#don't take Cassius too

[skayafair]

Not sure if there's already a "train" like this one but I liked a post with "who's your favorite podcast guy/gal", now tell me:

Who's your favorite podcast enby person?

[castielsprostate]

ides of march dash simulator 🔪🍴🍽️

🔪et-tu-brute🌕🎤 FOLLOW

the plan for today!! dni julius ceasar

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1,715 notes 🔃 ♡

#Unfortunately the guy with the smokemachine cancelled last minute :( #There'll still be snacks though! Porcia got us the BEST grapes in the area #EOTRR DNI

🍊cassius-with-assius🎤 FOLLOW

61 notes 🔃 ♡

#make sure to let brutus know you're there by signing in at the front slab!!

💭desi-besi🎤 FOLLOW

yooo dudes which knife should i bring??

13 notes 🔃 ♡

#i think i should take the first one but the second is calling my name...

🏺jerry-bakes-pots FOLLOW

Idk maybe it's just me but I don't think it's right to kill someone because you don't agree with their politics. I think you guys are taking this too far, J is still a human being, he has feelings. Maybe you guys should, idk, try talking first?

🔪et-tu-brute 🌕🎤 FOLLOW

woooow that is a lot of nerve coming from you! last week you were telling me that this was a great idea, and now? you're backstabbing me? fuck you. BLOCKED

🏺jerry-bakes-pots FOLLOW

Nice victim-play there Brute! I knew I should've listened to my wife instead of hanging around with you lot! You can kiss my asinus!

45 notes 🔃 ♡

#Don't come crawling back to me when this blows up in your fucking face

🎟️trebondeeznuts 🎤 FOLLOW

coordinates for tonight's 'party': 41°53'43"N , 12°28'37"E

don't be late! you wouldn't want to miss it

75 notes 🔃 ♡

#EOTRR DNI

🔐longus-amongus 🌕 FOLLOW

I am SO ready for tonight!!!!!!!!!!

17 notes 🔃 ♡

#been practicing my aim all week!!

👑EOTRR ✅☑️✅☑️✅☑️✅☑️✅☑️✅☑️✅☑️✅☑️✅☑️✅☑️✅☑️✅☑️✅☑️🌕 FOLLOW

Can't wait for my suprise party tonight! Don't tell Brutus I said anything, but I heard through the grapevine that they're throwing me a lovely get-together tonight! 🥰 feeling #blessed

5,174 notes 🔃 ♡

#I'm so grateful for my friends #I wouldn't be here without them

👹marcimoo FOLLOW

why the fuck wasn't i invited?????

1 note 🔃 ♡

#y'all should've killed mark anthony instead

[timetravellibrarian]

Zoro x reader

Soulmate AU

Summary: A man seeks to follow his dreams, following only the path his swords carve for him and wherever his crew goes. Little does he know that the missing piece in his life, his soulmate whom he doesn't admit that he tries to seek would end up in a love-hate relationship.

Chapter Two

_________________________________________

"Your Grace. I present to you, Prince Cassius of the Arkand." The royal Stewart announced.

You sat beside your older sisters. Your brothers sitting beside your father. Being the middle child of five children really put you in the position to get married off, seeing as there was no hope of gaining the throne.

Prince Cassius' escorts had entered the grand throneroom. They came in with a flurry of green and blue, representative of their kingdom's dominant colours.

You were surprised at how they managed to fit a large elephant carrying the said prince, it's back decorated with soft rugs and golden jewels. Your eyes went up and met with fiery brown ones, his smile breaking out at the sight of you scanning his features. Dark hair with skin kissed by the sun. It was a mystery to you on how he hadn't been married years earlier even if he was the same age if not a bit older than you.

The elephant stopped in front of the throne and the prince slid down the elephant without any hassle as though he usually did so daily. The rest of his people followed behind as he walked up to the steps that led to where the royals sat and bowed.

There was a small silence as your father looked over towards your future husband and his parade. He stood up, leading everyone present to stamd up.

"It is an honour to have you present." Your father said, his eyes still cold yet welcoming.

"No your majesty, it is my honour," The prince replied with a silky voice, his eyes glancing at you before a small smirk graced his features," You have allow us to take care of one of the many flowers in your beautiful garden."

You quirked an eyebrow in thought, 'Do I go through photosynthesis too?'

"We hope to nurture and care for her as much as you and your kingdom have, if not, more."

Your father chuckled," I am glad to hear that, bit for now, onto the celebrations. I hear your father may come in later since he's handling another matter."

"He will Your Grace, and he sends his regards as well as apologies for being late."

Your father nodded before gesturing to your kingdom's stewart," Lead them to the dining hall. They had a long journey, they must be hungry."

Soon the visitors from Arkland had followed the man. Their servants heading out to place the large and cute elephant somewhere it could rest. Your father made his way with your mother in hand. Your brother's trailing behind with their own swagger. Your sisters taking a glance at you with a small smile before heading to the dining hall.

Lyra almost seemed to magically appear beside you as you walked," So, what do you think?"

You looked at her," Judging by the fact that he looks like God took his time to make him and that he only gets a wife now, I may be dealing with either a hoe or a Draco Malfoy."

"Actually your highness, people of Arkland are only allowdyto marry from the moment they reach 18. He's had two years to find a wife and only now accepts a partner. " Lyra stated.

"Still doesn't change the–"

"I also hear that he's one of the many who don't have a soulmate mark. Rumours speculate that whoever it would have been must've died long before he could meet them."

Your eyes widened in shock and a bit of empathy started to form withing your heart. How much it like to not have known or felt a soulmate mark on your body. No red string, no tattoo, no initial..

"Well, maybe I'll be a bit kinder then." Your hand went to the sting you felt in the initial on your wrist, pulse beating through it. 'What if whoever they are is hurt?'

The thougt had come one evening when the supposed initial had seemed to fade a bit but now it was darker than it was.

_________________________________________

Zoro had enough. Not only did he feel a weird sense pulsating through his body, hos eyes were searching around for where everyone went. It felt like he was going in circles.

In truth he was lost trying to find where the Arlong Pirates were. Again. Nami had set him free and now that the truth about her having saved Ussop from dying at the hands of the fishmen reviving everyone's hope to save her. But his navigational skills were nonexistent so he resolved to finding someone he knew.

He caught sight of Sanji lighting one of his cigarettes. Approaching the cook he saw Luffy in the distance, without his hat. Nami beside him.

'Im guessing it's time to fight, properly.'

He disregarded the feel of his wounds aching after his fight with Mihawk a few days ago. Now was not the time to lick wounds. It was time to save a friend.

_________________________________________

@mythicallystupid

@mars-mizuko

[ilikebookssomuch]

here goes nothing

I wrote--and am still writing, by the way, this is NOT finished yet--some angsty au thing where Dex and Sophie don't get rescued in book 1. They just...disappear. Anyway, here is a little bit.

Edaline’s POV:

Edaline saw Sophie, her foster daughter, ignore her husband Grady’s calls and race towards the cliffside. Edaline knew the caves were down there, so she conjured up Iggy’s cage and ran after her. “Sophie, wait!” She said, grabbing Sophie’s arm. She placed the tiny imp on Sophie’s shoulder. “In case you need a friend.”

“Thanks,” Sophie said, wiping away a tear.

“Be careful down there. Looks like a storm’s coming.” 

Sophie nodded and climbed down to the caves, her blond hair whipping wildly in the wind behind her. As Sophie vanished into the gaping mouth of the cave, Edaline turned away and walked over to Grady, who had picked up the satchel Sophie had thrown on the grassy pasture ground. 

“She’ll be back soon,” she reassured him, taking the satchel and snapping it into the void. Grady sighed. 

“I don’t know, Eda. What if this time. . . it’s too much?”

“If what’s too much?” a familiar voice interjected from behind them.

“Dex!” Edaline said, hugging her nephew. “Sophie is in the caves, if that was why you came.”

“She seemed really upset when I saw her in the halls today.” Dex kicked the ground and looked away. “Did I do something?”

“No,” said Grady. “It’s our fault she's upset.”

“Oh.” He seemed relieved. “Well, Fitz told me I should stop by, so. . . .” Dex’s voice trailed off. “I’m going to go check on her.” He ran to the caves without saying goodbye.

“I’m sure they’ll be fine. Let’s just go inside and wait it out.” Grady said, pulling Edaline close and hugging her. They walked to Havenfield, passing Verdi on the way. She looked out towards the ocean, letting out a nervous ROOOAR. 

Grady and Edaline sat on their giant, squishy couch for a few hours. They both drifted off when the sun started to set, but were awakened by a loud squeak and the sound of ripping fabric. “Iggy!” Grady yelled. Instantly, the imp stopped tearing apart their pillows and darted over to Edaline’s face, flapping his wings and squeaking. 

“Gah–what do you want?” She yelled, shielding herself. Iggy might be a ball of fluff, but his claws were sharp. Iggy flew over to the window, pounding himself against the glass a few times before repeating his squeaking-flapping-pounding pattern. 

“You want us to go outside?” Grady asked, getting up and heading to the enormous front door. Edaline followed, quickly running down the steps and into the pastures. Iggy followed, leading them towards the dilophosaurus pasture near the cliffs. 

The dinosaurs all looked fine, but Edaline still scanned over their tall, thin bodies for any injury. Aside from a scratch in one’s neck frill, they were fine. Iggy seemed insistent that they still follow him, so she hurried on. That’s when she realized: “Grady! Sophie and Dex are still in the caves!” 

Grady started sprinting down the uneven path to the caves, rocks and loose sand crumbling out behind him. Edaline lifted her gown and caught up with her husband in a few moments, but when they reached the cave, it was empty. 

“SOPHIE? DEX?” They called, looking into the darkest crannies of the cave. When it was clear they weren’t there and the moon had risen to the top of the sky, Edaline decided to hail her brother-in-law, Kesler. After a few tries, he answered the Imparter, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. 

“Are Dex and Sophie over there?” She asked, her heart racing with fear for her daughter and nephew. 

“No, I haven’t seen them,” Kesler said, his eyes widening with worry.

“Well, please hail me if you hear from them.”

“Will do,” he said, all of the sleepiness gone from his voice.

After that, they tried hailing Alden, Della, and even Lord Cassius. No one had seen them. 

Grady eventually convinced that they were fine, probably just mad and hiding somewhere to cool down.

 “But where are they ‘hiding,’ Grady?”

He couldn’t answer that. 

They both crawled into bed, but Edaline knew neither of them got a wink of sleep that night.

