gardensoftroia

[januaryembrs]

⋆.˚ EM’S THREE THOUSAND FOLLOWER CELEBRATION ⊹₊ ⋆

hello! very unexpectedly, it seems I’m about to hit another milestone so soon after doing the last one. I can’t tell you how grateful I am for all of your support so instead let’s get into the good stuff and kick it off with another shebang!

MAY I TAKE YOUR ORDER? send one of the corresponding phrases below + a character for your request! (character list )

coffee! : an excerpt from a WIP of any of the characters I write for

tea! : a Drabble about an existing fic I have produced; eg Bugsy and Spencer going to the beach, Dove and Steven going book shopping etc.

hot chocolate! : a drabble about any of the characters I have on my list

espresso! : ask me anything about me as an author, I will answer within reason! let’s have a catch up

there are three other requests in my inbox that I’m ready to write for (as proof that I had no idea I was going to grow followers this quickly, I haven’t forgotten about you guys!), but other than that feel free to start sending your orders, I will start writing them next week as I’m still on holiday at the moment. Thankyou so much to everyone who has ever interacted with my work <3!

requesting closes 31.05.24

[ocard-yoflam]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Dishonored (Video Games) Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Corvo Attano/The Outsider (Dishonored), Corvo Attano & The Outsider Characters: Corvo Attano, The Outsider (Dishonored) Additional Tags: don't look at me, they're in LOVE your honour, Pre-Relationship, corvo is just a filthy dirty boy, a rat dad, the outsider is a simp, mature just to be safe, corvo gets a little excited during a make-out session, he's touch starved can you blame him Summary:

It felt like he hadn’t slept, body aching and tired from his trip to the Abbey of the Everyman last night and when he opened his eyes and sat up … there was blood on his hands, fresh from his throat.

Oh … he was sick.

Corvo get's the plague. The Outsider intervenes.

[foxhopfics]

Corvo Attano x GN!Waiter!reader headcanons

for anon!! It's my first time doing a headcanons sheet so I hope u dont mind being my test run lolol

------------------------------

The Hound's Pit pub is still as hole-in-the-wall as it used to be before the outbreak. before everything

Corvo likes to come here mostly to get away from every duty he has now, supporting Emily as a royal consult

He knows people here, people know him here enough not to question his day-to-day life.

Piero still comes by to check on Corvo, as do Cecilia and few others

(there will be time, there will be time before the end of the plague. before the hound's pit lies in ruins 14 years after the end of it all)

You've only worked at the pub for a few weeks. Everyone important to you, the plague has already taken. You just need some money to try and keep fighting. for your family's sake

Corvo only really starts to open up to you after you sit quietly near him behind the bar, making sure no one else was getting up to trouble, but mostly listening to Corvo talk about Emily.

You give him an empathetic smile as he wraps up his drinks for the night

For the first time, you manage to get what looks like a small smile in return as he leaves the pub.

"You know," Lydia says, coming over from bussing a table. "I've known Corvo quite a long time, and I think you're the first person to get a smile out of him since Queen Jessamine.

The swell in your chest could be pride, or perhaps a sympathetic sense of mourning. Either way, your resolve has been strengthened to make Corvo smile again.

If you're the only one that can, so be it

[bodyguardbracket]

List of contestants!

I've put together the list of our 64 bodyguards!!! The actual polls will start in a couple days as I still need to organize some stuff for them. That being said, if you have any good pictures of any of these guys (canon images only please!), feel free to send them my way in the meantime!!!

Also fyi that the rounds themselves will be a week long, just for my own sanity lol.

Here's the list in alphabetical order!!!

Adam Frankenstein (Bungo Stray Dogs: Stormbringer)

Agent Stone (Sonic the Hedgehog movies)

Aloysius Knight "The Black Knight" (Scarecrow by Matthew Reilly)

Arm (Kinnporsche: The Series)

Big (Kinnporsche: The Series)

Big Daddies (BioShock)

Brienne of Tarth (Game of Thrones)

Brock Samson (The Venture Bros)

Butler (Artemis Fowl)

C!Grian (Third Life SMP)

Camilla Hect (The Locked Tomb)

Corvo Attano (Dishonored)

Costis (The Queen’s Thief series)

Deathbringer (Wings of Fire)

Dehya (Genshin Impact)

Do Bongsoon (Strong Woman Bongsoon)

Eadaz uq-Nāra (The Roots of Chaos series)

Eliot Spencer (Leverage)

Fang Duobing (Mysterious Lotus Casebook)

Gareth (Galavant)

Gideon Nav (The Locked Tomb)

Gorilla (Miraculous Ladybug)

Goro Takemura (Cyberpunk 2077)

Guillermo de la Cruz (What We Do in the Shadows)

Guy (A3! Act! Addict! Actors!)

Horace Knightley (Ace Attorney Investigations 2)

Hubert Von Vestra (Fire Emblem Three Houses)

Indus Tarbella (Epithet Erased)

Joe (Princess Diaries)

Juliet Butler (Artemis Fowl)

Kaladin Stormblessed (Stormlight Archive)

Kiruko (Heavenly Delusion / Tengoku Daimakyou)

Kurapika (Hunter x Hunter)

Lan Fan (Fullmetal Alchemist)

Lan Mandragoran (The Wheel of Time)

Lexaeus/Aeleus (Kingdom Hearts)

Link (Legend of Zelda)

Maihar'du (Star Trek: Deep Space 9)

Mako (Legend of Korra)

Mifune (Soul Eater)

Mike Ehrmantraut (Breaking Bad)

Miyamoto Usagi (Usagi Yojimbo)

Murderbot (The Murderbot Diaries)

Nicholas D. Wolfwood (Trigun)

Palm (Never Let Me Go)

Peko Pekoyama (Danganronpa)

Peri Dubois (Entropic Float)

Porsche (Kinnporsche: The Series)

Riza Hawkeye (Fullmetal Alchemist)

Rory Williams (Doctor Who)

Samwise Gamgee (The Lord of the Rings)

Sandor (Keeper of the Lost Cities)

Sebastian Michales (Black Butler)

Sir Theobald Gumbar (Dimension 20: A Crown of Candy)

Son Hak (Akaksuki no Yona)

Soren (The Dragon Prince)

Suh Yoosun (Moonlight Garden)

Tatum Mendoza (Foreign Affairs)

Thancred Waters (Final Fantasy XIV)

Vortex (Helluva Boss)

Wen Ning (The Untamed)

Wen Zhuliu (The Untamed)

Yura Goro (Kamen Rider Ryuki)

Zhou Zishu (Word of Honor)

[dilfbracket]

102 GENDER UNRESTRICTED DILF ELIMINATION!!!

narrowing the dilfs down to a somewhat workable bracket was, by far, the one of the most nerve-rackings things we've ever done. it has kept us up for nights. bickering in the mods video call over this has ripped this family to shreds. the bracket was longer, shorter, and longer again as we pulled dilfs from the abyss to set them down into the arena. absolutely gutted that we couldn't include everybody, but if your dilf isn't on the main bracket, do not fear. we will not leave a dilf out in the cold to die without honor. they will have their moment.

the dilfs were ranked and seeded based on a very intricate rubric and vibes that included number of nominations so if you see a heavy hitter in a lower bracket than you'd expect, you've nobody but your fellow man to blame.

the first round of dilf death match arena contenders are below the cut. we'll work our way down the bracket with new polls roughly every day. first round seeds like hannibal and bob belcher get a bye week, due to their incredible energy catapulting them into top seed contention, and will not appear until round 2.

happy hunting!

p.s. some of your entries, including those that did not make the cut, shook us to our core and will forever be ingrained into our dna. congrats

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 1

Lord Asriel (His Dark Materials) vs Klaus Mikaelson (The Vampire Diaries/The Originals) WINNER: ASRIEL

Corvo Attano (Dishonored) vs Praxidike Meng (The Expanse) WINNER: CORVO

Hades (Hades the Game) vs Olivier Armstrong (Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood) WINNER: OLIVIER

