#but whether she is willing to pay the price to get it by the end of the season is a whole other story

[thymejot]

I genuinely believe Agatha still has the tiniest lil spec of the Wandas power.

Chaos can not be contained once it is unleashed. Wanda throwing power at Agatha to distract her from her rune writing gave her that spark.

You cannot put the chaos toothpaste back into the tube once you have squeezed most of it out.

Also, there is no way Agatha has walked the road before. She obfuscates every time it is brought up, walks off, lies,or changes the subject.

The only coven she ever had was the one she consumed.

Unless she walked it with Rio, which seems unlikely, though possible, with that "coven two" line mixup.

[all-purpose-dish-soap]

45 / 1.9k / soap soulmate au, part 11

...

Mercenaries can be paid off for just about anything.

So when Price rings your cell phone to propose a trade—Laswell had your number, naturally—Horangi has no qualms with fishing it out of your pocket. You glare at him, but he doesn’t bother giving you anything more than a dry look before he answers it.

You hear Price’s voice from the speaker in Horangi’s ear. "Was wondering what was taking you lot so long."

Horangi sighs. It never ends, apparently. "What do you want?" he asks.

"Just to talk," Price replies. "What's your rate?"

"Come again?" Horangi asks.

"We're all soldiers here. Unfortunate that our mission came at the cost of yours, but we can all walk away happy, hm? I want to make sure you don’t go uncompensated. That’d be a shame."

Horangi scowls, but one of your squadmates in the back seat grips your shoulder and shifts his weight toward the phone in obvious interest.

"What do you have in mind?” Horangi asks.

"First, your rate."

"Too rich for your blood."

"Try me."

Horangi narrows his eyes. Then he shrugs and throws out a number. It's far more money than KorTac’s real fee, but before you can decide whether to say something, Price speaks again.

"We'll double that."

"Will you now?"

"I will. Even pay you all directly if you like. No need to involve the company. Just keep your handler’s cut for yourselves. I won’t say a word," Price says. "That should be good enough, shouldn't it?"

Horangi leans back, tapping the steering wheel in thought, but you can tell he's interested now. "What's the job?"

"Not a job, really. Just a favor. Let us have custody of your songbird, and the money's yours. Make up some story about how she got away or got shot if you need a scapegoat. We’ll turn a blind eye if you prefer. Keep the record nice and clean."

Horangi glances at you. “Songbird’s worth a lot to the company.”

“You’re not the company, now are you? You already did the damn job. You should get paid. You and your team.”

He likes the sound of that. Price's offer turns both of your situations into something everybody can be pleased with. Get the mercs paid for what they lost. They get the girl. Fine by him. He hums in thought. “Cash in hand.”

There’s a beat of silence on Price’s end. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Cash in hand,” Horangi says again. “Or no deal.”

“Are you sure about that? Wired funds spend just as well as cash.”

“I can afford to be picky, my friend.”

Another long pause. “Is that so?”

“Apologies. I’d be happy to consider your deal if I hadn’t already made a better one with someone else. He’s willing to pay cash.”

“Who?”

Horangi scoffs and ends the call. He tosses your phone into the backseat floorboards and ignores your stare burning into the side of his head. “Don’t worry, rookie,” he tells you. “You know it’s a better deal than you’d get back at base. You’ll thank me one day.”

…

But you don’t make it back to base.

It’s an ambush. A trap—Horangi doesn’t see the charges on either side of the road until it’s too late, and the truck transporting you flips forward onto its roof. One minute, you’re feeling the melted snow in your boots; the next, you’re looking down at the road through the windshield. Then you’re coming to in a haze of gunfire and hoarse voices barking call-and-response orders all around you.

It’s not until your teammates have evacuated the wrecked truck that you attempt to move yourself and do the same. Maybe they plan to come back for you; maybe they think you’re dead. Maybe you are dead. You really fucking hope not. Whatever death has in store for you, it had better not force you to contend with the agonizing pain of a dislocated shoulder and broken glass buried in every second nerve ending.

You push against the seatbelt holding you to the seat, having to twist out of your coat just to slump to the pavement. You’re still ziptied, but you have to move. If whoever laid this ambush finds you, you're done for.

Somehow, all you can think about is Johnny. If he could see you now, he’d never let you hear the end of it. He’d lecture you like a goddamn recruit. You hate how much you want to see his stupid face get angry at you again.

There’s a long lull in the gunfire. Then the sound of approaching footsteps. Someone curses and orders the others to “spread out,” searching for your scattered teammates—for survivors.

Your teammates aren’t coming. You’re on your own.

Then you remember Price’s call and Horangi swiping your phone from your pocket.

Desperately, you shoulder your way back into the wreckage. Somehow, you find it. The screen is cracked, but it still lights up when you wrestle your bound wrists under your feet and touch the screen. Thank Christ. You redial Price's number from the call log.

He picks up on the first ring. "Go for Price."

"I need to talk to Johnny."

There's a moment of crackling silence through the line. Then: "Soap's tied up at the moment. What's going on?"

"I don't know. Ambush. The car flipped." You wince, feeling broken glass cut into your shoulder. The slushy pavement under you is turning ruddy. Oh, that’s your blood. "It's bad."

Price swears under his breath. "Where are you?"

"Near the base of the mountain. In the side. There's a... a lot of trees. Twenty hostiles. I think. I can't see."

"Stay put. We'll find you. Don’t do anything stupid in the meantime."

"I want to talk to Johnny."

"For God’s sake. You can talk to him in person when we find you. Just sit tight."

"Let me talk to my goddamn soulmate," you hiss. You put as much venom into your voice as you can, but even you hear how weak you sound.

Price says something away from the speaker you can't quite make out. There's shuffling and then another familiar voice picks up, low and gruff, and tinged with a Scottish burr.

"Hen?"

The wave of relief that sweeps through you renders you mute for a second.

That makes the worry in his tone swell. “You okay? They hurt you?"

The concern in his voice has your throat tightening. Dammit.

Before you can reply, there's another burst of gunfire and a hostile voice much too close by for comfort. You grab the phone and edge your way further into the tenuous safety of the wreckage. You clutch the phone in your hands, barely clocking the glass screen digging into your palm.

The sound of your voice cutting out over the line triggers Soap’s anxiety all over again. He curses up a storm on the other end, his voice rising with every word and the urgency in his tone growing as he calls you by name.

You hear more footfalls, but whoever it is, they don't seem to notice you. You've not been gunned down yet, at least. You need to find somewhere safer.

Peering around the wreckage, you look for somewhere else you can hide. The tree line is close. You don't know how long you'll last in the snow no matter what, especially without your coat—but cold cover is safer than none. Staying under a leaking, gasoline-filled truck carcass isn’t a good long-term plan.

Soap’s voice rises over the line. "Dammit, say somethin'!"

Finally you do. "Johnny?"

"Jesus." Soap closes his eyes, hoping like hell he's not about to hear you get shot, or captured, or worse. He can already tell by the rough sound of your voice that he's not going to like what you say next. "I'm here," he says quickly, trying to keep the worry from his own voice. "Where are ya?"

"I’m an idiot. I'm sorry for everything I put you through. I shouldn’t have been so stubborn about..." You let out a harsh sigh. "You. Just wanted to tell you that."

It suddenly feels like there's a block of ice lodged in Soap’s chest. "That a goodbye, darlin'?" he says.

"I'm doing my goddamn best. Alright?"

"That’s a sorry fuckin’ excuse. You’re aways doing your best," Soap snaps. An ugly, hard thread of bitterness creeps into his tone. "Trouble is you always choose the worst way of goin’ about it. I’m not lettin' you go like this.”

"I know it's my fault," you retort. "Okay? I should've listened to you. Are you happy to hear me fucking say it?"

"Does it look like that's gonna fix things?" Soap’s voice rises with every word now. His temper is frayed at the edges. "No, I'm not bloody happy. I don't want apologies. I don't want some grand realization. I just want you to survive. You're damn right you fucked up. And you've got a lot of work to do to make it up to me, so you'd best stay alive. You hear me?"

You swallow, clutching the phone tighter in your hands.

"Answer me."

"I'll try."