TO BE CONTINUED, please let me know what you thought of this

figured I'd tag some people too so @myfairkatiecat @lisalovesapplesauce @kale-of-the-forbidden-cities @stunning-mess @doodle-do-wop @sophiejacksonchase @ilov3b00kss0much @riordanverseaddict

[sunlessea]

“ you need to learn patience. be good and i’ll give you what you want later. ” - plot twist! nestsegg / nestsely :clown:

all i had for this ship was s.mut so uh 🤡 / @londonfallen

cassius helsing, now ashburnum, does not belong in the company of vampires. least of all their elders, the masters of the bazaar who had spread their curse among humanity with lacking remorse. he's their inevitable end, or at least that's what his family says. raised nearly from birth for the sole purpose of hunting and killing them, one by one : he's hardly a revolutionary, but the way the masters of the bazaar are prophesied to fall by his hands, one would think the name cassius to be a war cry for london's rebels.

he tries not to think about how disappointed anyone would be, if they knew. his own heart pounds 'gainst his chest in equal parts guilt, humiliation and excitement that he can't quite bury, even 'neath anger at this point half feigned. here he lies, the master's greatest enemy — and it's mr nests with his wrists pinned down, claws pressing as deep into his skin as its other hand is deep 'neath his slacks. they're tangled in a mess, the two of them, his own clothes ripped and ravaged to expose him, one leg half wrapped 'round its waist where he'd attempted to kick it and had ended up with one of its legs 'tween his thighs instead.

" — get off of me," his voice is torn between harsh growl and pathetic whine, his ears flat 'gainst his head in the same breath his tail is fluffed up a few sizes. no matter how hard he writhes against its hold, it just ends up with his blood on its nails, and every time his body moves, it purrs louder. he knows it's making fun of him, because they both know he truly could fight back harder if he wanted to ... but he doesn't! and that's largely the issue here, what makes his heart ache every bit the same as his body when its palm wraps 'round his erection and makes him whimper.

he's incredibly sensitive. touch starved at his best, completely untouched generally. the feeling is so intense he ends up kneeing it in its side with his leg, and all he can do is glare up at it at the same time he's blushing mad!

"this — this is morally reprehensible, get off of me! i don't — i don't want anything from—" its thumb presses against the head of his cock and he winces, voice choking up 'fore he can continue to protest too much. they would kill him. the garou would kill him if—this is illegal, this is against their— "a—ah—" all it takes is a little more pressure in the movement of its hand along his length for him to wilt proper, breath stalled and lip caught 'tween his fang. why! this is pathetic! "this is wrong—"

[thatfoxnamedfinley]

LO, REAPER aka Red Rising thoughts

SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT

Lettsss GOoooOOooOOoO

I like how ruthless Darrow is. I was reading a review about the book and one person was like "the MC is too intense and cruel. I can't continue to read the series." Meanwhile I'm sitting here like

Tommy Shelby from Peaky Blinders and Captain Flint from Black Sails are two of my favorite characters ever; if you know then you know. I won't say I like cruelty in characters, but I find the capacity for cruelty to be fascinating in characters we are supposed to be rooting for. Darrow grows to care for some of these people and I actually think he cares for less people than readers think at this point. He knows that to be an effective leader you must be feared AND loved and he almost seems to FAKE his care for most of them. It doesn't stop him from taking steps on his mission. The fact that (DON'T CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG) I believe Darrow will not only be a Peerless Scarred, but an Iron Gold by the end of this story is exciting. He's a great MC. I also like moody, broody characters so LMAO he fits the bill.

Sevro is a baby boi. A feral baby boi, but a baby boi. The fact that he's like this little wild child that runs around in a smelly wolf pelt stabbing people's eyes out and follows Darrow so loyally is endearing. I want to know more about where he comes from.

Especially at the end when Darrow had Sevro cut together the footage of the invasion at the Institute and when he heard Darrow say "bloody damn" Sevro was whistling like "its so crazy, the wind was just so LOUD and it was just HARD to make out your words so I just....DELETED them. 😇" I'm like you CHEEKY LITTLE BOI! He knows exactly what's going on and has respect and love for Darrow despite it. Without him and his Howlers, many of Darrow's plans wouldn't have been able to happen.

I don't like Cassius. Never did. I understand his plight and I'm empathetic in a way because his brother was killed. He sees Darrow as manipulative because they were close so he feels...betrayed I guess? However...didn't he also kill someone in The Passage? And joked about it? So...

I think he's an INTERESTING character, I won't lie. I look forward to his arc, but at the moment I don't like him. Wait til he finds out Darrow is a RED kekekekekekekekkekekeke

Jackal is crazy, don't know too much about him though besides his lineage. I knew he would cut off his own hand, there was no way he WASN'T with the hints here and there throughout the story. I do know this boi is going to be a problem tho.

Roque is interesting, still don't know much about him. I was happy he wasn't dead though. He seems to be valuable on the intelligence front so I wonder if he will come into play when doing tactical planning in the future. I'm on the fence with Tactus because I thought he was going to have to be killed like Titus (I also GASPED when we found out). Even after the whipping incident, I'm wary about him because I could see him being

A.) Loyal as fuck

B.) Betraying snake

So, we'll see. I kiiiiinda like him, but I'm also fully prepared to be disappointed by him XD

Mustang... O, Mustang. I don't think she's been developed super well but I like her only because I was like Darrow and thought once we found out her lineage that she had betrayed them all. When we found out she was the Jackal's twin sister I literally smacked my forehead and was like

But she pulled up with him bound up and I was so shocked that she got a +2 with me from that alone. I look forward to her character development.

Lots of people say this book is one of the weakest which is good news I suppose. At first I wasn't fully on board how great Darrow was at everything but ya know...? I remember feeling the heat of rage before about something much less important as Darrow's loss and I was like ya know what, ok. I get it. I can suspend some disbelief here that maybe his rage (which is something I like, that he has anger issues) CAN fuel him further than others. My man shanked Apollo in the eye while they were grappling mid air. I mean DAMN bro.

I have high expectations and Book 1 was good.

On to Book 2!!

Side note: I wanted him to go be with Lorn au Arcos at the endddddddddd not Nero. EWWWwwwWWwww

Side, side note: I want to see an Iron Rain SOOOO BADDDDDD

Side, side, side note: I have a bad feeling about Karnus, Jackal and Cassius. I really do.

[multifan2022]

*kinda scared to post this.. Defiantly not my normal territory. Love the damn show though, dont care. Hope its decent. Picturing Cassius as Jacob Elordi. Maybe part 2? if it goes over well, if so ideas? idk if i can even write anymore for real 😶 this took me so fricken long.*

Masterlist

Tiktok that inspired this 1st tiktok and 2nd tiktok

Sighing you looked up at.. What did that say? “Hazbin Hotel”.. “Oookay.” You said drawn out sarcastically as you looked down and closed your eyes. You knew you had to go in, you owed this to your Dark Lady. You swore to her that you would look after her daughter, she had given you everything you ever wanted. Knocking you brace yourself with a smile for your niece Charlie who you could already hear squealing. 

You do smile though that she throws herself at you and hugs you while bouncing on her toes. Vaggie smiles softly while telling her girlfriend that she should bring you inside. Soon your sitting in front of Husk who's making you a drink, Charlie, Vaggie, Alastor and finally Angel and Sir Pentious. The last two had seemed in almost aw when you had finally stepped inside fully and reached up to drop your hood and remove your cloak. Honestly you were use to it, even if it was always flattering. 

As a devout follower of The Dark Lady, Lilith, in your human life you were granted a doll like version of the look you always wanted in life. BUT your time was highly coveted, you had many things to do, even more so in her ladys absence. The seat at her table was something you worked hard for, and something you would never be giving up. You would be here when she returned. “This whole idea is beautiful sweetie. You know if you ever need something, Ill do everything I can to help.” From beside you, you swear you feel Pentious’ tongue touch you when he speaks. He's so close. “I bet your powerful!” 

You smile while looking down, it was a play at shyness but Alastor and Husk could see right through it. “How did such a beaut end up here anyways!” Angel said, laughing and throwing himself on the couch. “Here as in??” You circled your finger in the air “Hell.. or the Hotel?” Ending with pointing at the floor. Hearing a static “Both” you looked at the Radio Demon, under different circumstances you would be creeped out by his never falling smile. But for some reason you werent, you hadnt been scared of anyone in a long time so it wasnt that. But moving on you took a deep breath and said nonchalantly “I'm a follower of Lady Lilith, so of course I ended up here.” 

Husk half chuckled, half scoffed and your head snapped with unnatural speed to him. Chills shot down his neck as the smile on your lips and the look in your eye. He could almost feel you skinning him, when you crossed one leg over your knee and leaned onto the counter and smiled at him he wanted to run. “Ok pussycat.. You wanna know why I'm here.. Let me show you.” Waving your hand a deep deep red smoke encompassing the room as everyone felt the floor fall from under them next thing they knew, they were all standing somewhere none of them knew. Ancient Greece. “Never speak to me again, Cassius!” They heard before turning and falling into your memory. 

Storming down the hall you had never felt such pain, such anger and betrayal. You felt broken. Your favorite colored shorter toga dress whipped around your thighs as you ran. You didn't even know where you were too, running until your toes hit the water. Then your knees as you start screaming until your throat is raw before sobbing. “Why??”  You cried softly trying to understand how one person could feel so much pain and still be alive. You were thinking that you wish you could just die. That there would never be someone who would understand this pain before feeling warmth wrap around you. Opening your eyes to the most beautiful woman standing before you. Well, she kinda stood before you, she was fuzzy, almost ghost-like. “Don't cry daughter of Lilith, let us take care of this.” As she spoke she tilted her head, the smile on her face taking over a savage edge. As she faded your anger grew, any other feeling gone, any thought besides revenge then death gone. 

Behind you, you heard your name being shouted. By him.. By the man who had betrayed you. The man you had been seeing, giving yourself too. Who you were supposed to marry tomorrow. You had found him out for a stroll with his son.. His son and his wife.. A son and a wife you clearly didn't know about. His face had dropped when his eyes connected with yours, both of your worlds freezing. Because the problem was, he truly did love you. He didn't come from a very wealthy family, so this marriage, he couldn't mess it up. His father would kill him, and probably you. He didnt know what he was going to do or tell you tomorrow. But now he didnt need too, but he had broken your heart in the worst way. He just wanted a moment to try to explain. 

