#but they are too important not to read them. sadly. and there's plenty to read into anyway

[bernardsbendystraws]

Synopsis: Matt and Chris bring you some much-needed relief on your period.

Warnings: SMUT & FLUFF, bloody lube iykwim, you're literally on your period, soft dom chris and matt. Doll!Reader x Chratt - don’t like, don’t read, go suck a brick

A/N: Currently on my period so I'm projecting. Deal with it bro.

With love and big tits, Rose

wc: 1900+

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“Sweetheart…” Matt coos, petting your hair out of your face as a stray tear falls from the corner of your eye and onto his chest. He hates to see you like this, so overwhelmed with emotions and pain. 

All three of you are curled up in Chris’s bed. You felt extra needy, and they definitely didn’t mind. The pair both hated seeing you feel so crappy, but the fact that you really just wanted them to comfort you… it made them proud how safe you felt with them. 

“Doll, you want the heating pad again?” Chris asks, his hand grazing lightly over your cramping stomach. 

You shake your head sadly. You didn’t want a heating pad, you just wanted the pain to stop. And so far nothing has helped. 

“It hurts.” The repetitive statement falls from your lips once more. Both boys sigh, exchanging a look of defeat. What else would even help? You’d taken medicine, you’d drank plenty of water, you tried the heating pad, and you even tried taking a bath. Nothing helped. It was all pointless. 

A specifically sharp cramp in your gut makes you whimper into Matt’s chest. He holds you closer, looking at Chris with a certain stare. “Hold on, let me see if I can figure something else out,” Chris says, leaning over to pick his phone off the nightstand. 

Matts kisses your forehead over and over again, whispering sweet condolences as he hugs you into his chest while Chris digs through the internet for a different solution to try. 

And he finds one. But - he’s just not sure. 

He sends the website to Matt, placing his phone down before patting on his lap. “Doll, c’mere,” he whispers, shooting Matt a glance to urge him to check his phone. The second you shift onto his lap, he starts to pet your hair behind your ear, frowning as he feels a thin layer of sweat coating your forehead. You’re really struggling. 

Matt reads through the article quickly, still making sure to pay attention to the important details. It made sense. Making you feel good would help with the pain, and at this point, they were desperate to see you with any sort of relief. 

Setting his phone back on the nightstand, Matt spoons you from behind. You shiver as you feel his lips gently start to kiss along your neck, hovering over your sweet spot as he nips lightly. Every sensation is amplified. You can’t help but let out a whine, your body contorting in search of more relief. 

“Do you want us to make you feel good, Doll?” Chris husks, biting on his lower lip as he watches your face relax with pleasure. 

But, you’re reluctant. You’ve never had period sex, it seemed inconvenient and hard to enjoy. 

“It might make you feel better,” Matt whispers, his hand crawling up the oversized shirt on your body, carefully cradling your sensitive breasts as he starts to grind his hips against you. 

“It’s gonna,” you shriek as Matt sucks on your sweet spot, a warmth spreading through your body as your hand travels up to his hair, “-gonna be too messy.” 

Chris moves your hair to keep your neck fully exposed for Matt, his tongue prodding through the corner of his lips as his eyes worship the sight of you in his lap, so blissed out. “Don’t worry about the mess. We just wanna make the pain go away - make you feel good. How does that sound?” he questions. 

As you open your mouth to respond, you feel Matt’s fingers graze over your nipples, your stomach dropping as you feel a familiar pressure start to ache between your thighs. 

“I.. okay,” you sigh hesitantly, your hand grasping harder into Matt’s hair as you feel his hips go rigid, grinding fully against you. 

You feel Matt begin to smile against your neck, his hand sneaking downwards from your belly button, grazing over the fabric of your panties. It feels so good - but, the anxiety you get feels awful. 

“Wait,” you announce, pulling Matt’s hand away by his wrist, “I…I don’t know about this.” Your voice wavers with uncertainty, an embarrassing pink warmth painting over your cheeks. 

Chris knows what’s wrong - even Matt does. 

“How about we let you do whatever you need to do first, we’ll get some towels and then we can come back and see how you feel?” Chris says, petting over your cheek with his thumb. 

The sigh of relief escaping your lips makes him smile. 

___

It had been a couple of minutes. Matt and Chris had laid multiple towels on the bed, fluffing the pillows while they waited for you to come out from the bathroom. Looking towards each other, they sigh. You just need… some encouragement. 

Chris walks over, softly knocking on the door. “Doll? Do you…can I come in?” 

Hesitantly, you turn the knob to let him in. Chris looks at your anxious expression, sighing as he runs his hands down your arms before grasping onto your hands. “We don’t have to do anything if you don’t wanna. I just… there’s nothing to be scared of. A bit of blood is not gonna gross anyone out or make us feel differently about you, okay?” You nod. Chris leans forward, pressing a gentle kiss on your cheek before pulling you out to the bedroom. 

Matt is sitting on the edge of the bed. He pats on the towel, helping you lay down. The oversized T-shirt is still covering you, but that’s it. 

“Can I kiss you? Is that okay?” Matt asks, looking at you for confirmation. 

As you nod, he lays himself to prop up on his elbow, cradling the side of your face as he places his lips on yours. The way he moves his tongue into your mouth drives you insane, your lips vibrating with a hum as you let him explore your mouth. 

Meanwhile, Chris is slowly grazing his hand up and down your thigh, moving his fingers inward inch by inch. He knows he needs to take it slow, be as gentle as possible, and make sure you feel comfortable at all times. This wasn’t about anyone but you. 

“Can we,” Matt pants against your neck, his hand fiddling with the hem of the shirt covering your body, “-can we get this off, sweetheart?” 

As you nod affirmatively, you sit up just enough to let them peel off the shirt. But, as you lay back down, you get more aware of how sticky your inner thighs have gotten, looking down to see a red crimson already covering the fabric below you.

Matt notices your gaze, his hand cupping the side of your face to bring your attention back to him, “Don’t worry about it, okay? It’s just towels.” 

His face furrows with confusion as you shake your head. “No, no,” you start off, wincing as you look towards both of them, the clothes still covering their bodies, “I don’t wanna get it on you guys, you love this shirt,” you point out. 

Before anyone can waste a breath, they both strip bare. It makes you smile as you watch Chris peel off his Pepsi boxers, throwing the prized possession across the room without a care.

“There, all better. Now can I make my girl feel good?” Chris asks, impatiently starting to part your thighs, his eyes bulging at the heavenly sight in front of him. You’re just so… drenched. He can’t hold himself back from thinking about what it must feel like to be inside of you right now. 

However, as his hands nearly prod into your folds, your legs snap shut. 

Chris leans his head against your knees. “You’re killin’ me,” he whines. 

Your panicked eyes shift over to Matt. He scoops his hand beneath your knee, spreading you back open before hovering his lips over yours. “It’s okay,” he says, pecking your lips sweetly.

You feel Chris’s fingers teasing along your inner thigh, slightly grazing over your folds as your mouth drops open with a gasp. 

As his fingers circle on your very sensitive clit, you gasp into Matt’s mouth as he starts to ravish you with hungry, open-mouthed kisses. He laughs as you squeeze onto his shoulder, momentarily stopping from returning the affection as Chris does sinful things between your legs. 

“It feels good, huh?” he purrs, petting your hair behind your ear as you nod vigorously. 

This is what you needed, this is what your body craved - pleasure. 

“More…more, please,” you moan. 

Matt is hypnotized from your fucked-out expression. He knows you’re sensitive, but fuck… it was a perfect sight. Looking down, he watches as Chris’s fingers sink into your heat, a loud squelch making his dick pulse. 

It sounds heavenly. 

“I… oh my,” you seethe, your nails digging into Matt’s bicep as your other hand clutches into the sheets. 

“Look at that…” Matt says, swallowing thickly as he lets his hand wrapped around your thigh shift, pulling your leg over his shoulder as his fingers wander to your swollen clit. He can feel your body shaking every time Chris plunges his fingers and curls them at the perfect spot inside of you. The overbearing thoughts plundering through his brain become more intense as lewd noises echo through the room. 

This is relief. Your stomach is building knots of pressure, a feeling of your heart dropping with each motion making your muscles tense up more and more. 

“I - I - ah,” you gasp, your head swinging back into the fluffy pillows as your hips flex upwards to chase more. 

“There we go,” Chris purrs, licking over his lips as he focuses on curling his fingers meticulously against the spongy part inside your walls, grinning as he feels you clench harder around his digits, the squelches becoming louder and louder as more red leaks from you. 

Matt is biting hard on his lower lip, his eyes tracing back and forth from your blissed expression to the sight between your legs. It’s all so pretty, it’s a sight he wants engraved in his mind. 

Your hips rock ruthlessly against their hands and the mattress. Desperate cries push through your lips as your legs quiver. You’re so close. 

“C’mon, let go. Being such a good girl,” Matt praises, breathless just from the sight as his finger continuously circles on your clit, “-just let it feel good, sweetheart. I… fuck,” he hisses, the piercing sting of your nails in his arm intensifying. 

A long, dragged moan escapes your mouth, your body becoming completely stiff as pleasure crashes onto you. 

“Thaatt’sss it, princess, you deserve to feel so good, just - just let it feel so good,” Matt husks, kissing on your temple as they both ride you through the high. 

As your body falls limp, Chris slowly pulls out his fingers, wincing as he hears you let out a whine. “-’m sorry, sorry,” he whispers, kissing on your knee while gently setting your legs comfortably back onto the bed.

“How do you feel about a shower? Gettin’ all cleaned up, hm?” Matt asks.

You nod lazily, hearing as Chris quickly runs off to the bathroom to wash off his hands and grab a warm, wet cloth. 

Chris whispers another apology as you flinch from the wet cloth. He wipes you off as gently as possible, mesmerized from how beautiful you look. “You’re so pretty like this,” he announces. 

Both boys laugh as they hear you groan. “Shut up. I look ill.” 

“Do you at least feel better?” Matt asks, smiling as you nod your head slowly, leaning into his chest, “-Good.” 

[galedekarios]

Hello, big fan of your Gale content um I just saw this post on X that really annoyed me that was a graphic saying Gale would use 3 in 1 shampoo implying he is lazy with his hygiene and that another character was more like that and it had like 6k likes and I just wonder why everyone mischaracterizes our best wizard so much? Generic male expectations? Justice for Gale. He deserved that lavender bath.

thank you for your message and kind words! 🖤

i haven't seen the post you're referring to so i can't say too much about it, but if we talk about the general concept of hygiene and personal care, in my heart i know the following truth:

gale loves his little indulgences and that includes the finer things in life, like taking long baths, perfumes, massages, and the like.

once he feels better again and has the spoons to fully appreciate it, he would have a ridiculously elaborate 13 step self-care routine, beard oils and all of that.

(we know his year of isolation likely led to him neglecting himself, given tara's repeated lines about not eating enough, as well as gale letting his beard growing out.)

in early access, he had this dialogue with the protag, about dreaming of a nice lavender scented bath:

Gale: Time is a precious gift. With time, we may even reach Baldur's Gate, a city rife with magic, wizards, scholars, and perhaps: solutions.  Player: In that case I share your optimism. Here's to the journey ahead.  Gale: And here's to your company.  Gale: Oh, I can picture it now: academies, libraries, laboratories – the assembled knowledge of centuries that may just set us free. Better yet: soft beds, home cooked meals, and all the other little luxuries this wilderness so brashly denies us. Gods, I'd pay a king's ransom for a hot, lavender-scented bath – minstrels serenading as I close my eyes and let the water's warmth dissolve all woes. Plenty to look forward to.

this was sadly cut.

i also seem to recall another line of dialogue in early access where a companion commented on gale using a waterdhavian scent/perfume, which had woody undertones. if i can find it, i'll be sure to post about it.

but still, he still has similar lines in the full release version, like in this banter with shadowheart:

Gale: I must tell you, Shadowheart, the bathing waters here leave much to be desired. devnote: A bit know it all Gale: The ablutions offered at the Temple of Beauty in Waterdeep are far superior. And they have the most excellent soaps. devnote: A bit know it all Shadowheart: Hmm. I was wondering why you always smelled like a wealthy dowager. devnote: Teasing

bathing waters, excellent soaps and ablutions at the temple of beauty in waterdeep. the temple of beauty is a temple to the goddess sune, the goddess of beauty and passion.

"Her temples usually held social salons and displayed mirrors for use by lay parishioners. Some of them even had public baths for the local populace. Her shrines often stood on the corner of busy city streets. They would have a small ornate overhanging roof with a mirror underneath. They were used to check one's appearance while honoring Sune with prayer. Some shrines even held perfume and cosmetic items for those who could not afford such luxuries themselves." [x]

volo's waterdeep enchiridion says this in particular about the temple of beauty in waterdeep:

"If you need to refresh yourself during your travels, or perhaps to primp before an important meeting or a night out, visit Sune’s faithful at the Temple of Beauty. Its marbled public baths and mirrored salons are open from before dawn to after dusk. There’s no fee for these services, or for the advice and aid of the temple’s many pleasant attendants, but donations are encouraged."

there are some other banters & lines of dialogue in the same vein:

Player: I want to be with Gale. I'm sorry. Shadowheart: Don't be. He's charming enough, well-read and well-groomed.

there are more banters and comments like this from other companions as well (including minthara, for example), so yes, i think it's safe to say that gale is not a 3-in-1 shampoo type.

[billveusay]

I watched Gundam: The Witch from Mercury and...

Wow, it's a doozy. There's so much to talk about. Lots of qualities, lots of flaws but overall... I like it a lot. I've been very critical of stories with wonky pacing and writing, and while that's still the case here (and it still annoys me), it does compensate by having a lot of heart.

But bitching about pacing is starting to become the theme of these reviews, so might as well start here. After all, it seems to be the consensus that the second season was rushed. However, while it was probably due to studio meddling, I think they could have made it work. But sadly... this show has a chronic case of too much goddamn stuff. Too many characters, too many subplots, too many factions. Really needlessly so for the latter, it's like they knew Gundam was known for featuring complicated geopolitics and wanted to showcase their Gundam street-cred by having lots of it. But please, explain to me why Dominicus, the special forces of Cathedra, needs to exist when Cathedra is already a military organisation and the only times they feature in the plot is through Dominicus. The show is full of redundancies like this, and because of it I had to alt+tab out to the wiki at the end of every episode to read the summary of what I just watched. The prologue is especially bad in that regard.

As for the characters... well it's a bad sign when everyone is gathering in preparation for a final battle and I'm squinting my eyes at a third of them. Who were you people? Are you the guys from Grassley or the duel after-school club? Especially when everyone is wearing helmets. I jest you not, that's the reason why I only realized that Guel had killed his father after he got explodified. And too many characters lead to too many subplots, like the stupid brotherly fight in the middle of the final confrontation. Though I liked how it concluded with... some lady yelling at them to cut out the bullshit. And if they edited a lot of the disposable stuff, they'd probably have more time to develop the most important aspects.

Moving on to Sulemio. I like them, but I have to admit I found Suletta irritating at first. It's the "well now I'm not doing it èné" syndrome of writers trying so hard to make the cutest possible character, and the constant awkward stammering didn't help. But she did eventually grow on me somewhat. Her little "...eh?" after Guel made his declaration really got me. Plus I think they did a good job of having a miscommunication "breakup" at the end of the first season stemming from a character being stupid in-character, and not because she picked up the idiot ball for contrived reasons. Or because she overheard half of a conversation through a door and drew the wrong conclusions.

Actually, the miscommunication is resolved by a character overhearing a conversation, which I find very funny. As is the following sequence. There is also some good writing in how her heroic traits, like her devotion to her loved ones and determination are twisted by her mother. Nicely done on that front.

I like Miorine alright too. She has some nice scenes, like the aforementioned post-toilet chase, and I was invested in their relationship enough. I just don't have that much to say about her. Though I do have something to say about something she does at one point.

However, my favourite character is Elan-4. In one single episode they managed to make me go from "oh cool, an ice-prince type archetype, literally referred to as the ice-prince. And he is contrasted with a hot-headed, fiery guy. And he's an emotionless asshole but he seems to have feelings for Suletta, how original, fnar fnar" to "wow, that's the most tragic fucking character I've seen in all of Gundam". His death is the peak of the show for me. Which is sad, cause it happens at a quarter of the show.

I'm teasing, there are still plenty good episodes after this. Like the 15th one, which is similar to the Norris fight from 8th MS Team: It's an episode that is not only very good, it can almost be watched in isolation. Useful if someone you know is interested but hesitating to jump into the franchise or a specific piece of Gundam media.