"No. You'll do," Soap says in a voice that brooks no argument. His voice drops low again, but the anger is still there. "You will make it back to me. You'll do whatever it takes. You don't get to leave me alone after all the trouble you gave me. I'll not hear one more sorry excuse."

God. You want him so bad it hurts. You close your eyes, concentrating on the pain of the glass in your skin and your dislocated shoulder to sharpen your focus. "Fine."

"That's my girl." The words come out rough, heated, and tinged with something like pride. "You just stay put," he says. "We'll find you."

You tense as another set of voices raise in aggravation nearby. The longer you stay here, the greater the chance you'll be seen. "I have to go," you say lowly into the phone. "Need better cover."

"Stay on the line," he says quickly. "Do not hang up. Hen!"

You bring your ziptied wrists down hard on the edge of your boot—and again, and again, pain radiating up your arm—until it finally snaps.

With your hands free, you pull yourself out from under the wreckage and away, leaving Soap on the line to hear nothing but shouting and gunshots.

Soap listens through the phone, biting down hard on the curse that threatens to tear free. He can't lose you. He's going crazy imagining the worst right now. His mind is all too happy to cycle through a parade of gory images. No. No, you can't go, not like this.

He'd give anything to be a knife on your belt right now. A bullet in your gun. Anything but this—this utter fucking helplessness. He can’t do anything but sit on the other end of a line and listen. It's torture.

Even with Price at the wheel, racing all of them toward the bottom of the mountain.

"We'll make it, Soap," is all Price says.

Soap nods, but he barely hears it. All he can listen to is the sound of gunfire through the phone and the cold, visceral rage in the pit of his stomach. He'll claw his way to you with his bare hands if he has to. It doesn’t matter how much blood and sweat it costs him to get you back. You’d better keep your word and stay alive to make it up to him.

...

part 1 / part 2 / part 3 / part 4 / part 5 / part 6 / part 7 / part 8 / part 9 / part 10 / [part 11] / part 12

more Soap / masterlist

[ennn]

Unpacking the Deals of Ep 8: Why and What They Mean

So episode 8 is... let's say a bit of a mess. I know there's some confusion around why Agatha proposes her terms for the first deal, why Rio flipped into cackling villain mode, why Rio makes another deal, etc.

Here's my read that hopefully helps draw a line from point A to B to C.

Let's consider the context of the first deal: Agatha's not having a good day. Two coven members who Agatha never expected to care about have died trying to protect her – a thing that has never happened before. And Death happens to be a person she can blame.

Death, who is pressing on that bruise ("Your coven is shrinking") and making her shitty day worse because she wants the kid Agatha is hardcore projecting on (and also didn't plan to care about) to die. Just like Nicky.

But Agatha then realises she has leverage on Rio. For the first time in forever, she has an advantage she can exploit. She can be in control.

And it's almost instinctive for Agatha at this point: finding the best buttons to push, the best terms for her given the opportunity.

Agatha: If I deliver Billy, you let me go. Rio: You will eventually die, Agatha. Agatha: But I want you to stop pursuing me. I want you to stop making my life hell. And when I die, a long, long, long, long, long time from now, I don't want to see your face. Rio: ... Okay.

The terms that Agatha sets out seem cruel because they are. She says what she does because she wants it to hurt. Agatha's not only rejecting Rio's continued presence in her life, she's denying all the love that Rio's given her, building on what she's said before ("You gave me nothing.")

From Rio's POV, Agatha's cutting words aside, this entire deal sucks. Because the options are:

(a) Agatha doesn't hold up her end, which Rio knows might happen: Rio knows Agatha cares about Billy ("I know how you feel about him"). Rio's constantly reminding her he's not Nicky. She was already doubting Agatha would deliver her usual number of corpses. She saw how affected Agatha was after Alice's death.

If Agatha doesn't help, she'd be choosing a boy over everything Rio's done again – and this time another woman's.

And if Rio somehow manages to take Billy anyway, Agatha will end up hating her twice forever.

(b) Agatha does hold up her end, which might also happen: Rio knows Agatha's manipulative and smart and capable. More than that, she's well aware Agatha hates her. That Agatha still doesn't see what she's done for her ("No one in history has had special treatment like you").

That she knows Agatha does care about Billy but maybe hates her so much that she's willing to go through with this to cut her out from her life. Billy would be a dear price but one Agatha's maybe willing to pay.

Even if it was a 50:50 chance for these options, I think Rio realises her relationship with Agatha is doomed either way.

Either way she does her job, with or without Agatha's help, she's going to be rejected and lose. One's just a slower path than the other.

I think that's why Rio gives in to her rage and bitterness and spite. Agatha thinks Rio's been making her life hell? She'll show her hell.

And Agatha, well I think there's some merit to the thinking that she didn't expect Rio to fold that quickly and completely.

Now for the context of the second deal, it's not clear whether Rio knows what happened with Tommy. I assume Rio doesn't – not yet anyway – as she doesn't mention it at all and seems focused on squaring that one life Billy stole.

Now here's where it gets a little squirrely, to borrow Schaeffer's language. Because if you don't look too closely, it seems to make sense: Billy stole a life so to maintain the natural balance, Rio needs to take a life, the one Billy has now.

But how does Agatha's life work as a substitute for this imbalance (“This means you’re coming with me”)? Would any other person’s life work? Could Rio have swapped someone else's life to save Nicky then? Agatha would have been all too happy to arrange for that murder.

I doubt the show is ever going to explain this so I offer few possible theories to deal with this weirdness:

Billy Maximoff is a product of chaos magic, so his existence and everything he affects already throws off the natural order, just to different orders of magnitude. Agatha’s life works as a substitute because his life is now intertwined with hers e.g. his hex probably saved her life from the Salem Seven and has the potential for greater imbalance

Rio is aware of Agatha’s tendency towards chaos and defiance of the natural order. Rio bent the rules of the universe only for Agatha. Taking her life would protect the balance in the larger scheme of things – if only so Rio won’t be further tempted to give her special treatment.

When Rio’s torturing Agatha it’s before she presents the second deal. So she’s still intending to go after Billy, she’s just removing Agatha as an obstacle while lashing out in rage and heartbreak.

In this moment Rio probably thinks Billy's in the wind. She saw how upset Billy was with Agatha at the end of episode 5. And Rio knows the reputation Agatha keeps ("Why do you let them believe those things about you?"), Rio probably thinks Agatha deliberately drove him off to keep him safe.

Then Billy pops up and Rio sees that Billy and Agatha care about each other and they're both aware they care about each other.

Fuckin’ great. Rio's not bitter at all.

Looks like you two are finally on the same page. So I'll let you decide. One of you stays with me. The other walks free.

Agatha proposed a deal designed to hurt her? Now it’s her turn.

From Rio's POV, I think here are the possible outcomes:

(a) Agatha sacrifices herself for Billy: Not impossible I think. Rio knows Agatha cares about the boy but she also knows Agatha will do anything to survive. She thinks she's above death. But again, I think Rio also knows Agatha would have sacrificed herself for Nicky if she had that choice.

What did Lorna want from the Road? To save her daughter.

This isn't an ideal outcome for Rio but she’s already resigned herself to losing Agatha I think, one way or another. This way if Agatha wants Billy to live so badly, this is the price she has to pay. The high cost of living.

(b) Billy steps up and sacrifices himself: Very possible given that Billy’s a young heroic sort and already showed up, risking his life to power up Agatha. Rio gets to do her job. Agatha will probably hate her more given the Nicky trauma but Rio’s already resigned to this on some level already, which is why she's raging.

Either way Agatha's going to hurt, and Rio's going to hurt.

It's interesting that when Billy does volunteer himself and Agatha seizes the opportunity to remind Rio of their earlier deal, Rio just shakes her head and looks amused.

You can also see for a brief moment Agatha looking almost remorseful about doing this before slipping her theatrical villainous mask on, overcompensating for her true feelings.

Do you remember pain? It kinda tickles doesn't it?

By the letter (not the spirit or intent) of the first deal, Agatha did ultimately fulfil her part:

I can arrange that. I can get him to the finish line and deliver him to you.