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 2

Iroh (Avatar The Last Airbender) vs Frank Castle (The Punisher) WINNER: IROH

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 3

Iorek Byrnison (His Dark Materials) vs Mick Rory (Legends of Tomorrow) WINNER: IOREK

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 4

FitzChivalry Farseer (Realm of the Elderlings) vs Lawrence Gordon (SAW Franchise) WINNER: LAWRENCE

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 5

Rumplestiltskin (Once Upon a Time) vs Lord August Ruthven (Case Study of Vanitas) WINNER: RUMPLESTILTSKIN

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 5.1

Mortimer Goth (The Sims) vs Loid Forger (Spy x Family) WINNER: LOID

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 6

John Winchester (Supernatural) vs Father Blackwood (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) WINNER: FATHER BLACKWOOD

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 6.1

Lee Dong-sik (Beyond Evil) vs Dexter Morgan (Dexter) WINNER: LEE DONG-SIK

Joel Hammond (Santa Clarita Diet) vs Samuel Vimes (Discworld) WINNER: VIMES

Scott Lang/Ant-Man (MCU) vs Captain Christopher Pike (Star Trek Discovery/New Worlds) WINNER: PIKE

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 7

Phoenix Wright (Ace Attorney, Apollo Justice game #4) vs Davos Seaworth (Game of Thrones) WINNER: PHOENIX

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 8

Chris Argent (Teen Wolf) vs Octodad (Octodad) WINNER: OCTODAD

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 9

Rock Lee (Boruto) vs Jean Valjean (Les Miserables) WINNER: ROCK LEE

Norman (Pokemon Advanced Generation) vs Siegfried Farnham (All Creatures Great and Small 2020) WINNER: NORMAN

Waymond Wang (Everything Everywhere All At Once) vs The Mako (Mass Effect) WINNER: WAYMOND

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 11

Carlisle Cullen (Twilight) vs Piotr Rasputin/Colossus (X-Men)

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 12

Din Djarin (The Mandolorian) vs Jim Hopper (Stranger Things)

Ted Lasso (Ted Lasso) vs Professor Hershel Layton (Professor Layton game series)

Izzy Hands (Our Flag Means Death) vs James Flint (Black Sails)

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 13

Ben Sisko (Star Trek Deep Space Nine) vs Marcus Kane (The 100)

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 14

Data (Star Trek) vs Ethan Winters (Resident Evil 8)

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 15

Geralt of Rivia (Netflix edition) vs Lan (Wheel of Time)

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 16

Columbo (Columbo) vs Kermit (The Muppets)

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 16

Aaron Hotchner (Criminal Minds) vs Craig Cahn (Dream Daddies)

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 17

Dill (Easy A) vs Mr. Krabs (Spongebob)

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 18

Professor Utonium (The Powerpuff Girls) vs Coach Taylor (Friday Night Lights)

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 19

Heinz Doofinshmirtz (Phineas and Ferb) vs Atticus Finch (To Kill a Mockingbird)

Michael Bluth (Arrested Development) vs Ratchet (Transformers)

Thane Krios (Mass Effect) vs Lazslo (What We Do in the Shadows)

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 20

Emma Swan (Once Upon a Time) vs Li Haichao (Go Ahead)

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 21

Aragorn (Lord of the Rings) vs Hugh Neutron (Jimmy Neutron)

Mufasa (The Lion King) vs Yagi Toshinori (My Hero Academia)

Shrek (Shrek) vs Frontman (Squid Game)

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 22

Eddie the Rabbit (Empires SMP season 2) vs Pastramis (Tumblr)

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 23

Doctor Octopus (Spider-Man) vs The 12th Doctor (Doctor Who)

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 24

Cliff "Robotman" Steele (Doom Patrol) vs Bowser (Mario)

[every-character-ever-poll]

WEEK ONE ENTRIES

Thank you all for your entries so far! Here is our current lineup, in chronological order of submission, along with their fandoms (according to the submitter). I have placed it under a cut, as the list is... much longer that I thought it would be when bulleted.

The polls will begin being posted on Sunday the 16th of July, and be regularly scheduled after that until this week's group has finished. "Weeks" will start on Sunday because that's the day my laptop calendar considers the beginning of the week.

Elias Bouchard - The Magnus Archives Podcast

Barren from the Baronies - Fantasy High (Dimension 20)

Philza Minecraft - The Dream SMP/Quackity SMP/Origins SMP

Jo Chastain - In Her Skin

Kaidou Shun - The Disasterous Life of Saiki K.

Jill Valentine - The Resident Evil game series

Edward Teach - Our Flag Means Death

Stede Bonnet - Our Flag Means Death

Karkat Vantas - Homestuck

Dave Strider - Homestuck

Donatello - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (specifically, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)

Susie - Deltarune

Koichi Haimawari - MHA Vigilantes

Dark Pit - Kid Icarus Uprising

My Melody - Sanrio

Alfur - Hilda

Kass - Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Labrys - Persona 4 (specifically, Persona 4 Arena)

Rinzler - Tron

Mitzi Mozzarella - The Rock-Afire Explosion (Showbiz Pizza Place)

Corvo Attano - Dishonoured

Kevin - SynthV

The Outsider - Dishonoured as well

Miyamoto Usagi - Usagi Yojimbo

Tomoe Ame - Usagi Yojimbo

Cassandra - Tangled: The Series

Shu Kurenai - Beyblade Burst

Stanford Pines - Gravity Falls

Vinnie Dakota - Milo Murphy's Law

C!Wilbur - The Dream SMP

Adam - Hunt Down the Freeman

Ukiyo Ace/Kamen Rider Geats - Kamen Rider Geats

Eremiel - Beyond the End

C!slimecicle - The Dream SMP

Tubbo_ - The Dream SMP

Hong Lu - Limbus Company

Joe Hills - Hermitcraft

Haruto Keats - 86

Lynnette Tarkington - The Final Girl Support Group

Dana Scully - The X-Files

Lalnable Hector - Yogscast Minecraft RP

Natural Harmonia Gropius - Pokémon: Black and White

Eric "Cat" Chant - Chrestomanci

Red - Pokémon

Alice - Alice

Evil Magician Trent - Xanth

Tannim - SERRAted Edge

Killashandra Ree - Crystal Singer

Kim Dokja - Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint

Ed'Rashtekaresket - Young Wizards

Shana - Elvenbane/Halfblood Chronicles

Sayaka Miki - Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Kirio Ami - Welcome to Demon School, Iruma!

Accelerator - A Certain Magical Index

Chara - Undertale

Shadow the Hedgehog - Sonic the Hedgehog franchise

Moon Knight - Marvel Comics

Scaramouche (Wanderer) - Genshin Impact

Donato Porpora - Tokyo Ghoul

Solf J Kimblee - Fullmetal Alchemist

Ness - Earthbound

Kelsier - Mistborn

Nayc - The Smile Alchemist

Raoden - Elantris

Honjo Rika - Tenkuu Shinpan

Juo - Tenkuu Shinpan

Arkady Patel - The Strange Case of Starship Iris

Bain - PAYDAY: The Heist and PAYDAY: 2

The Fool/Beloved - Realm of the Elderlings

GLaDOS - Portal series

The Knight/Ghost - Hollow Knight

The Hollow Knight - Hollow Knight

Hornet - Hollow Knight

Xion - Kingdom Hearts

Dennis Reynolds - It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Zara - Disney Princess Enchanted Journey

Alistair Ash - Fantasy High (Dimension 20)

Phone Guy - Five Nights at Freddy’s

Anna Kwemto - Five Nights at Freddy AR: Special Delivery

Cure Lovely - Happiness Charge Precure

Kaz "Dirtyhands" Brekker - Six of Crows

Fubuki Clockford - Master Detectives Archive: RAIN CODE

Oliver Beebo - Detective Beebo

Leafy - Battle for Dream Island

[wrenhavenriver]

top 5 video game protagonists!!

corvo freaking attano babey!!!!! specifically sad goth dad + silent/nonverbal protagonist version

the hunter from bloodborne.........possibly this is a weird choice given how much of a blank slate they are but there's still something there, a sense of indomitable will or sheer fucking stubbornness. which may also just be projection of traits held by the average fromsoft enjoyer, but i stand by this assessment anyway. (also they're a style icon.)

tidus and yuna from final fantasy x. these orphaned kids forever under the shadows of their famous fathers, bearing heavy weights of responsibility up to and including being sacrifical lambs for the sake of a world they've barely gotten to experience themselves.

in a very similar vein, robin from fire emblem: awakening. "someone has to kill the dragon. this is how the story goes."

morgan yu (or technically [REDACTED]) from prey - another thing i've ranted on already tonight but in short: it's all about the amnesia *clenches fist* and trying to outrun the shadow of who you were in hopes you can be someone better. will the people around you forgive you? are you even the same person to be forgiven? what if instead you choose to become that person again? what if you're even worse this time around?