Unfortunately for him, the moment your heart broke, someone powerful stepped in. She had been waiting for you, Lilith. She could feel the impending heart break from hell and knew she had to step in. She didnt feel connected to living women often so when she did, she paid attention. She had grasped and pulled forward the woman she wanted you to be. Allowed you to embrace your rage and take an inhuman amount of power, one you knew without words would kill you. You felt a weird calm, an almost buzzing hot but calm numbness spread across your skin as you stood. Your voice was low, but somehow Cassius heard it. “Get in the water.” 

You heard him stop , could somehow feel him just at the edge as the waves barley lapped the tips of his sandals. “Get in the water”  you repeated your voice deeper than he had ever heard, raspy from crying but carried something.. Something that gave him goosebumps. All the hairs on his hairs and neck standing on end, his guts screaming at him to run. He watched the fingers on your left  run slowly through the water, the setting sun sparklingly off your now useless engagement ring. He audibly gulped as you slowly turned to him, black veins around your eyes and spreading from your finger tips and throat. “Or Ill raise the tide so high..” You looked down at his feet as a slightly larger wave splashed his toes “All of Delos will die..” Looking him in the eyes he jumped, there was a slight glow to your eyes, almost gold mixed with red. He was terrified. 

“Get in the water.” 

Taking a panicked breath he feels water.. Hitting.. His calves? Looking down his panic increases “Wait..” His mind is speeding down any and every possible avenue but its coming up with nothing but fear. Fear so encompassing as he hears you tell him again, and he swears he sees you take a step forward. “Stop” he says in a desperate shout, the waves now up to his knees.  “Stop this.. Please.” he begs as you tilt your head and take another slow step toward him. He sounds so pathetic you think as you ball your hands into fists, his wife stumbling onto the sand as well, pulling their son behind her. She calls out to him, but Cassius cant look away from the woman in front of him. 

Are the veins glowing now? Is your hair? Is it moving, whipping back and forth wildly? You could feel the anger rising, it was an all encompassing avalanche of emotions. Seeing her made all that pain real again, pulled it past the surface, shoved you over your breaking point. A tiny, very small part of you felt bad for the child as you refocused on his father. Turning to look back at him, you have a small evil smirk on your face. Unclenching your hands and raising them slowly to inspect your palms you spoke again. “Ill make tidal waves so profound..” Cocking your head to the other side your eyes flick to the woman who screams Cassius again. The smirk spreads into a full grin “Both your wife and your son will drown.”  

“NO!” He screams anguish, panic, fear its all right there. Suddenly your in his face. The wind harshly blowing around both of you now, your hair flying this way and that in soft caresses across your cheeks and forehead. Your breathing the same air, his anguished puff of air as he tries to find the words, the feelings, the anything to give you to calm you down. To fix this. But he jumps when you next speak, the volume and the venom in your voice scare any half thoughts he had away. “GET IN THE WATER!” Now the waves, they arent small calm waves crashing gently on his legs. 

They are slamming into them, the water up to his hips,  now reaching his wife and sons feet as others gather and panic starts to ensue. People are screaming behind him, but no one will come any closer. The fear and uncertainty was pabable. The smile on your face kept growing, the glow in your eyes now bright and eerie. “GET IN THE WATER!!” You screamed again, taking a step back and turning before spinning back and grabbing his neck with both hands. You were tall for a woman, but Cassius was taller. It was one of things you always loved about him. In your rage  you pulled him to you by his throat. He has no idea how your so steady on your feet. He is rocking back and forth, his sandals being sucked into the sand by retreating water.

Squeezing as you started to pull him with you, stepping backwards. Keeping eye contact, it was controlling, you didnt know how you were doing it. But as you kept talking it was like you were compelling him. Letting go as you spun the two of you around and point out towards the open sea. You were so close your noses were touching, he could feel your lips brush against his as you whispered. “ Dont mistake my threats for bluff. You have lived more than enough..” Cassius knew he was dead, he could feel his body moving against his will. Somehow your whisper shook him to the bone, deeper than anything else had. 

He looked toward his son one last time, mouthed ‘i love you’ as his feet drug him deeper. Without ever looking at his wife, he turned his gaze back to you. He looked at you with such despair, but also understanding. He KNEW he hurt you, he KNEW that you were an outsider. You had come here from one of the tribes on the main land. He knew your gods and his were different. It had never bothered him, but now hes thinking he shouldve listened harder. Shouldve known better. Shouldve loved you correctly.  

Tears streaming down your cheeks, you could feel yourself dying. Whatever that woman had given you was fading. You were running out of time. You wanted to see him die. When he smiled sadly at you and mouthed that he loved you to a violent heat pulsed over you. You felt like you were on fire as you stormed in anger towards him, grabbing his throat again and shoving him down. “GET IN THE WATER!” You scream one last time, before following him with the pull of the waves into the ocean. 

The last thing you remember besides happiness and warmth, was seeing him sinking deeper into the darkness. 

Snapping your fingers you released everyone from your hold. Sir Pentious started to gag, his little egg buddies having passed out or thrown up. Everyone looks shocked, even Alastor is momentarily without his sinister grin. Not even a full breath later, Angel and Husk are badgering you with questions. How did you get the power? Where you a follower in life or was this chance? Is your ex here in hell? That doesnt tell us how powerful you are down here! Charlie at some point rewrapped herself around you and is crying for your broken heart. Your patting her head and smiling while answering all of the questions and showing off little tricks. 

Never noticing the tall dark demon behind you, still slightly stunned.. In what he thinks is.. Awe?

“Hm.. This wont due.”

[the-way-astray]

Keefe headcanons???

when keefe realized he could inflict, he had mixed feelings. on one hand, he always wanted to be able to. on the other, he can only really do it because his empathy's so strong and why is his empathy so strong? because of his mom's genetic manipulations. so like. he struggles with that

he takes longer than cassius to do his hair. look, i know canonically he makes fun of how long cassius takes to do his hair, but you know keefe takes longer then thirty-one minutes, let's be so for real here, anon. canon doesn't exist actually

anyway fitz taught him to do his hair, actually. they were experimenting and keefe liked that style so fitz taught him how to do it

speaking of fitz, they share a room in the elite levels. oh, but the elves don't really do sharing rooms because there's space enough for every- well, guess who doesn't care. that's right. me

keefe learned his . . . dubious use of empathy from his dad. when he was a kid, his dad would always read his emotions and then just casually tell his mom what he was feeling, so keefe learned to do the same thing and doesn't realize it's fucked up

fitz was the first one to call out that behavior but keefe still struggles with it

fitz keeps keefe in line. in my head

fitz is actually the one that won't let keefe touch his hair everyone has it flipped

this post is turning into a keefitz post lemme backtrack

keefe really likes the elvin equivalent of oranges/citrusy fruits and in unraveled if i don't see him intimidatingly eat a lemon like an apple i will simply perish

before the series started, he changed his hair and eye color all the time with elixirs from slurps and burps so he did know dex kinda even before sophie was in the picture

one time he dyed the tips of his hair black so he looked like a porcupine

he's one of those people that buries himself under the comforter even if it's like 150 degrees outside and inside (i think this is canon actually)

(spoilers for crooked kingdom whoopsie) you know that scene where they fall through the ceiling because they spilled really potent acid on the ground? keefe has definitely done that. that's why Nobody Goes To The Fifty-Sixth Floor Of Candleshade. there's just a gaping hole in the floor between the fifty-fifth and fifty-sixth floor

keefe decorated the rim of said hole with tiny chunks of lumenite he secretly shaved off his dad's statue and since his dad never goes to that floor he doesn't know about it

keefe performed the elvin equivalent of a satantic ritual with the hole (he was high on fathomlethes)

his favorite scent is sharpie. unfortunately he's never actually smelled it before. come on, shannon, give the people (me) what they want in unraveled

when he first heard about sophie (not from fitz) he thought she was a rumor

he's ridden verdi before once when grady made him do chores waiting for sophie to come home

he fell off. painfully

he has never baked ever not even once in his entire life. not ever. this is important to me

keefe and fitz are the epitome of the newest, hottest romance trope that's taken the book world by storm: baker x cannot bake for the life of them

keefe was the one that painted that vacker family portrait actually

della told fitz she wanted to commission a portrait of them to celebrate alden's recovery and fitz was like "i know just the guy"

fitz just didn't tell sophie that because he didn't want to ruin the mood during the flashback scene

remember when fitz said he went to the hekses place for a delivery once? actually alden took keefe too and keefe thought it was cool. yes i know canon says keefe wasn't there and thought it was gross but we ignore canon in this headcanon household

he tried to convince fitz to join his hair and eye color changing ways by changing his eye color to teal and hair color to brown but alas fitz refused to join him

oh shit i'm keefitz posting again

he only turned the lab table to silver because it was ugly he wouldn't have done it if it wasn't so crusty-looking why doesn't lady galvin appreciate his efforts no one understands him

he once showered in the elvin equivalent of orange juice

[wolfpawzjakey]

[child abuse, torture, infanticide, murder, implied by ptsd].

Another beauty of the relationship with Jason - one of many is that they are similar in their dirt and darkness.

As a child, Percy would squeeze his small wrists and say that he accidentally burned himself, and the fact that the burn was perfectly round, like from a cigarette, was also accidental. As a child, Jason clenched his teeth and remained silent when he was mercilessly bitten by wolves of Lupa or senior legionnaires whipped him as punishment. In the battle for Manhattan, Percy knew no pity and he sincerely did not care from the bottom of his heart that these were children.

Jason carried out executions from the age of 10 as soon as he was finally accepted into the legion, they both did not count the number of people killed with their own hands.

Kronos, Saturn, it doesn't matter, was raising an army not only from the Greeks, Jason prefers to call it an execution on the spot, although it was a simple massacre, a bloodbath that he staged. the youngests was 10 years old, Cassius Adrian Brown and Lucius Maximus most likely they were the sons of Neptune, - this is the only and most terrible thing that Jason clearly remembers.

Percy tortured the goddess using her blood and tears. Jason almost killed Medea by simply taking her breath and stopping the electrical impulses of her brain.

They are both terrible, they can both not lie to each other by pretending, and both can find real understanding and comfort in each other. They accept and do not restrain each other. They don't judge each other and they won't call each other monsters. Or they're both monsters?

Percy and Jason don’t have to pretend to be okay with each other. There are few other campers who would understand the two and their share of horrors. Not even the ones they’d considered closest could understand, not would they try that hard. It’s hard to grasp the awfulness of a person you love, it’s hard to love two murderers who had no choice but to play the roles they’ve been dealt. People will either discard them with disgusted looks or ignore it all together. Nico had the most clue of it all, the kid was fucked up too. But Nico didn’t understand it all.