Going back to Elan, I like how they kind of did the same thing with the two other duelists. Introducing them as random archetypical husbando material and then gave them depth as the show went on. I also like Belmeria, she reminds me of Marcoh from Fullmetal Alchemist. And the team of students from earth. Even if many characters were cut, I'd keep most of them, they managed to give them convincing personalities, relationships, funny moments contrasting with more serious stuff, making the most out of their limited screentime.

Now for the characters I don't like. The two terrorist girls from the Dawn of Fold could have been interesting but they sorely lacked nuance for me, especially considering what they represented. I couldn't take Sophie seriously because of her uwu kill-crazy schtick, so I didn't really feel the emotional impact of her death. Which didn't help me get invested in turn in Norea's vengeful arc, consisting of yelling in a locked room for far too long, getting angrier in a Gundam and then dying. And somehow, Elan-5 fell in love with her in that interval. Not a fan of Elan-5 either. I mean, it was fun seeing him suck ass at being seductive and not fooling Suletta for a second. But overall he's one of the characters that I think they could have done without.

And Suletta's mother is... hm. Actually I don't dislike her overall, she's interesting as antagonists go, and the way she manipulates Suletta is really creepy. But in the end, even though she's done really awful stuff, she gets away with an easy happy ending.

And look (tangent alert), I'm really not in favour of the idea that every character needs to be "punished" by the plot for every bad action they've done. Actually the opposite, more stories should acknowledge that even the biggest arseholes are human, often driven to arseholery by ignorance, external influence, systemic issues, etc... and can become better people given the right circumstance. And there are no arbitrary lines where they have sufficiently "atoned" to receive the official "redeemed" stamp, nor is there a line where they are officially "irredeemable".

But with Prospera... it don't think she even acknowledges that she caused the death of dozens of innocents civilians and probably thousands more to come in the following years because she re-ignited the conflict between earth and space. It's just... "yeah, I guess I was a bit obsessed by bringing back my ghost-daughter and being a dick to my clone-daughter, I shall be a better mommy from now on". Pretty weak, and I'd say the oppressed earth/capitalism message is what suffers most from the rushed ending. But at least with the dissolution of the Benerit group, there are tangible things being done.

But while we're at the ending... a Gundam pilot using their weird psychic powers to block a colony-destroying laser beam in the climax. Didn't think anything of it at the time. But since then I have watched Unicorn. It does seem to take a lot of things from Unicorn actually, even the theme sounds similar. But it's not like Unicorn was the most original piece of Gundam media to start with (I shall get to it).

What else... ah yes, Miorine's stunt in episode 7. Can any econ major tell me if it made any kind of goddamn sense?

"Gundams are illegal. And because Shin-sei and Peil both made gundams, they will be dissolved and the Benerit group will lose billions. So instead, I propose we relocate that money to create a new corporation that will make... gundams" "But gundams are still illegal" "Yes, but I will ask my father to not make them illegal" "...But it's not corporate regulations, it's the law now, he can't change it like tha- oh I guess he can. But if he makes gundams not illegal, then Shin-Sei and Peil won't go bankrupt and so there won't be a need for Gund-arm to be created..."

Please tell me I wasn't the only one bothered by it, cause I felt like I was going crazy.

And a small pet-peeve: Post-credit scenes. I didn't know they had them, and so I almost missed the splat before going into Season 2. And after that, I had to check the 12 previous episodes to see if there were any. And there were, important ones at that. Not cool guys. Is it to spite people who skip the endings?

As usual, let's conclude with the animation and the designs: top-notch on both sides! Fewer 3D shots than I was expecting, lots of gorgeous 2D. Also, while I like the very grounded mechanical designs of ye olde OVAs from the 90's, I also love them slick and sharp designs. And some Mobile Suits are straight up armored cores (like the Zowort) which is a big plus for me. If I have one complaint though, it's that funnels, or in this case Gund-bits, make for less interesting choreography. You don't get a Mobile Suit overcoming another with precise shots, or by being more agile, or with a clever strategy, you just get pew pew pew pew pew pew pew pew pew. Except in the conclusion of the fight against Shaddiq, really cool moment.

And that concludes it! As I said, I have a lot of complaints, but it's probably still in my top 5.

Now for the biggest tonal shift you could imagine, next is Thunderbolt!

My gundam reviews :

> Hathaway's Spark > Mobile Suit Gundam > Gundam Zeta > 0083: Stardust Memory > 0080: War in the Pocket > 8th MS Team > The Witch from Mercury > Gundam Thunderbolt > The Origin > Turn A Gundam > F91 > Gundam Unicorn > Gundam 00 > MS IGLOO > Gundam Narrative > Iron-Blooded Orphans > Gundam Wing

[coraniaid]

Fuffy + keepsake + tension + quiet

Okay, this ended up being long enough that I should probably put a read-more somewhere...

Faith knows that none of this is real, right from the start.  

That’s something, anyway.  A small kindness on behalf of whatever higher power it is that runs all this.  It means that waking up, when it’s over, won’t hurt quite so much.

In real life, she knows that she’s about a year into a minimum twenty five year sentence.  That right now she must be sleeping fitfully on a hard bed in a gray cell somewhere in Stockton.  In real life she’s exactly where she deserves to be: locked up in a cage, in the dark, somewhere not quite in the ordinary world.  Somewhere she can’t do any more damage.  

Because she did it, all of it, everything they thought to charge her with and more.  She killed a couple of people, hurt plenty more, and she’d have kept going if somebody hadn’t stopped her, one way or another.  She’d enjoyed it – at least at first – and she’d been good at it.  Better than she’d ever been at playing at being some kind of hero. 

For a while, she’d managed to persuade herself that it was what she was born to do.  That she was becoming what she’d always been meant to be.  And then, later, when she’d sunk too deep, it didn’t matter anymore whether she enjoyed it or not.  There was no way out by then except to plunge head down and drown.

In the dream though, she’s back in school and none of that has happened yet.  

This isn’t a school she’d ever been to as a student.  Not one of the several different high schools back in Boston that had passed her back and forth like a particularly unappetizing hot potato before she’d done them all a favor and dropped out.  Not the school her mom had only sometimes remembered she went to, the school where she’d learned that other kids could smell weakness on you like a sickness and if you weren’t rich and smart and popular you were either strong or you were nothing.

This is the school.  Her school.  Sunnydale High.  Not ruined yet, not rubble and debris, but whole and unbroken.

She’s in the library.  Both of them are.  It’s just the two of them, alone in all the world.  Sparring, the way they’d used to back then.  Wondering if the other girl felt the same tension in the air whenever one of them – usually not her, at least the way Faith remembers it – would end up on top of the other at the end of a fight, trying to wrestle the other girl into submission.  Trying to pretend she didn’t notice the way the other Slayer’s tank top would ride up her stomach when she worked out, or the way her skin shone like gold when she started to break a sweat.  Back to working up the courage to ask if, now that Blueberry Muffin Scott was out of the picture, the newly single Buffy Summers could be persuaded to let Faith tag along with her to that Homecoming thing she was so crazy about.

In real life, a part of her remembers, this isn’t exactly how this had played out.  It had been a school day for one thing, at least for everyone but her.  The middle of the afternoon, not hours after midnight.  There had been crowds of kids noisily swarming in the halls outside, talking and laughing and totally oblivious to how important this moment was.  This is different.  Quieter.  Better.  Just her and Buffy.  The Chosen Two.  The way it should have been.

It hurts, reliving this.  Hurts more than she thought it would. But maybe this is also what she deserves.  Maybe she deserves to be punished.

“We never did get to go to that stupid party together, did we?” she says sadly.  “Not really.”

She’d always meant to.ask Buffy, afterwards, when it was too late, if things might have been different if they had.  If Trick’s stupid scheme hadn’t spoiled things.  If Buffy had seen that Faith could get dressed up and sit quietly in a limo like a normal girl; that she could follow the rules and make smalltalk while she waited to be asked to dance.  If she’d seen her standing up for her and putting that asshole Scott in his place.  If Angel hadn’t been back from hell already, already Buffy’s little undead secret, her hidden rival for Buffy’s attention and affection somehow winning without ever realizing he was in a fight.

But she hadn’t really ever been good, had she?  Hadn’t followed the rules.  That’s why she’s rotting in the dark in North California tonight and dreaming empty dreams about the past, not wherever Buffy really is.  Why she’s not where Buffy needs her to be.  That’s why she doesn’t get to ask that kind of question.

And maybe it’s why this dream memory of Buffy doesn’t even deign to answer the question she did ask.  Just smiles at her, politely, slightly puzzled, like what she said didn’t make any sense but it’d be rude to spell that out.

Maybe it didn’t.  Maybe this is one of those nightmares where she can’t even speak.  Where she keeps begging for forgiveness but can’t even get through that that’s what she wants.

Her stomach hurts most of all: an old, familiar ache.  Just nerves, she thinks at first, until she touches the place the pain is worse and feels something wet and hot and sticky.  Sees the dark stain spreading over the library floor where she's been standing.

“Damn,” she says wonderingly, looking down at the blood.  “I thought it had stopped doing that.”

At least the bleeding gets Buffy’s attention.

“Can I…?”

Buffy crouches down in front of her while Faith takes a seat.  Pulls her shirt away from her skin, gingerly.   Runs a finger slowly across her scar.  Gently, thoughtfully, almost fondly.  She doesn’t seem to notice the blood, or the way it stains her.  The way it sticks to her, red and vital and indelible.  Maybe she just doesn’t care anymore.  She looks up at Faith, green eyes wide and trusting.

“Does it hurt?” she asks.

Faith hesitates, but not for long. The bleeding seems to be stopping again anyway.

“Yeah,” she admits, because this is only a dream,  “Sometimes.  A little.”

“That’s good,” Buffy says, voice still gentle.  Expression still calm and innocent.  “You deserved this.”

She says it simply, like it’s just a fact.  Without any malice or anger at all.  And it is a fact, isn’t it?  Faith nods.  She did.  She does.

“Besides,” Buffy says, fingers still resting on Faith’s stomach.  On the place she’d slid the knife in two years ago.  “I think the scar suits you.  Something to remember me by once I’ve moved on.”

There's an echo there, of something Faith had said once herself, a long time ago.  When she was lost and flailing and drowning.  When she thought she was going to … but no, she thinks.  She won’t let herself finish that thought.

“Yeah, well, as keepsakes go I’ve gotta say it’s pretty crappy,” she grumbles.  “You couldn’t leave me one of your old stakes or something?”

Buffy shakes her head, absently wiping her hands clean on one of the books spread out casually on the table her friends all used to pile around for their secret little meetings.  Faith glances around, nervously, half sure that Giles is going to loom out of the shadows and throw a fit when he sees what they’re up to.

“I don’t exactly think they’d let you keep something like that where you are, Faith,” the other Slayer says, a little reprovingly.  Just like she used to do whenever Faith said anything wrong. 

Why can’t you be different? that voice says, even if this Buffy doesn’t.  Why can’t you try harder?  Buffy isn’t like Faith.  Half the time she doesn’t even want to be a Slayer.  She likes listening to her Watcher and worrying about tests and doing what she’s told and she’s never, ever going to joke about giving Faith a weapon again.

“Right,” Faith says, properly abashed.  “I guess I forgot.”

She hadn’t, not really, but it’s easier to pretend.  Not that Buffy seems to care.  She frowns, glances at her stake, suddenly in her hand.  Faith’s sure it wasn’t there a moment ago.

“Besides,” she says, “This one isn’t really mine to give you.”

Faith nods.  It was hers, wasn’t it?  The other one.  The girl who died.  The Slayer who she never met; the one who was supposed to exist between them.  Something had passed from Buffy to her, and then been passed back from her to Buffy.  Leaving Faith cut off, isolated.  A neglected offshoot.  A mistake.

“You never told me about her,” she says.

It’s not quite an accusation.  Not quite a simple statement of fact either.  She only remembers hearing her name said out loud once, in all the time she’d spent in Sunnydale.  Kendra.  Kendra the Vampire Slayer, who’d died less than a year after being Called.  

“You never asked,” Buffy answers quietly, a little uncertainly.  “And it was too …”

“... painful,” Faith finishes for her.  “Yeah.  I get that, now.”

Put like that, she supposes she and Buffy have both had a pretty good run.  Almost a decade, between the two of them.  More than most Slayers get.  More than a lot of ordinary people who don’t even get to enjoy the whole superpowers side of things ever get.  But nothing lasts forever, does it?  All they can do is delay the inevitable.

She has another memory, suddenly.  A moment she’d almost forgotten.  Her first night at Buffy’s place.  Having dinner; the first home cooked meal she’d eaten in God knows how long.  Pretending she couldn’t hear Buffy and her Mom quietly arguing in the kitchen.  That her Slayer senses didn’t let her hear Joyce tell Buffy that she didn’t want her daughter to die, or Buffy’s unwitting admission that she already had.  Remembers locking eyes with Buffy’s kid sister – who hadn’t stopped staring at her with a kind of quiet awe all night – and hoping her ears weren’t so sharp.  Helping herself to some of Buffy’s spare fries and winking at the kid while she did it.  Like they were partners in crime now.  Co-conspirators.

She’s never going to talk to Joyce or Dawn again either, she supposes.  Can’t exactly blame them for that.  Not after what she did.  She hopes they’re both doing okay though, back in Sunnydale.  Hopes that the world’s been kinder to them than she was.  But she guesses that that’s another sort of question she doesn’t have the right to ask Buffy.  Still, she–

A sudden noise surprises her.  A bell ringing, somewhere outside.  Shrill, demanding.  A summoning.  Not for her, of course – hell, Faith doesn’t even go to this school – but for the real Slayer.  For Buffy.

“I have to go,” Buffy tells her, almost like an apology.

Faith has a feeling she’s missing something important.

“To class?” she asks.

It’s the wrong question.  She knows that, even before the other girl shakes her head.  They’re both a little too old for high school, aren’t they?  Neither of them are kids anymore.  And somehow, without Faith noticing, Buffy’s changed out of the clothes she was wearing while they sparred.  Now she’s dressed in white; in an outfit that changes every time Faith looks at it.  First a dress, the sort Faith can imagine her wearing to Prom or to some other kind of high school dance, then a soft white cardigan over comfortable light gray pants like her Mom might have worn once, then a long white jacket stained with dust and ash and soot.  

“If …” Buffy starts, frowns, corrects herself.  “When you meet the new girl,  tell her …” 

The older Slayer shrugs.  Smiles ruefully, a little bit embarrassed.

“I dunno.  I haven’t figured it all out yet.  Just make up something cool.  You were always good at that, right?”

Her tone is more playful than pointed, but Faith can’t help but flinch a little.  Yeah, she’d told all kinds of dumb, bullshit stories when they’d first met, hadn’t she?  Desperate to make everyone think she was fun and exciting and interesting; to make the infamous Buffy Summers think that maybe she was going to have a little competition now.  To make her think she was worthy.  That she deserved to be alive when her Watcher and everyone she’d ever been supposed to protect was dead.  To convince her – convince herself – that they could even begin to be equals.  Of course Buffy had seen through that.  Of course she’d known they weren’t.

“You know me, B,” she says weakly.

She does.  She always has.  That was at least half the problem, wasn’t it?  No matter how cunning she thought she was being, she could never fool Buffy for long.

Now Buffy looks at her, and she sees her – every aspect of her, even the broken and ugly parts, the rotting and wrong parts she’d always thought she was able to hide – and Faith thinks that, in the way she only ever will do in dreams, she accepts her.  The real Buffy would have judged her, again.  Found her wanting. Asked her why she couldn’t just be perfect like Sunndale’s own Little Miss Sunshine.  

But this Buffy is different.  She looks at her, considers. Decides.  Leans forward, slowly, and kisses her gently on the forehead, the way that the real Buffy never did and never would have done.  It’s not forgiveness, exactly.  Faith knows that she doesn’t deserve that; knows that she never will.  Not even from a memory.  Not even in a dream. 

It’s something close though.  Call it acknowledgment, maybe.  Call it recognition.  Understanding.  An admission, finally, that Faith wasn’t crazy to think that they could be the same.  That they could have been the same, if only Faith had–

The bell rings again.  Louder, this time.  More insistent.  Buffy touches Faith’s shoulder, gently, just once.  A parting gesture.  Takes a step back, eyes never leaving hers.

“Be brave, Faith,” she tells her.  “Be better.”

Then she’s gone.  Slipping through the twin library doors like a pale ghost before Faith can respond.  They swing shut behind her, somehow locking closed again as they do.  The sound they make echoes throughout the library, hard and heavy and forever.

When Faith manages to force the doors open and stagger outside – before she even has time to wonder if the library doors always led right to the front of the school like this – she can tell at once that Buffy is gone.  No matter how hard she looks, there’s no sign of the other Slayer.  No flash of blonde hair or white clothing in the distance.  No sign of anybody else at all.  Just clear sidewalks and abandoned cars as far as the eye can see.  Deserted houses and abandoned playgrounds and other quiet, empty places. For the first time in nearly three whole years – for the first time since she was Called – she’s completely and totally alone.  But the sun is creeping over the horizon and the sky is full of birds.