[tabbycatto]

Hello, babes. It's been a long time and i apologize, but I can't promise I won't dip out again. Right now, i will try to write again on the asks in my inbox. I won't be active much though!

I updated the masterlist :) probably will keep updating

NO incest!!!

i'm open to yandere/stalker/dark themes and mature themes

ASSASSIN'S CREED: SYNDICATE

Evie Frye

Jacob Frye

DEVIL MAY CRY

Vergil

Dante

Nero

V

DISHONORED

Corvo Attano

The Outsider

Daud

JUJUTSU KAISEN

Satoru Gojo

OUTLAST

Eddie Gluskin

Waylon Park

Miles Upshur

Blake Langermann

RESIDENT EVIL

Leon S. Kennedy

Claire Redfield

Albert Wesker

Karl Heisenberg

Dimitrescu daughters

Alcina Dimitrescu

Ethan Winters

SCRUTINIZED/WELCOME TO THE GAME

Tanner Grayton

Breather

THE EVIL WITHIN

Ruvik

Joseph Oda

Sebastian Castellanos

[senchatee]

xReaders requests closed

Hello! I am a fanfic writer and I need your help. You can send me requests telling me what to write

I write for:

Dmitry Sechenov x Reader

Daud x Reader

Corvo Attano x Reader

Harry Hart x Reader

The Narrator (The Stanley Parable) x Reader

I won't write any gore and non-con. I accept smut requests as well as any fluff that can be imagined!

Hope to see your requests in my inbox!

[januaryembrs]

EM’S 2K FOLLOWER SHEBANG

just a reminder that requests are still open for my follower celebration! I’ll be closing them again 12th April but until then feel free to send any and all requests in my inbox. Requests can be:

A 1k ish word fic with prompt OR

A song based request with a song and character in mind

characters must be any that are in my masterlists or have been tagged down below, and smut is welcome (however I will warn I am rusty and inexperienced writing it!)

thankyou so much for all the love and support you’ve shown me over the years! It means so much to me since I’m really just a silly girl making coffees all day and coming home to write her silly little fantasies down. you make it all worth it <3

[rosedragonblast]

AU sketch

This is a bit of a sketch for an upcoming fic. This AU includes several different aspects. One of them includes Jessamine being alive. Daud has a direwolf named Pandyssia, whom he saved from the streets. Other aspects might be posted in a separate post. Enjoy X)

Pandyssia walks into the office, casually finding her place at Daud's feet. He almost finishes with his job, so he lets himself pet her. The direwolf huffs and lays down, putting her head on her own paws. She twitches a little when she hears a distant sound. But, upon analysing the smell through several sniffs, she relaxes and comes back down. It calms Daud a bit as well. If she knows who it coming in this direction, it's okay to let the guard down. And indeed, it is. Corvo, sliding through a slightly open door, stops and waves a bit, showing his teeth with a smile.

— I thought it must have been someone familiar, — Daud looks at Attano briefly, while attending to the document seconds later. — Come in. I'm almost finished.

— Panda warned you, didn't she? — Corvo smiles and notices wolf's body sticking out from under the table. — Hey pretty girl. How are you?

Pandyssia yawns and stretches, answering with a quiet whine and a howl. Corvo reaches out and ruffles her fur. She bites him slightly in response.

— Do you look out for Daud how i asked you to? Good.

Corvo laughs quietly and comes closer to Daud. He looks at movements of Daud's hands. How he picks up and signs papers. How he whispers to himself, reading the text. Corvo leans in hust when Daud puts the feather in it's place, as to not to make Daud spill the ink all over the table. 

— Corvo. 

— Mmm?

Attano doesn't hesitate, starting from Daud's neck. He massages slowly, releasing the tension. Daud almost succeeds in containing a moan, but it still escapes his lips. Corvo huffs and continues down, squeezing shoulders. Royal protector leans further, kissing Daud on the cheek.

— Are we gonna go to bed?

— Would be the best thing ever. 

— Especially considering that Jess gave us a day off...

— What do you mean by that? — Daud looks up at his lovers' face, 

— She said that we worked a bit too hard on the last case. So, she said that she will spend time with Emily, while we can have all the time to ourselves. You do know what this means, right? At least, for this night. 

Daud laughs, letting Corvo kiss his lips. They exchange a soft, slow, yet romantic kiss, holding onto each other. Panda growls slightly. She doesn't like when humans ignore her. 

— Okay, okay. We're going. 

They leave the room, following the direwolf up the stairs. She goes to Daud's bedroom, while men slip into Corvo's chambers. He doesn't really wait until Daud turns around, pressing him against the wall. 

— You impatient bastard. 

— You love me for it. 

Daud can't really complain. Especially when Corvo already starts to tale his pants off.  

[fictionkinfessions]

For the fic counts game (I use AO3 btw);

Dishonored (Video Games), total: 4,181, feels a little constricting but hey, it's a smaller one (especially compared to some of my bigger ones which I won't do here), I'm tentatively ok with it but it'd be really cool if, say, there was something like a movie (maybe a reverse DoTO, where it shows how I came into being and maaaaaybe follows my champion? I'd like to see her again and be able to remember her name) to spark new interest. Fics with the ship tag Corvo Attano/The Outsider: 609. What. The. Fuck. Somehow I expected at least 1k. I... Might need to work on that. I'm not going to count my other Dishonored fictotype because that one is an OC so there are only my fics about that one.

Slugterra: 193. You know what, I am ok with that because I feel like if the fandom was any bigger, there would be more Weird Content about me and Trixie, which just feels Very Weird.

Borderlands (Video Games): 7,912. I feel some smug satisfaction that, while I still don't know who I was in one canon and I was noncanon in another, my partner/the person who became a living black hole that eclipsed every other aspect of that life has more fics (4,106) tagging him than the short-sighted child-murderer who punched an artifact of unknown power and composition into his face without thinking of the consequences (654). I am sad that my brother (from my noncanon fictotype) is not in the top 10 tagged characters (this is how many AO3 shows when opening the character tab in the filter thing on desktop). However, he *does* beat out our sister with 293 to her 227 so that's nice, she was a parasite who I feel no pity nor affection for. Beyond that, I'm pretty ok with it.

x

[exalok]

i mean. i am like legally obligated to ask about the demon&priest au. tell me more or show off a snippet or both 👀

unfortunately this one is purely theoretical at the moment, so i have no snippets to show you x)))

originally it was very much based on rebelflet's demon corvo + priest daud art, but kinda grew a mind of its own once i started developing the demon lore behind it -- not your typical evil entity, though they're plenty dangerous and aren't fussed about you having a fun time

right now it's the bunch of scenes i came up with at first associated to a lot of worldbuilding, but more recently i decided i could maybe format it as a monster-of-the-week type thing, à la supernatural, and build chapters around that

anyway!!! the premise is that daud is a priest -- modern au of the dishonored world, overseers are a thing but i'm not sure where on the spectrum from military force to religious entity they are now given their beginnings -- and he deals in exorcisms, working with his longtime partner rulfio, and the most recent case -- involving a certain mister corvo attano's wife -- looks pretty cut and dry. he's done the initial investigating, the talks, the observation, and he's going to proceed to the actual exorcism... but then things start going Wrong

from that point on i don't really have a coherent narrative -- what's daud's relationship to the abbey? why is he with them? i very much planned for him to be solo most of the story, so why doesn't he seek their help? what exactly happens? -- but i know that the demon in question changes over the course of the story, and daud learns how little the abbey actually knows about them and how little he himself knows about the abbey's secrets, and of course he gets to Suffer some Feelings about it all

unfortunately my plans do include not-actually-a-man-pain involving the death/destruction of a cherished not-actually-a-woman so i'm playing into some old dumb tropes there, but at least we have emily and a lil bit of martin and i get my weird spirit creatures (ah them dishonored parallels..... they get me every time)

[loveandfictionforall]

Do you do Corvo headcanons and how he is when he is in a snuggle mood? Can he be in a snuggle mood?

