#but t I kind of thought she was immortal

[wangxianficfinder]

Fic Finder

Oct 21st

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1. Hiii first of all i just wanted to thank you for being able to find the fic i was looking for last time :)) im looking for this fic that i cant find anywhere it was a modern au on ao3 where wangxian dated in hs or college but lqr forced lwj to break up with wwx (through txt if i remember right) but wwx didnt know that lwj was forced so when they meet years later and lwj is working for the lan company they hire wwx and the wens to work on the cybersecurity and wwx is rlly angry while lwj is just pining. TIA!! @draconislyra

FOUND? Tempo Rubato by Spodumene (E, 108k, wangxian, modern, angst w/ happy ending, romance, persuasion au, separations, pining, miscommunication, depression, self-harm, reconciliation, smut)

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2. theres this fic and i forgot the title, but its where jin ling has been wearing wwx's protective bracelet since he was a baby and assumed/thought his mom gave it to him and the bracelet is rlly effective! but in guanyin temple, su she(?) broke it but wwx fixes it and strings the bracelet back together

FOUND! a symbol to remind you that there's more to see by paperminds (T, 9k, JC & JL & WWX, canon-compliant(ish), post-canon(ish), Canon-Typical Violence, Hurt/Comfort, Mild/Moderate Angst, angst with happy ending, Yunmeng Shuangjie, Twin Idiots, Reconciliation)

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3. Hi! I'm looking for a specific fan fiction i remember that both wwx and lwj has lived a long and happy life and now they think it's time for them to leave the world lsz is very upset and doesn't want to let his parents go they go upto a field to fall asleep or smth, there was also wwx telling lwj how tired he is, I've been dying to find this one

FOUND? The Sea Calls Us Home. by selfptrts (T, 3k, WangXian, ZhuiLing, Suicide, Hurt No Comfort, Established Relationship, Heavy Angst, wangxian are married and have a son, xicheng if you squint hard enough, Mentions of Canonical Character Death, Assisted Suicide, References to Supernatural (TV), References to Canon, Found Family, Grief/Mourning, Immortality)

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4. Hello! I'm in desperate need of help. I'm trying to find this one fic where NMJ gave WWX Baxia since he couldn't wield her anymore. I remember a scene where he was struggling with her but then JC(?) told him he was still using sword forms so he needed to find a different way. Thank you so much in advance!!!

FOUND? Lynchpin by ShanaStoryteller (Not Rated, 103k, WangXian, JC & WWX, Time Travel, Fix-It) WWX definitely ends up weilding Baxia in Lynchpin, and there's a scene about WWX creating a new Sabre sword style.

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5. Hii, I'm looking for two wangxian fics that I unfortunately don't remember much about. A) The first one was one where the war was solved and WWX joined DafanWen, I remember that Dafan's robes were pink/peach and I think DafanWen became a medical sub-clan of Lan.

B) The second one was a post canon where WWX basically adapted to life in Cloud Recess. He learned to knit and I think the fic had a tag that had to do something like "something about gender roles". @canisirio

5A)

FOUND? 💖 Light Source by abCEE (M, 31k, wangxian, not Jiang friendly, no golden core transfer, fall of the jiang sect, happy ending)

5B)

FOUND? Reeds in the Wind by merakily (T, 26k, WangXian, Post-Canon, Canon Compliant, Character Study, Yunmeng bros Reconciliation, Rabbit Therapy, Sewing Therapy, PTSD, Emotional Baggage, Hurt/Comfort, JC is Bad at Feelings, JC Needs a Hug) I feel like it's not the right fic but it does have wwx doing embroidery

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6. hi this is for fic finder!

i think this is starts when wwx is still in the burial mounds with the wens and he's called? because lwj is sick like literally in bed, unconscious with fever sorta sick. I think it turned out to be a curse or smth related to his golden core!

also another fic, also these two fics coild be the same so I'm not sure

it could've been related to the first request, I kind of remember wwx sacrificing or getting harmed to save lwj and then all the Lan elders kind of give wwx a new core in the caves in cloud recesses

this is really messy, I'm just trying to say that I remember these 2 points and they could be in 1 fic or 2 different fics

thank you sm @bunnycoffeeumcat

FOUND! Weep You No More, Sad Fountains by athena_crikey (T, 59k, WangXian, LXC & LWJ, LXC & JGY, Canon Divergence, Fix-it fic, Whump, Curses, Fever, Delirium, Stabbing, Loneliness, Confessions, LWJ’s emotional repression, WWX giving everything as always, LXC realising sympathy is not support, LQR Being an Asshole) for the first point but not the second so I guess this is 6a?

FOUND? 🧡 decay by antebunny (G, 15k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Angst, Misunderstandings, Miscommunication, Fix-It, Angst with a Happy Ending, the fluffiest ending, Hurt/Comfort) Are they maybe thinking of decay by antebunny? I know the ending of the fic has a similar scene to what they were describing

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7. Hi. I am looking for a fic where Baoshan Sanren knows about Wei Wuxian’s fate but cannot directly interfere. Instead she raises Mo Xuanyu as a cultivator and Talisman Master who helps Madam Jin keep Jin Ling safe in Lanling Jin before leaving for the Imperial Exams. Before he can reach, he is assassinated by Jin Guangyao. Wei Wuxian then wakes up in the body and decides to write the exams, becoming a high ranking minister. The emperor takes an interest in the cultivation world a few years later.

FOUND? Awakening: Return of the Patriarch - Another Way by SplitGirl28 (M, 35k, WIP, Transmigration, Related to Jin Guangslut again, Nobody has access to WWX's notes, Experimentation Underway, Established SongXiao, A-Qing Lives)

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8. Hi! I'm looking for this fic where wwx and lwj are thrown into an arranged marriage together, and don't know each other. Wwx is generally happy and excited, and lwj sees this and immediately hates him, bcoz he wanted a calm, quiet spouse to live with. The whole thing is orchestrated by Madam Yu, who basically abandons wwx at cloud recesses bcoz she figures he would be miserable here. Lwj doesn't like him to or try to understand him, so wwx slowly gets more and more depressed and suicidal, kind of as a parallel to Madam lan. I think he tries teaching for a while, and he's very good at it, but the elders step in and claim he's corrupting the children, so that's that. He finds the yin iron, and plans to destroy it worth a circle that will also take him out along with it, but before he can go through with the plan lwj realises how depressed he is and starts making an effort to help him. The fic ends with lwj offering to run away from cloud recesses with him, and wwx telling him no, he doesn't want to be some sort of shameful indulgence, if lwj really wants him he'll stay and fight with the elders on his behalf @arsonistbydaylibrarianbynight

FOUND? Concord by Deastar (T, 41k, WangXian, Arranged Marriage, Gusu Lan Sect Rules, Depression, Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending)

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9. Hi! For the next Fic Finder, I’ve been trying to find a fic where LWJ leaves the CR to go help WWX in the Burial Mounds. It kind of starts of with LWJ and WWX confrontation after WWX rescues the Wens. There’s a sequence where LWJ is gathering stuff to take to the Burial Mounds. Then in later chapters it’s LXC, LQR, and a couple of Lan Elders going to Yiling to try and bring LWJ back to the CR. They find him in Yiling, selling produce, only to discover that LWJ is living a happy life with WWX and is no longer following Gusu Lan’s rules as he lets a bunch of kids decorate his hair. Sorry this is super long. I can remember what happens in the fic, but for the life of me I can’t remember the title. Thanks a bunch!

FOUND!🔒Unpack Your Heart by Terri Botta (Isilwath) (T, 22k, wangxian, Romance, Everybody Lives, Canon Divergence, LWJ Has Feelings, Protective LWJ, Burial Mounds Settlement Days, LWJ Stays at the Burial Mounds, Burial Mounds Ensemble as Family, Wangxian in Love, YLLZ WWX, Lan Clan Elders are Assholes, Minor Transgender Character, Qiongqi Path Divergence, LWJ loves his bunnies)

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10. hi - i’m looking for a f/f wangxian fic. lwj and wwx start as friends but there’s obvious sexual tension (wwx still thinks she’s straight, and keeps “baiting” lwj). lwj lives near her mom, and she bikes to visit her with wei ying. there’s a scene where wwx is wearing novelty panties with a weed leaf on it? and wwx turns out to have nipple piercings which makes lwj go insane? eventually wwx is like “i may not be a woman but you’re a lesbian so you can’t love me.” and lwj is like. nah. i love you?

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11. Hi! This is for fic finder. I honestly dont remember if it was a fanfic from this fandom or a chinese bl novel i red years ago. It didnt help that i dont remember much of the story. I will call them mc and ml (if it was a fanfic, wwx is the mc). They are an actor. The mc got a big role and there are a sex scene in the film with the ml. And then the mc catch a feeling to the ml. The plot of the movie they shoot is where the mc always running away. The movie plot kinda resobate with the mc feeleng. And the writting style is tell a twi stoey. The movie plot and the fic. Long story short, the mc get kidnapped. I dont remember if its trully happen or the movies's plot but i think the mc was genuinely kidnapped. The kidnapping is meticulous that make people tell the ml to brace himself for the worst case scenario. The ml helped to find the mc. In the end, the mc is found but in the bad shape. Near the end of the story, they are in shooting where the plot is the ml found the mc. They hugged and the staff say that it feels genuine.

Im 80% sure its a wangxian fic. I read that around 3-4 years ago. Thanks! @idontknowwhattowriteforusername

Hi im #11 in recent fic finder. I dont know if it will help but it involves a cottage (where wwx is held when he is kidnapped), a river (i think their investigation lead to the river and found a red scraf), a red scraf (i think wwx knit it? I dont remember but it his). Its not outsider pov and not a twitter fic (i dont know what is called). I think the film they play is a porn one? (Not sure about this part). Thanks!

NOT FOUND! call me, beep me by myung (T, 39k, wangxian, modern, social media, actors au, celebrities, chatting & texting)

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12. fic finder: does anyone remember this one fic where lan qiren was looking for a way to get wwx a new core and he calls for people to make spiritual donations or something? wwx didnt think anyone would volunteer but when he looked there had been a huge crowd gathered to help him

FOUND! I'm Sorry & Thank You by Iamnotawriter (T, 12k, LQR & WWX, WangXian, Canon Compliant, Post-Canon, Golden Core, Canon-Typical Violence, lqr's epipheny, Angst with a Happy Ending)

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13. Hi, can you help me find a fanfic that I missed? It was about WWX who died (supposedly in his world, devoured by corpses) but he travels to another dimension, he thinks it was because of the Stygian Tiger seal, and finds another version of himself that was from that dimension. There is a specific scene where WWX (modern) teaches WWX (cultivator) how to use the shower and WWX (modern) talks about Su She who was his boyfriend and such. In the end, Huaisang reveals that the two WWX have the same DNA and that he has never seen an identity of him. / oi, podem me ajudar a achar uma fic, (hi, can you help me find a fic,) It's from wwx that he dies and travels to another dimension, where he meets another older wei wuxian, this wwx (modern) is investigating a case of dead people, there's a scene where they take baths together (Wwx (modern) teaches wwx (cultivator) how to use showers) and wwx talks about his jerk ex-boyfriend who was su she, there's a specific scene where wwx (modern) confronts su she (ex-boyfriend) he (modern wwx) meets lwj who was a teacher of something and they end up getting close.

(this part moved to Itmf)

both requests by @quwieiidkd

FOUND? so when you go wherever it is you will go, take the moon with you by comforting_monachopsis (T, 138k, WWX & WWX, WWX & WQ, WWX & WN, wangxian, JC & WWX & JYL, past WWX/SS, past WWX/XY, canon divergence, time travel, dimension travel, modern, private investigator WWX, professor LWJ, trauma, serial killers, strangers to lovers, BAMF WWX, hurt WWX)

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14. I'm looking for a fanfic, but I can't find it. Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji share an unsatisfying night, but fate keeps bringing them together. thanks! ❤️

FOUND? 🔒 Bad Sex, Good Loving by Nyatci (E, 18k, WangXian, Explicit Sexual Content, Implied/referenced WWX/Others, Implied/referenced LWJ/Others, One night stand WangXian, PWP, but like, Bad Porn with Good Plot, The Plot is the Porn being Bad, Self-Esteem Issues, Communication Failure, Idiots in Love, Falling In Love, Practice makes perfect, They work on the communication thing eventually, Under-negotiated Kink, mild angst with a very happy ending, BDSM Undertones, Consensual Non-Consent)

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15. hi this is for ficfinder!

I think this was based in the 1900s? and lwj is an exorcist of sorts, and I think wen qings family calls him for help, because I kinda remember her opening the door for him and granny is also there. wwx is a Gardner in the wen house and he's also the necromancer. I think the phrase used was similar "there's a friendly gardner"

thank you sm!

FOUND? sweet beneath sharp edges by isabilightwood (E, WangXian, Historical, Jazz Age, Light Horror, Demonic Cultivation, Ghost Possession, Haunted House, Cultivator LWJ, Gardener WWX, disabled character (WN), WRH is not a good uncle (or father), Mystery, LWJ is sent to exorcise a house and flirts with the gardener instead, said gardener may or may not be the monster he was sent to kill, Madam Lan Lives, Monsterfucker LWJ, Bottom LWJ, Resentacles, flirting via fruit, Weirdo4weirdo wangxian, Oral Fixation, WWX eats the rich (literally), Power Bottom LWJ but wwx is still in control)

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16. Hi, I’m searching for a fic I read quite some time ago. Wwx actually remembers Lwj confessing to him after the Burial Mounds siege and then they’re kinda forced into a marriage? Lwj goes to live with wwx and the wens but wwx treats him horribly. Lwj by then had been whipped and so he’s terrible pain all the time.

Thank you so much 😊 @bcozwhythefuknot

FOUND? ❤️ A Myriad of Blossoms by Itszero (E, 56k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Arranged Marriage, Forced Marriage, YLLZ WWX, Hurt LWJ, Cruel wwx, he’s cruel until he’s not, Protective WWX, Caring WWX, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Eventual Smut, Bottom LWJ, Dark WWX)

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17. Hi!! I've been looking for this fic for a while, I hope yall can help me. So what I remember is that LWJ becomes the YLLZ's concubine, spouse, bed warmer? They spent years apart, and WWX held some resentment due to a misunderstanding (LWJ was punished with the whip and couldn't be besides him?) I remember this scene where LWJ is wearing a (silk?) robe. Then WWX funds out about the whip scars and It was a whole thing that solved the misunderstanding, I believe. It may be a AU since there was some kind of Magic besides canon stuff? Like, the Wei Sect? members were part something (demons, animals, idk) and It happened to LWJ too for being in the BM. Oh, and MXY and A-Yuan were there too! I hope someone can help me. Thank you!

FOUND? the necromancer's fairytale by iliacquer (E, 17k, WangXian, Top LWJ, Bottom WWX, but they have switch energy, safe sane consensual noncon kink, is the Yiling Patriarch a kink, incoherent worldbuilding is incoherent, Past Torture the lan family are terrible sorry, Rough Sex, Pain Kink)

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18. hello! i'd like to ask for a fic finder! it's at least two-three years old, and on the shorter side i believe??

the first one is CR study arc, where lwj believes wwx's prank was specifically because he found out lwj is a cutsleeve/has feelings for wwx. i think he gets silently angry like canon, and later he confronts wwx about it? (it's not works/32795896 though it's similar)

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19. Hi! I'm looking for a specific fic - I think I read it at least 2 years ago, maybe earlier. WWX is hidden by (I can't quite remember if it's after 13 years or before hand) JC and JYanli, and pretends to be a woman whilst figuring what to do now. Jin Guangshan hits on her, and as always, LWJ falls for WWX in a different form. Whilst at the Golden Carp Tower, WWX is also in a wheelchair - I can't quite remember why. Everything gets revealed eventually.

FOUND? My Leaves Reach Ever for the Sun by nonplussed (T, 26k, WangXian, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fix-It, Crossdressing, Idiots in Love, Sharing a Bed, Canon Divergence, Happy Ending, Mutual Pining, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies)

The Housewife's Guide to Causing Chaos by dvasva (M, 132k, WIP, WangXian, Canon-Typical Violence, Functionally Trans Character, Mild Sexual Content, Domestic Fluff, Love Confessions, Transphobia, Good Parents LWJ and WWX, Pining, WWX is a Tease, Grief/Mourning, Body Dysphoria, Fake Marriage, Canonical Character Death, Misunderstandings, Doting LWJ, Canon Divergence, Arranged Marriage, WWX is not in MXY's body, Misgendering, Mild Angst, Assumptions, Comedic Elements, non-sexual nudity, Blood, Discussion of Various Bodily Functions, Cloud Recesses Shenanigans, 4 years of mourning instead of 13, Méishān Yú Sect, POV Multiple, Corporal Punishment, Trans WWX, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, pregnancy mention, Timeline What Timeline, Sexual Harassment Threats) Both of these have jgs being a creep towards wei ying

FOUND? Wei Wuxian, Who's That? by bumbledees (T, 48k, wangxian, crossdressing, pining, sibling feels) Both of these have jgs being a creep towards wei ying

FOUND? By Any Other Name by ShanaStoryteller (Not Rated, 31k, Wangxian, Canon Divergence, Crossdressing, Misunderstandings, Identity Porn, Identity reveal) idr if theres a wheelchair involved for sure. i feel like there is but im gonna be honest i always forget abled ppl exist so in my mind when i read everyone is using mobility aids all the time until i get reminded otherwise lol but i do recall that he is weak and regaining energy so its possible he was using a wheelchair atp for that reason ? either way its a good fic

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20. Hello, i love what you're doings! A fic I'm looking for: JC and LWzj time travelled and decided to fix canon. As such, they spent a lot of time together. But that lead to everyone- especially wwx - to think they're a couple. Wwx is okay with it, but really bothered that he keels getting dragged into their dates @midnightlighthowlite

FOUND? ❤️ For Both Of Us (And Time Is But A Paper Moon) by sami (E, 65k, WangXian, Time Travel, Some People Live/Not Everyone Dies, Fix-It, Hurt/Comfort, Healing, Yunmeng Shuangjie, Canon Divergence, Asexual JC, First Time, Getting Together, BAMF JC, BAMF LWJ)

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[bougiebutchbinch]

Wade and Logan fuck in two modes, bone breaking, all night long could kill someone bloody mess, and Logan eating him out for hours until he's a whimpering mess. You understand this .....

oh, 1000%. Often both.

They start like they do most nights - that is to say, with Logan between Wade's thighs.

He nuzzles at his cunt, scraping those plump lips with his stubble, then pulls back to watch the slick drip, the rosy beard-burn fade. Wade whimpers and wriggles. Shoving his hips up, chasing Logan's touch - little brat.

But, fun as it is to torment him, Logan can't handle this for long. He needs to be buried in him; needs his spit-slick to gloss over Wade's ass, gluing the backs of his thighs to the kitchen floor, until his taste and Wolverine's are combined. So, he indulges himself. Licking and sucking. Working Wade over with the indomitable patience of an immortal - eyes ravenous, but mouth soft.

And Wade? Oh, he's loving it. Writhing like a worm on a hook, clenching greedy around Logan's tongue. Chattering all the while: fuck yeah, kitty got the cream... no, wait; this is better than cream. This is Creme De La Creme De La Edgar... Ha! Eat your heart out, Walt Disney! I can make Aristocats references now without getting sued! ....Or, well, eat your pussy out, I suppose? Ooh - Peanut, do you think you could get to my heart if you keep licking like that for the next thousand years - like that parable with the sparrow who wipes its beak on the mountain, and wears it down to dust? Or is this more of a Tootsie Pop situation? A-one, and a -two, and a -

However, as the minutes tick by... Logan's control slips. His grip on Wade's legs turns bruising. The bites deepen, going from playful nips to drawing blood.