[kaija-rayne-author]

Did Solas actually kill Felassan?

It's interesting to me that, as objectively bad as DAV is, Felassan was noticeably not in Solas's regrets.

Spoilers for all dragon age materials, games, comics, and books included.

Obligatory 'I'm not an asshole' disclaimer. Feel free to jump to the cut if you've read it.

Something came to my attention. I need to make it crystal clear that I utterly love the diversity in DAV. It's fantastic. I'm also a heavily left leaning, non-binary, queer as fuck reviewer, editor, and author.

I was on media blackout while I played DAV. Please be safe and take care of yourselves. Arguing with incels and white supremacists is completely pointless. They sea lion worse than an actual sea lion. Your mental health is important.

Though, every single time the anti-queer brigade comes out for a new DA game, I sit there thinking 'have you bozos ever played any DA game, like, ever?' My guess is nope.

Note. None of my writing on DA, but especially DAV, is edited. This is just my off the cuff writing. I don't have the time, energy, or heart to edit them properly.

So did Solas kill Felassan? If you asked probably 99% of the fandom, they'd look at you funny and say 'of course'. You can call me deluded, it's fine. I legitimately don't care. I know that most people in this Fandom love to think Solas killed Felassan. (I have my theories on why, too, but that's another post.)

But ya know what? Solas would barely even be questioned if it were a modern setting. And unless the trial were rigged, he'd never be convicted of it. Yet the Fandom just loves to crucify the character.

I mean, there's plenty of other things he's definitely done that you can hate on if you want. He's never been all that shy in admitting he's a bloody handed rebellion leader. I think if he'd actually killed his friend, it would've been one of his biggest regrets. It's not like the elf has very many FFS. And I think he would've sadly admitted it too, if anyone had asked.

So why don't I think Solas killed Felassan?

There. Is. No. Proof.

So, look. I have a background in bioanthropology and forensic chemistry. Crime scene work. I honestly think the whole thing about Solas and Felassan is a Weekes twist.

1. It doesn't make sense that Solas killed someone who was spoken of as his friend. Not someone who served him.

2. Would Solas be capable of it? Yes. He's an antihero character. As such, he's capable of killing even a romanced Lavellan if she gets in his way. That's what an antihero does, they (usually, when written with any sort of competency) have a Goal TM. The only thing that can be allowed to matter to a true anti-hero character, before the goal is complete, is The Goal. I just don't think Solas actually did it.

3. I didn't want to believe Solas had killed Felassan. (Feel free to let me know, politely, if there was incontrovertible evidence in Veilguard, cause no way in hell am I playing it again unless someone pays me. A lot. It won't really matter to me, because DAV doesn't exist and is not Canon as far as I'm concerned because of the bad writing and disrespect of the Lore.) But you can tell me if he actually admits it or is shown doing the deed somewhere. So I went searching and analyzed everything. I can't find a lick of substantial proof that Solas definitely killed Felassan.

4. But it also tickled all those old crime stuff senses I spent so long training to do. My kids think I'm hilarious to watch true crime with, because I scoff at everything authorities missed re:evidence, a lot of the time. I have a gift for it, and misogyny drove me out of STEM.

Anywaaaayyyy.

Weekes has said several times that they love to write the kind of twist that 'was right in front of you the whole time'.

I don't honestly think Solas killed Felassan. And I have actual reasons why. Other than, I didn't want my blorbo to have done that. It just doesn't make sense. I don't generally have a problem with anti-hero characters being murderous fucks in pursuit of their goal, because literarily, that's kinda part of their purpose as an archetype.

Do feel free to look all this up for yourself, I have annoted notes on it all, but the big bad happened in Masked Empire. Felassan is an interesting character, I enjoyed reading the book (3x).

Motive: Felassan didn't get the key to the Eluvians to give to whoever he served.

Actions: Felassan knew he'd be killed for disobedience. He catches a rabbit, roasts it, gives himself a last meal, considers staying awake to avoid his employer, and decides an ancient Elvhen needs more courage than a 'stripling human'.

He tosses herbs on the fire, lays down, and dreams.

He wakes in the Fade in the same wintery forest he went to sleep in. He feels his dangerous employer nearby and starts talking.

He tells employer that he didn't get the key, which is a fib, because he chose to not take the key from a young elf he mentored.

He senses his employer knows that's a lie.

He tells employer he feels the modern elves deserve a chance.

He compares Briala, his mentee, a decidedly 'defines self as woman/female elf', to employer.

Employer crunches through leaves behind him.

'He never felt the blow that killed him'.

It never, anywhere, says 'Solas killed him'.

1. Felassan's body wouldn't be dead, it would be tranquil and still asleep in the cold forest he went to sleep in. That's what happens when a spirit is killed or separated from their body in the fade. This is deeply established Lore (as is the fact that tranquility is cureable.) Solas, even on a technicality, couldn't have killed Felassan cause he's tranquil, not dead.

2. Felassan compared a decidedly female elf to his employer. Solas isn't straight for any reason but misplaced 'avoid evil bisexual trope'. He was originally written as bi, but he's definitely more on the masc side of things, gender and sex wise. (You could make a case for him to be non-binary too, that would make a lot of sense, but that's a headcanon, not proof.)

3. Wolves move silently through bracken, like dried leaves. And all throughout DAI, Solas is shown as pretty graceful and easy moving. It's not hard to walk relatively quietly, if you're abled, through dry leaves. You'd kinda have to not care to crunch through them. Or want someone to hear you coming, which is a very un-Solas like power move. "He comes in humble guises".

4. Felassan wears Mythal’s Valleslin.

So, quick side jaunt on the Vallaslin. They aren't just pretty decorations. They're not make-up. They're called 'blood writing' and heavily implied as a method of control over the branded Elvhen by the Evanuris in the Lore.

So. By wearing Mythal’s Valleslin, he's sworn to her, and likely serves her.

Mythal is also a dreamer. (Or even lives in the fade like a lot of other Evanuris did.) It's implied in the Lore, that almost all ancient Elvhen were somniari, and definitely all of the Evanuris. She's still in Flemyth at the time of the murder. Flemyth hasn't ever been very pleasant and, y'know, not murderous. If you've played through all three games, the ones that actually were good, written decently, and that mostly followed the Lore? You'd know Flemyth isn't an awesome person. Mythal is even bloody worse.

Whatever you think of Solas as a character, he doesn't outright lie except for once in DAI. During WEWH. (Obscure, obfuscate, deflect, mislead, yes! Outright lie, based on the dictionary and philosophical definition of a lie, no.) And I don't believe in the 'lie by omission' nonsense. Why everyone thinks they have the right to know every little thing about someone else immediately is beyond me.

All circumstantial evidence points toward Mythal and away from Solas. (Except people love to hate Solas, so of course, everything a decidedly not awesome ancient, uber powerful mage with a god complex does is his fault. Makes perfect sense because he's eeeeevvvvviiiillll. Ripest of Sarcasm and glares at Epler, Creative Director of DAV. )

Solas has also been shown to be someone who listens to his few friends. He listens to Inky, Varric, and Bull a few times in DAI. So it's also odd that Felassan's employer wouldn't even consider listening. That Felassan knew he'd die rather than be listened to. Felassan is Solas's friend, ergo, he'd have been likely to at least listen.

Solas is also shown as someone honourable 'I have distracted you from your duty, it won't happen again'. 'I wouldn't lay with her under false pretenses'. When you're honourable, you kill an enemy face to face, not a stab in the back. Mythal? Yeah, she missed the honourable boat by oceans.

Oh! But what about Cole's line in Tresspasser?

To be completely frank, so many of Cole's comments are 19th/20th/21st century TV, game, movie, and book references, I don't know why anyone gives his commentary any weight at all.

So, Cole's line is, "His friend had to die. Because he thought they were people. A slow arrow breaks in a sad wolf's jaws"

You could take it on face value, sure. But, you'll pardon me if I think it's silly for anything Cole says to be considered fact on face value alone.

So let's break it down, assuming (possibly incorrectly) that this comment has anything to do with Solas.

His friend had to die. Sure, I guess? But this doesn't tell us who killed him. Simply that Solas knows Felassan is dead. And again, Felassan is referred to as Solas's 'friend'. Not servitor. Not employee. Friend.

Because he thought they were people. Unless I'm mistaken, the 'real people' line is another one of Cole's, just from DAI, not Tresspasser, so we're making an even weaker case by stacking a comment of Cole's upon another comment of Cole's. Talk about confusing. Also, Real people was a tv show. Real People (TV Series 1979-1983)

It could also easily be social commentary on the dehumanization of people in... so many ways and cultures historically and even up to today.

A slow arrow is definitely a literary reference.

"THE SLOW ARROW OF BEAUTY. The noblest kind of beauty is that which does not transport us suddenly, which does not make stormy and intoxicating impressions such a kind easily arouses disgust but that which slowly filters into our minds."

Friedrich Nietzsche

"Fate's Arrow, when expected, travels slow."

Dante Alighieri

So if it’s a Dante reference, Weekes is alluding to Fate. If Nietzsche, Beauty.

Based on the fact that so many of Cole's comments are references, I'm going forward assuming 'slow arrow' to be a reference.

Beauty/Fate breaks in a sad wolf's jaws.

The veil is considered beautiful, and Solas is intent on destroying it (because in the Lore, it's actually destroying Thedas, sucking the life and magic out of it. Which would matter, John Epler, a lot! *bombastic side eye*)

It could also be a reference to Lavellan in a romanced Lavellan playthrough. Solas destroyed or rejected the beauty of love. Or even fated love, by leaving her behind.

Sad wolf is also a literary reference. Likely to one of these poems. (Given our degrees, Weekes and I probably had to take very similar classes. I originally went to uni to be an English teacher.)

"The Wolf" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Lo! the calm moon comes forth!—The sad wolf howls!

He seeks his fellow in the hungry night.

With fiery eye—how red his mouth is!—howl

The lonely wolf, for, lo!—he is not there.

So if we want to go with Tennyson, the reference could imply that Solas tried to help Felassan... which, yeah. Mythal is also a twat of epic proportions. That wouldn't have worked.

This quote feels relevant to me. "The wolves in the woods have sharp teeth and long claws, but it’s the wolf inside who will tear you apart."

Jennifer Donnelly

Sad wolf could then be a reference to Solas's feelings. If Felassan was his friend, he'd be pretty torn apart by his death, no matter how it happened. Yet, it's still not among his regrets in DAV. Even though an entire story in Tevinter Nights is focused on his regrets surrounding his time in the Inquisition. (IIRC Felassan isn't mentioned there, either.)

From a literary perspective, this one also feels relevant.

The wolf changes his coat, but not his disposition.

Traditional proverb

Solas is many things, but he's always Solas. Why would he do something so out of character as kill a close friend? (I'll even tell you a motive for why *Solas* might’ve killed Felassan. It's well established in Solas's character that he abhors betrayal. I suppose you could technically call Felassan's support of Briala a betrayal.) Still doesn't make sense to me. Because it actually is out of character for Solas to hurt what few friends he actually has. But, enh, you could call it motive. Do NOT get me started on the ham-handed writing and the fate of Varric Tethras in DAV. Epler has already said they only had him in the game so Solas could kill him and it would make the player hate Solas more. Didn’t matter to Epler whether it was in character or not. And it's not. Solas saves Varric in the comics. Numerous times.

1. That failed. Ugh. What a shit end for Varric. An author killed by bad writing.

2. Fucking bad writing ruined DAV.

I've rambled enough. I guess my point is that I'd love it if more people would think about things they saddle heavily neurodivergently coded characters with. It's not harmless.

The very first demographic blamed for a violent crime are neurodivergent people. Usually, the first is Autistic people. (We're almost hardwired to not hurt people. We tend to be the white knight tilting at windmills type. It takes a lot to push one of us to violence.) It can be done, but to automatically assume it's an autist is ableist and harmful.

The second group blamed are the mentally ill.

Statistics don't support that either. Neurodivergent people are guilty of 3% of violent crime. All the rest of the 97% is on all you neurotypicals.

And a final fun fact. Fel'assan isn't that elf's name. 'The elf known as Fel'assan' is a quote from Masked Empire.

Blah, blah, recovering from pulmonary embolism, partner recovering from broken back, money is tight if you've anything to spare. www.kaijarayne.com

[papabirdurskeks]

HUTIAAAAAA i love himb so much. i'm curious tho if its not too odd to ask, did you have any hc around how reproduction worked for the precursors pre-becoming-a-single-entity? and if there was any evolutionary changes due to their golden age/the traveler coming along? also curious if it changed any societal expectations/notions of family structure and behavior!

First off, I am so SO sorry this took a lot longer than expected to get to! I had gotten one or two things done and then other things came up and long story short, a mess came about.

But now that I finally pushed myself to getting things done, this was on my to do list to finish! And finally, FINALLY I got a little more done so I can answer this accordingly for you!

Again, biggest and greatest apologies, anon! I hope the answer I give you provides some bit of joy and idea to what I have for the Precursors!

Now to answer your question, I do have some headcanons! I'll try to be as brief as I can because sadly, I have to omit some things to keep it friendly on Tumblr guidelines! But the answer you seek is on the read more!

By the time the Traveler was found, and the Golden Age Era had been established, there wasn't a lot in terms of changes when it came to Precursor reproductive health. If anything, it more or less remained the same aside from a few minor changes such as bodies growing taller and more adjusted to a less hostile environment/climate.

However, when it came to overall health there was a VAST improvement as medicines and means to keep one healthy became more available to the public over time. This was especially good for individuals who were starting their families as before the Traveler had come about and blessed the species with its knowledge and gifts, having children was an extremely dangerous time for both child and "mother". Not only was the environment dangerous, but most times they were also at the mercy of other groups and creatures that posed a great threat to them daily.

But with the Traveler and the age of the Golden Era, there came a plethora of advancements that gave them an advantage to keep themselves safe and healthy without the worry of outside influences ruining their chances of life in general.

Perhaps one change that did come about with the Golden Age and the influence of evolution was the length of gestation when it came to pregnancies for "mothers". Before the Traveler, the average span of pregnancy for a Precursor was about a full year due to the size of the individual requiring a longer gestation period but also because resources were limited for the body as well. However, as a new Era came about and resources grew that aided the growth of the species to be much taller and robust, so too did the time of gestation expand as well. Now, pregnancies last for about a year and 4 months (16 months total) and are broken up into quarters. Turey will be my example of such!

A longer gestation period gives the baby a better chance of full development. However, this can be quite tiresome and detrimental to the "mother's" health the longer the pregnancy goes as all of their energy is spent on the baby and its overall growth and protection. "Mothers" often grow tired as time goes by and less mobile as well, some even grow sick and too weak to do much aside from sleep and eat. Most of their time is spent in dark rooms with gentle lights to aid them in their time of rest while also tending silently to their child within their womb.

But with plenty of help from family members and regular check ins with doctors, "mothers" can be assured that they have nothing to worry about and can have a safe and easy birth when the time comes. And once said baby comes about, family gathers around the "mother" to help clean the baby and to be there as support as both parents of the child sing their song to their newly born child.

This moment has always been an important part of Precursor culture as it gives a sort of prayer for protection for the baby to grow strong and healthy while also allowing said baby to identify their parent's voices while setting their sights on them first. Parents will also touch their tendrils with their babies to establish their connection to them emotionally as well, gently and silently reassuring the child that they are safe and sound. The rest of the family will join in the song soon after with their blessings and hopes for a strong and plentiful growth.

Such a moment still goes on even long past the Golden Age Era into the Post Traveler Era. However, not all births are done with the help of family or doctors at the side of the "mother". Some "mothers" are alone and must give birth alone in the dark, still offering comforts as best as they can to their crying child while singing their song to them.

The moment is terrifying and full of sorrow for these "mothers" as they know they are unable to keep their children out of some form of fear or respite from family. Other times it's because they cannot keep their children safe from the current dangers they are in, therefore, making the difficult decision to give their children away to others to care for them.

Usually, most children who can't be cared for by their "mothers" are sent to close family members first and foremost. But if immediate family can't take care of them, family friends are usually next on the list as caretakers. Here, children will be taken care of and well looked after until they are able to fend for themselves. Foster families are always open to helping any child they can and give them as much love as they are able to provide as if they child were their own. Regardless, because of such high devotion to their families, it's very rare to come across any Precursor child who is truly without a family of their own. Immediate family and foster parents are always around to take in a child to care for and love as their own.

And such a devotion to one's children is mostly due to the first Bajari Karaya and his beliefs in a strong family system. Precursors model their way of life and family after the "First Mother", who took care of both his own children and those who were his as his own. As such, most Precursors try to follow in his good example by being as open and caring to their own families while also looking after those who are in need.