- Getting Corvo to cuddle is a feat. It means he has to relax and he doesn’t even know that word! 

- It takes him some time and he will not often do that. Mostly he will do it after sex but also after a stressful day.

- He would bury his face in your hair, nearly laying flat on you. You would not have any other chance than to stroke his hair, his shoulder, and back while you can feel how slowly his muscles uncoil. 

- It would eventually lead to it that Corvo falls asleep. Sleeping blissful and deep because you make him feel safe and able to relax. 

- Sometimes on a lazy morning, he likes to cuddle too. He will not want to stand up because he knows that this quiet moment will fade and has to work again. 

- Corvo would then be a big spoon. He would pull you close to him, the arm that circles around you would be tight and not letting you out. 

- He still loves to bury his face into your hair, smelling you and tickling you with his breath and beard. 

- When he begins to tickle you and you start giggling, he will start to do it more often until you are fully laughing. It would evolve pretty fast to a cute, tender moment where he tickles you everywhere to get you laughing. Somehow he would always be on top of you, smiling down at you with his eyes shining. 

- When is in the mood, he will begin to kiss your neck, letting his hands wander down your body.

- But when he wants to keep that tender moment, he will lean down, softly kissing your lips and quietly murmuring to you that he loves you and that he doesn’t want to live without you.

Tagged:

@thefanficmonster

[of-tatooine]

honor him. | chapter 7 - new hope

a day before your mission, you pay the little girl a visit.

The longer you spent roaming the cold and ruthless streets of Dunwall, the more you found yourself longing for the relaxing ease and seeping warmth of your hometown.

The contaminated waters of the Wrenhaven River, squirming with countless hagfish eager to bite, along with the fair share of river krusts finding their nests below docks could simply not compare to the vast, shiny ocean at the Edge of the World.

It had been a long, long time since you sailed from the city that smelled of fresh fish and exotic spices, to a city of corruption and bloody money, trusting a killer-for-hire to keep you company. Yet, as you boarded the smuggler's ship from the dockyards all those years ago, you did not dare look back to the gardens you used to run in, the beautiful Conservatory you used to marvel at, nor the unforgiving cobblestone streets you had been thrown onto.

Leaving Karnaca behind had been an ache in your sore heart for the years that followed - you had been a foreigner in a world of nobles and pure Gristol-born lineages, while your heart beat to the gentle rhythm of Serkonan mandolins.

With all the flaws it possessed, all the rats that hid in every corner of the paved streets and all the stuck-up rich aristocrats it housed - the cursed city of Dunwall had become close to a second home to you.

It had to, sooner or later, after having you roam through every gritty corner of it with a blade in your hand. Trouble could find you at any given time of the day, every step of the way yet there was this certain excitement of sneaking around that said trouble and feeling clever about it - making your way across chimneys and rooftops, jumping from balconies and ledges alike, finding shortcuts through noble homes without even alerting a soul of your shadowy presence. It enthralled you, gave you a sense of purpose, with the additional strength your gifted power running through your veins donned you.

Before, you had fought to survive.

To see another day, living on the run, sleeping near dumpsters and moth-eaten mattresses that someone had thrown out. Breaking and entering the vast, breeze-filled apartments of the Aventa district, overlooking the endless ocean that the Jewel of the South had to offer - apartments that once you resided in before fate loomed upon you. Picking up fights with stray Guards in back alleys just so you could loot some coin off of them in the aftermath. How sure you had been that you would win the duels that you initiated recklessly. And win you did, most of them to say the least.

It still ran shivers of sheer disappointment down your spine when images of that one duel you had lost flooded into your mind, blade crossing blade as amber eyes locked into yours.

They were all in the past now, fragments of memories soaring in the Void, visiting you with their reminding thorns at night. Times long gone, yet never forgotten. In the aftermath of endless winds of change over the years spent running and cutting, killing had become merely a job to you - they were contracts to execute, after all, signed by your Master to whom you had pledged allegiance. That was what you had taught yourself. Going out on missions and finishing off targets meant you and your friend’s pouches would be full. It was an attuned trait among assassins to let all thought and emotion slide, and just focus on the task that could cost them way more than the distaste of emotion.

Lately, you had found out that you could only suppress those emotions for so long. Guilt and buried feelings found their way to resurface, to re-capture that essence of humanity left in your trained body and soul. A constant hollow surrounding your being - and there was only one thing that could fill the void.

In front of you, the famous round glass rooftops of the Golden Cat loomed tall, the pretty architecture of the building undeniable amid the inhabited, unkempt apartments that surrounded the bathhouse. Little rays of light gleamed in mesmerizing reflections, a welcome mix of purple, blue and gray in a world of browns and crimson reds. The supposedly finest establishment of the Isles that housed an heiress, whom you longed to help with all that you had to give.  

The moment you found out that the young Lady was kept captive at a renown bathhouse, which had been the fancier word for brothel that nobles loved to use - your blood had gone cold. In the harsh reality across the Isles, it was a known necessity that many children matured early on, learning to steal as a means of providing and wielding a blade as early on as their little hands could hold onto it.

No children was supposed to see the horrors of the world. Pure and innocent souls, they were supposed to laugh, tell stories and draw about the creatures of the endless ocean - leave the ugliness and sadness over to the older. To grow up showered wit love and care and all the attention, not with their mother’s crimson blood.

Even if it meant sacrificing your own blood and bone, you were going to make sure another child did not have to see what you had seen - long as you had the power to change things, you swore to yourself that you would.

She was the future of an Empire, a promising leak of bright sunshine through rocks, the sole rightful heiress among a litany of unqualified tyrannical weasels. The only hope for the continuation of the shortened Kaldwin reign, whose rulers longed for the welfare of their beloved citizens - thrown onto a dirty road that she did not deserve to be on.  

Whatever that was left of your heart ached for sweet Emily who had lost everything that made up her life, left with no one there to protect, to guide her throughout. It stung a sharp pain through you, merely thinking about the horrors she had to witness down in the Cat.

By the Outsider, if you saw the slightest trace of harm on the little girl, you were prepared to spill the blood of the entire cursed building.

That little part of your soul which had some sort of faith thanked the soaring leviathan that one of the courtesans had owed you a favor - indebted to you after you had saved her sister from the dirty hands of a corrupt, disgusting bastard in some back alley near the distillery, a long time ago. The very few good deeds you had done over the years of being a paid assassin seemed to be helping you back out when you needed it the most - and there you stood, after a series of sneaky transversals and climbing, right across the VIP entrance, with the door conveniently left unlocked in anticipation of your arrival. She really did live up to the task - the mere thought of her risking months of missed pay, especially under the infamous new Madame, putting a soft smile of gratitude on your features.

It felt good to know that the Empire still had people who were loyal to their word - unlike you, who had purposefully failed a contract you had been paid to execute. Knowing your true loyalty laid with Daud and the Empire he operated under, provided little to no solace from your constant self-criticism and state of guilt.

Closing the metal door behind your step with the faintest of clicks, your hands would hastily peel off your mask only for it to be hung low on your belt - the last thing you needed when you visited the little Lady was for her to see another one of those masked figures who kidnapped her, who fought and attacked her Protector. All you wanted to do, with every fiber of your being right there and then, was to ease her suffering at least a little bit, not increase it.

