#early access gave me a lot of time to think and I have thought TOO. MUCH. about them

[selvnite]

I might have to write a post about Theia, I have so many thoughts about them and their past...

[sweetyyhippyy]

Worship Something. Eddie Munson x fem reader. *SMUT*

Summary: Eddie has been thinking about being in bed with his girlfriend. Once she gets home, he does exactly that.

Word Count: 5.1k

TW: So much filth. A lot of oral sex (fem! receiving), daddy kink, Eddie refers to reader as "bunny" throughout, panty fetish?, fingering, vibrator use, bit of ass play, overstimulation, little bit of nipple play, squirting, safe word use, praising throughout, unprotected sex, very quick mention of blood (nothing serious).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Eddie couldn’t get her out of his mind. 

The way she looked.  The way she smelled.  The way she sounded when she was seconds away from exploding on his tongue.  The way she tasted. 

All afternoon his cock was strained in his sweatpants thinking about being suffocated in between his girlfriend’s thighs. Eddie drove to her apartment mid morning, thankful it was one of his days off and waited for her to come home. 

Time seemed to be moving slower the more he thought about her being bare naked on the bed while he serviced her all night. 

He really tried to not think about it, but it had been too long since it was just about her. 

Eddie could hear her keys jingle from the other side of the door, his body perking up as he sat up straight on the couch. He watched her walk through the door, keys in one hand and her purse slung over her shoulder. 

“Hi, Teddy.” Her face lights up as she lays eyes on him for the first time all day. “I was hoping you were going to be here waiting for me.” She throws her keys on the counter along with her purse and treks to the couch with Eddie. 

“How was work, sweet cheeks?” His smile was mischievous as much as he tried to hide it. He pets his lap, offering her a seat to sit on.

She undoes the scrunchie in her hair, letting her hair fall naturally before straddling his lap and kissing his cheek. 

“It was busy. Dean ‘forgot to mention’ that the senior citizens were coming for an early bird dinner special today and then he conveniently disappeared into his office for almost 2 hours.” She rolls her eyes, her fingers finding the end of Eddie’s hair and twirling the ends around. “An old man hit on me.” She pouts her bottom lip out. 

Eddie can’t help but laugh as she pouts. “I’m going to lose you to an old wrinkly man? Damn that’s cold baby.” 

“Absolutely not.” She fake gags dramatically. “He kept calling me doll and kept staring at my ass. And to top it off, he left me a 36 cent tip.” 

Eddie’s hands stroke up and down both of her thighs as he gives her a sympathetic look. “Aww, I’m sorry babe. I have a good idea on how I could make your night better.” 

She could see right through him, she knew that his idea had both of them naked and in her bed. “Oh? Why don’t you tell me your idea.” 

“We go into your room, I strip you down out of those stuffy clothes and give you a nice little massage.” Eddie slipped right into his dungeon master voice as he spoke to her. 

“A massage sounds nice.” She smiles warmly at him, cupping his face in her hands and kissing him delicately. She could feel the heavy weight of his cock against her inner thigh as she scooted closer to his body. 

Eddie’s hand travels up her back to the back of her neck, playing with the hair at the nape of her neck. 

Her body shivers against him as she feels the band of his rings on her skin. She smiles into the kiss, giggling softly. 

“What’s so funny?” Eddie smirks at her. His other hand firmly cups her ass and gives it a small squeeze.

“Nothing. You just gave me goosebumps.” She beams at him. 

Eddie’s hand snakes across the front of her neck and up to her cheek, holding her face while he starts to press kisses to the side of her neck. 

She flutters her eyes closed at the feeling of his lips on her skin, letting her head fall into his hand so he can have more access to her neck. “Eddie.” She hums quietly. 

“Yeah, baby?” He whispers in her ear, kissing behind her lobe. “What do you need?” 

“I need you.” 

Eddie picks his head up from between her neck and looks at her with hunger in his eyes. “Say no more, sweetheart. Let’s go.” He firmly smacks her ass, earning a giggle from her. 

She untangles herself from Eddie, grabbing his hand and leading him to her room. “I’m going to take a shower first. Do you want to join me?” 

“Just lay in bed, baby.” Eddie says, knowing he wouldn’t have the patience to wait for her and there was no way he was going to be able to eat her out for hours in the shower. 

She raises her eyebrows at him. “Eddie, I worked an eight hour shift today. I haven’t showered since this morning.” 

“And?” He shrugs his shoulders. “You’re going to get sweaty anyway.” He smirks. 

“You’re disgusting, you know that?” She laughs as Eddie envelops her, placing her in the middle of the bed.

Eddie climbs in the bed on top of her, unbuttoning her black top pushing the fabric away from the cups of her bra. “Are you going to let daddy take care of you, baby?” His large hand cupping her boob.

His words went straight to her pussy, making it flutter. She whines at him, pulling at the waistband of his sweatpants. 

“Ah.” He pushes her hand away. “I’m taking care of you, bunny. I’ve been dying to be tongue deep inside you all goddamn day. Lift your butt up for me.” He instructs, tapping her ass lightly. 

She listens and lifts her hips up off the bed, helping Eddie slide her pants off her thighs and down her legs, smiling as Eddie throws them to the floor. 

His fingers go under the waistband of her panties, playing with the small bow that was in the middle. “Been thinking about eating me out all day, huh? You like playing with me that much, daddy?” 

Eddie groans softly hearing her call him daddy, more blood pumping down to his dick that was leaking precum no question. “Baby I’d happily die eating this pretty pussy out.” He slides down in between her legs, his fingers touching the fabric of her panties to tease her. 

She happily hums feeling him touch her, she looks down to watch his every move as he plays with her. She loved seeing how focused he was while he ate her out, only having two things on his mind: making her cum and making her feel good when she cums. 

He licks at the dark colored fabric, getting a teasing taste of what was on the other side. 

She had the slightest wet spot right where her slit is, already soaking her underwear. 

Eddie pushes her thigh down on the bed lightly, holding it down to prevent her from closing around his head. He could cum in his sweats seeing the mound of her pussy poking out from behind her panties, only her slit being covered. “Your panties barely cover your pussy.” He smirks up at her, licking his lips. “It’s like playing peekaboo.” 

She giggles from behind her hand, her cheeks growing hot from embarrassment. “Shut up.” 

He lightly spanks her pussy, groaning as he sees her thighs jiggle. “Watch that cute little mouth of yours.” Eddie pulls her panties back, revealing the puffy lips to him and the glistening clit that was calling for him. “Hold these out of my way for me, bunny.” 

She pulls her panties back for him, gasping loudly as she feels the first lick from his tongue. Her hips stutter, pressing her pussy closer to his face. 

Eddie doesn’t stay in between her thighs long before he takes her panties back from her and covers it back up. He crawls up her body and kisses her stomach before bending back down over her pussy and rubbing her damp panties really wanting to tease her. 

“Eddie.” She whines, touching his clothed back. 

“Shh, bun. Gotta take my time with her.” His lips connect to her inner thigh, nipping at the plump flesh. He rubs her clit through her panties, feeling the spot grow against his fingertips. Eddie carefully peels them back again, sticking his pointer finger in his mouth to get it wet and tapping it against her clit. 

“Ah!” She whines loudly, shutting her legs around him. 

Eddie pushes it back down by her knee, glaring at her. “Keep your legs open for me baby. I need to see her.” 

“Sorry.” She whispers out. 

Eddie sticks his finger back in his mouth and goes back to tapping her clit lightly, groaning as he feels the smooth slick against the pad of his finger. He slides his finger down and into her hole, teasing the tight entrance. “So tight, bunny. I don’t know how you manage to take my cock. You can barely take my finger.” 

She cries softly as he stretches her out. “Feels good, daddy. Keep going please?” 

His other hand comes around and rubs her clit, continuing to pump his finger in and out. “Want two of them?” 

“Yes!” She sighs out, opening her legs more to help fit another finger in. 

Eddie sides his middle finger in, her muscle swallowing it in until he’s knuckle deep. “Good girl, bunny.” He whispers as he stretches her outs. 

The room fills with the sound of her wet slick and her moaning, the sounds making the head of his cock tingle. 

He slowly draws his fingers back and fixes her panties back as he goes to kiss her lips. “Doing so good so far. Can I keep going?” 

“Fuck, please?” She grips the sleeve of his shirt before running her hand down his arm. 

Eddie bends back down this time using his mouth to kiss at her pussy lips, sucking at the soaking wet fabric. 

“Eddie!” She whines in embarrassment, hiding her face in the crook of her arm. 

“It’s okay bunny. Don’t be embarrassed.” He whispers, rubbing her inner thigh soothingly. 

She feels his lips go back to her panties, teasing her clit with sloppy kisses and a prodding tongue. Her whole body was on fire the longer he teased her, needing him to finally dive in and eat her out. Her hips wiggle all over the mattress, trying to get as close to Eddie as possible. “I need it so bad.” 

Eddie chuckles, rubbing the outer lips of her pussy. “Need it bad? Need it so bad?” He mocks her, smirking at her. “I think you deserve some more.” He finally hooks his fingers under the waistband of her panties and slides them down her legs. “She’s a beaut.” 

Her boobs jiggle slightly as she laughs at Eddie, the way he talked about her pussy like it was a real object made her laugh every time. 

Eddie contorts his body to hover his head over her pussy, the rest of his body next to her on the bed. He dribbles spit onto her clit, patting her wet clit with his open palm. 

“Ah, fuck!” She gasps, squeezing her thighs together.  

Eddie tsks, gripping her knee and forcing her knees apart. He wastes no time burying his entire face in between her pussy lips, immediately sucking the pink button. 

“Oh fuck!” She sighs breathlessly, her hand keeping him where he is. She was already feeling dangerously close to her first orgasm of the night, and in the back of her mind she knew she was nowhere near done. 

Eddie sucks and licks at her clit furiously, moaning against her folds the tighter she held onto his hair. 

“Daddy please. That feels so good.” She breathes out, writhing her body around, needing to feel closer to him. “Please.” 

Eddie’s finger teases her entrance again, sliding it in with ease. 

Tingles spread through her clit, feeling a flood of wetness spread onto Eddie’s fingers. “I wanna cum so bad, please.” She could no longer control her moans, the sounds coming out as hoarse sobs. 

He desperately sucks at her clit, shaking his head back and forth, wanting to get her to her first orgasm. He could feel precum leak onto the front of his pants, he would be lucky if he didn’t cum in his pants by the end of the night.  

“Please don’t stop, daddy! You’re going to make me cum! Keep doing that please!” She sobs out, pulling the frizzy hair at the back of his head in desperation. 

He growls against her velvety walls, a wave of adrenaline running through his veins the closer she got. He knew her body queues when she was close, and he knew she was hanging on by a thread. 

“I’m going to cum! I’m going to cum! Please let me cum, fuck!” Her thighs close around Eddie’s head as she feels her clit twitch against his lips and her muscles contracting around his finger. Her head lulls to the side breathing shakily as Eddie continues to lick at her. 

She pushes through the slight overstimulation, feeling her body relax into the mattress. 

Eddie keeps lapping at her, practically making out with her clit. 

“Okay! Okay, no more.” She pushes his head away, her body stuttering. “Fuck.” She exhales, grabbing the back of his shirt to pull him toward her. 

His lips were a bit swollen and glistening with her cum as he leans down to kiss her lips. 

She pulls him in to press against her body, needing him close to her. She whines against his lips at the taste of herself, poking her tongue against his bottom lip wanting to play with his tongue. 

Eddie’s fingers stealthily crawl back to her still recovering pussy, tapping her clit again. 

“Fuck!” She pulls back from his lips, sinking her nails in his arm. She sobs out a whine, trying to run away from his hand and close her legs. 

“No, no, no you need to stay, bunny. Keep your legs open for me, I need to get something really quick.” He gets up from the bed and walks over to her dresser, rummaging through it. 

She can’t help but slip her own fingers down to her clit, absentmindedly playing with herself while she waits for Eddie to come back. 

He turns back around, slipping his sweatpants down his legs and kicking them off. “Jesus.” He mutters, pumping his cock with his hand. “Hard as a rock.” 

“I can help with that, you know.” She slides up onto her elbows, staring at the glistening head of his cock, her mouth practically watering at the sight. 

“Different night, baby. ‘M still not done with you.” Eddie throws something toward her, it landing in the bed with a bounce. 

Eddie was not intimidated in the slightest by the toys. The first time toys were introduced, Eddie asked her to use her vibrator on his cock and it was easily one of the most mind blowing orgasms he had ever had. 

She looks down and grabs the silver vibrator off the bed. “You’re trying to kill me?” She looks up at him with wide eyes. “I’m already sensitive.” 

Eddie lifts his shirt up over his head, throwing it to the floor. “Not trying to kill you bunny.” He smiles, getting back on the bed with her. “Just want to make you feel good. I want to take your mind off work and how long your day was.” 

She hands him the toy, kissing the tip of his nose softly. “Been a long time since you’ve ruined me.” She smirks at him. 

“Long overdue if you ask me. You know the safeword if you need me to stop.” Eddie gets back onto his knees on the mattress, turning the black dial on the bottom to turn it on. 

The low sound of the vibration fills the room, already making her clit flutter in anticipation. 

“Legs open, bunny.” He taps her inner thigh, pushing her knee away from the other. Eddie runs the toy along her puffy lips, making her body wiggle. The tip of the toy spreads her slick along her slit, her entire mound sparkling with wetness. 

She whines softly, lifting her hips up off the mattress. “Put it in?” The statement coming off as more of a begging whine. 

Eddie brings the tip from her clit down to her entrance, sliding in easily. “Oh bunny, I think you’re all stretched out. Feel how easy that went in?” 

A string of half moans come from her mouth, the sensation of the vibrations being inside of her feeling strange to her. 

“I’m going to put you on your side. Just trust me, okay?” 

She nods her head, letting Eddie turn her to her side, the toy still buried in her hole buzzing on what she would assume was medium. Her ass is propped up slightly, Eddie smacking the supple skin. 

He dips his pointer finger into the wetness of her clit, lubing it up to massage her tight hole, something they have only mildly experimented with a handful of times. 

“Oh!” She moans out, her hand flying behind her to grab his arm. “Sorry. Sorry, just surprised me.” 

“It’s okay, bun. You want me to keep going or you want me to stop? I wanted to stretch you enough to put a finger in. You think you can handle it?” 

“Y-yeah, yeah. Just go slow?”

He presses a kiss to one side of her ass. “Of course baby. Nice and slow.” He spits onto her hole and rubs at it softly and slowly. “Relax it just a little bit for me, bunny.” He says in a soothing voice. 

She unclenches herself the best she can, moaning when she feels the slight pressure of his finger begin to push in. “Fuck.” She gasps, reaching her arm down to press the vibrator inside her further, trying to distract herself from the stinging feeling. 

“Good job, bunny. Almost half of my finger is in you.” He continues to press kisses to her skin until his whole finger is inside. “There we go. Look at that, both of those cute little holes are filled. Are you feeling good, bunny? Is your daddy making you feel good?” 

“Yes, daddy.” She moans out, her eyes rolling in the back of her head.  She continues to move the vibrator in and out of herself. Her mind was spinning as both the toy and Eddie’s finger fuck both her holes. 

Eddie’s hand slides in between her stomach and the mattress, shifting her body so he can reach her clit, rubbing it slowly. 