The next time Wade squirms, Logan snarls.

His claws snikt out, gouging through the soft of Wade's abdomen. Pinning him in place as Logan chomps down on his femoral artery, spraying them both with a hot gush of blood (and, uh, other fluids, because if that ain't gonna make Wade squirt, I don't know what is...)

#

Then, during a different encounter, an argument turns into wrestling, turns into fighting, turns into all-out murder. Which, obviously, turns into sex.

Wade has Logan pinned, a cheeky corkscrewed judo hold. Somehow (he's not quite sure when) they started scissoring, slamming together so roughly that Wade popped out his hip - but like hell is he backing down. He grinds down as Logan grinds up, laughing as his dislocated hip twangs. Manic and free.

There's blood everywhere. Internal organs stink and steam, strewn across the kitchen laminate. They really should've put down a tarp; Al's gonna bitch if she finds another spleen that got kicked under the cabinets and left to rot...

Logan growls, shattering that thought. Claws punch through Wade's pelvis, giving Logan more leverage, letting him reclaim control of their grind.

"Cheater," Wade bitches, but he supposes he can let Wolvie have this match. Out of the kindness of his heart.

The pressure is fucking volcanic. It builds with each slide of their sweaty bodies, each scrape of their cocks between their puffy labia. Wade can't tell if the slick between them is slick or just blood from where Logan worked his fist inside him earlier, rough and mean and fucking perfect, then extended his claws; or when he bit off Logan's plump, twitching t-dick off in retaliation and spat it out in his grinning face. But either way, their sex is molten-hot and gross and perfect.

Then... then Wolvie grabs the back of his neck.

Wade tenses - is he going for his medulla? Kinky; he knows how much Wade loves it when he kills him, so he'll swim back to life while being worked open on the fattest of Logan's straps. But Logan just snarls. He looks fierce and furious and all kinds of feral - but strangely desperate too.

Wade can't quite work out what for. But when Logan yanks him down, he doesn't resist.

Their mouths collide.

Not in a bite. Wolvie doesn't even take the opportunity to snap Wade's neck. Just... kisses him. Right there, in the puddle of blood and viscera that fell out of Wade after Logan withdrew his fist. Their bodies gridlocked, their tongues entwined.

...Now this is a truly devious tactic.

It's also working.

Wade melts over Logan, the claws sunk knuckle-deep in his pelvis pulling him back and forwards, grinding in counterpoint to the body beneath him. Shuddering, at the drag of Logan's regrowing cock through his dripping folds.

"Cheater," he accuses again, pulling away to gasp - but Logan only grunts a laugh.

[madarasgirl]

A Night for Hunting Ch.11 -Interlude I

T/W: NSFW, 18+, Alucard (Ultimate) x F!Reader, slice of life, menstrual blood with related explicit sexual content, hungry vampire Words: 4124 On AO3

I actually do think Alucard would be interested in his Reader’s grooming routine. He’s lived a long time and modern cosmetics are very different from what he’s seen. Everything about her is interesting, even the mundane acts of daily living, because those are all things his corpse doesn’t need. Enjoy the light-hearted fluff for now…this is their bonding time. You aren’t imagining it. Her speech with him is sometimes more informal as she gets more comfortable around this harbinger of death.

I waited SO long to write some more funny business with Alucard. I hope you enjoy it. This chapter can be skipped if vampire-style period smut doesn’t interest you and I think you shouldn’t miss much plot-wise. 

Another flavour of body lotion was in the air. Or rather, “body butter,” as you called it, insisting a viscous moisturizer was more suitable for the dry spring air while the heat remained active. It smelled like lavender, unlike the last one which was definitively of cucumbers. Alucard decided this product was likewise agreeable with his senses. His only regret was that he arrived too late tonight to watch you apply it.

Alucard scented the air again. Ah, that was an even more enticing aroma. He inhaled deeply and rumbled softly in pleasure at your monthly, which hung heavily in the air, tantalizing and delicious.

It was fascinating how the human body required nourishment in every way, even the skin. He sat soundlessly in the loveseat and watched you go about your routine. You twisted a glossy bottle open. He smirked. The vampire remained invisible in the mirror, and you were all the more unaware and unsuspecting of his presence while you preened. He memorized the outline of your fingers and their circular motions as you smeared a creamy white gel across your face while carefully avoiding your eyes. 

He purred at your actions.

His human was startled. You whipped around with a short yelp and dropped the container, lurching backward in the process and banging into the nightstand. It never reached the floor. The vampire king scooped up the tiny jug midair and offered it back to you.

“I am equally pleased to see you, little one.” Alucard grinned.

You took in the imposing dark giant towering over you, his eyes vibrant and alive, and let out a laugh. 

“Alucard! You scared me! Don’t just show up behind me like that!” Your palm fell over your chest as you caught your breath. His gaze lingered on your hand and you plucked the ridiculous little bottle from his fingers. 

Even without your affirmation, the vampire felt your shock, the moment when fear of the unexpected intruder spiked and your hair stood on end, when adrenaline filled your veins and made your blood run cold. And when that pungent taste of fear was quickly replaced with excitement by his presence, which prompted a stirring in his loins.

“The candid can be riveting.” He tracked you as you turned your back to him and bustled around. How naively trusting, but it was part of your allure.

“Give me some time! You arrived so late, I thought you weren’t coming by tonight. Just started a face mask.”

Your guest stared at you with interest.

“This weather! It’s for hydration and to prevent fine lines.”

The vampire chuckled lightly, “Humans, your kind do everything to delay aging and to avoid your mortality.”

“I don’t want to hear that from a 500-year old immortal who gets to look the way you do.” You stuck your tongue out at him. “You know, one day I’ll be an old woman. Whatcha gonna do with me then?” You raised a brow.

"You meant to say you will grow even more beautiful day after day?" 

Your eyes bulged at his pretty words, but you didn't find insincerity. You flapped your lips to pull words from the ether. “Your silver-tongued flattery won’t get you anywhere,” you warned.

“I prefer there to be no silver in my tongue.”

You cackled, “No silver tongue piercings for you then, not even sterling?” You winked at him, a smile brightening your features more than any mask ever could.

The corner of the vampire’s lips lifted. “Absolutely not, unless you insist.” 

—--------------------

You came back to awareness with a jolt.

“I’m sorry, it’s hard to stay awake. I was going to go to bed soon when you arrived.” You yawned. Your face was radiant after rinsing off the mask and applying your moisturizer earlier. And then you fell asleep mid-conversation with your undead guest. Just slumped over in bed and lost consciousness. What a poor hostess you made.

Alucard lost the iconic hat, glasses, and coat while you were asleep. He gestured amiably with his palm up towards the bed you were sprawled across, as if to invite you to continue.

“…You’re just going to watch me?”

“This activity is rapidly becoming a favourite pastime.”

“That’s really creepy and you have shallow priorities.”

“A matter of perspective.” 

“Surely you must have better things to do?” It was difficult to see in the gloom, but you were reasonably sure he was smirking.

You sighed, “Suit yourself.” With your resignation, you crawled up your bed and tucked yourself into the sheets, shimmying out of your night clothes before shooting one last glance at the glowing crimson orbs and closing your eyes. “Goodnight Alucard,” you whispered.

Rest well, little one.

You smiled and turned around to face the other wall.

—--------------------

Falling asleep a second time proved impossible. Without the constant movement earlier in the night, the cramps finally caught up to you. A searing pain seized your lower abdomen and sent fire up your spine.

You screamed internally in agony and hunched over yourself. AHH, how you wanted to rip out your uterus yourself if it would spare you this suffering. You considered your options: you had no Tylenol. Ibuprofen? No, not on a now-empty stomach, as if the medication options ever provided lasting relief anyways. A heat pack?

It ripped through your core again and you tossed around to the other side of the bed, legs spasming out and toes curling. With a grimace, you took deep, ragged breaths and groaned.

The bed dipped and you jumped, which only worsened the pain. Your eyes watered. There must be a knife in your flesh. There could be no other explanation for the ache. 

A pleasant fog clouded your mind and the pressure suddenly alleviated. Opening bleary eyes, that massive shadow was still there, unmoving and deeper than black, staring at you with those red, red irises. You tried to focus on them.

All Alucard did was pluck at your consciousness to redirect your attention from your affliction to himself. With anyone else, he would certainly bask in their torment while laughing at their expense. With you though, he did not enjoy watching you writhe in anguish, especially from discomfort that was so easily banished.

“Would you like your suffering eased?”

You let out a feeble whine. “You can help me?” You didn’t even ask him how he would do so. “Please.”

The covers were thrown off and you welcomed the rush of cool air that washed over your clammy skin momentarily. You peeked. In the murky darkness, you recognized Alucard picking off his gloves by the fingers. He ripped off your panties. The menstrual product went flying somewhere too.

“ALUC–!” He was on top of you, hovering so close you could feel his breath. Did you accidentally agree to sleep with him? That wasn’t what you intended! “Oh, oh. It hurts!” You clenched your eyes again and shuddered, pushing the heel of your palm hard into your pelvis in a pitiful attempt to soothe your woes.

A cool hand slipped under yours. Not an ice pack, but any stimulation that distracted from the cramps was welcome relief. “This is all for you, Sweet.” He stroked your face. “Enjoy it.”

He was going to feed from you. Oh my God. He wanted to drink your–

Alucard smiled. “God is not here,” he muttered, crimson flashing dangerously as he approached.

Smooth lips replaced the hand as his nose flared. The No-Life King luxuriated in your scent and his triumph. He was in bed with you and iron filled his every sense. He saw you clear as day –so beautiful you were, naked with your raw and bloody pussy presented to him to feast on, the pinnacle of fine dining. He was almost reverent as he kissed his way lower and lower, inch by excruciating inch, until he was at eye level with his prize.

He was staring too intently. Sure, your pubic hair was beginning to grow out a bit, but you were never expecting intimate company! You were blind but all too aware of your nudity. Growing self-conscious when nothing happened, you lifted your arms to hide yourself, only to be instantly pinned to the mattress.

“Discard your notions of propriety, human. You are in bed with the devil tonight.”

The command shot to your loins, which coiled with heat. The toothy smirk gleamed and you held your breath in apprehension over what was to come, yet you were desperate for relief. Glancing down to try and see him, you were only met with blown pupils set in a dazzling scarlet. Your heart quivered at the devil between your legs, for you were at his mercy. 

Surrounded by your sweet fragrance, Alucard came alive with bloodlust. His senses prickled with awareness over everything that surrounded the two of you. He could hear your neighbours’ soft breathing as they slept and when they stirred; he tasted the bitterness of anger in the air from the quarrelling couple nearby. But none of them mattered. He scented your skin and fought the urge to sink fangs into your veins, at the junction where your thigh met your groin. He growled. Under your silly moisturizers was the refreshing smell of your natural scent. He leaned in for a taste. Then another pang of pain coursed through you and he felt you tensing from dread. 

Time to make good on his promise.

He licked your opening from perineum to vestibule, stopping to twirl around your clit with teasing feathery touches. 

“Ah!” You gasped, your head snapping downwards and thudding on the pillows.

Vision was fruitless, but the darkness stirred and heightened each sensation. A cool hand wrapped around your thigh and sank in for a massage to chase away your tension. The tongue flicked at your bud before soft lips nipped at your hood.

You whined from the prodding at everywhere that was private and sensitive on your body. Twin digits kneaded the two halves of your vulva. Over and over, the damn vampire pressed your meat in and stroked down, only to release at the bottom and tickle your hairs as he brought his fingers back to the top and continued the cycle as he blew frosty air on your nub.

You squirmed at the foreign sensations and tried to press your legs together. More hands arrived to pull you apart. Surrounded by red haze, it provided just enough light to illuminate Alucard’s pale face, half of which was hidden by your crotch. You think he pinched your clit between the sides of his fingers before peeling back your hood to suckle at your most intimate parts. A shaky exhale escaped you.

The room was dim. All you saw was the silhouette of his chalk-white face and the faint vermilion reflection in his hair. You could see his head dip and twist as he played you expertly like an instrument. And you sang for him. His caresses were sweet intoxication that left trails of electricity in their wake. Phantom limbs fondled your breasts and ran down your abdomen and sides, grasping at your buttocks like he was kneading dough. Gradually, he coaxed the tight coils in your womb to unravel.

A twinge of pain shot through as your uterus contracted again, but it was now bearable. Warm fluid flowed generously into the towel wedged under your bottom. “A-Alu, please don’t stop,” you gasped, yanking against your bonds, your fingers curling repeatedly around nothing. 

A cool fingertip pressed directly into your bud and traced lazy circles on the bundle of nerves so that your nails dug into the pad at the base of your palm. You keened to beg for more, for mercy, for what again? You weren’t entirely sure either, but you needed relief and you were certain the devil knew how to deliver.

You were too distracted to be privy to the copper mess between your legs. It caked your thighs and dripped from your kitten, mixing with the scrumptious juices of your arousal to trickle between the crevice of your rear. Alucard sucked the pooled blood soaked into the linens and mattress into himself. Nuzzling into your folds, he sighed and swallowed, savouring the honeyed delicacy on his tongue. He could get used to this. Perhaps he would be calmer if he was allowed to settle betwixt your legs nightly. Luminous feline eyes lifted to meet yours and he grinned, even if you couldn’t see it.

You lay limp and embarrassed, but needy, remaining splayed in a nervous, unspoken plea for more. He was watching you closely. Licking your lips, you wriggled in the hopes that the vampire may finally relent and let you go.

“I want to touch you too,” you murmured. 

Suddenly, you got your wish. Nothing held you down and you weakly propped yourself up, noticing Alucard had dismissed his thick clothing with a distinct fleshy slap and was kneeling close by, a hunter ready to spring. Again you tried to discern his features in the sombre lighting. 

The undulating crimson overcast was wrong. But what an experience it made for, like you were indulging in debauchery with a demon within the pits of the raging Inferno. He was corrupting your finer judgement and everything about what you were doing with this vampire was erroneous, but you and him were well past the point of right or wrong. 

Your eyes tentatively trailed down his lithe torso, making out the hint of shadows where the expanse of musculature waxed and waned, and you brushed your hands over his skin for exploration. You placed a kiss to where his unbeating heart was. As you squeezed and petted, you found his naked body lanky, but strong. You touched something steely that was covered in silk.

The vermilion smogging the air in your bedroom made your vision funny. At times, you saw his contrasting features with some clarity. At others, like now, visibility was almost nil. Perhaps the effect was from staring at Alucard’s smouldering shadow limbs for far too long. There was no oxygen in the room as you touched Alucard’s cock for the first time. It was his shaft that slapped his abdomen earlier. 

Alucard stood at attention –a lengthy and thick flagpole for your sole inspection. You traced down from the root to grasp him, both the pillar and the stones, but your fingers and thumb did not meet around his girth. You must have made a funny expression, because Alucard chuckled when you wrapped around him with the other hand and there was clearly still cock leftover. 

Curiously, you began to fondle his turgid member, feeling the way the skin slid with your hands. He was beyond stiff, but the skin was much softer than you ever expected. You rolled the velvet up and down, marvelling at the way it seemed to bunch at the tip in silken folds, wishing more than anything that you could see him properly right now. How majestic he must be.

The skin holding his jewels was loose too. You could jiggle those firm orbs in your fingers. This was fascinating. As you hefted his sack into your palm for closer study, Alucard exhaled, “Warm.”

A prompt reminder that he was dead… which didn’t stop you. Even the vampire’s genitals were cool to touch. “And you’re so cold,” you replied in a hushed tone with a shiver. Indeed, goosebumps covered your body from the prolonged contact and your nipples stayed in peaks. You briefly wondered whether his semen would be chilly as well…

The vampire was immaterial at once, shrouding the entire room in a miasma of darkness that rippled and seethed with a mind of its own. You were knocked onto your back again with your ankles draped over a vampire’s shoulders. Alucard growled, mania in his expression as he hovered over your face. Next to your skull, fabric was shredding under the force of his grip. Did he have claws?

You were prey to his kind. Never did you forget how dangerous your company was. The deep menacing rumble made your hair turn into fine quills, as did the frigid air puffing at your throat. You were supposed to be terrified, but when you made eye contact with the beast trapping you, something broke and your gaze gentled before your eyes fluttered closed. You breathed out, feeling more lucid than ever before. 

You hooked your arms around both knees to lift your legs towards the sky. “Please help me, Alucard.” You offered him your blood.

YOU PRESENT THIS OFFERING OF YOUR OWN FREE WILL, HUMAN? 

The voice in your mind was guttural, the words nearly indecipherable if it weren’t for the overbearing sense of their meaning that remained utterly succinct.

Yes. You observed him through slitted eyes with a peaceful bliss.

Alucard smirked, that lengthy tongue dangling at your crotch as crimson irises glittered with promise. Your breath caught. In a past life, you dreaded the feeling of that muscle on your skin…right now, your mind wandered to how long and agile it was. The places it could go. How would it fill you up? The heat sizzled off your skin as your heart galloped in anticipation.

The smug smile was in the vampire’s eyes as he wagged that appendage at you. He swooped low and kissed your opening as fingers skimmed over your pearl. Your breath hitched. The tongue was pushing into you.

“AHHHH!” Ouch! You squealed from the abrupt penetration and jerked. 

Alucard snarled at the perceived attempt to escape him, his control fraying at the seams. He growled, shaking to reign himself in and release the bruising grip on your hips. Talons sank instead into your pillows and shredded through the mattress as he hissed low into your ears, wondering distantly if he sounded more reassuring for you than his voice did to himself.

“Shh…” He soothed, “I will not allow you to feel more than a sweet ache.” The throaty rumbling continued, lustrous crimson flashing wildly as he scrutinized your parted lips and pulsing carotid. “You gave yourself to me. I will make it worthwhile.” Trust me. The vampire made his leisurely way back south.

But how could it be good when it hurts so badly? Your legs tightened around the shadowy head while tears flooded your vision. A light tapping at your nub, followed by thick laps to the entrance of your vagina. 

Alucard purred at the drizzle that flowed from you. “The finest taste to ever grace my lips.” He speared you with just the tip of his tongue and swirled into your opening to catch every drop while maintaining the pressure at your clit.

“Mm… feels weird,” you grunted.

The sinful lips found your femoral artery and nipped playfully, flicking back to your vulva to lave your inner and outer folds with worshipful licks before pressing kisses into your button again. Wet lips and mucous membranes melded in a series of slurps and smacks as he soon had you cooing helplessly once more.

A finger slipped its way into your depths without your notice. You moaned breathlessly and pitched your hips up at him. His lips got greedy and he let you squirm while you ran your fingers through his glossy hair and tugged. He let you pull his face onto your crotch, your feet kicking in the air before they came to a rest on his back. 

The digit was vibrating from side to side. It twisted and curled up into an unknown spot within that made you see stars. Your eyes slammed open in shock and you keened from the pleasure. Your feet flailed as you realized Alucard was proceeding as originally planned. The tongue replaced the finger and wound into your softened opening by massaging your sweet spot.

Unable to formulate a verbal defence, your jaws dropped and you shrieked from the intrusion, where he had deftly brought you to the point when words ran dry. You stared at him hoping for some semblance of benevolence, only to scream when his animal sounds sent vibrations into your pouch. 

Thick. Alucard’s tongue was girthy and did not fit into your unplundered hole. His entry, however, was steady and unrushed. Finally, he was fully inside you and the pitch of the purring dropped until it had warped back into a low growl. Feeling profoundly overwhelmed, you groaned from the stretch. Goodness, if he moved now, you would probably die.

Your face scrunched with discomfort. You were dripping wet from Alucard’s earlier care, but as he began to pull out, it felt like your innards were leaving with him. “!!” You begged him, the sides of your thighs clutched his head in the vanishing hopes that he’d ease up. The devil was smiling! You just knew it!