Sneaking came easy to you. Hidden in the shadows cast upon the crumbling magenta wallpapers of the establishment, you would make your way towards the wooden set of stairs out in the back, the stench of sin mixed with cheap perfume lingering around with each step. Ascending yourself to the crevices close to the rounded ceilings to navigate, the moans and feminine laughs echoed off of the thick curtains and the wooden panels of various rooms scattered around the pleasure house.

It was not often you came around to the Cat - occasionally there would be some loyal client with a bounty on his head that you had come to claim, so you had a pretty decent idea of the layout. The curtains though, those had been new additions that were saving your bottom from getting spotted as you kept on executing your transversals with accustomed ease. Courtesans, dressed in skirts and bustiers that left nothing to modesty roamed the halls, often with a cigarette in their nimble hands. Most of them had been thrown on this path without having any other choice - in a way, you sympathized and understood, could only fathom the trauma they had been put through by the revolting guards of the City Watch and aristocrats like.

Speaking of aristocrats, you had half a mind to find those sniveling Pendleton bastards first, who were no doubt violating yet more poor women, and dirty your blade with their disloyal blood. Nothing would please you more at that moment than to inflict the same pain they have caused on the little child.

Yet, you had to be patient. There would come a time to take them out, sooner rather than later hopefully, and only then, you would take pleasure in getting rid of those gutless men. For now, you had a future Empress to see.

Leaning over the far wall you had dropped down near, the lined doors across the empty hallway was a surprising yet welcome sight. Powers granted to you by your Arcane Bond enabled you to spot living forms through your gaze - one that came in very handy as you spotted the gleaming yellow silhouette of a small child. Deep within, you knew your Master could sense whenever powers originating from his mark were used, and it created a twinge of guilt in you - secretly running off of base to conduct missions of your own, but all guilt was erased momentarily as you opened the door with a slight creak and came across her.

The future Empress of the Isles, ruler of the four countries with dire troubles, destined to govern over millions of citizens - and she was sitting cross-legged with her back to you on the hardwood, painting with colorful crayons that shed some rainbow into this dark place. The white bow decorating her brown locks, her finely-tailored white garments still her only choice of clothing. Just like how you had last seen her, yet so very different.

Noticing the creak of the door, Lady Emily turned to face you, her golden brown eyes widening as she spotted your unfamiliar figure. In a matter of seconds that had passed approaching her, you did not even realize you had been holding your breath ever since you stepped in - letting it out slowly, your fingers pushed the door to a close. A warm, harmless expression on your face as you lifted a gentle hand, indicating you meant no maim.

The little girl's expression changed into a slight look of fear and confusion, eyes darting over to the door in a means of escaping.

"Who are you?" her voice would give out, laced with some sort of intrigue mixed with her initial fear.

To that, you would raise both of your hands, and very lightly, bow your head in a swift motion of respect. Your loyalty to the Empire and the rightful reign had been something newfound - all your life, you had longed for something to stay loyal to, whether it was a man or a cause. This time, it had been the girl right in front of you and what she stood for.

"I mean no harm. I - " you would stutter, orbs widening only slightly as you pondered an answer to that question. That simple yet weighted question sparked storms in your mind, sending waves of guilt to tremble your heart in its place. What could you tell her? The truth - that you were nothing short of a reckless killer who had been right there when her mother's blood was spilled? Who could only watch but not do anything to save her, to save the Empire? Whose actions, albeit indirectly, condemned her Protector to prison and death?

"I am a friend to the Lord Protector."

Now, among all lies you had told in your lifetime of stealing and killing, this one had to be the most desperate.

"Oh," the little Empress would say, the apprehension on her features lessening yet she took another step back. Smart girl. She had been taught well, not to trust strangers who donned the very same crimson uniform that had taken her mother away from her.

Sensing your taller stance was scaring her more than to it gave her comfort, you would crouch down to her level slowly, daring to take a little step forward as a gentle smile spread your lips. Gloved fingers reached your pouch with slow movements, intending not to scare her, taking out the silver-encrusted wooden cameo.

"Lady Emily," your voice gave out, softer than anyone in the Empire had heard you speak. "Forgive me for scaring you. You don't know me, but all I wanted to do was to give you this." As the words dripped out of your parted lips, your hand would extend the artifact towards the little figure, as if crossing the invisible chasm with the pull of her mother's silver-modeled face. Something inside you broke as you watched the Lady, take tentative steps towards you as her eyes fixated on the cameo only, and you could swear you saw her eyes glisten for a second. Her hands would reach out and clasp onto the cameo representing her lineage, candlelight reflecting off of the both of you as she held it to her heart.

"Thank you," you would hear her say in her sweet voice, words lowly spoken, her lips curling up ever-so-slightly in a ghost of a smile of appreciation.

The remorse on your delicate face coupled with an unknown emotion seeping through your being, you would nod softly, returning her faith smile. You would realize, only there and then, that if bringing Corvo out of prison was the last thing you would do on the wretched Earth, you would gladly die if it meant for this little girl to be happy. You had been involved in a plot that took everything from her, everything and everyone she held dear - the debts of the guilt would never wash off completely, but if the road led to putting her back on the throne with her Royal Protector guiding her, it was worth taking.

"Everything will be alright, Empress. I promise you."

The whispered sweet nothing echoed as she watched you leave with a gaze full of confusion and sadness, hearing the door click yet once more only for her to be left alone with her memories that were much too dark for a child her age.

It was the ache in your heart and your old soul that prayed to the eyeless god, prayed that you could succeed in your suicide mission - only to see her smile.

[aimlessfool]

Four years, One Night

Prompt: Kisses under an umbrella Thank you so much for the prompt, Spider! :D (tagging in case the ask got lost :’) @exalok​ ) And here you go! :D

Pretty much this is an AU where Corvo was given to Dunwall at the age of 20, and he and Dàud had a relationship that is low key still there, even though they haven’t seen each other for four years. And Daud has no bounty on his head yet. :’)

Seventy four in coin. Corvo had counted them all, from his coin purse in the innermost pockets of his coat, sewn in there to not be easily lost. It was all he had to spend this fugue, and all he had ended up being left with at the end of the year. A year that had little excitement in it, little sorrow else from what was left over soon two years ago. Only a month or so after he arrived. The death on an Empress or Emperor had always weighed heavily on the Empire, at least the closer to the capital you would get.

The man facing the pubs from the rooftops remembered well how news such as these reached Karnaca and his mothers stories of them, and how most of the grief took seed in the nobles, and those few middle class and lower class citizens that were loyal enough to grieve. He had rarely understood the great devotion to those above others, and how much a leader of the Empire was loved. But little did it matter, and little could he dwell on those thoughts as of years and counting, considering that he had to keep them to himself just about every day of the year, else from these few precious days. Perhaps in time he would understand. He figured so, considering he had the rest of his life left in the Tower. Forever watching over the Empress, until the day she would eventually fall. But it would not be because of him... He would make sure of this. He supposed that any child of the Empress would cast him to the hounds once he was too old. Hrm, that day that sorrow.

It was time to continue on his way to reach the pub and docks, to wander about and see how much things had changed for the last four years. Corvo had found himself wanting a break from watching over the princess, who by now had already settled into her little safe room where she told Corvo sternly, to "go out and do something" for the last hours of the fugue. So with her orders, Corvo followed what he wanted for the first time in a while, heading out and leaving his work behind for once, this going to be a secret kept from the Emperor. The thing was, for the last three fugues, Corvo had ended up only watching over the royal family, not doing much of what he wanted. This was something he had accepted very early in all this, so it was no problem, for honestly, nothing more was to be expected.

This had been fine, until he was stuck needing to do something with his time on his own, and not having work. Soon four years of this had Corvo's mind go blank, as he moved along the chimneys like a cat, crawling his way over the dirty and slippery roof titles.