This is an opportunity that's almost impossible to resist for someone as calculating and ruthless and selfish like Agatha. She has power (chaos magic no less), she can have Rio leave her alone forever (she knows Rio honours her word), she knows Billy cares about her but can she really trust him?

But Agatha ultimately decides to take a risk. A calculated one sure, but still a risk.

I think the beauty in the kiss and her sacrifice is how – despite her calculating the odds – Agatha is choosing to give in to what she feels and wants in that moment.

Because she does want to protect the boy in a way no one did for her when she was young. She wants to save Billy like she couldn't with Nicky. And she does want Rio so much despite everything that's happened.

[spitdrunken]

Bestie I just read your cannibal town fic and am here to drop you some ✨romantic/thirst ideas✨ This is really long-

(warning for period and ovulation, just in case)

So imagine you’re a human who fell into hell, right? You’re not really sure how, a soft spot or crack in time and space maybe? But anyways- how lucky that you practically fall right into Rosie’s lap! Another second out in the streets and you would have been torn to bits! Who knows what those other sinners would have done to you, a human, and a defenseless one at that? Well, don’t you worry, sweet thing! Rosie here is going to make sure you’re all taken care of, *and* under the protection of the towns residents! There’s just one teeny tiny thing that needs discussion… how exactly you plan to earn everyone’s favor and maintain your place in the community.

Rosie basically offers you the same deal as she does in your fic, but with a few ✨twists and kinks✨ to it. Obviously, since you’re just a cute little human, they can’t exactly amputate on you because one, their food source is finite with you having no regeneration abilities, and two, the risk is too high for their comfort level for your safety! As odd as it seems, you’ve definitely been able to win over the towns residents and Rosie all in one fell swoop! (Some of them do experience a little cuteness aggression though-) So Rosie proposes a deal;

Every month, beginning at the start of your ovulation until the end of your period when your libido is high and your bleeding, you agree to let Rosie or a trusted member of the community practically milk you for orgasms and your menstrual blood. They have their methods of collecting said liquids, whether they finger you or use toys, but in the end all that blood and wetness is made into the cannibal town equivalent of fine wines or other adult beverages (for obvious reasons), and marketed at an extremely high price, so much so that you think you could buy a whole months worth of groceries if you had that kind of money. The beverages that have a combination of your cum as well as your blood somehow are even more expensive than that. Of course, you’re practically treated like royalty the whole time, during and after. You’re the town’s sweetheart, who are they to not treat you right?

And occasionally, those who are willing to pay an extra pretty penny get special permission to taste straight from the source, lapping furiously at your entrance as they try to drink up all you have to possibly offer. What’s better is that Rosie agrees to let a portion of that extra money go to you, just in case you see something you like and she’s not around to buy it for you! Unlikely. And what’s more, you tend to be flooded with gifts from the towns residents and practically have your pick of any romantic partner you want! However, like that pack mentality shown in the series, if you pick one you usually end up semi dating the whole town. It’s actually kind of like a whole sugar daddy/mommy buffet.

Of course, Rosie gets a free pass because she’s the one so generously providing you with house, food (that’s not from demons, at least not that you know of), and frankly lavish clothing that makes you feel rich just by looking at it. It’s not too long after you’ve established yourself in the community that she starts trying to get you to move in with her, however.

that’s all! Sorry for the long post, but I just had to get this out of my head, and you seemed like you might (hopefully) like it!

I really REALLY do like this... It has been sitting in my inbox for a while because I simply cannot find anything to add to this!! It's so good!! Obsessed with the thought of a cute little human somehow falling into Hell, and the type of agreement that's ahred here <3... The open relationship and you semi-dating the whole town is sooo good!! You would be spoiled rotten by everyone <33 Sighs longingly

[leahnardo-da-veggie]

A Tale of Love, Death and Maggots, Epilogue-G

Parts 1-15, 16-G, 17-G, 18-G, 19-G, 20-G, 21-G, 22-G, 23-G, 24-G, 25-G

That, of course, was when I realised I hadn't heard a peep from my love, the one who had saved us all, whether she was willing to admit it or not. I turned to face her, and found her staring, dead on, down a hallway, half-turned away from us. “Mrin?”

She didn't respond. “Hey, you good?”

A quiet sob escaped her lips. “You’re an idiot, you know that?”

“Huh?”

She whipped around. “Did you even understand what I was trying to do? Did you know how badly that could have gone, when you ran off the script? Did you even think when you volunteered to get tortured like that? I knew how to get myself out, damnit! Why would you just sacrifice yourself like that?”

“Because I love you, Mrin. I love you and I would burn in a thousand hells just to keep you safe,” I replied, reaching out for her. 

She all but threw herself in my arms. “Stupid old man,” she mumbled. “Doesn't know the first thing about magic and goes and makes a deal with a fucking Lurker. Stupid, stupid old man.”

I gave her a helpless smile. “You didn't know that already?”

“Do you know what you've done? You've singlehandedly made a sacrifice grand enough to dispel a goddess and resurrect the dead twice. You healed me. You damn well worked high magic.” She snorted, as though disbelieving her own words. “And high magic is exactly what we need to escape this hellhole.”

“Oh god, not this again.”

“No, no, hear me out here. All we need to do is repeat this entire ordeal. We can simulate it with the Twisteds down by the hospital rooms. Start by chaining, say, Athena, to a wall-” She cut herself off. 

“Oh. No. No, I can't do that to you. This- This isn't going to work out. We're stuck here, and the price we'd need to pay to unstick ourselves is just too high. Out of everyone, I suffered the least throughout this. I have no right to suggest that all of us go through it again.”

With a quiet sigh, Mrin shook her head. “It's alright. I have you,” she said, looking into my eyes. “And I think that's more than enough for me. My love.”

The words sent a shiver down my spine and a smile up my lips. We held each other close, Mrin and I, and for once, I didn't shy away from making a choice.

I leaned in and pressed my lips against hers. It wasn't amazing, as kisses went. I'd lost most of my touch with age, and the memory of both of us in ugly agony still lingered. But it was a kiss, and my first one in decades at that.

Hell was never quite so hellish after that.

****

Congrats on making it to the end of this! I really hate writing long form fiction so this was like pulling out teeth for me. I'll post a google doc as well as another Tumblr post that collates all of the previous bits when I'm done editing! Also keep an eye out for the bad ending (like an idiot, I've been writing it back to front so it's not done yet)

Taglist: @coffeeangelinabox, @dorky-pals, @calliecwrites, @kaylinalexanderbooks, @shukei-jiwa

@thewingedbaron, @pluppsauthor, @cowboybrunch, @wylloblr, @possiblyeldritch

@tragedycoded, @finickyfelix, @urnumber1star, @ratedn, @ramwritblr

@vampirelover890, @possiblylisle, @illarian-rambling, @the-ellia-west, @differentnighttale

@evilgabe29, @glitched-dawn, @rivenantiqnerd, @dragonhoardesfandoms, @abiteofhoney

@drchenquill, @everythingismadeofchaos, @dimitrakies, @beloveddawn-blog

@riveriafalll, @the-golden-comet, @rascaronii, @trippingpossum, @real-fragments

@unrepentantcheeseaddict, @the-inkwell-variable, @paeliae-occasionally, @an-indecisive-nerd, @thecomfywriter

@seastarblue, @wyked-ao3, @bookwormclover

(Anyone else who wants to get added can tell me in the comments, pm me, or send me an ask about it!)

[krakenguard]

I really do hate how...

...

With Shadow of the Erdtree, there's like this new wave of insufferability.

Like I try to wrap my mind around Miquella's character but I can't. I've seen better interpretations of his character in the fandom compared to what the DLC introduced.

... I can't get past the whole bewitchment of Mohg. You could chalk it up to personal bias, but I've come to care quite deeply for Mohg. So when I hear Ansbach talk - and again, I know he speaks from his own bias - about how his dear lord deserved better, I can't help but to agree.

You don't care? Alright. Fine.

But Miquella had a whole region essentially nuked because Radahn did not agree to be his consort(?). And this is supposed to be the person that wants to bring in an age of compassion?

Compassion!?

I can't forgive what happened to Mohg - same as I can't forgive Ranni for Godwyn. And they're both responsible for some pretty severe environmental damage -- Ranni with Deathblight, and Miquella sending Malenia off to Caelid and unleashing Scarlet Rot.