“Ahhh…” You cried out with a breathy moan as he pushed slowly back inside after an exaggerated swallow. He did it again, in and out, in and out, and you stared at him with eyes like saucers as he fucked you. 

You opened up for him eventually.

Holy shit. You took back any disparaging thoughts you previously expressed about his sexual prowess. He was amazing at this. Maybe a God was present here.

As you clung to his head desperately and gyrated into him with rabid enthusiasm, your eyes screwed shut, unable to bear staring into those twin rubies that always saw too clearly anymore, eager to simply enjoy the ride.

The sensation of fullness disappeared and your eyes snapped open and shot around in confusion for an explanation, finding Alucard's shining gaze immediately.

Wha- how? When you were so close, how could anyone just stop like he just did? 

Look at me while I drink you.

…

It was too cruel. He really must be an evil monster spawned from the bowels of hell after all, to demand that while he was doing something like this to you.

Cackling laughter boomed in mind and you got the feeling he was waiting, daring you to look away again. With a pitiful whimper, you kept a weary gaze on the devil as you spread your legs to grant him greater access to your core in surrender.

"An excellent decision. I always knew you were reasonable," Alucard purred. He pushed between your folds gently to finish making a meal of you.

Heat blossomed in your loins as he built you up yet again. It wound higher and tighter as your caretaker stayed prodding and lapping at your tortured meat. It would be so easy to let go and lose yourself in his hedonism. You pet his busy face, paying particular attention to tracing the muscles of his jaw with wonder while he showed you the carnal ways of the flesh. 

This creature of damnation was from hell, but he took you to heaven and led you to its doors. His desire was reflected by yours when you finally convulsed, exploding on his face while he took all you offered with noisy, obscene swallows as he mashed into you.

"Better?" He asked.

"Wow," you said dumbly, wishing you were able to tell him something more articulate after the treat you were given. Instead, you stared at him in confused awe. It was truly the highest compliment you could pay to the vampire. Alucard could not be more pleased with himself as he admired the results of his handiwork and licked his face clean of your fluids like a cat with cream.

"Uh…I think I'm okay now," you told him, safe at last to meekly avert your gaze as your knees unlocked. It was true. The crushing cramps had all but disappeared, taken away by Alucard’s ministrations as he’d promised.

What now? 

It was too soon to relax. Anxiety started to ramp as you saw his head lowering and you rushed to hide your leaky hole. Were you now supposed to consummate this, whatever this was between you?

Blood-red irises scintillated with flecks of orange and yellow, as always shimmering with amusement at your predicament.

"Aye, but I have not yet had my fill of you.” His gaze dropped closer, dilated pupils fixating upon your spent nether parts. “I have been famished lately. I could drink you alive."

Dawn was beginning to break and the darkness was no longer as deep. You saw Alucard grinning. It was an unholy, devious smirk. He dove back into your legs with the polite request for you to provide more sustenance, lest he have to remain for the day to sate himself fully. 

"You may have opened Pandora's box. I will never be denied this exquisiteness again."

It turned out that Alucard did not need trinkets such as silver piercings. His tongue alone got him many places with you.

~To Be Continued~

Chapter 12: The Feeling of Safety

-------------------- Notes: Teehee. The Reader doesn’t know it, but what she sees as Alucard being creepy and watching her, from Alucard’s perspective is him watching over her while she sleeps. She is one of his priorities. The idea for this Interlude was at the back of my mind for awhile. As someone who has periods, I felt like this biological function is something that should be addressed since our beau is a vampire. I found this chapter pretty difficult to write. Some parts of the smut came easily enough, but everything else…I was just stuck. I hope you enjoy the results though. RIP bed. I am super excited for the next chapter!

[cenorii]

Another little story again! I really love Alex Wesker and Natalia Korda, so I want to know the continuation of their common history. This is my version of their future, in which Wesker also survived, because I want to arrange some kind of brotp. An older brother and a little sister who commands him, what could be better?

AU - Immortal Connection

2013. AU in which Natalia Korda, after a good ending, began to gradually acquire personality traits of an adult Alex Wesker, but not her memory. She's still the same innocent child, just incredibly smart. The powers that Alex showed in her body during the bad ending also began to appear. And her half-brother Albert survived the battle in the volcano, but with great difficulty. It took him some years to recover, so he did not have time to arrive on the Sejm Island to obtain samples of T-Phobos, rumors of which reached him. By this point, BSAA and TerraSave had cleaned up everything there. Therefore, the only option was to find those who survived directly with the virus inside. But no sooner had Wesker realized that he needed Natalia, than he suddenly meet her in one of the TerraSave institutions.

He was supposed to sneak in there under the cover of night and steal the necessary data, but he absolutely did not expect to find a little girl doing the same there. This meeting made him stand in a stupor for a while.

Alex, having an impressive adult consciousness locked in a child's body, could not stay in Barry's family for long. Noticing her intelligence, Barry sent her to study with the idea that in their fragile world, good scientists are needed, which are so lacking in TerraSave.

That night Natalia, or Alex, was looking for information about herself. She understood that she was no longer the same person, no longer the Natalia she was. Her knowledge, intelligence, powers ... she wanted to find an explanation for all this, because she didn’t remember anything at all about Alex's experiment on the transfer of consciousness. And she didn't succeed, did she? Right?

Partially.

Alex didn't recognize her brother in Natalia's body, just like he didn't recognize her. Noticing something strange in the girl's behavior, Wesker would not attack her. And it wouldn't have worked. With the powers that received from T-Phobos, Alex would be able to protect herself, besides, she sees infected people through walls, so she knew that he was nearby.

«He's not a human... interesting» she thought.

Wesker, looking into her eyes, should have immediately understood that in front of him was a child under the influence of one of the strains of the progenitor virus, just like himself. The one he was looking for. Trying to play along with her in order to use her for his own purposes, he will face the fact that he will be reprimanded on the spot.

«I'm not a stupid child»

Well, he's in a stupor again. Now what to do? It won't be possible to take her blood even by force... because he is not in a condition to fight with someone. Even the few years it took to restore his body wasn't enough. Competing with someone who most likely surpasses him in strength is pointless. But their confrontation did not last longer than a couple of moments, because two people with high intelligence quickly understood that they needed to cooperate. They could benefit from each other.

«Probably you are here for information, I will give it to you. But in return, I’ll get it too, okay? »

He was completely lost. Team up with a child? Definitely the strangest collaboration, but if he can benefit from it, then…

«I agree»

Not a situation in which Wesker can afford to showing off.

[dalekofchaos]

Vampyr sequel idea

I thought of going the LIS route of having different stories for each story of the franchise. But after carefully analyzing the game, doing my Embrace everyone playthrough and noticing a certain portrait in the Ashbury Castle. I figured out the perfect story and perfect antagonist for Vampyr 2.

Jacob Blackwood.

For those who don't know, let me explain.

In The West End, you meet Carina Billow, a woman who's mind has been destroyed by a powerful Vampire. Manipulated into eating rats to gain immortality. At first I thought it was just the Ascalon Club fucking with a mentally ill woman. But it's worse.

Carina is being mentally manipulated by a powerful vampire, forcing her to do awful things. She will actually beg you to kill her to put her out of her misery, and will thank you for your kindness if you kill her.

Earlier in the game when Jonathan asks Lady Ashbury about the bodies that have been found in the streets and about how someone seems to be following him (before we know its Mary), she seems anxious and has someone in mind. Most likely she fears Jacob Blackwood has been watching Jonathan, taking an interest.

Blackwood only speaks through Carina Billow once, mildy warning Jonathan off his "toy" but he does not seem to care enough about his little game to actually stop her being embraced. Evidence of his presence occurs when you visit the grave of Carina and find he has piled dead rats all over the poor woman's resting place - one last act of disrespect. I tend to think that doing this is both for his own amusement and a message to Jonathan that he has taken notice. Carina Billow's information when she is embraced suggests Blackwood maybe a member of Ascalon, it might have been interesting to meet him there.

And when you get to the very end of the game inside the Ashbury castle, one of the paintings on the wall was of Elisabeth Blackwood (Lady Ashbury) and Jacob Blackwood.

And when you read William Marshall's old tome before you reach the end of the game, you can see that Marshall holds Blackwood in contempt.

Jacob Blackwood is an interesting character and I wish they had given him more space in the story because it fleshes Elisabeth out a bit, gives her a backstory you can learn about as you get to know her and makes her a more rounded person with her own motivations. So when you get the first of the bad endings and she says "you have betrayed me", you get an idea of why she might react that way - rather than a lot of players being confused.

He definitely has the blood of hate. Blackwood was created after Elizabeth was bitten by Marshal and the two ranged across Europe killing for their own amusement. Even if he was created before Elizabeth has the blood of hate, it is highly likely he would have contracted it anyway. There is the possibly that he was always a bastard though. Perhaps not all the frenzied skals in the city came from Harriet Jones, maybe a few came from him returning to London.

There is so much potential in Jacob Blackwood in a hypothetical sequel. Jacob has the blood of hate, while Jonathan and Elisabeth are working for a cure. So much potential.

So a way to go about it is this.

If you chose the Embrace no one path, embrace some or embrace everyone.

If Jonathan and Elisabeth travel the world. They hear horror stories throughout Europe. Jonathan thinks it's some Ekon gone mad, but Elisabeth knows the truth. Jacob is back and the potential for another Disaster is strong. Their mission is to kill Jacob and find a cure for the blood of hate

If Jonathan and Elisabeth lock themselves in the castle. They spend years working on a cure and that's when Myrddin appears. He tells Jonathan about Jacob and Elisabeth is horrified. They know what they have to do. End the blood of hate

Jonathan embraces one too many people and Elisabeth dies in the "betrayal" ending. Jonathan locks himself away, that's when Myrddin appears. He warns Jonathan of Elisabeth's loose thread. He is causing atrocities across the land and is on the verge of creating a new Disaster. Jonathan will end the blood of hate once and for all for Elisabeth

Jonathan embraces everyone. Jonathan's bloodlust knows no bounds. Jonathan intends to build an empire on blood and there is one person standing in his way, Jacob Blackwood. It's an all out war between Reid and Blackwood and World War II is their battleground. Reid uses the Allies, while Blackwood uses the Nazis.

Ideally I would set the game during WWII with Jacob taking a position with the Nazis or Vichy France, and he uses the war to commit atrocities and spread the blood of hate like a plague.

I'd also have McCullum return. The Guard is reestablished, but it's clear that Reid and McCullum have to put aside their differences to stop Blackwood. Plus I'd just love the idea of Jonathan and McCullum basically saying "Look we have our differences as a Vampire and Hunter, but we draw the line at fucking Nazis"

As for how the Brotherhood of St Paul would return. If you let Swansea bled out/embraced him, then Usher Talltree would be your main ally from the brotherhood. But if you turned Swansea, Swansea would return and would be a very questionable ally.

aka I just want a game of Jonathan killing Nazis and Jacob Blackwood using Nazis to fulfill his goals but also embracing their ideals.

Bonus points. Jacob wears a Vichy France uniform or SS uniform just to drive home the fact that he's a fucking monster.

[dkniade]

Some misc fic recommendations!

-

Teyvat scholar, Venti (ft. Traveler)

“Excerpt from the book ‘Brand New Verses From The Bard of Bards’” by threading_in_dreams (@/a-yarn-of-purple-prose)

G, 838 words.

canon-typical fragmented publication, Teyvat scholars have fun but also suffer, Poetry, pretend this is a book you picked up in-game, Traveler/Venti if you squint

Pages from a book in which a historian ponders about scraps of poetry found buried under Windrise, and argues they're part of Barbatos canon.

Very fun if you like Venti’s Archon/human personas, poetry, and piecing together information from in-game books!

-

Aether & Paimon (ft. Zhongli)

“Those who share the memories” by liminalpsych (@/liminalpsych-in-teyvat)

G, 3225 words. Fluff and light angst.

Aether POV, scrapbooks, memories, canon complimant, Pre-4.0 update, Liyue Harbor

Stone erodes beneath the fickle breeze and relentless river. Plants wither to be born anew. A flame burns to smoke and ash, and water changes form so often that it forgets even itself. The wind tries hardest of all to forget, fleeing into the far corners of the world to outrun the sands of time.

In the void above, the stars bear lonely witness to mortal memory.

Or: Paimon gets Aether to help her make a scrapbook of their travels. Aether reflects on the weight of witnessing.

Scrapbooking summarizes experiences with many NPCs from World Quests and Archon Quests. This one is kind of structured like an in-game world quest!

-

Cyno, Diluc, Rosaria, Kaeya

“It’s Time To Duel!” by StrangeDiamond

G, 6,688 words, humour.

Genius Invokation TCG, misunderstandings

When Sumeru’s General Mahamatra shows up in Mondstadt, announcing his intention to duel the Cavalry Captain, misunderstandings ensue.

Humour from knights and vigilantes taking things too seriously

-

Childe/Lumine

“A meteor” by blood_orange_juice (@/blood-orange-juice)

G, 350 words, fluff, character study/analysis.

Childe POV, First Meetings, morbid fluff, morbid fluff should be a genre with these two

A white-clad figure carefully threads her way through the crowd below. She moves like flecks of sunlight on water, without bothering anyone. A sign of someone who is fun to fight and it draws his attention for a while.

Childe and Lumine's first meeting from Childe's POV. No plot, only vibes.

-

Shenhe & Xiao, Cloud Retainer & Shenhe

“Like a Pair of Hunting Birds” by yelp

T, 5881 words, hurt/comfort, character study.

found family, trauma, feral child Shenhe, feral ancient Xiao, good and bad ways to manage emotions

"These were granted to me by Cloud Retainer," Shenhe explains, touching the ropes that he appears to be studying. "They bind away my murderous tendencies, as well as human emotion. Two dangerous traits for an adeptus, or for one who walks among them."

Xiao comes a little closer, and circles her. Obligingly, she lifts her hair aside, so he can see the intricate knotwork on her back, and he exhales a sigh or a scoff.

"Shall I unbind you?"

-

Xiao/Lumine

“Skin Hunger” by Mythicamagic

T, 2635 words, hurt/comfort, romance.

insecurity, intrusive and self-deprecating thoughts, some descriptions of violence and gore, body worship, established relationship, non-sexual nudity

When immortals fall in love with each other, they have all the time in the world to explore their relationship; but first comes the insecurities. Xiaolumi oneshot.

Has fun parallels with their wings

-

familial Diluc & Kaeya, Adelinde, Klee, Lisa, Jean

“blinded by love” by li2

G, 6481 words, hurt/comfort, angst with happy ending.

Kaeya POV, unreliable narrator, misunderstandings, temporary invisibility, familial kiss, fluff, skinship & physical touch, sharing a bed

Diluc suddenly becomes unable to see Kaeya. Thinking it’s just Diluc’s usual hatred for him, Kaeya doesn't suspect anything wrong.

Kaeya’s POV for the first half hurts so much but the second half is sweet😭

-

Lumine, Paimon, familial Diluc & Kaeya

“Lamp Grass Guides You Home” by StrangeDiamond

Gen, 6387 words, fluff, light angst.

souvenirs. Chapter 2 has brief mentions of pain, starvation, and violence

After scrambling to cobble together a gift before their Jade Chamber visit, Lumine gets the idea to start collecting small gifts and souvenirs, so she'll always have something to give if she needs to.

Kaeya is the first one she goes to for advice, and he has a lot of good ideas for things she can collect and make, using Mondstadt's regional specialties. He even tells her about a certain souvenir he was once gifted - a charm made of Small Lamp Grass, encased in resin, that he unfortunately lost when he moved. There's a bit more to the story, Lumine learns, when she sets out to make one for him to replace it. There's history linked to the charm Kaeya lost . . . but there are also new memories to be made going forward.

A sweet one about making and receiving gifts

-

Zhongli/Venti, Venti & Diluc (ft. misc adventurers)

“I need to tell him (I can’t tell him)” by asingleqingxin

T, 1949 words, angst, major character death.

Venti POV, mentions Istaroth, set during Chapter 1 Act I’s Rite of Descension, Venti doesn’t know Zhongli faked his death, misunderstanding played for drama, grief, dissociation, Venti loses grip on time period briefly

Oh, that's not good news.

He needs to tell Morax.

...he can't tell Morax.

OR

When the rumors about the Rite of Descension hit Mondstadt.

Angst and misunderstanding from the canon event written from Venti’s POV in Mondstadt

[danmeiconfession]

My thoughts/rants aren't very coherent so just take it as me rambling instead lol .

 Although sj's treatment of lbh was awful, lbh is still sj's direct disciple and the matter of his discipline rests on sj, so it's awkward for outsiders to interfere. it's not right but hey neither is slavery or child marriage so them's the works.

LBH was free to leave Qing Jing Peak at any time - but perhaps not in his own mind. This is interesting bc imo him and sj never had a relationship where sj was gaslighting lbh into staying. in fact i'd say sj made it plenty clear he found lbh to be an eyesore but maybe in those years sj had some intermittent spots of mercy lbh latched onto and then just never gave up hope.

Unless, Well looking at SV canon and how the system didn't penalize sy for the medicine + carriage ride after sy explained his thought process, it wouldn't surprise me if those types of events happened with sj and lbg. if sj had to bring lbh out on a night hunt he prolly made sure lbh was patched up + looked presentable so he didn't ruin the cohesive aesthetic of his peak haha and well NYY is always a weak point. these things definitely wasn't usual but likely happened often -enough- for lbh to get his hopes up over and over .

As modern people, we of course abhor the way that LBH was treated and SQQ comes off as abusive and a slimy lecher. But by the standards of his own age, everything he's done is perfectly acceptable. In traditional Chinese philosophy, the teacher is like a father, and a father and a teacher can do whatever they want to their child / pupil. Even in modern China, teachers have been known to get away with beating their pupils. In the UK (where I'm from), it wasn't so long ago that teachers could cane their students and no one blinked an eye about parents beating their kids. Slavery, child marriage, selling your wife or daughter into prostitution, all of that was totally legal in ancient China.

I always thought it was strange that OG LBH fixated so much on SQQ that he tortured him so horribly, but there's no mention of him doing the same to everyone else who ever wronged him, no matter how small. I think being pushed into the Abyss the last straw but I also think the reason he so hard-wired to think of his Shizun as this unfeeling man and tortured him limbless is because He got rejected so many women like him but the one man he chased relentlessly for years for his eyes to even graze him he look the other way which is why I think his eye got taken out ?

After the loss of his mother, lbh expected to find a new family in qjp and a new parental figure in sj. The greater the expectation the greater the disappointment. obv jiumei is not in the right condition to play mother hen to anybody. | ಠ ∧ ಠ | but lil bingbing didn't know that and arguably maybe he understood his foster mother was treated bad bc she was a servant but he couldn't understand why sqq, an immortal cultivator, is so hellbent on bullying some unknown kid.

Also, why does it bug Binghe that much? Why was it brought up against SJ during his trial in Proud Immortal Demon Way? Maybe it's just critical research failure on Airplane's part, but in ancient China, visiting prostitutes was completely normal. Men could have multiples wives and concubines and sleep with their servants and go around to the local brothel. Visiting a prostitute was just a leisure activity.Like, t says something about Binghe's obsession with SQQ in PIDW that he's fixated on SQQ's alleged bedroom habits?

Of course we modern people and Luo Binghe have a right to be mad, but justice in ancient xianxia China is... putting it lightly, biased... This is a world that shrugs off almost any crime if your position is high enough.

100% LBH is right to be upset, but the problems run much deeper than SQQ, their whole world is rotten. Him being mad about SQQ yeeting him is kind of confusing, he's legit to be hurt about it but any Cultivator would have killed LBH on sight when he was revealed to be a demon, and a heavenly one at that.