Jason and Percy understood too well, the grit and gore they’d dealt. Not the same, but similar enough. Jason could sympathize the best when Percy’d wake to a churning stomach, guilt causing him to lose his stomach contents once again. Not ceasing until it was all gone, not ceasing till the images and visceral feelings tingled out of his body.

And Percy was there when Jason woke up, locked up in fright with his blade pressed sharply against Percy’s neck, he was the only one who could talk him down, especially when the tears kicked in after. Especially when Jason would spiral into self blame and hatred after.

It was just them, two recent adults, two men made into monsters by their life circumstances.

-

Dark Jason and Percy, not necessarily evil but just showing a lot of their more fucked up sides, are so fucking interested to me. This is more believable to me than the happiness, sometimes false happiness, the book shows. Traumatized people can be so happy they appear normal, I know that 100% but they do show so much of that trauma externally if they think they do or not. I think they’re so interesting to write when they really fall into the dark grey morals they kind of actually have more of than anything else. Sure, these two are hero’s, sure Percy is like the leading face of changing the wrongs the gods have done to their children, he’s change so many things for the better, but this should lead to neglect his past actions as a whole. He’s so well rounded and without the grit and grime he has, he’s not so well rounded anymore.

And Jason…. You were never given a chance to be well rounded because Rick wrong you and us for not giving your character a chance to flourish with returned memories and personality. Sorry king, but your trauma deserves to be shared too. We will imagine on our own accords.

Thank you again for the food anon.

[cassius-casim]

Despite My Despair:Chapter 2

 Trigger Warnings:Historically acurrate ableism , mentions of violence / injuries , senskry overload aftermath, mentions of war , unhealthy coping habits.

Word Count: 3900

⚣︎⚣︎⚣︎⚣︎⚣︎⚣︎⚣︎⚣︎⚣︎⚣︎⚣︎⚣︎

(Tommy’s Pov) 

Thank fucking god that was over.

That meeting was a total shit show. Leaving the room gave me instant relief.The room that  was calm at first glance, but upon further inspection revealed a choking atmosphere. One that only needed a spark to set it alight.This looked completely different. As it was loud and with so many people , it was hard to get around the place . The warm light gave a relaxed air , taking solace in . How the fuck was  this meant to work and not ruin everything I have, without losing Aunt Pol, that through Kimber we wouldn’t have to worry anymore. As much as  what we have going on is good I can't risk it . Not with what I have now.

Filtering across the busy bar to go see Harry, who was helping the barmaid manage the crowd,when it starts to calm down I piped up:

“Hey Harry, can I get another one of these?” 

“Yeah sure Tommy.”He took my glass , as seeing the familiar honey coloured liquor it contained asking what was bothering me . 

“Thanks,has Polly already left with Cassius?” 

“Polly left but I hadn't seen Cassius with her.” 

Thank god at least we won’t have to fight about this aga-. wait did he say ? That can’t be right , someone else must’ve picked him up.

“Did he leave with someone else ?” 

He must’ve , no-one would be thick enough to  leave him by himself.

“No. Honestly I haven't seen him for a while now.”

No.This can't be happening. How can this be happening?

“Harry , when was the last time you saw him?” I asked while willing myself to remain calm. 

“When you were with him about an hour ago?” 

My eyes bounce across the room , maybe he’s around here somewhere? But no , no matter how hard I look I can't find him anywhere.

Fuck. Okay Tommy calm down.We need to get it together . I need to get Arthur now , whilst using all my willpower to keep it together with each step I take.

“Arthur, have you seen Cassius?” 

“No Tom, is something wrong?” 

“I don't know where he is , he hasn't left with Pol or anyone else.”

“Fuckin hell….right I will ask around to see if someone has seen him,don't worry we'll find him.”

“Alright”. 

Leaning against the bar I once again force myself to relax , he wouldn't leave the building by himself but then why would he still be here? And how come nobody knows where he is ?

“Tommy , come over here !”

Head snapping up ,springing off my chair to go where Arthur was gesturing.  

“Yes Arthur, have you found him ?” 

“No but I think I found out where he might be.One of the guys-”

 He gestures to a conflicted weasel of a man whose soul seemed set on leaving his body. That paired with a large stain on the front of his shirt. He was surrounded by his group of friends who were loud and incoherent ,at the bar 

“-saw him in the bathroom.”

“When was this ?” 

“Like 15 minutes ago.But Tom he said tha-”

I didn't let him finish that sentence before barging into the bathroom calling out:

“Princely,  are you alright?”

Hoping that he would be there , while my eyes adjusted to the dim light of the bathroom wondering my next move. Is he okay? What do I do if he's hurt? 

Under the flickering light bulb there laid Cassius curled up on the dirty wooden floor , hitting his head in a frenzy  whilst looking in  agony. Making weird sounds impossible to make out. Running over to him wanting to help but not knowing what to do.

It hurts to see him like this but I must push my feelings aside as he needs me now. Taking a deep breath to get my shit together,trying to figure out what to do. Asking gently as possible:

“ Princely are you okay, what's wrong?”

Please don't be hurt.

 “Noise….it's too loud.”

 He strains out as he rocks back and forth.

“Is it okay if I hold you ?” asking gently  as to not upset him further.

As nodded ,  I moved over to hold him from behind, wrapping my arms around him to stop him from harming himself . Holding him I think : 

How did this happen?  How could nobody notice?

Does he need to go to a doctor? But the answers to those questions had to wait. First priority was getting him home safely. 

“Princely I'm gonna take you home now. Do you want to walk or do you want me to carry you?”

“...carry”, he responded faintly. 

Placing my arms under him whilst lifting him up bridal style carefully as possibly  to not cause any further harm.Just as I was about to reach the door Arthur bursts in  with his usual loud voice.

“Tommy oh thank god I found yo-"

he stops as his entire expression shifts as he takes everything in front of him. Lowering his voice he asks 

 “Tommy, are you alright? What’s happening?” 

Honestly I don't even know the answer to that question.

“I don’t know Art ,Cassius is not doing well. I need you to go get the car ready so I can take him home.” 

“Will do.I’ll meet you out front.”

Getting ready to leave the bathroom , it gives me time to re-examine the situation.Judging by how Princely looks I need to get him out NOW. Once I finally get the door open with one hand my eyes strain from the sudden shift to the bright light while simultaneously getting hit with the smell of smoke,booze and wood.Feeling something down my arm, I see Cassius trying to hide his face in my neck, shielding himself from someone's gaze. It’s the beer stain guy from earlier,talking to a group of people surrounding him while pointing in our direction. For what reason? Zeroing in on his group his voice carries across the short distance:

“-and then I saw this cretin spazzing out on the floor acting like he-”

Son of a bitch.As much the idea of me dealing with him is appealing I have to take care of Cassius. Resuming my journey out of this buildung inconspicuously proves challenging.

“Wait, is that the freak you were on over there?”

Oh for fucks sake.

Turning back around which lets me get a better look at them,even though they're a group,only two of them are actively in the conversation: beer stain and this other guy who looks in a sort of daze. But it’s clear they're both shit-faced, if their red-toned, snow-powdered faces are any indication.

“Yeah that's him, you should have seen him earlier, acting like he belongs in a looney bin.”

“Wait, is that Tommy Shelby carrying him?”

“Probably to spare us the misery, by the looks of him he needs to be put down.”

“Why don't you deal with him yourself?”

“You’d need to pay me to touch a lunatic like him.”

“How about I buy you another pint if you do?”

“Deal”, beer-stain responds with intent.

He shuffles off his seat ,turning his attention to me as he approaches. 

 “Alright Mr Shelby, let me get that freak off ya hands.”

He says whilst looking at Cassius as though he was something to dispose of.Did he not know what he is doing? Jesus, how much Snow did he take ? 

“No. Get the fuck away from him .”

“What? Why’re you defending this freak?”

“That's none of your fucking buisness .”

“None of my fucking buisness? This imbecile is the reason jobs that should be going to men like us , men that fought for this country instead they are going to freaks like him. Freaks that are taking away money that could help us and you don't want to fix this?”

His anger is not unjustified but his target is wrong.

“You're blaming your lack of a job on him?”

“ No Mister Shelby”

 He walks closer to me, putting his hand on my arm while getting so close that I could see the individual hairs on his moustache. He must be so far gone if he thought this pathetic display would be seen as intimidating.

 “I'm saying that those like him are a burden on us.After all,that happened to us in the war why should he get the benefits that we deserve by doing fuck all? If anything we would be claiming what is rightfully ours.”

What in the actual fuck? As much as the desire to beat the living shit out of them grows by the second, it's not worth it and inconvenient. Why beat up a man clearly in turmoil? A man whose means of coping is not different to my own? But getting Cassius home safe is at the forefront of my mind. My first priority. Thiugh how the fuck am I meant to manage that with beer stain blocking the door?  Just from first look alone, getting out of this could get ugly, so I’m double fucked. I cant fight without risking Cassius getting hurt  and they’re too far gone to be reasoned with.So what do I do now?

SLAM

Oh thank god.

Arthur burst in his usual fashion.

“There you are Tommy! Thought you got lost.”

Sensing the tense air, Arthur shifts with stance from casual to anticipatory, ready to spring into action.

“What’s going on here?”

 Arthur said, tone filled with apprehension.

Turning over to me he sees what’s happening: me trying to leave with Cassius and how beer stain guy is stopping that from happening.

“I was just about to leave.” 

“He's free to after he hands that idiot over.”

“Why would he do that?”

“Because like I told him , that thing needs to be put down.”

“YOU FUCKIN BASTARD”

Arthur roars lunging close to bear-stain leaving him to veer off to the side.

With that sentence the whole atmosphere around me changes to a whole new level of chaos setting off as Arthur punches beer stain man in the face. Suddenly, the whole pub shifts from eerily quiet to a total brawl as men are fighting each other with whatever they can get their hands on. Debris littering the floor. Violence for the sake of violence, no reason necessary.

Dodging this mess was challenging to say the least, continuing to navigate my way out of here between dodging flying fists and the onslaught of objects in my way. As I approached the exit, I proceeded to scan my surroundings in all directions, on my way out noticing Grace looking at me. She seemed largely unaffected by what was happening, with how despite the chaos in front of her her station is somehow clean. Though that didn’t explain the annoyance in her gaze which though significant at first glance but insignificant in terms of current priorities.