Whether you're sacrificing one life or a hundred -- to say nothing of the end-goal of becoming a god to compel compassion -- compassion is cultivated. Not forced.

But people think it's something they could get behind -- nope.

"That's not a price I'm willing to pay. Not even for eternal peace."

And Marika! Freaking hell -- the way that people are saying she was justified in her genocide -- IN THIS TIME AND AGE. WHEN WE HAVE A LITERAL GENOCIDE GOING ON. AND YOU'RE SAYING THIS CHARACTER WAS JUSTIFIED?

With what's going on in the real world at this very moment, THAT probably has me feeling the most disgusted -- Like, the whole thing with Miquella -- it bothers me because imo it's shit writing.

But the new lore added for MARIKA -- Hrrrrrrrr it makes me hate her character even more because of the "she was justified" take from the fandom.

[youhavetosmile]

Karedevil (Taylor's Version)

Thanks @kdheaven for the prompt! Apologies for the delay.

The most Karedevil song on each Taylor Swift album, with rationales, according to me:

Debut: Tied Together With A Smile

I think this song encapsulates how both Matt and Karen present the image to others that they have their sh*t together, but on the inside they're really hurting. The second verse really gets me: "I guess it's true that love was all you wanted / 'Cause you're giving it away like it's extra change / Hoping it will end up in his pocket / But he leaves you out like a penny in the rain / Oh, 'cause it's not his price to pay." You can think of Matt's relationship with Stick and Karen's relationship with her dad this way. I like to think that by the end of the show they each have a more real vision of the other.

Fearless: Come In With The Rain

This feels very post-Defenders/early Season 3 from Karen's POV. At that point, everyone but Karen thinks Matt is dead. She doesn't get any proof of this until several episodes into S3, but she always has that hope. She's also dealing with a lot of complicated emotions toward Matt - she still loves him (obv) but she's also really mad at him and grieving the fact that he's not around. I'm sure even Karen questioned whether Matt was still alive at some point. I can see her going to bed with her window open just in case.

Speak Now: I Can See You

I love @kdheaven's pick of "Sparks Fly" but this one is so spot-on in my mind. I love the irony of the title because Matt is blind but he can "see" Karen in a way no one else can. "And we kept everything professional / But something's changed, it's something I like" fits them, as well as "I can see you being my addiction / You can see me as a secret mission / Hide away and I will stop behaving myself." I love this one for them!

Red: Forever Winter

I think this song is a great musical representation of S3 Karedevil. The facades have fallen and they've gotten to see each other's self-destructive tendencies and said "I love you even at your darkest / And please don't go." "He seems fine most of the time, forcing smiles and never minds" is an apt description of Matt.

1989: You Are In Love

Again, love @kdheaven's pick of "This Love." But the chorus is what really does it for me: "You can hear it in the silence / You can feel it on the way home / You can see it with the lights out / You're in love, true love." 'Nuff said.

reputation: New Year's Day

To me, this song represents Matt and Karen's commitment to support each other, no matter what. Again, all the cards are on the table, and they're still willing to show up for each other, "When you're lost and I'm scared and you're turning away...When it's hard or it's wrong or we're making mistakes." The second verse seems particularly applicable as a message from Karen to Matt: "I'll be there if you're the toast of the town, babe / Or if you strike out and you're crawling home." Daredevil is morally gray, and I'm sure lots of people have lots of different opinions about him. But Karen has always stood by him. Also, New Year's Day is a day typically associated with New York here in the U.S.

Lover: Cruel Summer

This entire song screams Karedevil to me. I think it's particularly applicable to their early relationship, when they're still figuring each other out. There's a lot of feelings there, but it's fragile because it's new and they're hiding so much. "Breakable heaven" indeed. And then there's "He looks up grinning like a devil." ;)

folklore: peace

I'm 100% with @kdheaven on this one. The only thing I can say that they didn't already is that Matt and Karen both have chaos in their souls. This song is basically them saying "Here I am. This is me. Is this enough?" I also really love the "sit with you in the trenches" line for them. They're both willing to get their hands dirty for each other.

evermore: willow

I think this song follows the arc of their relationship really well. The first verse makes me think of their first meeting, when Karen is "rough on the surface" because of the charges leveled against her but Matt "cut through like a knife" and believed she didn't do it when no one else did.

The second verse coincides with when they start dating. They're idolizing each other, seeing each other as "a mythical thing." "Head on the pillow, I can feel you sneaking in" always gives me the image of Matt coming home after a long night of Daredeviling and crawling into bed next to Karen.

Then the last verse: they know the truth and have shown each other "the places where the others gave you scars." I also love the legal references throughout the song: "open-shut case" and "every bait-and-switch was a work of art." I can imagine Karen sitting in the gallery of a courtroom with a huge smile on her face as she watches Matt absolutely kill it.

Midnights: Karma

"Karma is my boyfriend" propels this song to the top of the list. Is there a more fitting description of Matt from Karen's POV? I will die on the hill that Karen was never mad at Matt for being Daredevil. She's always been a fan, even before she knew who Daredevil really was. And after that, her issue was that he didn't tell her. She's always been and, in my opinion, will continue to be proud of him and what he does on both sides of the law.

TTPD: The Albatross

In an effort to not end this post on a super sad note, I'm picking this song (though MBOBHFT is, unfortunately, also fitting). This one has a similar vibe to "peace," though I see this one a little more from Matt's POV than Karen's. Stick taught Matt that relationships are dangerous--for him and for the other person. So he tries to keep everyone at arm's length. Karen ignores all of that. She still loves him, even though she knows who Matt is and that being associated with him is potentially dangerous for her. I hear Matt in the lines "The devil that you know / Looks now more like an angel / I'm the life you chose / And all this terrible danger."

Thanks again to @kdheaven for the opportunity to combine my two obsessions!

[goodnightmemes]

THE TUDORS SEASON THREE SENTENCE STARTERS (PART TWO)

s03e05 - s03e08

❛ We must set to work finding a new bride for the King. ❜

❛ It's true, he has an heir, at last, but one is scarcely sufficient. To be safe, he must produce another. ❜

❛ Poor lamb. Never to know his own mother. ❜

❛ Perhaps, someday soon, you yourself will have a child. ❜

❛ You're sheltering a traitor! I want to know where he is. ❜

❛ You are going to tell me, or God help me, I'll kill you, and I have the immunity to do it. ❜

❛ I've grown afraid of my own shadow. ❜

❛ Sometimes I think I do not want this child in my belly. ❜

❛ Like the ruins of ancient Rome, the Colossus of Rhodes, all things tend towards their ruin. Even great houses and the fools who build them. ❜

❛ It's illegal to carry arms in court while the King is in residence. The penalties are severe. ❜

❛ I trust you will now apprehend the villain and prevent any further violence. Otherwise, you will pay the price for your failures. ❜

❛ Everything he might touch is to be washed, and everything he might eat, tasted for poison. ❜

❛ What the King wills, the King must have. It's not to be argued with or crossed. ❜

❛ In the absence of the King there has been much malevolence and violence at court. ❜

❛ There are some who desire disorder with all their hearts, thinking of using it, at the end, to their own advantage. ❜

❛ You presume too far above your very base and low degree! ❜

❛ The King listens to him. That makes him dangerous to everyone. ❜

❛ Perhaps it is my fate never to marry. ❜

❛ I would think less of him if he were to accept such gifts in order to love me. ❜

❛ Though I cannot touch him, I swear I will make him eat his heart. ❜

❛ Death is not ready for you, yet. God has something else in mind. ❜

❛ I know what it is that we have both lost. We have lost our youth. There is nothing in the world, that can ever return it to us. ❜

❛ I will marry who I like! ❜

❛ I want to see my son. What have you done with my son? ❜

❛ Your son is unharmed. He will remain unharmed until we are sure that you are not all traitors. ❜

❛ I ask you, whether such dishonest and treacherous sons could ever have had an honest mother! ❜

❛ With your permission, Madam, may I ask if you would consider marrying the King? ❜

❛ Is it not strange that the King's Majesty was in so little space, rid of his three Queens? ❜