Which is why i'm forgiving with Shen Jiu because why judge him from a lens from the modern viewpoint because on top of the shitty things that happened to his life him being an abusive teacher isn't really so damning when the entire Cultivation worls is corrupt??? In a way the original PIDW was a hypocritical abuse apologism story with the mentality that any abuse against the protag was unjust and wrong and any abuse he committed whether disproportionate or targeted at people who never did anything to him was righteous or deserved was a criticism of the stallion protags and that it was never equal to begin with Shen jiu never deserved such torture they were never on equal footings to begin with. Yeah, he was vicious but it hypocritical. I never took Shen Yuan being with Binghe as a reward but a punishment for being such a troll and idol-obsessed that he ended up with Bingmei dude. Sorry if ending up with a mentally ill man and one who sa him and only cared for his own needs during the act with no regard for their partner and i'm breaking yall illusion with this toxic ship.

Considering what went down with LQG and SJ when they where disciples it does seem like there is a lot of bullying. If PIDW is like other Xianxia novels, or even historical dramas then there is probably a lot of underhanded sabotage by students against one another. Many cultivation novels with sects have kids fight over food and resources and if you can't cut it then you leave or you languish. A peak like SQQs may well have such things as part of their education because it's a strategist and scholarly peak, any student who couldn't figure out how to sabotage rivals, curry favor with the right people, manipulate, info gather, and navigate dangerous political situations on top of doing well in normal studies wouldn't fair well in such a place. - I doubt this to be the case in canon as SQQ is supposed to be a scum villain but its fascinating to speculate.

In a way Binghe is weird he thinks more in terms of a modern person I guess in a meta way? Because... He isn't special .It always strikes me as funny that LBH apparently like, idk, despite also being native to the culture is upset by it? as if he wanted more from specifically from SQQ? bc he wanted SQQ to find him special? meta hand-of-god type stuff where LBH accidentally has a more modern attitude bc of the way he was written?

Hell, his 300 wives scream self-enforced heterosexuality. like some DEEP repression and distraction.Ur telling me this guy fought more powerful sect masters, demon lords, survived assassinations but the mean teacher deserved prolonged torment.

If only Shen jiu played up the role as a mother things wouldn't have escalated lol. Freud should study Binghe though cause damn his mother issues run deep. His father though he doesnt give a damn and is detached from him but when it comes about the jade pendant youre basically finished. feeling the hots for ssq was part of the mommy issues lbh had lmao

.

[grailfinders]

Grailfinders Viewers' Choice #29: Alice Kuonji

today on grailfinders I desperately see how broken a character who does nothing themselves can be, because we’re making Alice Kuonji from Tsukihime, but she’s also in FGO now, so at least I’m saving myself a future headache. Alice is a Necromancer Wizard because we need an ungodly amount of magic, and also necromancers are just better summoners if all you want to do is summon. ᵃⁿᵈ ʸᵉˢ, ᴵ ᵏⁿᵒʷ ᵗʰᵉ ᵖˡᵒʸˢ ⁽ᵖʳᵒᵇᵃᵇˡʸ⁾ ᵃʳᵉⁿ’ᵗ ᶻᵒᵐᵇᶦᵉˢ, ᵇᵘᵗ ᵗʰᵉʸ ᵈᵒ ʳᵉᵖʳᵉˢᵉⁿᵗ ᵃ “ˡᵒⁿᵍ ᵈᵉᵃᵈ” ᵃᵍᵉ

well I thought I was being clever.

anyways, check out her build breakdown below the cut, or her character sheet over here! I’m taking the next month off as far as vc builds go since I already have a sizeable backlog I need to catch up on and summer isn’t doing me any favors, so the next poll will hopefully be in August!

Ancestry & Background

starting things off nice and normal, Alice is a Satyr.

okay hear me out.

in the nasuverse, Alice Kuonji is a Witch, which is actually a type of fey, and thus not a human. while there are several races of fey that can be played in D&D, a lot of them can be ruled out quickly. Centaurs have the wrong number of limbs and focus on physical attacks, Faeries are just too small to work, and Changelings have a central conceit that we wouldn’t use in any capacity.

that leaves us with Hexblood, which is… fine, I guess, I guess you can use the eerie tokens as more familiars, but Satyrs are one of the most powerful races you can pick in D&D, and Alice is kind of busted, so it fits a bit better. besides, we’ll have plenty of familiars from magic alone, don’t worry.

as a Satyr you are, of course, a Fey, so spells like Hold Person straight up don’t work on you- already off to a great start for your immortality. you can Ram people which is not something we’re using, but your Magical Resistance more than makes up for it by giving you advantage on all saves against all magic. your Mirthful Leaps let you add extra distance to your long and high jumps, which actually fits rather well with your ability to levitate, and as a Reveler you get extra proficiencies. I’m actually going to keep Performance for a lil somethin’-somethin’ later, but you get Deception too, to hide your true nature from humans.

most of your ploys come from your ancestors, making you an Inheritor of their power. that gives you proficiency with Survival and Arcana.

Ability Scores

first is Intelligence- a lot of your ploys have weird conditions and drawbacks you have to keep in mind when you fight, so you have to fight smart. second is Wisdom- you’re actually not that great with the modern world, so most of your actual knowledge isn’t book smarts. of course, wisdom doesn’t have a mechanical benefit here, so it’s lower. third is Constitution. it’s not how much you can bleed, but how hard you can get hit and keep getting up. you have like 18 guts stacked on you by default, so… that’s a lot. your Dexterity is just above average to hopefully keep you alive until level 20. that means your Charisma isn’t great- you’re a shut-in among mages, which is really saying something. of course, we’re dumping Strength. you have other people to do that stuff for you. well, not people, but still.

Class Levels

1. at level one, all wizards get an Arcane Recovery, so once per day you can regain a few spell slots on your short rest, with the total level of all the slots equaling half your level, rounded up. speaking of, you also learn Spells, which you cast and prepare using your Intelligence. since you use a spellbook for these, you can also learn spells by copying them down from other wizards, and with six spells now and two more every level, you won’t be left wanting.

that being said I don’t have all day to exhaustively talk about every spell you’ll learn as you level up, so I’ll break them down into two categories: Familiars and Spells that Make You Die Less. if a spell doesn’t fit into either of these categories, or there’s something specific I want to point out, I’ll do it here, otherwise check the character sheet for the full spell list.

that being said, there’s two spells at level 1 I need to touch on- Detect Magic, because everyone needs an information dump at some point so they can follow along, and Fog Cloud. it’s not exactly Flat Snark just yet, but it’s a start.

2. second level necromancers become Necromancers, so you’re a necromancy savant, so copying necromancy spells is faster and cheaper. you also can reap a Grim Harvest, so whenever you kill a living creature with a spell you get double the spell’s level back in HP (or three times if it’s a necromancy spell). I don’t think this really works for Alice, but we don’t really use it in this build anyway, since you tend to use summons, so it’s never really “you” killing anything. the first couple levels are a bit slow, but things pick up when we can actually summon stuff, don’t worry.

you also learn Sleep this level though. No real reason for it tbh, but it felt like a faerie tale thing a witch would do, which is kind of your MO.

3. at third level you learn second level spells, so now you can make Darkness happen whenever you want. this doesn’t actually make it nighttime, so it doesn’t really affect your spells, but I figured I’d get it anyway as an homage.

4. use your first Ability Score Improvement to round up your Constitution and Intelligence to cast better and live long enough to cast even better later. remember, bonuses to your constitution affect your health retroactively, so you get 4 extra HP this level!

Prestidigitation is the cantrip you give someone when they’re just good at everything, and Alice can levitate, so… Levitate.

5. fifth level wizards get third level spells, and while I won’t go into much detail, you can celebrate gaining your first summoning spell, Summon Fey. you’ve had a couple ploys by now, but this is the first time one’s been really able to help you in battle.

6. at level six you can command Undead Thralls, giving you the Animate Dead spell for free, and whenever you summon undead, they come out with extra HP and damage. while this encourages us to stick only to undead, ploys are whatever the hell you want them to be, so feel free to experiment with the other summoning spells. like Tiny Servant! now you can make an adorable teapot minion to carry out your will. if you overcharge the spell, you can make a whole cutlery drawer do your bidding!

7. seventh level wizards get fourth level spells, and surprise surprise it’s more summoning!

8. at eighth level you gain the Gift of the Metallic Dragon instead of an Ability Score Improvement, so you learn Cure Wounds for a solid healing factor, and Protective Wings, giving you an even better shield. well, it’s not better yet, but shield is +5 AC and this right now is +3, but without using spell slots.

9. ninth level wizards get fifth level spells- Bigby’s Hand is our best simulacrum of a giant murderous you… for now, so I guess this is Flat Snarp’s final form… or is it?

10. tenth level necromancers are Inured to Undeath, so you resist necrotic damage and your HP total can’t be reduced. period. this is a secret tool that will help us later.

also, if you really want a great shield you can use Otiluke’s Resilient Sphere to lock yourself in a resilient sphere. nothing can pass into or out of the sphere, so make sure you summon your lackeys before hiding away in it.

actually don’t do that, most summons require concentration, as does this spell. once again, the rules of dnd prevent us from having a good time in dnd, shame.

11. eleventh level wizards get sixth level spells, and now you can create a Wall of Ice. the moon throws icebergs at people sometimes, don’t ask me for context. also you can Create Undead this level, but only at night! just like your ploys, eh? that’s what we call “flavor”. just. don’t actually lick the zombies.

12. in your final NP you kind of… become the snarp? I guess? so that’s why Tasha’s Otherworldly Guise is here.

13. thirteenth level wizards get seventh level spells, and you can turn the entire world into a fantasy land thanks to Mirage Arcane, letting you warp everything around you whenever you so wish. you can also create your own ploys this level using Create Magen. it’s worth pointing out that this spell normally has the drawback of permanently reducing your max HP, but we can safely ignore that because you’re a necromancer.

14. at fourteenth level you can Command Undead, forcing an undead creature under your control until you take someone else over. you can also use this on intelligent undead, but it won’t last nearly as long. your best ploys are someone else’s anyway, so it works.

15. at fifteenth level you can use eighth level spells, like Control Weather. I’m pretty sure this also can’t make it turn to night, but I’d let you do it, fuck it it’s an eighth level spell.

16. sixteenth level wizards get another ASI, to bump up your Constitution again. you can also use Telekinesis now. sometimes the moon throws a carnival at people, it’s fine don’t worry about it.

17. seventeenth level wizards get ninth level spells. Invulnerability makes you invulnerable, and True Polymorph lets you turn random objects into faerie-tale creatures. it turns out the rule-breaking ultramage really likes ninth level spells, go figure.

18. eighth level wizards learn Spell Mastery, letting you cast one 1st level spell and one 2nd level spell for free at will, so you know we have to grab Find Familiar and Levitate. you have way too many familiars and levitation is just something you do for funsies, it all fits.

also, you get Wish. yeah that’s just a thing you can do, idk how there’s any kind of plot with you around I’ll be honest.

19. use your last ASI to grab the Tough feat for 40 more HP. yep.

20. with our last level you get the wizard capstone, Signature Spells, two third level spells that you always have prepared, and they also get a free cast each day. so of course we’re getting Animate Dead and Tiny Servant. whimsical and horrifying, all in one go!

Pros & Cons

Pros:

thanks to the power of necromancy, building and maintaining an army of 30 ploys is not only possible, but not even close to the upper limit you can wield. you could even get the actual 108 you brag about all the time! not only that, but you’re not just limited to shambling corpses, having access to various kinds of fey, elementals, and magen to make some clever clogs under your control.

invulnerability makes you completely immune to damage for ten minutes, which is a long time for a wizard to be able to do whatever the fuck they want. even before that, you’re pretty durable for a spellcaster, with almost 200 HP, access to your own healing, and even having the option to clone yourself and come back time after time.

you have Wish, so you can literally just do whatever you want, forever. yes you have a good chance to lose the spell forever if you abuse it, but still, using it the right way once can end any problem you could possibly have.

Cons:

like most spellcasters, the good shit comes in the endgame, so you’ll have to survive a pretty long time on your lonesome first. you don’t even get any summons until level 5, so hopefully that’s when your campaign starts.

invulnerability is nice, but most of your damaging spells that aren’t zombie-related require concentration, so you’ll have to choose between turtling and living forever or doing stuff and being at risk. if you’re playing to character the former is the correct answer, but it might not be that fun in-game.

that ploy army requires upkeep, and the more you make the more spell slots will be used on just those zombies day after day. at a point, your zombies will be getting taken out in one hit, so just keep that in mind before you burn half your slots each morning.

[comicaurora]

If you've finished The Dragon Prince, S5, what's your opinion? Personally I'm still processing everything and there were a few things I was kind of "ehhhhh" about, but those were just one-off moments and overall I'm satisfied, even though it ended up playing out very differently from how I was expecting (for one, I was certain Aaravos would be getting out by the end of the season).

I liked it a lot!

SPOILERS AND STUFF:

Because I liked it a lot, most of my more specific thoughts are about the few things that sort of jarred me a little bit and felt a little rough or strange. But before I get to that I wanna list some of the stuff I loved:

Soren! My sweet boi has finally gotten the acknowledgement the previous seasons denied him. Soren locking eyes with Deadwood and going "yo same issues" was incredible, and after the last season treated his abduction by and confrontation with his abusive father as 90% comedy funtime hijinks in a nightgown, it was really refreshing to see him get a chance to actually shine in a serious, heartwarming context and be narratively rewarded for it.

In fact, that whole sequence with the pirates was incredible. I knew there was no way they were gonna cleanly outrun the bad guys, but I was not expecting how exactly they would catch up.

They did a lot of elegant work this season setting up Claudia as going from being family-motivated to being anger-motivated, and I like that, because at the rate things are going she's gonna run out of family to be motivated by in T-minus one episode, and if she's going to continue being the main boots-on-the-ground antagonist she's going to need some new motivation to swap out for her dad. Showing her actively reveling in having power over creatures that used to frighten her is a clever way to ease into that.

Viren's arc this season of being forced to confront his own coping mechanism, "I had no choice", was damn elegant. He had to realize he did have a choice the whole time, even if it was a choice between two bad options - he took every step along the path of his own free will, and he can choose to stop walking at any time. I'm not anticipating a redemption arc - my guess is Aaravos is going to let him die and just keep his soul imprisoned with him, "your soul is my treasure" and all that - but it was a very cool way to confront the audience and Viren with his humanity, which is easy to lose sight of when he spends all his time being a horrible dick.

The stuff with the Nova Blade screams "sneaky poetic double meaning" and there's absolutely no way it can actually kill Aaravos. The fact that the novablade and the three quasar diamonds they need to let Ruunan out of his coin after four goddamn seasons are all in the same place called the Starscraper that is so most definitely a boss arena makes me absolutely certain that they won't get there until some sort of final battle or immediately-pre-final-battle confrontation, but it's also almost guaranteed that the novablade is not going to cleanly resolve everything because the characters were realistically sus about that poem but quickly dismissed their entirely reasonable concerns. My guess is the novablade has already stabbed Aaravos once and he's the dude from the poem who was somehow both immortal and "no more," which feeds into the other thing they're 100% setting up, which is that Callum is one thousand percent going to be the one who lets him out in an ill-fated attempt to save his loved ones, which would cleanly make Callum three for three. Which segues into my "things that bothered me a little bit" zone-

Every time there's a story where the heroes are like "we're going to make our way through the incredibly circuitous and hard-to-navigate traps and secrets to finally find our way to the closely-guarded and ludicrously dangerous macguffin so we can take it with us and put it somewhere much less guarded" I feel my investment slip just a little, because how can anybody be surprised when the bad guys then get ahold of it with a tenth of the effort it would've taken them to get through the circuitous treasure hunt themselves? Claudia was not on track to figuring out the secret in time, and Aaravos didn't seem to have a way to tell her directly, and once the deadline ran out she'd have almost no reason to want to release Aaravos anymore. I worry this plotline could've solved itself if the heroes hadn't inexplicably concluded that they could guard a magical prison better than a centuries-deep conspiracy of archmages and archdragons.

The Dragon Prince character writing is usually rock-solid and very good at showing slow growth and development, while occasionally being vulnerable to characters seemingly losing their braincells to facilitate plot points that they would reasonably be too smart to let happen. That happened a few times this season, most notably with Zubeia getting very clearly bit by a shadowbeast - something we know everyone riding on her back saw, because Corvus intervened to get it off her and nearly died in the process, and we later see Soren talking to her about it - which means Amaya at minimum, and probably Callum and Rayla as well, should reasonably be expected to have both the information "a wound from a shadowbeast magically festers and turns the infected victim into a shadowbeast" and "zubeia was injured by a shadowbeast." So it's a bit weird that this doesn't come up and they just leave her alone about it, and only Soren - who doesn't know about shadowbeast stuff - even asks her about it.

I have this theory that there was a draft of the season's plot where the main characters had access to a different space of information - for instance, knowing about Zubeia's wound and its implications instead of her inexplicably brushing it off, hiding its true severity and then nearly dying. The most notable instance of this feeling struck me in the same episode, when right after Amaya's incredibly dramatic "go!" moment and the gang are about to fly away, Callum pointedly looks down one last time, then sees her shove Corvus and herself into the book drop, and he says "they made it into the book drop! they'll be totally fine!" and then they fly away. It feels a little jarring because it seemed like the natural flow of the episode would've been to let Amaya and Corvus's sacrifice play out as expected, with Chekov's Book Drop at their backs to save them as soon as the heroes were out of sight. Then Amaya and Corvus could show back up later in a big heroic moment, possibly even keeping the camera off them until Amaya rides to Janai's rescue a few episodes later - a classic "aragorn goes over the cliff jk he's fine" style reveal.

The reason they didn't do this, I think, is because it would've been hard for the kid heroes to be quippy-fun-time jokey-joking mere hours after losing their last living relative to presumed horrible zombie death. And I get that! But I think that was a notable factor in the way some of the episodes were structured around making sure that the heroes mostly got to spend their time being light-hearted and funny, which meant troubling information was artificially kept from them and encouraging information was shoehorned into their eyeline in slightly contrived ways so they could stay safely partitioned away from the actually heavy emotional implications of their situation. That's why I think the pirate episodes hit the audience as hard as they did, because suddenly the story dipped really seriously into the extremely painful and scary side of this otherwise fun and exciting fantasy adventure, and the characters shone in the unusually serious environment.

I kinda feel the same about Viren, but in the opposite direction. He spent the entire season comatose and safely partitioned away from the other characters, and while his highly symbolic coma dreams were extremely cool and revelatory to see, it feels like a squandering of his character potential to keep him from interacting with anyone but Aaravos - which is why I think they're gonna keep his ghost around at minimum. Hell, maybe Claudia will take a page out of his book and store him in a coin for safekeeping. Either way, they've had no problems sticking Viren on the proverbial shelf for seasons at a time and it seems like it's just too convenient for them to stop now. Viren's inner life is very cool, but I want to see him actually interact with the real world, because he's so bad at it.

I don't really know why the sunfire civil war thing is still happening, and my only theory is that Aaravos is still influencing the bald elf guy he possessed to kill the Queen back in season 3, meaning that these guys will be bolstering the ranks of General Problems in season 6 onward. I don't mind that concept, but I kind of feel like the problem they're running into is they killed their actually interesting Dickhead Royal back in season 3, and without Prince Kasef they have to make do with We Have Kasef At Home, aka Karim, who's not good enough at machiavellian scheming to be interesting and not enough of a dickhead to be fun to watch. They didn't even let Amaya take one of his eyes and make him look cooler, so I can only assume he'll be usurped as the primary threat next season and replaced with someone actually threatening, aka Aaravos. It seems plausible that Aaravos is going to sell both the poison and the cure, promising a way to fix Lux Aurea's corruption, but it's just a weirdly disconnected plot thread at present.