Such is also the way of those in the Royal family even long after the Traveler had abandoned the people and left them to fend for themselves. The Bajari will always be looked upon by the people as "The First Mother" and therefore, each individual who takes on the role of Bajari provides the following example of being a devoted "parent" to both the people and their own children.

And because of strong bonds made between families, it's very uncommon to see individuals who are distant with one another. If anything, it's far more common to see family units with each other even long after their own children are grown and they themselves have children of their own and so fourth.

So, while not a lot has changed in terms of physical evolution minus a few small things, it is evident that with time, family has become the biggest and most important thing for Precursors even long after the Traveler had gone. The survival of their species depended on this concept greatly before the Traveler and held onto this belief long after it's abandonment. It's this form of unity that has helped them move forward and stay strong.

And while yes, there are some individuals who can and will be horrible parents or people overall to one another, such a case is either very rare or unseen in the public eye. Yet those who are seen doing such heinous acts are quickly condemned and shamed, some even facing charges of death should cases be so extreme.

This is all I have so far, but if there are any other questions and such in regard to the concept, please feel free to ask!

A lot of this stuff mostly pertains to my AU and personal stuff, so I am very well aware of what can be seen as wrong and whatnot. This is all for fun! ^^

Hopefully this answers any of your thoughts, anon!

[pinkberrytea]

✨Writing Interview Tag Game✨

Eeee tysm for the tag @nyx-knox and @honeybee-bard! 🥹🙌❣️

When did you start writing?

I used to write fanfiction when I was 13 years old, but as an adult, this is actually my first time dabbling in creative writing! I released my first work back in April, crazy to think it’s been barely four months since I started!

Are there different themes or genres you enjoy reading than what you write?

Horror and mystery are actually my favorite genres, though I'm not sure I'd be able to pull either off? I should give it a go one day, maybe!

Is there a writer you want to emulate or get compared to often?

To be honest any comparisons at all would make me plenty happy since I barely consider myself a writer 😅 There are some people in the fandom who are endless sources of inspiration for me though, all authors in my recs list and ao3 bookmarks, for starters.

Can you tell me a bit about your writing space?

No BG3 merch sadly, yet!

What's your most effective way to muster up a muse?

Just daydreaming honestly. Also listening to music helps plenty! Researching lore and brainstorming ideas with friends too. But mostly just daydreaming!

Are there any recurring themes in your writing? Do they surprise you?

Hurt and comfort, and also angst. Lots of it, for some reason. It does surprise me how angsty all my writing ends up coming across, but I try to balance it out with some melodramatic fluff, I guess? I do want to try my hand at some less serious/more lighthearted themes eventually though, branch out a little!

What is your reason for writing?

Coping, mostly. Also as a sort of therapy, to sort out my feelings about themes that are important to me and that I’ve been processing through media. And no less relevant, simply as a self-indulgent outlet! I write what I myself would like to read.

Is there any specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating?

Every single comment is incredibly motivating for me, but of course, I do twirl my hair and kick my feet whenever someone tells me about which passages they liked the best and how they specifically felt about a certain scene. Also, whenever people pick up on a detail I was sure would go by unnoticed!

How do you want to be thought about by your readers?

I want my readers to think of me as a friend, as someone who is always accessible and up for talking about writing, be it mine or just in general!

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

Oh, this is a toughie. I have a very flowery and verbose style, though I’m not sure that’s a strength? I guess it could be, depending on your preferences. It’s a bit of a double-edged sword, really.

How do you feel about your own writing?

I don’t think highly of it from a technical standpoint, but I do pour my heart and soul into every single piece, and that makes them all special to me.

When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely for yourself, or a mix of both?

I can sincerely say I write mostly for myself, otherwise I wouldn’t even be able to write anything at all because I don’t think I could live up to anyone’s expectations. Though of course, the feedback I receive on a piece may in fact influence whether I feel inspired to expand on it or just move on to something new. Even if I’m typically my own main target audience, comments are always greatly appreciated!

No pressure tags ✨ @locallegume, @judasiskariot, @inkymoonbunny, @starryjuicebox and @kalmiaphlox!

[doahaesunshine]

Chapter 10

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Is there anything more tempting Than secrets? Knowledge is Power. And some will do anything to obtain it. Seems like a Fool’s Errand to me.

These past few months were busy with learning history, spellwork, and language, each had taken up an abundance of your time but it was worth it. The tome Archivist Jeon had given you, Historia Arcanorum – or History of Arcana in English – has shown to be very helpful now that you could read a decent bit of Lungue Magica. Deep diving into the book was enough to have you learn more about Arcanist Society and the vaste individual schools of magic. Sadly, none of them included Empathy. 

As it turns out, Empathy was what Arcanists call a Personalis Ars – a personal talent – which is the reason there was no formal school of magic for Empathy. All Arcanists and their families had personal talents that were unique to their bloodlines. The information had filled you with even more questions. Why would someone like you – a human – have a personal talent? But then you remembered Vernon also had one which left you with even more questions. 

There was still a lot to learn despite the lengths you have taken. A few of the passages in the tome were still unintelligible and you were hellbent on needing to understand every single word. Thankfully Jeonghan had agreed to continue teaching you, really you didn’t know where you would be without his help. 

The spring season had bloomed with warmer weather and longer days. Even though you were making plenty of progress, you felt like you could be doing more. Magic was still a mystery to you, it was overwhelming more than anything, and you didn’t know what school to begin studying. 

Soonyoung desperately tried to convince you to learn Evocation, something about you being in their house anyways, but when you asked him if he would teach you, he said that Jihoon would be a better teacher. While the idea of Jihoon, an Arcanist who specializes in Pyromancy and has experimented on spells way too often in your presence, was tempting, he was ultimately a no-go at the idea. 

Seungkwan mentioned that if you were interested in practical magic, Archivist Jeon could mentor you in Transmutation. The thought of the icey, unreadable Archivist teaching you was inconceivable though. It wasn’t that you didn’t trust his abilities, you just weren’t too keen on the idea of both him and Cosmo staring you down, probably a little judgemental, as you learned. 

Several nights were filled with wonder, trying to figure out if there was a school of magic for you, yet nothing seemed to click. After a while, you stopped worrying about such a big step and threw your focus into Lingua Magic. It became more important to read what you were going to learn, rather than casting cool magic with words you didn’t fully understand.  

The balcony became your favorite place to study, finding it easier to focus on the words in the presence of fresh air and natural light. As you sat on the floor, back pressed against the fencing and time resting in your lap, you studied in peace. Your notebook was open on the ground beside you for easy access when scribbling down a definition, a new word, or a question you would ask Jeonghan at your next lesson.

Just above you on the stop of the railing sat a small yellow warbler, it was a seemingly constant presence each time you were out here studying. Something about the small song bird was so familiar yet you couldn’t place your finger on it. It chirped a quick but pleasant melody that made you smile in response. It hopped further down the railing, easier to look at without craning your neck. You stared at the vibrant bird, appreciating its simple yet charming beauty, but it startled when the door to the balcony opened a little too quickly. 

At your eye level, you first were met with the soft, fluffy face of Ruby, but as you looked up you saw Jihoon’s stern expression. 

“You’re still studying up here?” He asked as he walked to the railing. “Aren’t you hungry?”

The question caught you off guard. “No- or- I don’t know. What time is it?”

“Half past two.”

“Shit-” You grabbed your books and stood to leave.

“You’ve learned the Lingua Magica pretty fast.”

You paused and turned your attention to Jihoon who was now leaning with his back against the railing. He raised his brow as if he were waiting for a response.

“Um- yeah. I want to learn it so that I can translate the tome Archivist Jeon gave me. Also the language isn’t super far from English so…” You trailed off.

“So?” Jihoon appeared puzzled. “Out of all the humans who have come here from Realm Nihl, you are the first to dedicate yourself to learning the language- well, besides Joshua- By the way, who’s teaching you?”

“Seungkwan’s Mentor? He’s from Earth -Earth? Like me?”

“Don’t dodge the question.” Jihoon sighed as he leaned his head to the side.

“Fine. If you’re so curious about me learning a language then ask about it, but I want to ask some questions too.”

Another deep exhale escaped Jihoon as he nodded his head, agreeing to your proposition.

“Okay-” You took a deep breath. “An Arcanist I met the same day Dino was freaking out about me going into the forest, that’s who’s teaching me.”

Jihoon tilted his head to the side as he furrowed his brow. “Does this Arcanist have a name?”

“My question first!” You said with a smug grin. “You said Joshua is from Realm Nihl? I’m curious about that.”

“Fine.” Jihoon groaned. “Joshua comes from a family of Arcanists, the Hongs. Very good reputation, the best Wards you will ever find, but Joshua and his parents broke away from the family. Something about not agreeing with how their talent was being used- whatever - basically Joshua’s parents had a target on their head for turning against the family. Mr. and Mrs. Hong begged Archivist Jeon to take their son back so that he could grow up in a safe environment…”

Surprised by the amount of information Jihoon offered, you listened intently.

“So overall Joshua Hong is a very powerful Ward Mage that is essentially Archivist Jeon’s responsibility. It’s complicated as hell.”

“I can see that.” You chuckled.

“My question now. The Arcanist who is teaching you, what’s their name?”

As Jihoon asked his question, you checked your pocket watch, a cute trinket Dino gifted you so that you could manage your time better.The two of you had been chatting longer than you thought.

“Hold that question- I have to attend my lesson.” You said as you rushed toward the exit.

With a scoff, Jihoon tried to follow inside but you were already down the hall. “Hey! I’m not going to let you evade me like you evade Archivist Jeon!”

“What’s that?!” You yelled. “I can’t hear you from over here!”

Rolling his eyes, Jihoon returned to the balcony as you continued to sprint out of the building. 

Memorizing the route to the glade was easy, especially when Jeonghan had been teaching you the Lingua Magica daily. During the winter you had wondered why he never offered to teach you at his home or traveled to your dorm. You assumed the glade was a middle ground and left it at that. 

As you were running down the path Eris materialized next to you, matching your pace.

“Going to meet the charmer once again are we?”

It still amazed you that familiars could be with their Arcanist one moment and then decide to escape into the ether the next. You remember the first time it happened – it scared the shit out of you – but it also put you at ease knowing that the leopard could hide herself. Eris still intentionally jumpscared you for her own entertainment, needless to say the dynamic you two shared hadn’t changed much.

“Yes, I am. Does it really surprise you that I have a genuine interest in the language?”

Eris’s chuckle resonated in your mind. “It surprises me that your only intention is to learn.”

“What?” You said out loud without realizing.

“I’m just stating the obvious. He’s very kind to you and very handsome too. I wouldn't be surprised if he fancies you-”

“Woah!” You exclaimed. “What the hell are you on about? Are you my mom or something? Trying to get me to date my friend?”

Eris rolled her eyes. “Oh! So you two are friends now?”

You scoffed and dropped the subject leaving the rest of the hike in peaceful silence.

Entering the glade, the familiar sight of the pink blossomed tree welcomed you. A calm breeze blew through the branches causing loose petals to scatter in the wind and the chimes to sing out their notes. Jeonghan was nowhere to be seen which was odd because he was almost always here before you. Carefully, you walked up the steps and found your company lounging on the old stone bench.

An open tome rested on his chest as he napped in the shade of the tree.

Secreta Sanguis et Mors. Secrets of blood and death.

“You’re later than usual.” 

Jeonghan’s voice startled you as he spoke with his eyes closed. Slowly he rose to address you, a smug smile across his face.

“Did you get lost after all this time?”

“No, of course not.” You sighed. “My roommate was bombarding me with questions.”

“What kinds of questions?”

“Unimportant ones.” The words sounded more peeved than you meant them to be.

“Sage…” Jeonghan sang your name out, beckoning you. “What kinds of questions?”

There was a slight tug in your chest, Jeonghan always said your name with such an inviting quality. 

“Um-” You stuttered. “Like I said, they weren’t important. He just wanted to know why I was so interested in learning Lingua Magica. Speaking of- I’m ready to start my lessons!”

“About that…” Jeonghan thought for a moment and then shook his head. “I had something else in mind. Something I wanted to show you…”

A twinge of ambivalence filled you as Jeonghan spoke.Was he nervous about something? 

You disregarded the feeling. “Oh- Sure. What did you have in mind?”

“You’ll just have to find out- and don’t worry, I’ll still teach you today. I just wanted a change of scenery.” Jeonghan stood from the bench and offered you his hand.

The promise of learning was all you needed in order to agree to a small journey. Gently, you placed your hand in Jeonghan’s, his skin was cold to the touch, nearly matching the weather outside. Almost  instinctively, you held his hand tighter and rubbed your thumb into the skin of it, hoping the gesture would warm him.

A soft snicker emanated from Jeonghan. “Thank you, but I naturally just run a bit cooler than most people.”

Learning that fact made heat begin to rise to your face but you quickly pushed away the embarrassment. 

The two of you ventured out of the glade and in the direction that Jeonghan usually left in. Tall evergreen trees hugged the stone path you walked, the trees were imposing and made you feel slightly claustrophobic with how close they were. You squeezed Jeonghan’s hand to provide some sort of comfort, his skin was still cool to the touch but it wasn’t uncomfortable.

“Here we are.” Jeonghan said as he picked up the pace, nearly dragging you along.

The tree line grew sparse and an opening appeared, the subtle scent of salt carried in the breeze that blew past you. Jeonghan halted, causing you to bump into his back, you were going to complain but the scene before you was a good distraction.

A vast, deep blue lake centered itself in the forest. It spread so far that you could barely see the other side. Floating in the lake were white winged birds, gray patterns decorating their feathers, you recognized them as albatrosses, a rare yet beautiful bird. They were so eye catching you nearly forgot that you aren’t meant to be here, that it could harm you to linger.

“Jeonghan-”

“It’s okay, Sage.” He stopped your warning and slowly brought you toward the edge of the lake. “This isn’t the same area.”

You raised your brow at his comment. “How do you know?”

Jeonghan looked at you with kind, gentle eyes. “I spoke with the person who saved you.”

He released his grasp on your hand and sat on one of the many rocks along the lake’s shore. Still you were nervous, even if it wasn’t the lake, it was still a lake and you didn’t know exactly what would trigger an episode and you didn’t want to find out.

“Come sit with me, Sage.” Jeonghan said as he lightly patted the rock next to him. “Enjoy the lake air with me.”

You sighed in defeat and joined Jeonghan on the shore, placing your books in your lap as you sat next to him. 

“Did you just want to show me the lake?”

He laughed softly. “I wanted you to see the birds…”

You turned your attention back to the albatrosses in the lake. The two birds floated side by side, grooming each other, obviously a mated pair. As you focused on your surroundings, you could hear birdsong coming from the woods behind you. You closed your eyes and listened, allowing yourself to enjoy the sound.

“Really.” You kept your eyes shut as you spoke. “You wanted me to see some birds.”

“Yes. I saw that you sometimes draw birds in your notebook.”

The idea of Jeonghan bringing you to a lake just because you like to doodle them every so often made you snicker.

“How thoughtful of you.” Sarcasm laced your words.

“I was also getting tired of that glade.” Jeonghan said as he chuckled.

“There it is~”  You rolled your eyes dramatically. “I knew this was for your own personal gain.”

A small smile formed on Jeonghan’s lips. “Yup, I’m so selfish~ Now give me your tome. I’ll make some notes for you.”

Swiftly, you handed him your tome along with your notebook and watched as he translated more passages. 

You had to admit, the change in scenery definitely helped with the lesson. The atmosphere was different, calming even though you were nervous in the beginning. As Jeonghan continued to scribble in your notebook, you looked out into the lake. The albatrosses were long gone, leaving the lake empty and lonely. 

Another brackish breeze blew by and this time it lingered. It didn’t smell bad, but it wasn’t a scent you would want around you all day. There was something familiar about the aroma as well as the way the lake’s current lapped at the side of the rocks. For a moment your vision unfocused as you lost yourself in your thoughts.

“Sage?” Jeonghan called out.

You blinked back to focus and looked over at your company.

“Did you hear what I said?” He stared at you with round eyes, a slight furrow to his brow.

“Hm? Oh- no?”

Jeonghan pointed to your notebook. “ Incantatio . It means Enchantment, like the school.”

You read the note Jeonghan made. As usual he provided the Arcane sigil and the translation in both Lingua Magica and English. 

“I could teach you.”

The statement piqued your interest.

“Enchantment is all about words- incantations. You learned the Lingua Magica so fast, I’m sure you would absorb the school of Enchantment easily.”

You took a moment to think. From what Seungkwan told you, Enchantment was all about charms and enchanting items. It was apparently a more tame school, scholars and artists enjoyed the subject. Less flashy than Evocation but flashier than Transmutation.