Princely I hope you didn't hear anything those bastards said.

Finally in what seemed like forever, we made it outside unscathed. Taking advantage of the calm we rush to the car as quickly as possible. Thinking about what to do once I got there. It took me longer than it should to start the car, even though the car was going as fast as it would go, everything around me felt suspended in time. For now everything is alrigh-

HONK

THAT FUCKING BASTARD . WHAT WAS HE THINKING!? Wait, did I hit someone? Why is there yelling? Looking back to see Princely freaking out, curling into a ball whilst yelling and crying at the same time. 

Getting out to open his door ,pulling him into my arms , stroking his hair whilst trying to do my best to comfort him.

“Princely, it's okay. The car is gone, everything is going to be okay”. 

“I know you can’t talk right now but I’m here, we’re not that far from home now. You think you are ready to continue our way home.”

He nods 

Getting back into the car,we continue our way back looking at Princely through the side windows , bloody hell he looks so out of it like a walking corpse.

When we finally approach home, we are greeted by the familiar light from the house.Picking Cassius up,he looks so out of he I don't think he knows what is happening,getting us to the door which when i finally manage to open . Cause ruckus due to forgetting that I was carrying Cassius . Who knocked over the coat rack.

“Tommy what is happening?”

Turning around to see Ada who looks dressed up for this time of night.

“Ada what are you doing up?”

“Waiting for you, now tell me what’s going on?”

“Cassius was left alone at the Garrison when I found him he was like this . I don’t know what to do.”

“Tommy, listen, it's going to be okay. Take him upstairs and get him ready for bed. I'll make him a plate of his favourites , I will meet you up there.”

Nodding back I get to the task at hand whilst carrying him up the stairs being careful not to let anything hit him , as I help him get change into his favourite blue nightie… wait what? That can't be right.Double checking to see it again , that can’t be right.There were a sea of purple bruises decorating his back spreading to his right arm which looks like someone dug their nails deep into him,enough to draw blood.It barely looks like a human did this , more like an animal.How on earth did he get these injuries? His job wouldn't do this as how can he get this carrying baggage? And he could have been mugged as he still has his things.His injuries look recent so this must've happened just before he went to the Garrison? Why on earth would he go to the Garrison if that was what happened? Is this why this is happening to him ?

If that's the case no wonder he looks spaced out , poor thing he must still be overwhelmed from what happened hopefully rest will help. While he was nearly ready for bed , the thought stayed in my mind but it wasn’t the right time.As much as I want to ask about his injuries he's in no state to answer.

There is a knock on the door.

“Tommy, can I come in?”

“Yeah Ada come in”

“Hey Cassius , here are the biscuits you made here and some Ribena. It will be right here if you need it.” 

As she places it on the side table.

“thanks”

“Do you need anything else?”

 “no ,thank you.”

“Okay but if you need anything me and Tommy will be downstairs okay?”

How is she doing this so effortlessly , has this happened before?

 She turn over to me

“Let’s talk downstairs okay?”

“Okay”

I tuck Princely in

 

“Night , night Princely” 

After kissing him good night , dressing to my nightie to get comfortable.Then I went downstairs to talk to Ada. She is at the living room drinking whiskey looking like a lot of on her mind.She notices me staring, lifts up the bottle:

“Hey, you want some?”

“Fuck yes”

Sitting down on the chair next to her, the exhaustion I didn't know I had now hits me. 

“How are you feeling?”

“Honestly? Shit. I found the man who I love suffering but I couldn't even help him.”

“Tommy, you didn’t know what to do , this is your first time seeing this.”

“Someone had beaten him before?”

“What? What are you on about?”

“When getting him ready for bed,I saw bruises and marks on his body.Isn’t that what caused this?”

Ada looks at a loss for words

“No Tommy, that isn’t how this works.Did he mention anything to you?”

Ada got up from her chair to get more whiskey.

“No ,nothing”

“Oh shit.”

 Ada exclaims whilst looking at the back of her chair.

“What?”

“Tommy, you should see this.”

With that she throws the coat at him . Looking closely at it it's Cassius's work coat but the damage on it doesn't completely match his injuries. As one of the sleeves was torn , so how did he get the puncture wounds ?

“How the fuck did this happen?”

“No idea but trust me when I say me and Pol are gonna get to the bottom of this.”

“thanks Ada but can I ask you something?”

“Go for it”

“You said this happened before , what happened?”

“It was during the War when it happened . Cassius was at the factory coming home from work when we were meant to be expecting letters from home .Arthur and Johns came but yours didn’t that set him off.Since he was  he was convinced you were dead as according to him you promised you would never forget to write to him . He then freaked out, hitting himself , not talking, and made weird noises whilst rocking back and forth.”

“I didn’t think he would notice.”

“Why do you think that? He would bake something on the day he got it to celebrate you surviving, he thought it gave you good luck.Honestly i felt that was the only reason it kept him sane at the time.”

That explains why he likes baking so much. 

“Did you take him to a Doctor?”

“Yeah me and Polly took him down to one , we thought it was hysteria at first but when he looked at him . He told us that he was insane,even ranked him as feeble minded and told us he shouldn't go out and about . Saying he needs to be put in a colony.”

Wait what? That can’t be right.

“Colony? He wanted you to send him abroad during a war?”

“Not that type of colony, it's where they sent people like Cassius to villages where they would be taken care of.”

“Why didn’t you send him there?”

“Because if i did then you wouldn’t’ve seen him again.”

“What?” 

What does she mean by that?

“Tommy, when someone is sent to the colony, they are separated from society so no one ever sees them again.”

“Bloody hell.”

“Luckily for us , the people in the Colonies were working in the factories so the Doctor couldn’t send him there. Yeah so after that , me and Pol figured that he only had these episodes when overwhelmed or things were getting to him like if the noise was too loud.”

“What was happening here ,besides the whole letter thing, that could lead to him being overwhelmed?”

“Just because you were fighting a war over there , it didn’t mean that we weren’t affected here.”

“How?” 

I thought only those that fought suffered how they did suffer? I thought they were safe from it.

“The years where we spent in fear not knowing whether our loved ones would die every day,where we had to work ourselves to exhaustion to get by , fearing for our lives if we lost, what would happen to us? It messed us all up to the point we had to find different ways to deal with it :Polly had to pray every night to sleep,Cassius had to bake everyday to keep it together and read your letters constantly,and I had to keep myself busy so I wouldn't think about it in order to survive.”

“So how come he never told me this?”

“He’s scared.”

“Scared?”

“He’s afraid that even though you love you won’t be able to understand him no matter what happens so he’s afraid for you to see this part of him in case he scares you away.”

“I feel the same way towards him. But that doesn’t make sense. He helped me through the shock after I came back.”

“You’re not seen as a lesser for it , he is.”

“ Fuck Ada what do i do now?”

“Talk to him about this , after me and Polly find out the truth.Until then keep an eye on him and don’t let him near any loud spaces for a while.Okay?”

Getting from my chair I turn back to Ada.

 “Okay, again thank you Ada”

“No problem ,night Tommy”

“Night”

Going back upstairs , what Ada said to me is bouncing through my mind. So this is part of his Autism,but how can I get him to talk to me about this? How do I convince him this is nothing to be ashamed of ? I can’t do this alone but how could I find a doctor that won’t send him to the colonies?

Fuckin hell

On top of the whole Kimber and guns , I wonder how I am even functioning at this point. Thank god i can finally rest.Reaching my bedroom entering as quietly as possible while going back to bed where I left Cassius. Despite everything that has happened today he looks so at peace, something I envy him for ,as I held him in my arms I vow to myself to never let this happen again,never let him think he has to hide this from me again and to find who on earth would do this. I hope Ada and Polly give them hell. 

☟︎︎︎☟︎︎︎☟︎︎︎☟︎︎︎☟︎︎︎☟︎︎︎☟︎︎︎☟︎︎︎☟︎︎︎☟︎︎︎☟︎︎︎☟︎︎︎☟︎︎︎☟︎︎︎☟︎︎︎☟︎︎︎

2 hours later 

Polly emerges from the door,entering gently so as to not wake anyone up in the early hours of the morning.Just as she was about to approach the stairs she notices a figure in the living room, hunched over drinking. Thinking it was her nephew who was causing a lot of trouble recently her energy returns to speak her mind to him. “Tommy what are playing a-” 

She doesn’t finish her sentence as it is not Tommy but Ada. 

“Ada what are you doing up?” 

“Waiting for you , we need to talk.”

Pulling up a chair Polly sits down preparing for the worst

“What has Tommy done now?”

“Nothing.This is not about Tommy ,it’s about Cassius.”

“What’s happened?”

“Tommy came back freaked out , he was carrying Cassius who was having an episode.Do you have any idea what could’ve caused this?”

“This is important?”

“Yes Polly ,I need to know.”

“Okay Cassius came home with a tattered coat, all he would tell me is that a customer tore it after a petty dispute and his boss docked his wages.”

Ada said nothing , just sat there and took on what Polly said.

“There’s more to this, isn’t there?”

“Tommy thought you had to be hurt to have episodes.”

“ Why on earth would he think that?”

“Because he saw marks on Cassius’s body whilst changing him.”

Polly pauses , as she notices the shift in atmosphere.

“What type of marks Ada?”

“Bruises and a puncture wound , like he had been beaten.”

“Why would he hide this from us Pol?

“We’ve been there for him when he needed us the most, why not tell us about this?”

“I don’t know.”

“Do we ask him?”

“No, we have to find out for ourselves, we don’t want him freaking out anymore than he already has.”

“So where do we start?” 

“You know this boss’s name?”

“Sort of ,I know his secretary Ms Jameson from a dance hall I go to sometimes.”

“Alright, here's what we’re gonna do. We are going to get some rest , god knows we’re gonna need it if we need to get to the bottom of this.I think it’s time we pay that secretary of his a visit don’t you?”