The thing with the ocean archmage felt like a very transparent Yoda homage, which started out cute and then went on about three times longer than I wanted it to, and it kind of highlighted the running theme of how every new character in this story is introduced saying "I absolutely cannot let you do this thing you need to do to progress the plot, no way no how." and then after some arguing and quips and ten minutes of wasted time and optional sidequests they're like "you may now proceed with the story." The ocean archdragon had the exact same gimmick in the opening scene, even the pirates were introduced that way. I think part of the reason the pirate episode felt so different and cool is that it broke the episodic formula in almost every way and highlighted some character tropes that the lighthearted tone doesn't normally allow for, which is why people keep describing it as "like a fanfic, but in a good way!" It took the characters we were at this point very familiar with and put them in a Situation, and fans love it when characters get put in Situations.

Kinda feels like the show only remembers Ezran has geopolitical kingly responsibilities when it's most inconvenient for the gang, and while I find his presence in this season refreshing, it is a little weird that he can just run around adventuring and getting kidnapped by pirates without anyone bringing up how the throne and the crown are burdens like they've been banging on about for the previous four seasons. I assume that'll come back into focus later, but it ties into the same thing I've observed where it feels like the characters are very carefully contextualized to only have to consider serious responsibility things in very specific contexts, usually when it will facilitate actively frustrating character arcs and decisions, so they can just loosely quip and react to things the rest of the time.

Anyway I had a dang good time, excited for more! Harrow is one thousand percent in that bird.

[kukurykunapatyku]

[I.D.: Drawing of Sabo, Koala and Vinsmoke Ichiji from One Piece inside a wooden shack, framed like a photo. Also a random guy I made up just for this: he has short hair, is tied with rope to the ceiling and has wide-open eyes. He's not important. Koala is in the front, she's grinning with closed eyes and posing her right hand in victory sign. Her left hand and legs are out of frame, she's the one making the photo. She's wearing pink shirt with white frills and her bordo hat with goggles. Yonji is behind her, crouched down with his face in his hands. He,s wearing white t-shirt and brown trousers. Sabo is on the left, making thumbs up in front of the tied guy, part of his right leg is out of frame. He has wide smile, left side of his face is covered in scar tissue. He's wearing grey boots, blue shirt with white cravat, light blue pants and black coat. On the floor next to him lays empty bucket, water spilling out of it. /End I.D.]

Vinsmoke shipping week day 2: First date / Detective x Criminal

Say cheese!

Does going on a mission and waterboarding a guy for informations count as first date? I say yes. Turns out being an evil mercenary for most of your life doesn't necesssery prepare you to the kind of stuff revolutionaries do. Well, people learn all their life!

🔽Fic under readmore🔽 also on Ao3

"Everyone, say cheese!"

Koala, unconcerned that only Sabo followed her instruction, lifted the camera higher and put her hand in victory sign, smiling widely. Careful not to drop it, she pushed the button and a few seconds later the polaroid came out. She took it to fully appreciate the mess before her, forever immortalized on film.

Sabo was smiling from ear to ear and putting both his thumbs up, not caring that spilled water was pulling under his boots. In contrast, Yonji crouched down, put his head in hands and looked like he would prefer to be anywhere else.

The captured guard dangling from the ceiling looked mostly confused, if a little less fearful for his life. Well, that'll need to be corrected.

"Let me seeeee," Sabo whined next to her ear. Still smiling, she pushed his head away without any remorse.

"It's mine now, get your own."

"Oh came on, it's not fair! I lost my camera at the base, you know that!"

"I found it and put it on your desk."

His head snapped. "What? Where?!"

"Next to the paperwork from last week." At his blank stare she added: "You know, the one you were supposed to look over and check if everything's alright before we left two days ago?"

Too late to avoid the trap, Sabo did the only smart thing and changed the subject.

"Man, who's the real red one in your family, your brother or you? Maybe we should call you tomato instead of onion." He left her side and picked up now-empty bucket. "It's been a while since I've seen someone fumble interrogation this badly. Isn't a member of the 'legendary mercenary army' supposed be professional in this things?"

Yonji raised his head, his cheeks blooming red.

"I thought when you're waterboarding someone you lift the water up, not pull the guy down. That's why I used stronger knot here." He pointed at the hook the rope was connected to. "How was I supposed to know it's the other way around!"

"Oh, I was wondering about that," Koala interjected. "Weird way to tie it."

"Why didn't you say anything?" he groaned.

She shrugged. "I thought it was some weird Germa way. People learn all their life."

"Well, I just thought it was funny," said Sabo, before focusing on Yonji again. "Wait, with all the war crimes* under your belt, you never waterboarded anyone before?"

Yonji cringed and sunk his head.

"We weren't tasked with capturing people that often, much less interrogate them. Our employers usually wanted to do that themselves. Confident information and all that," he mumbled from behind his hands. He curled further, which was honestly impressive considering his size. Like a mastiff trying to fit inside the cat basket. She reached her hand to pat his hair.

"There there, it wasn't that bad for the first time."

"We won't tell a soul, promise," Sabo lied. "But I can't talk for this one." He gripped the rope and grinned at their guest. "Are you a talker, sir?"

The prisoner gulped at being in the spotlight again and furiously shook his head.

"No? Oh my, that's so unlucky! If you were a talker, this could go a lot faster," Sabo pouted. "As you can see, my friend over there spilled all the water for you. Which means one of two things; either you'll make it easier for all of us and answer a few questions, or-" He sighed dramatically. "We will have to improvise with what we got. And it's going to be bloody shame if you don't last to the end of it." He flashed him a wide smile with way too much teeth.

Fascinating, Koala thought. I didn't know you can lose all the blood in your face while hanging upside down.

-

Koala plopped on the bench between her boys, handing each an ice-cream cone.

Yonji took his and stared at it for a while before turning to smile at them.

"Is this what you guys usually do on missions? I could get used to it."

Koala scratched her neck. "Well, not exactly usually, but sometimes it goes like that. It's a lot less threatening and a lot more running and sneaking around on most days. With occasional explosion or two." She side-eyed Sabo, who looked annoyingly unrepentant.

"Since it's the first time you were going with us, we picked something more up your line." Sabo licked his ice-cream. "Of course, if we knew how much you'll screw it up, we would have given you something different to fuck."

Koala whacked him in the back of the head.

"We agreed not to talk about this anymore! You made fun of him enough already!" She looked back at Yonji. "And why are you blushing!"

"You really are a tomato!"

"Argh, I swear..." Koala huffed and went back to her food. "Why do I even bother."

This just get her twin snickers from the sides. She rolled her eyes but smiled. It went well all things considered. Their captive's tongue seemed to loosen a lot once he realized that everyone in the room was clinically insane, which she was more than happy to contribute to, so the mission went smoothly afterwards.

"One thing i don't understand," she broke the silence. "Why did that guy want your autograph? You don't even have a wanted poster."

"Oh, it's probably because my family is technically main villains of a surprisingly popular vintage comic strip from North Blue. I'm the green one."

Koala nodded.

"Yeah, that makes- You're WHAT?!"

*I apologize for insinuating One Piece world has anything like Geneva convention. It does not.

[lovelyyandereaddictionpoint]

I really love you're writing💞

I would really like to ask a request(if you don't mind,I hope you don't,everyone's been ignoring me😭)Obey me brothers reacting to a Mileena Mc from Mortal Kombat.If you don't know Mileena than It's ok.

Obey me brothers reacting to a maneater or femme fatale Mc with her playful,blood thirsty and powerhungry personality.

I hope I didn't bother you.Have a nice day,Ty🥰

Mileena Reader | Yandere Obey Me!

To say you're eccentric is an understatement. You brandish your sai(s) with ease, when you're not wearing the uniform your wearing your typical tight-fitting assassin attire. You often keep a mask on your face only ever revealing it when you feel your getting too attached:

“You scared of me, boys?”

Lucifer

“I’m sure you’d like it if I was.”

He’s genuinely worried 

Not about his brothers about you

He sees you often put up this act of confidence gained by scaring others or tricking them

In the rare moments he sees you, the real you, he wants the moment to last forever

“(Y/n) I love you for you.”

“Even with a face like this?”

“Especially with a face like this.”

“You’re a fool, then I could eat you alive if I willed it.”

“I’d let you.”

“Pftt whatever.”

He knows you put up a front and he doesn’t mind

But he wants the real you

So he kind of backs you up even when your crossing lines left and right

“Ahhhh Lucifer that human transfer actually tried to cut me!”

“I see.”

“Are you going to do something!” 

“It means she likes you…don’t get too cozy though.”

“Oh, Maaaammmoooonn?”

“Ahhhhhh.”

Mammon

“I-I am not!”

He’s certainly not lying

But he is the first to go from running from you to shyly turning on his back for you

Scary and loving are closer than you’d think for the avatar of greed

He knows you play him like a fiddle

Changing your playful voice to something warmer when you cuddle into him

Before switching back to your playful side again

“Now come on Mammon don’t you want this amulet? It's worth what again?”

“I-its priceless! A-a fashion time-piece that is going to sell for thousands no millions.”

“Then. Come. And. Get. It.”

“B-but you p-put it in your–next to your–”

“Are you rejecting my offer?”

“No! I’m coming!”

He’s the puppy you love to chase around and pulling on his leash is a part of the fun

Even when you reveal your face he’s not as phased as you’d hope

“Eh, I’ve seen worse.”

Take that as you will but he’s fighting anyone with something to say

“Oi. Don’t you dare talk about my human! If you do it’ll cost you.”

Leviathan

“Y-yes b-but will you do that voice of that character I like?”

Similar to Mammon you scare him and make him feel amazing

Somehow you show up in his room when he’s locked the door

Laying in his tub/bed when he goes to end the day

But he loves it more than he’d like to admit when you do step on him

Or tease him

You remind of a character from a battle game he plays

A Scarleena from Immortal Combat

“I’ve never heard of such a thing…are you enamored by her?”

“Well duh, I wouldn’t have bought her limited edition figurine model if I wasn’t.”

“Then do you like her more than me?”

“Uh-uh n-n-no. Y-your hands–ack–t-touching me!”

“Good. I was starting to think you would have hated me. Won’t you show me how much you care?”

“O-okay! Y-yes!”

He’s not as reliant on you as Mammon but he still relays how he feels about you when you play

“You look just like that character!”

“Levi.”

“Sorry, b-but I still think you are pretty…for a real-life, anyway.”

“Ara ara and I thought you were only into 2-D?”

*blushing fiercely* “W-well I can make an exception…only cause it's you.”

Satan

“Hardly.”

He’s intrigued by you

He’s not on the run from you but he certainly doesn’t understand you at first

You are his newest investigation

“So you're interested in knowing about me?”

“Yes. Any siblings?”

“Ugh yes, but I’d sooner kill her than see her again.”

“Well, we might have more in common than I originally thought.”

He’s right your help in his pranks against his brother is greatly appreciated

And he finds himself smitten when he sees you past your playful power-hungry actions

“(Y/n)...did you truly think I’d no longer be interested in you after seeing your face?”

“It’s not a bizarre thought, for you.”

“Then you must not know me well enough, dear.”

“Oh? Are you doubting that I know who I’m speaking to?”

“No. I’m doubting how thoroughly you investigated. Especially with a subject as willing as I.”

“Then don’t mind if I do.”

“Go ahead. I promise to be gentle.”

Asmodeus

“Oya? I’ll be really scared if you pin me now!” 

So dramatic it almost throws you off 

But on the best of days you both keep each other on your toes

“Promiscuous as always, Asmodeus?”

“You know it, darling! Now about showing me what’s under that mask…”

“Didn’t I tell you? I’d eat you if you saw.”

“But that’s exactly what I want!”

“I think there's been a misunderstanding.”

Now unlike the others who either don’t care or don’t mind Asmodeus does

“Oh…oh…my that is awfully….gnarly.”

“See. Now that you’ve seen I will–”

“Now hold on, don’t misunderstand you will always be pretty because it's you….but we need to figure out how kissing is going to work…hmm.”

“I see no reason to discuss something so pointless.”

“Nonsense, it should probably be fine if we stole the pair from that one model…it’d be convenient for the upcoming make-up launch.”

“Violence?”

“Yup!”

Beelzebub

*Munch Munch* “Huh? Did you say something?’

The answer is no

You can threaten him all you like or try to seduce him but he’s not budging 

“You’d do best not to hold me if you don’t want to have a chunk eaten off of you!”

“If that's what it takes to make you eat then so be it.”

“Stubborn, I’ll tolerate it if you can defeat me.”

“You want to fight? Fine but you have to eat first it's not healthy to do lots of exerting yourself without eating.”

“Grrrrr I’ll gut you for your incompetence!”

*Shifts to demon form* “If you're going to refuse me I will use force.”

You two don’t really get on the same level on your own 

Someone (Belphegor) has to mediate so you can clear up the misunderstanding

Its a wonder how you two still end up clashing at least on your end anyway

No one knows if he’s really seeing you or just putting his own thoughts on you

“So that's why you weren’t eating around me. Don’t do that again, I was worried.”

“Worried? For me? Best be careful your sentimentality may lead to your doom.”

“If it's really embarrassing for you we can eat away from everyone, I’m sure Lucifer won’t mind.”

“Are you deaf?”

“Nope but if you do have a taste for demons we can take a trip to the slums.”

Belphegor

“Only as scared as you are of me.”

“That would be none.”

“Good.”

You so easily affirm his dislike for humans

But more than he likes to admit he enjoys it every time

And so he fights with himself about what it is he likes about fighting you

The actual fighting or you

It turns out to be the latter as he finds himself waking with anger when you're antagonizing some other demon

“Don’t do that again.”

“What? Leave your side when you slumber? What am I? Your teddy bear?”

“Heh might as well be with how much I think about you.”

“What’s that? Are you admitting a surrender to your teddy bear?”

“Hah never!” 

To the naked eye, your relationship makes no sense 

but it doesn’t matter 

not to him at least

All that matters is that when he sleeps that your in arms-length

“From this point on, you're my human. *Yawn* So no picking fights without me.”

“And who are you to demand this of me?”

“Your demon Belphegor.”

[unnursvanablog]

The Judge from Hell / kdrama review

This is a spoiler free review of the kdrama The Judge from Hell.

You could say that I've been waiting for this drama to come along and sweep me of my feet for some time. A gloomy fantasy with a hint of horror and humor that doesn't take itself too seriously is something I really enjoy. And then it was kind of a bonus to get a story that gave Park Shin Hye a role that made her shine as brightly as I know she can.

The plot, or the setting around it, was a bit rough around the edges at times. It can certainly be argued that her role as a judge was not particularly necessary for the story itself – she could just as well have worked in a morgue. And as a result, the plot allows itself to play as loosely as it wants with that setting. This is not a serious legal drama, this is a fantasy about demons, and as long as it has its own internal logic that it follows to a point, and it works decently. The court was a decent plot device that moves the story along, but it did feel a tad repetitive and almost too much of a crutch to the story at times.

That internal logic doesn't drag the story down unless you really focus on how the legal system or anything like that works and perhaps some of the logic of how the underworld functions to be a but flawed, but I don't find myself wondering too much about it as I watch the show. The fantasy-elements don’t feel too hesitant to play around but it’s not as if things are happening for no reason. It gets a little confusing as we get further into the story, and the cop-part of the story may be a little basic, but the fantasy adds something new and fresh to that tried-and-true story.

The drama focuses a bit on the morality of humans, along with the laws they have made to uphold the justice and the people who break them. There is a certain thrill in watching our main character take revenge on the criminals with the same amount of blood and violence that they inflicted on others. But that part got a bit repetitive until the serial killer storyline really got going. And while I thought the drama did a good job of showing human corruption and how weak the justice system is at times, and getting to see Park Shin Hye in all those action scenes was fun, I wanted a little more out of that theme than we got.

The series was exciting with a lot of action and some violence - without being too gory or too cruel. They managed to balance those things with a decent amount of humor and a gentle character moment. Towards the middle, when everything truly was set in motion, there was not a dull moment to be found, and the drama managed to keep the momentum going until the very end.

One of my favorite things about The Judge from Hell manages to deliver one trope, or the role reversal, which I really enjoy; I adore evil female characters or a cold-hearted immortal female character who bring softer human male characters along with them and little by little she allows herself to open a little. Or the male character allows her feel things for the first time in a long time without her becoming too soft. Seeing female and male characters swapping traditional gender roles is always fun, especially if it's done well.

The romance was slow, which suits the story well, but it was still full of suspense, tenderness and passion. But the story worked for every smile and every tear the characters produced as the narrative slowly moves from enemies to companions and then to lovers.

The drama seemed to have wholeheartedly embraced its wacky setting and just gone full steam ahead. The thrilling action, the exciting build-up, the internal logic as well as the character moments were something that the drama managed so well, and the acting was good across the board, which made the entertainment value of the drama truly addictive. Although for sure, the drama had its weaker moments when history repeated itself slightly and the special effects were perhaps a little lame at times but that can also be part of the charm.

But what I think makes this drama as good as it was were the characters; the spark between them and the humor. The combination of the motives of the main characters and the way they change places, one becomes warmer and the colder was well deserved within the narrative and even the secondary character was well executed, getting their moments shine and develop within the story.

[thepaintedlady00]

Ok cool! In that case can you write a Morpheus x reader where the reader hears about Morpheus other lovers and she feels unworthy and her mood plummets.Morpheus of course notices immediately and asks her what’s wrong and after a bit of coaxing she tells him everything that’s been on her mind and that even if she will be just one of the string of lovers he will have in the future she’s glad she got a chance to love him.Morpheus is understandably horrified that she would think that and in order to convince her otherwise they have a very intimate ✨moment✨😏 Where Morpheus tells her how much he loves her and states that she may not be his first lover but she will be his last and he proposes and offers to make her his queen and an endless of equal standing beside him (obviously she says yes)

One tender smut piece coming right up my friend! 🥰

You'd known there were others before you. You weren't naive. But knowing was one thing and seeing was another. As you stared in awe at the Muse Calliope you could feel a wave of dread and doubt settle in your stomach, twisting everything inside you into tight knots. She was far more beautiful than you, an immortal being of pure inspiration was going to be, but on top of that beauty she was so kind and so... Perfect.

Dream had made it clear that the two of them weren't meant to be, especially after the death of their son. He'd said some words, some things just could never be forgotten between them. Looking at the pair of them now though, it didn't feel like they'd lost an ounce of whatever spark of passion that had brought them together. It was painful for you, even though you'd trusted him and loved him and was happy that he'd agreed to open his realm to her.

You'd say none of this to him, of course, he wouldn't understand. It wasn't like you had any lovers that could even compare to the beautiful, powerful Dream of the Endless. But late that night long after Calliope had gone the weight hadn't followed her. You found yourself laying in your shared bed, thinking of how many lovers he'd had before you... Of how each of them were probably more beautiful and stronger and better than you could ever hope to be.

These thoughts would transfer to your dreams when you finally managed to sleep. And in your dreams these thoughts were ones that your lover could hear.

Dream was finishing his work when the sound of taunting voices began. They were dark and hushed, but they sounded like you. He followed them all the way into your dream, or rather your nightmare. It was hardly the worst he'd seen, but the fact that it was you made his heart clench. You sat in front of a mirror, images of lovers from his past hovering over your reflection, over accentuating your flaws. Behind you a shadowed version of yourself stood, claws digging deep into your shoulders as it whispered vile things in your ears.

"You will never be as beautiful as them."

"You will never be a goddess or muse. You will only ever be human. Dull. Weak. Boring."

"He loved them more."

"You're holding him back."

"You will never be them."

Dreams hands clenched into fists. "Enough, nightmare. Leave us."