“Fuck, Eddie!” She whines into the mattress. Her lower half jerks against him, tears stinging her eyes. 

“I want you to cum again for me baby. Give me a second one, bunny.” He kisses her back lovingly. “I’ll give you my cock all night if you cum for daddy. You want my cock, baby?” 

“P-please! Wa-want your cock.” 

“My girl is doing so good with all her holes full.” He whispers in her ear. 

She nods her head at his praise, her body convulsing against him. She isn’t given much warning before her clit begins to tingle and her walls contract again, cumming for the second time. “Oh my god!” Her body sinks to the mattress, trapping Eddie’s hand. 

“Snuck up on you, bunny. Keep riding it out, let me know when you’re all done.” 

The tears that filled her eyes during the buildup now fall down her cheeks. “C-can’t anymore, Eddie. Take the vibrator out.” 

Eddie slides the toy out of her, dropping it to the bed. “Is that better? Let me take my finger out right here okay? I’m going to go nice and slow.” Very slowly, Eddie pulls his finger out of her other hole, kissing her skin over and over until he’s fully out. He massages her for a few seconds before helping her lay her stomach down fully. “That’s a girl.” He runs his fingers up and down her spine lightly. 

She whines each time her pussy contracts around nothing, turning her head to the side and looking at Eddie with cloudy vision. “You’re the devil.” She grumbles to him. 

Eddie smiles, wiping the tears from her cheeks. “The devil needs to worship something unholy right?” 

She giggles at his joke, rolling over onto her back. Her hand touches his thigh, her pointer finger circling the skeleton head tattoo on it. “Still not done with me?” 

“Oh far from done my little bunny rabbit.” He leans down to kiss her lips, his hand groping one of her boobs while he makes out with her. “Can you handle two more?” 

“Yes daddy.” She spreads her legs open, feeling Eddie kiss from her collarbone down and over to her left boob, his lips wrapping around her nipple and sucking it lightly. She presses herself against him, needing to be closer to him somehow. “More, daddy.” She whispers. 

Eddie softly bites at her nipple, making her squeak out loud. “My baby likes a little bit of pain, don’t you?” He smiles up at her. “Like how that stings?” 

“Yes, daddy.” She moans. 

Eddie continues pressing kisses down her body until he lands in between her legs, his kisses spreading across her inner thighs and his teeth nipping her supple skin. 

She snaps her thighs closed around his head, whining loudly. 

He wraps his arms around her thighs, pulling them in closer around his head. His tongue licks a long stripe up her slit, tasting the wetness that was leaking out of her from the last hour. He buries his tongue deep inside her walls, tongue fucking her quickly. 

She weaves her fingers in his hair, forcing his tongue inside her further. “Please.” She didn’t know what she was begging for anymore. Another orgasm was going to leave her brain dead. 

Eddie lets go of one of her thighs, patting around the mattress for the toy that was still vibrating. He finds her other hand and slips it into her hand, moving it to her clit. 

She cries from up above at the vibrations against her swollen button. “I c-can’t!” Her body jerks. “It’s too much, fuck!” She presses the toy against herself harder, desperate for another orgasm. 

Eddie takes his tongue out, looking up at her with his round eyes. “Say the safeword and you can take the toy off. But I don’t think you want to say it, bunny.�� 

She shakes her head, moving the toy in small circles. “Keep going.” She begs. “I can feel it already.” She shakily gasps, thighs trembling. 

She’s only felt this tingling a few times that was deep inside her walls, Eddie bringing her to this outcome. 

He buries his tongue back in her, slurping the juices from her obscenely.  He can’t help but to bury his fingers inside her, quickly fucking her with his two middle fingers. 

“Oh fuck! I-,” the rest of her words are lost in whining sobs. Her hand trembles as she tries to keep circling her clit. 

Eddie knew what was coming, and he couldn’t suppress the smile on his face as he felt his fingers get pushed out of her slowly. “Don’t hold it back, bunny. Remember what I told you, just push it out.” 

More tears start to roll down her cheeks, not being able to hold them back. “E-Eddie, I-,” She drops the vibrator to the side, just letting Eddie finger her. 

“I know baby, I know. It’s okay, daddy’s right here.” He coos at her. “It’s right there, I can feel it.” 

The rubber band snaps inside her, her thighs and Eddie’s forearm catching most of the spray. Eddie rubs her clit, making sure she got every last bit out. “Good girl. You did so good.” 

“Tu-tulip.” She cries, pushing his arm away from her clit. 

Eddie carefully pulls his fingers out of her, laying his body on top of hers, knowing she calmed down quicker when she felt his body weight on hers. “Good girl.” He whispers in her ear, kissing her shoulder. “Proud of you for using your words.” 

She rests her forehead on his shoulder, wrapping her arms around his back to hold him even closer. What felt like aftershocks inside her walls make her shake against him. 

As worn out as her body was, she couldn’t help but think about Eddie’s cock poking against her thigh. “Put it in, daddy.” She whispers, reaching her hand down to pump his cock. 

“Fuck.” Eddie moans out, his eyes rolling in the back of his head. His thoughts all left his mind the second he felt her hand wrap around the middle of his shaft, relieved to feel some sort of pleasure. Eddie shakes his head, trying to turn the lightbulb back on in his mind. “You sure baby? You aren’t hurting?” 

“I’m okay daddy. I want you in me.” She presses a kiss to his shoulder. “Want you to cum in me.” 

Eddie groans at hearing her confess what she wanted, something that got both of them going. “We are a match made in heaven, bunny.” He smiles, getting up onto his knees in between her legs and lines himself to her entrance, pushing the head of his cock in slowly. 

She leans her head back, moaning loudly as he stretches her out. “So thick.” She sighs, a smile on her face. 

Eddie smiles down at her as he grabs her legs, placing them on his shoulders to get in deeper. “And I thought I stretched you out enough.” His fingers dig into her thighs as he slowly thrusts into her. “Can’t give it to you fast, bunny. I’m not going to last long. You feel so good.” 

“It’s okay, daddy. Just want you to be in me.” She whispers softly. “It feels so good to have you in me finally.” She slowly rocks her hips, meeting his thrusts. 

Eddie’s brown eyes screw close tightly, his balls already feeling tight. He was truly fighting for his life to not cum inside her this embarrassingly fast. 

“I wanna see your eyes, daddy. Look at me please.” The begging tone in her voice sent a shiver down his spine, goosebumps spreading across his ivory skin. Her nails rake down his arm lightly. 

He looks down at her, desperation in them. “And you called me the devil.” He smirks, caging her between his hands on the mattress next to her head. The tip of his cock hitting the back of her pussy, making her sink her nails in his skin. “You going to cum for me one more time, bunny? Hmm, cum on my cock?” 

“Yes, daddy.” Her voice rasps, her walls already fluttering around his cock, making him groan from deep in his throat. “Touch me.” She whispers softly, blinking up at him with those big doe eyes. 

Eddie sinks his middle and ring finger in between her lips, watching as she sucks his fingers to soak them. He slowly draws them back, bringing them down to circle her clit again. 

She half sobs and whines as he touches her clit, the little button sore and overworked. She stretches her head up to reach his lips, kissing him deeply while slipping her tongue into his mouth. 

The steady rhythm of his hips thrusting into her was long gone, his movements turning sloppy and quick. His lips leave hers first, pulling out of her. 

She whines at the loss of him, trying to pull him back to her. “No.” 

“Just hold on, bunny.” He lays behind her, pressing his chest to her back. His ringed hand grasps her thigh, lifting it up while he uses his other hand to guide himself back in her. “Shit.” He growls in her ear, going back to circling her clit. 

She reaches behind her to hold onto his forearm, whining loudly as he starts to fuck her again. “Fuck, right there daddy. Please don’t stop.” His tip nudges at the back of her pussy at just the right angle, making her tingle again and her body start to jolt. 

“That the right spot, bunny?” Eddie whispers in her ear, his breath hot on the shell of it. “You’re going to squirt again aren’t you?” The smirk on his face was clear in his tone. “C’mon baby, lemme have it.”

She shuts her eyes, grabbing his wrist while Eddie rubs her clit to keep him in place. “C-cumming! Oh fuck!” She sobs as she feels her cum splash out of her and onto Eddie’s thighs and cock. 

“Good girl. Good girl cumming for daddy.” He coos, kissing her ear. “Just gotta take my cum, bunny. Do that for me, okay? I’m so close.” 

She nods her head, completely fucked out and exhausted. Her body is limp as he holds her close. All she can manage is small, pathetic moans the quicker he fucks her, no more thoughts were in her brain. 

His fingers dig into the pillowy skin of her thighs as he feels his own orgasm wash over him, hot ropes of cum shooting deep into her walls. He bites his bottom lip, no doubt making it bleed from how hard he sinks his teeth into the flesh. Eddie slows his hips, keeping himself buried inside her until he could breathe again. 

She lowers her leg back onto the bed slowly, fighting the urge to close her heavy eyelids and fall asleep in Eddie’s arms. She feels his hand slide up to her hip, circling her soft skin. “How are you feeling, daddy?” She says softly, turning her head to look at him. 

“So good, baby. You did so good for me.” He reaches for her face to kiss her. “I’m going to pull out, okay? Just take a deep breath.” 

She winces at the loss of his cock inside her, her walls aching already. She rolls onto her side, wanting to face him so she could touch him, something she always loved doing after they fucked. Her fingers touch the stubble starting to grow out on his chin, smiling to herself. 

Eddie’s hand rests on her lower back, his fingertips drawing little pictures on the skin. “How are you feeling baby? I didn’t do too much?” 

“No, baby. I’m good.” She smiles at him sweetly. “Got me exhausted, but I loved every minute of you touching me. Always love how you know exactly the right places.” She scoots closer to him, resting her head in his chest. 

Eddie wraps his arm around her tightly, kissing the top of her head over and over. “I’m going to give you 10 minutes to rest, then we gotta clean you up, okay?” 

She nods her head, smiling happily to herself. “Will you come take a bath with me?” 

“Of course, baby. Whatever you need.” 

[thegoldendoorknob]

RF Guardians of Azuma general tips (Spoiler-Free)

Copying my advice I made for reddit for any GoA community here too-

I updated it because reddit blew up my tips post for a few minutes and scared me lol

Story Tips

Kai, Ikaruga, Kanata, Clarice, and the other Protagonist are unlocked late in the story, so if you're having trouble raising Kai's bond, or you can only find him at night, you aren't far enough in the main quest yet. It seems like a few characters have bond levels locked behind this too, like Mauro...

The main quest expects you to level up towns once or twice before leaving, so you can get an early start before you hit that point, if you want. The 4 Villages are set up to encourage specific builds, from what I've noticed:

Spring - Farming plots

Summer - Shops

Autumn - Rice, Barns

Winter - Fruit, Fishing

Press the R3 button (right stick) or T-Key to switch to overhead view in building mode to make edits much easier.

If you hold down the button (A | X | Left Shift Key) after deleting an object in this mode, you can quickly delete anything you move the cursor over -Odd-Implement-7045

When you are in build mode, the day timer is stopped. Your RP still recharges when you're in build mode, so if you want to get some early levels for Drum Dance without eating food, you can.

When the quest says 'Pray at the Kagura Shrines' after the winter village, the shrines are on these turtle-shaped islands in the sky, not the village shrines. [Thanks AdDecent7641!]

Speaking of, monsters on islands with a tall red tower on them will be around 40-50, since they're involved with a quest later in the game.

There's some parts of the main quest where they'll stop you until you cook something specific or tame an animal. So far I've had to tame a Buffamoo, Cluckadoodle, and a Wolf.*

*You can use Fubuki and Kurama for that quest instead of the Cluckadoole and Wolf, apparently! They even have flavor text if you do -asteriuszenith

Bosses also have weapon weaknesses and elemental weaknesses based on the free weapon and divine instrument they gave you for the region earlygame. Think of it like a Zelda game; whatever tool you picked up, they expect you to use later. It's always possible to go against the flow, though the lost bonus damage is pretty noticeable this time. The weapon weakness (first icon) and elemental weakness (second) will pop up above the boss's health bar when they are hit by them.

Boss dark attacks will slam the party for big damage. I thought I was underleveled my first death, but no, it was the dark element alone blowing up my party. Maybe invest in Dark Defense equipment when you get close to level 50.

Perfect dodging an attack before attacking lets you deal big damage to enemies and boss stun bars. You also charge a lot of spirit gauge by doing them

Suzu is really easy to level bond up on and doesn't faint, so she's a great team buffer for most of the game.

If you're indecisive about who to party, I ran Suzu-Iroha-Ulalaka for almost the ENTIRE game and rarely ever had to equip them to keep up. In the lategame whenever Ulalaka was unavailable, I used Yachio as a substitute until she returned, but any healer is probably fine really.

You won't have access to Monster Barns until you complete Autumn Village, so you may want to chat your favorite characters to Bond lv1 and take them out for a spin until you reach that point. You can check their personal skills by switching to them on the Equipment menu and pressing Y | Square | X | X Key

On that note, when you unlock the 'back row' after Winter Village, the back row gains passive exp. Good for grinding characters and monsters!

Some decorations show random stats like STR, these will increase your stats when you place them in the towns! Later decorations can raise them like quite a lot, so they may be fun to experiment with. Each unique deco can only raise that stat ONCE, so duplicates won't raise the stat again. You can check what town it needs to be placed in, and if you already placed one by looking at the highlighted symbol in the crafting menu. -Haktarius

Speaking of- some decorations also need to be placed in specific villages to get their buffs. They show this with flower icons on the side in the crafting screen. -KainYusanagi

Try to pace yourself- the bond and character locks suck, but this game is deceptively long and easy to burn out on if you rush. To give you an idea- there's roughly 16 to 17 dungeons total over the course of the entire game. 4 for the seasons, 6 for the story after, another 4, then 2-3 more.

General Tips

A lot of recipes are locked behind Frog Statues, make sure you grab any you come across.

In later village levels, they'll unlock more fields for you to build on top of.

If you use the first person bow scope with the Summer Treasure equipped on top of a harvestable crop, it will sickle the crop without using any rp!

If you dash just before falling off a ledge, you maintain that dash speed through the air for GREAT air-time. This is especially helpful and fun when you get the winter sacred treasure.

Negative trait villagers will lower your town stats- evict the ones with only negative traits whenever you can.

A good time to evict negative villagers is right before the day ends- on the next day, if there's any empty slots, 2 or more new villagers will reliably fill them. -Alexaius

It helps to invest a little in logging and mining villagers early on to stockpile materials for builds later.

Fruit trees will always be a plain-colored, green tree. You can find Oranges on some cliffs around the Summer Outskirts and on that small island to the south, Apples behind the purple vines to the west of Spring Village [?], Grapes directly to the right of Autumn Village next to an ore, Chestnuts further to the right side behind all the vine walls, Bamboo shoots are to the right of the castle, and Peaches I don't know where in the overworld they might be, but I found some in a dungeon you unlock after getting Kanata. There's a traveling merchant from higher village levels that can sell saplings later, apparently!

Algester has a visual of my fruit tree directions Here!!

You can find most Golden Vegetable seeds off of islands in the sky, the mushroom master has some gold pumpkin seeds behind his house as an example. You can also buy them off basic seed shops later once a town is leveled enough.

