatest unspoken desire.

follow up to this post!

[autisticgingerblonde]

If Fallout 4 companions had TikTok accounts

Cait would have an account dedicated to fighting and thirst traps (aimed at women mostly). Teaches women self-defense techniques. She earns a spot in the algorithm of muscle mommies. She also raises awareness for addicts and former addicts, educating on the effects of drugs and the reasons people seek them out in the first place. Honestly, it's a very good account to follow.

Codsworth is just confused about TikTok. He's like "oh so what are the children saying these days? Aura? I'll have to add a new word to my vocabulary banks! Cheerio, mum!"

Curie makes educational videos for all ages and all subjects. She has a series of learning Japanese, a series of vaccines and the science behind them, a series about the effects of different types of parenting, you name it. She also takes suggestions from her audience on what new things to research.

Danse has unintentional thirst traps. He talks about power armor and the Brotherhood of Steel but also posts workouts. These are what get the most attention out of everything he posts. The BookTok girlies find him and all hell breaks loose in the comment sections. He responds to this with, "Thank you, civilians. I am not sure what you mean, but I am glad you are supporting the Brotherhood of Steel by being on my page. Thank you for your enthusiasm for our righteous cause. Ad victorium." People armchair diagnose him as autistic.

Deacon does "GRWM as i tell you about the time i ______" videos where each day he looks completely different and you can never tell if he's telling the truth or not. He also does head shaving videos that double as story times or opinion pieces. You can't tell if those are true or not either.

Dogmeat has a viral account followed by millions. Get's a lot of "I can't imagine liking this guy" comments with the op replying to their own comment with "anymore than I already do. Huge fan!"

Hancock does subtle cheeky thirst traps and dance challenges. This entire post was inspired by the FACT that Hancock would participate in the brat summer trend and would do the Apple dance with Fahrenheit filming it. He also tells stories, mostly of him being high. He gets a lot of requests to cosplay Deadpool.

MacCready has a lot of things he does. Some videos are sniper trick shots, some are Grognak the Barbarian yapping (he does short lore deep dives when he can), and some are about being a young single dad. He doesn't show Duncan's face because he's extremely protective. Casually drops the most insane lore about his childhood which leads to comments like "are we just ignoring that he said he grew up in a cave?"

Nick Valentine would be a very popular fashion and "a day in the life of a detective". He'd do vintage fashion looks, like loose slacks and suspenders with a trench coat to top it off. Sometimes does a deep dive into detective history. Gets a lot of thirsty comments to which he replies "that's one way to get the coolant pumping."

Old Longfellow has the appeal of the New England, stormy weather, sweater-wearing fisherman aesthetic, and he tells stories of his youth while showing people around the area he grew up. Learns mobile phone cinematography to make it look cooler. Every video has either a lesson or a skill for survival.

Piper's account is solely focused on news and truth, posting every source she uses. She uses the trend of an insane video, like someone falling badly on the ground or getting splashed with water, and stitches it to look like a seamless transition of her rolling from the fall or being splashed to start talking about her news stories. It gets traction so she continues.

Porter Gage has a side gig of running TikTok accounts for different people. Gets the money, doesn't get the backlash when they get canceled for racism or worker exploitation.

Preston has an account dedicated to charity work and social activism. He makes sure to highlight organizations he feels are doing the world a service and regularly has fundraisers. He's well-known for always sharing content from people in dire situations and raising money for them. Has a master document of Go Fund Me pages and vets every one of them.

Strong has a lot of those unintentional boomer tiktoks that are 1 second long and he's just looking at the screen in confusion.

X6 cyber bullies the rest of them because he thinks having a TikTok is cringe and stupid (he is currently writing hate comments with his TikTok account)

[thissortofsorcery]

I've been receiving a lot of love for Barbarian Youth recently, and I'm so so so grateful for it. You have no idea. Anyway, I wanted to share what my favorite scene from BY is, to remember why I love this ship so much.

This is from Chapter 12, so a little ways into the fic.

--

Billy picks a direction and starts walking. 