The nightmare that had been perched on your shoulder turned and shifted back to its natural form, bowing to Dream and slithering away to whatever victim awaited it. You remained frozen in front of the mirror, tears staining your cheeks as he came to stand behind you.

He kissed the angry marks on your shoulders, cold hands smoothing up and down your back as he wound his arms around you. "It is over, my love. The nightmare has passed."

You shook your head. "It won't pass. It can't because it's true."

His brows furrowed as he looked at you in the mirror. "Why would you think such things?"

"I'm not..." You sighed. "I'm never going to be like them."

"I do not want you to be like them," he whispered. "You are perfect just as you are."

"Morpheus I'm-"

He turned your head and pressed his lips to yours, swallowing the words and lapping up the sour feeling they left on your tongue until all that remained was him. You were breathless when he pulled back and stroked your wet cheeks. "I'll hear no more of this."

Breathing in the intoxicating smell on his coat you sighed. "It's not that simple."

"Perhaps not," he agreed, turning you to face him. "Perhaps a demonstration is long overdue."

Your brows furrowed as you looked up at him. "Demonstration?"

Dream merely smiled. "Of course, I can think of no better way to show you exactly how perfect you are."

The dream faded, gliding across your mind like strands of silk until at last you woke up. Your lover stood at the foot of the bed, neatly folding his coat over the edge of it before turning to you with a tender gaze. Your heart beat wildly in your chest as he moved toward you, carefully kneeling beside you to take your hand in both of his and press a soft kiss to it. He moved up your arm slowly, purposefully kissing every inch of your skin before he finally reached your shoulder.

"Morpheus," you breathed out.

He smiled, as he often did when you said his name like that. "Yes my love?"

"What are you doing?"

"I am worshipping you." With one thought from him your clothes vanished leaving you trapped between the silk sheets and the silk of Dreams wandering hands.

Oh, this is what he meant. "Morpheus, you don't have to-"

"I am Dream of the Endless," he breathed against your skin. "The King of dreams and the ruler of the nightmare realms. Do you think I would do something I did not wish to?"

You shook your head, biting your lower lip to try and mask the way his voice alone sent shivers of heat and want through you. "No. But, I still wanted you to know this isn't necessary."

He chuckled at that. "On the contrary, worship is essential when hoping to please a goddess."

Those lips of his moved up your neck. "I'm not a goddess."

"You are to me," he whispered in your ear. "Now, no more words my dreamer. Just give me those sweet moans."

Your lips crashed together in a dance of opposites. The warmth of your skin practically hissed beneath your lovers icy touch as his hands explored the plains of your back. You pushed, desperate to meet his enthusiasm with that of your own, and he pulled willing to take everything you offered to him. Being touched, loved, by the Dream Lord was consuming in the best possible way.

Dream finally pulled back, cradling your head in his hands as he moved his lips down your throat, tongue darting out to taste your skin, as he made his way down your body. His chilled breath fanned across your nipple, bringing it swiftly to a peak as he wrapped his mouth around the hardened bud. It should've been considered a sin, the things he could do with his mouth alone that made you moan and writhe beneath him.

Your breaths were heavy as he moved his attention to the other breast, nipping at your skin lightly before giving it the same attention he'd given the other. "Morpheus," you whined as the sensation grew near unbearable.

He chuckled, running his palms down your sides to grip your hips tightly. "Worship cannot be rushed, my love."

"Could you just fuck me then?" you asked, the teasing in your tone almost vanished as he kissed down your stomach.

"I could," he admitted.

"But you won't?"

His hands slid beneath your thighs, easing them apart as his glowing eyes met yours. "Patience, my dear."

Your back arched off the bed when his tongue licked a long, languid strip up your core, brushing against your clit in a deliciously slow display. Dream smirked, pressing a kiss to your inner thigh before returning his mouth to where you wanted him most. Once again he brought you far too much pleasure with his tongue alone, spending hours between your thighs basking in the way your thighs trembled around his head and how you cried out his name and pulled his hair. He groaned as one of his fingers penetrated your hot, pulsing core, moving slowly and gently to help work yet another orgasm from your sweet lips.

Devotion was something Dream of the Endless knew well, he had yours and you had his, getting this chance to show you such was a blessing far beyond what he deserved. "Morpheus," you begged between heaving breaths.

"Is your head finally free of those horrid thoughts, my love?"

You nodded quickly. "Yes."

"Tell me, what thoughts have replaced them?"

"You," was your only answer, one that made pride flare within his chest.

His lips moved back up your body, kissing every tender piece of flesh that he knew drove you wild. "Good, let's keep it that way for a moment longer."

Magic rid him of his clothes with ease, leaving nothing between him and your soft heated skin. Dream kissed you, swallowing the sharp wanton moan that you let loose as he wasted no time splitting you open with his cock. Your body trembled beneath him, the waves of your previous pleasure beginning to stir once again. "Morpheus."

Burying his face into the crook of your neck he pulled his hips back slowly, drawing out another long moan from your lips as he too felt shivers of delight run down his spine. You were heavenly, mind body, and soul. These intimate moments with you made it difficult for him to keep his composure. "You are divine," he told you. "The way you sing beneath me could rival that of the most inspired composers."

Your hands latched onto him, finding purchase in his hair and clawing at his back. "Please."

He smiled down at you, caging your head between his arms. "Command me, my love. Tell me what you want and it shall be yours."

"Fuck me," you answered instantly. Your eyes, darkened with pleasure, met his as you pulled at him more desperately. "Please Morpheus."

Fuck you he would. The sound of his skin slapping against yours echoed in his room as The Dreaming seemed to swallow the sounds just as greedily as he did. Your orgasm came swiftly as did the one that followed as he continued to fuck you through it. You had no concept of time when all you could feel was him and every thought that occupied your mind was little more than prayers whispered in his name.

When his hips finally began to falter, his hands fisting into the sheets beside your head, you looked up into his eyes and arched your back. Your lips traced down his throat as he threw his head back, finally losing his iron-clad grip on that famous kingly composure and fucking you in earnest. You adored these brief moments where his power rolled off your skin like satin lightning and whispers of shadow. You adored the way his touch burned and bruised as he lost himself in the pleasure.

After you'd caught your breath and your body finally ceased shivering he stroked your skin, still wet with a sheen of sweat and gently asked the question that had troubled him so, "Why did you not tell me Calliope's presence made you feel such things?"

"Morpheus," you moaned against his throat. A shuddering breath left him as he moved his hips harder and faster into you. "Please."

It was amazing how one word whispered so reverently from your lips could make him come undone. Amazing how his body memorized the way it felt as you came with him. Amazing how such a primal thing as sex felt sacred now that he had you. He gently rolled off you, keeping you tightly tucked into his chest as the two of you silently recovered in the softness of his bed and each other's arms.

With a sigh you lifted your head to look deep into his star filled eyes and with a smile. "Because it isn't her fault, and it's not yours either. Calliope is someone you love, not in the way you did, but she's still important to you. Her visit was important for both of you and I would never even think of robbing you of that just because I was feeling insecure."

"Your feelings are just as important as mine," he insisted. "What can I do if these thoughts return?"

With a smile you shimmied even closer to him. "I think your demonstration was quite helpful."

Dream brushed his nose against yours. "Then, next time you feel this way come to me. Tell me that my perfect dreamer is in need of worship and I shall see to it."

"I love you."

"As I love you, dreamer."

[insane-weasel]

Me, with the objectively worst opinion: Oh...I liked the idea of a QPR Lila x Five.

I'm only halfway through S4, but I like it over S3. (Victor's son caused me to mentally block out like 90% of S3)

Review so far:

Luther's plot: 3/10. I'd love for him to stop being the butt of the joke.

Diego: 0/10. Horrible. You're going to make him a dad and tell me he is not like a super loving and caring father and show me any of that????? Why???? Is he always treated so bad by the plot. Stop making fun of him ffs. Oh, he's barely even chubby, but make fun of his weight. Oh, he's kind of concerned his wife doesn't love him...when she doesn't....make him seem paranoid and in the wrong when...like??? What? WTF is Diego's character.

Allison: 6/10 Thank you for not sticking with Allison is the bad guy...though why throwing any character progression...uh what's with her and Claire??? Are they gonna expand on the last 6 years??? Why 6 years??? Hello??? Anyway, her plot is passable so far. Not best, but....not S3 which is a win

Victor: Only solid 7/10 because he's really hitting me-core. Only characterization I'm kinda on board with. Actually, yeah, have Victor living a really moderate life at a bar. I think he should take you another instrument that isn't the violim. Though not a fan of how they're depicting his powers. I liked the more ethereal powers. Though no on Victor having failed relationships. He needs an awkward cute romance like Sissy? WTF was with that whole beginning? Like...anyway.

Five: 2/10 I don't hate it. But it is the worst five plot thus far IMO.

Ben: 5/10. Actually, I do think Sparrow Ben would be arrogant enough to be in Crypto. I don't like Sparrow Ben, but his depiction tracks. Still wish we could...have OG Ben........Second thought, hate Sparrow Ben. Though whatever, love interest, okay.

Lila: ...1?/10 I feel like the one person who didn't like Diego x Lila, and didn't think she'd settle down. I like a QPR with her and Five. However--How they're handling this? Awful. Also, her powers????? No more mimic. Boooooooooooo.

Klaus: 2/10 I wanted them to go angst with Klaus' immortality, but...ughh. Compulsive cleanliness and over anxiety about common fears is a legitimate way paranoia can develop...as a person with those kinda issues, but they do not depict them in any. Like I'm going to be honest, when you do have those fears to that level...you aren't sober or if you are...you're not looking well. But forget all that crap, why couldn't we have whatever story was Klaus bonding with Allison and helping raise Claire. Why was that the plot we had to be told about rather than shown????$

Other thoughts:

-Gene and Jean are like...10/10. Solid villains. Love em. Costume, actors, quirks--great.

-OH. My. God. Can Reginald stoooooop being a character.

-Music and set designs are a 10/10, costumes this season and apparel is a 2/10. What are some of these looks????

-Uh...The plot is kinda...feels like a fanfic that the author continues after 6 years, half-assed and wings, and has no love for the source material. Some parts seem so lazy. The stakes feel weak. There's traces of a great story...buried in there.

Overall, my theory for what happened: Umbrella Academy leaned into its comic book elements in the worst way possible. For that to have worked, a cohesive and fully fleshed out plot would need to be in place first then followed by a style of editing, composition and mise-en-scene, and then characters can play into cartoon styles.

The editing and filming have not changed between seasons. There's no style. Actually, they've gotten worse. The camera angles are painfully standard. If you wanted comic book, that camera needs to be at some different angles, but no, 3/4, eye level, always capturing same length. Whoever directed this? For shame. You don't use the foreground. You don't use the background. Everything happens on the same level and has the same amount of presence on screen. It screams "no time for flare, let's just get this done!"

So many of the BTS/production elements feel...rushed. If that wasn't the case, if this didn't have a painfully short filming timeline and they didn't have severe restraints compared to the last seasons...than...no one had any love for the series anymore.

[veliseraptor]

If you haven't done so already, do you have any particular headcanons for Xiao Xingchen?

I've always seen him as a very interesting character, from his fife as the pupil of an inmortal master, to his views about the world. I specially find the image of the folk hero he seems to have incredibly appealing, although I feel it gets left behind in the background of the story. But what do you think?

boy do I!!! I have a stack of Xiao Xingchen headcanons that just might together stack up longer than the entire yi city arc in canon. I have long experience with building a large edifice of headcanon upon a relatively slim amount of actual text, and I have spent a lot of time thinking about Xiao Xingchen. I'm sure this comes as a complete surprise to everyone.

one important headcanon to me is the sort of...pair that Xiao Xingchen is a very sociable and extroverted person, and he has major abandonment issues. I feel like the first one is something where the perception is otherwise because he's not exactly boisterous and he has this "untouchable immortal" reputation following him around making him out to be something more than human (which also renders him less than human, but I've talked about that before).

but Xiao Xingchen loves people, I think - he believes in people, yes, but he also just generally genuinely likes them. he likes to talk to people. now, this doesn't always mean he's good at it - the other thing about Xiao Xingchen is that he's kind of weird and socially graceless - but he's a very friendly person by nature.

this makes his utter isolation post-baixue even sadder, because I don't think it's because he can't make connections, or doesn't want to - I think he's not letting himself try. he's cut himself off from trying to make friends. prior to that I think people tend to hold him at a distance, because other people perceive him as untouchable/distant and project that onto how they interact with him, and if they do interact with him he's weird and socially graceless which can be a turn-off for further interaction. afterwards he's just doing the same.

and meanwhile! all this is happening and Xiao Xingchen is in a state of continual low-level homesickness (the world is harder and meaner than he thought it would be, he can never go home, he genuinely believes in his decision to descend but also it hurts sometimes), and he has his one companion who is the best ever but even so...that's one person and I think Xiao Xingchen craves more connection than that. but because of who he is and who he's chosen to be, he doesn't have that community that he desperately misses, and he's not willing to compromise himself in order to find it the simplest way (i.e. by joining a sect).

the dream of creating a sect is, I think, a little more Xiao Xingchen's than Song Lan's - not that Song Lan's not in favor of the idea, but I think he'd be more content without it, continuing to be independent, than Xiao Xingchen is. but he also has his temple to go home to (until he doesn't).

and for extra spicy fun my headcanon has always been that Xiao Xingchen is very tactile while Song Lan is...the opposite, and while Xiao Xingchen would never complain and might not even acknowledge it to himself, he is perfectly content with the non-physical state of their relationship, of course, he would like to be cuddled and that's just not something Song Lan generally feels up to doing.

and then!! and then Song Lan lashes out at Xiao Xingchen, pushing him away, and the closest person Xiao Xingchen has to home is torn away from him, and then his actual home is taken away again (because he goes back for Song Lan only to have to leave again, really forever this time), and he's on his own wallowing in guilt and self-loathing and very determinedly being Alone until a-Qing shows up and basically goes "mine now" and adopts Xiao Xingchen as very much hers. A-Qing is so important for the way that she walks into Xiao Xingchen's self-imposed solitude and just moves in without taking no for an answer. that's, I think, part of why Xiao Xingchen loves her so much.

but after Song Lan there's definitely a low key assumption for Xiao Xingchen, I think, that people will leave him eventually. I think he always tended toward a little bit of clinginess, but after he gives up his eyes that clinginess both increases exponentially and also becomes an exercise in intense self-denial. he won't let himself be clingy with the people he cares about even if that is what he desperately wants to be. nobody would want to live with us in this coffin house.

there's an exchange that I'm really quite proud of in The Care and Keeping of an Unexpected Captive:

“You like - you like feeling like a hero. Like you’re - saving the world, all the pathetic people too weak to save themselves, there’s you, righteously battling evil, kind, generous–” Words that would be compliments from someone else Xue Yang spat like insults. Xiao Xingchen drew back. “That’s not it,” he protested. “I don’t care who knows me, or if anyone does. I’m not looking for fame or glory–” “No,” Xue Yang said, his voice harsh, “you just want people to love you.”

and I don't think Xue Yang is wrong. he's not 100% right either - Xiao Xingchen does believe in his mission, and does just genuinely want to help people and do the right thing.

but he also really, really, really wants to be loved, and is very afraid that he won't be.

[angelofrainfrogs]

Going Back: Ch. 21

~Coauthored by @zeitghest~

Fandom(s): Five Nights At Freddy’s: Security Breach

Description: Things are looking up for Gregory. After putting the soul of a formerly-immortal killer to rest, he and his new family can finally begin their lives anew. Sure, Gregory might have been cursed with mysterious Remnant in exchange for being involved in this mess—not to mention his caretakers consist of sentient robots and ghosts… But there’s no doubt that the bond they share is unbreakable. They love him, and he in turn. 

All in all, life is finally starting to go right for once. 

…Unfortunately, true peace is a hard-won battle. There are other things to contend with besides William’s decrepit soul, and Gregory will learn that his role in the lives of the Aftons and Emilys is far greater than anyone could’ve imagined. 

Rating: T

Read on Ao3

After an uneventful walk back to the office, Michael found it somewhat alarming to find Charlie and Freddy inside waiting for him. Alone and without Gregory, Charlie was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed a worried expression on her face as she listened to their resident Papa Bear. Her pinpoint focus was distracted only when Michael’s familiar shape fell over the doorway.

“Speak of the devil,” Charlie remarked, interrupting Freddy’s quiet train of thought.

“Hey,” Michael greeted with a wave and a curious tilt of his head. “You gossiping about me behind my back? My office isn't exactly the best place to do that, y'know."

“Hello, Michael,” Freddy responded with a chuckle, expression softening at the appearance of the trustworthy night guard. “We were not talking about you specifically, although you are a relevant part of the conversation. We were discussing Gregory's future.”

“...Ah.” With a low exhale, Michael plopped into one of the swivel chairs. Just one thing after another tonight. At least this was far less stressful than trying to wrangle Ennard through the Pizzaplex.

Hopefully.

“Well, the kid's got a long future ahead of him,” Michael remarked, crossing one knee over the other. “Anything in particular you're fretting over right now?”

“For one,” Charlie said, her voice gentle as she didn't want to particularly stress out her family. Well—not overstress them. “His sleep schedule. The kid's eyebags have bags at this point... It’s just one more thing that could attract unnecessary attention.”

Numbering the items off on her fingers, she moved onto the next from her mental list. “His eyes glow now. You can kind of see it in the light, too, so… We should be prepared if more things change about him.” She grimaced. “Not just physical stuff, either.”

It was something she’d feared since the incident in the bathroom: if Gregory's mental state may begin to deteriorate just as William's had. She'd like to pretend that Gregory was strong—that he could fight and suppress any unhinged thoughts or urges. Michael had seemed to be alright in the end, if a bit more melancholy than she remembered... but those subjected to Remnant were so few and far between, they only had case studies to work from rather than standard bullet points of what to expect. It scared Charlie not knowing exactly what this Remnant serum was going to do to their little brother in the long run.

“...You guys noticed the eyes, too?” Michael asked.

“Yes.” Freddy nodded, unease returning to his features. “At first I thought it was just a trick of the light, but there is definitely something otherworldly about them. It does not bother us, of course, though it is certainly something to be wary of if we wish to reintegrate him into society someday.”

“Freddy... I think that kid is as far from 'reintegration' as one could get at this point,” Michael pointed out, and the ursine man had to concede with a sigh.

“I am aware. However, we can at least try and give his life some semblance of normalcy—as Charlie pointed out, his sleep schedule is a good place to start.” Freddy idly glanced at the cameras, catching sight of the Glamrocks yet again huddled together making plans. A faint smile ghosted over his lips. “On a side note, as much as I would love to provide him with a standard education, I simply do not think that will be in anyone's best interest. I have heard mention of 'online schooling', which I will look into. Tangentially, as far as his sleep schedule goes... until we figure out a few other aspects of all our lives, I believe he may be better suited to fully commit to a night-shift schedule.”

“Yeah?” Michael perked up at this. He'd been gearing up to accept only seeing his brother in passing, but if Freddy deemed the nightlife was Gregory's future, that would be fantastic.

“There is really no reason for him to be awake during the day—Charlie and I will soon be working come next week, so he will either be only with you or alone,” Freddy explained. “It is not safe for the children to roam during the dayshift, and since everyone except Sam and Gregory himself are robots or ghosts, we do not have to worry about sleeping nearly as much as he does. Therefore, I feel it would be more beneficial to his well-being to come here at night like we have been—at least for now.”

Charlie had agreed somewhat, though she was biting her lip in anxiety. She was clearly off-put by something but refrained from speaking of it until now so Freddy could get his thoughts out first.

“About the online school thing,” Charlie said, clearing her voice as she looked between the boys. “So, this is going to sound hypocritical and weird. Trust me, I know, but... We should try to encourage Gregory to make friends like him, and that might be a good way to do that."