There's a traveling merchant for every region! They will randomly show up next to teleports and appear as a white dot on the map -ego157

Onigiri holes ask for: Onigiri, Salmon Onigiri, Miso Onigiri, Tempura Onigiri, Bonito Flake Onigiri, Greatest Grilled Onigiri (Cook Together with Matsuri) -Haktarius

inkstainedgwyn is starting a Unique Dishes list! You can unlock unique dishes when you are Bond Level 6 with a character.

SEEEECRETSmuahaha has made a simple Gifting Guide for the romanceable characters! Big-Buzz-Jet recently made a more in-depth one Here!

Taming bees for their honey is a pretty good way to make money! Higher level monsters will give you higher level produce for more $$$ as well! -ego157

The DLC swim suits and the default swim suits are different! You can unlock them by reaching bond 2 and inviting them to the waterfall or beach.

Yukata outfits are unlocked on Summer 20th! You get them by attending the firework festival. They can be unlocked a little earlier on Summer 7 if you have Kanata. -Kisaell77, Haddock_Lotus

Higher bond levels also unlock some personal accessories, like Iroha's headband or Kai's mask.

[not-xpr-art]

Len and Tommy's life told through nine photos ~

A fanart based on the Inside no 9 episode 'Bernie Clifton's Dressing Room' because I loved it so much!

(09/2024)

See below for close ups and unnecessarily detailed explanations of each individual artwork lol

First wanna say that I spent wayy too long on these (like 25+ hours), especially trying to make them look like actual old photos lol... also trying to get their likeness right for the various ages was really bloody hard lol, but hopefully each photo has the essence of each character even if it might not look 100% right pfft...

Second thing is that the dates & locations are very much my own subjective thoughts on their life and not particularly rooted in the canon of the show lol

Also I did go really heavy with the colour symbolism lol...

Ravenhill School, 1965.

The year they met, both are around the age of 10 (give or take). Len is 3 from the left in the top row, Tommy 2 in from the left on the bottom row (also I tried to include references to the other 2 League Of Gentlemen guys... Though I think the only vaguely recognisable one is Jeremy pfft)

Also shout out to @lapis-lazuliie for the idea that they met at school!

(side note, this is the least detailed of all the paintings not just because I was too lazy to render all those children's faces pfft but ALSO because of the significance of them being less recognisable or prominent in each other's lives in this point...)

I was planning on making another childhood/early teen photo but couldn't really think of any good subject matter that could also fit thematically with the episode (also the fact both are coming from poor families who would have had limited access to cameras in this era means we can just pretend that there are just no photos that really exist of them at these ages pfft...)

Photo booth in Leeds, 1974.

Both in their late teens, they'd (well, mainly Tommy) gone to a photo booth in Leeds with the intention of getting some professional looking photos only for Len to immediately make Tommy laugh once they got in there lol

The middle photo is covered in lines as Tommy had planned on throwing it away, only to find he couldn't bring himself to do it in the end... Is it platonic? Romantic? Both? Who knows, you decide lol! I mainly wanted it to be a candid moment between two people that love each other lol

(final one is them play fighting because that's kinda just what 19 year olds are like pfft... also I think photo booths technically gave you 4 photos? so let's pretend there was another photo that they did throw away for whatever reason lol...)

Rehearsals, 1979.

Deep in the midst of practising their routine for some of their first performances!

I'll admit this photo was mainly me wanting to include something more episode specific lol and also to get in some much needed heavy handed symbolism (the crease in the photo separating them, the bottle in front of Len's face, etc)

Polaroids taken at Tommy's flat, 1985.

In-between shows the two often spent a lot of time at Tommy's place (featuring that god awful sofa the previous home owner had left). I did originally plan to have them in the sofa shot together, but was finding it hard to figure out who would have been taking that kind of photo so figured it made more sense to make it shots they took of each other.

Also marks the beginnings of Tommy's weariness (& Len's over drinking...)

Outside the Glasgow Pavilion, 1988.

The morning of that fateful performance...

Ok not much else I wanna say about this other than the reference I used for the pose had Reece sorta awkwardly clasping his hands in front of him which I really liked but unfortunately in my art it just looked like he was trying to cover his crotch so I had to change it pfft...

Tommy standing at Len's grave, 2024.

The sixth anniversary of Len's death, and the sixth time Tommy has travelled across from France to lay flowers at his grave. Photo taken by Leanne from the inside of a taxi (I'd like to have had more references to her in these photos but was unsure of dates/ages where it would have fitted...)

She couldn't get her phone to not focus on the raindrops on the window as she tried to take a picture of Tommy at her father's grave but then realised that she actually liked the pathetic fallacy and had it made into a print anyway lol (look I'll be the first to admit that this is the least 'realistic' in terms of a photo that people would take, but I couldn't resist the symbolism of it lol...)

There were a lot more ideas for photos I wanted to do but for obvious reasons had to keep it to just 9 lol

Also will be posting these on my ao3 with snippets of stories to go with each photo so keep an eye out for when I share that link!

[awardenandacrow]

Number 5 for the Rook storytime prompts!!

I’m so sorry for the delay on this!!!! I never saw it in my notifications and only recently discovered how to access my asks otherwise (I am officially Old, apparently). I like this one a lot and had to really think on it before I decided how I wanted to approach it.

I kicked the ask around for a LONG TIME trying to decide if I wanted it to be separate from the fic, pre- or post- game, and nothing was really clicking. So instead, I had a think about what would be the absolute WORST time in-game for Naimy to be dealing with something as mundane but inconvenient as being ill. There are of course a whole host of options, but I got inspired where I landed and here we are.

Prompt 5: Rook Being Seriously Ill

[Naimy’s coming down with a “cold” while recruiting Davrin, has to make The Choice with a head wrapped in angry cotton, takes a dragon headbutt to the body, and then, when it’s all over, she just… collapses. AKA I gave Naimy the flu at the meanest time I could think of.]

AUTHOR’S NOTE: the first snippet falls chronologically directly after Spite enters Naimy’s dream (snippet 21), and this ask absorbs and expands upon snippet 4, the morning after The Choice (SPOILERS for the end of Act One).

I broke this up as much as I could into smaller pieces because we’re talking about a couple chapters worth of fic here that Naimy is sick… so while this isn’t all of it it’s LONG. I hope it’s not too overwhelming 😅 my bad 🤡

SPECIFICALLY FOR THE DAVRIN-ROMANCERS: I saw a post about how pre-romancing Rook, Davrin had always kept things casual, and it inspired me to cook up some angst. I’m not slandering our halla-singing gentle giant, but Naimy DOES have some early misconceptions about his character that WILL be addressed and sorted out. Enemies to that’s-my-super-annoying-idiotic-sibling-whom-I-love-and-would-kill/die for. I’m excited for it. You’ll see.

CW/TW: bodily injury, description of illness & symptoms, strong language

——————————————————————————

Naimeryn thought a bit more sleep would chase away the nausea of her and Spite’s discovery, but when she awoke again, she still felt… off. Perhaps that was a normal reaction, she supposed, to discovering something so unexpected, and in the way she had. She picked at her pancakes, feeling immensely guilty Lucanis had made her favorite, and she could barely taste them. She caught him throwing a few concerned glances at her plate, and endeavored to eat more fervently. This only soured her stomach more, and the coffee didn’t help.

She wondered how he was doing, saddled with this new knowledge. She supposed it couldn’t possibly make things *more* awkward between them. He’d agreed to come along to try to recruit Davrin, after all. Hopefully having some time to think about it all hadn’t changed his mind.

But as Bellara and Harding began to clear the table, he told her he’d get geared up and meet her in the library as soon as she was ready. Naimeryn allowed herself a small smile of relief, and excused herself to go get changed as well.

As expected, Lucanis was ready and waiting for her by the library table when she emerged from her room. Her head was throbbing, but she told herself that was normal after such a fitful night’s sleep.

“Ready?” She asked him, attempting to put on an air of her usual cheer despite not feeling particularly cheery.

“After you,” he responded, nodding towards the stairs. Naimeryn always felt a little odd leading the others up and down the stairs, but as they reached the set into the Eluvian room, he fell into easy step beside her. She flashed him a genuine smile, then broke the moment by stepping through first.

“So do you know this Davrin fellow?” Lucanis asked as he stepped through the Eluvian and into the Crossroads.

“Not personally,” Naimeryn shook her head, starting down the next set of stairs. “I know *of* him. As I mentioned, he’s kind of famous around Weisshaupt. And I… know someone who knew him.”

“You sound…” Lucanis hestitated. “It does not seem you are a fan.”

“I’m not sure how to describe how I feel,” Naimeryn said honestly. “He must know *so much*, and I’d love to pick his brain. He must have been *so many* places! But… he also hurt someone I care about. Hi, Caretaker!”

“Dweller,” the spirit inclined their head and swept their hand to welcome her into the boat. A wave of dizziness took her, and she shook her head in an attempt to clear it, teetering precariously close to the edge for a moment before regaining her balance. That was… odd.

“Are you all right?” Lucanis asked, his hands outstretched as though he’d been about to grab and steady her.

“Yeah, I…” Naimeryn pressed her fingertips to her forehead. “I’m fine, sorry. I don’t know what that was about.”

“The air varies, Dweller,” Caretaker said cryptically, suddenly standing on the dock at her elbow. “Be mindful.”

“Uh, yeah, okay,” she nodded, though she didn’t actually understand. She stepped more cautiously than usual into the spirit’s vessel.

“So this Davrin,” Lucanis said again once they’d been floating through the air for a few minutes. “He hurt someone you… care about, but you still want to recruit him?”

“That was… a *personal* thing,” Naimeryn said, fiddling with one of her braids. “From what I understand, he’s a no-strings-attached guy. Which I mean, I guess if both people are into that then that’s… their business.”

Involuntarily, she shuddered. Or maybe it was a shiver? “My.. friend. She wanted to revisit the strings, and he didn’t. She didn’t take it well.”

“No strings,” Lucanis mused, gazing into the ether. “You sound… disapproving. Is that not an arrangement you would find appealing?”

Naimeryn’s breath caught, and she felt herself flush. Aware he was watching her from the corner of his eye, she looked at the floor or the boat, lest her expression give something away she didn’t want it to. Was that… something *he* would want? Maker’s Balls, she really *was* doomed.

But why not? He was a Crow. Nothing was promised in the life of an assassin, surely? She knew little enough of the life, though her curiosity had seen her pepper Zevran with questions when the opportunity arose — exactly once. And the way Illario flirted… maybe committed relationships weren’t common in their ranks? Even Teia and Viago, though she suspected they were together currently, seemed very casual about it. Lucanis had probably seduced marks before. Sex probably meant nothing to him; or at least, it was likely a complicated subject.

Everything with him always seemed to be “complicated.”

But she… she couldn’t imagine being intimate with someone and having it be meaningless.

“No,” she said finally. “I don’t judge anyone for their preferences, or choices. But one night stands, friends with benefits… no strings. None of it ‘appeals’ to me, as you say. I guess I can understand it working for most Wardens. I mean we could die any time, and…“

She caught herself. *People* didn’t know about the Calling. She cleared her throat. Why was it so scratchy? “I don’t know, technically when you become a Warden you’re supposed to give up attachments, like family. It’s… *challenging* for us to have kids. We can’t inherit titles. We’re not *supposed* to get married, though nobody stopped Antoine and Evka.”

She smiled, thinking of them. “I guess if it’s another Warden, why not, right? You’re in the same boat.”

“New shores, Dweller,” Caretaker announced their arrival at their destination island. Naimeryn stepped off the boat, and the whispers began immediately.

“Ugh,” she grumbled, “I thought we cleared out all the Darkspawn from this area last time.”

“The Warden doesn’t know that there’s always more?” Lucanis chided, joining her on the dock.

“It’s the Fade,” she gestured vaguely ahead of them. “Shouldn’t the rules be, I don’t know, different?”

A violent shiver took her, and she wished she’d worn her old cloak, no matter how worn out. She’d known this part of the Fade was cold and snowy. What had she been thinking?

“You are the mage,” Lucanis’s tone was still teasing. “Shouldn’t you have that answer as well?”

She smirked at him. “You know what, Lucanis, keep questioning me like this and I’m gonna stop bringing you places with me.”

She’d expected a snappy comeback, but instead he looked completely tongue-tied. He opened his mouth like he’d also planned to continue ribbing her, but he suddenly seemed genuinely concerned she might mean it. Her brain didn’t give her a moment to sort through why that might be. She panicked.

“I’m kidding,” she said instantly, touching his arm. “You’re stuck with me.”

*You’re stuck with me?!?!* she screamed internally. *What* was she thinking? She let go of his arm and took a few backwards steps away from him, desperately trying to return to lighthearted and playful and not… whatever this was.

“Besides,” she could feel the heat rising to her face as she began to ramble. “You’d get bored cooped up in the pantry by yourself.”

That was *not* better.

“Uh, I mean — I — I —“ whatever other mortifying thing had been about to fall out of her mouth, it was thankfully swallowed up by a sneeze so powerful it made her head hurt twice as bad. It echoed around the hills and half-crumbled structures and the high stone wall.

Oooooh, no. That could not be good.

“Company,” Lucanis advised, unsheathing his blades and nodding ahead. Of course they had company now. Every Darkspawn on the island had to have heard that sneeze. They were lucky it hadn’t started an avalanche! Naimeryn felt her nose starting to run.

Great. Could this day *possibly* get any worse?

…

*It’s always something with these damned recruitments,* Naimeryn thought savagely. Not sensing that damned Ogre before it was *on top of them* in Arlathan. Slipping and sliding and falling over herself in the Ossuary. And now, recruiting a fellow Warden, *while battling a cold?!* It really was a wonder anyone had agreed to join their cause.

…

“You don’t need to apologize,” Davrin shook his head. “You’re in rough shape, and you still saved Assan’s butt back there. And if you mean it that you’ll help get them back…”

“Ob course!” Naimeryn said resolutely, if miserably.

“All right, then,” Davrin nodded. “Count me in. I’ve got some things to gather up here before we leave.”

“Take this back,” Lucanis said, wrapping his cape around her once more when she turned to him. “You help him gather his things.”

“Wha’bou’ you?” Naimeryn asked with a sniffle, confused, even as she snuggled deeper into the warm garment. That was nice.

“*I*,” Lucanis said pointedly, “am going to head back ahead of you and get started on a soup.”

“Oh,” Naimeryn said, perking up. “Tha’s so though’ful ob you.”

Lucanis stifled a smirk, and she flushed. She sounded ridiculous.

…

Naimeryn wobbled, almost toppling out of the boat.

“Easy, Rook,” Davrin said, gabbing her by the shoulders as Assan landed on the dock with a querying squawk. “Let me help.”

Too dizzy to speak, she nodded weakly, allowing him to all but lift her onto the ground before following behind.

“Hopefully Lucanis has that soup going,” he chided. “This wa—?”

“Rook!”

Naimeryn’s head snapped up at Neve’s panicked cry of her name. Her chest tightened at the sight of the whole team running down the stairs from the Eluvian towards them.

“What’s wrong?” She croaked out, shaking off Davrin’s steadying hand and stumbling forward a few steps to reach them.

“*Everything’s* wrong,” Lucanis’s expression was clouded. He looked more agitated than she’d seen him since the Ossuary. Harding and Bellara wore expressions of concern, and Neve looked beside herself with worry. “Treviso and Minrathos are both under attack.”

“Blighted dragons,” Neve added quickly. “One for each city.”