❛ Frankly, Sir, if I had two heads, then one would be at His Majesty's service. Alas, I only have this one. ❜

❛ How can you suppose that at my age, I am capable of plotting anything against anyone? I wish only to live a quiet life, away from this world. ❜

❛ You may well beg mercy, but whom shall say if it be granted or not. ❜

❛ Everyone has an agenda! And what I want doesn't matter! ❜

❛ My father told me that if you leave even a sapling in the ground, one day it will grow into a tree! And that little boy will have 40,000 troops flocking to his banner, and you will be the sucker! ❜

❛ I need pictures! Do you understand? I need to see them. I need to see the woman who's going to be my companion for life. ❜

❛ I'm afraid I was not born for happiness. ❜

❛ I swear he has poisoned the King's mind! And if I could, I would strip him from the King's side, and burn him. ❜

❛ You have ten seconds to get out of my court, or I will beat you like the dog that you are! ❜

❛ I see now what it takes for a man to make his way in this world. He must make a practice of hypocrisy. ❜

❛ I say to you, again, while you still have a free choice, will you live or die? ❜

❛ There's no doubt, now, he must be overthrown by force. ❜

❛ My conscience will not permit me to consummate this marriage because I feel there is some impediment to it. ❜

❛ I tell you, God will not grant me any more children if I continue in this marriage. ❜

❛ Not telling a woman what she must expect on her wedding night is like sending a sailor to sea with no biscuit. ❜

❛ He is charming and very good looking. I think you might like him a little. ❜

❛ I resent the King nothing, but others seek to undermine me, since I was born so low and they so high. ❜

❛ I hope you can forgive my impetuosity. I know we should have been formally introduced, but I couldn't wait. ❜

❛ May I kiss your hand? ❜

❛ I have found someone to amuse the King. ❜

❛ We ran a little wild. There was some fun in it. ❜

❛ I was told before that she was charming, intelligent, well-read, gracious. A true Princess. But nothing prepared me for her beauty. But a beauty that comes from inside. To me, she is the most beautiful creature on God's earth. ❜

❛ The King has noticed you. He may ask to see you. ❜

❛ You didn't step on my foot. How could you? Your feet don't even touch the ground. I wanted a moment alone with you. ❜

❛ Would you like me to kiss you again? ❜

❛ Do not sit there. That is no place for you. Traitors do not sit among gentlemen. ❜

❛ I left her as good a maid as I found her! ❜

❛ My pride has brought its punishment. ❜

[terrence-silver]

I was wondering… Terry stalks beloved ever since he laid eyes on her, he finds out where she works, and it turns out that she works as a sexy stripper at the nightclub. How would Terry feel about this?

---

Buys the venue.

Somehow, overnight, Terry Silver becomes owner, big boss and proprietor of a strip club downtown, and really, he undoubtedly already owns so many much bigger and infinitely more important pieces of revenue, nobody really blinks an eye. But, this place is important to him because the object of his desires is there, so of course it matters! He's certainly acquired stranger things with his seemingly endless stream of cash than a mere titty bar and something about effectively being a pimp? Oh, he might cackle and giggle privately at that one, finding it to be a good personal joke he can amuse himself with. Nobody ever even discovers he bought out some random nightclub somewhere and that his name is on a paper. But, it has to be. What better way to establish control and get close to someone who's caught his eye than literally making himself beloved's Employer and by extension, crucial in their day to day life? That's the businessman in him preforming direction action. Striking hard and striking first. No mercy. The old and original owner will sell the bar to him whether he wants to or not --- Terry Silver's offer will not be refused by anyone and in fact, he's willing to pay so well the man will be thanking him for the opportunity to do business by the end of the transaction. Because, no, no, observing beloved's shows from the sidelines just won't do. Stalking them won't do. Sending them copious amounts of money and anonymous gifts won't do either. Blending in and watching from the sidelines is not satisfactory. Him having to endure other people watching and touching something that's his won't do in any regard, not ever. There will be payback. He has to have primary authority over the place. He's plotting a vendetta way before his signature is on that document. Leering over his subject of interest comes with a steep price. Nothing's for free.

They will all suffer.

He'll make them suffer for you.

He wants be in charge, so he positions himself to be in charge.

And quickly.

Beloved might not even know or realize that that one tall, blue eyed customer always watching them with unblinking eyes, never missing a single show and who is always so concerned for them, who is friendly, protective, kind and for all intents and purposes, fairly nice, presenting in sweatshirts, zipper jackets and All-American boy next door blue jeans is also simultaneously the bigshot Mr. Moneybags who just bought the club out out of the blue. Terry relishes their ignorance. Relishes every interaction with beloved while they're clueless that he is legally top authority around here.

Suddenly, once new management in the form of a mysterious new owner rears its head, though, bouncers and the increased security detail are throwing patrons out just for looking at beloved and a barrage of broken noses, teeth and smashed heads line the streets along with signed NDA contracts and customers upon which Terry posed his revenge are having their silence bought with money, ultimatums and downright threats. They're all his enemies and they'll all experience pain. Beloved's gigs are frequently cancelled and other strippers are taking their place. The gifts increase. Their boss is showing them extremely preferential treatment, insisting on dates without taking 'no' for an answer and any all shows are for him, exclusively --- for his eyes only. Beloved becomes more of a glorified exclusive paramour than someone working for their own dollar and very soon, they slip into obscurity and rumors fly that the owner himself transferred them to their mansion somewhere up in Beverly Hills. That a Rolls Royce came to move beloved out like they're royalty. Gossip neither confirmed nor denied by the workers of the club and the whispering customers alike. Sounds like something straight out of a movie, they say. They all claim that beloved won the lottery ticket and the good life, away from the stage. That the owner's been here, among them, all along and that the whole mix-up is like a messy episode of Candid Camera or Undercover Boss. But, it's no gossip. Terry Silver wastes no time. Few know that that one ponytailed guy at the bar is also the man who took beloved away for good. That he was an insider of sorts all along. Some guy, richer than God. As connected as they come. Deadly as a snake. As mild as bread when he sets his mind to it, though.

The whole revelation sure was a shock to beloved themselves.

-"It was me,"- Terry could confess, not even hiding his glee.

-"I own the place. I bought it. For cheap change too."- He'd brag.

Oh, it was cheap change for him, alright; a Billionaire.

Hardly cheap change for anyone else who works for a living.

The only thing that offends him and provokes his vengeful ire about the whole purchase is that something that contained beloved as a package deal was quite so insultingly affordable when everything associated with them, should by all right, be priceless. But, Terry's wanted them since the first time he's seen them and he's made them his. That was his agenda and bottom line since the very beginning and now that he's acquired them...

-"But, think big and outside of the box. This shithole deserves to tank! You see, I've got the only valuable asset here."-

-"And what's that?"- Beloved might ask, confused and incredulous.

What was this for him? Some kind of weird, covert tax write-off?

Why did Terry Silver buy this place?

-"You."-

He'd answer. Not blinking.

Draping the fur coat he's bought for them around their shoulders.

-"And you're coming home with me and moving in. Now."-

[chaos-enchanted]

BG3 OC role call (Part 2/?)

My Sorcerer: Tavarla

Background: Charlatan  Despite her considerable talent for he arcane, Tavarla spent most of her time profiting from strangers with cheap tricks, but saved her real talents for those willing to pay a higher price. She is essentially my “evil-ish playthrough” Tav. She has never really fit in with her kin, so she wasn’t all too concerned with helping Zevlor, I am yet to decide whether she will side with the goblins or not, but so long as her interest coincide with what is being asked of her she may help others. However, I have a feeling as soon as it comes to this sudden status and power associate with being a True Soul, its definitely conceivable that she’ll revel in it and exploit it to her full ability. As far as she’s concerned, like Astarion, she’s more focused on controlling it than getting rid of it (so long as it doesn’t make her sprout mouth-tentacles)  Romance- She’s definitely spoiled for choice: - Shadowheart and Astarion: she really vibes with these 2 the most- their attitude, sass and outlook on life, in general she just gets a long with them really well. - Lae'zel: she enjoys getting on her nerves and testing her self-appointed claim to authority, but at the same time she really likes her ‘get shit done’ kind attitude and warrior prowess. I mean after all Tavarla does have Red Dragon Bloodline, and Lae’zel did mention how determined she was to one day ride a Red Dragon sooo... - Also she has a bit of a thing for Minthara, so I think she in the end she probably will side with the goblins (sorry Halsin)

[madelyn-cline]

rereading daisy jones and the six and here are some quotes that make me go feral

We love broken, beautiful people.