He was already shaping up into an oddity, but what Charlie saw earlier that day had legitimately brewed worry in her, causing her to strike up this conversation with Freddy in the first place.

“I noticed he plays very roughly when he's with the twins. Cassidy, too. They can't feel pain so I’m not worried about their safety or anything, but... I just don't want Gregory getting the impression that hurting people is some kind of game. I don't know; maybe we can talk to him about being a little gentler?”

…What an awful time to be accidentally eavesdropping.

Gregory stood like a stone, back pressed firmly against the wall near the office door. He strained to hear everything they were saying with their hushed voices, and managed well. He almost wished he wasn't really hearing it though; it felt like he should just walk back to his friends and continue their hang-out session. But the way Charlie spoke about how he played made him feel like some sort of monster...

“...Ah. Right.” Freddy's face twisted in worry. “I am sorry, I got so caught up in the idea of trying to make things easy for him... but you are right. He must understand that he cannot interact with other children the way he does with those living in the Pizzaplex.”

He paused, chewing his lip in thought. “Perhaps we can shift his schedule so he does get a bit of interaction time with normal children, through whatever means we can. I will speak to him about roughhousing with the others.”

“I can try and talk to the kids, too,” Michael added, trying to help. “Or at least ask Henry to talk to them—not sure how well they'll listen to me.”

He gave a half-hearted laugh, though it only garnered a small smile from Freddy. Putting his feet flat on the ground, Michael leaned forward and grasped his hand. “Hey. It's gonna be okay, Freddy. We might not know exactly what that stuff's going to do to him down the line, but we can handle it. Alright?”

“I know,” Freddy nodded, squeezing the reassuring grip. “Of course I know we can. I just do not want Gregory to feel as though he is... not normal—not more than he already does.”

That cemented it. If he wasn’t a freak, they wouldn’t even having this conversation. Gregory needed to chill out. With no one to calm him down and run their fingers through his hair, it left only himself to do the job and attempt to self-soothe. Though it really didn’t feel right; maybe he was becoming too dependent?

They loved him now, he didn’t doubt that. But based on past experience, “love” generally came at a price. What would happen if his condition got worse? If it morphed into something they couldn’t deal with?

Inside the room, Charlie agreed with Freddy. “Yeah! Baby steps, you know? One day, Gregory’s going to want to be more independent. It’s our job to make sure he’ll be fine on his own when that time comes. But for now, we’re going to show him how much he means to us and be there as a family.”

It won’t be a long time from now, Charlie could see it. In four years, he’ll be able to drive. In six, he’ll legally be an adult. Soon enough, Gregory might not even need them anymore.

Charlie tried not to think this way. If they treated him well and raised him right, Gregory would always be their friend.

“Of course,” Freddy agreed immediately, frowning as an unfamiliar emotion burrowed itself in the base of his heart.

Charlie was right—Gregory was a child, and that meant that he was going to grow up someday. That had been their goal last weekend, after all—to keep him alive so he could have that opportunity. It was what they all wanted, and even though Gregory might not be “normal” anymore, he was still just a growing boy deep down. It was clear he cared for his surrogate family, of that Freddy had no doubt, and he loved the boy more than life itself.

So why did he feel a dull pang of hurt in his chest when he thought about the future?

It wasn't that far off—according to his records, children technically reached “adulthood” when they turned eighteen. That didn't necessarily mean they were all ready to set out in the world on their birthday, but it did for some. And Gregory was already such a resourceful, smart boy...

Freddy had literally given up his old life and body to take care of his son. Would there ever come a day when Gregory didn't... need him anymore?

“Fredbear? You okay?” Michael asked, watching the man have what appeared to be a major internal crises. Freddy had been staring at the ground for quite some time, looking utterly distraught. When Michael spoke he glanced up with a gasp, though he quickly composed himself.

“Yes, I am fine; my apologies,” the ursine man reassured.

No more thinking like that—we have many happy years together ahead of us.

Suddenly, a sound attracted Freddy's attention: the unmistakable squeak of sneaker against linoleum floor. His eyes flicked towards the open doorway, through which a tiny shadow could be seen ducking out of sight. “...Superstar? Are you out there?”

Wipe that sad look off your face now, Gregory thought to himself, pretending someone else was shouting at him to push down those emotions. You weren't about to see your dad and sister cry because of you. You were just walking over to ask for a few bucks for chips.

Gregory sure could play the part when he wanted to, poking his head around the corner and forcing an easygoing smile; he would pretend that he wasn't walking in on the most emotionally turbulent conversation he'd witnessed from his family.

“Heeey, can I get a few bucks for the vending machines? No one else had money on them.” Them meaning the dead friends his family seemed to suddenly have an issue with. “Surprisingly. Hahaha...” Gregory laughed at his own joke, throwing away the key to his feelings on this one.

The trio simply stared at Gregory for a moment, all of them looking very guilty. How much of that had he heard?

Soon, their gazes turned to each other. United in the face of not upsetting Gregory further, they telepathically agreed that Freddy would be the best one to handle this.

“I can get you a snack, Gregory,” he said in his gentle tone, pulling out a few bills from a back pocket that Sam had lent him earlier for this exact situation. Freddy didn't hand the money over though, instead holding it close to his chest with a questioning tilt of his head. “Do you mind if I come with you? I feel as though I have not seen you in a while, since you have been having so much fun with your friends!”

He gave a soft laugh, hoping the boy would agree to spend some much-appreciated alone time with his dad.

Gregory did tell the ghosts he'd be gone for a minute to catch up with Freddy and whoever else the bear may have been hanging out with. They shouldn't be expecting him back soon, but the kid couldn't help but think this might be a ploy for some lecture.

Gregory then thought that maybe he should trust his dad more, considering all they’d gone through together. Yet how could he when the things he was hearing behind closed doors was suspect?

The boy gave Freddy a pinched smile.

“'Course you can, Dad,” he said, attempting to be playful. Gregory hadn't heard a thing. “I was feeling one of those ready-to-eat taquitos by El Chip's?”

“Whatever you would like,” Freddy said amiably, pressing a gentle hand on Gregory's back to urge the boy forward. He sent a quick wave over his shoulder to Mike and Charlie, who gave him an encouraging thumbs-up when Gregory turned away.

The pair walked in silence for a short while. For once, the quiet was strained. They both knew that the other knew something was going on. Of course, it was Freddy who broke the peace, glancing down at his son while they strolled idly towards the main atrium.

“Gregory... I do not know how long you were standing out there, but I can guarantee you heard something of our discussion,” he remarked slowly, not wanting to push too much, too fast. Gregory had a tendency to shut down or turn his feelings inwards when pressured—it was something they were working on together, even if neither of them said it outright. Instead of being angry or upset at him for listening in, Freddy's gaze held only inquisitive concern. “May I ask what you were privy to?”

I'm a weirdo with no friends. I'm going to grow up and be a monster, and there's nothing anyone can do to help me. I'll be like my shitty foster dad. Or like William... Or WORSE.

Gregory appeared to gather his thoughts, when it was really just him trying his best not to shout the intrusive ones aloud. He didn't want to freak out his bear-dad. Gregory didn't even know if he had something to really worry about to begin with. When it came to his health, everything they mentioned seemed like a concern.

“I'm... different. Too different to have living people around,” Gregory said, not sugar-coating what he overheard. Gregory's arms came up to hug himself as he repeated what he interpreted from the chat he'd barged in on. He spoke with a powerful melancholy in his voice, like he already accepted that one day, he might wake up different or straight up dead altogether. “I might not live long as a real person, 'cause of that dumb purple stuff I was shot with...”

Freddy pursed his lips. He hated hearing Gregory talk like this—plus, some of his interpretations were just wrong.

“...Follow me,” Freddy said, leading the boy into an alcove nearby. Perching on a bench, he patted the open spot next to him. “Sit with me for a moment, superstar.”

As Gregory did as instructed, Freddy thought over how best to explain this. The last thing he wanted was for Gregory to feel unimportant or that he was a burden.

“First and foremost, please know that we were only talking about what is best for you,” Freddy reassured, grasping one of Gregory's hands in his own. “And I also want to assure you that I will never make major life decisions for you without consulting you first. Your siblings and I were simply discussing 'what ifs.' And speaking of—” His face melted into a kind smile. “—you are not too different to have living people around. That is not what we were saying. Yes, the Remnant altered your body in ways we do not fully understand yet—but that does not mean you are unable to be around others. It simply might be a bit of an adjustment interacting with 'typical' children due to your strength. That is all.”

Gregory was a little confused, so sure they’d been speaking as if he was too strange to be kept around less “specialized” kids. Not only was that the opposite of the truth, but they weren't planning on separating him from his old friends either. In that moment, it really hit Gregory just how much he may be overthinking things because of his former living arrangement...

“I... I think I get it now.” Gregory nodded his understanding to Freddy, his trembling hand clutched tight around his dad’s. Tears threatened to break as his lip wobbled while trying to work his way through his next question. “You promise you guys don't think I'm weird or that I'm going to turn into a monster?”

Freddy's face ran through a range of emotions in quick succession: confusion, understanding, regret, compassion.

“Oh my goodness... Gregory, you are not a monster,” he reassured, reaching over to scoop the boy into his lap and wrap him in an all-encompassing bear hug. “We love you so much and we would do anything to make sure you are safe and happy. No one thinks you are 'weird' or 'evil' or whatever other negative word you might come up with to describe yourself. And also—” He tightened his hold, pressing a quick kiss to the top of Gregory's head. “—you are going to live a long and prosperous life. If anything, you will live longer than expected due to the Remnant—so please do not speak of... of dying anytime soon.”

It was hard for Freddy to say the word aloud, as if that would somehow manifest the concept into existence.

Gregory relaxed against his dad quietly, time passing where it was merely him just trying to calm his breathing down. Freddy wouldn’t lie to him—in fact, he was almost certain that Freddy was incapable of leading him astray.

“I’ll be fine…,” Gregory said, speaking it out loud. He was fine physically, especially when he had his robotic guardian here to tell him that he was going to be a-okay. Even so Gregory didn’t know how to feel about the future. It was slowly approaching—soon he would be thirteen. While the changes in him had slowed down after the initial night he was injected, who knew what’d happen when teenage hormones were mixed with the chemicals flowing in his veins.

Still, Gregory had to let go of those fears for now if he was ever going to have hope.

“Thanks, Dad,” he murmured into Freddy’s soft sweater. “I feel a lot better…”

“Good; I know it is hard to talk about these things, but I am always here to listen,” Freddy let him know. “And I am sure anyone would lend you an ear, especially Charlie and Michael. They absolutely adore you, you know.”

For another moment they lapsed into silence, simply enjoying the company of family neither thought they’d ever have. Eventually, Gregory’s patience for sitting still was nearing its end, and Freddy smiled when he felt him start to wriggle.

“Alright—let us go on a little adventure,” he announced, shifting Gregory to his feet and grasping one of his hands. He shot the boy a look of playful chiding—

—not anger. Never anger when it came to Gregory’s curiosity.—

—and asked: “Now, were you actually hungry, or was just that an excuse?”

Most kids his age might be embarrassed at their parents trying to hold their hands. Gregory was just elated that he had one who cared enough to keep him at his side. Gregory wouldn’t ever complain about it; it showed him that Freddy cared.

“Oh yeah, I came up to ask for money for real,” Gregory insisted with an excitable nod. He was starving. “I have to get back to my friends right after. We’re playing Manhunt and they think I suck right now.”

Freddy chuckled, glad that Gregory was having fun with the others. Though it’d be good for him to make human friends as Charlie suggested, at least he’d always have the ghosts of the Pizzaplex to spend time with no matter what. As they climbed one of the powered-down escalators to reach El Chips, a flash of turquoise whipped out in front of them.

“Oh! Hello, Foxy!” Freddy called brightly. The animatronic had slipped out of Bonnie Bowl and was walking in their general direction. With a smile, Freddy waved him over. “I am sure you are busy getting the run of the place, but would you like a small break? I was just taking Gregory to get a snack—care to join us?”

Freddy knew the real reason the fox was rushing about, but he figured the party planning would be okay without him for a few minutes. Plus, Freddy had barely gotten to spend any time with his new-old friend without the Glamrocks, and was curious to know how he was coping with everything—especially with Michael’s influence ruminating in the back of his mind.

Foxy jumped, as if he was scampering about doing things he wasn’t supposed to. Which, technically, was true. Sun wasn't aware that Foxy plundered a lot of his candy or his Fizzy Faz supply. Though Foxy was sure that if he knew it was going as a contribution to Gregory’s party, Sun wouldn’t mind at all! Hiding the fat stack of soda and candy inside his chest compartment before turning on his peg, Foxy opened his arms wide with excitement.

“Absolutely! You’re both heading to Chip’s?” he asked, curious and trying to distract from the fact he was hiding something. If Foxy could get them to avoid walking through Music Man’s dance floor, the better. They didn’t need Gregory asking questions they simply couldn’t answer…

“We are,” Freddy replied with a nod. “Speaking of—here, superstar.” He pulled out a few bucks from his pocket and handed them over before sidling up to Foxy. He patted the pirate’s arm in a friendly gesture, grinning up at the animatronic brightly. “How are you adjusting to life at the Pizzaplex? I hope the others are not giving you too much trouble…”

Gregory was excited to see the familiar fox. While he knew that Michael no longer resided inside of the animatronic, Foxy had already proved himself to be a loyal friend. As the kid gave his leg a quick hug, Foxy carefully patted Gregory’s back while speaking to Freddy.

“Adjusting for certain! Been havin’ a few night terrors... Though Bonnie’s apparently been havin’ them, too,” Foxy replied with a casual and wholly unstressed shrug. “I think it’s my nerves! Having to perform on Monday and all—it’s going to be my first big gig!”

“Ah… I am sorry to hear that,” Freddy said empathetically. He felt a weird sense of guilt about the whole possession thing, especially the after-effects. Though he knew it wasn’t his fault in the slightest, Freddy’s intense involvement in the situation gave him an extra sense of responsibility towards those friends that were so greatly affected.

“Well, I am always here to talk if you need—but like you said, I am sure it is nerves,” the ursine man added calmly. Someday they’d tell Foxy what happened, but for now he could focus on his impending debut. Freddy patted the back of the pirate’s hook with a hearty laugh. “I know you will do fantastic, though!”

Talking about the band’s impending performance made him realize there was another factor he’d been meaning to discuss with Sam: what in the world were they going to do with his old model? They couldn’t just take Freddy Fazbear out of the line-up…

“It's fine—nothing more than my CPU keeping things interesting while I'm charging,” Foxy chalked it all up to be. Even if the deceptively smart robot had an inclination that the dreams really weren't normal, he was being coy about it.

Foxy walked beside his old friend, traveling with him as Gregory chose to run up ahead in search of his highly sought-after taquitos. He and Freddy moved at a leisurely pace, watching Gregory scamper in the distance.

“By the by, Fredbear...,” Foxy muttered quietly, lifting up his eyepatch to wink an unlit eye. “Make sure Gregory avoids the Dancefloor and DJ's place while we're setting up. We wouldn't want to ruin the surprise.”

“I can’t wait to hear you play drums!” Gregory remarked, Foxy’s attention snapping to the child mirthfully. He didn’t realize how quick it took Gregory to get back with his snacks, already pocketing Freddy’s change for himself and unwrapping the hot and ready taquito.

“I am excited as well!” Freddy said, his little smile signaling he understood the pirate's warning perfectly. “We have not had a drummer in the Glamrock Band yet, so I am very curious as to how things will work out!”

Yes, technically “working things out” on stage would soon be Freddy's job. But according to his employee log he'd only been hired a few days ago, so he was slotted to be trained for a little bit before he was given full creative control—despite the fact that Sam knew the former lead singer of the band could put on a better show than all the previous stage managers combined.

Sam had sort of found the dream team he always needed for the new admins of the Pizzaplex. With Michael and Charlie there to help, along with Freddy still leading his band from behind the thick velvet curtains, he'd have a lot less to worry about. After all that seemingly went wrong in one weekend, he couldn't risk another major loss.

“We'll have tomorrow morning to practice and figure it out! To be honest, Bonnie's had his head wrapped up in recent activities,” Foxy said with a flick of his wrist. “So we haven't been able to practice much! Aside from that, we're still technically missing our front-man.”

All this didn't help Foxy's nervousness, but he was programmed to be the best drummer ever conceived for the Pizzaplex.

“Roxy let me play her keytar! The ol' wolf got jealous over how much better I am than her at it. Now I'm not even allowed to look at it,” he half-joked, and Gregory could've sworn he'd heard this same story before though with the name changed from Roxy to Lizzie. Gregory found himself laughing at Foxy like he would at his brother for antagonizing their siblings.

“Sounds like you deserve it!” Gregory pointed out, munching on his taquito.

“—Yeah, you've got a point,” Foxy conceded, following the family on their lazy hike through his new home.

Freddy chuckled at the anecdote, happy that Foxy seemed to be doing just fine with his new companions. Michael's influence was strong in his personality, and Freddy idly wondered if Foxy would be able to sense the connection before it was blatantly pointed out.

“Ah, speaking of your missing front-man—” Freddy began, his brow creasing ever so slightly. “—I should speak to Sam about what exactly we are going to do come Monday. I do not know if he will have another animatronic up and running by then...”

It was weird to call the lead singer “Freddy,” and the ursine man knew it'd be even weirder when the bear was functional again. Looking to Gregory, Freddy inquired: “Do you want to come with me, superstar? I have a feeling Sammy may enlist your help when it comes time for it—this will be a slightly different process than re-activating the rest of the Glamrocks.”

Gregory had balled up the paper wrapper that the taquito came in, aiming for a nearby trash can as they passed. “Sure; if Sam needs my help, I'm there.”

“I'll tag along, too; that way I can report to the others later,” Foxy said, using his claw to brush through the long mane of hair on his head. Freddy was always the leader—even if this iteration of Foxy was new, he knew this intrinsically. It brought him to a state of unease not knowing what they’d do if they didn't have someone up there singing. Certainly they wouldn't let such a thing happen on opening day—that would just be irresponsible on Sammy's part.

“Of course—the more the merrier!” Freddy replied cheerfully. Now satisfied they had a direction, he led the charge to Sam's office. The door was closed as usual, which either meant Sam was working on something inside or he was out.

“Sam?” Freddy asked, knocking a few times. “Do you have a moment? I would like to ask you about something work-related!”

“Door’s open,” Sam called. This time he sounded wide awake, wired even. As the small group peaked in, Sam was clearly in the middle of something, though he wasn't so engulfed that he was unable to greet them with more than a passing question tossed over his shoulder. “Everything alright, Freddy?”

Sam was bent over the small work desk stowed into the corner of the larger office space, tinkering on the inside of a virtual reality headset. It looked as if he’d gutted the thing and moved on to reintegrating it's components with new parts.

“Yes, everything is fine.” Freddy led the others inside, making sure the door was closed behind the trio. He eyed Sammy's back curiously, wondering what in the world he was thinking up now. “Since the re-debut is fast-approaching, we wanted to ask you about your plans for my old body? I am assuming he will be up and running at some point, though I know it will be a different effort to get him to that level since I am no longer available...” He paused, tilting his head. “...What are you working on, if I may ask?”

Sam let out a small sigh. He was once again reminded of their deadline, and the clock was unforgiving.

“Remember when I said I was going to get some sleep?” Sam answered them with a question, finally turning around to scan the group.

“Yes?” Foxy answered, vaguely remembering Sam having to retire to his office to get some shut-eye. His sleep schedule was just as messed up as poor Gregory's at this point.