Naimeryn’s head spun. Dragons didn’t *get* Blighted.

Well. Not before Ghilan’nain, anyway.

“Damn it,” Naimeryn shook her head in an attempt to clear it. Her vision was… fuzzy. It shouldn’t be this hard to think. “We knew Ghilan’nain was controlling dragons after D’Meta’s Crossing, but *Blighted*…”

“You got back just in time,” Harding cut her off.

“What, um. What do we know?” Naimeryn’s heart was racing as she grappled with what to do. *Two* Blighted dragons. Two attacks. At the same time. *Fuck,* why couldn’t she just *think?*

“It has to be the gods,” Harding said resolutely. “Two dragons? At the same time?”

*That’s why I brought up D’Meta’s Crossing,* Naimeryn thought blankly. She *had* said that out loud… hadn’t she?

“Treviso’s a merchant city,” Lucanis said, his tone pleading. “It has *no* defenses. And the canals run everywhere!”

Naimeryn’s head throbbed. He was right. Why would the gods target Treviso, and not Antiva City? Minrathos was the capital of Tevinter, it was a logical tactical target. But Treviso?

“If we don’t stop the dragon, people will die,” Lucanis was saying. “Innocent people. *My* people.”

Naimeryn flinched. Illario. Teia. Viago. *Jacobus.* And Lucanis… he’d spent a year in the Ossuary, lost his autonomy, lost what his life had been before. Gotten out only to lose Caterina. Of course he was panicking. He was about to maybe lose *everything.*

But Neve. Minrathos was *her* city. Tarquin, the Viper, Dorian, Maevaris… Rana. Neve fought so hard to keep Dock Town afloat. They all did. What would happen if they had to split their focus between a dragon and the Venatori?

“They either die right away, from the dragon,” Lucanis shook his head.

“Or slowly, after, from Blight in the water,” Davrin said seriously, at her elbow. They both knew what that would mean. No fish. No clean water. Blight and other sickness would feeter and spread like wildfire. Blight was a slow, painful death sentence. And if it was in the water… all of Treviso would be effected, and Blight didn’t just go away. The Wardens might be able to contain it — if they’d even go to Antiva to try — but Treviso would be lost.

“We *need* to go to Treviso,” Lucanis said with absolute certainty.

“And just leave Minrathos to burn?” Neve demanded. Lucanis’s expression was stricken, then pained.

“Neve…”

“The Shadow Dragons *will* fight,” Neve shook her head, utterly ignoring the apology in his voice, “Right to the end of it. But we’re the only ones keeping the Venatori in check. And if we fail?”

Neve looked towards the others, as if looking for their support. Naimeryn had never seen Neve make a face like that.

“The Venatori will take advantage,” she said. “They’ll make a push for the throne.”

Neve looked pointedly back at Rook. “And hand the gods the *entire* Tevinter empire.”

Naimeryn swallowed with difficulty, her throat dry and tight and sore. The archon’s palace had blasted demons apart and taken shots at *her and Varric.* Surely they’d fire on a *dragon*? And surely there were more Templars like Rana and Tarquin, who would join the Shadow Dragons in fighting the Venatori?

“Is there *aby* chance we —“ Naimeryn started, not even sure she knew what she was going to say.

“Damn it! There’s *no* time!” Neve snapped. Naimeryn’s head throbbed, and she felt unsteady on her feet. She had to suck it up. Get it together. “I’ve got to go home! I *need* to be in Minrathos.”

“And I must go to Treviso,” Lucanis said, his voice shaking. “Go where you feel you must, Rook. *We* cannot wait.”

Neve had already started running, and Lucanis turned to run in the same direction, towards the other dock. Naimeryn couldn’t breathe. Her head felt so full. Bellara and Harding were staring at her, waiting for her to make a decision.

“What’s our move, Rook?” Harding wanted to know.

“I, I dob…” Naimeryn pressed her fingers into her temples. “We hab to trust that the Shadow Dragons have thibs handled in Minrathos, that the Templars and magisters who aren’t in the Benatori’s pockets will help. The archon isn’t Benatori, ob’iously, so the palace should be attackib the dragon too. I — as a Warden, I *can’t* risk Blight gettib into the canals. We *hab* to go to Trebiso.”

She said the last sentence directly to Davrin, pleading. She looked back to Harding and Bellara.

“We’ll split the team,” she decided. “Minrathos can use the backup. Go help Nebe. Stay safe, come back alibe, alright?”

…

“We hab to get to Minrathos,” Naimeryn mumbled as Teia and Davrin hefted her back to her feet. Her whole body ached.

“Rook, you can barely stand,” Lucanis frowned. “Why don’t you let us —“

“No,” Naimeryn said firmly. “I need to go. Maybe if we hurry, we can still help. I *hab* to try.”

…

After dozing enough to have her talk with Solas, Naimeryn lay awake all night. Tossing and turning was kept to a minimum — even slight movements were too painful to risk anything bigger. Her nose ran, her head throbbed, her eyes watered. She was too hot for her blanket. Then she was freezing. She ached all the way to her bones.

Beneath the agony that kept her body awake, a different kind prevented her mind from settling. Neve’s face swam in her vision off and on in a loop, intermixed with Tarquin’s glare and the sight of the Viper, writhing on a crate with Blight coursing through his veins. She knew that allowing Blight into the canals in Treviso would have been a much worse outcome than one Blighted man. Knew it to her core.

And yet the guilt threatened to eat her alive.

She didn’t know how long she wallowed in her misery on that couch before she heard the library door open and close, and someone shuffling about below. She had just managed to find a position that was… not comfortable, but almost, and so she laid perfectly still, hoping whoever it was didn’t need her. She willed the room to stop spinning until she dozed off.

Another indeterminate time later, the library door opened and closed again.

“You’re up early!” Harding’s voice.

“First chance to look around,” Davrin. “Might as well get to know the place I’ll be calling ‘home’ for a while.”

Naimeryn sniffled, and tried to sit up. If the team was stirring, she’d struggled to sleep plenty long enough. She wheezed, the pain in her ribs sharper than it had been through the night. Okay, a different way then. She tried to roll onto her side first, but she had to roll onto her injured right side to get off the couch, and that was particularly painful as well. Great.

The library door swung open and closed a third time.

“Morning! Has anyone seen Rook? I made her pancakes,” Bellara’s usual chipper morning voice was marred by poorly-suppressed concern. “Tarquin was pretty harsh on her yesterday.”

“I doubt she’ll be up and about for a while,” Davrin told her. “Getting full body head-butted by a dragon tends to take it out of you.”

A plate shattered on the floor. Crap. Naimeryn renewed her attempts at sitting up.

“She got *headbutted* by the *dragon*?!” Bellara asked shrilly.

“And neither you nor Lucanis thought *maybe* you should mention it?!” Harding added.

“Uh…”

Naimeryn could already hear both of their footfalls on the stairs. She grabbed the back of the couch and wrenched herself up, sucking in a seething breath to keep from crying out. Okay. Everything was fine.

“Rook?” Bellara burst through the door without knocking, Harding hard on her heels. Unable to gain enough composure to speak, Naimeryn managed a weak and unconvincingly cheerful wave before falling back to sit precariously on the edge of the couch again. Her nose ran, and she wiped it carefully on the back of her wrist. Gross.

“Elf root,” Harding snapped. “You big dummy, you need elf root. Be right back.”

“You dob hab to —“

“And ice!” Bellara said. “I fell out of a tree once, and Irelin put ice on my a— aaanyway. Ice!”

“Wait —“

But they were both gone. Naimeryn sighed and rubbed her forehead. She made a mental note to give Davrin an earful, though she immediately forgot. She hadn’t wanted them to worry — not about her. *She* was team leader. It was her responsibility to worry about *them.* And right now, there was enough on their plates to worry about knowing there were two blighted dragons on the loose. She already had to add the tasks of tracking down a dragon hunter and a Fade expert to their to-do list.

Now that she had no audience, Naimeryn gingerly set about getting back to her feet. Slow breaths. Slow movements. Easy does it. She made her way around the couch and picked up the hand mirror off the console table. Not for the first time, she wished she had a full length mirror.

Carefully, she undid the sash holding her night wrap closed, hissing at the pain of each movement. She hooked it open with her hip, holding the mirror upside-down and at an angle to get a better look at the bruising on her side and ribs. She groaned. Her flesh was puffy, covered in angry black, purple, blue, and… green? That was new. She’d never had a green bruise before. Was that bad?

“Rook?”

*Oh, no.*

Bellara and Harding hadn’t shut her door tight behind them, and Lucanis pushed it open easily with his shoulder. “Bellara said you needed ice — *mierda.*”

Unable to move quickly and thankful she wore her underthings to bed, she gave him what she could imagine was the most awkward, embarrassed smile she had ever given anyone.

“Hi,” she squeaked.

He seemed frozen in place, the ice forgotten in his hands. His eyes swept over dark purple satin, nearly the same color as her offended skin. Now that he could see more of them, she wondered, not for the first time, if he thought her scars were ugly.

What a time to be wondering if he could find her pretty! Standing half-dressed in front of him, struggling to breathe or, in all honesty, even maintain her semi-upright position, with red puffy eyes and a runny nose. Of course he didn’t; how ridiculous.

BLIGHT AND… *LAVENDER?* Spite hissed. He said the second word in a tone that was far too knowing, and set Naimeryn’s cheeks ablaze. *Oooooh, no.* She was so flustered, it didn’t even occur to her to be shocked that she’d *heard* him, despite Lucanis’s lips not having moved. Flustered, and… did she *really* smell like Blight? Well, she hadn’t really bathed before collapsing on the couch the night before; just cleaned up her open injuries…

Spite’s remark seemed to shake Lucanis free of his startled state, and he held up the wrapped bundle of ice without moving.

“Do you…” he hesitated. “Do you want help with this?”

“No,” Naimeryn said, too quickly. “I mean… no. Ah. You dob hab to — I’m sure you hab… Crow… stuff?”

“Crow stuff?” the corner of his mouth quirked up, but his expression was more concern than mirth. “Nothing more important than this. Teia would not forgive me if I treated the ‘savior of Treviso’ so callously.”

Naimeryn gasped, winced. Lucanis was at her elbow in a moment, though he still made no move to touch her. “Please tell me people aren’t actually callib me that.”

“Well, Teia might. She is quite fond of you.”

“Elf root tea!” Harding announced, pushing into the room. Her eyes fell on Naimeryn’s side, and she groaned. “Oh, Rook. You big dummy. Lucanis, put her ass back on the couch.”

“But —“

“There’s nothing you need to do *right now*,” Harding said firmly, putting all her weight on one hip and giving Naimeryn a stern look. “You need to rest. *Now.*”

“She is right,” Lucanis said, nudging her elbow with his.

“Traitor,” she mumbled, allowing him to lead her back to the couch. He sat next to her, carefully pressing the ice to her side. She sucked in a hissing breath, then choked on it and began to cough. *Creators,* that hurt. Harding set the tray on the table as Lucanis tentatively splayed his hand across the middle of her back. Naimeryn groaned. Harding held out a cup of tea for her, and she reached for it. Her head throbbed. The next thing she knew Lucanis was on his knees, and both he and Harding were holding her up off of the floor.

“Naimy, you’re burning up,” Harding fretted. “Lucanis mentioned you were coming down with a cold when he came back early from recruiting Davrin, but with everything going on, I completely forgot!”

“As did I,” he admitted with a deep frown.

“We’re tryib to keep the world from endib,” Naimeryn groaned. The whole room was spiraling, and she again thought she might vomit. “Arlathan’s go’ Blight, there’s Darkspawn ib the Crossroads, a monster took a buncha griffons tha’ *aren’* essinct, Minrathos is burnib and now Solas wants us to recruit two more people! I don’ hab time to be *sick.*”

Her two companions carefully guided her back down into a reclined position.

“If you overdo it trying to fix everything *right now*,” Harding said, picking some ice out of the parcel Lucanis had brought and pressing it to her forehead, “you’re just gonna get worse.”

“Bellara is remaking the pancakes,” Lucanis told them. “I’ll go have her make soup instead.”

“I’ll jus’ comb to the dinin’ hall,” Naimeryn insisted. “I’ll drink my tea, I’ll ea’ my soub, an’ we can figure ou’ wha’ our nest mobe is. I can tell ebryone at once what Solas said.”

“Rook, I am not sure that is a good idea,” Lucanis frowned. “You just almost passed out.”

“Oh, is that what that was?” she murmured to herself.

“I think you should rest for the day,” Harding told her. “Later tonight we can all meet in the library and you can tell us about Solas then.”

“Do you think Nebe is *restib* today?” Naimeryn asked miserably, reaching for them both to help her up. They exchanged worried glances, but each took a hand and hoisted. Naimeryn swayed, gripping their hands tightly. The edges of her vision were black. She shut her eyes tightly and willed the dizziness away.

“I can’t just lay about and do nothib,” she tried again, opening her eyes slowly. Everything was squiggly. “I hab to —“

“Rook!” Harding’s voice sounded far away, and the room turned on its side before strong arms caught her, and everything went black.

If you made it to the end, thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it :3

[kinda-super-hot]

Tour Time - Ice Cream (2)

Pairing: Ino Takuma x F!Reader

Summary: Y/n gets ready for her 'hangout' with Ino. Though that might not be exactly how he sees it. At that, they don't make it very far, only visiting one place: the ice cream shop.

Warnings: none

Word Count: 3,588

A/N: Need ideas - also mb, I didn't think it was as long as it was lol :p

masterlist

What have I done? There's nothing like waking up early on a Sunday morning, just for Nobara to burst into my room like a man on a mission. "Y/N, we've got work to do." She says, determined.

I jump at the intrusion. "Nobara? What are you-?" I stand from my bed and adjust my pajamas. She's fast and grabs a hairbrush from my vanity, rushing over to me. She turns my body so she has access to my hair and brushes violently. "Ow! Nobara!"

"There's no time to waste! You're late as is." She continues her roughness. I look to my alarm clock.

"It's 7 in the morning! What could I be late for?" I protest. I try to keep my head strong as she tugs me back by my knots.

"For getting ready! You've gotta give yourself plenty of time to wash up, do makeup, hype yourself up, and more for your date-"

"Date?" I try to turn my head, but she forces me to look straight. "Nobara, it's not a date. Ino and I are just hanging out. Actually, not even that, he's more of a tour guide."

"Yeah, right. After the goo-goo eyes you gave each other at that pizza place, I'm surprised you haven't run away together already." She pesters.

I'm about to speak more on the subject when she pulls me up and shoves me into my own bathroom. "Shower and shave... just in case."

"In case of what-!?" She slams the door in my face. Reluctantly, I practice my hygiene and do as she asks. I come out fresh and clean. Nobara lounges on my bed with some nail polish at the ready.

"I'm thinking blue. At first I thought red, but it's a bit too promiscuous." She opens the bottle. I roll my eyes and sit down on my bed in just my towel.

"I don't really care for blue much." I point out, but offer my hand to her anyway.

"Ino does." She says bluntly and starts applying the color. I blush at her comment and look down at the baby blue she's using. "Yuji is pretty sure it's his favorite. But, then again, Yuji can hardly tell his left from right."

I hum as she paints my nails. When she finishes, she blows on them carefully. "Y'know, this is nice, Nobara. Some fun girl bonding time." I smile down at her.