At least it was fun enough to use the city's roofs to continue the training he haven't had much of, for it was perhaps best to not show off too much of his abilities to the Emperor and his sly spymaster, who often eyed Corvo with suspicious eyes when he trained, Corvo going about like a whirlwind on the training fields. If Corvo ended up showing off too much, he might end up being questioned of where he learned such things, as stealing coin purses and slipping away from sight without a trace. It would be bad enough as it were in general, but the other consequences that would follow with it would be even worse, if he were forced to reveal who he learned this from. A man that he...

...

Corvo kept moving. Slowly but surely, as he was careful and certain with his steps, Corvo reached the pub he wanted to see first. After an easy climb down and without much fuss, Corvo found himself back on the cobblestone of the city streets, right beside an old brick building, where his hand resting against it. He slid his hand along the building as he went, an old habit of his that apparently wasn't fit for the buildings of Dunwall, as he scratched his palm against the rough brick, not to draw any blood, but enough to itch. So scratching at his hand, Corvo went out from the alleyway, opening the cracking metal fence door with his foot as he went along, not bothering to use his hand, despite them both resting at his sides by now, to appear more casual than others. He was wearing an outfit of the few items he had from home of his casual clothing, the shirt draped over his chest bigger on him than it should be, with reason too. All this, so he would fit better in with the others in there, and not be as recognisable. Yet, Corvo doubted nobody but court members would even bat him an eye, for there had been no mention of his status or arrival in the newspapers. So few would know of him. Walking in with a hand lingering on the door handle, Corvo took a gander over the open floor ahead of him, seeing many being... To put it lightly, stretched out over them, enjoying their time. There were music, some song that Corvo did not know of, perhaps it being a local variant of songs that he should know, from listening to Jessamine play some on her harp. Yet, he had paid little attention due to other thoughts in his head about music, so... He could not name them, but did feel a sense of familiarity with the violin. It almost sounded like how... Daud played to him. Corvo pretended to walk in with alcohol on his mind, stepping along the drunks and tables as if he had done this several times, which wasn't that far from the truth. Thinking little of the state of the bar, Corvo still approached it, finding a seat empty beside a man that looked like a sailor, draped over the counter with his hand clenching around a glass. Hrmp, one can't choose your neighbours in a bar at fugue, Corvo knew this.

The bartender wasn't thinking of the new arrival, nor was Corvo, who by now leaned on his hand, propped up by his elbow, looking over the rest of the room, from what he could see of it. There were life, akin to those at night in Karnaca. Men howling with conversation and laughter, the thick ooze of beer and general alcohol in the air, and music, though more sombre than those songs he would listen to back home. It was like he had wandered back home, a gateway more suited to him than a ship.

Sighing, Corvo actually tapped the counter for a moment, to see if he gained the bar tenders attention. It ended with Corvo offering some coin, for prices were random at fugue, he knew this, and he was given a glass of beer, one that Corvo very, very slowly started to chip down with as he sat there, watching the life, his chest growing warm with alcohol and the warmth of a good bar, where there were merriment and good times. Not as dreadful as the rainy streets outside.

About halfway done with his beer, the man beside him apparently woke up, looking to Corvo from the counter, his face drunkenly flushed. It was a guard, one he knew from the barracks. Smiling as he sipped his beer, Corvo patted his back a few times, a friendly gesture to tell him to get up.

The man obliged, groaning as he got up, his balance pretty much off...

... And for a moment he was about to topple over Corvo, who quietly reached out a hand towards the man's collarbone, stopping him from falling. And the poor drunkard started huffing, though found that what he thought Corvo wanted wasn't right, as he was met with a amused smile, something that he truly did not expect. So he got himself back on his feet, and headed off to a table, to switch seats... And Corvo had a slight understanding as to why, and paid it little mind afterwards.

Half an hour later, with Corvo oddly enough immersed in this whole cosy and fun atmosphere, he was out of beer. And knowing how it was with prices, Corvo decided to stop there, and just slide the glass between his hands, in a bout of boredom. It had the bartender take the glass from him in mid movement, Corvo's eyes going straight to him... And he just chuckled. Smiling a little.

Bartender paid little mind to this, and just let Corvo be, supposing he have had enough, though... Today he wasn't actually allowed to stop him.

Corvo didn't mind, stretching over the counter and ending up people watching again, idly wishing that there were some Serkonian blabber about, to just feel even more like home for this very slight moment. He rested his head against his arm for a moment, head facing the room and tables out there, and the men and women there, some even starting to get frisky.. That came naturally with the hour, so it was nothing Corvo hadn't expected. He had a smile, still, and it hadn't waned often the last half hour. He was even slightly red, though he was far from tipsy, a half litre of beer far from enough to get him properly flushed. He just enjoyed this. The taste of the beer wasn't too bad either...

Though he wouldn't be idle for long, as the same man that nearly flattened him to the bar stool earlier now suddenly grabbed at Corvo's collar, this instantly causing Corvo to look to him alarmed, and trying to get the hand off it, before it could do some damage. But he failed as he stumbled off the stool, and was promptly dragged out of the bar's back exit, closer to the waterfront than he wanted to be with a drunk guard at the moment. There were little resistance from Corvo, though he truly wished he could wring himself away. Having a feeling he knew where this was going, and once he was let go, Corvo quickly turned to the drunkard, though still with a lighter expression, not going to let this ruin his night. It was just a minor thing.

"What do you want?" Corvo asked, a hand reaching to the back his collar to check for holes... None.

"A fight." The man blabbered out, his slurred speech revealing just how damned drunk he was. "Royal Protector an' all, you got a fight in you I want." Corvo snorted. This felt somehow familiar, like a lot of things tonight. Corvo considered the request...

And promptly punched the drunkard in the face, retaliation for what he did to his shirt, as he truly felt like that was something he should not have done.

The man did budge, the first too sudden and very hard hitting for him not to. And he then promptly attempted to punch him back, failing first, but with a very dirty trick of kicking Corvo's feet off balance, he managed to get him down to the cobblestone, some of them stinging as they hit Corvo's back individually and causing some pain. And then a fist came flying at Corvo's face, exactly where he should not be hit, and due to the shock of it all, Corvo got a fistful of pain right into his cheek and eye, grunting and ending up kicking the guard down, not going to take this laying down.

And with him down Corvo moved to his feet again, and ended up kicking the drunkard in the stomach, with the aim of letting him have a hangover before he would actually get it.

Hopping back right after the kick, Corvo's hopes where fulfilled, and the guard started to vomit out his very expensive alcohol right after the kick. He howled in anger and pain as he did, spitting curses at Corvo who stood over him, actually not wanting to punch him further. A punch for a punch, after all.

"Have fun with your coin then, Gallwood." Corvo muttered, ending up chuckling as he turned on his heel, and waved to the cursing idiot on the street floor.

Now, Corvo supposed he could continue his sightseeing, since the good idiot was too brick brained to understand Corvo didn't want him falling on him. So, he slipped out of sight and into an alleyway, idly wandering with a little hop in his step as he did, just happy and somehow feeling a bit more energised after getting punched in the face. He supposed within a few minutes he would have a bruise, but it would just have to be. It just might end up with others wanting a fight from him keeping away, which was good. ... And about that, for a moment, Corvo felt watched. So he stopped, suddenly and all, and looked behind him, into the darkness of the alleyway he had just turned into, and found... Nothing but rats, scuttling over the cobblestones and to his feet, passing by without much fuss.

... Tossing whatever thoughts he had out of his mind, Corvo continued.

Now turing, the docks stood before him, a little bit from the side of the whole thing, though. There were not much life, just a few sailors here and there, with the increasing intensity of the rain surely having chased off most of the people out in the streets. At first it was a drizzle, now it was getting worse. Which Corvo had found to just be good, he liked it when the rain was "warm" like this, and not icy cold as it usually where. Now at the side of the river, Corvo moved along the rock formations, and past so much rope and cargo crates. He saw shirts, coats, fishing rods, umbrellas... A lot of things, just strewn about as if in their owners where in a hurry. And from experience, Corvo knew this was the case, as it were how most dockworkers and sailors would end their day as soon as the fugue was rung in.