“—Right, well, I didn't.” Sam shrugged, heaving the half-conceived invention in his hands. “This is a Virtual Reality headset; it’s from an old venture that never panned out. I thought that maybe by taking some of its adapter capabilities and retro fitting it into Freddy—not you Freddy, but old Freddy; your old body—maybe you could control the empty animatronic!”

He spoke in an excited manner, which melted back into frustration with how long it'd taken him to even get this far. He sacrificed a lot of time on it—too much, really.

Sam carefully put the headset down on the workbench, eyeing it with a frustrated huff. “It's taking longer than I expected, though. The goal was to let you control your old body from offstage... If I can't get it working decently by tomorrow afternoon, I'll have to resort to plan B.”

Gregory raised his eyebrows, worried as Sam seemed to sway a little on his feet. He knew the feeling of nearly falling asleep while standing up all too well. Gregory helped steady his friend, and Sam looked surprised for a split-second before Gregory asked him: “What's plan B?”

Sam gritted his teeth and looked away, maybe a little worried about bringing it up. “Well! Uh... It would be re-downloading Freddy's old, basic programming back into the model. The issue with that would be obvious: two Freddies.”

“Samuel... you are a genius,” the redhead breathed, looking over the headset with wide-eyed fascination. If he could still control his old body and perform on stage that would be amazing.

His bright grin fell ever-so-slightly when Sam mentioned he was nowhere near done though. The man was right—it was a great concept, but they needed to have something Freddy-related working by Monday or there might be a riot from the patrons.

Helping Gregory steady his hard-working creator, Freddy listened to the alternative. There was a pause in which everyone looked at the ursine man, clearly expecting him to speak on the matter first. It would be his body double wandering around, after all.

“It... would be a strange circumstance, that is for certain,” Freddy said after a moment, his words slow as he processed his thoughts aloud. “But... our AI is made to learn and adapt to the world around us. Each day we are powered on, the more distinct our personalities become.” He gave the room a soft smile, pressing a hand lightly over his heart. “I think I can safely attest that due to my extraordinary experiences, I am nothing like the bear I was when first given life.”

Would it be bizarre to interact with what was essentially a past version of himself? Absolutely—but Freddy thought he could get over it. However, he wasn't the only one that would be weirded out by the situation. Sparing a glance down at Gregory, he asked: “Would you be alright with another Freddy wandering around, superstar? Our base temperaments are the same, though he may be rather, ah... stilted in the ways of dealing with people until he gets some practice in. It may be a bit jarring to interact with him.”

Gregory didn't really know if he could answer that. With everyone staring at him and waiting for an answer, he turned inwards to think. How would that make him feel? Two people who were essentially the same, only one doesn't know who he is at all. The other is the same guy, but also Gregory’s dad?

“Uhhh...” Gregory gave up a shrug. It would be cheesy for him to say it in front of everyone, but to him there would only ever be one real Freddy Fazbear. “Whatever you have to do, I guess! I’m cool with it.”

Foxy crossed his arms and shook his head. “No way! There can't be two Freddy's running about doling out orders!”

Besides, there’d be less opportunity to sneak around. Word has it that Fredbear used to be a real stickler for the rules.

Sam would give Foxy a playful role of his eyes. “Yeah, but then there's another bear for your pirate crew.”

Foxy considered this, scratching his chin in thought. “Aye, maybe then... Maybe...”

Freddy's lips had pursed at Foxy's mini-rant, somehow knowing the underlying meaning was that he wouldn't be able to cause as much trouble. It's not like Freddy wasn't any fun, though—he just wanted to make sure everyone was safe while doing so. It wasn't his fault Sam had given him the strictest child-safety protocols besides the Daycare attendant...

When Gregory and Foxy had given their agreement, Freddy looked back to Sam with a nod. “Then that seems to be the solution we must go with—for now, at least.”

They could always try the VR thing once it was up and running, although who knew how long that would take Sam to finish up once the Pizzaplex was actually open for business. Sparing a glance at his phone, Freddy's eyes widened at the time.

“If we do this, Sammy, when were you planning to port over my old programming?” the redhead asked. “If possible, I would like to be there to assist.”

And to assure everything is alright, he left unspoken. If there was going to be another Freddy walking around, the original wanted to make sure it was up to his standards.

“At the latest, noon on Monday. That's about as long as I can keep any kids from seeing you—er, him,” Sam replied, glad to see Freddy and Gregory were mostly unfazed by such a drastic change. He was also curious to see how the two bears would end up getting along. “From there, we can see what needs to be worked on; make sure that there's nothing screwy going on with his motor functions or programming.”

After all, it would be a real problem if even a smidgeon of William’s twisted soul was still hiding somewhere in a character profile... Sam and Gregory did a deep, comprehensive wide-scale purge of the Pizzaplex's entire data system, and while the chances of the old fuck hiding in there were very slim it didn't hurt to be careful.

“Hmm... alright,” Freddy mused, thinking of the timing of everything. “Perhaps we can port him over tomorrow night? That way you will not have to worry about such a big task during opening hours, even if the guest count is low. We may be able to get some of the other children to help test his interactions as well before letting him out on the floor come Monday morning!”

Some of the mild-tempered children, at least, like Evan and Hannah. Maybe Lizzie, if she begged to come along. Besides, Freddy would prefer he and Gregory have a little time to get used to his old-new counterpart before getting swept up in the hustle of entertaining kids and their demanding parents.

Seeing this place bustling again was what Sam wanted more than anything in the whole world. Foxy did in a way too, nervous the more that their afternoon shows went unpracticed for.

“The sooner he's awake the better,” the fox remarked, seeming just a little worried as he gently tussled the hair at the back of his head.

Without Freddy here all the time, the group barely wanted to get together and practice. While it was fun to slack off, playing video games and planning for parties, Foxy was aware that if they didn't run through the set list at least once before the real show they might eat it out there. Even if they were programmed to play perfectly, he’d yet to get a chance jamming with the band.

“You guys are gonna do great on your gig,” Gregory assured, reaching up to hold Foxy’s hand without a hint of the shyness he’d shown Monty and Bonnie.

“I sure hope you're right, bucko.” Foxy gave Gregory's hand a firm squeeze of appreciation, trying not to infect the others with his issues.

“Foxy—” Freddy began, one eyebrow quirked up to go along with the smile on his face. He'd had a similar thought to the pirate regarding the band's practice time, although he was a bit more confident they would do just fine. All the same, it certainly wouldn't hurt to have a test run. “—you do realize that I can still perform as I am now, right? It will not be quite the same as having my old body on stage with you, but my voice is still intact—and I guarantee I have not forgotten any of the dance moves.”

They still had some time tonight; maybe he could corral his bandmates and run through a song or two, for old times' sake. It would almost be like a send-off, in a way—not that Freddy couldn't ever perform with them again, but someday they'd be programmed with new routines that he wasn't privy to unless he specially requested Sam upload them into his android brain as well.

Yes... running around the stage with his old friends was just what Freddy needed to work off the lingering melancholy from earlier.

“FREDDY! That's why you're the leader—why didn't I think of just asking you?” Foxy laughed to himself, slapping a hand over his eye as the patch flipped up of its own accord. Holding his arm out for Freddy to latch onto, he offered to lead him to the others. It was about time they all hung out together without the kids around, anyway!

“Hey—I gotta go back to playing Manhunt anyway,” Gregory announced, knowing Freddy liked to be aware of where he went. Hopefully his dad would be cool with him dipping out for a few hours to finish the game he’d started with the ghosts. “See you guys back at the stage in the morning?”

“Of course, superstar,” Freddy replied, crouching down and pull his son into a hug. He let the embrace linger a bit longer than usual, silently reminding Gregory that he loved him unconditionally no matter what happened in their futures. When he pulled back it was with a wink and a grin. “Feel free to bring your friends by the stage tonight if you would like to watch part of the performance.”

With this out of the way, Freddy slipped his arm into Foxy's. “Alright, let us go round up the others. Goodness knows where they have all wandered off to... But first—” Before he started for the door, he was sure to grab onto Sammy's hand, sounding not unlike Mike when Sam refused to settle down despite how absolutely exhausted he was. “—we are taking a detour to the Daycare so you can get another rest in. And no, that is not a suggestion. Let us go.”

“Ooooh, you're in trouble, Sam!” Gregory teased, goading them on as they parted ways and Sam was forced to keep up with his creation’s pace. 

“Yeah, yeah—have fun, Gregory!” Sam bid, waving a hand dismissively and ultimately deciding to listen to Freddy. He was certain that no one looking at him assumed he had his eyes open; they were squinted so bad behind his glasses that anyone would have reasonable suspicion to ask whether or not he was sleepwalking.

By the time they got the Daycare, poor Sam was practically being held up by Freddy, most of his weight slumped into the former bear's side. It seemed like all his exhaustion had hit him at once on the way over, and Freddy was happy he'd forced the CEO to take a break. After dropping him off with a quick check-in with Mari and Ennard—who were practicing “human conversation” over a plastic tea party, Freddy figured the best place to start looking for the rest of the crew would be Rockstar Row.

“So, Foxy—” Now that Gregory was no longer around, Freddy was free to ask: “—how is the party planning, by the way? I regret that I cannot take a more active role, but I need to be available in case Gregory needs me to keep up appearances.”

Foxy knocked a hand against his chest plate, watching it open and revealing the large cache of snacks and beverages he'd been smuggling throughout the Pizzaplex for Gregory's party.

“We've nearly got all the supplies ready! But no sweat, Fazbear—” Foxy replied, closing himself back up to clap his friend's shoulder in a supportive manner. “That's the reason why we're doing it! Bonnie said you, Mikey, and Charlie are all busy with everything, and we happen to have the time! We are professional party animals, remember?”

It only came natural to want to throw a huge shindig the moment that they heard a child's birthday was taking place, especially one so important. Foxy peeked inside Roxy’s room to see her doing nothing that he considered particularly important. Roxy was putting her hair into curlers for the night, carefully and strategically rolling the very last plastic tube into place before taking her silk cap and stretching it over her scalp (she didn't need to do any of this, of course, but it made her happy). Foxy looked bored just by watching it, so he quickly hoofed it over to her door and kicked it in, making the wolf jump and shout at the intrusion. Apparently this wasn't the first time Foxy had done this; Roxy even looked to be half expecting it.

“Foxy, get OUT OF MY ROOM!” she shouted, standing up and wholly embarrassed as they saw her nightly beauty routine.

“Band practice is in fifteen minutes!” Foxy shouted back, ignoring the wolf coming at him threateningly with a curling iron. Roxy gasped, yellow eyes flicking to Freddy and widening at his nod of confirmation.

“I'll be ready in ten!” she yelled, pointing the iron at Foxy's nonplussed head. “Now leave so I can get ready!” She may have sounded mad, but Roxy was fighting down the urge to smile very badly.

Having lived with the Glamrocks for his entire existence until a week ago Freddy had seen it all before, though some of their little quirks never failed to amuse him. While Roxy pointlessly curled her always-perfect hair, Monty was busy sitting on the couch in his room practicing his solos. This wasn’t necessary either, as he was literally programmed to play perfectly every time unless there was a major malfunction. Still, it made the gator feel better about usurping Bonnie as the bassist if he at least pretended to try and improve.

“Huh?” The sick guitar licks came to a sudden halt at the knock on the gator’s door. “Door’s open—come on in! Fredbear!” After placing the bass reverently in its stand, Monty stomped forward to give the ursine man a big hug.

“Hi, Monty!” Freddy laughed, doing his best to pat the gator’s arms until he was released. “We are getting the band together in fifteen minutes for a practice session at the main stage.”

“Oh! Well I shouldn’t’ve put my bass down then,” Monty remarked with a raucous chuckle. He snatched up the instrument and hooked it over his shoulder before following Freddy into the hallway.

Catching sight of Chica through her half-open window, Monty knocked a claw against the glass to get her attention. When she turned to him with a curious squawk, he pointed to his guitar and mimed playing it, then jerked a thumb over his shoulder in the vague direction of the stage. Freddy watched the pantomiming with amusement, wondering if Chica would have any idea what Monty was trying to tell her.

Chica herself had been doing jumping jacks. Exercising was… pointless. At least to her it was. No matter how much Chica ate, or how inactive she was, she would stay the same unless she was majorly junked up by some bad pizza. Still, Chica had to set a good example. Former versions of herself framed childhood binge eating as something to aspire to—and in turn, Glamrock Chica was given an interest in healthy habits despite her continued love for pizza.

Pulled away from her cardio, her eyes widened at what she was pretty sure Monty was asking of her. Ceasing her activities, she ran to grab her guitar. She’s been itching to jam with the band for a hot second. She held up her axe to make sure that was what Monty was actually asking for. Upon receiving an enthusiastic thumbs up, Chica’s smile brightened. With her guitar strap securely around her shoulders, she was the first to bolt out of the hallway, heading off to go tell Bonnie that they were putting on a show.

“Alright everyone!” Freddy said once they'd all gathered together, projecting his voice to be heard in the echoing atrium as he hopped on stage. The rest of the band lulled around in front where the crowd would stand, tuning instruments and chatting until Freddy made his appearance. Naturally, all eyes turned towards their stalwart leader.

“First, before we get to practicing I have an announcement to make,” Freddy said, grasping the wireless mic at the front of the stage and unhooking it from its stand. It felt both familiar and foreign in his hands—he’d been using a variation of this same mic forever, but it’d always been held in paws. Without a dragging cord, Freddy was able to pace the stage freely as he spoke.

“I am sure you all are wondering about the elephant in the room—or should I say bear.” There was a collective groan at the lame dad joke, though Freddy thought he heard a distinctive snicker from Bonnie and Foxy’s direction. “I spoke with Sammy about what we are going to do now that I am in this body. Unfortunately I cannot switch back and forth at will, so my old form will need something to keep it running to entertain the guests and put on shows with you all.

“We toyed with a potential idea where I would still be in control behind the scenes, but it is not quite ready yet. So… We have decided to upload the base coding of my original personality into the animatronic instead.” He paused a moment to let this sink in, awaiting the inevitable flood of questions.

Bonnie was the first one to respond. Perched atop a backless stool that he nearly fell off of with the news, the wide-eyed rabbit gasped at the idea of there being two of his best friends walking around.

“Wowee, Fredbear,” Bonnie exclaimed, all bushy-tailed and chipper. “That'll be neat!”

“I don't know, Bon-Bon,” Chica remarked, idly thumming the frets of her electric guitar. “It's sounds kinda confusing to me. Like… Two? How are we going to know which one's which?”

Roxy gave her friend an incredulous glance, holding in a laugh. “…Are you kidding me? One's going to look like a bear, and the other one is a human man, Chica!”

Freddy gave the group an easy smile, but when he opened his mouth to speak Monty chimed in.

“So... does that mean you're gonna be hangin' with us, or... not you?” The gator scratched his head, clearly in a similar boat to Chica.

“We will both be around,” Freddy tried to explain. “But as Roxy said, I—the Freddy you are familiar with—will retain this body, while the new one uses my old animatronic.”

“Huh...” Monty looked contemplative for a moment, the tip of his tail flicking ever so slightly from side to side. Then he shrugged, tapping an idle claw on the bass around his shoulders. “Alrighty then—as long as y'all don't team up to get on our cases, we'll be good!”

“If you do not cause trouble, we will not have to,” Freddy pointed out with a stern eyebrow raise.

Monty just huffed and looked away with a grumble to the effects of, “...still annoyin' as heck, that's for sure...”

“Aw heck, Montgomery.” Bonnie bumped the big gator's arm with his own, feeling that Freddy's tendencies to overthink and care about the wellbeing of his friends were a blessing in disguise. “Freddy's just a good pal! Making sure none of us get in trouble with the Boss, always keepin' us safe and up to code... In fact, where would we be if not for Freddy and the kids today?”

“Yeah!” Chica agreed, cocking her head to the side as she remembered the times Freddy had personally helped her out. Too many pizzas and the cheese could easily gunk up a girl’s voice box controls... “Like what Gregory says: he's got total 'Dad Energy!’”

Roxy and Foxy were a little smarter than to put in their two cents. Yes, they loved Freddy dearly, but those two always thought they could handle themselves regardless of whether or not Freddy was present. Still, it was obvious to everyone how much they always wanted Fredbear around!  

“Alright, alright!” Monty held up his claws with a laugh. “I'm not sayin' it's a bad thing to have two Fredbears—'course I love him just as much as y'all, even if they're both lecturin' me in stereo!”

“Thank you, everyone,” Freddy chuckled once the commotion had died down. He had one hand pressed over his heart and a big smile on his face. He knew they all cared for him, but it was still nice to hear aloud. “I just wanted to let you know what would be happening so you are not confused when the bear starts wandering around and I am not in it.”

A tiny crease formed in his brow. “We will need to upload a base personality that had not been exposed to guests so it may take a bit of adjustment, which I am hoping Gregory can help with—and you all, of course. I am trusting you to show new Freddy the ropes!”

“Oooh man! Freddy's not going to know what's even going on! It'll be like when we first got activated...” Roxy reminisced, back when things were just a little more simple: few stores and places to eat, with one big stage to perform on. Now things were so hectic. They were local celebrities with a legion of fans now dedicated to them. “Hope we don't overwhelm the guy.”

Foxy gave an exaggerated shrug. “Doubt it; Freddy will know exactly what to do! It'll just take a second for him to get to know you all again. Just like me, remember?”

Only a few days ago did Foxy really “wake up,” yet he felt like he'd been here for a long time already. Accepted so instantaneously by his peers, Foxy was sure that new Freddy would fit in just fine.

Bonnie leaned back, paws behind his head as he thought aloud to himself. “I hope he likes bowlin'...”

“I am sure he will, Bon,” Freddy said with a bright smile. He clapped his hands together, wary of the mic still in his grip that he now spoke into. “Now, onto the real reason I gathered you here—just because my old model is currently deactivated does not mean I cannot practice with you!”

“Aw, heck yeah!” Monty exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air. “I've been itchin' to perform again!” He jumped to his feet, grabbing the closest robot and tugging them forward—which in this case happened to be Roxy. “No time to waste—let's goooo!”

“Bonnie, would you mind activating the sound booth?” Freddy asked as everyone took their places. While the rabbit might not be back in the lineup yet, he could still help them out in so many ways. Freddy looked down at his old friend with a preemptively thankful grin. “Pick whatever showtime set catches your fancy, and we will work from that lineup!”

“It'd be my honor!” Bonnie hopped up quickly from his seat, doing a little half jog to make his way off the stage—but not before smacking Foxy's good arm as he passed. “Break a leg out there, Foxy!”

“Too late, bunny-boy,” Foxy pointed out, sticking out his peg leg as he began to unscrew the hook attachment on his arm. He was quick to replace it with another tool: an attachable drum stick that made it a little bit handier as a drummer. That way he didn't have to sacrifice skill for speed while keeping the beat.

Bonnie threw back his head in laughter as he climbed towards the top of the sound stage, readying the lights and the fog machine to give it the appearance of a real show. Speaking into the microphone, he directed his friends. “Alright y'all—everyone's instruments tuned?”

Chica gave her guitar a quick strum before finding the right power chord for her amp, then sent Bonnie a thumbs up to the sound booth above. There was a test of the mic, and Foxy experimentally smacking the electric drums at the very back of the stage while Roxy warmed up her finger joints over the keys of her synth. Then, the sound of live music finally filled the long empty halls of the Pizzaplex...

It was a wonderful feeling to sing on stage again. Wonderful... and bittersweet. Freddy knew he could always have late-night performances like this with his friends, but it'd never be the same as before.

He wasn't the same as before. And while he'd certainly improved for the better, this truly felt like the final step in accepting that his life as Freddy Fazbear, official mascot of the Mega Pizzaplex, had come to a close.

But hey—he'd gained a family out of this whole adventure. And really, that's all he'd ever wanted.

***

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