He doesn’t know how long he walks, or where he’s going. There’s nowhere to go. The wind is biting, cutting into his cheeks and making his eyes dry. At least it helps numb the pain in his nose. Billy curses, pulling his jacket tighter around himself.

He sticks his finger in his mouth, hoping to stop it bleeding, at least, since he can’t bandage it. 

Jesus fucking Christ.

His mind feels sluggish, thoughts rolling slow like molasses, but not in a relaxed way like when he’s high or drunk. Thinking about his dad, or the Demogorgons, feels like it takes too much energy, and they slide away as soon as they come. He keeps thinking of song lyrics, for some reason.

He’s halfway through Jump In the Fire when he registers a voice calling his name. He stops walking, looking around confused, until a hand lands on his shoulder, making him jump.

“Billy?” He hears, and turns around to see Knight standing there, goggles and bandana and black jacket, but no nail bat in sight. He blinks, trying to situate himself.

He has no idea where he is. He must have driven past this street a hundred times in the last few weeks, but he doesn’t recognize it. The houses are small and sparse, woods sprawling in the backyards of one side, and only half the streetlights are lit.

The wind blows through him, and he shivers.

“Knight,” he says, and swallows. He tastes blood.

What’s Knight doing here? How did he find Billy?

“What are you doing here?” Knight asks, grabbing him by both his shoulders. Billy almost laughs. That’s what he wants to ask. “What the hell happened?” 

“I'm fine,” Billy says, and shakes his head. It makes his ears ring. “I'm just—” He trails off. he doesn’t know what he is. An idiot, probably. A piece of shit.

“You're not fine. You’re bleeding, man,” Knight says, and even though the bandana muffles his voice, Billy can hear the concern in it. For some reason, instead of annoying him, it spreads a warm feeling through his chest.

“Yeah, I know,” Billy says. There’s nothing he can do about it, is there?

“Jesus. Where’s your car?” Knight asks, looking around like the Camaro’s just gonna be parked somewhere and Billy’s taking a stroll for fun.

“I don’t have it.” 

“You're on foot?!” Knight’s voice hits a high octave, and it almost makes Billy laugh. He manages a crooked smile.

“Yeah, Knight, I’m on fucking foot,” Billy says, only not annoyed because Knight’s hand has moved from his shoulder to cupping his neck.

The tension on his shoulders dissipates, not gone but lessened to a degree that makes Billy sway slightly forward, and Knights hands tighten on him. He’s been walking with every muscle locked and ready to either run or throw himself into a fight for his life for god knows how long, and the fact that Knight is here now makes his whole body relax. In the back of his mind, he’s thinking I’m safe now. 

Billy doesn’t know when that happened. He doesn’t know if he’s okay with it.

“Hang on, let me…” Knight says, and takes his hands back. Billy has to fight back a groan. 

Knight’s opening his fanny pack, pulling out several things that he tells Billy to hold: alcohol wipes, peroxide, cotton balls, bandages.

“You got a whole drugstore in there?” Billy says, watching him pile on stuff in his hands.

“Shut up,” Knight says, and Billy snickers. I makes his lip sting.

Knight cleans the cut on his lip first, the peroxide stinging when it touches skin. It’s gonna taste like shit, Billy thinks distantly. Like he should be caring about the taste of his mouth right now. 

Knight uses the alcohol wipes to clean the blood off his face, after. Thankfully it’s stopped bleeding at some point when he was wandering aimlessly, and some of it’s already dried and flaking off. Knight’s hands are gentle on his face, tilting his chin up and trying not to rub too hard. When he touches Billy’s nose, his fingers make Billy wince, and Knight backs away immediately.

Billy’s face feels cold without Knight's hands on his face.

“Sorry,” he says, voice low. Billy can’t look away from him. “It's not broken, at least. But your eyes are already bruising.” 

“You sure, doc?” Billy can’t help but tease, even if it’s his own nose they’re talking about. He’s had his nose broken before, it’s no big deal.

“I’m certified in First Aid,” Knight says disapprovingly. He doesn’t seem to think Billy should make light of the situation.