[sforzesco]

I don't know how to explain this and maybe I'm seeing things that aren't there but I'm obsessed with the fact that Crassus in your art always seems to be in a position where he s being moved by someone else, or is taking a step back as an observer and I don't know how to explain the emotions this gives me

HAHA YES!!!! that's on purpose!!

crassus has a very specific style guide, and it would probably be more obvious if I posted more of the rough/sketch comics I have, but basically it's like

so supernatural! jared padalecki is tall, so it was. god. it was one of the directors or kripke who was talking about this, but they have to pull some camera tricks to make him smaller on screen so that the height difference between him and everyone else isn't jarring, but in s1-2, they do a lot of OTHER visual tricks to make him seem Small that are honestly top tier. he's frequently sitting down or angled in vulnerable positions so that he has to look up, because (sp8jr voice) to look up is to be vulnerable.

crassus follows a similar visual pattern, but it's also there to reflect his positioning with regards to power.

basically, crassus is tall. he's taller than sulla. but early on, sulla is the dominant force that everyone falls under. rome has a coalition with scipio and sertorius and norbanus, but they don't fall under one each other the way that everyone in sulla's faction falls in step with him. it is imperative that crassus does not dominate a scene he shares with sulla for this reason, but also because crassus, relatively, doesn't hold a lot of power.

until colline gate. at that point, crassus can stand taller than sulla and dominate a composition. that's his victory, baby!

later, tho, crassus absolutely has a dominating force of power. he does not, necessarily, need to be relegated to submission. he maintains the visual, though, as a misdirection! crassus (me, the artist) wants you, dear viewer, to follow the line of action past him. don't worry too much about what he's up to! look at these OTHER people. absolutely do Not Worry About The Plans He Is Making. when someone touches crassus in a scene post sulla, it's now meant to make the eye follow the line of action past him.

this also means that when he shows up like a blunt force hammer in a scene, it's to remind everyone that you cut yourself on crassus at your own risk :)

all of this is also partially inspired by some delightful staging choices people have made with cassius specifically over the years in media. I Took Notes. I took a Lot Of Notes.

[the-morningstar-family]

Mama lays there. Thin and gaunt like never before. Cassius hasn't come home for days.

He didn't help anyway. He made it worse. It's good he hasn't been there.

Alastor looks at the crying boy. He's just turned 14. Mama had apologized so much for not being able to do something for him. But the boy just took care of her. He'd simply wanted her to get better.

Alastor stares at the corpse. His teeth grind together painfully, and he glares at the boy.

Alastor, voice low: “Can't you do anything right?”

The boy barley looks up, fixated, tearfully, on Mamas cold unmoving face.

Alastor: “How could you just let her go like that? She deserves so much better”

The radio demon's voice is unusually emotional, almost breaking at the end. He doesn't hold anything back, in fact, he lets it grow in his chest.

Alastor: “You could've done so much better!”

The boy is entirely engulfed by the mother's death. Alastor would be understanding if it wasn't this boy. This boy is the exception.

Alastor: “You could've stolen his money, for a doctor or at least medicine. Why didn't you?”

His words are almost pleading now. The command sucked away. Almost begging himself to find an answer. Why he didn't do this or that? Turn the time back and do anything to avoid the inevitable, what already happened

Alastor: “Get this under control”

He motions to the boy's tears but doesn't really look at him anymore.

Alastor: “You know he won't care”

If one listens very closely, there's a soft note to it. A little sorrow for the. Boy with a father who won't cry with him. Who won't help him at all, and worse, might pose a tantrum for the emotions in the first place. A few more shuddering sobs. And the boy takes a deep breath. Then he gets up and wipes his tears away. With shaky hands he rearranges the blanket of his Mama, then does her hair one last time. She is so still and cold and unmoving. He just wonders how he'll arrange a funeral, without any money.

Alastor stares at the cloth. Almost tempted to pull it back. She is dead still, but oh does he miss her face. But a blink later he's starring at dirt, and a self made little wooden cross.

The bayou had always been a part of home to Alastor. So he'd taken it to hell.

Though this is not hell's. The boy never could get that money, and after another one of Cassius rage filled rants, he was afraid that he might find her body gone. So after after three days, he puts Mama to rest at their favourite spot under a tree and it's the most empty he's ever felt. The boy is remembering one of Mama's favorite songs in the radio.

Boy: “Well meet again, don't know where don't know Wh- when- b-But I know we'll meet a-again-”

The boy's voice cracks to hard, and his breath is too uneven to continue to sing.

Alastor: “You won't”

He says matter of factly. But as another sharp breath is drawn in, the boy burries his head in his arms. And suddenly, the demon doesn't have the heart to remain synical.

Alastor: “... It is for the best, rest assured she's happy.”

The boy looks up at Al as if asking for an answer to a question he doesn't even know.

Alastor: “You will always miss her. But you will learn to bear it”

The boys sobs quiet a bit. They look into nature in front of them. No word is shared. And yet, it feels right somehow. That in someway he's made a step forward, while not having moved at all.

[cookiewoli]

Siblings' children- No, they're ADULTS!

After the child chara design...

They grew up!! Here's the ADULT chara design!!

❉ ╤╤╤╤ ✿ ╤╤╤╤ ~ ╤╤╤╤ ✿ ╤╤╤╤ ❉

Their description as child ←

- Cherry adult: She's still a cheerful person, always smiling and caring of others. She will always accepts to help someone in need, no matter for what! She still have the "big sister" role from everyone point of view, even as an adult. Some people are scared of her, since, DON'T FORGET THAT, she's Cassius' daughter. She gets angry very easy and is stubborn for a lot of thing, and now, she's 1m75tall! People take her more seriously now... Or not, with her cute look. She learned very young how to fight, to defends herself or others people around her. Her favorite thing is farming, like collect fruits, vegetables, flowers, and take care of animals. You better not be caught stealing ONE apple from one of her tree... Because she knows too how to use a shotgun.

- Emrys adult: He always loves TOO MUCH weapons..... He's juggle with gun and bombs, turn around with swords, test ~~after he stole~~the new flamethrower his dad built. His acting like a clowns, doing pun jokes, smiling ~~SMIRK~~ , laughing at the end of sentence, impress girls with weapons... BUT he's totally **DUMB** when it's about love. ~~(He's dumb for everything honestly...)~~ "Oh!! You love someone? Do I know this guy? OH! I hope he will like you too!! Who is he?? What's his name?! :D" Flirt is not one of his quality... Despite his appearance. He seems older than his age, with... His muscles and abs. Yeah he followed his father training.

- Ming adult: MORE ANNOYING THAN AS A KID!! Her ego grew up so much... But not her height. She's 1m50. She's talking very loud (Xiao hates more to be around her...) so people can hears her in the whole town... But it's an advantage, since she reveals talents for singing and dancing! She's Luna's fan number1 (that's her own words) and dreams to become famous in the whole Free Cities. She dyed some of her hair in yellow, her favorite color. ("The color of the sun, gold, and glory!") She takes really care of her appearance, and likes to charm people... More particularly boys. 💀 She's very stubborn, and endless quarrel is common with her, for stupid things. She has a weakness for animals, like her mother. She can't resist to talk like an idiot to animals, like "AAAWWW Helloooo YOuuuuu!! ~ You're so cute!! Who's the cutest? YES! YES! It's Youuuu!!!!AAAWWWWW" It's always embarassing when someone see her in this situation.

- Xiao adult: His world is full of fantasy, knowledge, words, stories, books and... Silence. His has a overflowing imagination, and loves to write his own stories. He really HATES noises or people talking while writing of reading. Don't take it personally if he leaves quickly, sighing, to a quieter place... Girls thinks he's cute and tries to approach him, but... He doesn't know how to talk to people. So he seems like a very cold person. Always running away, with sigh. BUT! If you succeed to enter into his world, quietly... You'll see that he's very smart, talks with passion, and likes to teach all his knowledge to people.

[good--merits-accumulated]

This is for the ask game! 🥰

My favorite scenes from your fics and something that I think you capture really well are when two characters meet and have a moment of mutual attraction. I kick my damn feet every time!

↻ FLIP FLOP

I'd love to hear more of:

1. Neil's initial reaction/impression when Todd slides into the other side of his table in "Un Dernier Verre (Pour La Route)"

Or

2. Todd's reaction to Neil's crazy (if well-meaning) friends very obviously egging Neil on after the play in "a book of words"

!!!! THANKS FOR THE ASK!!! And I'm glad you like those moments!!! I don't think my ability to write romance is so good so it's nice to hear people are liking it. :DDD

OK, so you get both! Under the cut let's go:

Todd through Neil's eyes in "Un Dernier Verre (Pour La Route)": in actuality, the way I always visualised it was that Neil would have seen him as he walked in (as he's facing the door) and been instantly intrigued! Sorry, it's not quite what you asked for. But this is what came out of the keyboard when I was thinking, and I only barely control where the words go, to be honest. T_T

It's strange, Neil thinks idly, how quickly you can tell someone is English in a foreign country. Take the man who's just come in through the cafe door: emerged blinking into the dim smoky interior of this not-very-touristic cafe. They both were lured by the music, Neil thinks, watching him, but the manner of the entrance is different - he remembers striding in off the street, ears pricked to the familiar falling trumpet and that voice, mournful like a balladist, only to be lifted by jubilant horns. He had bumped into some guy at another table looking for it, he remembers ruefully. The man just entered, now hovering undecidedly inside the entrance, by contrast looks like he's overstaying a welcome to which he's only just arrived. One hand grips the strap of his satchel like a schoolboy, the other hovers with the rest of him - worrying at his tie, his cuffs, his hair, the belt at his hip with the care label still poking out from underneath the leather. New, then, and he must have bought it in a hurry. Cute.

He blinks. That thought is new.

OK. Let's investigate it. New Guy is tall, around his height, and probably some kind of office worker. Overseas? Temp? Conference? A variety of options cross his mind. Marketing? Finance? Definitely not. Someone with that face shouldn't be working in finance, Neil thinks decidedly to himself. New Guy has a muse's face - a sweet face, a little square in the jaw but the squareness softened by dark golden waves of hair that look like they've been grown out a little. It's very '90s, which is to say it's very handsome. As he draws closer Neil sees more; the flash of light that plays on his bare neck as he cranes his head to try and catch the performance, and the corresponding flash of warmth, as shocking and unexpected as lightning, which goes through him at the sight. Faint dusting of golden hair like sugar on his forearms. A red mouth, redder as Neil watches and he bites his lip anxiously, and expressive eyebrows. And eyes which are unlike the rest of him: shrewd and entranced and slow, looking their fill, seeing everything, missing nothing. Somewhere between blue and brown, light and dark. A flash of playfulness goes through them, then melancholy. The eyes themselves are a painting. He can't be the muse, Neil thinks dreamily, he takes it back, he must be the artist instead.

In what is a personal record, he's so engrossed that he forgets that he's still on the phone. "Sorry?" says Céline into his ear. "What did you just say? Am I hearing you correctly? And is this thing on?"

New Guy looks in his direction. "I'll call you back," says Neil, and hangs up.