A grin formed on your face. “Now try and really sell it to me. Like you work at a car dealership.”

Jeonghan squinted as he tried to figure out what you were saying.

“Haggle with me.” You said in a flat tone. “You really want me to learn Enchantment? Convince me.”

Jeonghan smirked, accepting the challenge. “Enchantment is a school that embraces creativity and cunning. You’ll be able to learn a person’s deepest desires and use it to your advantage. Fighting with intellect is just as powerful as fighting with brawn.” His eyes locked with yours. “Isn’t there someone you’re curious about? Someone that intrigues you or maybe even pisses you off? Wouldn’t it be nice to know what makes them tick?”

The more Jeonghan spoke the harder it was to tear your gaze away, it was enrapturing. As you continued to stare, a subtle blue glow emanated from his irises and you couldn’t help but train your focus on his eyes.

“But that would be ridiculous.” Jeonghan snapped his attention away from you. “The school of Enchantment has a lot of potential, but Arcanist’s mainly use it to create magical objects.”

“Even if it’s just that, I’m interested.” You finally replied.

Jeonghan smiled as he looked out into the lake. “Good. I’d be more than happy to teach you Enchantment.” He returned his attention to you. “I’ll teach you something simple right now.”

Soon the space between you two shrunk as Jeonghan leaned in eye locking onto yours once again.

“ Dominare Mentem .” He whispered close, the same blue tint appearing in his eyes.

A dull throb pounded in your head but it didn’t last long. The pain subsided and you were left with a cloudy feeling akin to the sensation of waking up in the middle of the night not knowing where you are.

“Domi- I understand Mentem . It means mind, correct?”

A pleased expression consumed Jeonghan’s face as he grinned. “Yes. See you learn quickly!”

“Did you just cast a spell on my mind?”

Jeonghan scoffed. “Oh please. If I wanted to cast a spell on you I would have done it the first day we met.”

“Thank you, Jeonghan. That is very reassuring.” You stated monotonously.

He didn’t say anything other than laugh in your face. Enchantment may have been his school of choice, but the raven haired man had the eloquence of a toothpick. 

“Well-” Jeonghan gathered your books and stood, holding out his free hand for you to grab. “It’s getting late, Sage. You should head home.”

You held onto his hand and pulled yourself up. “You’re right, the sun is starting to set.” A quick peek at your pocket watch showed that it was already six in the evening. “Shit, Mingyu is going to kill me if I’m late for dinner.”

“Mingyu lives with you as well?”

“Huh? No. He just makes us dinner.”

Jeonghan nodded. “Let me take you back to the glade, we can part there.”

Agreeing, you followed Jeonghan down the path from which you came without holding his hand this time. You clutched onto your books and shuffled next to Jeonghan, something about the trees here unsettled you. Without even noticing, you held onto his elbow for support, the proximity immediately calming you.

A low chuckle resonated from Jeonghan, but he bent his arm to create space for you to link arms with him. The two of you continued down the path, arm in arm.

By the time you were back at the glade, the sun had set beyond the treeline, causing the area to be shrouded in dim light. 

“Are you sure you don’t want me to accompany you back to your dorm?” Jeonghan asked before you could leave.

“I’m sure!” You called out as you passed the threshold and exited the glade. “Goodnight, Jeonghan.”

You received a two finger salute in response from Jeonghan before he turned around and disappeared into the woods. 

As you were traveling down the stone path, Eris materialized beside you.

“You forgot to ask him what the spell did.”

Stopping in your tracks, you turned to Eris, mouth agape in disbelief of your own foolishness.

“This is exciting! What if you turn into a toad in the middle of the night?”

By the time you reached the dorm, all worries had washed away.If Jeonghan had really casted a spell on you it probably would have had an effect by now. Upon entering the building, you were met with Yucca sitting in the center of the entrance, big ears twitching curiously. The small fennec fox stood and turned his butt to you, walking down the hallway. You followed the little familiar to the dining room and were met with Mingyu cleaning the table of plates.

“You’re late.” 

“I’ve heard that a lot today…” You responded with a sigh.

“You’re usually only gone for an hour and a half.” Mingyu pouted as he complained.

“I know, it’s been-”

“Four hours!”

With a deep breath you calmed your nerves. “Okay. How about I clean up? To make up for being late.”

“No-” Mingyu continued to sulk. “I fixed you a plate. It’s on the counter, eat.”

When you turned your gaze to the counter, a full plate of eggs, pancakes, and sausage was left untouched. Breakfast for dinner, for some reason the idea of it was nostalgic. You grabbed the plate and took a seat at one of the stools by the center island. As you enjoyed your food, Mingyu carried on, scrubbing the plates clean and wiping down the counters. Yucca stationed himself at the archway leading to the dining room, guarding the entrance.

Drying his hands on a clean towel, he wandered over to the center island, throwing the towel over his shoulder. 

“So…” Mingyu exhaled.

You looked up to him with the fork still in your mouth. “So…” 

“Where were you? These past few weeks you’ve been… vacant.”

Puzzled, you grimaced. “Vacant?”

Mingyu groaned. “Why do I have to be the one to do this? Vernon said you’ve been a little- I don’t want to say unapproachable but …” He muttered for a moment as he searched for the words. “Distant, maybe even a bit guarded? I don’t know, he just said the two of you haven’t been hanging out as much lately.”

You swallowed another bite of your food. “Oh my- Is this an intervention?”

“Sage! Be serious for once, please.” Mingyu frowned. “Is it really so weird that the people you live with are worried about you?”

A prominent crease formed on your brow as you digested Mingyu’s words. “I don’t know why they’re so worried. I’ve just been receiving lessons on the Lingua Magica. I want to fully translate this tome Archivist Jeon gave me…” 

“Jihoon told me about that, he said you avoided his questions.” 

“I answered some of them!” You interjected.

Mingyu’s expression was shrouded with doubt. “You never told him who was teaching these lessons. Will you tell me?”

You tried to avoid his eyes but Mingyu was adamant, smiling like a puppy with sparkly eyes to try and persuade you. 

“Fine, I surrender- I’ll tell you whatever you want!” You sighed deeply. “It’s-” The name was on the tip of your tongue but it faded immediately. “It’s uh…” A familiar dull ache thrummed in your head. “Sorry- The person who’s teaching me- right- um…”

Mingyu rounded the counter to stand in front of you. “Are you alright, Sage?” He gently placed his hand on your forehead, checking for a fever. “You’re a little warm. Were you outside the entire time? It’s still cold out, you should be wearing warmer clothing.”

There was worry in Mingyu’s tone and you felt concern radiate from him. His heart was like an overflowing well, you were nervous he might start tearing up.

“Um- yeah… I was outside all day-” Your words trailed off as you sunk into the warmth of Mingyu’s hand, lethargy setting in.

Taking deep, calming breaths, you felt yourself drifting closer into unconsciousness. Your limbs tingled and if you weren’t careful, your knees would give out. 

“Sage? Are you sure you are okay?” The concern in Mingyu’s voice felt distant, nearly distorted. 

As you tried to speak next, no words came out and it was the final push to unconsciousness. You heard another shout of your name and a firm grip on your body before it all faded to black. 

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[sequinsmile-x]

Promises

They've been called away on a case just before Halloween, and Emily just hopes they get back home in time so she can see the costume her daughter has kept secret from her for weeks.

-x-

Hi friends,

Happy Halloween!

As promised here is your final Halloween themed fic from me this year. It is soft and sweet and will rot your teeth just like Halloween candy!!

I really hope you like this, please let me know what you think <3

-x-

Warnings: Pregnancy

Words: 2.6k

Read over on Ao3, or below the cut

Emily groans as she settles down on the seat next to her husband, her head thudding dully on the headrest. They were the first to the jet and were waiting for the others to arrive so Penelope could brief them all at once, a case in Montana pulling them all from their comfortable beds too early on a cold October morning. 

“You ok, sweetheart?” Aaron asks, looking up at her from his paperwork.

“Yeah,” she huffs out, sounding anything but as she crosses her arms over her chest, “It’s just if we don’t get this case solved in the next couple of days we’ll miss Halloween,” she says, smiling sadly as she looks up at him and shrugs, “It’s the first year Violet really understands it all. It sucks.” 

The four-year-old had been talking about Halloween for weeks. Excited about her costume that she refused to tell Emily anything about, claiming it was a surprise that she’d only let Aaron and Jessica in on. For once her husband stood strong in keeping this from her, something he’d not achieved when he proposed or in the lead-up to her ‘surprise’ birthday party just a few weeks ago. Whenever she tried to get it out of him, only half serious herself because she knew how important it was to her little girl that she was surprised on the day, he’d simply smile and kiss her cheek, whispering against her skin that she’d find out soon. 

He sighs sympathetically and wraps his arm around her shoulder and pulls her closer, “I know, baby,” he says, turning his head to kiss her temple, “Hopefully we’ll make it back in time and keep our promise, but Jess said she’d take plenty of photos if we don’t.”

Jessica was as much of an aunt to Violet as she was to Jack from the very start. She was totally bowled over by the little girl just as everyone who had ever met her was, and Violet loved her Aunt Jessie, a wide smile on her face whenever she found out she’d be spending time with her. It made Emily feel better, any guilt she felt about leaving her daughter when she went to work was slightly eased by the fact she was with someone who loved her and someone she loved in return. 

Emily hums as she leans into his side, “I know, it just…” she drifts off and blows out a breath.

“It sucks,” he finishes for her, repeating her earlier words, mirroring her smile when it breaks across her face. He leans in to kiss her, stamping his lips against hers before he pulls back to look at her and places his palm on her still flat belly, “How are you feeling?” 

She was only 10 weeks along, and the joy she’d felt when the pregnancy test came back positive hadn’t faded at all. They’d struggled to get pregnant this time around, something that had happened quickly with Violet taking time Emily was worried they didn’t have, the sound of her biological clock getting louder with every month that passed. When it finally happened, two bright pink lines staring up at her, she didn’t quite believe it and she’d cried so loudly Aaron had heard her through the closed bathroom door. 

No one else knew apart from the kids who they had only just told. At first, they’d wanted to keep it just between the two of them, but the morning sickness had come on quickly. Unrelenting as just about everything upset her stomach, forcing them to tell Jack and Violet they were going to have a sibling so they were no longer worried about her mother being sick all the time. Violet didn’t understand much beyond the fact she was having a brother or sister, something she was excited about, but Emily expected a lot of her excitement came from being part of the secret just between the four of them. 

She groans, “I feel like shit,” she grumbles, “I don’t remember it being this bad with Vi.” 

He hums, “Well, you are a few years-”

He’s cut off as she covers his mouth with her hand, her eyebrow raised as she looks at him, “If you call me old in any way you’re never having sex again.” 

Aaron clears his throat, stopping himself from saying that she’d never stick to that threat, that she always wanted him as much as he wanted her because he knows it’s not a good idea. Instead, he kisses her palm and then removes her hand from his face. 

“Would you like me to go make you some peppermint tea?” He asks, hiding a small smile as he kisses her knuckles, “I put the teabags you like in my go-bag.”

She smiles and hums, “You’re lucky you’re cute.” 

He kisses her before he stands up, shuffling past her as she puts her legs out in the aisle to give him room, not sure her stomach could handle standing up.

“Don’t call me cute,” he says as he disappears behind the curtain separating the main section of the jet from the kitchenette. 

Her retort is interrupted as Derek steps onto the jet, his face screwed up in mock disgust as he replies, “Please don’t call him cute,” he says, slumping into the seat opposite Emily, “Especially before I’ve had my coffee.” 

Emily chuckles, “I’d apologise, but we both know I wouldn’t mean it.” 

He shakes his head at her, “What did I interrupt anyway?” 

She presses her lips together to stop her smile from spreading, her hand on her stomach obscured by the table between them. She was excited to tell her friends, the people she considered her family, but she also still wanted to keep it a secret for a couple more weeks. She raises her eyebrow at him, and her eyes sparkle with mischief. 

“Are you sure you want to know?” She asks suggestively, laughing when he shivers and stands up, shaking his head at her.

“I don’t know why I asked,” he grumbles as he disappears behind the curtain too, leaving Emily alone for a moment.

She laughs to herself and rubs her belly again before letting her hand fall to her lap. Her phone vibrates in her pocket and she pulls it out, smiling when she sees she has a text message from Jessica. She opens it and feels a surge of love rush through her, chased by guilt that snaps at her heels. 

The message is a picture of Jack and Violet, their arms wrapped around each other, still wearing the fall-themed pjyamas she’d sent them to bed in the night before. Jessica had captioned the picture, making it the first of what Emily knew would be countless updates over the next couple of days until they made it home. 

Missing you already, Mommy! 

She blows out a breath as she types out a response and puts her phone down, desperate for the others to arrive, for the jet to leave. The sooner they left the sooner they’d get home, and the more likely they would be home in time for Halloween. 

___

They make it. 

It feels like nothing short of a miracle, a feeling more well-placed for Christmas than Halloween, when they walk through their front door just before when they are due to go trick-or-treating. Jack runs straight at them the moment they step into the house, the large pumpkin costume he’d insisted on not impeding him at all. 

“Mom, Dad, you’re home!” He says, running and attempting to throw his arms around Aaron, but is stopped by his inflatable costume. 

“Look at you, buddy,” Aaron says, ruffling his son’s hair, “You look amazing.”

“I want to wear it all the time!” He says enthusiastically, his eyes wide with excitement and Emily chuckles, cupping his chin and wiping some chocolate from his face. 

“We’ll see if you feel the same way when it comes to going to the bathroom, sweetie,” she says, smiling when she looks down to see his feet are still bare, “Or putting your shoes on, why don’t you go give it a go so we can head out soon?” 

Jack nods, already turning and running back towards the stairs, his arms balancing on his costume as he goes. 

“Call for us if you need any help,” Aaron yells after him, shaking his head lovingly when the only response he gets is a wave of Jack’s hand. He crosses Jessica on the stairs who smiles at them when she makes it to the ground floor. 

“I am so pleased you made it back in time,” she says, walking over and pulling them both into quick hugs, “Vi is almost ready,” she says as she pulls back, “She was insistent on putting the finishing touches together herself.”

Aaron wraps his arm around his wife and squeezes her hip, “She’s been stubborn since the day she was born,” he says, tugging Emily closer, a wry smile on his face as he does so, “Not sure where she gets it from.

“You.”

“You.”

Emily and Jessica reply in unison, both of them laughing as their eyes meet and Aaron sighs, trying to suppress his smile as he shakes his head. 

“I wonder if there’s a book on what to do when your ex-wife's sister and your wife become friends.”

Emily makes a fake sympathetic nose and reaches up to pat his cheek, “I doubt it, honey, maybe you could write it?” 

“I’m ready!” Violet calls from the top of the stairs, cutting off the conversation, and Emily can just about see her shoes from where she’s standing, a plain black pair of sneakers she usually only wore to pre-school. She steps forward, excited to see her daughter after a couple of days away.

“Hi sweet girl, I missed-”

“No Mommy you have to close your eyes,” she demands, not moving, her voice surprisingly stern for a four-year-old. Emily turns to look at her husband who shrugs, a knowing smile on her face that makes her want to kiss him and hit him in equal measure. She rolls her eyes before closing them, turning her body back to face the stairs. 

“Okay, my eyes are closed.” 

There’s a moment of silence before Violet responds, “Daddy?” 

Emily feels Aaron’s hand at her waist as he steps next to her, his hand once against squeezing her hip, “Her eyes are closed, princess.” 

“Only a kid that is half you would be such a stickler for the rules,” Emily mumbles just loud enough for him and Jessica to hear her, the other woman’s laughter drowned out by Violet’s loud footsteps on the hardwood stairs. 

Emily always wondered how someone so small could make so much noise. How such tiny feet, feet she’d once only felt from the inside, kicks that had once kept her up at night, could thunder against the ground like she was five times her size. It makes her stomach flip as she thinks about going through it all again, how much she already loved the baby she hadn’t met yet. Violet’s steps come to an end when she reaches the ground floor and the house briefly falls into silence. 

“Can I open my eyes yet?” She asks, and she feels Aaron hold her slightly tighter as their daughter replies.

“Open your eyes, Mommy!” 

The moment she does she understands why this has been kept secret from her for so long. Violet’s costume is made up of a pair of her own dark jeans, a red shirt and one of Emily’s blazers, so big it’s almost drowning her, the sleeves going way past her hands even though they are rolled up. Her usually unruly hair was straightened and styled with a middle part and tucked behind her ears to keep it out of her face. She has a small amount of make-up on, including slightly uneven lipstick, the part she assumes Violet insisted on doing herself. 

To top it all off, she’s wearing a homemade FBI badge with her picture on it, pinned to the lapel of Emily’s blazer. 