Mostly, Billy’s glad he’s not alone anymore. The relief is heady, and it makes him feel lightheaded. Or maybe that’s the punch he got.

“Because you were a lifeguard, right?” Billy says, remembering the conversation they had while Billy was practicing killing Demogorgons.

“Yeah,” Knight says. Billy thinks he might be smiling. “It's useful for this stuff, though. I have to patch myself up a lot.” 

The thought of that makes Billy shudder.

“Are you gonna freak out on me if I ask where you got these?” Knight asks, pulling Billy out of his head. The question douses him in cold water, though, and Billy flinches back. 

“It's none of your business,” he snaps. No way he’d want Knight to know about his dad. Not when Knight carries a nail bat around and smashes monsters for fun. He’d think Billy’s a pussy.

“Okay,” Knight says easily. Billy expected him to push. Not that he has any right to demand information about Billy, because he never tells Billy anything. “Are you hurt anywhere else?” 

Billy almost shakes his head, but his finger twinges as if to remind him. He lifts his hand, still streaked with blood.

“Do you have a bandaid in there?” He asks. When he looks up from his hand, Knight’s covered face is very close. In this distance, he can almost make out Knight’s eyes.

When Knight touches his hand, Billy shivers. He holds Billy’s hand in one of his, and takes out more alcohol wipes to clean the blood off. The whole time he works, Billy watches his face.

His heart’s beating fast, and it feels like his stomach is being sucked into a black hole, because Knight’s fingers are warm despite the cold, and they’re holding Billy’s hand more gently than Billy’s felt in— years, actually. Knight’s hand is calloused from handling the bat, and everywhere their skin is touching, Billy feels his tingle. He has the strangest urge to flip his hand down and hold Knight’s, intertwine their fingers, just to see what Knight would do.

He can hear Knight breathing under his bandana, and it’s a calm, steady rhythm that locks Billy’s attention almost completely. It’s all he can focus on, the sensations in his hand and the sounds of Knight’s breath, the scant distance between their faces, separated only by a few inches of air and a cloth.

“Are you cold?” Knight’s voice snaps Billy out of it, and he blinks at Knight.

“What?” 

“You're shivering. That jacket’s too thin to be out at this hour. It’s really cold out, now,” Knight says, and he steps even closer. Their proximity doesn’t seem to bother him. 

There was something Billy had to tell him, about the cold. But he can’t remember.

“Billy?” 

“I'm fine,” Billy says, and steps back. He feels the cold immediately, and shudders again. “I'm not a wuss.” 

“Yeah, right,” Knight scoffs. “Hang on.” 

Before Billy can protest again, Knight turns and walks away, and it’s only then that Billy registers the car parked a few feet from him, and that the light that’s been shining over them is the headlights. From this distance and with the headlights on, Billy can only make out that it’s small, but nothing else. 

The driver’s seat is open, like Knight just got out of the car and ran to Billy earlier, and the thought does funny things to his insides. Knight reaches in, disappearing into the car, and comes back with a bundle in his hands.

“Here,” he says, and hands it over. Billy takes it with numb fingers.

It’s a sweater, knit fabric dark and thick, softer than anything Billy’s ever worn. It looks like it could be dark blue, the color not really visible in the low light. Billy runs his fingers over it, distractedly, mind blanking on how to react.

“Put it on,” Knight says, hands raising halfway toward Billy, then falling back. “You're gonna freeze.” 

Billy huffs and takes his jacket off so he can put the sweater on. The smell of it hits his nose instantly, rich and clean, with a hint of expensive cologne that Billy’s sure he recognizes from somewhere. He does feel warmer when he puts his leather jacket back on, but he doesn’t want to give Knight the satisfaction, so he doesn’t say anything. 

Then distance’s helped Billy get his brain back into gear, and he remembers what was so important that he had to tell Knight.

“I gotta talk to you about something,” he starts. “It’s about the Demogorgons.” 