Sure. Whatever. Maybe he's been thinking about character work too much - after all, the past few days have been a whirlwind of rehearsal, how does Brutus enter a room, how does he walk out, hey, Jean, do I threaten Cassius with the blade like this or like this, and so on and so forth, forevermore, amen. It's natural that he would start to analyse the mannerisms of the people he sees on the street out of habit. But he can tell himself that all day and still know that this is beyond a symptom of overwork, or even just an idle entertaining thought. This is bad, Neil thinks to himself. Very bad.

He grins. Horrifically bad, actually.

New Guy tiptoes past Neil's table with all the delicacy of a ballet dancer trying not to be noticed - as if everyone is staring at him. Everyone should be staring at him. Neil has a sudden thought - what if he's part of the band, what if - but it's dispelled as soon as he thinks it, as New Guy inches closer, sees the camera, jerks back as if repelled with hot coals, and reels backwards several steps, landing neatly in the empty chair on the other side of the table. His table.

Neil stares open-mouthed. New Guy, breathing hard with embarrassment, doesn't notice him in the slightest. Face gone red to match his mouth he manoeuvres his bag into his lap, mutters something self-deprecating - Neil was right, he is British - and reaches despairingly for the menu. Neil puts a hand out to slide it towards him. Then the man looks up.

2. Todd's reaction to the "matchmaking" in "a book of words":

So. He can deal with having a crush on the guy playing Marius in the production, because it's stupid, and he's intimately familiar with stupid things. He can deal with the guy coming to watch the orchestra practice five out of six times, and the embarrassment of being caught staring, also five out of six times. He can even deal with the guy not remaining an unreachable stranger but apparently being a mutual acquaintance through Cameron. The universe is a sadist that way. Thanks, but he could have told you that one without having to have it proved to him.

Knox's (that is his name, right?) hand pops right back around the corner and gives Neil an impressively unsubtle, clearly-meant-to-be-encouraging thumbs up. Todd's not sure he can deal with this.

The thing is that having a crush on the unreachable actor is in his comfort zone because, by nature, he's unreachable. That's the point. Todd is free to dream, because nothing will ever come of it - that was the way it had been with, oh, Julio who had always sat in the row below him in his first year, and Anthony who had played oboe in the orchestra for one semester, and even that Finnish PhD student he had briefly met on that ill-advised night at the jazz club. The trouble is that neither Julio nor Anthony nor even the PhD student, pissed as he had been on some of the most lethal-smelling vodka Todd had ever borne witness to, had been looking at him with Neil's big brown melting eyes and his silly, sweet smile. And even if they had, they wouldn't have looked at him like that. As his phone chimes Neil looks away to answer the notification, and he almost sighs in relief. Then the screen catches his eye; a message with a link he clicks on, then hastily deletes, shoving the phone back into his pocket. Oh, God, now he's back. "It appears they've left without me," Neil quips, his voice so grave Todd double-takes before realising he's joking.

His eyebrows are raised in that hopeful way; his eyes are fixed on him. Fleetingly Todd wonders if he's actually interested; is it all a practical joke, some tamer version of Carrie? Is Neil only here out of the high of a successful performance or even a sense of duty, because his friends are doing... whatever they're doing? In the lobby before the dress rehearsal, when Meeks and Pitts had been filming, had they been ribbing Neil or gathering material to humiliate Todd? When he had been explaining Galahad's name to Neil - God, why had he done that - was that why they had been laughing? He frowns hard, trying to gather himself together. No, he knows better than that, to assume the world is against him. He's overthinking severely. Pitts is there; not necessarily his friend, but someone he knows to be a nicer and more honourable person than that. And above everything, they're Cameron's friends also. And he trusts Cameron.

So, that leaves the equally terrifying option; that Neil actually... reciprocates, in some way that Todd really doesn't want to contemplate right now. And maybe he doesn't have to. His heart sinks as he sees the familiar loping gait of Stick coming out of the theatre, and remembers promising he'd take a ride back in his car. "I do want to," he says wretchedly, "I really, really want to." As he says it he realises it's true - he wants to walk with Neil all the way back home, and keep walking after that, just to have him there. Christ, but he's far gone. "But I promised Stick I'd carpool with him. I'm sorry. Maybe you could - "

He never gets to improvise what Neil could do, mainly because he forgets how long Stick's stride is, and how quickly, therefore, he walks. “NO YOU DID NOT,” he yells, receding into the distance; Todd blinks and realises he's towing Mike behind him, holding his cello case to him along with his ever-present scowl. No, he doesn't want to get in the middle of whatever mess is happening there. “I’M TAKING MIKE IN THE CAR,” Stick shouts, waving a hand in a passable imitation of a wind turbine. “HE MADE ME. SORRY. HE’S GOT YOUR SEAT. YOU SHOULD GO WITH MARIUS. SORRY, MARIUS, I DON’T KNOW YOUR NAME.”

Never mind, he thinks promptly, feeling embarrassment flame up in his cheeks. If Neil has friends doing ridiculous things to push him closer to Todd, then Todd has friends doing ridiculous things to push him closer to Neil. They're both as bad as each other. He looks back at Neil, and this time he smiles.

(Hope you liked! Sidenote: I think this fic was the first of mine you ever commented on!! The memories :D!!)

[thatfoxnamedfinley]

LET'S BURN aka Morning Star thoughts

YOU KNOW HOW WE DO

SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT lets GOOoOooooOooooooOOO

Trigg was a gay icon "Stay close. Nut to butts here, dont be shy."

RAGNARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

I cried UGLY TEARS on my drive home from work. The only time I cried during the book. Ragnar talking about how he will build him a house next to his but don't come to the Veil too quickly because it will take him a while to build it. Telling his sister to live for more. Smiling even at the end.

PB, why bro. You have damaged me by doing the following.

1.) Killing Pax (THE ENDING DONT TOUCH ME, WELL GET TO IT)

2.) Killing Pax's archetype replacement

You make me like Pax, you take him away. You make me LOVE Ragnar and you take him away. Ragnar UNDERSTOOD, he understood the Rising and what it all meant more than most and you TOOK HIM AWAYYYYYYY. *Slams fist on table*

Ok ok ok ok also small side note when they crashed and encountered Cassius and Aja (i love to hate this bitch) and Mustang has her bow drawn on Cassius and is like

I WILL PUT YOU DOWN

and in my brain I'm like "nah she wouldn't"

and then she FIRES the shot into Cassius' neck

((the plot armor on this man is actually crazy))

And I had this amazing moment when listening to the audiobook that I got goosies...I imagined the snow around her and her hair blowing around her face and DETERMINATION in her eyes as she fires the shot

I was so PROUD of her

I was like

Sevro and Darrow's fight was awesome. Sweet, even. Talking about how he can see the protectiveness in Darrow's eyes when he was looking at the refugees on Tinos. His head on Darrow's knee. Talking about Eo & Sevro talking about how all he wanted was to cause wrath in the wake of his father's murder. He questions his leadership abilities and doesn't want it. I understand because he was the one that was still looking for Darrow. Saved him from torment and torture. He came back different, broken and defeated. Sad. ANGRY. Then how quickly leadership fell back to Darrow when he was the one that worked during that year that the Rising wavered when everyone thought The Reaper had been killed.

OH OH OH

one of my favorite parts of this book was The Reaper's speech. Because he wasn't Darrow, he was REAPER. He's also dramatic as fuck and I love him. He was standing up there in front of Refugees and I got GOOOOOOSIIESSS bitch when the people were like, reaching out to touch him, I was like THIS SHIT IS CRAZY. He has no branding and he's like

"I STAND BEFORE YOU A MAN UNBOUND" and people are gasping in shit cause he's like the first person in hundreds of years to bear no sigils of color.

"I speak now to Golds, to the Aureate who rule. I have walked your halls, broken your schools, eaten at your tables and suffered your gallows. You tried to kill me. You could not. I know your power. I know your pride. And I have seen how you will fall. For 700 years you have ruled over the dominion of man, and this is all you have given us. It is not enough."

I could see why people wanted to follow him. That speech was fucking EPIC.

Other thoughts. Romulus us gunna be a problem. I also think Lysander is going to have a big role. Idk what but my spidey sense is tingling. After all that trauma he was just TOTALLY OK to talk to the Ash Lord and help get the plan moving...?

Pls dont tell this little boi is about to be Jackal 2.0

OMFG THE JACKAL

BOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII this man is inSANE!

Nuclear warfare because he wasn't getting his way??? Wanting Darrow to kill himself LIVE? DARROWS HAND GETTIGN CHOPPED OFF

BRO I THOUGHT CASSIUS BETRAYED THEM I WAS SO FCKING PISSED. I was like YO CASSIUS IT IS ON FUCKING SITE THE NEXT TIME WE SEE YOU BRO COUNT ON IT COUNT YOUR DAYS

Then I was like oh ok nevermind

All because of that little fucking holocube, the GOAT of GOATS. Showing Cassius' family being disposed of.

I have a few GOATs of this book.

(secret GOAT is Sophocles. i want to give him a jellybean)

1.) Mustang. Firing that arrow and in the discussion with Romulus she was KEY.

2.) The defiant Pink that opened the bay on the Moonbreaker. Shaking but defiant, angry at her overlords. Amazing moment.

3.) Victra. Her moment when she saw Darrow having to make a hard decision and blowing the stuff on Ganymede to cripple Romulus and The Rim. "Share some of the load, darling. This is on me." What a fucking GOAT.

4.) Sevro. CRUCIAL to taking Aja down. That shit was 3 v 1 and they would NOT have won without him. Him low to the ground moving like an animal smirking like "YOURE GUNNA DIEEE TODAY BITCH" im like

Because Aja was such a THREAT bro. I was so NERVOUS someone was going to die and they almost did!

OH OH OH (im so sorry i was up all night until like 9am finishing the audiobook so Im kind of delirious) Darrow rushing Octavia on LIVE TV and going like *shink shink shink shink shink shink shink* in her stomach with his teeth bared and I'm like YAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS BITCCHHHHHH

Finally, I was oddly, ODDLY uderstanding of why Mustand kept baby Pax a secret. For a split second I was like "WOAH WAIT WTF-" But then I was like ".....Yeah, no that makes sense." She understood what Darrow wanted but wasn't sure if the Rising would be like the genecide of Golds, her people. So she wasn't sure she couldt rust him. I get it. Nodding in understanding. Valid. She wanted to see if he was capable of BUILDING. She knows he can destroy. But can he follow up the revolution by actually building a better future.