Now humming at a Serkonian song from the back of his mind, Corvo idly wandered along this place, and soon ended up on the other side of the docks after having picked up one of the umbrella's at the side of a barrel, wanting to just fool about with it, as he would back home, if he ever found one. He thought of many things as he wandered, the hop in his steps having started to waver to a normal walk.

This whole night had felt like he was back home, more a feeling than anything else, though. He had been content, forcing himself to think that he was, thus feeling it. For despite him having fun, despite it feeling like home, something was gnawing at him, something missing. Daud.

Even with his shirt, Corvo still couldn't help but to want the man himself there, wandering along with him. He thought, for a slight moment as he dressed himself back in the barracks, that the shirt would be enough to keep the... Longing for Daud at bay, but... Despite trying his best, it just wasn't enough. He was supposed to be there now. Like back at home. When he had work, it was easier to just use his shirt as a familiarity and distraction, but now...? It wasn't... Right. Things felt like back home, but really wasn't, due to missing Daud. ... Thinking of things to help take his mind off this, especially now that he was close to where he ultimately realised what had happened, four years ago, Corvo fished up the cigarette case of... "His."

Fished out a cigarette and his lighter, and lit it, the umbrella helping with this. Perhaps he had it in mind once he picked it up.

For years he hadn't thought of him. Until now. ... Void damnit.

Corvo stood there for an hour. He smoked three of the cigarettes, the third just being lit as he heard something at his left. Corvo paid it little mind, supposing it was a sailor looking for something he had dropped here, or whatever else.

But when a hand reached out to the cigarette he had in his hand, out of the blue, Corvo reacted with a silent shock, mouth very subtly agape as he turned to see who was that blunt as to simply take the cigarette from his mouth like that. And with the light of the smoke, came the view of a familiar face, a familiar nose... A familiar man, with Corvo's cigarette in between his lips. ... His chapped lips.

"I was wondering where my shirt went." The very familiar man muttered, his voice rougher than before.

... Corvo froze as he stood. Slightly leaned over a railing separating him and the river, with his head ever so slightly tilted towards the left as the gears in his head turned, to understand what was just happening. To get it into his brain that... This man right beside him, coming closer and inching under his umbrella... Was Daud.

... Corvo tried to say something, tried to move when Daud got so close to him their shoulders touched.

In order to break the silence, Daud leaned along with Corvo as he hummed for a moment, though half of his body was still exposed to the rain as he did so, the man not minding all that much, though.

"Took my cigarette case too, then." He said, voice trailing off as he ended up looking to Corvo, with a half smile on his lips. Corvo's mouth was still slightly agape, and first now it sank in that... This was Daud. Corvo's fist clenched, and he was about to move, about to turn sharply and punch the man before him in the face, for having been gone for four years, for not having sought him out, but... It wasn't certain that he got the letter. It wasn't certain he was aware of where Corvo had been for the last four years. He didn't know if he had gotten caught up in anything- he didn't have the right to punch him. Yet he wanted to, so badly.

"Daud?" Corvo finally managed to mutter, his voice revealing his feelings about this meeting all too well. There was a certain vulnerability in his voice too, a sadness in it. As if he wasn't able to accept what was there, right in front of him.

There was a nod from the man, and he tilted his head to meet Corvo's, the cigarette safe between his lips. "Corvo." He said, his eyes saying a lot about how he was feeling for the moment.

"... Where?" Corvo finally managed to ask, aware of Daud being within reach, if he just angled himself slightly to the side.

"I would ask the same, had it taken me longer to find you." Daud muttered, and knew that it wasn't a satisfactory answer, so he continued, his arms resting idly over the railing as he apparently relaxed. His answer was... Guarded too, which Corvo picked up on easily.

"I got caught up in something. What, you know." The man took a drag, and blew it out, towards the rain and away from Corvo. "I only got home a month ago." Corvo's heart sank, as now that Daud was closer to him, he saw an angrily red line down the side of his face, just as Daud turned to look to him again. It wasn't only the reason his heart sank, though.

"I ended up travelling. Finding things, stealing for them. A lot happened, Corvo. Thus why I didn't seek you out before now." Daud lifted his arm up, and patted his chest, just where Corvo knew he usually sewed in pockets in his coats. Like he did to his. Corvo understood what it meant, Daud always kept the things most important to him close to his chest.

... A long pause of silence followed. Daud didn't feel like he could ask Corvo what he had been doing, not because of privacy reasons, but honestly... He wasn't sure how Corvo felt about him anymore, and he wouldn't take any chances either. It would make things more difficult. "... I'm pissed." Corvo said, and had a slight smile on his face... A smile that Daud knew, but if it meant the same, he wasn't aware of.

"I told you to quit while you were ahead... Then, you end up gone for four years..." He said, looking over to Daud again, and gaining another look at his face. "And yes, I do believe you... Those bastards were the types. I just don't understand what happened.. How did they keep you?" Daud... Sighed, turning to look to Corvo more, as if seeking-.. Something. He wasn't sure what.

"Things meant little to me. My own life, less so." Daud muttered and trailed off, his eyes set on Corvo's, and his right hand, ever so slightly moved against Corvo's, all without the man realising it himself. Corvo did, though, and didn't even flinch, nor look to it... He was about to move to the others hand.

"... If I knew you had left and were safe, I'd... Quit sooner." Daud finally said, moving his hand away just as Corvo was about to touch it.

Corvo sighed, deeply, and lightly tapped Daud's hand with his finger, Daud noting it. "Yes, you should have." Corvo muttered, frowning slightly... To then just full on frown, the drag Daud took from the cigarette showing more of his face...

"... I was taken, three days before you were supposed to come home. It was a hasty delivery, they wanted me gone as soon as possible..." Corvo started, turning away from Daud, as he just... Couldn't look at that wound.

"So I took what I could, went to my mother, and said goodbye to Karnaca... To home..." Corvo sighed, a lopsided smile showing on his lips now, as he reached for the cigarette Daud had in his mouth, and took it from him, to take the last drag. "I'm sorry for the mess I left.." Daud huffed. "Don't be. It wasn't that messy."

"So they left it alone, then?" Corvo seemed.. Hopeful as he spoke.

"Yes. Most of Karnaca knew that was our place, so they left it well alone." Almost as tidy as it had been for the two years the two of them had been together.

"Good..." Corvo seemed almost relieved.

"So... What did you do?"

Daud watched the cigarette bud fly from Corvo's fingers down into the sea. "I sold everything but your things... The apartments is sold off, I needed the coin."

... Corvo's heart... Now truly sank into his chest, the man even feeling a sting from the feeling of it... Not because of his things, but.. The place he and Daud had called home... Was gone. Really so. He had already accepted that he wouldn't get home again, but... Maybe not as much as he had hoped. Biting as his lip, Corvo calmed himself down, taking a deep breath as he sighed again.

"... You knew I'd not be able to go home again." Daud nodded, picking up on the sadness in Corvo's voice. And thus, figured that... He could maybe... He reached out the same hand to Corvo's again, who didn't budge. He let Daud place his hand on his.

"So, my things are at the usual spot?" Daud nodded.

"I'd best get them delivered soon. Conrad, he's still working at the docks?"

Daud nodded. "He arranged the passage for me."

"Good." Corvo acknowledged, and finally looked to the hand on his, to Daud.

He wanted to say something that had been on his mind all night, something that most likely... Wouldn't be all that welcomed, so... He instead trailed back, trying to figure out something to say.

".. I've been appointed Royal Protector of the princess... Jessamine." He explained, finding that it had some good timing... Yet, these sort of news were never good timed, no matter what, especially to a man with such work as Daud had, and most likely... Wouldn't be able to escape, if Corvo's fears were great enough.

"So, I've been busy making sure her and her family is safe... For the last four years I've been sleeping in the barracks, but within a month of two, I'll be moved. To the Tower."