(read it on ao3)

[screeblees]

Angry ! Yandere x Comfort ! Reader Headcanons

Angry ! Yandere is Male and Reader is Gender Neutral

I used three quotes from @aonungstoefungus post “Yandere Prompts” you can see here. I really liked all their prompts!

Find my Masterlist here !

Please enjoy!! <33

❥ Angry ! Yandere who spent his life filled with anger always raging just beneath the surface of his skin, resting right under the boiling point.

❥ Angry ! Yandere who blew up rather often in his youth, fighting his peers like there’s no tomorrow, swinging fists and rocks and gripping his opponents hair in his hands. By the time they were pulled apart, the other was almost always left with a black eye or a broken nose at the least.

❥ Angry ! Yandere who tried every breathing exercise, every meditation method, every mindfulness activity, every health coping habit, every anger management program, every “calming” drug he could get, every single thing he could find. Yet nothing, nothing, ever helped.

Until you came along…

❥ Angry ! Yandere who felt a blanket of soothing fall over him the very first time he heard you speak in your almost melodic voice - melodic to him at least, it worked on him so why would anyone else’s opinion matter?

❥ Angry ! Yandere who feels the overwhelming need to be in your presence otherwise risking himself only becoming more irritable (than he normally is). Even if you don’t know he’s there, it still helps to just listen.

❥ Angry ! Yandere who became aware that it isn’t just your voice but you, as a whole; your scent, your voice, your tone, your kind demeanour, your actions, your expressions, just you in your entirety. And he can’t get enough.

❥ Angry ! Yandere who is known for his barbarian behaviour at any perceived slight done towards him. This infamous reputation helping to ensure most steer clear of him, even you, at first. Although you tried to avoid him, it seemed like he was everywhere you went, even places he’d never dared to go before, even out-of-character for him to be in. ( “What’re you lookin’ at?” )

❥ Angry ! Yandere who was pleased when you eventually accepted that he was just everywhere you went and weren’t even cold towards him when he approached you for himself instead of eavesdropping on all your conversations or creepily watching from afar! Or maybe you were just too scared to talk back to him in fear of pissing him off and being at the receiving end of his violence. Oh well, you’d accepted him now.

❥ Angry ! Yandere who realises it isn’t just tranquillity that he feels around you - his heart now feels like it would burst out his chest and for once it wouldn’t be in anger, but in absolute obsession. Of course he’d like to call it love but he knows it is more than that, you are the air he had gone so long without and had now taken a breath of, you are the balance and stability he had never had in his life, in fact, you are his life, his whole world. He’s even waxing poetica in his head for you, that’s how lovesick you make him.

❥ Angry ! Yandere who began recording you talk whenever he’s close enough for a microphone to pick up. Listening to his library of you to keep his head level all day, and to get to sleep at night (among other nightly activities).

❥ Angry ! Yandere who is very forward about wanting to be your friend, inserting himself into conversations and making a point to talk to you at some point every day - the times you speak directly to him helping them feel the most soothed he’d been in a long time.

❥ Angry ! Yandere who’s volatile mood is entirely dependent on you; if you give him your full attention and maybe even a smile then he’ll go about like he’s the most peaceful, untroubled soul around, barely anything will change his mood (other than you, of course) - on the other hand, if you give him minimum attention or he can’t find you, he’ll be twice as furious and violent as his worst day before you came along. So although you could make him seem like a steady, quiet person and bring out the best in him, you also have the potential to turn him into hell’s own with the suffering that will be caused by him for the rest of the day, maybe even the rest of the week.

❥ Angry ! Yandere who scared most of your friends away, leaving you rather isolated from your peers and only more open to him hanging out with you during the school day. Your remaining friends either being entirely online or skittering away at the sight of him, neither of which he really minded as they made way for him.

❥ Angry ! Yandere who was ecstatic to find that you even talk in your sleep, taking great joy in visiting you when you’re deep in REM sleep just to listen to your sleepy mumbles, and if he’s feeling brave he may hold your hand. He found comfort in knowing that no-one else got to listen to you whisper what he likes to call sweet nothings. (They’re for him and only him.)