I was drawn to him mainly because he was drawn to me. I wanted someone to single me out as something special.

“Your mom is beautiful.” “Yeah, beautiful and nothing else.”

I think I was seventeen, maybe. And it was the first time I wondered if I had a purpose.

There’s this peace that comes with knowing you have a person in the world who would do anything for you, that you would do anything for.

“I love you as much as I’m willing to love anybody.”

I had absolutely no interest in being somebody else’s muse. I am not a muse. I am the somebody. End of fucking story.

This is how dark the world can be. Some fathers don’t love their sons.

Nice never did much for me.

He sort of looked like he’d never had an interesting thought in his life.

Men often think they deserve a sticker for treating women like people.

What’s good is when everybody thinks you’re headed somewhere fast, when you’re all potential. Potential is pure fuckin’ joy.

Love and pride don’t mix.

I was going to get it, hell or high water.

I think you have to have faith in people before they earn it. Otherwise it’s not faith, right?

When you put your life in your music, you can’t be clearheaded about your music.

It was such a rush, singing like that. Singing a song that I felt in my heart. Words that I had written that were all mine.

You know how sometimes people will describe other people and say they make you feel like you’re the only one in the room? Billy and Daisy could both do that. But they somehow did it with each other. They each seemed like they thought the other one was the only person in the room. Like we were watching two people who didn’t realize thousands of people were watching them.

Just by touching you, he’d scrape you.

If you redeem yourself, then believe in your own redemption.

When you have everything, someone else getting a little something feels like they’re stealing from you.

“There’s just as much to hate about you as there is to like about you. And that’s annoying.”

“It’s like some of us are chasing after our nightmares the way other people chase dreams.”

I was paying the price for the parts of himself that he didn’t like.

It feels good, to be understood.

“This song isn’t meant to be pretty. Don’t sing it like it is.”

When you’re living your life, you’re so inside your head, you’re swirling around in your own pain, that it’s hard to see how obvious it is to the people around you.

Everybody wants somebody to hold up the right mirror.

She was dangerous. And I knew that. But I don’t think I could recognize that the safer she felt to me, the more dangerous she was.

Self-expression is about what it feels to live, not whether you had the right to claim any emotion at any time.

I hurt. So I wrote about it.

I wish someone had told me that love isn’t torture.

I came to hate that I’d put my heart and my pain into my music because it meant that I couldn’t ever leave it behind.

“I think in order to be happy like I’m happy, you need different things. And I want you to have whatever those things are.”

Life is about who is holding your hand and, I think, whose hand you commit to holding.

“You don’t understand me. You expect me to be someone I’m not.” “You never loved me the way I loved you.” And both of those things were true.

To this day, there is a piece of me that still loves her. And there is a piece of me that will never forgive her.

[sullustangin]

SWTOR Secret Santa 2023

This is for @levedor-legacy for the SWTOR Secret Santa 2023 – thank you @frauleiiin for running this!

Here’s a Life Day story starring “a deadly can of Arizona Iced Tea,” the Himbolorian himself, Orriel Devero.

~~

Orriel stared at the Galactic Trade Network.

…Math was hard.

Life Day was one of Orriel’s favorite holidays of the year.  He knew it was expensive, so he made it point to pick up a few extra bounties.  He even did some of the silly ones that really didn’t require a bounty hounter, but hey, if they were willing pay to see him get mauled by an agitated loth cat stuck in a tree, Orriel would do it. 

He went to scratch his head, but then he remembered that he still had his helmet on – always did on Vaiken.  The problem was the Life Day sales.  Were they really sales?  Or had the prices been jacked up a few weeks before and now there was a ‘sale’?  Orriel wasn’t a genius, but he was streetwise enough to know a few tricks people used to boost sales. 

Sale or not, credits came in on the regular – Orriel was a damn good bounty hunter.  Hell, he was the Grand Champion of the Great Hunt.  That said, Gault was the one who tracked the credits and investments, and Mako made sure all those credits continued to exist for Orriel – not Gault. 

Somehow, though, whenever Life Day rolled around, Orriel felt uneasy about whether he’d have enough.  Anxiety wasn’t his thing but… he wanted to get it right for everyone. 

…well, almost everyone.  Orriel still wasn’t sure what to do about the newest crewmember.  It probably hadn’t been the best idea to pick up a new crewmember from Belsavis, the Pub’s secret prison planet.  At the time, Orriel had needed a hand, and he never really knew how to end a contract with someone…

Ok, so he did, but that was going to be a mess for 2V to clean up, and even droids deserved Life Day.  And Skadge seemed like one of those guys that would always turn up again, even if he was dumped on an abandoned asteroid.  Fortunately, he kept mostly to himself underdecks.    He had little interest in the other members of the crew.

It wasn’t just the new crewmember that had Orriel worried about the finances for Life Day gifts.  There was Mako.

…she was his best gal.  His only gal, if he was really honest.  He wanted to get something special, but… whenever he looked at the ads for rings and stuff like that, none of the women were like Mako.  They didn’t have dirt and oil under their nails, and they definitely didn’t seem to know their way around a blaster or a kolto probe.  In the type of work they did, a ring that could get dented, broken, or have the stone fall out was no good.  Or it could get stuck on her finger and have to be chopped off – Mandos liked women with scars and battle wounds, but Orriel was pretty sure Mako wanted to keep all of her fingers, regardless of how hot he thought it was.  

A group gift from the entire crew was considered, to play it safe… but Orriel wanted it to be from him – just him.  Advice for personal gifts to girls was also not probably going to be found on-ship; the only person he knew that had a girlfriend in the past was Gault, and that apparently didn’t end well for her. 

“Orriel!  Su'cuy, vod!”  Orriel turned at Torian’s greeting. 

“You got everything you needed?” Orriel asked. 

“Had a plan.  Carried it out.  Easy enough,” Torian replied.

“Ori’jate.” Orriel eyed the GTN kiosk.  “…did you get a gift for everyone?”

“Yeah.  Having trouble?”

Orriel nodded.  “No idea what to get for someone who makes the ship run.  How do you express how much you appreciate them?”

Torian sagely nodded.  Then he told him, “Explosives.” 

Orriel stared at Torian.  “Seriously?”

“Don’t overcomplicate things,” Torian advised him.  “I know we buy Blizz ordinance weekly, but sometimes ‘more’ of a person’s favorite things is exactly what they want.”

Oh.  Orriel touched his hand to his helmet. “Thanks.  I’ll keep that in mind.” 

Then he stopped, and slowly, surely, he had a thought.  “Torian, did we keep the scraps around from when we recast my helmet?”

“Think so.  Have to check the cargo bay.” 

“Great.  Grab a crate of iced tea from the station cantina, and I’ll meet you back at the ship.”

~~

Somehow, accidentally, Skadge was left at Vaiken.  Somehow, for unknown reasons, none of his messages were getting through the main comm boards. 

Blizz told Orriel that he’d fix it … after Life Day.  “Blizz need to fix engine room.  New guy messy.  No system!”  Orriel had been completely unaware of any system of organization created by Blizz, but he took the little guy’s word for it. 

Torian had been right; Blizz just wanted more explosives, and he was happy as a droid in an oil bath.  “Thanks, Boss!”

Gault, as usual, had printed “GIFT CARDS OR CREDITS” across the top of his LIFE DAY GIFT LIST.  He had plastered numerous copies of the list to the interior of the windshield of the Mantis, so Orriel would get the hint this year.  He did.

Torian’s gift was one that that Orriel took some pride in.  He’d managed to source some spare parts for Torian’s antique techstaff; it’d been passed down on his mother’s side for centuries.  Techstaffs themselves hadn’t evolved very much, but that particular model had been discontinued way, way before Torian was born.  Orriel knew a guy who knew a guy, and the well-packaged crate had arrived well ahead of Life Day. 