"This is not fun, this is battle-ready." She says seriously and hops up from my bed. She whips open my closet doors and throws my clothes every which way.

"Hey!"

She sighs as she looks. "You don't have anything even a little flirty?" She whines in defeat. I grit my teeth for a moment before walking to the closet. I bite my lips and push on two boards in the back that fall away easily.

Behind them are some less-than-decent attire. I blush as our eyes meet with just about every color in lingerie. Mixed among them are some short, sparkly dresses that I haven't worn in months. "Jeez... did you use these a lot in America?" She gives me a teasing grin.

I shrug with a blush and nervous laugh. "They're not so modest over there, ha ha... will this work?" I pull out a flowy sun dress. There's nothing that really stands out about it.

"Out of all the things in here, you choose that?" She judges.

"We're not going to a nightclub, we're touring!" As I speak, I drop my towel. Nobara stares for a moment before averting her eyes.

"You can't just do that, you freak!" She blushes.

I put the sun dress on and adjust it. "Being naked in front of friends is a pretty common practice in America." I smile teasingly. I tap her shoulder, letting her know she can turn around.

"Oh... I see." She examines the dress. The reason this one isn't at the front of my closet is because of how well it hugs me. It pushes out my breasts subtly and defines my waist, all while showing off the soft curve of my hips. "This will do."

"That's all?" I raise my brow in offense. "I thought I looked pretty hot." I pout and turn to the long mirror in my room. I turn every which way to look at my body in the dress.

She sighs and pulls me along to sit at my vanity. "Hair time." She plugs in a curling iron. I shake my head and unplug it.

"I hate curling my hair, it's a waste of time. I'd rather just put some product in it and be done. Plus, like I said, this is just a casual hangout." I grab some product and run it through my strands.

"Y/NNNNN." Nobara groans but doesn't interfere. "But Inoooo." She whines and tugs on my hair a little.

I get up and walk to the door. "I'm going to do my makeup in peace, if you don't mind." I jut my thumb at the door. She grumbles as she walks out. I chuckle softly. She's sweet in her own way.

I finish my makeup and leave my room. Nobara is slouched in the common room with Yuji on his phone beside her. Both glance up, and Yuji gasps. "Wow, senpai, you look great!" He gives me a big thumbs up. Nobara nods enthusiastically. "You're gonna knock him off his feet."

"I don't mean to encourage you two and your delusions, but I think so too," I say confidently. I strut into the kitchen and make a quick sandwich. "Where is that oddball anyway?" I call out to the common room.

"He just got back from his mission, so I'm guessing he's getting ready now." Yuji hums. Huh? I look at the clock on the wall.

"It's 10am. Also, he said he was free today. Are you sure you're not mistaken?" I walk out with my sandwich.

"He had an overnight mission in Kyoto. He woke up pretty early to make it back this morning for your date." Yuji explains.

"Are you serious?" I say incredulously. He's fresh back from a mission and woke up at the crack of dawn to hang out with me. "That's sweet and all, but he must be exhausted." I worry.

"The things people will do for love." Nobara teasingly swoons. I give her a swift, condemning look. She shrugs and crosses his arms, "It's his choice; if he's tired, he's tired."

I sigh and quietly think for a moment. "...should I cancel? I don't want him to suffer for me."

"Suffering is a bit of a stretch. And, like I said, he made his bed, so now he has to lie in it." Nobara presses. I sigh, but I can't help but agree, even as bad as I feel.

When the afternoon rolls in, I wait outside the school for Ino. I adjust my dress only a hundred times and retye my Converse double that amount. Finally, I hear one of the heavy double doors shut behind me. I turn and there he is, looking... dressed to impress.

His outfit is much more styled than when we first met. He has black, baggy cargo pants and a Y2K shirt with a cross on it that's at least 2 sizes too big. Underneath that, he has a white long-sleeve on that lead my eyes to the silver rings adorning his fingers. Then, of course, his signature black beanie sitting atop his head like a crown.

"Hey." He walks down the steps to me with a welcoming smile. When he gets closer, his eyes trail down from my face to my dress. I can't be sure, but it looks like his breath hitched for a second. "You look nice."

I smile back and give a small twirl. "Thanks, and likewise. You dress up nice." I motion to his outfit. He does a twirl in return and holds his baggy pants when he gives a quaint curtsy. I giggle at his action, and he gives me a goofy smile.

"You ready to go?" He straightens up.

"Yeah, whenever." I smile up at him. "Where's your car?" I look around.

"Car?" He questions. I look to him quizzically. "Oh, ha ha." He laughs nervously. "I don't have a car."

"Oh. Oh, yeah! I forgot, Japan thing, huh? Only, like 67% of Japan even have cars, right?" I remember aloud. I didn't mean to embarrass him, but I feel like that's what I did.

He nods awkwardly. "Yeah." I give an awkward smile.

"So, how are we getting there?" I fiddle with my fingers.

"Usually, I bike to the city, and then take the train to get everywhere." He walks to a bike rack that contains a black trick bike. He unlocks it and saddles it. I look around for another bike. There is none.

He looks at me expectantly and taps the front of his bike. "You want me to sit on the front?" He tilts his head to the side.

"Yeah?" He looks back down at the bike and then back at me. "Don't worry, it's pretty sturdy-"

"Sturdy?"

"...I didn't mean, like, you were too heavy or anything! I just meant it'll hold you- us! It'll hold us." He looks like he got shot. I don't know how to respond so I just climb onto the bike shakily so I don't have to face him.

A tense silence fills the air. Ino hesitates before he starts pedaling. God, this is awkward.

He clears his throat. "So, uh, I thought we could head to this one ice cream shop first. To, um, get us started." He says nervously. His pedaling is slow and easy.

I hum and look back at him. "Sounds great." I smile forgivingly, letting him know his slip-up wasn't the end of the world. He lets out a sigh of relief and pedals faster.

We eventually reach the little shop, and I get off the bike with a wince. "All good?" He gives me a worried look.

"Yeah, fine." I smile and grab onto his shoulder for balance as I wobble for a second. The metal handlebars and all the bumps on the way were less than kind on my rear.

He steadies me and guides me inside with a hesitant hand on my back. There are plenty of people inside. One little girl and her father, an elderly mother and her son, and... oh my. All the rest are young couples with hearts in their eyes.

We walk to the counter to order. "Wow, great selection," I comment. The lady behind the counter looks surprised at my words.

"Are you American?" She asks in broken English. My eyes widen, and I nod excitedly. I guess my accent gave me away.

"Yes!" I nod proudly. Ino beside me, looks confused. I doubt that from his short time in America, he learned much more than basic words.

She nods and with a thick accent continues to speak, "My son is in the America. Uh, Wisconsin." She tries her best.

I nod along in delight. "I hope he's enjoying his time." We share a smile, and Ino shuffles beside me.

"Sorry, young man, it's not often we meet foreigners like your girlfriend here." She returns to Japanese. He just nods his head without correction. His eyes do flicker to mine, however.

"I don't mind. I like her speaking her native tongue; it sounds confident." He beams. My heart skips a beat, and I stare at him in awe. "I'll get strawberry, please. Y/N?" He turns to look down at me with soft eyes.

"Oh, chocolate, please." I turn to the shopkeeper when making my request. She hums and scoops our orders before passing us the cones. I reach into my dress pocket for my wallet, but Ino's hand covers mine. It's warm and... veiny. I blush and look up at him.

"Please, I've got it." He hands the amount due to the shopkeeper. She smiles and wishes us a good day. We wave goodbye and go to eat our ice cream at a table outside.

I'm seconds away from sitting down when Ino pushes my front into the table. I wince and he recoils, "Sorry! I was just, um-" He pulls out my chair further than it needs to be moved. He grabs my waist softly and lowers me into the seat. I look up at him incredulously.

He clears his throat and pushes my chair in before sitting across from me. "Did you really just push me into the hard, metal table so I wouldn't sit down?" I ask.

He blushes, "I wanted to pull out your chair."

I roll my eyes playfully. "How sweet," I tease.

"What can I say, chivalry is my middle name." He takes a lick of his ice cream.

"Good to know." I smile and then remember something. "Is that why you came straight from a mission to meet me this morning?"

He halts his movements and stares at me like he's been caught. He licks his lips when he can move again and rubs the back of his neck. "It was hardly a mission, more like a sleepover if anything."

"Mm? What grade was the curse?" I lean across the table. He leans away.

"Four." He blurts.

"They sent you on a grade-four mission?" I raise my eyebrow in speculation.

"Well, there were a lot." He defends himself.

"Ino. I don't like liars." I say sternly. He holds his breath before letting out a pained groan.

"I'm sorry, you're right. I just didn't want to worry you." He sighs. He has a light pout on his face, knowing he's been caught.

I give his shin a light kick under the table. He gasps and looks underneath, just to be sure it was me, despite no one being beside us.

"I'd rather you tear my heart out than lie to me." I eat my ice cream. "Though, I hope you don't intend to do either."

He nods strongly. "I would never! I promise not to lie to you again." He bows lowly in respect, smacking his face on the table in the process. "Ach!"

I giggle and place my hand on the back of his head, giving it a soft pet. "So clumsy, Ino, you remind me of a new puppy." He looks up at me with a red forehead. I rub it carefully, trying to soothe the ache. "A labrador at that." I take his hand that has his ice cream in it and bring it to his mouth. "Open, little puppy dog," I tease.

His eyes are wide and his face red, but he opens nonetheless. He laps up the ice cream. I remove my hand from his, and he straightens in his chair, continuing to eat.

"You're weirder than I thought." He mumbles into his ice cream. "Gonna call me a good boy next?" He accuses.

"Are you asking?" I tease and lick my own ice cream. His eyes slip to my mouth and its ministrations. He gulps. "Nah, I think you'd like it too much," I chuckle.

He scoffs and looks me in the eyes, "No way!"

I lean back in my seat and look at him fondly. "Y'know, when we first stepped into the ice cream shop, I thought you were gonna change your mind bringing me here."

His brows furrow, "Why?"

"Well, to make sure your sturdy bike would be able to get us back." I tease him for his earlier mistake. "Didn't want to weigh us down too much."

He chokes on his ice cream and fights for air. His eyes grow watery, and veins pop in his neck as he violently coughs. "I-I swear that's not what I meant-" He coughs out.

"Just teasing you, Takuma." I purr. Woah, I purr? The tone leaves me like second nature. Not to mention, I called Ino by his first name: a Japanese no-no unless you were close.

"Ah, I see." He smiles at me. "I was going to say, Y/N, I would carry you back if you so asked." He hums, swirling ice cream on his tongue. Ah, so we are on a first-name basis.

A new tension fills the air. Not the awkward, uncomfortable kind that has followed us around thus far, either. The kind that makes your breath deeper and your heartbeat quicken.

I want to say some snippy, teasing remark, but before I can think of one, Ino leans forward. His torso hangs over the table, his eyes locked onto my lips. I part them the slightest bit and let my eyelids droop. I lean my face forward and-

His thumb wipes the corner of my mouth. My eyes widen in shock as he leans back into his chair. "Ice cream." He smiles like he has no idea what he'd done. He licks his thumb quickly and hums in delight. "Man, next time I'll have to get the chocolate."

I gulp. Am I delusional? We finish our ice cream with a few more licks and eat our cones. We ended up spending too much time at the ice cream shop alone, and it was already 4 in the evening.

"Ugh, Y/N, I'm sorry. If I had woken up earlier, we would have had more of the day to work with." Ino groans. I grab his and my napkin and throw them away.

"You woke up far too early as it is. It's not a problem, there's always another day." I walk to his bike and wait for him expectantly.

Just as he's about to sit on the bike's seat, I slide onto it. "I was wondering if I could pedal?" I smirk. He blinks at me for a second before chuckling and attempting to get on the front of the bike.

We wobble back and forth as he struggles, and I laugh at his jolts. "Takuma! Careful!" I try to hold us steady, but it's difficult when I'm shaking with laughter.

"Trying!" He finally adjusts and sits warily on the seat. He outstretches his hands for balance.

I pedal slowly at first, for his comfort. That doesn't last long though, I quickly speed up like a madman, trying to get back to the school in record time. "AH- Slow down!" He wails. I just laugh in response.

When we finally get back to the school, both of our hair is wind-swept and standing nearly straight up. He shivers in front of me like he's just seen death.

"Takuma, you're so dramatic," I tease. I get off of the bike, not thinking about keeping it balanced. Ino is thrust forward and lands flat on his face. "Shit, Ino!"

I hurry to his side and grab his shoulders, flipping him over. He groans, but remains unscathed. "Poor assassination attempt," He jokes.

I laugh but look him over anyhow. "Your shirt..." A part of the pattern is scuffed. "Oh, I'm sorry, Takuma, I'll buy you a new one." I lay my palms on his chest as I examine the shirt further.

When I don't hear a response, I look down at him curiously. He stares at me with parted lips and a blush. I then realize our position; I'm practically flat on top of him. Even after I realize it, it takes a second for me to pull away. "Sorry."

He sits up and nods. "Don't be. It happens." He says nonchalantly, but still has a blush on his face.

"Y/n! Ino-dude!" We both turn to see Yuji atop the school's steps. "I made meatballs!" He shouts at the top of his lungs.

I perk up and quickly stand to dust myself off, "Well, it's been fun, but Yuji's meatballs are calling my name." I offer him my hand.

He takes it, and I hoist him up. "I 100% understand. I would go to war for those things." We laugh together. "I'm going to lock my bike up, and then I'll be right there."

"Sounds good. See you inside." I wave at him as I run up the steps to where Yuji was.

I walk into the common area and then into the kitchen. Yuji, Nobara, and Megumi all stand there. Two in particular look smug.

"Did you have fun?" Nobara teases. She leans against the fridge and throws a meatball into her mouth. "See a lot? Like a lot?"

I blush and grab a meatball to throw at her. "Nobara! Don't talk to your senpai like that!" She catches it in her mouth. "We went for innocent ice cream," I say matter-of-factly.

"Is that what they're calling it?" Megumi says unexpectedly, looking up from his phone for once.

"Not you too!" I groan and eat a meatball.

"You mean to say after hours of being out, you only got ice cream?" He asks like a know-it-all. "Something tells me you were busy with other things," He huffs.

"We were talking!" I flick his forehead, then Yuji's.

"What was that for!?" Yuji yelps and rubs his forehead roughly.

"You were going to say something dirty next." I glare with a huff. He's about to retort, but instead ends up sighing and nodding in shame. "That's what I thought."

"...any details?" Megumi mutters. Nobara gasps in offense.

"I knew you were a little gossip queen!" She accuses him and points at him like he robbed her grandma. He rolls his eyes and grumbles. "But I agree, details pleasssee!" Nobara whines.

"Maybe later, if you all decide to stop being brats." I eat another meatball. A collective groan rings out amongst the three.

"Tomorrow?" Yuji prods.

"No, I have a mission."