❥ Angry ! Yandere who seethed when he saw someone take interest in you. Who the fuck did they think they were. The next time you saw them they’d been beaten black and blue and avoided you like you’d give them the plague. (No-one gets to have you but him.)

❥ Angry ! Yandere who eventually realises the only way for him to really have you is to take you.

❥ Angry ! Yandere who follows you home one night and just sweeps you off the street, he’s truly sorry for being rough with you but it was for your own good, you needed to be home with them and there was no way you’d come willingly and you would not want to see how irritated that would make him.

❥ Angry ! Yandere who’s furnished basement was just the perfect place to keep you, he’d cleaned up the place and made sure it was escape-proofed and child-proofed. He wouldn’t want his sole source of comfort going through unnecessary harm (or having the tools to leave him).

❥ Angry ! Yandere who was on a high after bringing you home knocked-out, tied up and blindfolded for extra safety, which broke almost as soon as you woke up. Your scared, timid voice was endearing at first, but he grew irritated once you began screaming and crying and making your throat go hoarse (despite your intense fear).

❥ Angry ! Yandere who had previously planned to be lenient with you realised that was not going to work. Clearly you needed strict rules, boundaries and schedule and so he would supply you that, some of said rules being;

Speak when spoken to

No even trying to escape

Be respectful

Don’t dare hide anything

Speak like you did before

Answer calls on the first ring

If you want something, ask for it

Don’t flinch away

Stop fucking shaking

Accept your punishments

Don’t run.

❥ Angry ! Yandere who grows sharp with you, finding himself having to punish you far more than he’d thought within your first few weeks together. Maybe being even a little sadistic in his retaliation… ( “What, you thought you were just gonna get away with that?” )

❥ Angry ! Yandere who found himself mocking and insulting you in response to your shying away from him or showing your fear of him, especially before and during punishments in which you would shake. ( “Aw, you gonna cry? Go ahead, its not gonna change anything.” )

❥ Angry ! Yandere who always felt much better after taking his anger out on you during punishments, then lovebombed you with his gifts and touch. The gifts could range anywhere from something he stole from your house to something really nice he bought with his own (partially stolen) money. He really enjoys having an arm around your waist or shoulders or a hand on your wrist or thigh (or even your neck), he loves you being in reach of him and it makes him feel secure to grasp onto you, to have you grounding him. (Even if he’s a little strong on the grasping).

❥ Angry ! Yandere who believed himself to have semi-successfully trained you to behave for him, to stop trying to hide and escape and rebel, but still, any hint of your mind straying from being a good soother for him pushed him to the boiling point, spitting threats promises at you of what would happen if you continued that line of thinking. ( “Don’t even fucking look at the door. I am trying to have some faith in you after all.” )

❥ Angry ! Yandere who enjoys spending hours downloading content for you to consume and talk to him about (once you’d accepted your situation). He asks probing questions just to hear you talk more and loves having you as his own personal sleep aid asmr and podcast throughout the day, urging you to rant to him once he comes home each night as he cuddles you in your chosen seating, whether that be the couch, the bed or even the floor. 

❥ Angry ! Yandere who finds classmates remarking on the consistent calmness he presents in himself now that he has you all to himself all safe at home with your melody on speed-dial. After all, you and your calming aura is all for him and only him to enjoy, how much happier could he be…?

[chimielie]

my lover, my life, my shawty, my wife

summary: Ushijima x f!Reader. snapshots of eternal youth.

word count: 1.3k

cw: lighthearted manhandling, longterm established relationship ups (and one down), marriage talk and mention of toshi’s parents’ divorce. it’s basically all fluffy and silly tho

a/n: nobody @ me i wrote literally 99% of this a couple weeks ago and just remembered it was in the drafts today i’m working on the promised fics!!! it will just be A While i’m slow okayyy 💘 anyway enjoy some pure ushijima fluff

“Ushiwaka!!!” You shriek, voice breaking with laughter as you slam your hands against his backside. “Put me down, you—you barbarian! Kidnapper! Plunderer!”