Torian hadn’t said much – never did.  But Orriel didn’t miss how those blue eyes sparkled at the sight of the parts and then how quickly he’d disappeared off to the ship’s worktable.

Orriel smiled at the small pile of gifts on the dashboard.  He wasn’t that hard to shop for:  give him gas canisters and cartridges, a vibroknife, and explosives, and he was happy. 

That said, Mako had done the best:  she got him a new weapons rack that latched into both of his closet doors.  When the door was opened, it expanded out to its full size, but when the door closed, it got all nice and compact.  Mako was the absolute best. 

And when the chrono clicked over and Gault came up to the cockpit, it was time for Mako to get her gift. 

Gault clapped his shoulder.  “Go get ‘em, tiger.”

Orriel gave Gault a quizzical look, then he headed below to the crew quarters.  Mako, being the only girl on the ship, got her own little partition, and that’s where he found her, scrolling through the Holonet on her datapad.  She immediately looked up when Orriel leaned in her doorway and gave him a smile.  “Hey.”

“Thanks for weapons rack.  How’d you get it in there?”

Mako got up from her bunk and walked past him into the hallway.  “Blizz says we need to do duct maintenance.  Really dusty in there, and the last thing you want is any mouse – droid or otherwise – nesting in there.” Mako tossed a teasing grin over her shoulder as she made her way toward the big viewport.

“Blizz is awesome,” Orriel said, as he followed her.  “He seemed really, really happy with all the ordnance.”

“I don’t want to hear it when one of you blows your hand off.”  Mako rolled her eyes, but he knew she was teasing him. 

And that was his opening.  “Yeah, and see, that’s why I didn’t get you a ring.  Hand blown off, no more ring!”

Mako looked at him as if he was nuts.

“You’d still be cute, but I didn’t want you risk losing anything because of our line of work – statistically more likely to get injure—”  Orriel trailed off at she continued to stare at him like he'd grown a tail.

Ok, probably not the best idea to talk about casualty statistics with her on Life Day right before giving her a present.  “But I still want to give you something you can wear, all the time.”  He tapped his armor’s chest pocket, and the hydraulics hissed open.  “So I’m always with you.”

Her face immediately went soft at those words.

Carefully, Orriel fished the chain out of his pocket.  He held it up to dangle between him and Mako.  The ring threaded upon it spun and reflected the light of some nearby sun shining through the viewport.

Mako stepped forward, her eyes large, to gently cup the bottom of the chain in her hand, letting Orriel hang onto it for now.  “It….it’s green.  And the ring– pink –”  She stared at it a moment longer.  “It’s from your armor?” she whispered.

Orriel nodded, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand, ruffling up his red hair.  “When Torian and I recast my helmet, we saved the scraps and the shavings for patches, but then…you.” He rested his hand on the back of his neck for a few moments before gesturing toward her.   I—Listen, I don’t know how you feel about the big, big long term – but you should know –”

“Shut up” was the only warning Orriel had before Mako pounced on him, sending the armored figure clattering to the floor, still valiantly holding up the necklace –

Which was soon snatched away and quickly worn.

It was a most excellent Life Day.

[esta-elavaris]

Flufftober Day 16: Singing one another to sleep - Thorin Oakenshield/OC [1,006 words]

My Flufftober '23 masterpost can be found here 💜✨

“Thorin!”

Gwen jolted upright from a dead sleep, hands coming up to block a blade that was not there – wielded by a foe that no longer breathed. But it took her a moment to remember that, pain slicing through the long-healed scar that ran across the back of her forearm from wrist to elbow.

Reality registered, her limbs slackened, and she sighed shakily. Sweat drenched her, her nightdress sticking to her, and her heart and head warred for which could pound the hardest. She cursed quietly beneath her breath.

“The dragon?” Thorin’s voice sounded behind her, rough with sleep.

“Ravenshill,” she corrected hoarsely. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

As she spoke, she tried to rub the phantom pain out of her scar.

“You survived,” he spoke quietly.

It was difficult to say whether he was reassuring her of that fact, or himself.

“…despite a bit of touch-and-go in the middle there,” she murmured, hand settling over the scar.

Were it not for the healing abilities of the Elves, she would have lost the arm. It spoke volumes that Thorin had even taken her to them so entirely without reluctance, in the aftermath. As it was, there was occasional loss of sensation here and there, and she’d never move it with the same deftness she’d been capable of before, but it was a small price to pay.

“That’s not what bothers me in the dreams,” she admitted. “In the dreams, I don’t get there in time.”

To distract herself from the discomfort of speaking the words aloud, she peeled off her nightgown, throwing it away from the bed where it landed with little more than a rustling flutter. It was only keeping her cold, the way it clung to her damply lending to her sense of unease. But since she wasn’t willing to lie down again just yet, she only ended up colder as the sweat cooled and dried on her skin.

Wrapping her arms about herself, she tried to steady her breathing – helped by the fact that Thorin sat up and shifted til he was at her back. Her husband was like a furnace, and with his chest at her back she could no longer pretend the tremors were purely to do with the cold.

“You are here,” he said softly into her ear. “As am I. It is over. Although you paid a hefty price to see things as they are now.”

“I’d do it again.”

He did not sound cheered by the prospect, humming lowly in the back of his throat. “I would not ask that of you.”

“Since when has that ever stopped me?”

The rueful sound he made in response had a note of fondness to it. Winding a strong arm about her waist, he pulled her back – the gesture a suggestion more than an insistence, and she knew that if she insisted on remaining upright, he would ease up immediately. Instead, though, she leaned into the embrace, allowing him to lead her to lie down, more atop him than the bed itself. But that helped. She could not convince herself that he was not here, nor that he was not breathing, when his heartbeat beneath her hand, and she could feel each inhale and exhale every time.

“I’m all sweaty,” she protested half-heartedly.

Thorin scoffed. She looked at him properly for the first time since waking then, finding concern clear and unhidden in his striking eyes and his hair mussed from sleep.

“Do you think I care at all about that? No, my thoughts are with how I might repay wife for saving my life,” he mused quietly – likely sensing that she needed the silence filled so that her thoughts would not run away with her.

“You married her, for one thing.”

“A poor reward indeed,” he teased, one corner of his lips upturning. “A punishment, some might argue. Depending on my mood.”

“Stay awake with me?” she asked quietly. “Just for a little while?”

His manner lost what little teasing there had been in it to begin with, his face softening as the hand not at her waist found her hair.

“All night, if need be,” he vowed.

“I’m sorry. If you’re tired-”

She wasn’t used to being this shivering, frightened thing – and beyond her disquiet felt ridiculous for how he was being forced to pander to it, husband or no. But he dispelled her fears with a tightened hold and a firm interruption.

“Do not apologise. Not for this. Never for this.”

“It’s been so long since the last one. I thought it was over.”

“That is the way with them,” he murmured ruefully. “The gaps betwixt them lengthen and lengthen until one day they will be no more. In the meantime, you’ll recover more quickly from them each time. They will…jar you less.”

He spoke from experience, and how could he not? Given all that he’d seen across his years? She knew that Dwarves’ lives spanned further than those of humans, but he’d seen enough for ten lifetimes, even with that difference in mind.

“Do you get them? From the battle, I mean?”

“You dream that you did not succeed,” he said softly. “I dream that you did, but did not live to see that success.”

“I did.”

“You did.”

They lapsed into silence, Gwen slowly managing to match her breathing with his. After the third time he tactfully pretended not to notice her glancing up at him to check if he was awake, he began singing in low, soothing tones to save her the bother. The song was in Khuzdul, she knew not the words (the argument over the fact that Erebor’s Queen should know it being a surprisingly uphill one thus far), but that helped somewhat – focusing on his impossibly deep voice rather than the words it was forming, and feeling the vibrations of it throughout his chest.

When she finally did fall asleep again, it was a dreamless one, and she suspected it came long before he allowed himself to drift off again, too.

Links: AO3 -- FF.net -- flufftober masterpost -- dividers by cafekitsune

[absolutely-esme]

My headcanon about Johnny 13 and Kitty

While I was typing up my ghost biology headcanon, I wound up generating headcanon about Johnny 13 and Kitty's relationship. Whoops.