Now she knows he can, and he has a BABBBBYYYY

I do know there is a massive time jump in the next book and multiple POVs. I'm nervous but ready.

*Random side side note

Sevro and Victra came out of nowhere for me and was something I didn't get at all

*side side side note

The Telemanus' are also GOATs

Kavax and Daxo are babies

*side side side side note, one of my other favorite moments was before they drilled with their clawdrills intot he Moonbreaker and Darrow says

"Drills hot. Helmets up. LET'S BURN." GOOOOSSSIESS

audiobook narrator performance was FANTASTIC

[dotster001]

"Saint" James; origins

About James. Born in the 1800's, a young man begins to do unexplainable things. To his village, the only explanation is that he was one of God's chosen.

The truth was he was a young man with a gift for magic and prophecy. But that's not something he wants to accept.

The history books say Saint James died a martyr, sacrificing himself to a monster in order to save a poor woman.

The history books don't know the whole truth...

CW: Lots of religion talk James is a character born from religious trauma lmao, blood, murder, non con turning, Cassius is touchy, but in a platonic way, James has severe food repulsion, which includes vomit, James gets mildly suicidal for two paragraphs

James was terrified. The voice of God had told him to sacrifice an innocent woman. He couldn't help but think this had to be a trial of some sort. He couldn't be sure if the answer was to just trust God, as Abraham had trusted Him, or if he was to shed his mortal pride, and give himself up in exchange for peace for his village.

After he deliberated, sending an innocent woman to slaughter felt wrong. If he was wrong, and she was killed, then her three children would have nowhere to go.

But if he was meant to die…that was a sacrifice that he could make.

But it didn't make it any less frightening. He believed he'd lived a holy enough life to go to heaven. But every human was scared to die. And, perhaps, that was the true test of his devotion. Would he be able to let go when the time came?

He'd been walking through the woods for what felt like hours, chanting prayers, as he walked, for strength. The silence of the woods was making his pounding heart sound deafening in his ears. A branch broke ahead of him, and he froze.

He looked up, his eyes peeled for the monster. The woods were eerily silent, not even the animals daring a sound.

Something blurred across his vision, and he felt an intense pain in his stomach like he'd never felt before. In shock, he looked down, four sickeningly deep cuts running across his abdomen.

He fell to his knees, choking as his blood bubbled up his throat, spilling out of his mouth. He tipped over, but before he could hit the ground, something caught him. A hand gently cradled his head, and for a moment, he was certain it was an angel that was sent to take him home.

Until the “something” ripped a chunk out of his neck. His vision was heavily blurring, but he could have sworn what he was looking at was a human. Not a monster. But that couldn't be right.

The creature was covered in his blood, drinking it up like it was water in a desert. His vision faded, and he said a final prayer as his eyes fluttered closed.

….

“I honestly thought I'd gotten too greedy. You didn't look like you were going to make it.”

James’ eyes felt too heavy to open. All he could hear was a voice. A voice that sounded very close. As though it was right up against his ear.

He was cold. Colder than he'd ever been. And thirsty.

“Water, please,” he croaked, still unable to open his eyes, but hoping the voice in his ear would understand the desperation.

“Oh. Oh no. Water won't do anything for you. Here.”

A cup was pressed to his lips, and he drank deeply. It took less than a second for his stomach to churn violently, causing him to vomit it back up.

“Oh, damn. That is rather unfortunate.”

He had to open his eyes. He had to figure out what was going on, and why he was so sick.

He blinked a few times, and he was finally successful. He slowly looked around to keep himself from getting dizzier. His eyes landed on a man with long, curling blond hair, and kind eyes. He was gently stroking his hair, looking down at him with an adoring expression.

“Where,” he coughed, unable to say more.

“You're in my dungeons,” he said it as though it was a good thing, a delighted giggle at the end of the statement.

He attempted to sit up, but the man shushed him, laying him back down.

“You lost a lot of blood,” he cooed. “Rest, please.”

“Why,” he choked, before starting again. “Why am I here?”

His smile grew absolutely dazzling, his eyes brightening the room.

“Oh! I stole your soul!”

James went from cold to frigid.

“You see,” he snuggled in next to him, resting a hand on his chest, “I saw you in that village of yours. You were so holy, and devoted, and I just…”

The hand on his chest scratched lightly against him.

“I just knew I had to destroy you.”

How could he say such awful things in such an upbeat voice? But James wasn't too worried. No creature on earth could steal a soul. Not while God in heaven-

“As a vampire, I knew I could get your attention if I started picking off members of your flock. And when I told you to send that woman, you did exactly what I knew a holy man would do. You came yourself! All I had to do was make you one of us!”

No creature of God could steal a soul. Vampires were creatures of the devil. The devil's voice had called to him, and he'd confused it for God. And thus, he had paid the price.

The man, or rather, the vampire, was right. His soul had been stolen. And he deserved it.

The man leapt to his feet, looking over at James fondly.

“I need to get you something to eat. I have a bad feeling about the way you turned, but we won't know for sure until we experiment a bit.”

Before he could even protest, the man had left the cell. James laid back down, pleading to heaven for forgiveness.

He wasn't sure how long he'd lived in that dungeon.

Through “experimentation” he and the vampire, who he'd learned was named Cassius, had discovered that his body rejected blood. Not only would his body not take blood the way it should, but it meant he needed to consume far more.

He'd been in such a place of despair, knowing that the promised paradise was now closed to him, and he'd decided to allow himself to just starve to death.

But Cassius wouldn't allow it.

“What kind of owner would I be if I let my pet die when we hit one bump in the road?”

Despite James' reluctance, Cassius had tried nearly everything he could think of to keep him alive. He eventually realized that if blood was mixed in with something heavy, like stew or baked goods, it was more likely to stay down, even if he was still nauseous. It wasn't a perfect solution, but perhaps there wasn't one. And so, he was alive.

It had been a long time since then. He wasn't sure how long. But Cassius had provided him with books for entertainment and would come to visit him once a day. He liked to talk and would prattle on and on and on, for hours, when he came to visit.

There were times that James got the impression that part of the reason he was here was because Cassius wanted someone to save him. It made him sad. His heart ached for him. He may have taken everything from him, but there was clearly a desire for someone to forgive him for his sins. Perhaps he had a bleeding heart, but James knew that, even if heaven wasn't an option for him, God was still working through him.

And God would want him to forgive Cassius.

So, despite his despair and hurt, he worked hard to be compassionate, as he always had.

One day, Cassius came to the dungeon, a wide smile on his face.

“Congratulations!” He said, moving to James' bed, and petting his head.

James looked up from his Bible.

“For what?”

“They've canonized you!”

James nearly dropped his Bible.

“What? It hasn't been very long since,” he trailed off, but Cassius was ecstatic.

“You were a martyr, though.”

Fair point. Martyrs were technically already saints, just not officially.

“Besides,” Cassius grinned, ���it helped your case significantly that you've continued to grant your little miracles. Did you really think I, and the world, wouldn't notice?”

James blushed, looking away. After he'd died, he'd begun hearing prayers any time someone asked for his intercession. He'd still been able to grant miracles, possibly more effectively than before. As though God took pity on him and granted him a final favor.

“They named you the patron of facing the unknown, courage, and blind faith. But obviously, no one is particularly picky about what they ask you for. I live with you, and I didn't even know about some of the prayers you granted.”

“It's a neat little gift you have. I would love to be able to train it a little better, one day,” he hummed thoughtfully, continuing to pet his head. “Perhaps when I can trust you enough to let you go upstairs.”

But there was never a time he trusted him to go upstairs. Time quickly lost meaning, as he spent most of his day granting miracles, and the rest of it listening to Cassius talk nonsense. There were a few times he asked if he could have more than his little cell.

Cassius always got an odd look on his face, before saying something along the lines of, “not yet but soon.”

Until that day. He heard steps coming down to the dungeon. He had a small window in his cell, so he was able to tell that it was rather early for Cassius to come visit him. Not that he was ever told what it was that Cassius did all day. But he was fairly consistent with his visits.

“Father in heaven!” A woman's voice cried.

He immediately stood up, running to the bars.

“My lamb, what are you doing here? This place is dangerous,” he said, fighting off his excitement at seeing someone new for the first time in…however long.

“I sensed some magic coming from this place, so I wanted to investigate, but I never thought…oh god.”

She looked distressed, her eyes full of pity as they scanned over him.

“You're…I grew up in North Avon. Your picture is everywhere. But we all thought you were, you know, eaten.”

“I was,” he laughed self-deprecatingly. “Cassius is not a sane man. You should go.”

“Are you here of your own free will?”

“No, but-”

She held out a hand, and the door blasted open in a burst of pink smoke. His jaw dropped.

“I'm a witch,” she said simply. “I came here because I was curious, but with how much you have done for our town, and the world, I can't just leave you.”

“Cassius-”

“He's not home,” she held out a hand, giving him a reassuring smile. “I'll protect you. I promise.”

She walked him out of the house, a house he'd never seen more than one cell of. It was a beautiful home, befitting of Cassius himself. As they passed over the threshold, he paused, looking back at the house.

“Saint James, we have to go.”

He closed his eyes, saying a final prayer.

“Father, I forgive him. Please help him find the peace he is searching for.”

He then turned to her, and nodded. She looked at him with a sad smile, before beginning a chant.

A portal opened up, and she grabbed his hand, pulling him through.

“You should be safe here,” she said as the portal closed behind them. “Not many people know about this town, and as long as you stay within the limits of the village, no one can hurt you.”

She looked at him, sighing heavily.

“You look like you're starving.”

He smiled tiredly, unused to so much open space.

“What year is it?” He asked distractedly.

“Oh,” she hesitated. “Um, 1974…”

She trailed off and he froze. 149 years. He'd spent 149 years in a cell with a man who saw him as a domesticated pet.

“We gotta get you something to eat,” she muttered.

“My body rejects it. Blood needs to be mixed in something to keep it down,” he muttered half heartedly, not really thinking.

“There's a few of you like that here. I'll pass you off to one of them. They'll get you started.”

She found a small family, whose youngest was blood repulsed. Before she left, he asked,

“What is your name, so that I can pray for you?”

She grimaced. “Oh yeah. Forgot about the qhole prayer thing. Here's a warning. Don't go to the church. It's not a real church. But my name is Rosemary.”

“Thank you, Rosemary. Go in peace.”

She left with a smile. It wasn't the last time they would meet, the two of them becoming business partners later on. But he never stopped praying for her. And her life was only good from that point on.