He doesn’t say anything, just jostles you gently so your top half (currently upside-down over his broad shoulder) sways while your legs stay firmly in the grip of his arms. You know it’s as close as he’s going to get to a verbal admonishment, your current position already more than enough of an indication that he is fed up with you acting up in a public setting.

“Fine,” you scrunch up your face, sure that he can envision it just the same as you can see in your mind’s eye the near-invisible traces of amusement on his face. “Ugh, you’re going to make me sick. You are so bossy. I can’t believe you think that you can just pick me up and carry me around and tell me what to do. You don’t even say please, you know that?”

He probably gets the idea that he can just pick you up and carry you around and tell you what to do from the ten years that he's been doing all those things, since high school.

You've never gotten sick from being carried like this, either.

“You are bossy,” he says simply in rebuttal. "You say please but you know I'll do whatever it is you want. Even unreasonable things."

"I'm always reasonable," you say. He pats your butt in a way that isn't supposed to be condescending but is. You smack his in return and enjoy the way his back muscles tense up. "Ooh, you've been training your glutes."

He's been doing it in your home gym. You've always been loud about obvious things like this; he doesn't understand it, especially, but he likes it. At first, that had been much of your relationship. You were loud and obvious about your feelings for the up-and-coming teenage ace, and he didn't understand you, but he liked you.

He considers, and then revises his previous thought. He understands you better now. You talk through even things you and he know well because it helps you to process your thoughts, and you are determined to be shocked and delighted by all small things in the world.

"Hello, Bo-kun!" you wave to his teammate. Bokuto, bless him, attempts to bend over upside down to mimic you.

"Hey, Ushijima-san!" Ushijima is lucky that everyone in the facility knows you and you don't have to clarify to any security guards that you aren't in danger, for real. You take offense to the idea that you couldn't win in a fight against him, anyway.

You had been asserting this particular belief, actually, to the rest of the Japanese men’s volleyball team while they stretched post-practice and friends and family were allowed on court to distract them. Atsumu had been egging you on, urging you to try fighting another of the players since he didn’t trust Wakatoshi not to let you win currently. You had rolled up your shirtsleeves when the ace scooped you up and you had, already protesting, waved goodbye to the blond, a huge grin on your face. He had saluted you as you went.

“We’re not married yet,” you say, bonking your forehead into Wakatoshi as he stops short. “You all don't have to keep saying that. Please, call me—”

"Oh, Waka-kun said," Bokuto starts before being cut off.

“We may as well be," Wakatoshi says, turning to face Bokuto (At least turn sideways so I can see, you complain). "It'll happen eventually, so we can start practicing by calling her my wife now."

"What?!" You say. "Don't say things like that. You sound like you like me. Do you like me? Do you want to be more than friends?"

People have always talked about your relationship in begrudging terms. "Oh, opposites attract, I guess..." spoken in a disbelieving and reluctant tone. He understands. Most high school relationships didn't work out. Most people would get frustrated with him and his communication style. Then most long-distance relationships didn't work out. Most young professional athletes wanted to try new things, new people.

Wakatoshi doesn't understand why he would want to try something new when he had something perfectly fine with you. He had said that to you, once, when you were in Sapporo and he in Koganei. You had gotten very quiet for the rest of the call and then remained quiet for two weeks, sending all of his messages to read and calls to voicemail. It had taken a short flight and a shy, quiet apology to right his wrongs. He had known that he would spend the rest of his life with you, he said, forgetting to blink even as you furiously swiped away tears, a month in when you were fifteen. Barely longer than this terrible time you had stopped even fighting with him, just giving up on him. Why would he try anything else when he had never deviated from this path?

But what if you're just not seeing that there might be something better out there for you, you had said, voice angry but face already forgiving. Worse, what if you do see that someday? You’ll get tired of settling.

He had shaken his head. There isn't something better. Please, continue to be patient with me. Your breath had burst out of you in a single sob, and then you were yanking him toward you, ordering him to kiss you so you'd stop crying in front of all the neighbors.