Some ghosts exist split among multiple bodies because some parts of themselves work better separately. I imagine Johnny 13 and his Shadow are actually one ghost, but there were parts of himself he didn't understand and wasn't managing well that he was better equipped to understand and accommodate as a separate being. Johnny probably fought with Shadow a lot when he was newly formed before taking a step back and finally managing to view him with a sort of empathy that is often easier to offer to others than to oneself.

Part of the reason Johnny and Kitty fight as much as they do is because they don't understand each other's experiences very well and end up being inconsiderate to each other at times. Johnny is wrapped up in his own mental health journey and doesn't always recognize the effects his actions have on the people around him.

He's learning how to like, respect, support, and rely on the part of himself that became Shadow but doesn't always know how that will turn out. Sometimes the people close to him pay the price for his inexperience. A prime example of this is when Johnny used Shadow to hold the doors of the portal open and they shut on Kitty, seriously hurting her.

Kitty has never experienced mental health issues that necessitated a split and doesn't quite understand that Shadow is part of Johnny or what that means. She doesn't realize that when she says things like "I don't trust your stupid bad-luck shadow" she's saying "I don't trust your stupid, bad-luck self." She also doesn't know that Johnny is in the middle of a massive journey of recovery, so every backslide and rough patch in the healing process is coming out of nowhere for her. He never talked to her about this, so she just thinks he's being an asshole for no reason.

They need to talk things out, maybe get a professional opinion, and Kitty needs to make an informed decision about whether or not staying through the journey is something she's willing to do. Even if they do stay together, they need to establish some healthy boundaries. While Johnny does need to figure things out with Shadow, which is going to require some experimentation, it's not reasonable to ask Kitty to gamble her safety and well-being on every chance he takes.

[unhinged-summer-fun]

Thank you so much for common grounds! This is such a wonderful story and I'm thrilled with every update. Thanks for sticking with it and us!

I saw a reblog for questions for writers and I wanted to ask how did you come up with concept for CG and if you ever had had a creative block what do you do to power through or recharge?

Hello!! Thank you so much, I’m so glad you’re enjoying common grounds!! (Sorry about that cliffhanger last week 😬) the answer to your question below the cut~

Well the concept came about when I got on a post-finale voice call with my buddy (this was before I knew there was a burgeoning fandom so we only had two brains’ worth of insanity to work off of) and I said “I wanna write something” and they just said “boxing??? Sol is dad?? Maybe Qimir was injured? He has a weird relationship to his name?” and I’d already been angling toward making sure the Acolyte had a coffee shop au (as a fandom biological niche that needed filling) and I blacked out and had three chapters

I had a bit of a creative block called I Can’t Stop Playing Assassin’s Creed and another one called I’m Moving Across The Country By Myself which sucked to be in the middle of but in my opinion you gotta look at writer’s/creative blocks as like, unskippable side quests. You just gotta figure out what your brain is telling you needs to get done whether it be school or social efforts or Ezio Auditore or simply taking care of yourself. Sometimes I def struggle with finding places to take breaks, but listening to your body will help your body (and mind!) listen to you. Sometimes you just gotta take care of the meat suit so the think-meat has time to install updates.

One thing I’ll also say is never discount a single creative idea. Even if you’re like “this is actually the worst” it still counts as a guidepost of where you don’t want to go next. Initially I was going to have Idise be a fully forgettable NPC type OC, and I wrote quite a bit of the fic with that mentality, but then when I realized how cool it’d be if she was important, it made my storytelling a lot more intentional and I felt it flowed easier. You don’t need to find your way out of the maze on the first try. Let your mind wander into dead ends and explore where things CAN go until you realize where they SHOULD go.

That said, there are often times where the spirit is willing but the think-meat is not and you just have to be patient and kind to yourself. Fatalistic determinations on your self-worth are common in this period, so fight the urge to light the world on fire just because things feel bad right this moment. Everything you made before does not merit punishment for the supposed sin of stalled creativity, and neither do you. The more understanding you are of your creative mind, the more it will want to please you in turn.

I know that’s a bit philosophical and long-winded, but such is the price to pay when asking me about writing LOL

Thank you so much anon! And if yall have any other questions pls ask~

[devdevlin]

I think I was the last person to learn that you are the same author as Virennia! Talk about MIND BLOWN. I searched for Virennia social media across multiple platforms and figured they didn’t have an author account. Come to find out, you were under my nose this entire time! I need to use my tumblr account more!

First of all, I am absolutely obsessed with EVERY SINGLE STORY YOU’VE WRITTEN. You know that old hypothetical, “If you were ever stuck on a deserted island and could choose to have one thing (besides a boat) what would it be?”

For me, it would be your fanfic. I’d choose it over food, a weapon, shelter, a companion—I can work around the absence of those things 😂 but I could not live without your stories!

Ok onto the Ask. And I’m sorry if this has already been asked and answered, but one thing I couldn’t figure out in Peremo is what Tom meant when answering Klaus’ question about whether or not he regrets killing anyone:

Don't you... do you regret them at all?"

His father opened his mouth, but then snapped it shut. His brows drew together thoughtfully. "Only one," he eventually said. "But... I never killed her, in the end."

Klaus was confused. "...Sorry? Why would you regret it if you didn't do it?"

His father looked down at the desk between them, his crimson eyes becoming unfocused in a wistful sort of way. "Sometimes, letting someone live can be a steeper price to pay."

For some reason my brain is not letting me fully grasp what Tom meant. Can you please spell it out for me because I have obsessed over that one single statement and fixating on it isn’t helping me solve it! 😤

My thought process is this: Ok, Tom regrets killing Hermione-except that he didn’t kill her—so is he saying he regrets attempting to kill her (which would be along the lines of the context behind Klaus’ question, I think). However, if he regrets attempting to kill her, why would he say that letting someone live can be a steeper price to pay?” In that context, it sounds like what he meant by “regretting killing someone” was that he regretted not killing her. Except that Klaus asked if he regrets killing anyone and Tom would be answering affirmatively to the opposite question that Klaus asked. “Do you regret NOT killing someone?” Vs “Do you regret killing anyone?”

I guess, what I’m really asking is whether or not Tom is saying that he regrets not killing Hermione.

Or is he saying something along the lines of, he regrets almost killing her…because he no longer wants her dead—but that allowing her to live is more difficult than his life would have been had he allowed her to die?

Sorry I’ve taken a bit to get back to this, I’ve just had a baby and am deep in the newborn trenches!

Ahhhh I am sorry, I didn’t mean to hide from you 😂😂 But!!! Thank you for leaving me such kind words, it does wonders for my motivation, honestly you have no idea 🤗🖤💕🥰😭😭😭 I’m going to cherish this ask, and read it over and over and over hahahha 💕

As for the ask! (SPOILERS)

Your interpretations are pretty much bang on!! What I was going for there was two-fold, but primarily, Tom meant that he regrets trying to kill her to begin with. From several parts in the story, Hermione tried to reason with him, such as over dinner after his first murder attempt, and in the forest later on. She even at one point suggested working together, and by that point of the epilogue, it’s a thought that nags at him: How differently would things have been had he allowed them to work together? Would she still have gone for his horcruxes, had he never poisoned her tea? Having Hermione—a time-traveller—by his side has undoubtedly been useful… but how much more useful would she have been if she’d been willing and truly his?

Secondly, yes, Tom also means that he regrets failing to kill her. At the point in the epilogue, he and Hermione have had years together again, and at that point, I imagine that he’s become exhausted by dealing with her, and is certain his life would’ve been far far easier had his initial attempt succeeded 😂 By the end, with Hermione constantly being difficult and argumentative, constantly rejecting him no matter what he does, constantly trying to free herself of him… Peremo Tom is a hard nut, but he has feelings too, somewhere deep down 😂😂😂 That’s what he meant by the steeper price. Letting her live in the end was far more trouble to him than being rid of her.

I hope this makes sense (it does to me but I lose track of my own thoughts all the time, what do I know?) and that it answers your questions. Thank you ever so much again!! 🖤💕🖤💕