“I’m you, Mommy!” Violet says proudly, her smile wide, and Emily has to blow out a breath in a failed attempt to stop herself from crying. She tells herself it’s her pregnancy hormones but she knows it’s not true, that this would have reduced her to tears no matter what. 

She crouches down and opens up her arms, wrapping them tightly around her little girl as she throws herself at her, “You look so pretty, sweetheart,” she says as she pulls back to look at her, wiping her thumb under her lip to even out the lipstick. Violet frowns at her, an expression that is all Aaron.

“Of course I do, I’m you,” she replies, her voice so serious that Emily has to press her lips together to stop herself from laughing. 

“Mom, I need help with my shoes,” Jack calls from upstairs, making all three adults in the room exchange a knowing look. 

“I’m coming, honey,” Emily replies, picking up Violet and settling her on her hip as she goes, “Come on Agent Hotchner, let’s go help your brother put on his shoes.” 

Aaron smiles as he watches his girls go up the stairs and he makes a mental note to take as many photos of them together as he can, well aware that this is a memory Emily will love to look back on with fondness, no matter how embarrassed Violet might be by the time she’s a teenager. He looks over at Jessica and his smile fades when he sees how she is looking at him, a glint to her smile that had only meant trouble for him since back when she was just his girlfriend’s annoying 12-year-old sister. 

“What?” He asks, narrowing his eyes as she crosses her arms over her chest. 

“We had some…interesting moments when it came to Vi’s costume.” 

He frowns, his hands on his hips as he tries to read her, “What do you mean interesting?” 

“Well,” she says, stepping closer, her smile only getting wider, “I had to talk her down from shoving a cushion from the couch up her shirt.” 

Aaron’s eyes go wide, and he sees the excitement and joy peeking out from beneath Jessica’s teasing, her smile only getting bigger as he realises what’s happened. “Oh.”

“Yeah,” she says, nodding, “Apparently her Mommy has a baby in her belly and Vi knows that means she’s going to get fat just like her friend from school’s mom did when she had her little brother,” she shrugs nonchalantly, “She wanted her costume to be accurate.”

He shakes his head and chuckles, “She kept the Emily costume secret for weeks, but this she spills in a matter of days.” 

Jessica finally breaks and she laughs as she pulls him into a hug, “She’s excited to be a big sister,” she says as he hugs her back, squeezing him once more before she steps back, “Congratulations, Aaron. I’m happy for you. Haley would be too.” 

He smiles, the mention of his ex-wife now something that only brought up good memories, not the traumatic ones it had done for years, “Thank you.” 

Jessica smiles at him, “You kept your promise.” 

He looks up the stairs as he hears Jack’s bedroom door open and smiles as his family start to walk down the stairs, the kids in their costumes and Emily still in her work clothes, listening intently as Jack talks to her about his day. He clears his throat as he looks back at Jessica, unsurprised to see the same tears he was failing to push back shining in her eyes too.

“Yeah,” he replies, nodding as he looks at his family, “I did.” 

-x-

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[imagineitdearies]

I am curious, was there any point in Perfect Slaughter where the story or characters developed in ways you hadn't planned?

Your writing is amazing, I love them so much your honor ❤️

Hey anon!! Thanks for this lovely ask, sorry for the wait 🩵 (holiday season, amirite?)

For most of my life I've been a 'pantser/discovery writer,' even if I've found a good balance now with both discovering and planning my stories--and one major way I still keep my options open for myself is the characterizations. So there were plenty of times all of the characters in Perfect Slaughter surprised me! But here are a few highlights:

Chatterteeth

Plot-wise, I included Chatterteeth in my outline as a heralder of the 'Command Undead' class feature Tyrus would level up and gain just before the climax; beyond that I didn't really know how much importance I wanted to give her. It wasn't until writing Part III that I thought more deeply about her motivations beyond simply wanting to end the Szarr legacy as well. A lot of it I didn't have the justification to dive into during the story itself (if you haven't read my little one-shot in her POV, I did get a chance then!), but it changed a lot.

For one--that she protests a lot more about Tyrus's controlling treatment of her. While this doesn't change the plot points, I think it did change the narrative and how readers experience Part III with Tyrus's corruption. A bit less cheering him on, and a few more reminders thanks to our skelly grandma that Tyrus is Not Being A Good Person.

Also, my plans had just been for Chatterteeth to be merely surprised at Tyrus's growing power during their trap-setting, then let him know about 'Command Undead' being a potential option. With how I began to write her, however, I realized it was a power she didn't know if she trusted him to disclose about even once she realized he might be capable. Which meant it gets revealed later than I planned, but in a way that hopefully emphasizes the gravity of Tyrus's choice at the end to only use it to give Astarion freedom, not take control of the final outcome. Adding how worried she is that he will choose control and power over love, hopefully raises the stake for the reader too. (Oh, and all this made her death quite a bit sadder 🥲)

Cazador

I unfortunately know Cazador's type all too well, and knowing what his thoughts and plans were behind the scenes was really important to make the set-up of this story work (i.e., use love against people until whoops, turns out it isn't a weakness like you thought). That being said, he gave me a big surprise in Part III when he bargains with Tyrus to keep Astarion around. I think it was right after the rune carving and sexual assault scene in ch32, that it suddenly came to me that he might want Astarion for his own selfish sake. And though it is a divergence from canon-Cazador's sentiments at the end of bg3, I justified that Astarion is on better terms (sadly) with him to protect Tyrus. (Plus, maybe Cazador would have been able to use Dufay in canon since he's also gotten his hands dirty/bound himself to the sacrificial spawn 'by blood' in some sense, if not for Doofie killing himself of course.)

Astarion

Astarion is such a well-fleshed out character thanks to bg3, the amount of voice lines I've listened to (many of them over and over), my god!! While I tried to stay as close and true to his canon counterpart as possible, PS!Astarion grew to have a lot of quirks I can only count as headcanons: his relationship with simple pain being worse than other abuses, his knowledge of the true vampire traits from Cazador and resultant avoidance of using the term 'love/I love you' in fear of being weak. On that note, I didn't really know when he'd say the big ILY to Tyrus, just that it would be sometime at the very end of Part II. He really held out on me with that, not admitting until the very last chapter while half-delirious with pain 💀😂

Tyrus

Tyrus surprised me the least--I know this boy like the back of my hand. I will say, he did initiate sex a lot more often than I initially planned for 😂 I swear that's half the reason I had to keep adding chapters to Part III! It's true to life though that demisexuals often do feel sexual desire, it just takes longer and a very strong bond with the right partner 🩵

Oh man, I miss him--I still want to write a one-shot at least every month, so hopefully I can squeeze one in during the holidays!!

[anonymouschishiyaimaginesandmore]

[Scrubs_MD]

Minors, do not read! Contains mentions of smutty behavior!

MASTERLIST (up-to-date)

This is Part 2 !!HERE!! is Part 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Alice in Borderland/Imawa no Kuni no Alice characters or original stories, only the plot of this fanfic. Alice in Borderland/Imawa no Kuni no Alice characters and original storyline belong to Haro Aso, who made the Manga the Series is based on.

Trigger Warning: Explicit Smut Summery: Chishiya x female OC that I gave a Name for this Story

It surprised him how aroused he has gotten at this point. His cock no longer limp, was pressing uncomfortably against his legwear and Chishiya, who hated to miss a second of the screens displayed performance, set it aside just for a moment, hurrying to pull his pants down low enough to free his cramped member.

A relieved sigh escaped him as both his pants and his boxers were pulled down to his ankles and his cock jumped up, hitting his covered abdomen, and instantly staining the light blue fabric with droplets of pre-cum. He didn’t care. It was just a shirt. He had plenty more and unlike this inviting sight, he could buy another one if he wanted.

His butt set down on the cushioned seat, getting comfortable again and licking his lips as his hands grabbed the tablet excited. Lorelay was still playing with her toy buried deep between her legs and Chishiya? He relaxed at the realization that he hasn’t missed something important as the reveal of a nipple or behold, the now surely soaking cunt.

The girl moaned constantly like a dog in heat, only interrupted, when the purple toy left her most sacred place to draw circles around her navel again, whining to the self-inducted loss of pleasure and Chishiya became aware of how ragged his breathing has gotten. He tried to stable it, to force his heart into a healthy normal rhythm, slightly angered that this girl could get him so riled up, without even giving him what he asked for, but his mind was forced away from its tries every time another angelic moan fueled his want.

As a doctor in making, naked people were nothing new to Chishiya and fazed him in no way. All just skin and bones on a stick and they all came and went daily thru the welcoming doors of the hospital, while he stayed there and waited for the next one to undress. So of course, examining a female patient gave him no more dirty thoughts than changing a tire. Still.

When he watched girls undressing, just for him, wiggling their assess and excepting money he didn’t work for, with open hands and greedy mouths, he couldn’t help but get turned on. Having the power to give them what he had in a bunch, while they followed every one of his requests like the good little puppets they are, was something he enjoyed way too much for a vigorous man his age.

Nevertheless, his sadistic side was running in loops every time he discovered someone new to toy with. Sadly, as soon as he pushed them to the limit, where they audibly would do anything for him, he lost all interest in whatever they could give.

Chishiya knew he acted like a little boy, only wanting to play with toys he doesn’t possess and not with the ones that threw themselves eagerly every day at his existence, but that was just how he was. Getting bored as soon as he had what he craved, throwing away said toy and looking bright-eyed for the next and newest one. That’s what all man did, adult or teenager. Man, all over the world wanted to have what they couldn’t reach with their grabby hands, only to bare it no thought nor eyes as soon as it was theirs. Wanting what others had and jealous of all the things woman deprived them off. So human. So needy.

So him.

The same way Lorelay deprived him, by starving his need to see what she wouldn’t show fast enough. It awakened his desire to have her. To bend her until she broke in his hands, giving him everything he asked for and more. It was so carnal. So definitely animalistic, that Chishiya, who usually had his body in good control, grabbed his leaking length, stroking it up and down, while panting to the sound of her moans losing himself slowly but steady to this girl that had no intention to become his.

Long fingers wrapped slightly too tight around his cock, vigorously provoking grunts from his chest. He wasn’t close, yet, but if this damn girl wouldn’t pick up her pace, Chishiya, the normally so patient man, would fail himself to her and cum long before her panties even left her body’s secure state.

Only having one hand to type, Chishiya made quick work to send another offer, 4 times as high as the first one and Asa, turning on her stomach, looked at the screen and smiled as the notification chimed up, batting her long eyebrows dashingly.

Thirsty Lorelay: “Not yet big boy, but I could show you something else if you want.”

The straps of her bra fell to the side, leaving behind the smooth line from her throat to her shoulder blade for everyone to admire and tracing said place with almost no touch at all.

Thirsty Lorelay: “What do you say?”

Chishiya suspected to know what she asked for and for a moment he scoffed less amused, knowing damn well her breasts were nowhere near worth the among he offered before on her disappearing panties, but right now he would do anything to get a glance, even if it wasn’t the slid between her legs, that he wished to see. Fuck it, she got him hooked and if she wouldn’t be a cam girl somewhere in this city, that he will probably never meet, like ever, he would deny her what she asked of him, for the simple view of bare chest, that he has seen alike at least a thousand times at work.

But here he was, in the safety of his home, with no one who could see and witness him losing his cool, like some idiot panting creepy over two simple tits, google could show him for free.

Amused at her boldness, Chishiya typed another offer and Asa accepted it with delight, biting her lower lip and flashing him one hell of a daring smile. The edges of her lips twitched pleased with herself, as she caged the working vibrator with her thighs, set up again on her knees and down fell the unwanted piece of annoying lingerie to reveal the two faintly heavy pieces of fat tissue.

Chishiya gasped unwanted. His thumb had creeped up to the tip of his cock, caressing it and slightly dipped into the breach, just as the first nipple made its debut. Beads of white milky pre-cum ran down his fist and then landed on the leather fabric of his seat, staining it forever, but Chishiya still didn’t care about anything else, then show he was getting and so his hand kept stroking and forcing more impatient sticky liquid to appear.

His eyes focused and unfocused rapidly, while starring at the vision he bought with his father’s money. Young and firm breasts literally caught his eye and told him never to close again, out of fear he might miss even a millisecond of what they so willingly promised him to feel like. In his head, the fantasy of running his long surgical fingers over the soft skin, played on repeat. How plum the curves would feel. How strong they would stand against his palm’s pressure on them. How they would bend and mold into his touch as he kneaded them. Fucking heavenly, but so far away.

His appetite was rising instead of lowering down, driven up by the new sight. Mouth watered so much he had to constantly swallow, or his pride would take a great damper, if he started to drool like some low-life weirdo. He felt so gluttoned and on the edge but shit, it was a wonderful feeling so he kept up his pace, hoping the girl would soon drop her tormenting antics and show him what he craved.

Thirsty Lorelay: “What is it, Scrubs? Did the cat steal your tongue?”

Chishiya instead bit said tongue, to stop himself from unnecessarily barking at his screen, making a fool of himself. He didn’t answer her. Wrote no message, that could let her know how much he yearned for her. No, he wasn’t ready to drop more of his coolness and smothering his pride with his own behavior.

Thirsty Lorelay: “Don’t tell me I have no effect on you?”

The purple working toy left her aching pussy, vibrating all over the place and Asa traced it back up to her mouth, making a show, to swallow the whole thing down to its base, like the most tasteful meal of her life, moaning muffled sounds, before pulling it out again with a small pop at the end. The sight reminded him heavily of his young teens, where his teacher showed how to place a condom on a penis, by demonstration it on some random banana and encouraging his pupils to do the same.

Chishiya remembered how he imagined, just for a mindless moment, how his own dick would feel like, caged by the small piece of lubricated latex and all that by the hands of one of his female classmates, licking her lips at the sight of his heavy cock between her fingers. For a moment he lost his cool. For a moment he wasn’t his father’s son anymore. For a moment he was nothing beside a horny teenager, just like everyone else. But this moment passed, like every other did, only to now make a strong comeback at the promising view of how much Thirsty Lorelay could swallow, if she wanted to.

While Chishiya was captured by his own keen mind, the chat went wild, busting with comments to her actions, telling her to please do it again and asking if she could also take in bigger ones. Their bigger ones. Pfft, as if they even had one. That started a whole new race, of horny guys writing down their size, to impress a girl that probably very much knew, all of those numbers were nothing but nasty lies.

Chishiya chuckled entertained. He was in no way like those greedy monkeys, that probably got off on the sweet girls face alone. However, it did make him feel better, to know that he wasn’t the only one struggling to keep himself uphold, when he wanted nothing more, then his aching dick to disappear in her weeping hole.

His hips bucked more and more against his hand and his chair had never felt so unpleasant and caging. Chishiya got up and hurried his bed, with only one thought in his mind. His knees dug deep into the mattress and the slatted frame slightly creek, as he leaned forward, grabbing one of his pillows and beginning to hump it furiously like a mad man.

His cock further stained material he didn’t paid for, nor cared about in the slightest way. After today, Chishiya would probably throw the whole thing out, but for right now, he could do nothing else, then keeping his body up with one hand on the bed, so he wouldn’t fall over, impaling himself, while his hips rapidly fucked the bolster, and his left hand gripped the tabled with no intentions to ever let it go.

His grunts became louder, and his face dripped with sweat as he watched Lorelay fumble with her chest. Kneading the soft flesh and rubbing the small bud in the middle between two fingers, while pinching it from time to time, giving herself some extra euphoric moments.

Her own desire to cum was raising too, but Asa had learned how to keep herself in check, so her viewers could and would enjoy her to their fullest, even if she overstimulated some parts with her vivid tries. Her folds long soaked the fabric that separated her privet area from the stimulating machine in her hand and as Asa’s hand went down anew, pressing excessively hard against her own clit, her body jolted upwards, yelping from the sudden pressure and panting hard, with widened eyes, as if she hasn’t done this all to herself.

“So good” she whispered as sultry as human possible, winking at the camera, tired and panting and watching the chat go crazy again, thanking and asking for more and there she was, having all the power and trashing around on her own bad, while those guys probably fucked their own hands, wishing for nothing more than them to be hers. Or her mouth. Or…

Thirsty Lorelay: “Are you ready boys?”

It was enough teasing, Asa though, deciding to show the typing mass what they all hoped so much to see. She laid down on her back again, with her pelvis facing the camera. Her legs, angled left and right and opposite of everyone’s attention, giving her fans no view of what she denied them all the time, due to crossed legs right in front of the electronic device.

Thirsty Lorelay: “You have been so good to me, let me show you what you all have been waiting for.”

Then, she opened said legs slowly, giving the chat the needed time to adjust, before raising her both limbs upwards in the air, hooking her thumbs into the hem of her underwear and pulling the clothing off of herself.