Considering his parents' marriage, one might have thought that he would have more qualms about the concept than he did. You didn't seem interested in pressuring him there, though, and when asked just reminded him that living together long enough would result in common-law marriage anyway, so he just had to tell you if he ever wanted to stop living together. After several years separated and more reunited, he hadn't yet found any desire to do so. He definitely had strong negative feelings about being away from you for extended periods.

He was very lucky that you had chosen a career path which would allow you to travel essentially anywhere with him, find lucrative work anywhere with him. The home gym had actually been your gift to him, from the bank account you didn't share. It was the most thoughtful and horrifyingly expensive gift he had ever received. He had retaliated by hiring your most favored interior designer to rework your apartment into something both sentimentally familiar and not decorated entirely on the whim of two mid-twenty-year-olds. While they worked, he took you on vacation.

"We have to go," Wakatoshi adjusts you in his hold, nodding to his teammate. You’re quiet for a bit, so he puts you down, steadying you by your waist until your head stops swimming.

“You know we have to talk about these things,” you say, looking steadily at him.

“Yes,” he rumbles, considering his words for a moment. “I’ve been thinking about it more often recently. I still don’t feel strongly about the idea of a wedding, but I want you to be my wife. If you want to be.”

Insecurity sparks in him. You enjoyed your friend’s weddings, but perhaps you didn’t want one of your own, or one to him. Perhaps he had crossed a boundary.

“I don’t know,” you tap your lips with a finger, and a weight lifts off his chest when you smile at him. “I’ll see when you ask me. But I want it to be sometime in the future, somewhere more scenic than your athletic facility, okay? With a ring and a sappy speech.”

He smiles, then, his teeth showing. An explosive and momentous display of emotion.

“I’ll be sure to say please.”

[dailyadventureprompts]

Villain: Mavros Arator, Voice of the Ascendant

The demagogues seem everywhere these days, putting their words to the tune of the populace's nebulous worries: this week it's the impiety of the realm's leaders, last week it was the barbarians infringing on the borders, before that it was the decaying morality of the youth. It's the same old song, just with new lyrics to fit with the times. No one's sure just when the crescendo will hit or how, but everyone who's been paying attention know they're going to try to bring the whole house down when it does.

Setup: A charismatic figure has risen to prominence channelling discontent in the wake of an unfavourable war. As a gifted orator and veteran of a conflict remembered for being more "glorious", the words of Mavros Arator carry weight with both the military and common people. He agitates on behalf of those who resent the diplomatic capitulations used to secure peace in a losing war his own rulers started, and argues for a revival of "national spirit" to strengthen the homeland so it does not allow such a disgraceful defeat to happen again.

What separates Mavros from any other blowhard protofascist is the fact that he's looking to summon a demon to purge his homeland of those unsympathetic to his cause. Scoured clean of all those unwilling to fight and die and obey, he and the other true believers will form an unstoppable army that will march out under the banner of conquest to settle at spearpoint every historical grievance in the realm's long history.

It's up to the party to stop this instigator and the hatemob he's made of their neighbours before he enacts his plan and ends up ascending to full dark lord status.

Background: Mavros loved his homeland, as a young man he went to war to defend it, spent decades bleeding for it, and that love endured even after his homeland spat him out with nothing but a soldier's pension and a lifetime of traumas he had no words to explain.

That was the point of course, empires are built on the back of men like Mavros, shaped from their earliest days to believe that their homeland is singularly great and beset by threats on all sides, or that war is the measure by which a son may prove his faith and loyalty rather than an enterprise made to expand the holdings of the powers that be.

The problem for those powers is that Mavros didn't die like he was supposed to, he soldiered on driven by a manic dedication that persisted despite his comrades getting scythed down around him. When he was too old for soldiering he turned to having a family, raising four boys and feeding them one after another into the waiting jaws of his nation.

A man less ardent in his love of home, less firm in his faith might have wavered when they brought the first of his sons' bloody helmets back in lieu of a body. He might have seen how his virtues, his loyalty, had been abused by those above him, made him question the justness of the wars and conquests and pain he had been apart of. instead that loss, made him open to change. Instead Mavros's convictions deepened, and by the time of his third son's death he had become so entrenched in the pit of his beliefs that he had unearthed a new truth: He loved his homeland, it was just being held back by the people who didn't love it enough.