A/N: *insert foreshadowing* *insert mission gone wrong >:)*

[englandsgirl18181234]

Hi! I read your answer from another ask and fell in love with the Hades' Lament AU! Athena is my all time favorite goddess and I think Morpheus might be my favorite god, I just love Hypnos and his family so very much, they are so fascinating. You see, I grew up with a book series for children based loosely on greek mythology where Athena and Morpheus were very close and I fell in love with their characters; However, they are so vastly different gods that finding fanfiction with the two of them interacting is pratically impossible (or even fanfiction with Morpheus and is family that is not from the Dream of the Endless fandom, good as it may be) you should have seen me jumping up and down from sheer giddiness when I read of this AU being a possibility! Could you tell me more about the relationship between Morpheus and Athena and Apollo? Are they close, given the situation? Are they friends? If so, why is Morpheus so cryptic in giving answers to the other gods, wouldn't he want for Athena and Apollo to wake up? Btw, I always thought that Morpheus' involvement in the war with Kronos may have been officially in favour of the titans, but, by putting the mortals to sleep, he effectivly kept them from most of the danger, thus helping the demigods: the titans wouldn't have cared about the panicking mortals putting themselves in danger, should them have been awake, but the demigods definetly would. This fits perfectly the picture you gave of Morpheus: I support the titans only because the alternative is Zeus and I hate him with a passion (because of the abuse towards Apollo and Athena), but I don't really agrre with the titans' agenda, so I help the demigods while pretending to help Kronos (I'm sure he witnessed lots of those poor kids tormented by nightmares too). I also read a beautiful fanfiction a while ago that elaborated the famous myth of Zeus trying to punish Hypnos for putting him to sleep, the one where he stops only because he's scared of Hypnos' mother, Nyx: In this fic, Zeus did reach Hypnos and hit him with his lightining as he did with Athena in God Games. He managed a single strike before Nyx put the fear of Tartarus in him. The result was that one of Hypnos's wing is missing (matching a real statue of him, wich is one winged because the other wing is believed missing) and Apollo was called to heal what he could of Hypnos injuries after. I loved it and I use it as part of my fanfiction-patchwork lore to justify Hypnos and Apollo knowing each other, even if briefly and I often have Athena go to Hypnos for advice on how to deal with the lighting burns (since I'm sure that Mr. Asshole wanted her to be immediatly up and about after he almost killed her) therefore laying the fundation for Athena and Apollo to build a relationship with Hypnos and family, usually a secret one because Zeus :(. Anyway, I can try to find the fic for you if you would like to read it and think it may be useful for this AU's worldbuilding. Let me know <3. Last thing I wanted to ask (not related to this AU specifically), is Apollo aware of his Chtnonic nature? Or does he discover it only after running with Athena to the underworld in your various AUs?

Hi yourself!!

If you want some good content with Hypnos and Nyx and the Chthonic Gods, I highly recommend the video game Hades by Supergiant Games if you haven't checked it out already! It's a rogue-like about the young God Zagreus and his attempts to escape the Underworld and reach the surface!

Morpheus sadly isn't part of it, but Hypnos, Nyx, Hades, Charon, and Thanatos all are, along with many other characters from Greek mythology, including Athena!

Can you tell this is an obvious plug for my favorite game of all time? Because it is. I have like 1000 hours in it across 3 different platforms and I've bought it like 4 times. And I bought the early access sequel even though I'm probably not going to play it again until it fully comes out.

But anyway, please do rec the fic!!! I'm always looking for new fic!! And the book series if you remember it!!! I wasn't super into mythology as a young kid, I was way more interested in the guardians of ga'hoole series and magic tree house, but I'm always down for more to read!!

And as far as this AU goes, that's pretty much exactly Morpheus's thought process about joining Kronos. Zeus is irredeemable as far as he's concerned, so he wasn't going to side with him no matter what.

But he also knows that the Titans will likely be even worse, especially to Apollo and Athena, the demi-gods, and the mortals, all of whom he's grown to care for.

So he basically ended up being a spy in Kronos's ranks, feeding small bits of information to Apollo and Athena and the demi-gods through their dreams. It's how Percy learned that Luke had bathed in the River Styx in this verse, finding out even earlier than he did in canon.

And you're exactly right on why he put the mortals to sleep too, including why he put them to sleep before the actual battle started. He knew the demi-gods would be distracted if there were mortals in danger, so he gave them a headstart on getting them safe enough that they wouldn't be.

And Morpheus's relationship with Apollo and Athena is slightly complicated. They can't often be seen together in public because of Zeus, so the vast majority of their communication takes place in their dreams. It's kind of like lucid dreaming when Morpheus visits them, from how I understand it. He'll link Apollo and Athena's dreams together, and from there, they'll know they're dreaming and they'll all share control of the dream.

Morpheus can't visit them as often as he would like, because Zeus would notice his power on them if he did. If he could he would take their nightmares away entirely. But he's actually able to work with Apollo in an official capacity sometimes because prophetic demi-god dreams are a part of both of their domains.

Morpheus is very close with them both in this specific AU, and I might Word Of God it so that he also knows about Athena's condition in my other ones as well.

He's the only one besides Apollo that knows Athena lived with Odysseus, Penelope, and Telemachus, though she didn't tell him personally. He figured it out because of how often they featured in her dreams.

I'm gonna put the next bit under a cut because it's technically spoilers and this is getting a bit long.

So the reason Morpheus doesn't want them to wake up? Is because they're technically asleep while they're in their comas. He can communicate with them at all times now, and he doesn't have to worry about Zeus finding out he's helping them with nightmares anymore! This is basically the best possible scenario for him and them as far as he's concerned. They're living in their shared dreams the way they want to, with no danger or pain or nightmares. It's not the real world, but it's better than anything they've ever had before.

If Hades heals them enough for it to be possible and they want to wake up? He'll absolutely let them. They're his friends after all, he cares for them and wants them to be happy. But if they don't?

Well that's just too little too late for the Olympians, now isn't it?

And as far as Apollo goes, no, he doesn't know he's Chthonic at all. No one does.

Why would they? There had never been twin gods besides Hypnos and Thanatos before, and they were both Chthonic like their parent Nyx. How would he have any way to know that he and Artemis would be different? The Fates didn't tell him, and no one else knows.

Apollo doesn't realize that Olympians can't sense things the way he can, he just assumes it's one of those things they don't talk about. Like Zeus swallowing Metis or Hades being banned from Olympus.

So yeah, he only finds out when Hades figures it out. It's definitely a surprise.

Thank you so much for this ask, I love it!!!

[delta-pavonis]

Ficlet: O that I were a glove upon that hand

Dreamling || Human AU || Rated E || ~1100 words

(Because Tom doing Romeo at VogueWorld 2023 gave me some feelings and Ferdie is often in his Venice Preserv'd look in my head... although with longer hair.)

This has, perhaps, gone too far.

Let's back up.

Everyone in the department, most people on campus, and – because of a viral video of him going off at the director during a dress rehearsal of a Shakespeare in the Park performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream – a damned large swath of London all know of Dr. Robert Gadling's particular and peculiar hate of the Bard. It is what makes this whole thing incredibly frustrating.

Gifts. Hob has been getting gifts. Left for him in conspicuous places, each more finely crafted and expensive than the last. And each with a goddamned Shakespearean love sonnet on it.

If it wasn't for the nature of the gifts themselves Hob would be absolutely certain someone was taking the piss. (Jo, that would probably be Jo.)

But each gift is so bloody thoughtful; carefully chosen with an uncannily tuned awareness to Hob’s personal needs and tastes. This person either really cares for him or… well, he would think the person a possible stalker except that everything they have done relates to something that has happened in public, with full easy access for many people to make a judgment that Hob likes or needs something. 

There have been six of them now. And aside from the fact that Hob’s living room wall now looks like all those movies where the authorities are frantically tracking a serial killer, complete with a map of London and lots of red sharpie, he is rather… flattered? 

It has been a long time since… well. The anniversary of Eleanor's death will be rounding on eight years this winter. 

Hob thinks he has worked out a pattern to when he gets the gifts, is like 80% confident he can guess when they have gotten placed in each location, from his university office, to the men’s dressing room at the White Horse Community Theater, to his usual table at the New Inn. Add to that his approximately 60% confidence in the reasoning behind the temporal spacing of the gifts, and he is ready to roll the dice.

He locks up his office a tick early, as usual on Thursdays, and makes all appearances to head home before going to that evening’s rehearsal. But as soon as he gets home he is donning a new hoodie no one has seen him wear before, slinking back out the garden door, over the hedge, and jogging to the theater. Hob closes himself into the darkness of the men’s dressing room a solid two hours before anyone is scheduled to be anywhere near the place. 

And he waits. 

Hob is good at waiting.

He is crouched where he will be behind the door when it opens, but this puts him immediately next to some of the accessories storage for costuming for this show. And oh, they have gotten in a new pair of leather gloves for him.

Just because he is good at waiting doesn’t mean that he never gets bored. 

Hob slips on the new gloves and works his hands in them. These will be perfect to swordfight in, fantastic.

And then the door creaks open. 

He freezes and watches, only the sliver of light coming from the hallway to help him. A masculine figure, slim, in a peacoat, walks silent as a hunting cat to the second chair from the far wall, just where Hob usually gets ready. 

A hand runs softly across the back of the chair once before a small box is left on the tabletop. Then as quietly as they came in, the person turns to leave. 

Just before they get to the open door Hob pounces.

There is a shout and a scuffle, the two men – for it is another man, of that Hob has no doubt – grappling as one tries to escape and the other hold on.

Which is how Hob ends up with his black leather-gloved hands wrapped around the pale swan neck of his longest friend. 

They haven’t seen each other in… fuck, it feels like more than a hundred years. And they had not parted on good terms. 

“Christ, Dream?” Hob pants out the nickname but does not let go. 

Diamond-sharp blue eyes that could belong only to one person stare at him from beneath heavy lids. He parts his lips to speak, but at the same time Hob shifts the grip of his hands and any words Dream was going to say get lost in a breathtakingly thready moan. 

Barely a heartbeat later they meet in the middle, Hob’s hands going to the back of Dream’s head and Dream’s arms going around his shoulders and their mouths fit together like goddamned puzzle pieces and Hob knew, he fucking knew, it would be like this. 

They knock over no less than two chairs, collapse against a wall for a minute, then one of them pushes off and they are almost going ass over tea kettle onto the couch. A bit of quick footwork on Hob’s part and they are on the opposite side of the room.

By the time Hob has Dream sitting on the vanity they have gotten their shirts off and his bare back slams into the mirror’s surface, sliding and squeaking with the thin sheen of sweat. He gets his hands under Dream’s thighs, hikes him up to grind their clothed erections together, and once Dream has his legs wrapped around Hob’s hips he brings one hand to his mouth to pull off the gloves.

An unsteady hand grabs his wrist. “Leave them on.” Dream’s voice is even lower than Hob remembers it. 

There is fumbling to get flies open and then Hob has his hand wrapped around both their cocks and is pumping. Dream’s fingers are now tugging on Hob’s hair, his body arching prettily as Hob gets his lips and tongue onto that beautiful neck.

Hob is about to be embarrassed by how quickly he is nearing completion when Dream pulls him into a kiss, moaning into his mouth as he shudders through his orgasm. 

“Come with me, Hob,” is whispered against his lips and Hob is absolutely lost to it, shouting into Dream’s collarbone.

They are still panting, large heaving breaths, when Dream tugs Hob’s hand up from where it is wrapped around their spent pricks so that he can lick the leather clean. Hob watches that pink tongue dance between his fingers and his cock almost twitches in interest. He huffs a laugh and takes Dream’s chin in his grip, pulls their mouths back together so that he can speak against them. 

“Hello, Stranger.”

[doe-eyed-fool]

Fear Of The Known

Lucifer x Fem!Angel!Reader

|Chapter Twelve|

"You're serious?" Michael asks, still in shock by the news Y/n just gave him. Y/n nods her head. "I'm just as surprised as you are, but...Maybe this will do some good. At least now I won't feel like I'm being kept in the dark about certain decisions."

"Well...I can't say I didn't see this coming." Said Michael. "You are a very important figure in Heaven. Everyone looks to you for what the future will bring. I guess it only makes sense for Father to do this."

Before Y/n had left after speaking with God, after delivering news of a war on the horizon, and thankfully altering the future, God had proposed an offer to her.

'You want me to...what?' Y/n asks in disbelief.

'I wish for you to join my council. You will be present for most meetings, alongside my most trusted Angels. I believe it will be best to have you here, given it being such a...sensitive time. Adam is gone, and now one of Hell's Overlords have access to angelic weaponry.'

Y/n still couldn't believe this. Very few were apart of God's council, as he said, only his most trusted Angels stood by his side. And now, she had the opportunity to become of those Angels.

'What we choose to do next, will entirely depend on what the future holds. You could be there to guide us to the right path, and keep Heaven safe and untouched by evil. Do you accept this offer?'

Y/n never thought she would be given a chance like this. Yes, her future vision set her apart from many Angels. But she was still beneath so many Angels who held power of their own.

Now, she had the chance to join their side.

And so, graciously, she accepted.

"I guess we'll be seeing a lot more of each other from now on." Y/n smiles. Michael chuckles. "As if we don't already?"

"Only this time, it will be in a more professional setting." Y/n adds. "To think I'd be along side the best. And the most powerful...Hah. I already feel out of place, and I haven't even been to single meeting yet."

Michael places a hand on her shoulder. "You have nothing to worry about. You know those Angels as well as I do. We all view you with the same respect you view us with."

"Though none of them panic whenever they're around me. Unlike me, around them. You're the only one who I've ever felt comfortable with." Y/n tells him. Michael's smile soften, his heart flutters ever so slightly. He tries not to pay it any mind. "Oh? Not even Cassius?"

Y/n rolls her eyes playfully. "Well, no, Cassius is fine."

"Or Leroy?" Michael asks.

"Leroy is fine too." Y/n laughs. "See, that's two already." Michael says with a shrug.

"Yes, but I really mean Joel and Gabriel. Then of course, Leo. They're all so serious. And Azrael is...Azrael."

Michael laughs. “He is, isn’t he?” His laughter dies down as he places his hand on Y/n’s gently. “As intimidating as this all might be, I know you will do just fine. If father believed you could not handle such an important promotion, he would not have given it to you. And of course, I will be there with you too.”

Y/n smiles warmly. “Thank you Michael.”

“Now.” Michael starts. “I’ll be sure to wake you up early for the meeting tomorrow morning.”

“Tomorrow morning!?” Y/n gasps. “So soon!? Oh my goodness, I-I didn’t think-”

“Y/n, Y/n, calm down.” Michael chuckles. “It’s alright. It’s nothing huge, just a simple meeting about what’s to be done with the former exorcist angels.”

“I’m sorry.” Y/n sighs. “The exorcist angels…There was so many of them. What will they do now?” She asks. Michael shrugs. “That’s yet to be decided. Just try to relax. Everything will be fine.”

Everything will be fine. That's what Y/n had to keep reminding herself, that everything would be fine. With every step closer to the meeting, her anxiety spiked. But everything will be fine.

At least the people she'd be in that room with would not be total strangers. Some of them more intimidating than others, even if not intentionally. But still, familiar faces nonetheless.

And Michael would be there. That alone made the walk there slightly less nerve wracking.

Y/n slowed to a stop when she came across the two large double doors, on the other side, she could hear the faintest of voices conversing amongst each other.

She inhaled, smoothed out her dress, and opened the doors. Everyone's eyes were on her as soon as she stepped in. Y/n felt as if she would faint right then, the only thing keeping her composure was Michael and the God's temporary absence in the room.

Still, Y/n made herself look presentable and respectful of the angels before her. "Good morning everyone. How are you all today?" She asks with a kind smile.

Michael opened his mouth to speak first, but someone else beat him to it.