Daud's face was hard to read, but one thing was for certain. He was happy for the man before him. And Corvo, who knew him, now twisted his hand around, and entangled their fingers. A subtle way to tell him to stay. "Climbed your way to the top... Never expected anything else." Daud said, a sort of chuckle present in his voice as he spoke. And he found, that he didn't mind the entanglement.

Corvo nodded along, with a slight smile. They were worlds apart now. It was easier back home. Corvo sighed, deeply. He didn't want to ask this, but it was a given that it were. So there were no other choice.

"... What are you doing here Daud...?" He asked, as he was the one who most likely, followed him for a while. And first after the words left his mouth, he understood how they sounded...

Daud took a moment to reply. Corvo swallowed. "I came to look for you. Took me a few days, until you happened to punch a loud bastard behind a pub." He chuckled, smiling. "I knew it was you just from the shirt alone."

Corvo smiled, the smile lopsided and without much merriment. "So you're back for the shirt, then?" He asked, looking to Daud again, now noting that Daud hadn't pulled back his hand yet.

"You can keep it. It looks good on you." Daud muttered, and looking to Corvo, their eyes met, and he... Promptly looked away.

"... Sorry I took most of your clothes." Corvo muttered back eventually. "No, you're not." Daud chuckled, and found himself looking back to Corvo, starting to understand a little bit more about how things were now. Corvo was an open book to him, always were, and the more they talked, the more he understood what he meant with all.

... Soon Corvo moved, fishing his lighter up from his pockets using his left hand, and.. Lit it close to Daud's face, the man looking curiously to the flame, them to Corvo.

"... What happened to you...?" Corvo found himself asking, eyes wide at how... Bad the wound-... No- scar, looked. Daud's lips thinned, and once he spotted Corvo's face... He knew where it was from, yet.. Got a bit of a serious look in his eyes.

"Still a sucker for face punches, I see." Daud joked, but did have some concern behind it. "Don't avoid the question." Corvo replied sharply back.

Daud... Sighed. Then looked away, the lighter being put back into Corvo's pocket. That's when Daud noted a hand, moving up to him. To his face. ... Then some pressure at his cheeks, along his chin. Warmth. And the handle of the umbrella...

... Daud leaned in to it, closing his eyes, just for a moment as he exhaled.

"Sword fight getting out of it. A year ago..."

Corvo huffed.

"Fucking bastards..." He said, voice dripping in malice.

Daud... Nodded.

Corvo's hand lingered, not sure what to do with it, else than to pull the man in front of him closer to him. To untangle their fingers, and reach out to Daud, who. Was here now, and most certainly wouldn't reach out to him, the damned idiot. At least he managed to find him. And to talk, explain whatever he needed to explain.

He removed the hand eventually, and untangling the hand with Daud's, to hold the umbrella with that hand. "Tonight, I was forced to not work... Went to a pub, and spent an hour or two there... It was like being home, you know." Corvo started, just to talk. "Felt a lot like those times, when we ended up together at the bar... We would people watch, see them go by, get drunk... Even music, though it was worse here than home." Daud kept quiet.

"I miss home." Corvo muttered, the meaning behind these words more loaded with meaning than he realised himself. And looking at Daud, this statement was something he too felt. Maybe the same way that he had.

"... So, no new home?" Daud asked, knowing he had to.

Corvo shock his head.

And watched How Daud's free hands moved up to his face, first stroking a thumb against Corvo's now bruised cheekbones, while his other hand cupped his face. Corvo's lips parted, like taking in a breath.

Then Daud waited, for a moment. Asking for permission. Which Corvo granted, leaning ever so slightly down to the other, as Daud tip toed to reach him, as they had done many times. The first kiss was a light peck, lips meeting lips, testing the waters. Then another light peck followed, and more after that. Daud's lips were dry and chapped, while Corvo's warm and dry too, yet it didn't really matter for either of them. Now Corvo's left hand cupped Daud's face, and the other, draped over his shoulder, to then hold a hand on the back of his head, as if he didn't want him to leave. Which he did, just for a moment, their lips lingering so close they brushed against each other, and noses nudging against each other as they moved to... Inch a little bit closer, in a moment of needing to breathe. Their lips met again, this time leaving out the pecks, and instead pushing against each other with hunger behind it. They didn't care if anyone was watching, didn't mind if someone saw them. This was all about them.

Not knowing nor caring how much time had passed, eventually they separated, Corvo mostly breathing through his nose, but finding it to not be enough to manage to stay with Daud for any longer than this. Daud pulled back too, though oddly enough his hands had moved, down to Corvo's shoulders, and had rested there for a while, and wasn't moving even as they pulled from each other. Between parted lips, Corvo was catching his breath, Daud too, and it ended with both of them crashing together again, their kisses intensifying with every breath they shared between each other.

They ended up so caught in this that they leaned over the rope railing, Daud stopping them though before they toppled over the railing, by taking a hold of Corvo's waist and angling him away from this, Corvo gasping in between kisses as he was moved, though he had yet to realise that was why Daud touched him like that.

Eventually, they both parted, cheeks flush red and lips slightly swollen from playful bites, both happy to see each other in their own little way.

When Daud parted from him, he stopped being on his tip toes, and now, leaned his head against Corvo's collarbone due to Corvo kinda making him, who slowly stroked his hand through Daud's hair, as if trying to soothe him. It didn't really, but it didn't mean Daud didn't like it. He just wouldn't admit to that, even though his cheeks revealed his feelings very well... Good thing they were both hidden under darkness.

... Usually it wasn't this... Longing. Grumbling internally, Daud just... Relaxed. Corvo as well, the man actually slightly dizzy.

"... Got a bed tonight?" Corvo asked, a fair question for Daud. With his home sold, it was likely he hadn't spent his coin on a new one.

"No." Daud muttered, sort of understanding the more "hidden" question behind Corvo's words, but still being blunt about it.

"We're allowed visitors in our rooms." Corvo muttered, Daud feeling the vibrations from Corvo's voice on his forehead, as he had angled himself to lay his head like that, nose tucked up against the lower parts of Corvo's neck.

"Hrm. Tempting." Daud rumbled, smiling. Corvo swore he could feel that, how his shirt ever so slightly moved up where Daud's cheek where resting.

"Been a while since I've slept in a proper cot." Daud joked, and nudged with his head that he was standing up straight, which Corvo let him.

Once he stood facing Corvo again, Corvo smiled. "It's not big, but we'll make do."

"Agreed. But I'll have to collect my things first. I'd rather not have it found by any quick witted thief."

"That can be arranged." And with this, Corvo took a hold of Daud's arm, and started to pull at him, all while holding the umbrella still, having made sure that they were both under it during their first moments of reuinion. Daud didn't even hesitate as he let himself be dragged along, the two of them idly chatting on the way, about things they've learned, Corvo more than Daud, but that was usually how it was always.

Over a few rooftops, and down into a window, to then end up in an apartment left empty for what seemed to be years, Daud collected his bag and gear, his sword always having been on his hip from the moment he decided to hold it. As he went back to Corvo, he showed Corvo his new crossbow with lots of pride, the two men swinging out of the window afterwards, Corvo challenging his partner to a race. One that he won, though he could swear something was up sometimes as Daud wasn't heard for a moment or two. It was most likely in his head.

Eventually Corvo went back to his room, one more "special" than the others, as it wasn't anyone in there else from him. With his position came some benefits, of course. And it wasn't exactly at the barracks, so it was easier to sneak in there than elsewhere.

Daud came in through the window, just for the fun of it, and eventually, they both slotted themselves to sleep after a meal, enjoyed over silence, as they would back home. They fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow.

Corvo woke up to Daud still sleeping beside him, drooling ever so slightly on his arm he was resting his head under. Corvo didn't care, and found himself huffing while tossing an arm over him.

Enjoying the moment.

Once both were awake, Daud the more grumpy morning person than Corvo as he hadn't had a lot of sleep as of late, still found himself relaxed enough to eat another meal with Corvo, and promise he'd come back later that day.

And he did, wearing the same shirt he had "happened" to take by "accident". One of Corvo's.