It was deep in that pit where Mavros first heard the whispering of Diridaxx, the fiend known to diabolists as "He who claws from below". In ages past the demon was said to prey upon the weak, wicked, and impious, before clashing with an ancient hero and being struck down with a blow so divinely empowered that it not only buried the fiend deep underground but reduced him to ash along the way, depriving him of the strength required to ever escape. The depths of Mavros's despair and his own desire to see those "less thans" cleared from his home formed a connection between man and demon: first dreams, then visions, then a pact. Influence in exchange for escape, followed by victory in exchange for slaughter. The fact that the hero of the old myth happened to be one of the founders of the realm that handed Mavros's own homeland its recent defeat was just icing on the cake.

Adventure Hooks:

The party is likely to encounter Mavros's influence long before the man himself, as thugs, opportunists, and grifters look to take advantage of the post-war unrest to raise their place in the world and make good on his words. A troop of discontented soldiers may be shaking down travlers on the road as an unofficial "toll" to repay their service , while an enterprising merchant might stoke xenophobia to turn townsfolk against a competitor of forign origin.

It'll take more than speeches and random acts of violence to summon Diridaxx from the pit, it will take sacrifice. (un)Luckily for Mavros, he's been sacrificing all his life, and all that is required is a bit of occult-recontextualization to turn the deaths of his sons into a ritual years in the making. With fiend's magic his follower's resources at his command, it's only a matter of time before he gathers the bones of his three dead sons (and their haplessly dutiful surviving brother,) from their resting place in foreign lands and cremates them, suffusing their pyresmoke with Diridaxx's own noxious essence.

If you want to add another big bad to the mix and given similar themes of would be tyranny and xenophobia, consider checking out my genocidal fallen angel villain: Insiyah who could be very easily be using Mavros as her agent, or working alongside him to bring about his vision.

Also consider checking out my writeup on how d&d tends to mishandle matters of morality in it's game, and the simplistic way it views evil. Writing that inspired me to write a villain who was a very human sort of evil who utilized magic, rather than the all too common magical evil around which most campaigns are based.

Art 1

Art 2

[shieldofiron]

Do you have any good harringrove fic recs? Maybe a few with Hopper acting like a father figure to Steve or Billy? Either way would love some good stranger things recs you have. Even if it's harringrove.

LOVE TO! You can always find my FAVES in my bookmarks under Faves to Be Buried With. I realized I don't read as many Hopper fics but for the family vibes I have plenty of options.

I cannot recommend Barbarian Youth by @thissortofsorcery enough it WILL rewrite your brain it is SO good it is PERFECT. I don't even want to spoil anything just trust me. Definite Hopper dad vibes with Steve and later Billy.

I will be bad and recommend my own fic Vecnavision 3D for the Joyce as parent vibes and later for Hopper. if you JUST want Hopper being sweet, skip to the bonus chapter at the end.

Recently I've been re-reading Star Stuff by Justaluckybug. This is like indescribably cozy, it's an astrology hoe Billy college fic with soulmateism. No Hopper but it does have some very sweet Susan and Max and Billy family vibes.

Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands by @whenyouwishuponastar7 IS the family vibes. The Billy adopts Max fic of your dreams, I promise.

Overboard by @yikesharringrove has a more adult Hopper and Billy father figure relationship. This one is a bit hardcore angst, omegaverse, and it's unfinished but it is PERFECTION.

First To Burn by @boltedfruit is a childhood best friends > enemies? > lovers fic. Mind the Angst but I have this one on my brain lately.

[sothasil]

Working on drawing more reference images for my OCs, starting with my numerous Elder Scrolls characters! Top: Rakkan, my nerevarine, a big old barbarian, drawn here both in his youth and at the age he's at in the story of Morrowind. The second character I haven't found a timeframe for, he is a destruction mage working shady buisiness in the Senchal criminal underground. Both are khajiit.