At first, she freed her hips from the unwanted hug of the panties, then came the alluring fat of her butt cheeks, exposing themselves excruciating and deliberately lazy. A gasp escaped her lips, as the damp part of her panties carefully raised off and chill air hit her puffy folds, sending shivers down her spine and making her hole clench around nothing.

Thirsty Lorelay: “What do you say? Am I giving you a good view for your money?”

As the overflowing part of her came in sight, Chishiya hips stilled for a moment. That’s how much in awe he was for finally seeing what he waited for. It was all there. Glistening lips, the pinkish abused bud, right above the gap he would love to fill up right now. He imagined how tight she would feel. How her walls would clench around him, hugging him tightly and unwilling to ever let go and shit he wouldn’t want to either.

Instead, Chishiya would love to stay in there and have his way with this starved pussy. She would love it too, he told himself, picking his rutting behavior against the pillow back up. She would love him inside of her and would surely beg him to never pull out again.

But he would. He would do it just to tease her the way she teased him. To see her fruitless tries of getting him back inside. Her wiggling spine, that trashed around just like her body did before and hearing her thirsty whines, asking him again and again why he was so mean.

She would love it and he would love it more and that was all he could think about, as she pressed the vibrators tip against her clit, jerking up with his trusts consistently.

Thirsty Lorelay: “Mhmmm...s’much…so good. Been waiting to show you guys how good you make me.”

[BabyMaker53]: And you make us feel good too baby

[ProneBoner]: Such a nice pussy

[RideMyFace]: Been waiting all day to see this

[NaughtyBoy_123]: Fuck I wish I was there

[Masturbator666]: I could make you come in seconds

[BigBratThatLovesItHard]: I’m so fucking horny right now

[SelflessLover69]: Shit my dick wants this pussy so much right now

[AnnonymousGuest]: Notice me princess I will give you dick all day long

But Asa didn’t notice anyone. Her screen was too far away, and her mind clouded with the approaching high.

Thirsty Lorelay: “M’feel like I’m gonna cum soon boys” she said moaning and tensing her butt cheeks while her small cunt clenched angrily “Wanna cum with me? Wanna make me real happy boys?”

The chat did want to make her happy. Writing novels of how close they also were and Chishiya would too, if he wasn’t too prideful to confess how good she made him feel, while literally being somewhere else. She could be in another galaxy and not in the same district. Thats how far away he felt from her, craving hungry for the smallest part of her flesh and to pound her as feverishly as he did his pillow.

Thirsty Lorelay: “Make me proud”

Asa’s hips raised high exposing her whole ass to the camera as she came hard with strangers watching her every twitch. Her hips didn’t stop jerking up, jumping up and down in front of everyone, until she felt her orgasm fading.

Surprisingly, at least for Chishiya, he did come with her. His own body fluid left his scrunching balls, squirting in more and more rounds, until his guts pumped themselves empty with nothing more to give. His eyes starred intensely over her exposed pussy until he saw her own liquid run down those already drunk folds and fuck, he loved the view.

His fingers moved fast to make a screenshot of what was shown to him, even tho he still panted hard with a half empty brain and a dying erection smooched into his once comfy pillow. His mind told him to let go, but his body was still writhing and so he stayed there and watched how Lorelay set up slowly then pressed her lower body against the lying length of the vibrator on her sheets, rocking back and forth and likely overstimulating herself.

Thirsty Lorelay: “Did everyone cum?”

She asked with a husky voice, vocal cords have turned rough after all her moans and cries, but that didn’t stop her from speaking to her loyal fans that all so craved her attention, like she craved their money.

Thirsty Lorelay: “You know my number one rule”

A long whine escaped, as her swollen clit grazed the vibrating toy.

Thirsty Lorelay: “No one is left behind”

Hips guttered back and forth, making two delicious tits jump up and down with joy. The increasing vulgar comments took no end at piling up in the chat, but Asa was too busy to register that, her mind set to not rise off the vibrating mass between her legs, bouncing harder on it as her eyes rolled to the back of her head.

Fan after fan thanked her for cumming, but mostly for not stopping. It made Chishiya realize why this girl was so beloved by each and every single one of her followers. No matter how hard she just came, or how long it took her to get there. Lorelay had no intention to stop the show until even the last of her loyal watchers has beaten his meat into euphoria.

The alarming rate at which her chest rose and fell, pressing out one pornographic moan after the other, was sign enough to let Chishiya know, the girl on the screen was approaching her second relief in a short time. Lorelay was ruthless to her own body when it came to satisfying her dear fans and Chishiya watched with lustful eyes how she humiliated that juicy cunt, while running her hands up and down her body.

The last ‘Wait for me’ turned into a sweet ‘Thank you’ and Asa allowed herself to succumb into pleasure and let herself go anew. As her body finally stopped, unable to hold itself upwards, the girl collapsed to the side, giving another wonderful view of her body bathed in her own saucy sweat.

Her lungs were heavily expanding against ribs, all while Asa tried her best to come down from the last high of the day. Her heart finally calmed, and she turned to face the camara lens smiling tired and spend.

Thirsty Lorelay: “I hope” she started, stopping to take a few more breaths before going on “You guys had a good time. I feel fantastic and for that I have to thank each one of you. You were so nice to me, I’m so spoiled thanks to you” she winked, a drained smile on her face making kiss sounds and waving everyone goodbye.

One after the other left the Chat and Chishiya also fell down on his bed. His back laid on decadently soft sheets, hugging him from each side while the tablet fell somewhere slightly out of reach but still on the bed.

Thirsty Lorelay: “Scrubs, you still there?”

Chishiya heard a voice calling out to his username. His face turned to the side and looked over at the tablet, scrunching and unwanted to move.

Thirsty Lorelay: “Don’t tell me you still don’t have enough?” a soft chuckle escaped the girl’s mouth and Asa shook slightly her head, not knowing who the guy on the other screen was “Once greedy, forever greedy I guess”

Chishiya tapped on the screen. The Chat had emptied completely, and he was the only one left. He thought about ending the stream and go for a shower, but before his finger reached the tiny red X in the right corner, his new favorite performer reached out to him again.

Thirsty Lorelay: “Hey Scrubs, I hope you enjoyed my little show today. I have seen that you are a new watcher and so I decided to personally say thank you for coming. Hopefully in both ways.”

Chishiya raised an eyebrow at the terrible joke, but he listened on, letting her end her little speech and see what would come out of it.

Thirsty Lorelay: “I hope you had a good time and liked what you saw. A lot. If that’s the case, you are whole heartly invited to come back when the next one starts.”

Oh, he will come back for sure. The blond man decided this as soon as his pants dropped to his ankles in lightning speed.

Thirsty Lorelay: “I usually make shows on the weekend but you if you are interested into some private ones, you can always hit me up during the week and ask for one. My prices are in the description with my available schedule and I’m sure we will have a good time if you decide to come and say hi yourself.”

A private chat? Chishiya stroked his non-existent beard. That sounded promising and the blond couldn’t wait to book a day just for himself. His dick was already twitching at the thought of having the streamer all to himself.

Thirsty Lorelay: “If you do, please think about sending me some uplifting advice on what you prefer I wear. After all, I want to make sure I greet you the right way.”

Some piquant ideas instantly came to his mind. Some however would need preparation beforehand and probably one or two thingsshe didn't have. He would need to look up her profile and find out if she was willing to buy the stuff herself, or if he had to find a way to deliver it to her. After all, for a good time, Chishiya was willing to spend a lot of money, if the cam girl he watched was gifted enough and fucking shit, Thirsty Lorelay was gifted in so many ways, he would buy himself a lifetime of her attention, just to feel as good as he felt moments ago.

Thirsty Lorelay: “In case you feel extra needy, you can hit me up and ask for new stuff. I am always eager to try out new things, maybe even situations. I am sure we will come to some agreement no matter what.”

Just a question of price. Chishiya knew the requirements girls like her tend to ask, but he didn’t feel averse. Rather the opposite. His desire to find out how far she would go for some of his cash was right back and his voyeuristic side already couldn’t wait for the next show.

Thirsty Lorelay: “Anyway. Thank you for joining and hopefully we will see eachother again. Maybe even outside the chat? Who knows. See ya, Scrubs. Have a wonderful spend night. Mwahh.”

The girl threw him another kiss smiling and then ending the chat.

A small dialog window opened up immediately and asked him to rate how much he enjoyed the skilled girls show and Chishiya grinned, content with himself as he pressed the 5-star button and the site thank him for his time.

No, he thought, setting the tablet aside, thank you.

[rookie21w]

Danganronpa x Persona

Mirrored Selved.

Hello! My name is Rookie, and today I decided to share one of my biggest fanfics: Mirrored Selves.

What it is? Simple put it's a fanfiction I've been working since 2019, in which the Persona and Danganronpa universe coexist in one.

The protagonist of this story is none other than Hajime Hinata, a character who I believe is the perfect personification of The Fool Arcana and the Ability of the Wild Card.

Like a number 0 but with endless possibilities.

So let's dig in if I've got your attention ^^

Let's tackle the points! I don't plan on focusing in just one class in specific. My goal is actually having the three classes in one same story, and create a Persona Team with a mix of characters from each cast.

So that means everyone will be around the same age gap. This is also a non-despair AU, which means Junko never ended the world, but every Persona event up until Persona 5 Strikers have taken place! To be precise a couple years after the last adventure the Phantom Thieves had.

In this story the characters from the Danganronpa cast will embark in their own Persona-Adventure. Many crossovers of DR x Persona write events similar in games, like murder cases in Persona 4, or climbing Tartarus like Persona 3. I think those stories are cool!

But in this case the story is 100% original, so there won't be anything similar played like in the previous games but it's own story and their own development.

There's also major changes for a couple of characters, in this story Hajime and Kyoko will know each other since childhood thanks to Jin.

How that will turn out? Is one of my favorite aspects to write!

I will say that I am writing with my best ability to keep everyone in character and avoid OOC's.

Speaking of that, will I include oc's in this story? The short answer is no. But there is one character that can be considered OC but it actually exists in Canon. Who am I speaking about? Hajime's mother of course.

Hitomi Hinata is my interpretation of Hajime's mother and plays a role in this story, not a major role but still important for our favorite cynical.

Other than that, every major boss, character, side character and confidants will be entirely characters from Danganronpa!

There will also be Persona characters making their appearance every now and then or being referenced, so keep your eyes open or you might miss them, including Persona 1 and 2. Yes I do acknowledge their existence! Haha.

Jokes aside, there will be plenty of Persona references to spot, so let me know if you see them all!

Now final details to touch before we end this post for today.

Romances? Yes. This is Persona, and one key aspect is the option to date who you want. Or build a harem.

I must say, though, this is NOT a harem story.

Think of it as a what if, there's multiple romances routes for you the reader to enjoy and choose your preferred one! ^^

Quick mention but it won't beonly girls but boys too! Hajime is a bi icon, fight me.

And final point, the story is being uploaded in Ao3. It currently has 38 chapters and we are in arc 2!

The story has been on going since 2019 as I mentioned but sadly I had long hiatus from 2021 to 2024 where I barely updated. But thar has change, weekly updates have returned!

So please if you are interested feel free to read, leave a comment and follow if you want since I will start updating more from this fanfic here ^^

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20074765/chapters/47544520

It's been years since The Velvet Room had a guest.

Now, students have gone missing, many incidents have taken place around the city, all lead by a peculiar group of individuals wearing masks of bears in black and white. Most of their attacks have one clear goal: Hope's Peak Academy.

From this sea of despair, the new guest of The Velvet Room awakens to his hidden power: Hajime Hinata.

With this new power, he will embark on an adventure to stop them from spreading their roots of despair. Along with his new friends, he will discover his true self and the secrets of this organization.

Beta Readers: blue_bun_icecream, Roman Cube

All the art is made by: SerenadePng

[tumblingxelian]

Hi! While I don't watch much MLB, based on what I know about the show I hate how it handled Chloe, and I enjoyed reading your analysis of how the spousification of Chloe by Andre.

I've read a fanfic which aims to do Chloe justice by having Andre realize his mistakes, divorce Audrey and try to be a better parent to his children.

The story focuses on Audrey being an abusive parent while Andre gets redeemed after realizing how evil his wife is, but since your analysis shows that Andre is arguably the worse parent who groomed (deliberately or not) Chloe into a substitute spouse, so I would like your opinion on the story-do you think it would be wrong to treat Andre as redeemable while making Audrey into the "irredeemably evil" parent?

Hi, thanks for the ask!

I can't critique I stopped watching after S3 haha, I try to avoid too much leaning on stuff that comes after due to not wanting to critique things I haven't watched but the first 3 seasons give me plenty to work off character wise anyway.

Regardless, much obliged I am glad you enjoyed my analysis!

As it is a lot of fics tend to do that with Andre, I think some are less inclined to do so now but it was still a common trend. Sadly its part of a much wider trend in fandom and writing circles where an obviously abusive or negligent father is given and out and everything is blamed on his wife.

Not having read the specific story I cannot really comment on it, but suffice to say I don't care for any story built on premises like: Andre is a victim of the woman we see him very easily argue against, and totally loves Chloe the way a father should & just made some mistakes.

When that is not very well supported by even the S1, to S3 canon.

As a general rule I do think it is wrong to make Andre the redeemable parent and Audrey the irredeemably evil. Both of them suck just in different ways.

Audrey is at least honest about her feelings and broadly doesn't try to spend time around the kids. Amazingly not inflicting herself on them is the best thing she could do outside of become a less shit person.

Andre on the other hand inserts himself into the children's lives, when it suits him and otherwise is negligent, but its all to serve him and make him feel good, powerful, important, etc.

Audrey doesn't care but doesn't try to trick one into thinking she does, Andre doesn't care but will work very hard to convince people he does. So as a general rule I dislike stories that redeem Andre in concept alone, but I dislike them even more when they use Audrey as a scapegoat, the woman was barely even there!

The whole dynamic reeks of sexism where-in a shitty father is given a million outs but a shitty mother is inherently the devil.

Hell just look at how Audrey is treated compared to Gabriel the literal fucking super villain, one can't look at that and tell me there isn't a double standard.

[thecallofthewildgeese]

Illuminae

Illuminae, by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Read: 01.07.24

“The universe owes you nothing…It has already given you everything, after all. It was here long before you, and it will go on long after you. The only way it will remember you is if you do something worthy of remembrance.”

It is a rare, rare thing, the proverbial needle in a haystack, but sometimes…the work really lives up to the hype. This is the case with Illuminae, which is fucking amazing.

Let’s talk first about format. Illuminae looks gimmicky at first glance, and that’s because it is: a book that takes the form of an investigation, with files, transcripts of conversations and recordings, e-mails, and even code-like lines of narration of an AI as it becomes self-aware, it couldn’t not be. What is amazing is that it works.

Besides being innovative and thus interesting, the format makes the book all the more immersive, adding a dimension of realism and interactiveness that takes the work to the next level. The climax of AIDAN’s journey was downright breathtaking, and certainly made me scream (internally, as I was in the subway) in inarticulate excitement and emotion.

The characters were also compelling and so very human. There’s something to be said about how, to the human mind (and specially to a teenaged human mind), conflicts of epic proportions can hold the same weight as romantic woes. That said, the romance between Ezra and Kady was sweet and felt very real, offering a neat counterpart for all the dramatic conflict going on. I also really like Kady, who embodies “angry and scarily smart teenage girl” very well. She’s got plenty to be angry about, anyway, and told to be sweet and quiet too often.

My absolute favorite, though, could not be anyone other than AIDAN. How fucking amazing it is to see sentience and self-awareness being born? The whole philosophical concept of it is already fascinating, especially if you consider it came about because of a wound, of a flaw. That’s not even getting into AIDAN being smart, sarcastic and ruthless, which make him all the more interesting. His growing humanity, with all the messiness it implies, was glorious to see.

The plot was also amazing, fast-paced and intricate as it was. So many pieces were moving at the same time, keeping up with all of them was a challenge, but a well-rewarded one. That was one gripping take on the “zombies by plague” trope, besides going a lot into horror, which delighted me. The undercurrents of criticism for capitalism and what it implies this universe was like were also interesting, and reminded me of the world of All Systems Red by Martha Wells.

The sci-fi aspect of it all was exciting as well. Was a lot of the science hand-waved? Yes. Do I care? Not in the least. It made for a lot of “at the edge of my seat” moments, and I admit I was freaking out by the end.

Finally, I admit I did not see that twist coming at the end, and it made me very, very excited for the next books. Sadly, they’re expensive as fuck (importing always is), but I can’t wait to read them nonetheless.