"Hi, Y/n! It's been ages since we last talked!" Cassius. They stood from their chair and walked towards Y/n, and taking her hands in theirs. "When I heard you were going to joining father's council, I almost couldn't believe it! Well, almost couldn't believe that you weren't invited sooner. You do play a pretty important part around here."

"Yeah, seriously. Pretty sure Heaven would have more than a few problems if not for your guidance." Leroy says.

"What matters is, she's here now." Said Michael. "And because of that, Heaven's future will be heading on the right path."

Y/n's smile became a bit more genuine. "I'll be sure to do my best."

"You better, otherwise we're all done for." Azrael teases, which earned a sharp look from Leo. "Enough, Azrael." He says firmly.

"Ah, lighten up Leo, I'm just playing around." Azrael leans back in his seat. "We all know she can handle it. I mean, she wouldn't have gotten this far if she were utterly useless right?"

"Azrael." Leo warns, but Azrael just laughs it off. "Come on, Y/n knows I have faith in her. Right?"

Y/n shifts awkwardly. "I hope so." She laughs lightly.

"Pay him no mind, Y/n." Gabriel spoke up. "You are here for a reason. Father believes you can better guide Heaven alongside us. Your gift of the seeing the future is special, it's important. You are important, to all of us, and to the countless souls of Heaven."

"Thank you, Gabriel. That means a lot." Y/n says with a warm smile.

Just then, the doors opened again, and in walked God with Galim at his side. Everyone became quiet as they stood from the seats as God entered further into the room. He took his place at the head of the table before speaking.

"Good morning everyone. I hope all of you are doing well. Let's get this meeting started, shall we?" He spoke. Everyone nods before seating.

There was a slight stretch of silence before God spoke again. "Now....What was the meeting about again?"

Galim, along with a few others sighed in defeat and slight annoyance. Did...Did he actually forget? Y/n watches in silence.

"The exorcist angels, your Heavenly Grace. We are to discuss what must be done with them." Galim tells God.

"Oh! That's right!" God chuckles. "Well, how about you take it from here then? I feel as if I need to be caught up again as well."

Galim nods before clearing their throat. "As you all know, there has been an army of exorcist angels that had been kept secret from Heaven for many years. An army only few knew about. Those being, the late first man Adam, his lieutenant Lute, and the head Seraphim Sera." They continue.

"The proposal was first discussed with Lucifer Morningstar. Once agreed by both him and Sera, Adam was given the ok to raise an army of exorcists, that would once every year, portal to Hell and slaughter it's inhabitants. All in hopes to keep Hell's population controlled."

"As of recent events, the council has decided to put an end to the exterminations along with the army. We have lost many souls to the exterminations, even if they were exorcists. Adam was among those souls." Galim looks to Y/n.

"And with the trusted guidance of Y/n, it was fated that any further exterminations would prove to lead to a terrible future for Heaven and it's people."

Y/n stiffened at the mention of her name, but she kept herself composed as Galim continues.

"Now, we must decide what is to be done with what remains of the exorcists."

"Very good Galim!" God claps. Galim awkwardly smiles.

Michael is the first to speak. "The exorcists won't fit into society so easily. Their whole lives, they had been trained to kill. Aggression and violence is all they know."

"Then what do you suppose we do? Lock them all away? There's hundreds of them." Said Gabriel.

"We could always have them banished to Hell." Said Azrael. "After all, they did go against Heaven by keeping their bloodshed a secret."

"Them, and Sera." Said Joel. "If Sera were not such an important figure, banishment would be a fitting punishment."

"Of course, that would spark panic amongst the civilians." Leo sighed. "There is nothing we could say to explain just why the head Seraphim was casted out of Heaven. Sera would be gone forever, regardless of what we say. And people will become suspicious. And their suspicions will lead to fear if they ever knew the truth."

"I believe we should try and give those exorcist a chance." Cassius speaks next. "One last chance to prove their souls are worth saving."

Y/n listened as they converse among themselves, she was unsure of when she should speak. But also, she was somewhat captivated by the council in action like this.

God took note of her silence, he raised his hand, and everyone quickly became silent. "Y/n? What do you propose we do?"

Y/n froze. What should she say? She didn't want those angels to be banished. She didn't want Sera to be banished either. But could they adapt to a new way of life? Would they even consider it?

"I...I do not particularly favor the idea of banishment." Y/n spoke truthfully. "However, I am unsure of what their reactions will be to fitting in with Heaven's society. Their violent tendencies, their bloodlust, all of it must disappear if they are to join within civilization. And I don't know how easy that will be for them or if they will even like the idea." She took a minute to think.

"I suppose I can look into the future for an answer." She suggests. God nods his head. "If you must."

Y/n closes her eyes, the path of the near future open ahead. In the future, she saw some of the angels agreeing to leave their life of bloodshed behind. But most...most will not comply. Which will lead to one of two things.

The angels who will not give up their old habits will spend eternity locked away from the rest of Heaven. Or...

Banishment. They will all be casted out of Heaven, and never return to Heaven's light.

Then she saw Lute. Y/n looked further to see what might become of her. Adam's death took a heavy toll on her, surely, she would choose to stick with what she has always known. Murdering demons.

However. That is not what Y/n saw for her future. Instead, Y/n saw Lute complying along with the few angels. Choosing a life in Heaven, free from the bloodshed.

Y/n opened her eyes, brows furrowed in confusion. It was that easy? Lute would go along with it just like that? Even after witnessing Adam's death at the hands of the very creatures she hates?

It was that easy?

"Y/n?" God spoke.

Y/n looked up. "U-Um." She cleared her throat. "Very few will agree to live freely with the other civilians of Heaven. Most must be locked away or banished. However, it is up to us to decide which it will be."

"Thank you, Y/n." God says before turning his attention back to the rest of the council. Y/n barely paid any attention throughout the remainder of the meeting.

She was too busy thinking about Lute, and the odd feeling she got whenever she looked into her future...

Suddenly the doors to the meeting room burst open. Shocked, everyone looked towards the entrance, and saw a frantic angel who panted every breath.

"Your heavenly grace!" The angel began. "I have urgent news from the head Seraphim!"

God narrows his eyes, but nods his head. "Go on." He tells the angel. They sucked in a lung full of air before delivering the news.

"A sinner has passed divine judgement and entered Heaven!"

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[jonathan-cranes-mistress-of-fear]

Thoughts on Scriddler?

This is gonna be a long one, so buckle up...

Firstly, you gotta understand that all that follows is a recollection of the fandom over the years, since 2015 to be exact. Speaking stickily Jonathan Crane fandom, Scriddler has always been the most popular ship for Scarecrow. I couldn't give ya a beginning to this, as even back then I found years old art for Scriddler circulating. Though, tumblr as a social media is where it blossomed.

When I first started this blog, I had my OC to develop and I was very self conscious and unknowingly putting myself through trauma via art school and a lack of disability accessibility. Not gonna get into that, but I was very vulnerable as well as impressionable.

I did NOT like Scriddler, almost detested it. It seemed like it was everywhere, and this was before tumblr had a decent way of blocking. Not that it would have helped, because for some reason i liked suffering. Felt like I deserved to be depressed. Took me a long time to realize blocking content actually made life better aslhkds

Anyways, even early on I had a lot of support, people wanted to know about my OC and cared, but I always felt like I played second fiddle to the holy of holy, Scriddler. And if you've read any of my recent posts, you know I've come to accept that just how it is with OCs. But that doesn't mean I didn't get my fair share of anon hate, suicide threats, etc. The fandom was not always welcoming. Or perhaps there was just a minority who loved to abuse the anon function. (if you think there's a lot of drama today, you were not there when it was bad)

It took me a LONG time to grow to like Scriddler. I used to feel like they had very little in common, and it bothered me that most of the art was majorly sexual. That's a whole 'nother can of worms, but ya know. I don't hate Scriddler today, which should be obvious seeing as I reblog it now. Though, I like Hattercrow a tad more.

A lot of this was my own internal issues, though the fandoms penchant to take two males who never interact and ship them, suffice to say is alive and strong. Nicely enough however, there has been more "Scriddler" like content from comics. (I say this loosely, but they do interact quite a bite more than they did ten years ago)

Scriddler, and to a lesser, Hattercrow, is a ship you either love or hate. Except me. I kinda fall in the middle. Though I feel it's worth mentioning that Scarecrow has had his fair share of female/female presenting ships too, and as much as I hate to say it, they're generally disliked by the greater fandom. (or simply ignored) We all know why. I've mentioned this before. :/ and I've had close friends give up on their ships because of it. Just like me. I gave up. I hat admitting that, but I can't compete with Scriddler.

I wish there was a way to change that, but I wouldn't know were to start. That's why I try to support OCs for example, someones gotta do it. I can't let another person go through what I went though.

TL;DR: Sciddler is not a bad ship, I don't dislike it anymore, but don't think I'm not silently side eyeing the loud minority who shit on anyone for even thinking Jonathan could love a woman. Ya know, despite canon only showing evidence for that.

[tanadrin]

Then you have those who legitimately had no idea what gender was even because we grew up in a tiny Irish village in the early 2000s, and because the one book they had was ‘Noughts & Crosses’, and the one film they had was ‘Men In Black II’, they didn’t know what racism was either, thinking America was ruled by black people. Like I was a pasty 9 year old with three sisters. When I was 7 one of my sisters decided to become my brother, then went back to being my sister a few years later, and I didn’t think anything of it, I thought that was accepted, that you could be whatever whenever you wanted. I got another brother the same year (this one born); to date my sister is still my sister, although she occasionally goes back to being my second brother when he feels like it. I thought my aunts in London were married for years, and my uncle got divorced when I was twelve, but no one explicitly told me so I didn’t find out for another twelve years. I have a cousin who became mute after brain damage and claims benefits but I know he can still talk because he swore me out when I was teaching him how to swim, he just doesn’t like his mothers. Now my other cousin also has stage four cancer but has never mentioned it any time we have hung out, I had to find out from my mother, and another cousin of mine died of a brain aneurysm but no one told me until a month later. I am agender, asexual, and aromantic, but don’t often tell anybody because it doesn’t come up. Which has led to me accidentally having to go on dates a lot: my sister who went to Australia to be an architect for a year but never got to be says I have ‘unbelievable rizz’, like I’m so oblivious to romantic tension that I seem interested when I’m just trying to be a person. Like I told someone she had a ‘perfect sneeze’ once and she tried to bring me into a throuple. And I had to stay a while since I was too socially awkward to say I didn’t want to be there. Same thing happened when a friend was moving to Poland and I made my way across the country to see her off. Then when I was going to the cinema last year someone lit a tram on fire in front of it so they gave me three months worth of free cinema, and pretty much anyone I asked to go with me thought it was a date, and I had to say yes because like you can’t turn someone down if you accidentally ask them out. Then afterward I went to the bank and accidentally found a secret door to a speakeasy next door with a password and 70% absinthe drunk out of lemons. And the guy from ‘Django Unchained’ was there, he’d been shooting a game show with his daughter (who was also there) in the country (this was not America), so we drank for a bit until he was done. He was a little annoyed that I didn’t seem drunk before seeming impressed when I mentioned I can’t really get drunk due to some weird genetic thing, the most I get being that I feel like if someone asked me for the truth about anything I would tell them, so basically truth serum, although I don’t really have secrets, so there’s nothing to tell. The most I’ve done is leak television pilots or films I’ve found access to on the internet, that people didn’t know had been leaked. Or spot plagiarism. Like I have the script for the new ‘Nosferstu’, I put it in my bag I carry around all the time, then like the next day my lecturer was talking about the original ‘Nosferstu’ and I said “Oh I have the script for that would you like it?” and he said “Yes.” so I pulled it out and he had expected me to be taking out my computer or something to share a PDF of the old film’s script, not for me to just hand him the new film’s script, and the look on his face had me go “wait.” I have surprised you? And anyway that same day someone tried to pass off a short story of mine I’d shared anonymously in Cork two years prior as their own, and this was Dublin, I didn’t know them, so I was more amazed at the circumstances of my merely being there than annoyed by the plagiarism (like if he’d asked I’d have let him, but he didn’t even know I was the writer, so he was just a massive coincidence). I am 23.

thumbs up emoji

[steel-type-connie]

Hi everyone. I’m Constance, a 31-year-old transgender American.

To all my friends and loved ones who reached out to me over the phone or gave me a hug at work today: thank you. 💜 it really meant the world to me.

I left work early today and spent most of the afternoon crying and sleeping. Now I’m ready to share some thoughts.

I’m not going to lie, I’m terrified. Terrified for the future of our country and the free world, for Ukraine and Gaza. Terrified of losing access to healthcare that IS ACTIVELY saving my life, terrified of becoming the victim of a hate crime in an increasingly violent and bigoted America, or of being made to choose between being forced back into the closet or being prosecuted as a sex offender for using the ladies’ room or wearing one of my famous dresses.

I’m also furious. Furious at the feckless, cowardly politicians who have enabled his malfeasance and corruption time and again. Furious at the millions of Democrats who stayed home or voted third-party in swing states. Furious at the millions of cruel, ignorant Americans who support him, and that we all have to deal with the ramifications of a new Trump regime for years, possibly an eternity. Furious that, god damn it, I’m a productive member of society just trying to better myself and live a normal goddamn life, and I shouldn’t have to worry about the federal fucking government coming after me.

But I’m still here.

I’m promising myself I’m not giving up, even when it’s really hard to keep going on.

I’ll close with this quote from Sam Gamgee:

“It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened?

“But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something. Even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back only they didn’t. Because they were holding on to something… That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it’s worth fighting for.”

[1moreff-creator]

(P:EG Chapter 1 spoiler warning for the unaware) If Tozu gave YOU the Traitor Perk, what would you do?

I don't think I'd ever be able to bring myself to hurt any of the others, let alone kill. Personally, I'd find the more friendly/caring students (Diana, Cassidy, Jean, Desmond, Ingrid), confide to them what happened, ask to stay with them at all times so I'd never be alone, and also desperately search for anything that could lead to an early escape from the academy. It's safe to say I would likely be a crying and shaking mess the whole time and would have to have heavy support from my peers. I'm not sure how they would react - they'd probably round up the others and inform them what's going on with me in order to ensure a team effort on my behalf, while also swearing to do whatever they could to keep me safe.

If all else failed, I might try to isolate myself from the others and await my end in a private place, so I could at least spare the others the sight of me dying in front of them. Tozu never specified a deadline or how Eva would have died, but I'd like to imagine it would have been a personal visit and execution from Mara. Okay, this one is actually really, really dark after presenting my own thoughts. The very idea of the Traitor Perk itself comes across as disgustingly unsettling, but there's a thrilling appeal as to what someone would do in such an event along with how the other students could come into play, which is what spurred me to ask this. Regardless, please feel free to skip this one if it's too grim.

Damn, that's... depressing. Your reaction sounds pretty reasonable, not gonna lie. The Traitor Perk is pretty awful, so I don't blame you for choosing to just accept it. Still, let's see what I think I would do!

Spoilers for EG CH1. CW: Murder, gun violence (Mara), fire and explosions

I'd say the first thing to consider is what context the Traitor Perk exists in. Because it's a thing that exists specifically to begin the killing game, it has to be given pretty early on. That means there isn't a lot of time for my mental health to deteriorate to the point I would genuinely consider mass murder (given I would also need to win the trial to survive), or so I would like to think. Like, I don't think it's impossible to push me to that eventually, but I'd say it'd take way more than the Traitor Perk and a few days in the Academy.