[shiinayumi]

An imagine for my sweet precious Gyomei's birthday~ (just a simple Fluff! Set in the Kimetsu Gakuen/Academy verse, for this imagine Gyomei can see simply because he seems to really see in the Academy version?) Also may come off more as headcanons your girl hasn't written shit in years 😂😂 not edited or proof read, also I'm so tired pls go easy on me💀

It's your beloved Gyomei's birthday and you have a fun day planned for him! Thankfully his birthday fell during summer break so you had ALL DAY to spoil him. His apartment sadly doesn't allow for cats, so he often spends the night at your apartment because yours is pet friendly and you happen to have some cats that Mei just can't get enough of and they just ADORE being so spoiled by the man. You woke up early to see both of your cats curled up on your fiancées chest softly purring, as you headed to the kitchen to make him a cute breakfast. Cat shaped toast, with sunny side up eggs for eyes with bacon cut into thin strips for whiskers. You made him a few of them since being that large and muscular had food needs that you were frankly jealous of. Cute cat mashmallow in dark steong tea instead of coffee for him, looking like it clinged to the edge of the cuo smiling.

Gyomei walks out of the room groggy but smiling, holding the two cats slightly wiggling to be let go to for their own breakfast already prepared.

"Hello my beautiful~" he says gently voice still sleepy giving you a kiss by the temple, only to look at you a little silly when you giggle.

"Did you forget?"

Oh no. Was it something important with the house you're having built together? Is your family here early? Or on time and he forgot? Seeing his poor mind swirl you wrap arms around him as best you can and motion for him to bend down a little for you, you whisper.

"Happy birthday my love~!" You get out through soft laughs and returning the kiss on his head.

He freezes for a moment, holding you close, eyes zoning out a little.

"Oh! So it is. Thank you my sweet." Smiling softly, giving you another soft kiss on your head as his brain winds back down.

You guide him to the kitchen where his breakfast of cat themed goodies awaits, his face immediately lighting up, tears pricking his eyes and falling down in happiness. You sat with him eating your breakfast together, chatting and telling him to dress cozy for the next event today.

~~

After breakfast, you both hopped around the morning, meeting friends receiving gifts and birthday wishes for Gyomei. You talked about maybe having a small party for him later once the house was complete since it's hard to fit everyone into an apartment, and having all the attention on him makes him shy as is let alone in public at a bar or restaurant. So for today, just a relaxing series of events planned by yours truly. You had plenty of gifts for him at home for later, but you just couldn't help getting him some cute little things he would spy, tears of appreciation every time, after trepidation and phrases of "you don't have too" and "you don't need to spend the money on me", too late love the cat phone charm and cat themed student grade stamps are purchased and put into his hands.

While walking around your (insert family member) called wishing Gyomei a happy birthday and that they will see him soon and have gifts for him as well. You both found a decent area of land to build a nice size house to accommodate Gyomei's size and for the potential for a family be it pets and or kids. You asked for an extra space for your family member to live with you and Gyomeinwas actually pleased, being an orphan he didn't have much in the way of family other than the other kids and monks that ran the orphanage, so he was family starved one could say. You were his whole world, though, and if it was just the two of you, well he has a whole world to himself.

Once lunch came around, you took him to your next surprise for him, a reservation at a super popular cat café! They were so popular with citizens and tourists you had to get tickets weeks in advance to get in. It was thanks to Mitsuri actually for love of food and also cats she helped you in the lottery to get the tickets. You made sure Gyomei knew about her hard work and also picked out a cute souvenir for her as thanks. Gyomei had tears on his face as he was covered in cats. If you didn't force him to eat the cute café treats, he would have missed lunch, between the oh so cute actual cats, and the almost too cute to eat food served.

Once you got ready to leave the man was so covered in hair he almost looked like a cat himself. Thankfully the staff insisted on helping remove all of it before leaving. You're pretty sure many of the people there, workers and patrons alike, were enamored in one way or another with your fiancée, such a giant fearsome looking man absolutely in tears and smiling over cuteness overload from such small fuzzy animals. You couldn't blame them, you also where enamored with Gyomei.

~~

You gently held onto Gyomei's pinky qith yours as you took him to the next surprise and perhaps the biggest. He looked utterly confused going into the back of a building, clean and sterile looking, with all kinds of noises. Once walking in he seen so many animals, realizing it was a shelter. Leaning down he whispers in confusion,

"My love, you're not adopting another pet are you? We should be careful to not spook any new ones so close to being able to move."

You grab his face gently and kiss his nose,

"Not exactly adopting so don't worry, but..well just come look."

You greet one of the staff and give then your name, recognition and smile gracing their gentle features,

"Excellent right on time! Thank you so much for doing this, it can be so hard to find people for this!" She says as she leads you as you hold Gyomei's hand, to what looks like a baby incubator and it really sort of is. You let go of his hand and move closer as the worker opens the door,

"Gyomei's please close your eyes and hold out your hands."

The poor man looks so confused, what could you be handing him from an incubator looking device in a pet shelter of all places especially if not getting a pet? But he, ever patient and trusting you, he does as asked, and is rewarded with hearing feet shuffling, small little noises, and you're sweet gentle shushes you save for your pets or admittedly him when he was so sick once before. And than he feels the brushing of your fingers as you out something small so small and fuzzy in his hands, well it fit in one hand really, wiggling around when he heard you say he could look.

He opens his eyes, and oh by any gods or maybe even Buddha, there is a teeny tiny thing in his hands. So small, eyes sealed shut wiggling around to crawl his massive hand.

"I got asked to foster some neonate kittens, well newborn baby kittens, while their momma receives some attention. She was on the streets, but someone caught her and all the babies and brought them in, but they needed someone to care for the babies until the mom is better."

You explain but you see Gyomei just absolutely stare at the already tiny, looks even more tiny in his hand, newborn kitten, not even sure he heard you as tears stream down his face. The worker almost looks concerned for the man's well-being before you assure her he's just a very sensitive empathetic man (which earns him praise from the worker with you and those onlooking).

After a moment, once you give Gyomei a chair to sit on, with the kitten absorbing the warmth from his hands, he finally speaks,

"These will be at home?" Reffering to your apartment, seemingly forgetting he had his own. Fun fact he didn't really forget his apartment perse, just that wherever you are is where home is. And as it stands, the kittens have to stay with you, and since you're home well, yea, they'll be at home.

You take the other four kittens, and walk over placing them all on his hand. All five fit one hand, but he holds both out for safety and so they can move.

"Yes Gyomei, these little fuzzy beans will be at home. Our cats at home are pretty well behaved with babies, so it should be fine." You say smiling, just watching him absolutely ENRAPTURED by tiny kittens. One of whom was trying to suckle his fingertip. His cheeks puffed into his smile over cute things he can't handle, as you and the worker giggle.

~~

After getting back home, you have Gyomei sit in the living room to make his dinner as a surprise, his favorite, takikomi gohan. You managed to find dried matsutake to add to the rice for cooking, since it wasn't quiet in season yet but really wanted to treat Gyomei. He does so much for everyone around him, and often holds himself back from what he wants to be a good role model and help others, you want him to feel the same love in return. You may have heard from Uzui's wives, that the students where planning a nice surprise for him when school started again in a few days. Those kids may seem a little goofy at times but all of his students at least respected him enough to not do anything bad. And you came by the school enough that the students knew that where maybe they could sneak things aways with Gyomei due to his forgiving nature, that could NOT with you and not when it involved your soon to be husband.

Speaking of, you peaked up from fileting the fish to see Gyomei still just watching over the kittens. He loves cats but has never really seen newborns, at least not in person. His gentle smile as he pet the two adult cats who were so far behaving with the babies warmed your heart. Gyomei was honestly meant to be a dad, and no one could convince you otherwise. Aside from how he is with kids and always has been with them, to how invested he is in doing the best for the kittens it was just obvious. He immediately wanted to know how to care for them, and absolutely took notes on how you explained to take notes on their feeding weights, how to measure their formula and make it and test the temperature, and how to help them go to the bathroom and brush them with a toothbrush to feel like their mothers tongue. None of it did he shy away from, and one of your cats also decided to take notes with him.

He sniffed the air as the rice cooked noticing the familiar smell of mushrooms and other vegetables cooking with the rice. He finally turned around,

"Takikomi? For dinner?" He said absolutely smiling.

"It's your favorite isn't it? So of course for your birthday!" You say smiling flipping the fish.

He comes to you and wraps his arms around your waist, a dangerous game to play while you cook, normally territorial in the kitchen while cooking. And he pushes further, placing his head on yours. Tonight, you let him and smile and sink back a little into his arms, while warning him of possible fish splatter on his arms. He has a full laugh,

"Have you seen the scars on me? A little splatter won't hurt me" he says in a rare cheeky moment. Well, at least a cheeky moment he intended anyway!

You giggle, working around your fiancée being goofy in a rare show, as he refuses to let you go and just shuffles behind you, arms still around your waist, as you move around the kitchen trying to finish dinner. You can't be mad, though, and just keep laughing every time you have to move. He is helpful, though grabbing things his massive frame blocks from your access. As you attempt to put the dishes of food together, Gyomei happily sniffing over everything by your ear, he tells you to stop trying to lift the dishes.

"Gyomei I'm trying to take them to the table by the TV! I want to do dinner with a movie." You say between peals of laughter as everything you try to grab something, he grabs it and puts it down, before finally just picking you up and depositing you on the couch, leaving to grab your meals, but not before hitting a ticklish spot to prevent you from trying to get up. Your cats look at you as if you've lost it finally.

"Gyomei it's your birthday let me get the food while you get cozy!" You fake pout, resulting in him poking your cheek gently while he sets the food down.

"You've already done so much for me today, I can at least bring the food. Besides, you want the day to be about me and what I would want, and what if I want to spoil you back?"

"You can spoil me another day!"

"I could, but what if I don't want to wait?"

Between soft laughs all you can say is that he's goofy and sweet, but that you adore that about him. Gyomei hid this side a lot, largley out of shyness, and getting to see him goofy though always sincere and knowing he means what he says, hits you in the heart like it always has.

You settle close to him and grab a blanket to out on your laps as you sit on the floor, backs to the couch, legs and blanket under the table as you get ready to eat. You pull up a movie, an older animated one, jittery with excitement to show it to Gyomei.

"Cats don't dance?"

You smile as he reads the title.

"Yea its a little older but it's cute and I thought you'd like it!" You say so excited to show him the movie. You where so happy to find one with subtitles! Originally in English and while Gyomei can understand and use English just fine you felt subtitles would be a little more comfortable.

You sit together laughing and eating and watching his reaction to the movie, of course so many tears from him and so much joy. At the end, finally putting the dishes away after washing them, taking care of the kittens next feeding, together of course, you made Gyomei a bath to relax. Once you both took turns (sadly your bath was barely able to hold Gyomei let alone the both of you to even just relax, something the new house would fix~) you drag your feet towards the bedroom before Gyomei just picks you up again to carry you to bed, though placing you more gently than how he plopped you onto the couch earlier. He caresses your face before a cat walks between you two, both now laughing petting the fuzzy attention demander. Over purrs you hear Gyomei thank you.

"Thank you my beloved, today was wonderful. I'm so happy I get to be with such an attentive and caring person. I love all of the cat themed activities today. Though I must ask why so much cat?"

You giggle and than swat away a cat butt in your face,

"Because you try so hard to be subtle and adult in how you present yourself, I wanted you to just have fun and fully enjoy what you love. Because I love you~."

Gyomei hums, as he smiles and puts the cat om the ground which was rare. He turns off the lights, sliding in close to you snuggling close,

"I love you too, more than I could ever hope to express. Though maybe I can try."

You both giggle through smiles as you kiss, the rest that happens only will you, Gyomei, and maybe the cats will know~.

たんじょうび おめでとう 悲鳴嶼 行冥 さま💖💖💖 愛している

[mysticalibra1994]

Sonic Prime Multi-Sonic AU (No Place: Emerald Eye)

So, I'm not really sure if anyone remembers my theory/headcanon on "What if there was a 'Sonic' in each Shatterverse that took place before the shattering?", but here's one that I kept in my folder after rewatching Sonic Prime (when Dread makes his first appearance) and noticing how "buddy-buddy" Dread was with Sonic; almost as if they've met a long time ago...

TW: Contains character death, gruesome detail(s), Pirate speak, yaoi kiss (if you have a problem with that, then don't read). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Setting: No Place. Dread, Emerald Eye, and the crew follow a red-mark trail. Emerald Eye overhears the crew speaking ill of Dread.]

Emerald Eye: Um, no offense, me bucko. But, be ye sure ye be knowin' whar we're headed? Dread: Of course, I do. Th' ground be marked like th' map! Emerald Eye: Alright, if ye say so…

[Suddenly, Emerald Eye noticed something below Dread's footing snapped. It's a trap! Before Dread could even react, Emerald Eye pushed him out of the way as a bolt of blue lightning struck the blue pirate through the chest. The rest of the crew was blown back. As the smoke slowly settles, Dread witnessed a horrid scene… Emerald Eye's chest is now harboring a medium-sized burnt crater that's all black and smokey. Smaller scars are going through his charred body. His one good eye is now bulging a bit with veins that pulsated. His signature "emerald-green" eye is now a lifeless dull shade of burnt moss… Dread couldn't believe it, his one and only is dead. His one and only took the shot that was meant for him. All he could do was to shakely embrace his beloved, one last time…]

Dread: *thinking* His chest be warm, but his body's cold… Crew member 1: Dread… Ye keel-hauled that scurvy dog?! But, he were bein' yer beloved! Crew member 2: How could ye do this? Bunny Bones: Traditionally, when a Cap'n dies, their second-in-command becomes Cap'n. But, who will e'er trust ye?

[Dread is now too devastated to answer. But, suddenly, an idea comes across his mind! The Devil's Lighthouse… According to legend, the power of the Devil's Lighthouse can bring a person back from the dead with only scars to tell the tale of their survival.]

Dread: What has happened can't be ignored. But, I've got an idea! All we need be t' get th' Glowin' Gemstone a- Jack: Be ye serious?! Our Cap'n visited Davy Jones' Locker savin' ye, but all ye care about be some giant rock?! How selfish can one Corsair get?

[Taken aback by this, Dread understood the traditions and this unfortunate circumstance. So, as he took off, he quickly grabbed Emerald Eye, his Captain hat, and continued his way to the other side of the island.]

Dread: *looks behind him* It appears to be that we lost them, I'll warrant ye. *looks down to Emerald Eye's body* Oh, me beloved… *cradles it gently* Ye knew th' blast were bein' meant fer me, why would ye take it instead? *tearing up a bit* Now, our crew thinks that I should've been poxed! *looks down, sadly nuzzles Emerald Eye's face* Ah, I can't stay mad at ye. Because o' ye, I've ne'er felt lonely out in open waters. Due t' yer inability t' not swim, I've always been by yer side. *gently placed Emerald Eye down as he gently kissed his forehead* I'm not really good at sayin' "goodbyes", but ye've made me life an adventure. *sadly part ways with their last lip-kiss*

[After saying a small, yet important, prayer, Dread digs a hole deep enough for Emerald Eye to forever rest in and keep his hat as a tragic keepsake. As he got up, he noticed a rowboat that both looked and felt sturdy enough for him to set sail. For what seemed like forever, Dread was growing concerned about losing his rations. He was about to give up hope, until…]

Sails: *offscreen* Avast there, scurvy dog! Dread: *looks up to see a ship* Black Rose: Be ye alright? Batten Rouge: We have more than enough grub and plenty o' juice and water from coconuts! Dread: *taken aback by this kindness* Uh, yeah! Thanks, to be sure! Can ye help me up onto yer ship? Black Rose: Of course, we want ye t' join us! Sails: Th' more, th' merrier! Batten Rouge: Plus, we've always wanted a Cap'n! Dread: Wait, me? A Cap'n? What makes ye think that I'm a Cap'n? Black Rose: Well, ye have a hat like a Cap'n. Sails: Nobody on our boat has one. Batten Rouge: I believe that's it.

[Dread was afraid to tell them the truth. But, he's also afraid to be a captain. After taking a deep breath to calm the nerves…]

Dread: Well, ye're correct, me buckos! I be Cap'n! But, not just any Cap'n… Yer Cap'n! Sails: This calls fer a celebration! Black Rose: Three cheers fer our new Cap'n! Dread's new crew: Hip hip, hooray! Hip hip, hooray! Hip hip, hooray!

[As Dread's new crew parties until the sun goes down, the Echidna sadly looks up at the premature stars, forlornly thinking about his one true beloved. Wondering what Emerald Eye would say or even think of him now...] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yeah, I'm not that good at "Pirate lingo", so I had to use various websites to translate as correctly as it appeared.

For the next one(s), it'll either be Boscage or New Yoke.

Fun fact: During the era of pirates, women weren't allowed to be on the same ship with them. So, it was common practice for men to sleep together. This means that they can explore other things than treasure...