However, while I don't think I would kill, I don't think I'd tell anyone all the details about the Perk, either. See, if I tell someone about it, I risk that getting back to Tozu. And if Tozu finds out I told someone about the Perk, it becomes clear to him that I'm not planning to uphold "my part of the deal" (murdering someone), so he might just send Mara to kill me. That would be what we in the business call unideal.

So, what do? I would first check all the cameras and try to figure out if there's anything useful I can find out doing that. I highly doubt Tozu's gonna give me access to any genuinely useful cameras for escape, but it's worth a shot. I'd try to note down any blindspots for future reference, and try to figure out how the motion tracking works and if there's any way to exploit it. I'm hoping here that Tozu either doesn't notice, doesn't care, or thinks that I'm planning a murder with the cameras instead of trying to find ways to work around him :v

Once I've checked all the info I have, and presumably come to the realization that nothing in the cameras helps and I'm cooked, it would be time to make some sort of escape plan. As I sorta described in a similar ask I received a bit ago, I'd try to coordinate efforts with the rest of the cast by writing in notes away from the view of the camera (and I know what the view is hehe >:))

The main plan I'd suggest is attempting to get into Tozu's tunnels. Unlike other mascots, which may use different methods and copies of a robot to pull off the whole "magically appearing from thin air" party trick, Tozu has to, like, go somewhere. He's human, so whatever he does to move through the Academy, we can surely replicate.

With some luck, there may be few to none contingencies to account for students going there, we'd just need to be careful of Mara. Maybe we could even try to disable the generators to shut off any electronic contingencies, though I'd imagine whatever happens down there probably runs on separate generators so maybe it'd be best not to. Funnily enough, there's no rule against intruding in that space below the floorboards, so the only real rule we'd risk breaking is property damage if we need to break our way in.

Speaking of, how? Breaking our way in with regular tools would probably take too long, we'd get shot by Mara before we're done. Well, you might have guessed this based on the content warnings, but we have lithium batteries, and I doubt it's the only explosive thing around. I'm sure me and the cast can rig something up to blow a hole on the floor big enough for us to infiltrate. If possible, building the explosive in a camera blindspot would be ideal. Obviously, though, that's a lot of property damage, but I'm banking on the idea that whoever sets it off has the chance to get into the space below the floorboards before Mara shows up. Going out of bounds like that might make it harder for the game masters to properly administer punishment.

This is where we go back to the Traitor Perk, and I'm sorry that this post isn't very focused on it but my reactions took me in this direction :v See, this plan is awful. It sucks. There are a million ways this can go wrong, including but not limited to: proper contingencies for this possibility existing, there being nothing useful for escape down there, Mara just instantly shooting anyone who gets close disregarding the rules, a new rule about the tunnels appearing immediately as Tozu notices what's going on and Mara being ready to defend this space, among others. I would say that, in the real world, it'd be significantly safer to remain calm and await rescue, since someone's gonna figure out what's going on (obviously it wouldn't work in the EG universe, but we only know that because we know it's a fictional narrative. If it was happening for real, I'd think this course of action is reasonable). Even with a killing game going on, blowing up the floor of the school is not a great idea.

However, if I receive the Traitor Perk, I can't exactly wait for rescue now can I? If I'm already going to die anyways, might as well go down with a bang. I think I would offer to be the one to set off the explosive off, since I'm probably gonna end up dying no matter what. Yet, a low chance of survival is better than none, right?

Anyways, that's more or less what I would do I think. If Tozu gives me the Traitor Perk, I'm blowing up the school. Thanks for the ask, this was fun to think about! And thanks for sharing your own reaction, it was cool to read.

[millionancientbees]

Something I think a lot of ppl forget when they’re dealing with suicidal people is that a lot of us are suicidal because we can’t afford or access basic needs, let alone creature comforts.

Before sending your suicidal friend to the mental hospital to maybe be severely traumatized by even less autonomy and also potentially lose their jobs and housing, have you:

-spent time with them so they’re not alone with their thoughts and organized a care group of their friends to help take care of tasks that are overwhelming?

-made a post or group chat to raise funds for bills that are looming and making them feel like they’ll never be able to succeed at life? Tried to help connect them with resources? Offered to sit down with them while they make calls? Offered to take a look at their debt and see if it can be refinanced? Etc, based on your skills, who you know, what you have the resources and comfort and closeness with the person to allow

-taken them to do some fun things? Gotten them out of their house and into the sun?

-gotten them something sweet or comforting or good smelling or whatever? A simple $5 candle can be a reason for someone to smile and feel cared about.

-gotten them tools to manage their sensory needs? Are they over or under stimulated? I will become immediately suicidal if I hear too many sounds while hungry or tired or upset or overheated or or or

I’m not saying the hospital is never the answer. I’m not saying don’t take people who are immediately in danger. I’m not saying you have to do this for people who are behaving in a way that will hurt you. But if you care about someone who is suicidal, this is something to think about.

I have literally been suicidal for as long as I can remember (and I remember a lot of my very early childhood) and some of the small things that have legitimately kept me alive over the years include:

-my friends buying me noise canceling headphones

-my friends taking me on a vacation

-my partner letting me read out loud to them when they were playing video games every night

-my friends buying my art or sending me money to help pay bills, get my car fixed, etc

-my sister giving me rides to my doctor appointments and buying me a little treat afterwards

-my friends sharing their audible/netflix/hulu/libby accounts with me so i had something to focus on other than wanting to die

-friends taking me out to dinner and letting me talk about my special interests

-my friend giving me houseplants and teaching me how to keep them alive, which required spending quality time together whenever I needed to learn something new and gave them an excuse to bully me into leaving my depression nest when nobody else could

-my friend buying me a vape when I was breaking apart and had nothing to do with my hands and nothing to calm my very upset nervous system and $2 in the bank and also I was going through withdrawals

-my friend teaching me how to drive and helping me get my license so I could have some autonomy

Like it really can be that simple. We sometimes forget that therapy and meds can only do so much at a time, and some people get treatment for their entire lives and still struggle a lot even when they do everything right, especially when they’re dealing with complicated issues like other disabilities, chronic pain, poverty, abusive situations/ongoing trauma, etc.

[zanarkandfayth]

Happy Storyteller Saturday!

What inspired you to write Monsters Running Wild (Inside of Me), if it's not too difficult for you to talk about (given the subject matter of the story)? If it's too personal to share, (or you can also treat this as a bonus question!), what was your favourite comfort scene to write in that story?

thank you for the ask! I don't mind sharing though it's definitely gonna be a long, personal answer. also I laugh every time I see the title written out in full because I deliberately wrote it that way in an attempt to maybe discourage people from reading (don't ask lmao) and it makes me cringe. I should really remove the parentheses, or shorten the title maybe. ahem. anyways.

hhhh okay so I tend to be an oversharer so I will try to tone it down. the less-detailed answer is that I started writing monsters around early August 2022 I think? towards the beginning of that year I had two friendships blow up, the important one being the one with my bestie where our problems had been building for two years.

then in June the stomach problems I'd been having on and off since late 2019 that my doctor dismissed blew up, like "pain so bad for three days until I broke down and asked my mom to take me to urgent care and they sent me to the ER" blew up. which led to constant medical appointments and "throw medications at the wall and see what sticks" approaches, because nobody could find anything wrong with me. scans and tests kept coming back normal. I also had some separate health problems crop up during this point which just worsened things.

it is also notable that I'd been trying to move to Japan and teach English, which my stomach problems forced me to give up on, and that hurt a lot too.

so, yeah, basically mad depression over everything, I found myself feeling suicidal, and like. I have a past attempt. the mental hospital I got forced into for four days nearly killed me. that's not an exaggeration. I passed out and stopped breathing because they gave me two clashing medications. I really, really didn't wanna wind up back there if I failed in another attempt, and tbh, I didn't really WANT to make another attempt. but thoughts were in my head and I have no access to mental health care.

so in desperation I turned to fic. I wanted a long, angsty fic set before the game with a suicidal noct and ignis taking care of him, but there were none that I could find. and at this time, I had been working on another ffxv fic since November 2019, it was over 500k and nowhere near being finished (it's not posted anywhere rn except privately for people who are interested, because it's now over 600k and still not finished, send help) and I was. getting a little burnt out lol. so I was like "yeah okay, I can take a break to write something short with noct attempting to kill himself that's just for me"

I wrote it in my private just-for-me discord server. I had nothing specific in mind, I just started writing and let the words take me wherever they wanted. it was still largely the first chapter of monsters that is posted now, except there was no ignoct. when it was done, I shared it with the not-bestie, who loved it and then said something about how "if ignis hadn't shown up when he did then noct would have died and how would Ignis have felt coming in to yell at noct only to find him dead" and that they wanted to see Ignis have a nightmare about that.

I had already been on the fence about whether I wanted to write more, because I'd wanted more comfort than what I'd written and I also wanted to have Ignis find a note from noct, but I still had other fic to work on, but the not-bestie wanting a nightmare made me decide to at least (probably) write a second part.

I didn't, though, for like a month? I went back to the other fic. don't remember why I picked up monsters again, probably just still struggling with thoughts. I polished the first chapter and added a bit to make it ignoct, then I wrote out the second chapter with Ignis finding the note and the third chapter with him having the nightmare, then I kept going with noct being in the hospital and by that point a rough semblance of a plot idea was starting to form, so I decided to keep going and see where it took me.

that is probably about the point where my rocky frienship with the not-bestie started inspiring/influencing the fic. because I was talking with them a lot, but we weren't okay and we both knew it and it upset me. though to be clear, noct and iggy's messed up frienship is nothing like mine, I gave them their own problems, but it still felt really cathartic to write something where they weren't okay for a long time.

so yeah, the really really short answer is "I was fucked up and my most meaningful (but platonic) friendship was fucked up and it inspired me to write a fic where noct and ignis were fucked up (but still gay for each other) and then it just kept going" (:

also, bonus question... the stargazing at the sky walk scene is my overall fave, but I'm not sure that counts as enough comfort, so I'll say the scene at the end of chapter 31, where noct asks ignis what it was like for him when he walked in on noct's attempt. because they're both so touchy-feely and vulnerable and intimate and for all ignis' denial about their relationship, he knows, THEY know, they know they know, and also for a fic that is largely about ignis comforting/supporting noct, I love that noct is the one doing the primary comforting and supporting in that scene. it was so lovely to write.

I think this answer is too long. sorry 💀

[nocturius8015ficore]

Fanfiction #5: Trust

Nocturius: 5th Republic Commando fanfiction! Here a scene with some underrated Alpha ARCs trooper Sull and Spar!

Enjoy!

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Title: Trust

Fandom: Star Wars Republic Commando books by Karen Traviss

Characters: Bardan Jusik, Fi Skirata, Sull and Spar

Rating: Family-friendly ** Fairly accessible to people who don’t know RepComm **

Topic: Friendship, loyalty

Pitch: The atmosphere is thick in the route from Mandalore to Coruscant as the two Alpha Arcs troopers are traveling with former Jedi Bardan Jusik...

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Fews minutes after the Aggressor starfighter jumped in hyperdrive, Bardan Jusik, a former Jedi now a full-time Mandalorian warrior, was in command. He let out a brief sigh after making sure everything was safely on autopilot and let his legs rest on the co-pilot seat.

Jusik still felt not entirely sure about letting Fi coming with them on Coruscant but the lad was eager to get into new challenges.

Something about the Core planet preoccupied him too. The problem with the Force though, was that things were mostly feelings and not actual intel he could build something on.

He also felt burning eyes on the back of his head. Deserter Alpha ARC trooper Sull didn’t trust him. He knew though that he would do nothing against him. Not with Fi around watching his six and surely not now he knew that Kal Skirata was actively working to find a cure for aging clones. Jusik finally positioned himself as if he was about to take a nap, but discreetly entered in meditation state. Even out of the Order, Force’s skills were best kept sharp. In a little common room, Fi, Sull and Spar, another Alpha ARC deserter were in dead silence. Fi was usually the one to break a heavy mood but he had a lot on his mind already. Plus, talking fluently was still a complicated matter. He didn’t want to look diminished in front of the two Alpha ARCs, but since Fi punched Sull in the face two months ago, no one would ever think that. Surprisingly, Sull was the one who broke the ice.

‘’So… That’s true. You really are supposed to be dead. I sliced into the GAR’s medical reports. Things looked seriously bad. No tricks. How did you make it through?

‘’ Officially discharged dead, yeah. ‘’

Contrary to before his injury, Fi’s thoughts were running faster than his mouth, he wanted to express how he felt the GAR treated him like garbage. GAR-bage was actually a funny pun, but the tone didn’t feel right to say it out loud at the moment.

‘’ I got help from my vode and the girls. ‘Couldn’t do it alone. Being nice to people, having friends pay off, you know? ’’

‘’ Di’kut…’’

‘’Drop it.’’ said Spar, a hand on his shoulder. ‘’He is right though, it’s time for us to learn to stand together, the Mando way.’’

‘’…With that shabla Jetii…’’ Sull muttered.

‘’ I thought we agreed he is my vod. Our vod. You better change that attitude. Him and Parja are the ones who put me back on my feet. Bard’ika literally quit the Order to nurse me for a big fat month ‘’

‘’… A month you said? ’’

‘’ More than that, but a month daily, multiple hours on my side. Fixing my brain cell by cell or something. I don't remember the early days. Ordo and A’den were there. We are a year and a half later and he was still doing his magic tricks on me the other day. Burning itself doing it. ‘’

Fi paused and looked at his friend in the pilot seat. He was able to say complete sentences when he concentrated enough but felt a bit mentally exhausted. Shab, his body was about fine now but there was still a lot of stuff to get right.

‘’ It’s not like the legends then, is it? Healing an open wound, laying-on-of-hands style in a few minutes with the power of love and friendship or some osik. ‘’ said Sull, one eyebrow left.

‘’ He basically gave you one of his metaphysical kidneys? ’’ add Spar, looking in the direction of the cockpit.

Jusik stretched his arms and did an almost theatrical yawn before joining the conversation.

‘’ More like part of my metaphysical liver, it will regrow over time. Time is what I have P for Plenty as Kal’buir would say. I can’t buy the sins of the Order, but I can share some of my privileges with you. Might have get few gray hairs doing it, but I don’t regret it in the slightest and would I do it again if needed. I was prepared to do it for the rest of my life, actually. Fi recovery is a little miracle even by Jedi standards.

‘’ I wouldn't be there without you. ‘’ said Fi, his chin down and suddenly very emotional. ’’ Parja… She gave me so much hope, she filled the void in my life. She was way more than a nurse. I’m so glad we are married now. ‘’

‘’ You did a lot of the work by yourself too, look at those arms! ‘’ Jusik wink at him as he pressed his shoulder vigorously, who was not quite as large as the two other clones.

They all laughed while Fi, with a sad smile, wiped the corner of his eyes discreetly.

‘’ Congrats by the way. ‘’ said Spar cheerfully. ‘’Did you choose a godfather for the future kid you’ll get?

The mood was definitely lighter. Fi looked at Bardan who was making a jug of caf for everyone.

‘’ Mando'ade doesn’t have godfather traditions. We are Aliit, we care for each other, but I know who I trust and would do anything for.’’ Fi slowly lifted his mug and salute his non-clone brother.